Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana.
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A/N: Thanks for those who read and reviewed. Here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy it! :)
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Shooting Rainbows
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Chapter 2:
Oliver bounced lightly on his feet while waiting for the elevator to arrive. He felt a bit nervous because so far, from what he was able to see, the building was amazing. It even had a private doorman. He sure never lived in a building like this before. He was beginning to worry the rent there is going to be sky high and he would have to look for something else.
"Will you stop it already?" Jake hissed at him, glancing sideways and noting the doorman was giving them suspicious looks.
Oliver stopped moving and wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve. "Sorry. Just nervous."
"Of what?"
The elevator arrived with a clear ding chime. The door opened and the two entered. Jake pressed the button with the number '4' and the door closed with another ding.
"Not sure. I just don't want to be disappointed, I guess."
"You won't be. She's a lovely girl with a killer apartment."
Oliver gave him a shifty look. "You dated her."
Jake fought a smile. "I did not date her."
"Really? Why not? Is she ugly?"
Ding, the elevator ringed again. The doors opened on the fourth floor and Jake and Oliver walked out. "This way," Jake said while turning left and Oliver followed.
"Saved by the bell," Oliver muttered and Jake chuckled, ignoring the comment and Oliver's earlier question.
They stopped in front a white door. The brass number on it read '4-E'. "We're here," Jake announced and raised his hand to knock on the door.
"Jake, wait," Oliver said nervously. "What if she doesn't like me?"
"Oliver, enough with all of the questions, okay? You're looking for an apartment, not for a bride," Jake said in a tired voice and without waiting for Oliver to respond, he knocked on the door quickly.
"Just a minute," a woman's voice called through the door. Oliver felt himself beginning to sweat again. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and gulped hard.
The door opened by a young woman. Her hair was dirty blonde and held up in a messy bun. She wore black plastic frame glasses on her face, old blue tank top and grey sweatpants. She smiled at them and gestured them to come in with her hand while she was talking on the phone.
Oliver and Jake walked in. The girl closed the door behind them. She covered the phone with her hand and slightly held it away from her face. "Please sit down, I'll be right with you," she whispered. She turned around and left the room.
Oliver looked around the apartment. At first glance it looked light and cozy. It was well furnished and had a very homey feeling to it.
The front door opened straight into the living room. The white walls in the apartment gave the impression it was more open spaced than it was in reality. There was a large window to the left, almost wall-to-wall. A sheer peach color, floor-to-ceiling curtain hung over it, not making any effort in preventing light from streaming into the apartment. Behind it was a narrow window seat that was decorated with all sorts of candles that were clearly there only for decoration, not to actually be lit. In the middle of the room was a mahogany coffee table that sat on a shaggy white rug. An olive-green fabric sofa stood in front of the table and straight across a large screen TV that was sitting on a matching mahogany TV unit.
"This place looks really nice," Oliver marveled as he sat down on the sofa and took a look at the rest of the room. He noted a cozy armchair in the other corner; a small round table, a full bookcase and a tall floor lamp all stood next to it. He admired how spotless and organized the apartment was. He never lived in a place so neat and tidy before. "It looks as if someone ripped it out from the IKEA catalog."
"Cool, huh?" Jake said. He was still standing up and was looking around the room as well. Oliver nodded, still a bit amazed. So far he really liked the apartment and he couldn't wait to see the rest of the place.
"Sorry about that. That was work stuff," said the girl as she returned to the living room from the kitchen. She held a coke bottle and two glasses in her hands, set them on the table and straightened up. "Hi Jake, nice to see you again," she said, looking at Jake, who was trying to get a glimpse at the side hallway, where obviously the bedrooms were. "Miley isn't here," she added and he immediately turned to her with a sheepish look.
"I... I know. I wasn't looking for her," he disregarded, his voice turning suddenly rough.
"Huh-huh," said the girl, her tone obviously indicating her disbelief. "She's seeing someone new now, you know," the blonde girl said. She watched Jake's face closely and so did Oliver. He noted a slight change in his friend's features when she said the last sentence.
"I heard," Jake said shortly, through clenched teeth. He looked as if it pained him to hear that.
"Who's Miley?" Oliver asked Jake, but Jake waved him off.
Jake clapped his hands loudly. "Anyways, we're here for..." he said, pointing over to Oliver and changing the subject.
"Right," the girl said. She turned around to face Oliver and extended her hand. "Sorry, it's so rude of me. I'm Lilly."
"Oliver." Oliver shook her hand lightly and she smiled. "I'm the homeless one," he said lightheartedly.
"Nice to meet you. You don't look homeless, if I might say."
"Yeah, well I am for the past two days. Had nowhere else to go, so Jake took me in, but his couch hates me, so here I am, looking for a new place to live in," Oliver replied. Lilly smiled and nodded.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but I have to ask every applicant. After all, if we're going to live together, then I must know a few things." Oliver nodded and gave her permission. "You lived with a roommate before?"
"Yes. Alex. We stopped getting along and I just couldn't live with him anymore. I should say that it wasn't my fault."
"Okay," Lilly said. "So it's important to me that you realize that I'm not just letting you rent a room. We are equally sharing the apartment and everything that's in it. We share bills, food, grocery money, usage of kitchen, bathroom, living room, everything. What's mine is yours."
"Yes, of course I understand. This is exactly what I'm looking for as well. Getting along with your roommate is rule number one. I mean, if we don't get along, how could we live together?"
Lilly smiled again. "Exactly."
"Lilly, I can guarantee you that you would not find anyone else more suitable than Oliver," Jake jumped into the conversation. "He's a great person. We've been friends since college and you will be lucky to having picked him as your roommate. You will not regret it."
"It's true," Oliver said. "I'm very tidy, I'm not loud, I always pay my bills on time, I have a steady job, and I will always check with you if it's okay to invite friends over."
"Really?" Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow in amazement. Jake and Oliver both nodded. "Why living with a girl, though?"
Oliver sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. "Other guys are pigs. I'm looking for a change, someone who is a bit more like me."
"What do you do for a living?"
"I actually work for a fashion company. Something I'd never thought I'd be doing a few years ago, but it gets me by."
Lilly nodded in understanding. "As long as you get a paycheck in the end of each month."
"Exactly," Oliver said. "I only hope it will be enough to cover the rent."
Lilly let out a nervous laugh. "Oh, so sure I approved of you?"
Oliver smirked and it was his turn now to raise an eyebrow. "I don't know. You tell me."
Lilly's mouth opened slightly and it looked for a moment as if she couldn't think of anything else to say. "Well..." she faltered. After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally asked, "Don't you want to see the rest of the place first?"
"Of course," Oliver said. He and Jake got up and followed Lilly around. She first showed them the kitchen. It was well organized and equipped. A small dining table was pressed to the wall and had four chairs around it. Everything fit together. It made Oliver wonder how she could afford all of this in the first place.
"Do you own this place?" he asked.
Lilly sighed. "No. I wish. It's rented. And now that my old roommate moved out, it's either I find someone else, or go back living with the folks. I can't afford it all on my own."
Oliver knew what she meant. He was in a similar position as well. "What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a personal assistant of a known figure."
Oliver was surprised. Is that how Jake knew her? "Really? Who?"
"That's not very important right now," she said quickly.
"Yeah..." Jake added quietly. Oliver turned around to look at him at that, but Jake avoided his gaze. Oliver wondered why Jake was acting weird all of the sudden. There was obviously something he wasn't telling him.
"Let me show you the other rooms," Lilly said and led them over to the side hallway. It had three doors. A bedroom on each side and the middle door was to the bathroom. They entered it first. It was smaller than what Oliver had expected. It had a shower instead of a tub, but it didn't bother him. He wasn't a person to take baths anyway. On the right side of the hallway was what Lilly introduced as her room. The door to it was kept closed and Lilly preferred to skip on it, Oliver's guessed she wants to keep her privacy. Then she led them across the hallway. "This is your room."
"M-my room?" Oliver stuttered in surprise. "You-you mean...?"
Lilly smiled sweetly. "I'll go get the lease papers."
She left the two boys in front of the door to the vacant room. Oliver smiled brightly at Jake and he clapped his back happily. They walked into the empty room to take a look. Oliver didn't know what to expect, it was only a room. It wasn't large nor was it small, just the perfect size to fit a double bed with two bedside tables and even a desk if he needed. It already held a closet, big enough to contain all his clothes and still have a lot of room left afterwards. The window blinds were open and Oliver could see a view of the street blow.
Lilly returned with the papers. She stood in the doorway and watched Oliver and Jake examine the room. "So? What do you think? Ready to sign?"
"It's perfect. Exactly what I was looking for," Oliver said and turned around to face her. "Do I get my own parking space?"
Lilly nodded. "Lucky for you, you do. I don't have a car of my own, so you can have it. You just need to notify the landlord that you need to use it from now on."
"Great! Where do I sign?"
Jake suddenly cleared his throat loudly. Oliver turned around to him. "Oliver, aren't you forgetting something?"
Oliver gave him a puzzled look. When he didn't figure it out, Jake made a gesture of rubbing his thumb against his other fingers, as if holding money.
"Oh! Right!" Oliver remembered he didn't ask the most important question of all. He turned back to Lilly and cringed nervously. "You didn't tell me how much is the rent?" He feared the answer. This could be a perfect place to live in, but if he couldn't afford it, then it was a waste of time and he will have to go look for something else.
"It's 1200$ a month, bills and building management aren't included."
Oliver felt the disappointment hit him like a tidal wave. His shoulder slumped down. It was about 200$ more than what he paid for his last apartment, and honestly he should have seen it coming, a place so wonderful in a building like that.
"It's out of your budget," Lilly said, concluding it by his body language.
Oliver nodded. "I'm sorry. It was nice meeting you, though."
Lilly extended her hand and Oliver shook it again. "No problem. Good luck in your search. Let me walk you to the door."
Oliver and Jake left the room and walked with Lilly to the front door. "Sorry for wasting your time," Oliver apologized.
"You didn't," Lilly assured him with another sweet smile.
Jake and Oliver walked out and Jake waved her goodbye before she closed the door after them, taking with her the slight hope that Oliver held for a few minutes since he walked into 4-E.
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A/N: Want to know what happens next? Review this chapter and I will upload the next one soon :)
