Hello again! I updated quickly because I won't be able to update over the weekend, maybe I'll have time on Sunday but I doubt it. I'd like to thank the guest dca for answering my question. I don't really know why it mattered if a solar powered stove existed or not, but I was overcome with curiosity. Thank you for your kind reviews. This chapter is shorter than the last but it has more information. It is a happier kind of chapter though, more joking around and such. Enjoy!
A/N: I do not own Hannah Montana. But I do own their hill and that alone makes me feel pretty good about myself. ;) Read, Review, Repeat.
It's ironic, at times like this you pray but a bomb blew the mosque up yesterday/ There's bombs in the buses, bikes, roads, inside your market, your shops, your clothes/ My dad he's got a lot of fear I know but enough pride inside not to let that show/ My brother had a book he would hold with pride, a little red cover with a broken spine/ On the back he hand-wrote a quote inside, when the rich wage war it's the poor who die/ Meanwhile, the leader just talks away, stuttering and mumbling for nightly news to replay, and the rest of the world watching at the end of the day, both scared and angry like "what did he say?"
-Lincoln Park
"The war with Korea has gotten delicate because of the President's decision to—" I turned off the TV in disgust and I laid my head back on our couch. We had just gotten to our vacation home a day ago and we were still unpacking our things. Lilly came downstairs and sat next to me on the couch.
"I forgot that there were only two rooms." She said while shrugging. It was not the biggest house ever, but there was a barn full of animals that made up for the lack of space.
"I guess I'll sleep here." She said, spreading out her arms and presenting to me my very own couch. I chuckled. My cheeks slightly reddened while I asked her my question.
"We could always share my bed." I said softly. She wiggled her eyebrows at me with a slight grin. I was caught laughing when Sarah descended from the staircase. Sarah must have seen my red face and Lilly's comedic gesture. She smiled and continued down the stairs, plopping down right in between me and Lilly on the couch.
This girl's got nerve. I thought to myself as I watched her start a conversation with Lilly. Sarah always knew that there was some sort of connection between me and Lilly, even before we knew it ourselves. I started blushing furiously when I heard what they had been talking about.
"So how would you rate Miley on a hotness scale?" Sarah asked nonchalantly, she always got away with things like that. Lilly furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but smiled shyly at the random and inappropriate question.
"On a scale of?"
"1 to 10." Lilly shrugged and looked at my face thoughtfully.
"Probably a—"At that very moment the phone rang and I grew angry at the caller because I had really wanted to know her answer. I checked the caller ID, it was my father. I picked it up hastily because I told him that I would call as soon as I finished unpacking.
"Miley, oh thank God you're safe. We're on our way." I was confused for a moment, Lilly and Sarah both looking at me expectantly.
"Why are you coming?" He grew silent for a moment before answering.
"Didn't you hear?" I shook my head and told him that I hadn't heard a thing.
He stayed silent on the other side of the line, probably too nervous to tell me what had happened. My eyes widened as a possibility of Korea destroying the world flashed through my mind. I quickly picked up the remote and turned on the television. Images of a bomb exploding were on the screen, but not just any bomb, a nuclear bomb. A bomb strong enough to damage Earth entirely, leaving tremendous amounts of radiation in its tracks.
"I, um, where are you guys?" I asked shakily, letting out a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding.
"We're just getting out of California. Are all of you safe?" He asked quickly.
"We're fine, but don't worry about us. Get here quick dad." My eyes started to water when I realized that this may or may not be our last conversation. The odds have never really been in my favor however.
"I love you bud." He said sadly, almost as if he knew that they wouldn't make it.
"Love you too daddy." He handed Jackson the phone.
"Hi Jerkson." He laughed half-heartedly before talking in a more serious tone.
"You know I only bother you because I care." The tears had started to stream down my face at that moment.
"I know." I said, laughing sadly.
"I love you Miles." I closed my eyes.
"Love you too." I hung up the phone and I turned toward Sarah that had called her parents that were also on their way. I searched the room for Lilly, but she had gone outside. I went outside and I walked my way around the house, crying silently as I overheard Lilly's conversation. She was laying back against the back of the house, knees bent upward, head between her legs.
"Hey mom." She listened to her mother speak.
"I know. I love you too." She hesitated before asking the next question.
"Is Oliver with you?" She closed her eyes and raised her head so that it was propped up against the house.
"Ok. Love you." She hung up the phone and started to call Oliver. She violently hung up the phone after trying to call him a couple times. I walked over to Lilly and sat right next to her. Sarah came out after finishing her conversation with her parents and she sat down next to me. Three friends now sitting side-by-side wondering if they were ever going to see their friends and family again; if they were going to survive.
Lilly was the first person to move away from the comfortable yet saddening silence. She adjusted her jacket and started to walk away.
"I'm going for a walk." She said hoarsely. I was quickly by her side, pulling her back by her wrist.
"It's not safe down there." I said pointlessly. When it comes to nuclear bombs, is there really any safe place to be?
"It's not safe up here either, but here we are." She said harshly, yanking her wrist away from my grasp.
"No it's not, but do you really want to die alone down there?" She stopped in her tracks, finally realizing what I was talking about.
"Let's go inside then." She said gently. I went to get Sarah that was silently crying.
…
We were all sitting together in the tub of the bathroom looking out the window, watching the trees die slowly in the town.
"This is it." Sarah said quietly.
"I guess so." Lilly agreed solemnly. She turned toward Sarah and engulfed her in a hug.
"I'm going to miss you, even though I didn't really like you in the beginning of high school." Sarah laughed and Lilly shrugged.
"That's beside the point." Lilly chuckled and Sarah turned towards me, tears now visible in her eyes.
"You've been one of my closest friends." She said gratefully. We hugged silently, trying to make the most of this moment.
Finally I turned to Lilly who was waiting for me expectantly. We looked at each other for a couple seconds before hugging, not needing to say anything. She brushed her lips across my ear gently.
"I love you Miley."
"I love you too." I didn't hesitate to answer her. She pulled back from the long embrace and she kissed my cheek, my eyes closing at the softness of her lips on my skin. After she pulled away I lowered my head to relish in my own embarrassment. Sarah smiled at the interaction and said nothing more, waiting for the Earth to consume us.
…
We had woken up the next day to find everything around our hill dead. The animals were alive and well. We found a safe supply of water and food. But our family members were never heard from again. We had tried calling, but there was no signal. After months of trying we had finally given up. We don't understand why we are still here or why our hill seemed to have been unaffected by the war, but we were thankful.
Lilly never got to say goodbye to Oliver, and I know that it has affected her greatly. She loved Oliver, as did I, but it was different with them. They weren't in love, but there was this weird guy-like vibe between them. They were like family, and family is forever.
…
"What the hell are you doing?" Asked Lilly as she was coming downstairs, eyebrows furrowed; eyes narrow. Sarah laughed from the kitchen, where she seems to always be sending her time lately. I guess she cooks when she's stressed. Good for us, not so good for her.
"I'm going to get a tan." I said proudly with my hands on my hips. I was standing in a bikini in the middle of our living room. Lilly scoffed and shook her head.
"Why?" Even though she was joking, you can still hear the resentment in her voice. I shrugged and strutted towards her, grabbing her arms and twirling around them.
"Maybe I want to look good for someone." Lilly turned her head to look at Sarah who scoffed.
"Sure as hell isn't me." Lilly grinned and grabbed me by my hips with her sturdy hands.
"You look fine just the way you are." I smiled and walked toward the door.
"Maybe I just want to feel good about myself." I said teasingly and Lilly pouted.
"And here I was thinking that you wanted to impress me." I rolled my eyes, smile still plastered on my face.
"I am hurt." Lilly said dramatically, putting the back of her hand against her forehead. I heard Sarah grumbling in the kitchen about me leaving, so that I did.
…
I was laying on my towel on the ground, bathing in the sun's rays when I noticed something strange in the horizon. I line of smoke rising in the air, as if a fire was burning. There was a fire once about a couple miles away from town; the smoke had clung in the air for days. This kind of smoke was different though, because it was controlled. It did not spread out in the air, it was definitely frightening. If it was a controlled fire, which meant that someone had started it, someone who is very much alive. I hurried inside and called Lily over so that she can confirm my discovery. She was quickly by my side when she heard the urgency in voice. I told her about the smoke and I pointed in its general direction.
"Where is it?" Lilly asked warily. I pointed again, but this time I was pointing at nothing. I was confused. I had just seen smoke a few moments ago, where had it gone?
"But I, I swear I saw smoke." Lilly looked at me skeptically.
"Maybe you're just seeing things." Lilly shrugged as if she hadn't said anything remotely offensive. I scoffed angrily.
"I know what I saw." Lilly just nodded, but I didn't believe it.
"I'm not crazy, I swear it was there." I crossed my arms in front of me.
"Ok, I believe you." Lilly was always a horrendous liar.
"Lilly I'm serious I—"
"I've seen things that weren't there too Miley. I get it." She said harshly. Her eyes were becoming hooded again and I didn't want to lose her. I do remember what she had seen, and seeing someone you love is way worse than some imaginary smoke signal. I suddenly felt stupid and I cursed myself for getting so hopeful for something as stupid as that.
"I'm sorry; I guess I just got carried away." She shrugged.
"Let's go inside, it's getting dark." I said softly, grabbing her hand to lead her inside. She followed me all the way into my bedroom. We passed by Sarah's room and she had looked up from her book and she had smirked at me. She's been smirking a lot lately, I don't find anything smirk-worthy, but hey that's just Sarah.
…
I woke up to find a strong arm protectively wrapped around my waist. I slowly got up without wanting to wake the blonde. She deserved the sleep, she had been doing a lot more things lately and I don't think that sleeping on the couch downstairs had been very comfortable.
I went downstairs to find Sarah sitting on the table, her feet on a chair. She looked so normal, as if it was okay to be sitting on a table like that.
"Why?" I asked bluntly as I walked down the last stair and onto the ground below.
"I found a rat near the couch." She said calmly. I froze in place, turning my head towards her with wide eyes.
"A what now?" I squeaked as I slowly turned around to go back upstairs, away from any rodent. I couldn't continue up the stairs however because Lilly was coming down the stairs at that moment. She glanced at Sarah sitting comfortably atop our table and then she looked at me standing in my weird position. I was frozen in place turned halfway towards Sarah and halfway toward Lilly, looking completely horrified.
"What happened now?" Sarah sighed.
"There's a rat by the couch." Lilly's mouth formed the shape of an 'o' and she walked around me and toward the couch. She picked up the rat by the tail and let it run outside on its own. I let out a sigh of relief as Sarah got off our table.
"What would I do without you?" I asked kindly with a hint of sarcasm. Lilly smiled.
"Nothing."
At that moment I realized that she was probably right. Where would I be without Lilly?
Probably in the Heavens, with the rest of my family.
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