I think there are about three chapters left after this one. And so the confusion continues. Not much to say before this one… Oh, again, I have to reiterate that I'm not taking this story very seriously. It's just me blowing off steam and having fun. I haven't edited this one too heavily, so there are probably mistakes galore, but that's okay. I'll probably come back and clean it up later.
Um, this chapter might cause the rating to bump up to teen. And darn, I was trying to keep this clean. It seems my fingers ran away from me… I'm a bad child.
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Luanne waited a few hours after Lilly left before she found Jackson and suggested he go out again. Jackson was wary this time. It was weird, he thought, that she would be nice enough to let him enjoy himself during her stay. He wasn't used to Miley acting like that so he didn't expect it from Luanne.
"You're not… doing something bad? Are you?" He questioned; he was having a hard time with this decision. Luanne could be up to something or she could be trying to make amends. She hadn't done anything to Jackson in the past so he didn't have much against her save for the second-hand indignation he felt from Miley's anger.
"No, Jackson, 'course not." Luanne flipped her hand at him and pretended to yawn widely. "I'll probably just get to bed early."
"If you're sure…" Jackson grabbed his keys, "You're a good cousin, y'know that, right?"
She smiled innocently at him, "Have fun."
And he was gone once again, leaving Luanne to her plotting and scheming. Half an hour passed quickly and quietly as Luanne found herself deep in contemplation. She had definitely hooked Lilly but now it was a matter of reeling in her catch. Too quickly and she risked snapping the line. Too slowly and Lilly might find a way off the hook.
Luanne bit her lip thoughtfully. She needed to talk to Lilly, though, before things went any further. She hoped that enough time had passed after Lilly's escape. Lilly must have had enough time to process and come to some sort of conclusion. Smirking widely, Luanne picked up the phone and tried to reach the Truscott residence.
"Hi, you've reached the Truscott's. We can't come to the phone right but please leave your name, number, and a message after the tone and we'll get back to you as soon as possible." The answering machine droned at her.
Frustrated, Luanne threw the phone across the room. She hadn't wanted to leave the house but it seemed like this would require drastic actions. Not bothering to lock the door behind her, Luanne snuck through the front yard and down the street. Glancing at mailboxes, she went from house to house until she found the metal box labeled "Truscott".
She knocked on the door and adopted a friendly smile. Lilly's mother answered the door moments later.
"Oh hi, Miley. Looking for Lilly?"
Luanne nodded, "Yeah. I wasn't at school today and I was hoping to get the homework from her."
"I thought she dropped it off earlier…" Mrs. Truscott shook her head, "She's up in her room. You know the way up."
Luanne stepped inside and walked towards the staircase. Mrs. Truscott returned to her previous activity, leaving Luanne to figure out where, exactly, Lilly's room was. Gnawing on her lower lip, Luanne went up the stairs and glanced in every door she came to.
Bathroom. Office. Linen closet.
"What are you doing?" Lilly demanded. She was at the end of the hall with a frown settled on her face.
"Um… searching for a hand towel… Oh look… I found one!" Luanne held up a small towel.
"Why are you here?"
Luanne put the towel down and shut the closet door, "I think we need to talk."
As Luanne proceeded down the hall, Lilly took steps backwards. Her arm went out in front of her as if she thought it was a magical barrier that Luanne couldn't cross.
"Miley… don't come near me." Lilly whispered.
"Lilly, please. You're hurting my feelings." Luanne lied.
Lilly's features softened, "Just don't touch me, okay? This is a lot to take in."
Luanne finally got into Lilly's room and shut the door, "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I let my feelings get ahead of me."
"Your feelings?"
"Lilly… I love you." Luanne stated, gazing deeply into Lilly's eyes, "I always have and I always will."
Lilly blushed furiously, "You can't be serious."
"I am!" Luanne proclaimed, "And I just couldn't hide it from you anymore. You haunt my thoughts! I dream about you, about your soft skin, your brilliant smile, your shining eyes, your glossy hair, your… smile…" Luanne ran out of steam.
Lilly was scarlet. "Are you serious?"
"Lilly Truscott, if we were older and it was legal, I'd want to marry you."
"Wow…" Lilly mouthed quietly. She fell back onto her bed and licked her lips unconsciously. "Just wow…"
Luanne stood near the door, "Should I go?"
"Yes." Lilly looked extremely confused, "I'll… I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"
Luanne nodded, "Of course."
And with that, Luanne left Lilly to her thoughts and hurried back to the Stewart house. Jackson was still gone and Luanne was still plotting. If all went the way she planned, Lilly would be in her arms by the next day after school. Still glowing with victory, Luanne shuffled to the fridge and pulled out the jar of jelly.
Grimacing slightly, she pried the lid free and sniffed the contents. It wasn't fresh, like she was used to, but it would do. She took two slices of bread and made herself a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich – sans peanut butter. Jelly dripped down her chin and she wiped it away, mind still running a mile a minute.
"Tomorrow," she vowed loudly, "Lilly Truscott will fall in love."
A light flickered on next door and a small dog yapped loudly.
"Will you Stewarts keep your evil down? Some of us are sleeping!" Mr. Dontzig yelled.
She sniffed – some people just didn't appreciate true genius.
---
The next day was much like the first – Luanne woke to an empty house. She got ready for the day at her own leisurely pace and ate a quick meal for lunch. It was completely boring, but she had to prep herself mentally for the task of Lilly-taming. If only she knew yoga, she commented mentally. That was supposed to help get your mind in order, wasn't it?
She did still need to get Jackson out of the way for the day. Pulling the phonebook free from its spot in a cabinet, Luanne searched the T's for Thugs. She quickly found what she needed.
At around three o'clock Jackson hurried inside, looking harried. He stared at her blankly a moment before running out onto the porch.
"If a big muscular guy comes through, you've never met me! I was never here!" He howled as he nearly flew down the beach.
Luanne shrugged and grinned. Who knew that Big Vinny was such a terrifying figure? Minutes passed in relative quiet and Luanne bided her time. Lilly would be by, she knew it. And knew it she did – Lilly knocked on the glass of the front door.
"Come in, Lilly." Luanne called from her seat on the couch.
Lilly padded over, helmet clutched tightly under arm. "I did some thinking?"
"Yeah?" Luanne tried to be patient.
"Yeah." Lilly seemed a little uncomfortable. She took a seat next to Luanne and stared Luanne dead on in the eyes. "I want you."
Now was not the time to crow, Luanne reprimanded herself, holding in a massive cheer. Before she lost control, Luanne found herself startled back into reality as Lilly pushed her down on the couch and straddled her waist.
Fighting to maintain control of her sudden fear, Luanne returned the kiss that Lilly pressed against her lips. It was all for the sake of her plan. It had to be done. She pushed away any lingering disgust she felt and let her tongue slide into Lilly's open mouth.
Lilly moaned quietly and let her hands drop down to Luanne's sides. They slid up Luanne's shirt, rubbing along Luanne's ribs and stomach possessively. Luanne gripped the sofa tightly and forced her eyes to close. She was extremely uncomfortable but that didn't matter.
"Miley…" Lilly groaned; Luanne had pulled away from their kiss and had leaned up to nibble on Lilly's collarbone.
Loosening her grasp on the couch, Luanne got her hands under control and sent them onto Lilly's back and down the rear of Lilly's jeans. Lilly gasped and jerked forward, not quite ready for what Luanne was offering. Quickly retreating, Luanne let her hands wander up Lilly's back to fiddle with Lilly's hair.
"Sorry." Luanne apologized breathlessly.
"'sokay." Lilly planted a few kisses on Luanne's neck and worked her way back up to Luanne's lips. Only slightly disappointed, Luanne tensed, hoping Lilly understood her body language. Lilly did – the blonde drew back. "What's wrong?"
"It's just… I don't know when Jackson's getting home." Luanne replied.
Lilly fell off Luanne and hit the ground, "I didn't even think about that!"
Luanne chuckled, "We'll do this again?"
Lilly flushed slightly and fixed her shirt self-consciously, "Yeah…"
"Good."
Panting mildly, Lilly seemed to regain her senses, "Why weren't you at school?"
"Daddy wants me to rest up. Hannah's got some hard work comin' up." Luanne explained. It was a stretch, but she didn't know what else to say.
"Okay." Lilly accepted it without question. After all, why would Miley lie to her?
"I'm actually going to go take a nap. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Lilly nodded, smiling faintly, "I love you…"
Luanne grinned. "I love you, too."
---
Miley had never been so glad to be home. It had been three long days and she was dying to lay eyes on Lilly. She wanted to give the blonde a tight hug and never let go. Only three days without seeing her Lilly and it was enough to make her want to never leave Lilly's side again.
Luanne had bid them good bye innocently enough. Jackson reported no wrong-doing on the cousin's part, but Miley couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened, even under Jackson's 'watchful' eye. She was just glad to be Miley again, and not Hannah Montana. Not willing to wait for school to see Lilly, she called up her friend.
"Hi, Miles." Lilly greeted her cheerfully.
"Hey, Lils. I was wondering if you'd want to come over for a few minutes, catch me up on the school I missed."
"Sure! I'll be over in like two minutes, okay?"
"Sounds good."
"Love you!" Lilly hung up, leaving a very confused Miley on the line.
"If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and call again." The monotonous voice of the telephone chided Miley. Miley turned the phone off and narrowed her eyes.
What had changed? Why was Lilly suddenly saying she loved Miley? Miley rubbed her arm, trying to sort through all of this. She didn't have long to think, though – Lilly was in her bedroom shortly. The biggest shocker of all was when Lilly plowed into her and kissed her soundly.
When it ended, Miley stared at Lilly with wide eyes. What happened here? "Lilly..."
Lilly blushed. "Hi, Miley."
"Hi, Lilly." Miley responded vaguely. "Did I miss something?"
Lilly paled considerably, "What… but… these past few days…"
"Luanne!" Miley hissed; Lilly didn't hear, thankfully. That must have been Luanne's plan, she figured. Well, Miley wanted to scoff, it was a wasted effort. "It's okay, Lils. It's just that your kiss knocked my socks off. Made it a little hard to think."
Smiling shyly, Lilly tilted her head, "So, what did you really want to talk about? I mean, I've already caught you up about school."
"Nothing." Miley reached out and drew Lilly close to her, "I just wanted to see you."
Lilly noticed something different about Miley but didn't say anything. The most recent kiss was a lot softer, tenderer, than the past few days. And Miley was being a lot more romantic.
"Aw," Lilly responded, "Now you're just being sappy."
Miley shrugged, "I guess I am. But it's hard not to be when I've got such a beautiful girlfriend."
Lilly blushed – Miley had never mentioned dating before that moment. It again raised her suspicious nature, but she wrote it off as paranoia. There was nothing wrong with Miley softening up. It was nicer, in fact. Lilly appreciated that Miley was acting more like Miley again.