A/N: Hey guys! Wow! I got a lot of reviews! I'm so happy! You guys are so awesome - seriously! So I'm sorry that I didn't update sooner - I had finished the chapter, but my internet was acting up and I couldn't post anything. My bad. Well, here it is! And remember, make sure you pay attention to the different relationships going on - they will be important later!
An awkward silence hung in the air as forks and knives scraped across the ceramic plates. No one said anything, other than "wonderful meal" or "pass the salt", mostly because no one knew what to say. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan didn't know where to start, since this was the first time Jake brought one of his girlfriends home. Jake was too busy, nervously looking between his parents, to strike up a conversation. Miley sat quietly, nervous about what Jake's family thought of her and feeling a bit out of place in the sea of blondes. Carley only watched on, wondering why her family was acting like a bunch of nit-wits. She decided to break the silence with a burning question.
"Are you two getting married?"
All eyes turned to the eleven year old and gaped at her. Miley and Jake turned pink, while Mrs. Ryan scolded her daughter.
"Carley! You don't go around asking people that! And no, they're not getting married."
The table resumed eating and the silence returned. Carley was annoyed that the table's occupants continued to act awkwardly around each other and couldn't gather the courage to start conversations. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jake taking a sip of water and she grinned evilly, the wheels in her head turning. She smirked a little at her plan, before casually asking another question.
"Are you going to have a baby?"
Jake spit out his water and began coughing violently, completely caught off guard. Miley turned bright scarlet, then proceeded to help Jake get the water out of his lungs. Mrs. Ryan dropped her fork in surprise and stared incredulously at her daughter, who only smiled back innocently. Mr. Ryan just sat there and studied Miley before propping his elbows on the table, folding his hands, and resting his head on top of his fingers.
"Yes, are you going to have a baby?" Mrs. Ryan whipped her head to face her husband, her eyes wide in shock.
"Richard!" he glanced at her briefly before looking back at Miley.
"It's only a question. Are you planning on going that far with my son?"
Miley squirmed a bit under his intense gaze, her cheeks tinted. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Jake stepped in and glared nastily at his father.
"Dad, that is none of your business! This is not a court room and I will not have you interrogating my girlfriend as if she was some common criminal!" Jake's eyes burned with anger and he glared at his father, before turning to Miley with a soft look on his face. "You don't have to answer that, Miley. It's none of their business and I'm sorry they're being really rude to you," he glanced angrily at his father and sister.
Mr. Ryan was surprised at his outburst; Jake had never talked to him like that before. He was even more surprised, however, by Miley's answer.
"Jake, it's ok. I'd be more than happy to answer the question," she turned and looked at Mr. Ryan dead in the eye and spoke from her heart. "Mr. Ryan, I'm fifteen, and although many girls lose their virginity around this time, I think it's too young an age to make that kind of commitment. Broken hearts tend to be it's result and I'm not ready for that. As much as I'd like to say I'm waiting for marriage, realistically, I know that won't happen. Instead, I'm waiting until I feel that I am emotionally and physically ready to, should anything happen, raise a child. I know that won't be for a while, but I'm happy to wait."
The whole table sat in awe of Miley's response and the silence was deafening. Not even Carley could disturb this one. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan stared at Miley, clearly impressed with the girl's answer. Jake looked at her with pride, adding 'values' on to his list of attractive qualities she had. Carley smiled at Miley, happy that her brother didn't bring home a complete airhead and finally found someone incredibly cool.
Wait, what the heck was she doing dating her brother for, then? Oh yeah, his fame.
Carley's smile turned into a scowl, but no one around her noticed. Mr. Ryan smiled at Miley, showing her how much he liked her.
"That was a very mature answer, Miley, and I'm glad Jake found a girl with wonderful values. I'm terribly sorry about my rudeness – I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't force Jake to stay with you by making him the father of your child. I've heard crazier things happen. I truly am sorry," Miley smiled at him.
"I understand, sir. People do crazy things for money," they all chuckled lightly and began telling stories of crazy things people had done.
Mrs. Ryan soon brought Miley into a conversation about her family and the dinner table had a great time listening to the funny antics of Miley's family. The ice was finally broken, and dinner was a success. Carley only looked on, scowling at how easily her family fell for Miley's act – and Miley finally noticed.
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While Jake was helping his parents clean up in the kitchen, he insisted that Miley wait for him in the living room, saying that it was rude to make a guest clean up. After a bit of arguing, she gave up and went into the living room to take a seat, but was surprised to find someone already waiting for her. She cautiously made her way to the couch, a bit intimidated by the hard look she was receiving. She sat down and looked everywhere but at the room's other occupant, trying her best to avoid the harsh glare. After a while, Miley couldn't take it any more. She turned to face them, a confused look on her face.
"I'm sorry, but did I do something wrong? Did I offend you somehow?" Carley raised an eyebrow, impressed that this girl had the guts to confront her.
"Oh, no. I'm just on to you, that's all," Now Miley was really confused, and it clearly showed.
"On to me? I really don't know what you're talking-" she was cut off by a sarcastic laugh, to which she slightly narrowed her eyes.
"Please, don't play dumb with me. I may be eleven, but I'm much smarter than I look. I know how you all work – make my brother fall for you, get him to buy you everything your shallow little heart desires, and milk him for his fame, just so you can become famous by association. Listen, doll face," at this, Miley raised an eyebrow, not believing how much attitude could come from an eleven year old, "the game is up. Just pack up your stuff and leave Jake alone. He looks like he really likes you, so if you're just going to use him, don't bother coming back here – I'll only make your life a living hell. My brother may be a complete idiot, but even he doesn't deserve to get his heart stomped on."
Miley was surprised that such a big speech came from such a tiny girl. She could see that Carley really did care for Jake deep down, just like she cared for Jackson. She thought about what Carley said and cracked a grin, trying to keep in the laughter that was threatening to spill out. Carley was confused and a bit annoyed when Miley broke out into laughter, thinking that she was making fun of what she said.
"What's so funny?" Miley tried to keep her laughter under control.
"You think I want Jake for his fame and money?" she struggled out and burst into laughter again. Carley narrowed her eyes.
"Of course you are – why else would you be dating that loser?" Miley laughed so hard that tears leaked from her eyes. She finally found someone else who didn't fall all over Jake Ryan.
"That makes two people who don't swoon over 'Super Hottie Jake Ryan!'" she imitated Amber and Ashley, which caused Carley to laugh along with her. After their giggles subsided, Carley asked who the other person was.
"Me." At Carley's skeptical look, Miley laughed. "It's true! I used to hate your brother – I thought he was an obnoxious snob who used all of his celebrity powers for evil."
Carley laughed again and nodded in agreement.
"Yup, definitely sounds like my brother," they shared a few giggles before she looked Miley in the eye. "How do I know you're not using my brother? For all I know, you could be sucking him clean for revenge or something."
Miley sighed and debated telling Carley about her secret. The more she looked at the spit-fire girl, though, the more she knew that her secret would be safe. She hadn't planned on telling anyone else after Jake, but she felt she could make one small exception. She checked around her to make sure no one was listening and leaned in toward Carley, whispering.
"What I'm about to tell you is top secret – you can't tell a single soul, understand?" Carley, who looked genuinely interested, nodded her head vigorously. "Ok, the thing is…" she glanced around again before taking a deep breath, "I'm Hannah Montana." Miley was surprised when Carley burst into laughter.
"How gullible do you think I am? You? Hannah Montana? Please, I wasn't born yesterday," she laughed continuously until she saw how serious Miley's face was.
"You're serious? Fine," she crossed her arms, a skeptical look on her face, "Prove it."
Miley rolled her eyes and sang the chorus of one of her songs. When she was finished, Carley was looking at her with wide eyes and an open mouth, shocked to the core. She sputtered as she tried to think of what to say.
"You're Hannah Montana!" Miley tried to get her to keep quiet and glanced around to see if Jake's parents heard, while Carley bounced around in excitement. "Sorry, it's just that I've never been this close to a celebrity before!" Miley looked at her like she was crazy.
"Your brother's a celebrity." Carley only brushed it off.
"Yeah, but he doesn't count. So, you have to tell me what it's like being a rockstar! Do you have your own dressing room? How about rhodies? Can I have your autograph?" Carley looked at her with dreamy eyes and Miley couldn't help but be reminded of Lily.
She laughed and told Carley all about her life; answering every question thrown at her and even giving her the autograph she asked for. They spent the rest of the time exchanging embarrassing stories about Jake, laughing and giggling as if they were sisters.
After a while, Jake finally finished cleaning up and joined their conversation. The two siblings soon began arguing over the correct recollection of their trip to the Grand Canyon, which turned into an insult-fest, leaving Miley to referee the battle of wits. Carley won, of course, for she was a brilliant girl for her age. Jake rolled his eyes at his sister before turning to Miley.
"Hey, I almost forgot. I want to show you something."
He pulled Miley up from the couch and took her by the hand, leading her out of the room. They heard Carley make a retching sound and laughed as they went through the door. Jake led her to a pair of French doors and told her to go outside, saying he'd be there in a minute. She watched him leave and looked back at the doors, debating on whether she should wait or not. She decided to go out, and gripped the elegant handle, giving it a light tug. The door creaked open and she stepped outside, trying to make out the objects in the dark. Suddenly, a series of lights flicked on and she gasped in surprise.
She was in front of a beautiful garden, full of all sorts of flowers. It looked as if it went on for miles and miles, and she wondered if she was in some sort of dream. She noticed a gazebo a bit father down, doused in twinkling lights and covered in vines. She heard the door close behind her and felt a hand slip into hers, squeezing her fingers lightly. She turned to him, a large smile on her face.
"Wow, Jake, this is amazing! It looks like we're in a magazine!" Jake smiled at her.
"I thought you might like it. My mom really likes flowers, so when we first moved here, I used my acting money to build her a huge garden instead of a pool. If we had more time, I'd show you around, but it's a school night and I don't want your dad to hate me," Miley chuckled, knowing he was right about her father, and looked back at the garden.
"It really is beautiful, Jake," he watched her as she looked out over the garden.
"It's even more beautiful now that you're in it," she turned back at him with glossy eyes, trying hard not to cry.
He brushed some strands of hair away from her face and cupped it gently, running his thumbs over her smooth cheeks. He saw her eyes flutter close, enjoying the tingling sensation his touch gave her. He brought his lips down to hers and kissed her softly, relishing in her sweet taste. She brought her hand up to this neck and kissed him back just as softly, feeling like she was floating on air. They were oblivious to the world that surrounded them, only acknowledging the sweet scent of the flowers and the soft glow of the twinkling lights.
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan watched the young couple from the kitchen window, smiling at the obvious love that radiated from them. They were so happy for their son, proud that he picked a wonderful girl with a good head on her shoulders. They had watched her interaction with their daughter and were glad that they got along well. They could see how serious Jake was about her – more so than any other girl he had dated (from what they heard, anyway). Mrs. Ryan rested her head on her husband's shoulder as he gently rubbed her arm.
"I hope she doesn't break his heart," Mr. Ryan looked down at his wife before kissing her forehead lovingly.
"I don't think she will – it's him I'm worried about."
Mrs. Ryan didn't say anything, only looked out at the kissing couple. She truly hoped that Miley didn't break Jake's heart – he would be devastated if she did. But deep down, Mrs. Ryan knew she wouldn't; she was too sweet of a girl to do so. She only hoped that her son wouldn't be foolish and break Miley's.
The young couple broke apart, and Jake rested his forehead against Miley's. Their eyes were closed and their breathing was deep, trying to calm the beating of their racing hearts. This was how it was supposed to be – wrapped in each other's arms, listening to each other's breaths, and feeling each other's hearts. The only sounds heard were the chirping of the crickets and the rustling of the breeze.
A clap of thunder was heard overhead, signaling the approaching storm. With her eyes still closed, Miley released a breathy whisper.
"I have to go; my dad's probably worried about me."
Jake nodded and reluctantly let her go, leading her inside just as the first raindrops began to fall. Mr. Ryan offered to take her home, which she gladly accepted, and she said goodbye to the family.
She thanked Mrs. Ryan for the wonderful meal and for helping clear things up with her father. Mrs. Ryan only hugged her in response, telling her that she was welcome to come back any time. Next, Miley moved onto Carley and winked at her, giggling when Carley pretended to zip her mouth shut about her secret. Miley promised to come back soon and tell her all of the embarrassing things Jake did at school, to which Jake scoffed and pouted. Miley laughed and gave him a chaste kiss, promising to see him at school the next day. He smiled at her and nodded, kissing her a bit more powerfully, before letting go when Carley coughed to get their attention. Miley blushed, waved goodbye, and made her way into Mr. Ryan's car. They pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street.
Jake stared after them dreamily, thinking of Miley during each rumble of thunder. His mother wished her children goodnight and warned them not to stay up too late before going to bed. Jake ignored her, still staring outside. Carley rolled her eyes at his pathetic behavior and called out as she made her way upstairs to go to sleep.
"You've got it so bad, it's disgusting."
Jake didn't tear his gaze away from the window, only watching the raindrops. He smiled lightly when a large clap of thunder echoed in the sky.
"Yeah, I really do."
He sighed wistfully and watched the rain a bit longer before shutting off the lights and making his way to bed, dreaming of Miley's smiling face.