A/N: I'm so sorry for the lack of update! I've been super busy, and I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter - major writer's block! EEP! But yeah, I pulled through and finally finished it, and I've already got the rest of the story planned out, so it shouldn't take me as long to write another chapter.

Holy crap! I got so many reviews for the last chapter and it made me soooo happy! Wow, didn't know that many people liked it so much - I actually thought it was one of my lamer chapters lol. Funny how that works, huh? And I know a lot of you were disappointed about Miley telling Carley her secret so quickly, but trust me, it's important that she does. Everything in this story happens for a reason - even the crazy things! And btw, make sure you pay attention to all of the individual relationships going on in this story other than just Jake and Miley (aka Miley/Carley, Jake/Mom, Miley/Dad, Miley/Lily, etc). They're really important and a lot of the conversations that they have are really significant for the story's plot. Ok, I'm done ranting now - have fun reading!

Miley bounded down the stairs, excited for her girl's day with Lily. She hadn't been spending much time with her recently and she felt bad that Lily was taking a backseat to Jake. Lily said she didn't mind, but Miley wanted to make it up to her by spending the day getting manicures and shopping, knowing that Lily wouldn't refuse such an offer.

Then again, who would?

Miley jumped down the last step, startling her father, who was whipping up a big breakfast in the kitchen. The smell of bacon and toast filled the air and she breathed in the heavenly scent. She looked over at Jackson who was stuffing his face with multiple food groups. She looked at him in disgust when he shoved three eggs and a slice of cantaloupe down his throat – at the same time. Shuddering, she turned to her dad, putting on her best angelic face.

"Daddy, can I have some money, please? I'm going to spend the day at the mall with Lily," Mr. Stewart shared a look with Jackson and nodded, reaching for his wallet.

"Sure, Darlin'. Spend as much as you want. Stay out as late as you want. In fact, feel free to spend the night at Lily's."

Miley looked at her father suspiciously. He never forked out money this easily – he was a serious penny-pincher and constantly reminded his children about it. The day he gave her an unlimited spending amount would be the day Uncle Earl looked remotely attractive – in other words, it was never going to happen. Something was definitely up, and she was about to find out what.

"Ok, what's going on? Those words never leave your mouth. Something serious is wrong here," her face took on a look of panic. "Oh god, did somebody die?" Mr. Stewart chuckled slightly.

"No, Bud, nobody died."

Jackson muttered a small 'Yet', causing Mr. Stewart to glare at the boy. Miley continued watching them suspiciously, but decided to not question her father's sudden generosity. She was a teenage girl, after all, and any money is good money.

"Ok…well, I'm off. Lily's mom is going to be here any seco-" her phone beeped, signaling that she had a text message from Lily, saying that she was outside. "Actually, she's here right now. See ya!"

She bolted out the door before either male could say anything, a resounding slam echoing behind her. Mr. Stewart quickly walked to the window, checking to see if Miley had truly left, and grinned when he saw the empty driveway. He turned back to Jackson, an evil smirk on his face, and nodded. An identical smirk appeared on Jackson's face and he picked up the phone, dialing a number on a card in his hand. He waited patiently for the person to pick up. A groggy voice finally answered.

"Hello?" Jackson smirk grew wider when he realized he wouldn't have to leave a message.

"Hey, it's Jackson – Miley's brother. Yeah, Miley's in the shower right now, but she wanted me to call you and ask you to come over to hang out. Something 'bout a surprise or whatever." The voice on the other line perked up.

"Another surprise? Wow, she spoils me so much. Alright, I'll be over soon."

Jackson hung up and grinned at his father, who grinned back. They finished breakfast, cleaned up the dishes, and got dressed; readying themselves for their guest's arrival.

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The girls gossiped as the manicurists massaged their hands, treating their nails with the utmost care. Miley told Lily all about her Wednesday afternoon with the Ryans, not skipping over any details. Lily burst out laughing when Miley told her about the mother-son conversation Jake had, earning stares from the rest of the salon.

"Oh man, this is way better than TV! I'm going to mock him for the rest of his life now."

Miley continued, sighing dreamily when she reached the part about the Ryans' garden. Lily awed at the appropriate times, wishing she would meet someone as romantic as Jake, or anyone romantic at all. Miley noticed the sad look on her face and stopped, feeling bad that she was ranting to Lily about her relationship when she was supposed to be spending quality girl time with her. Quality girl time, of course, meant no boys, but by telling Lily about Jake's cuteness, Miley felt like she was breaking that rule. So she decided to turn the tables and talk about what was going on with Lily.

"So, what have you been doing lately? Anything I should know about?" Lily racked her brain, trying to think of something she did.

"Um…I hung out with Oliver…and then I hung out with Oliver…and then I hung out with Oliver some more…" Miley sighed, knowing that this was going to go on for some time.

"Ok, I get that you've been hanging with Oliver," she suddenly grinned. "You know, you've been spending a lot of time with him recently. Is there something going on between you two?" Lily gave her a blank stare, blinking a few times.

"Well, we do have a bet going on – you want to know what it's about?" she got excited, nearly jumping out of her seat before the manicurist gave her a nasty glare, causing her to sit back down. Miley looked at her like she was crazy.

"Lily, that's not what I meant. What I mean is, is there something going on romantically between you two?" Lily stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Me? And Oliver? Together?" there was a long pause before she shrieked, "Gross! Miley, what's wrong with you?! I think I'm going to be sick…" the manicurist's eyes widened and she withdrew her hands, afraid of being in the splash zone. Lily glared at her. "It's a matter of speech." Miley rolled her eyes and chuckled silently.

"I think you mean 'figure of speech', Lily." Lily just brushed it off.

"Details, details. Now, I can't believe that you thought Oliver and I were dating," she lifted her hands up, much to the annoyance of her manicurist, and began waving them around. "The idea of it is just…wrong," she shuddered for effect.

Miley laughed at her friend and dropped the subject, moving on to more important topics – like celebrity rating. It was a tradition of theirs to rate all of the male celebrities on a scale of one to ten based on appearances, habits, acting/singing careers, and rumors. It was always fun and Lily's favorite pastime, and effectively took her mind off of potential romantic relationships with her best friend.

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The doorbell rang at the Stewart residence, echoing loudly in the near-empty house. Mr. Stewart calmly folded his newspaper and walked to the door, ready to put his plan into action. He opened the door and saw Jake standing there patiently with a small smile on his face. He grinned at the boy, glad that phase one was successfully completed, and motioned him inside.

"Hey, Jake. What brings you by the house?" Jake looked at him, a bit confused.

"Jackson told me that Miley wanted me to come over…" Mr. Stewart shook his head.

"Sorry, Miley's not here right now, but please, take a seat." Jake was getting a bit nervous now – something wasn't right about this.

"Thank you, Sir, but I think I'll just head home…" he turned to leave, but Jackson stepped out from behind the door and closed it, trapping him in the house. Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"I believe the man asked you to sit down. If I were you, I'd do what he says."

Jake looked between the two men, a bit more than scared. His thoughts were filled with the Stewarts dismembering his body limb by limb, causing him to panic even more.

'Oh, this is so not good.'

Jake slowly sat down on the couch, nervously looking up at the towering Stewart men, afraid of what was going to come. The two looked at each other and nodded before Mr. Stewart spoke up.

"So, Jake, you've been dating my daughter for about a month now, am I right?" Jake's response was so quick, it surprised even him.

"Actually, it's been three weeks and three days, Sir." The Stewarts looked at him strangely, before shaking it off and moving on to their next question.

"And each of these times, you've been…alone…with my daughter?" Jake knew where he was going with this, so he answered him reassuringly.

"Miley and I have not, and will not, be going that far with our relationship. She has made her stand on that issue and I completely respect her for it – even agree with her on some points. Also, the reason why we've tried to keep our dates private is because of my fame – we both want to keep a low-key relationship that will stay out of the press so we can spend more time together. She deals enough with them as Hannah Montana; she doesn't need it as Miley." Mr. Stewart was impressed, while Jackson sputtered.

"How…how did you know she was Hannah?" Mr. Stewart's face fell when he realized his son was right – now there was another person who knew their little secret, and this one could potentially spill it if he and Miley were ever to break up. Jake noticed their panicked faces.

"Miley told me, and don't worry, I'm not going to tell her secret. Actually, it was a pretty smart idea; I wish I thought of something like that when I started my career."

Mr. Stewart blinked, wondering whether this boy was too good to be true. It seemed like Jake was a little too perfect for his liking – there seemed to be nothing wrong with him. Racking his brain for other questions to ask, he was grateful that Jackson took over the interrogation.

"So, zombie-slayer, what are your intentions with my little sister? Hmm? Answer me boy!" Jake looked taken aback at Jackson's outburst, but tried to remain cool.

"I would if you'd let me" Jackson scowled, but let him continue. "Listen, I only want to be with Miley. She brings out the best in me, and I've never met someone like her in my entire life. I really like her a lot and I think we could have something great. I hope you'll be ok with us dating…" Jake trailed off, looking between Jackson and Mr. Stewart nervously. Jackson shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds good to me," he took a seat next to Jake and began gushing, "So how do you get all those girls to fall over you? 'Cause I'm having some trouble in that area." Jake looked at him strangely and Mr. Stewart slapped his forehead in frustration.

"Jackson! Focus!" Jackson sprung up from the couch and took his place next to his father, a stern look on his face.

"Ahem, right," he suddenly got in Jake's face. "If you harm my sister, I'll make sure you aren't physically able to slay anything again, got it?" Jake nodded meekly, afraid of how bi-polar Jackson could be.

"I'll never let anything happen to her. I promise."

Mr. Stewart looked on silently, thinking about whether to give this boy his approval. Sure, he let Jake and Miley go out a few times, but he wanted to make sure his daughter would be safe. He still thought of Miley as his little Bud, the one who would never grow up. Well, now his Bud was blooming and turning into a beautiful flower, and he couldn't help but feel like an old weed who was trying to block her from entering the sunlight.

He knew Jake was a good kid – the gardener who would take care of his little flower, doing everything he could to let her survive. He could tell that Jake cared for her deeply, and he saw the way Miley looked at him. He'd never seen her so happy since her mother died, and to see her happy made him happy too.

The house occupants never noticed the shaggy-haired boy staring through the window, his brown eyes wide in panic. He quietly sneaked away, making sure not to notify the Stewarts of his presence, before quickly opening up his phone and sending one very urgent text message.

Mr. Stewart decided to give the boy a chance. He liked the kid and knew Miley liked him too, so why not let them be together? There was only one last question he had to ask, and it was the one that would determine how much he'd like Jake.

"What's your favorite sport?" Jake grinned, glad that the interrogation was over.

"NASCAR. I love speed," at the Stewarts' raised eyebrows, he hastily added, "with cars, not girls." Mr. Stewart smiled.

'Ding ding ding, we have a winner! I officially love this boy!'

His smile slowly turned into a smirk and he shared a knowing look with Jackson. He, too, smirked, and together, they looked back at Jake.

"You ever play 'Speedway 360'?"

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After their manicures and a bit of shopping, the girls decided to take a break and snag some lunch. Sitting in the food court, they talked more about celebrity gossip and Hannah's upcoming summer tour. Of course, they made sure to talk about it as if Miley wasn't Hannah Montana, in case anyone over-heard their conversation.

"Yeah, so Hannah's supposed to be hitting something like 25 states this summer. It's completely ridiculous!" Lily gave her a look of pity.

"That's harsh. How's she supposed to live without her best friend, Lola, for a whole summer?!" Miley stopped mid-fry and stared at Lily.

"Lola's not coming?! But I thought her parents were ok with it!" Lily shook her head sadly.

"There's no way she can go past California. Besides, she's vacationing with her family to Vermont," she spit out the name nastily, "to see how maple syrup is made. Honestly, the whole process is like watching tree-sap!" Miley stared at Lily for a bit.

"Lily, maple syrup is tree-sap." Lily looked at her shocked, but it soon turned into disgust.

"And we put that on our pancakes! That's nasty! If I'd known that's what maple syrup was, I'd never put it on anything." Miley was confused.

"Wait, what'd you think maple syrup was?"

"I don't know…some chemical concoction or another. If I'd known it was natural, I'd never have touched the stuff!"

Miley rolled her eyes at her and continued eating. There was a comfortable silence at the table, but it was disturbed by the small 'beep' from Miley's phone. She flipped it open to see a text from Oliver.

'RED ALERT! jake + dad + jcksn + empty house BAD! get here soon!'

Miley's eyes widened in panic. Her boyfriend was in a house, alone with her dad and brother – god knows the horrible things that were happening to him right at this minute! She began gathering her things, checking to make sure she had everything. Lily looked at her weirdly.

"What are you doing?" Miley didn't even glance at her.

"We're leaving – now." Lily started spluttering.

"What? Why? What about the rest of our day?" Miley only handed her the phone, watching as she read over the text message. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Miley, Jake is a big boy. He slays zombies for a living – I think he can handle this." Miley looked at her skeptically.

"He's never slayed the King of Overprotective Hillbilly Fathers and his trusty sidekick, the protective Sir Dork-A-Lot – no boyfriend can." Lily stared at her blankly for a few seconds before gathering all of her belongings.

"Lets go."

They quickly made their way out of the mall and into Mrs. Truscott's car. They never noticed the girl sitting behind them in the food court, gaping over what she just heard.

"Jake Ryan's dating Miley Stewart? Oh my god! I have to tell Jess!"

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Oliver was pacing nervously at the bottom of Miley's driveway, waiting for her to save Jake from his death-bed. He'd save Jake himself, but he did not want to face the wrath of one angry Robby-Ray Stewart. In the world of dating and overprotective fathers, it was every man for himself.

He nearly jumped for joy when he saw Lily's car pull up and the two girls hop out. They quickly ran to him and he explained everything he saw, causing Miley to worry even more. She steeled herself, an angry expression on her face, and stalked toward her house, Oliver and Lily trailing behind her. Miley burst through the door, ready to scream at her family, but she stopped dead in her tracks, causing her two friends to bump into her.

They were playing video games.

Miley whipped around to face Oliver, growling menacingly.

"Red Alert, huh?" Oliver paled, scared out of his mind.

"I…I…I've got to go!" he bolted out the door, running down the driveway at full speed. Lily sighed and chased after him, waving good-bye to Miley and screaming at Oliver for ruining her girl's day.

"Oken, you better keep running, 'cause I'm going to mess you up so bad, your grandkids are going to feel it!" Miley chuckled lightly, before turning back to the oblivious boys on the couch.

The boys were in the middle of a very intense race, their eyes glued to the screen and their fingers eagerly smashing every button on their controller. Mr. Stewart was currently in the lead, but was closely being followed by Jake, who was being smashed into the guardrail by Jackson. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake thought he saw a very pretty brunette with a very angry look on her face, and couldn't help but be reminded of Miley. His eyes widened when he remembered who's house he was in, and he turned to her, a surprised look on his face.

"Miley!"

The Stewart men whipped their heads around, a horror-stricken look on their faces, and dropped the controllers. Miley was known to have quite the temper, and when she found out what they had planned behind her back, they knew they'd feel her full wrath. Mr. Stewart smiled weakly, trying to keep her from snapping.

"Hi, sweetheart. You're home early…" Miley saw through her father's attempts, which made her angrier.

"What is going on here?" Jake knew that Miley was an explosion waiting to happen, and he did not want to be here when she finally did.

"I should go," he turned to Mr. Stewart and nodded, "Sir," he did the same to Jackson. "Jackson," he walked over to Miley and gently kissed her cheek. "I'll call you later." She continued to glare at her family, and he took that as his cue to leave. As soon as the door closed, Miley blew up.

"I can't believe you! How could you go behind my back and interrogate my boyfriend like that!" At their shocked faces, she rolled her eyes. "Oliver told me everything – he saw you through the window. I thought you trusted me!" Guilt gnawed at Mr. Stewart; when she put it that way, what they did seemed pretty low.

"I'm sorry, Bud. It was wrong of us to go behind your back like that, but we wanted to make sure that this boy was good enough for you, and we couldn't do that if you were here. Boys act differently when girls are around – surely you know that." A look of understanding crossed Miley's face.

"So that's what this morning was about. I knew there was something going on, but I didn't think it'd be this." She looked pointedly at her father, who looked down in shame, and Jackson, who scoffed.

"Well, I wanted to tie you up and lock you in the Hannah closet, but Dad said no. At least that way, you would have known what we were doing." Miley narrowed her eyes and snarled.

"What?" Jackson realized what he said and backed away slowly, trying to placate his sister.

"Now, Miley, you have to understand," Miley started advancing on him, like a tiger would it's prey. "We did this because we love you! It's not like we purposefully devised an intricate plan to scare the kid away so we could keep you in the house until you're so old that no one would want to date you anymore."

Mr. Stewart mentally slapped himself at the boy's stupidity; he was this close to getting away unscathed, and he had to go muck it up. Miley's eyes narrowed in anger and she let out a thundering roar, causing Jackson to jump in fear. He took off running, with Miley close behind, and let out a loud yell as he sped up the stairs. Mr. Stewart watched on, shaking his head sadly.

'Lord, what did I do to deserve this? I've got a kid with a temper hotter than the sun, and another with brains the size of a walnut. Why me, Lord, why?'

A fierce scream and the sound of shattering glass brought him out of his thoughts. He sighed again, ready to break up the fight, but decided that he was too tired to deal with them and sat down on the couch, restarting 'Speedway 360'.