Author's Note: Landslide voting. Hee. Anyways, I'm not going to tell you who won, you'll have to read to find out!
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Usually the pink room was comforting, and warm. It reminded everyone who past of warm cinnamon buns, like frosting on top. Sweet and secure. Contemporary white sheets covered the double-sized bed, with a splash of innocent pink represented by a knitted blanket folded on the foot. During the day, this room was bright and cheery, a nice place to hang out; do homework or click-clack your fingers off by the matching Mac Notebook. But not tonight.
There was a storm brewing outside the pink room's window, in the suburbs of Malibu. The wind whipped across the land, rattling the low window of the room that usually hosted sunlight and warmth. The moon was not shaded, but rather, fully exposed. It flashed beams of silver light through the window and into the darkened room.
"Time is on my,"
"Side …" Lilly finished, also in a whisper. Miley was silent. She had passed away …
"AHH." Lilly screamed, sitting up in bed. She was weeping and looking around her, but saw nothing but moonlight streaming through a window in the room. "Miley! Miley where are you! MILEY!" Lilly was still weeping. She jumped out of the bed and looked around her, turning things over in the room, as if Miley could even fit in her own hamper.
"Lilly!" someone hissed. "Lilly be quiet! Lilly I'm right here, calm down!" Miley sat up and rested a warm hand on Lilly's shoulder. Lilly started sniffling. Miley was concerned about her friend, she was right there …so where did Lilly think she was?
"Miley? That's you?"
"Who else would be at my house, in the middle of the night, during a sleepover?" Miley whispered in her comforting, strong southern accent. Lilly started crying all over again. Miley tried hastily to calm her down, in fear of her brother or father waking up to Lilly's stop-and-go tear fest. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Yes, I'm here Lilly, me, Miley."
"Miley!" Lilly whisper-shouted, throwing her long, bare arms around her friend in a grateful hug. Miley was still. Slowly, she patted Lilly's back, not knowing what else to do. Why is Lilly hugging me in …(yawn) 2:34 in the morning, Miley thought somewhat bitterly.
"Miley …I'm sorry." Lilly removed herself from her friend. She was still sniffling a little. "I just had this horrible dream …and it seemed so real! I actually thought it happened until the very end …I guess I was so mortified that I woke myself …and you …up. I'm sorry." Lilly admitted sheepishly, stifling a quick yawn and blinking her blue eyes at Miley. Miley was rubbing her eyes, and brushing a few loose bangs from her face.
"Well," Miley yawned, checking the clock again. "You might aswell tell me what the dream was about, or at least what made it so horrible."
"Um …I'm not sure it's such a great idea," Lilly said quietly, wiping a stray tear away from her damp cheek. "You'd probably get upset or something. It's nothing. After all, it was just a dream …right?" Lilly said. She pinched Miley.
"Ow!" Miley snapped, rubbing her arm where Lilly pinched her. "You're supposed to pinch yourself you little nerdbomber. And, on top of that, I can handle it. So what was it, Hannah's secret gets out? You kiss Oliver?" Miley paused to think. "I kissed Oliver?! Man, I would be upset on second thought!"
"No!" Lilly interrupted. She sighed. "Much worse. My dream was this. Well …it was rainy, but you and I decide to walk home. To play in the rain. And …you know how Who Said is my all-time favorite Hannah song?"
"Yeah." Miley said. She forced herself not to start singing it right in the middle of Lilly's story.
Lilly forced a half smile. "Well, you were singing it. And I was listening to you, while we walk home in the rain. It was so peaceful, like the rain was your drumbeat. But then," Lilly paused to take a shaky breath. "This is where the bad part comes in. A blue sports car is rushing towards you. And …he hits you." Lilly finished dramatically.
"What?" Miley was confused. In Lilly's dream …she is hit?
"It's not the worst part." Lilly sighed. "After the hit, my mind seemed to just flash to the hospital waiting room. Everyone's there, your dad, Aunt Dolly, Jackson, Oliver, Jake, even Amber and Ashley. Your dad and Aunt Dolly are silently crying to each other. Oliver is on the ground with his head in his hands. He was wet …his mom wasn't home so he had to run to the hospital. Jake is crying. Hard. Even Amber and Ashley are sniffling. And I'm just sitting there, rocking back and forth in a chair hoping you'd be okay."
"What happened?" Miley squeaked, trying to imagine this actually happening.
"Well, a nurse comes out. And she announces that your dad decided to take you off life support." Lilly started to cry a little again. "And I'm going crazy. I jumped out of my seat and started shouting at the nurse to put you back on. And I wanted to see you. At first, she said you were in a critical state and I was "emotionally unstable"," Lilly used air quotes to emphasize her point. "But I screamed out loud that "You were Hannah Montana, god damn it!". Everyone was fazed, well, of course not Oliver, your dad, Jackson or Aunt Dolly. No one could believe that Hannah Montana was in ICU, and about to get taken off life support. But finally, the nurse let me in."
Miley cracked a half smile. If this were to really happen, she would've been glad that somehow, someway, her best friend would find a way to say goodbye.
"You looked somewhat normal in my dream." Lilly continued. "No tubes sticking from you. No bandages around your head. I mean, the all-white theme of the room even blinded me a little. Truthfully, the only color in the room was your wet brown hair. Anyways, your skin was pale and your eyes were closed. The nurse had left the room, so I walked over to you and confessed I was sorry for everything I've ever gotten mad over. And I said you had to hang on."
Miley was silent, anticipating the rest of the story.
"I was about to leave, when you answered me. It was quiet, but your Tennessee accent sounded familiar and kind of comforting. You said "I'm trying." And I believed you. You told me you forgave whatever I did to you, and asked for my forgiveness too. I agreed. You smiled, but admitted that you were going to die. You had trouble breathing steadily, you were weak and that was that. I could feel you getting weaker. After about a minute, in a soft but Hannah-like voice you sang "Who said, who said, I can't be worldwide?". I jumped in. "I say, I say, time is on my side." ."
Miley wanted to cry. What if this ever happened? Could she really muster up enough energy to sing one last time? Would her dad really ever take her off life support? Would anyone care that Hannah was in the hospital?
Would she live?
"But then," Lilly went on in a crackly voice. "You whisper-sang one last thing. You sang, "I say, I say, Time is on my …" But I finish for you. "Side…". Then you were quiet. And I could feel your last bit of energy drain out of you. You died peacefully, and you used you last bit of will power to sing my favorite song, one last time. And that's why I was crying." Lilly sniffled.
Miley was still. The story was sweet but in a melancholy way. She dreaded if this would ever happen, but at least now she knew what it would be like in the eyes of another. Just as painful as …well, getting hit by a sportscar on a rainy day. Although this story was depressing enough, at least she knew that if she were to die tomorrow, Lilly, Oliver, her relatives and even Jake, Amber and Ashley would care enough to …run in the rain, cry openly and care about Miley. Not Hannah Montana. Miley Stewart.
"Lilly," Miley said thickly, "It was just a dream. I'm fine, you're fine. No one got hit by a car. Okay?" Miley smiled faintly. Lilly nodded and smiled a little. Three in the morning. Time for some shut-eye.
"Good." Lilly tucked herself under the covers. She yawned and closed her eyes. "No one's in the hospital. Life if perfectly normal."
Miley was half asleep when suddenly …
Ring, ring …ring, ring …
"Oh my GOD!" Miley hissed, yanking the covers off her. "Who's calling my cell phone at 3 in the morning?" She whined crankily. Lilly listened intently to Miley's conversation.
"Hello? …It's 3 in the morning! …WHAT?! Is he okay? …Well call 9-1-1! Lilly and I will be right there." Miley was crying softly. She turned and looked at Lilly sadly.
"It was some guy. He …he hit Oliver."
Lilly's world spun and spun out of control, until it came crashing down around her.
There's no holding back
Stayin' right on track
Cause you control the game
So let them know your name
No limitations on imagination
Imagine it…
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Author's Note: You didn't think I was going to drop the tragic theme of this story just like that now did you? A nice twist on a classic "She's dreaming!" story. Now. I will not write an extension to this particular chapter. However. I am considering writing an extension to the first chapter, to make a Lolliver alternate ending too. Otherwise, yes, Oliver was hit. Whether he died or not …well it's up to your imagination. No limitations on imagination. As unrealistic as it seems, it probably can happen. Review please. Tell me if you liked this extension, if you hated it, if you want the Lolliver or your version of this ending. Thanks!
-Kat xoxo