CHAPTER TWELVE

Three's a Crowd

Robby Ray's Point of View

"Come on, Son, try to catch up," I called though the pile of items in my arms. Since Jackson and I have no more to eat in our old campground, we decided to move. The boy still says sorry for eating our food supply like that whenever he can.

"I'm tryin', Dad, but my backpack and duffel bag, they're too heavy," he replied. He fell down, and can't get up. "Oof!"

I looked around. Seems like this would be a good camping place. I set my things down and helped Jackson up. "You okay, Son?"

"Yeah, Dad," Jackson replied. "Thanks."

"Does this look like a good camping spot to you?" I asked him.

"Oh, perfect," Jackson said distractedly. Apparently, he'd been checking out a red-headed girl nearby.

Jake's Point of View

I can't understand Miley. Not at all. This morning, she's been avoiding me every time I try to have a conversation with her. And everytime Bess comes along, she turns into a hermit. It's like there's some small cat fight between her and Bess.

By the time noon came, I couldn't take it anymore. "Miley," I said.

"Not now, Jake, I'm busy," Miley reasoned.

"Busy doing what?" I asked, holding her by the arm. "You're in the middle of the woods, lost. What could you be busy doing?"

She stared at my eyes for a moment. Then she sighed and looked away. She shrugged for me to take my hand off of her arm. "Nothing. I just... Oh, I don't know," she muttered.

"Look, Miley," I told her. "Why have you been avoiding me? I'm the only one you can trust here."

She tried to change the subject. "Isn't it weird that we can't find Dad, Jackson, Lilly and Oliver? I mean, this is a small forest..."

"Come on, Miles. Answer my question, please," I pleaded.

"Alright, fine." Miley crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked down at the ground. "So I've been avoiding you. But it's all because of that red-headed Lindsay Lohan wannabe that you've been wasting your attention on. You don't even notice me or talk to me when she's around."

"Bess?" I asked. Her own campsite was in the middle of our campsite and another campsite. Come to think of it, I haven't noticed that campsite before.

"Who else could it be?" Miley said sarcastically. She looked away again. "Yeah, she's the reason."

"Why?" I asked again. "And I do notice you. I always have, and I always will."

Miley sighed out of frustration. "I don't know, okay? I'm just as confused as you are."

"Are you jealous?" I told her.

"Stop saying that I'm jealous, because I'm positively, surely, not jealous!" Miley burst out. I lowered my eyebrows and looked directly at her. She gave up. "Okay, so maybe I am jealous. I mean, with what's been happening to us in the last four days, it would really make me fall for you, you know that. You're smart, sweet and really cute. But you don't like me that way."

"I like you, and that's more than you know," I told her.

"Really?" she asked.

I gave her a short kiss. "Yeah. I promise, cross my heart."

"You wouldn't let Bess ruin everything?" Miley said.

"Of course," I replied. I raised one eyebrow. "So, you think I'm cute, huh? And smart, and sweet?"

She stuck her tongue out and nodded. "Not down-to-earth and humble, though. I'm sure of that."

"Hey!" I said. "I'm not that stuck-up, you know."

"Yeah, I know that," Miley replied. "It sure is nice to release pressure. Yesterday, I was really confused. Especially when you said that I was jealous. That got me thinking. What if I was jealous, like you said? Then you give me that awesome kiss. Now I was totally confused that time."

I laughed. "'Awesome kiss'?" I echoed.

A blush crept up to Miley's cheeks. "Well..."

I pulled her in for another kiss. I was kind of getting used to Miley's lips. They were soft. Just the type you'd want to kiss all day long.

She pulled away. "Hey, Jake Ryan, just because I said I liked you, it doesn't mean that you can kiss me any time you want. It also doesn't mean that we're together now. But we'll see how it goes..." She smiled a sly smile and kissed my cheek.

"Oh, so you guys are together!"

Miley's smile turned to a scowl. I whistled and looked around awkwardly. "Oh, hey, Bess," I said.

"We're not exactly together yet..." Miley began.

"Not exactly together? But you kissed, again!" Bess practically yelled in Miley's face. I knew this pissed her off.

"So? Jake was...rehearsing! For a new episode with Hannah Montana!" Miley said.

"Nice try." Bess crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised both eyebrows.

"Look, missy," Miley said, her accent full-on. "It's none of your business, okay? Now could you just, like, I don't know, disappear?"

"What, are you from Texas, or something?" Bess asked.

"Tennessee," Miley replied. "But I guess you wouldn't know that, would you, because you're from some other planet!"

I sat down on a log, watching the two girls exchange sarcastic comments and insults. Bess was about to shoot a comment about Miley's hair when I stood up. "Girls!"

They took their eyes off each other and looked at me. "What?" they said in unison and shot each other glares.

"What is going on with you two?" I asked.

"Why don't you ask this girl? She's the one competing with me for your attention, although we both know I caught it before she even came into the picture!" Miley told me. Bess's jaw dropped and she narrowed her eyes, scoffing. "Whatever. I'm out," Miley said. She went into her tent and came out with a pile of clothes and a towel. She went straight to the public bathrooms without a word.

"I don't get it with that girl. Does she have PMS?" Bess asked me.

I frowned at her and sighed. I just shook my head to say, "No."

I went inside my own tent and got the things I needed. Then I noticed Lilly's skateboard. Miley must have forgotten about it by now. I patted it lightly and went outside. Bess what still in our campsite when I went outside. "What are you still doing here?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I just, I stayed around," she replied. Bess really was beautiful, I admit. But I'm just not attracted to her like I am with Miley. She walked up closer to me. "Jake, Jake, Jake," she said, reaching out to touch my face. I raised my eyebrows at her. She winked in return. I definitely did not see what was coming. "You are just so hot," she told me. Then she leaned over and kissed me.

Huh. No sparks. I knew she wasn't the one for me. She was a good kisser, but still, I didn't feel anything. I pushed her away. "You bitch!" I yelled in her face. "I don't like you, okay? And I never will!"

But Bess was like a rock. She still continued kissing me. I tried to pull away, but her grip was too tight. It was actually too tight, that I couldn't breathe anymore. "Bess, stop it," I tried to say between kisses.

I heard Miley come back. She gasped and her things fell to the ground. "Jake, you jerk!" she called. She pushed Bess away from me and slapped me in the face. "I can't believe you! You're a player, you know that?"

"Ouch!" I touched my face. "It wasn't my fault! She kept kissing me, and I couldn't fight back!"

"Liar!" Miley said. She then turned to Bess and slapped her hard. "You!" she told Bess. "I knew you were a bitch from back then!"

Bess burst in tears and ran to her campsite.

"Miley..." I said.

"No, Jake. I've had enough. I thought we were okay. I thought we'd end up going out when all of this is finished. And you promised!" Miley screamed, her words full of emotion.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say.

(A/N: I know this is kind of like chapter eleven, but it's a little different, isn't it? Enjoy this chapter anyways. Thanks for the greetings again! NYlovebaby, your singing skills rock! They're absolutely awesome... softballchick03, I don't think I've read a previous greeting from you. But thanks all the more! Actually, I just turned twelve. A twelve-year-old writing a twelfth chapter! How ironic, LOL. :p)