CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Lost and Found and Lost

Jackson's Point of View

"How could we not have seen? This was Jake and Miley's campsite?" Dad asked over and over. We had found out when we heard some people fighting. Turns out, those people were Jake, Miley and that girl between our campsites, Bess. Dad didn't want to interrupt, for he said that it would be impolite. When their discussion ended, they went inside the cave. Miley didn't even notice us when she came up to Bess's campsite. Even Jake.

"I overheard their conversation. They're in the cave, if that helps," I offered.

Dad nodded and stood up to go into the cave. "It sure does."

I came after him. "Aren't you furious?"

"About what?"

"Miley fighting over Jake with someone else? Who knows what she's done?

"I'm pretty nervous," Dad responded. "But I'll deal with that later."

Pretty soon, probably minutes after entering the cave and walking and walking, we heard voices.

"Where the heck are we?" one asked. It sounded like Oliver.

"How should I know?" another replied. It sounded a lot like Miley. "You! You're the one who got us into this!"

"I'm sorry! You wanted to talk, and this was the only place necessary. The campsite was way too easy. I'll find a way, okay?" The voice was like Jake's. I could already imagine them nodding to him.

"That's them!" I said to Dad. "That's them!"

Dad payed no attention to me. Instead, he smiled. "Finally," I heard him whisper to himself. He tried to find where the voices are coming from, but he wasn't sure. There were two pathways. So he just shouted. "Miley! Is that you?"

"Oh my God, Miley! Is that your Dad?" I heard someone say. Most probably Lilly.

"Dad?" another one said. Now I was sure that that was Miley. "Yeah, it's me! We've been lost for minutes!"

"Where are you now, Bud?" Dad yelled.

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," Miley yelled back.

"Which pathway did you enter?" Dad asked.

"The right one, Mr. Stewart," someone, I think Jake, said. "Not the left."

Dad ran into the right pathway. I didn't see him go there, and I only heard the word "left." So I went for the left pathway. And boy was I wrong. So, so wrong.

Lilly's Point of View

Finally, we were going to have our reunion.

When Mr. Stewart's shadow came, Miley gasped. When it got a little clearer and closer, she shrieked. When Mr. Stewart came into full view, she burst into tears of joy and ran to hug him. "Oh, Daddy, I missed you so much!"

"Me, too, Bud. But we've got lots to talk about. What have you done while you're alone with Jake?" her dad asked.

"Maybe getting out of the cave would be better first. Then we'll talk in a campsite. But whose?" Miley answered.

"I think ours would be good," I offered.

Everyone nodded. We started making our way back. We were split into four: Bess and Sean, who are already in their own little world of post-breakup, Oliver and I, Miley and her dad and Jake alone.

Suddenly, I remembered Jackson. "Uh, Mr. Stewart?" I asked. "If you don't mind me asking, where's Jackson?"

"He's here..." Mr. Stewart said slowly, turning around. "Hey, where's he gone?"

"Yeah, where is that boy?" Miley asked.

"Oh, no," Jake and Oliver said together. "Not again!"

"What if he's gone into that other pathway?" I said.

"That's a good question," Miley commented. "But a better question would be, what's in that other pathway?"

We were already out of the right pathway when Miley asked that. That quickly? We got out of the pathway in a blink of an eye! I thought. I started wondering why we even got lost.

For a moment we were silent, looking at each other's faces. But Miley didn't look at Bess, even once. Then we nodded, as if we were thinking the same thing.

Then, a funny thing happened. We all pointed to the left pathway and shouted, "Let's go in there right now!" Then, we stopped and started laughing. We can be really crazy sometimes. Finally, we headed into the pathway.

"Jackson..." Miley said carefully, as not to wake up some monster in that pathway that she was probably just imagining. "Jackson... Where are you? Jackson, oh, Jackson..."

"Stop it!" I hissed. "It's kind of annoying, Miles."

"Yeah, Bud, let's keep walkin' and stop talkin'," Mr. Stewart shushed us and put a finger to his lips.

Walking around the pathway felt like hours. I was so sure that we were lost again.

These were the worst five days of my life. And the best, too. And the most exciting. These kinds of days don't just happen, you know?

I cleared my head and got back to the situation. I saw that Miley and the others were getting tired. But I was determined to find Jackson. Sure, he was sort of stupid, but he was nice and kind. And I mean this as his sister's best friend. I knew Miley missed him, so much. We had to find him.

I squeezed Oliver's hand. "I'm really worried, Oliver," I told him.

He squeezed my hand back and interlaced my fingers with his over and over. "Don't worry, Lil, we'll find him. We will." He sounded kind of unsure, but all I needed was someone to reassure me that everything will be fine. And Oliver did just that.

I gave him a quick peck. "I hope you're right."

I looked around and noticed the awkwardness between Miley and Jake. They weren't even looking at each other. And if you're wondering what's been happening to Bess and Sean, Bess has been crying away, while Sean's just keeping quiet, his face straight and serious. Finally, Mr. Stewart. He was also so determined to find his firstborn that he'd left Miley walking alone, with Jake right behind her.

I didn't even think that this much could happen while camping. Turns out, it can.

I walked over to Miley, nodding to Jake as a greeting. He nodded back. "Hey, Miles, you okay?" I asked her.

Miley burst into tears. "No, Lil, not really. Nothing much is fine between Jake and me, and Jackson is lost! I don't know if I could get my normal life back."

I nodded and heard Jake say, "I did not cancel tapings for this."

I frowned at him. "For what, Jake?"

"For..." Jake trailed off. "Oh, I don't know. Everything. Except one or two things."

"And what are those exceptions, if there are two?" I asked.

"Finally hearing Miley say that she returned my feelings and everything that's happened between us," Jake replied.

"What's happened between you two, anyway?" I asked him, beginning to get excited with the answer.

Jake told me everything. About their almost-kiss, about their real first kiss, about them dancing under the moonlight, Miley taking care of Jake and vice versa, Jake finding out that Miley was Hannah Montana (although he told me that one while whispering because Bess and Sean might hear) and everything else.

I gasped and squealed to Miley. "That happened to the both of you?" I asked her.

Miley nodded and she and Jake exchanged glances for one moment. Jake mouthed something I can't understand to her, and she nodded. I knew they've made up, because they kissed and hugged each other. I looked at Mr. Stewart, and good thing, because he wasn't looking. He was still busy looking for Jackson.

"Jake, I'm so sorry," Miley said.

Jake was about to say, "Oh, it's nothing," when we heard a loud grumble.

I took a deep breath.

Uh-oh.

(A/N: So sorry for not updating. Busy with school and all that. Anyway, enjoy! I also lost inspiration for quite a bit. Cupid's Bride, I know that Cody's busy and can't reply to messages sometimes, but thanks for the reminder. You mean well. Thanks for the reviews. bookwormandpoet, I'm talking about the front page of the site,