CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Going Home

Oliver's Point of View

Jake came back to our campsite, looking directly at Bess's mom and Bess herself. He brought Lilly and Miley along with him. Lilly was holding her skateboard. The one I'd given her that got lost.

"Dude," I greeted. "What's up?" I turned to Lilly. "Where'd you find that?" I pointed to the board.

"You'll never believe it if I told you," Lilly replied.

"Wait, I have to tell you guys something, it's really important," Jake piped up.

We all turned to him.

"What is it?" Miley inquired, concerned.

"Bess. She's... She's my ex-girlfriend," Jake said.

Lilly's jaw dropped. I imagined Bess and Jake together. Miley looked like she was ready to faint.

"How? Why? When?" Miley said weakly.

"No way!" Lilly yelled. Everyone in the campsite looked at her. She let out a low apology. "Sorry."

"I can't even find a thing you have in common," I told Jake.

"We met at the set of a movie I've made in New Jersey. We dated for a while. But we broke up. Specifically, I kind of dumped her. I think that thing she did, forcing me into a kiss in front of you, I think that's revenge," Jake told Miley. He looked at Bess every five seconds.

"Whatever, everything's over now, anyway," Lilly said.

"I overheard her mom telling her that she's grounded. For half a year," I added.

"Tell her that's not enough," Miley said shortly.

"It should be half a century," Jake continued.

"More like half a millennium," Lilly quipped.

Miley scoffed. "Why not make it a whole?"

"Okay, this is getting out of hand. Let's not waste time talking about that Bess Calloway. So, have you gotten ready for heading home to Malibu?" I asked Jake and Miley.

"Yeah," they said in unison.

"I'll go get ready now," Lilly said

"I'll go help you," Miley told her. They went off.

I stopped Jake. "Is it true?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Lilly's Point of View

When Miley and I were done with my stuff and we came out, Jake was talking to Sean, Bess and Bess's family. I looked over at Miley. She looked worried.

Jake turned around and saw us. "Miley! Could you come here for a sec?"

Miley walked up to them. "Hello, Mrs. Calloway, Mr. Calloway," she greeted, smiling at Bess's family. "Oh, and Bess's older brothers." She turned to Jake. "So, why did you ask me to come here?" I followed close.

Jake swallowed. "Bess wants to say sorry."

"Really?" Miley asked. "Because I'm looking for a sincere apology."

Bess nodded. "I'm really, really sorry, Miley."

"It's pretty much okay now. I mean, I can't blame you, Jake did dump you..." Miley said. Then, she clapped a hand over her lips. "So sorry!"

Bess laughed. "It's fine."

"So, you guys are going home now?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Bess's mom said. Her brothers, which turned out to be such hotties, nodded.

Everyone said good-bye and I hugged Sean. Oliver wasn't too happy, but he knew that this was just a friendly hug. And then, they left.

To make up for it, I kissed him, long and deep. I kept one eye open, though, for Mr. Stewart might see us. I quickly pulled away when he came into view.

"Wow," was all Oliver could say.

I raised my eyebrow. "What? That wasn't our first kiss."

"Yeah, but it's the one that finally made me realize that I'm with you, that you're my girlfriend," Oliver replied.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." I rolled my eyes, but then I gave myself away because a smile forced itself on my face, replacing my skater-chick scowl.

"Hey, you guys, Dad says get ready because we're going home in fifteen minutes!" Jackson shouted.

Jake, Miley, Oliver and I looked at each other, and started having a group hug and giving each other high fives. It was like we had won the game.

And, well, we did.

Jake's Point of View

Miley and I smiled at each other every second or so while putting down our tents. I flashed her a grin and she looks down, grinning too. It was like we were sending telepathic messages to each other.

"Damn, my cheeks hurt, because I've been grinning from ear to ear," I finally said.

She laughed, music to my ears. Whoa. I've got to say, that was deep. "Really? Can I ask why?"

"Because I'm with the most beautiful girl in the world," I replied, a little exaggerated.

Miley threw her tent case at me. "Quit it!" She was blushing.

"Okay, this is getting a little cheesy and corny," I told her. We were already done. "Let's go back up."

We walked to Lilly and Oliver's campground. Miley's dad and Jackson weren't there yet.

"Oh, hey," Lilly said. "Done getting ready?"

"Almost," Miley said. She held up a purple chalk (who knew she'd brought one of those?) and motioned for us to come follow her. She ran towards the cave.

Lilly stopped. "Whoa, no. I'm not going back inside that freakish cave!"

"Yeah, we might get lost again," Oliver agreed.

"The safest way is to walk six feet in. We can do that," I suggested.

"Good thinking, Jake," Miley said. She came running into the cave. Holding a flashlight, she began writing on the wall:

Miley Stewart was here; 11/17/06

And then she handed the chalk to Lilly. "Come on, Lil, it's just a remembrance."

Lilly took the chalk and nodded. "Okay, here goes." She then signed:

Lilly Truscott - 11 - 17 - 06 :)

Oliver grabbed the chalk from her and wrote:

Smokin' Oken left a piece of the Olley Trolley here on November 17, 2006

I then took the chalk and had written:

Jake Ryan normalized himself on the seventeenth of November, two thousand and six

"Normalized?" Miley asked.

Oliver and Lilly laughed shortly.

"Well..." I began, then I just shrugged.

"Kids!" Mr. Stewart said. "Come on, now! We're makin' our way out of the woods!"

Miley clapped her hands together, and we ran out of the cave.

Miley's Point of View

All our stuff were in Lilly and Oliver's campsite, because it felt most comfortable of all. We picked them up and began our walk. It was really dark now, and I was worried.

Oliver stepped on a twig. "Whoa," he said.

Lilly and I shrieked.

Jake breathed, "Geez, calm down, it was a twig."

"I'm...I'm scared," Lilly muttered.

We continued walking. I crossed my fingers, hoping not to get lost again. We've had too many of those the past days.

Finally, we reached a familiar sign, saying, 'Welcome to the Lost Woods, a great place for camping!'

"How ironic," Lilly said sarcastically.

"We're here!" Jackson yelled.

We made a way for the car. Jake, Lilly, Oliver and I jumped in the backseat after putting our bags in the trunk. Dad started the engine, and we started the way home.

In the backseat, Jake began lacing my fingers through his, giving me little kisses. "Jake!" I whispered.

"What?" He brushed his lips against my ear. I shivered.

"What if my dad sees you?" I said.

"Don't worry," Jake replied as we parked in a gas station. The ride wasn't long, just half an hour. But we were low on gas.

"Dad, could you turn the radio on?" I asked.

Dad didn't respond, but he did turn the radio on. It was a song I haven't heard for days. The last time I'd listened to it was actually the day before we went camping. I said the words, so that mean I wasn't singing along. "If we were a movie. You'd be the right guy. And I'd be the best friend. That you'd fall in love with. In the end, we'd be laughing. Watching the sunset. Fade to black. Show the names. Play that happy song."

It was then that I realized that everyone was singing along. Even Jackson and Dad.

I just smiled, rested my head on Jake's shoulder, and began to sleep.

Robby Ray's Point of View

I turned to look at my daughter, leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder. It was actually fine for me if she was Jake Ryan's girlfriend, but she'd better take care of herself.

"Dad, I can't believe how Miley's grown up," Jackson told me.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, Son, me neither."

Miley opened one eye, and it widened. I winked at her and Jake. They smiled as a response.

"I'll never forget this week," I overheard Jake tell her.

"Me, too," Miley replied. "It brought me to you."

I turned to Lilly and Oliver. They had already fallen asleep, with Lilly using Oliver's chest as a pillow. I believe their relationship will last really long.

Soon, I was the only one awake. Then, minutes later, we were already home.

Jackson's Point of View

"Wake up, everybody!"

Dad's voice was ringing in my ears as I rubbed my eyes sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Ten. Now get out of the car, take your stuff and into the house," Dad said.

We all did what he told us. Then we went inside, plopping down on the couches.

"Am I tired," Oliver said.

"From what?" Lilly asked him. "Sleeping?"

Everybody laughed a bit.

"No," Oliver replied snappily. "From your head using my chest as a pillow."

Lilly was totally taken aback by this one. "Well, forgive me!"

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Oliver told her, standing up.

"No, no you don't. It's late; you'd better sleep here," Dad told them.

Oliver sat down again, and he, along with Lilly and Jake, nodded. Miley smiled a bit, holding onto Jake's arm.

"You guys can sleep in my room," I told Jake and Oliver.

"Okay, cool," Jake said.

Oliver nodded. "Thanks."

"And Lilly will sleep in mine," Miley said.

"Oh, joy," Lilly replied. "I haven't slept in Miley's room before!"

"Don't be sarcastic, Lillian," Miley said.

Dad gave each of us a glass of milk. When we finished, we washed our glasses and went upstairs to get some rest.

It feels great to be home.

(A/N: The last chapter is this, but wait, there's more: I'll start writing the epilogue tomorrow. I'm so super sorry for updating late, but it was so hard to write because we had like two or more exams every day of this week! Well, enjoy! I'm working on two new stories and the sixth chap of Seven Minutes in Heaven. The first up-and-coming story is a oneshot songfic called Underdog, and yep, it's based on the Jonas Brothers song. I'm just so obsessed with them these days, especially Joe. It's about Lilly and what happens to her when Miley's cover is blown. Who can she trust? The second one is called Just One Kiss, and it's about Miley getting desparate for one kiss with Jake Ryan. Take note that all of my fanfics, for now, are taking place before the episode People Who Use People. In the story, Miley created wacky schemes to have her kiss with Jake, but ends up kissing a handful of other guys. Will she get her kiss, or will she settle for someone she's already kissed? Find out soon! Oh, and don't forget your reviews!)