A week in Hick Land has passed. I don't wonder what my friends have been doing as much as I did at first; honestly, it's probably the usual routine. And it's probably already gotten boring.

Although, laying around and watching TV, messing with the chickens and dogs and pigs, playing every sport known to man with corny elementary schoolers, and exploring the Tennessee wilderness is also reserving utter droll there's no return from at some point.

Of that wonderful variety of activities I'm technically doing none at the present moment.

I'm lying out in the middle of the acres of grass; the house is a Monopoly-sized building on the horizon of blinding clear blue sky, in a bikini while the Red Hot Chili Peppers grace my mortal ears.

I'm thinking of… nothing. What is there to think of? The summer homework I'm no doubt putting off until the last week of vacation… and… nothing. Geez, I don't feel like a waste of space and superior human intelligence or anything.

'Where I go I just don't know

Well I got to gotta got to take it slow

When I find my piece of mind

I'm gonna show you some of my good time..'

I let myself go to the feeling of heat. It's hot... Obviously. And I feel almost foolish just lying here like a lazy bum letting the UV radiation work its cancerous wonders on me. Like, at least I could be doing something, exerting some type of energy, and, wow, this past hour has just kind of been a waste of life.

I rip my headphones out and shove my shades up on top of my head, when I hear grass shuffling in the distance.

I look up to see Taylor and Carly approaching me.

"Hey guys," I say, while folding up my towel.

"Hey, we're going over to the trails, and your mom wants you to go with before you fry your brains out."

"She—" I instinctively begin to protest towards my mother, before I realize she's not even here, and then that she's right, "Yeah, I have nothing better to do… but what are the trails?"

"Where we ride horses."

I gulp. "O-okay."

I try to stay calm just as we walk up the slight hill to the house, and want to protest to my mother again even though she's out with Aunt Tiff. I'm pretty sure she did this on purpose to torture me, since she hasn't done enough of that.

The thing is, horses scare the living crap out of me. One time things went a little haywire at a petting zoo, and I ended up with a black eye and $30,000 that used to belong to the zoo.

My fingers are trembling as I slide on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top in my room. My brush jerks inconveniently when I try to fix my hair in the mirror fixed above my dresser, across the room from where the bed is tucked into the wall. I gaze absently at it, wishing to slip and hide under the sheets. As silly as I know it is, I am terrified. But, hey, since I'm practically in purgatory for the next three months, it's the perfect time to make my nightmares reality.

-

When we finally reach the shady area and empty gravel parking lot of the Trails, I'm a little tired and disorientated. I guess it's from being on foot in the heat and sun.

We cross the parking lot and I see a wide beige dirt trail leading to a short, yet long log cabin-esque building, which Taylor tells me is the stables where the horses are kept.

The dirt trail leads to a square space in the stables that wood logs aren't, which I find is where we have to pay for a session and enter the second degree of hell. Well, for me.

My heart is beating in my throat in an extremely unpleasant way as Taylor, Carly, Brooke, Max, and Chris lead me into the stalls, and the way my stomach is clenching and unclenching is making me nauseous.

The back wall, in reality, is only a few yards away, but the smelly, hay-abundant stable is already spinning and that wall is the pin-point axle.

I don't realize my eyes are squeezed shut until I hear a huge, flapping, "SSSHHHHHHHUUUUUHHHHH," in my ear, at which I shriek and spring to attention at.

My four eldest cousins, brother, and even the okay-looking dirty blonde guide are eyeing me with scrunched up faces, and I immediately grow self-conscious.

I hear Max unintentionally stage-whisper to the guide, "She's not too good with horses."

He obtains a dawning expression and winks at me, leading us two stalls down.

"This here's Darla, the nicest horse in this place. She'll be gentle with ya; she wouldn't snap a straw of hay, so you have absolutely nothin' to worry about," The guide says to me.

I turn slowly, subconsciously trying not to make any sudden movements, and am faced with two large, moist, milk chocolate brown nostrils, and huffs of air brush my cheeks.

I cock my head and to inspect my living transportation further, but where I expected to see some more hay strewn, there's a girl kneeling down behind Darla, doing something to her lifted hoof.

My face immediately grows hot as I'm struck with rock-hard familiarity. That looks a lot like…

"Miley, you gonna be done anytime soon?"

I peer at the girl, and recognize the certain shade of bronze-y tan that I've never seen on anyone, out of all the tanned skin in California.

I look over at Chris, who's previously rosy cheeks from the hot trek have now conquered his entire face, and I am then positive this is the same Miley that lives only yards up from where I've been sleeping and eating for the past week. Miley, with the long chestnut hair and toned, natural, feminine figure and grace that I shoved out of my thoughts after she shook them up with a degree of intimidation like no one else ever has.

So, this is where she works.

"I ehh—" Miley looks up to her co-worker, then to me and my shocked, intrigued expression I can feel distorting my face, "Dang, Jackson, way to let me know the Kenney kids were comin' today," Miley shoots, heated, yet exasperated, at Jackson. I guess he said his name while I was trying not to pass out from fear…

Which I seem to have momentarily forgotten about. I looked back at Darla again and felt my knees go weak—in the bad way.

"They just showed up, jeez, it's not like there was any set rend-er- vouz or anything. I'm givin' Darla to Lilly, here."

At the mentioning of my name, Miley's eyes went incredulous, zipped around and then settled on me, as though she was just now absorbing my presence.

My brow quirks involuntarily when Miley's voice gets high and friendly and pitchy as she spits out, "Oh, okay, I didn't see you there, but yeah, I'll be done with cl—with this soon, so… yeah." She's talking a mile a minute and with her thick accent I am again mesmerized and a little thrown off. It sounds as though her tongue is tied up in a knot and it's just an obstruction to her speech, yet even that is endearing. It's so… unique.

I analyze this all in a quick two seconds and dismiss it with a blink.

"Have you ever ridden a horse?" She asks conversationally, and immediately I am on the spot.

Whether it's just because this girl's attention is all on me or everyone in the stable's attention is all on me, I'm not really sure.

"Uh, well… no…." My voice is all tiny and scared, and I clear my throat to force myself out of it, "Actually, I'm terrified of them." For the first time in front of Miley, my voice is clear and stable.

A light flurry of chuckles sprinkle around the room. The horses make their fluttery, flapping sighs which even seem to mock me. But I smirk and roll my eyes good-naturedly, and say "Yeah, laugh it up…"

"Why? Did anything happen with one?" Jackson chimes.

"Yeah, I just got kicked in the face when I was like, six. No biggie."

Carly snickers, while her sisters and Miley gasp. "That explains a lot," Carly grins, and I throw a light fist into her arm.

I feel too many eyes on me. I, for some reason, look to Miley who's still crouched on the ground and see a kind smile and intrigued eyes on her face. She looks away immediately, and it's like I caught her doing something she shouldn't have been.

My whole body stops abruptly, and jump starts. Starting with my pounding heart.

"Well'p," Jackson says, "Today is the day you show that horse up. We're gonna show you how to ride."

Miley stands, a hand trailing along Darla's huge brown and white side, her eyes trained on the gate where my hands are perched. I drop them to my sides and stand back until my back connects with the stall door adjacent to Darla's, and I jump, startled, when I feel a gust of air all over my right ear and see my hair fly out. Miley giggles lightly at my display, but I give a small smile. Just as I was beginning to get over it…

Miley leads the horse out of the stable and we all follow. I guess everyone wants to see me fall on my ass and become horse food.

Miley and Darla stop on the dirt road past the exit of the short, square tunnel of the stable. Darla looks ahead, her long, wispy dark brown tail twirling around.

She's so colossal and alive. It strikes me that biologists classify Darla and I in the same animal kingdom. I am an animal, just like Darla, and Darla is whatever the hell else I am besides animal… if that makes any sense whatsoever.

"Well?" Says Miley.

"Well what?"

"Get on." She's not polite, Southern-hospitality neighbor-Miley. She's cheeky, sarcastic, knowledgeable horse-riding-instructor Miley. I almost forget I've met her before, almost.

I scrutinize Darla. I'm waiting for someone to bring a ladder out. How else could I get onto the seat strapped all the way up top her back?

No one moves. "Shouldn't you get out a ladder or something?"

Everyone snickers. I'm lost.

"No, I'm pretty sure you just hop on," Miley smirks, nodding.

What?! They're joking! They just want to see me fall on my ass!

I step toward Darla and then look into everyone's faces, twice, for any hint of a joke.

"Uh… I—"

"Here…" Miley says softly, and then I feel two hands land on my hips. At the knowledge that they belong to Miley, sharp heat rises in my forehead and temples and cheeks. I note my stomach churning but I defiantly pass it off as nervousness. I'm getting tired of this weird analyzing thing I keep on having to do.

I awkwardly jump/lift my foot into a leather hoop dangling from the seat, but struggle to pull the rest of my body up. A spot dangerously close to my butt is clutched, and my lower back is pressed into.

My eyes widen momentarily, and then I realize Miley's just a girl and it's cool if she touches me there. It's not like it means anything.

I'm sitting in the hard leather seat and everyone seems so far down below as they clap and laugh joyously.

I grip onto a handle protruding from the seat for dear life with one hand, but put on a cocky grin and motion towards myself with the other. I elicit more laughter.

I see Miley's face dead on as it's tilted up at me. Her gray-blue eyes have transformed into a bright cerulean, which I'm so astonished by my mouth hangs open when I go to ask what I do next.

"Y' okay up there?" Miley asks, and shields her gorgeous eyes from the sun with a military salute type hand, as she squints.

"Yep."

"Okay, I'm just gonna lead you around until you get the feel of things. Just try to relax or else your butt'll get kinda sore."

"Okay."

I'm startled when Darla first takes a step and I bob all the way up and down. Then she takes another and I'm jostled up in another angle. I try to do as Miley says, it takes a couple minutes to adapt to. I eventually loosen my grip on the handle, as well as the jaw I didn't know was even clenched.

I look at Darla's neck which sways side to side, and down the tethers Miley holds loosely in her hand.

Then down at Miley. She's wearing black athletic shorts and a fitted t-shirt. Her legs and arms and hair shine brilliantly in the sun. Because she's a little ahead of Darla and me, I can inspect her fully. I observe her slim waist, and elongate arm swaying as it holds the reigns not wrapped around her wrist in a small fist. I skip a certain portion of her which is it installed in me to simply not look at, and my eyes scan down to study the unspeakable beauty of her long, lean legs working almost machine-like, one in front of the other.

I hear a little "Hm," sound out of no where, and almost squeak with surprise when I realize it came from me.

"Okay," Miley says, and I glance into Darla's mane for fear of Miley turning around and finding me staring at her like she's the most difficult Sudoku puzzle in existence.

She stops and half of that occurs.

I look up to Miley again. As a matter of fact… I look all around to find we're far from the stables.

"Now…" She walks up to me, and thrusts the reigns out towards me. "You're gonna do it yourself."

"What do I—what if—"

Miley giggles, yet again, at my flustered state. "Tug the left one to make Darla go right, and the right to make her go left. Pull back towards you to stop, and whip 'em to make her go faster. Tap her on the side with your inner heels to make her go if she's stopped.

Got it?"

I give a shaky nod and wordless breath. Miley smiles tentatively, pats Darla on the side, and steps off, watching.

My hands are sweaty to the point where the reigns are almost difficult to grip. It's stiflingly hot out here.

I'm not scared anymore, really. I'm not afraid of heights. Just hooves. At eye level.

I tap Darla in the sides with my feet and feel like a cartoon character when all my inertia is left behind me, but I realize to lean forward a little. For a while I just bounce up and down roughly, trying as hard as I can to move in time with Darla. I imagine it looked a little… odd, to say the least.

The trail goes along tall trees, and then big hills of grass and fence, and then some more trees… and I see it begins to bend left. I tug the right reign like Miley told me to.

"Nice, you got it," Miley praises.

I can't help but feel like I'm nine and the teacher just told me I'm the smartest, coolest kid in the class. A small grin creeps onto my face.

We continue for a little while longer, some turns sharp, other gradual.

"How long is this trail?" I wonder out loud.

"This? Three kilometers, it's the basic one."

"Oh, wow."

"Why, you wanna get back?"

"Yeah, sure,"

"Okay, cool, because I'm tired of walking."

So… "What are you gonna do, run?" I chuckle.

Miley pats Darla's shoulder and she stops. I jolt forward. "No, ride the rest with you."

I blink. I'm pretty secure with Darla and this whole horse-riding business, but I for some reason prefer Miley on the ground. Maybe I'm just scared of that little chance something could go wrong, seeing as to how I'm seeing on a natural beast and everything.

I hold my hand out for her anyway, and remove a foot from the loop. I find it imperative to use all the might in my forearm to hoist her up.

I don't really know Miley. I don't know her hobbies, or dreams, or anything about her family. She's just a girl that works at a horse riding place and happens to live up the street from my extended family, of which I'm living for the next three months.

But I do know the 'discomfort' factor of having to move in time with a horse's trotting is multiplied, billion-folded, when you add another person. Particularly Miley.

"Um," Miley's voice is loud in my ear, "Are you alright with me holding your waist?" And her light breath kind of tickles.

"Ah, erm, sure."

Her hands land gently on my hips. The horse resumes moving at Miley's signal and Miley rocks into me. I'm surprised to find when I exhale to try and get my mind off of it, the breath is shaky.

This is so awkward.

Miley's probably used to it, though. This is probably nothing for Tennessee-ans. They probably buddy up on horses all the time.

I want to ask her, but I'd really rather try to ignore the whole situation.

The way I'm flicking through my mind trying to find a way to do just that only makes me think of nothing but my unsettled stomach and hypersensitive nerves for the next ten minutes, until the stables are in view.

Miley halts Darla, and I brace myself to jolt forward—but Miley's hands clutch pull me firmly so I don't. This actually makes me tick with something like even more discomfort, but I could swear there's more mixed in with it…

"Sorry, don't want you snappin' your spine or somethin'," Miley says, completely fine, as she slides off the horse and lands on the ground.

"It's fine." I slide off Darla and hop to the ground as well, although I probably should have maneuvered off by using the foot-loop thing. I don't care, I just wanted off that awkward ride.

Miley notices my standoffish attitude and I hear her chuckle. "And I also apologize, that's always a little awkward the first few times."

So it wasn't just me. I grin, but I keep it to a minimum half-grin. There's just been too much friendly grinning today. "I gathered that. It's alright." I glance at Miley to see her smiling to the ground away from me. It makes my smile wider.

Honestly? A friendship with this girl seems inevitable. I don't know Miley yet, but I can put money on it that I will.

"Aw, darn, they all set off!" Miley says, and I look up, all the way down the length of the stables, west of the trail Miley and I went down, to see my cousins, brother, and Jackson disappearing into the trees.

Miley leads Darla and I to her stall, where I watch her tie the horse's reigns to a log post. She picks up a wooden based brush and slips her dainty hand and chipped navy nails through the handle. I watch the muscles in her arm ripple as she grooms.

I take a seat on a small wooden stool nearby, Miley still in my view. The next conversation I begin with Miley will be our first one, with no other people around. I wonder what it'll be abou—

"What's California like?" Miley asks thoughtfully.

Me. Our first conversation is going to be about me. Or, my hometown.

"It's… modern. Stereotypical. Beachy… a lot of rich people who bleach their hair and make it a priority to be tan no matter what."

Miley hm's, processing this. "What do you do?"

What do I do? I chuckle. "Why do you want to know about silly ol' me?" I'm half joking. But I'm half not.

"I guess…I just don't know a lot of people from outside of here… I'm curious. Am I bothering you?"

I realize she's really not. By location and vocal conditions, she's what I would call a hick before I got to this state, hell, before I got to this stupid horse stable… but she's not bothering me. Quite the opposite.

"No… the opposite, actually."

"What do you mean by that?" Miley is brushing Darla's neck. She's illuminated by the block of daylight streaming through the back of the stall. Her smooth, blemish-less, tan face is angled a little towards me.

I'm not completely sure what I mean by that. I settle on… "I guess I mean I'm a little curious of you, too."

Miley hm's again. I don't know why, but it's sweet when she does it.

"I surf," I tell Miley. Her eyes connect with mine. A small smile appears on her face.

"Mhmm? What's the ocean like?"

"You've never been to the beach?!" She's kidding. She probably just wants to know about California's beach, specifically.

"Nope."

I'm stunned. She sees this and shrugs at me.

I take a split second to appreciate how easy Miley is to be around. The way she acknowledged the awkward riding, her unshaken, open-minded words… I'm beginning to feel like I've known her for years.

"It's so… ah…hm. It's bright. The ocean is always making noise in the distance because it's always moving. If you're in the sand, that is. I usually go down with my friends Oliver, Matt, Amber, Ashley… Connor…." I stop talking.

For the past hour, riding horses with Miley, I kind of forgot about my friends and home. Sadness and homesickness trickles in as I sit there with my mouth still open stupidly.

Miley's watching me. I look back over to her again.

"Sorry, I—uh…"

"You miss them or somethin'?"

"…Yeah." Miley's face kind of drops, and I realize that could be insulting. "Well, no, I just… well, you got my mind of off them."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You and Darla."

Miley smiles, almost bashfully, and nods with her neck and shoulders in it. "Good."

"Good?"

Miley looks back at Darla and gives a small "Yep."

There's a moment of silence.

Besides the horse thing, I don't feel awkward over too many things. So when I usually talk to someone, when the conversation takes a little rest, I usually feel fine about it.

But somehow, the silence the falls on Miley and me is excruciatingly comfortable. No, it's so comfortable, it's almost awkward. Seriously, I'm almost forgetting the first time I met this girl was a week ago and this is only the second time I've seen her.

"So… what else do you do? Just surf?" Miley asks, breaking my frantic, obnoxiously analytic thoughts.

"No," I chuckle. "We… play soccer on the beach… skate, sometimes. I used to skateboard more, but that's when I hung out with all boys—"

"Were you a tomboy or somethin'? Sorry, I don't mean t' in'erupt…"

"It's okay," I breathe in a chuckle. "No need to apologize… you do that a lot."

"So—err… yes, I guess I do."

I chuckle yet again. "It's fine. But you don't have to do it with me." I smile. She smiles. "Yeah, I used to be a little more 'tomboyish,' I guess. But… then in seventh grade I was paired up with the two most annoying, preppy girls in my science class for this volcano project, and once we got over our hatred for each other… things actually clicked. And here we are."

Miley nods, listening. She's good at that.

"What about you? Why have you never seen a beach?"

Miley's eyes are trained on the brush in her hand. "Well… I've been here all my life. I've always wanted to, though…"

"Don't you go on vacation?" It's something one of my baby cousins would ask, but really. Doesn't she?

Miley laughs. "Yeah, I've been t' other places, but… just not to a beach," she chuckles.

I take this in, nodding. I plan to change that.

"So," I ask, "When will everyone come back?"

"A few minutes, they're probably going at a faster pace than us… and the in'ermediate trail ain't too much longer than ours was."

"Oh, okay,"

"Do you wanna try?"

I look up to see Miley offering the brush to me. I nod and stand, having been a little transfixed by the silky, sculpted texture of Darla's huge torso this entire time.

Miley slips the brush onto my hand, and watches me as I mimic her strokes on Darla's opposite site from the stool.

Miley watches me like she's amazed at me. Like I'm a creature she's never seen before. I see and feel it out of the corner of my eye. It's definitely more flattering than creepy.

I turn and catch her gaze that's already aimed on me. This is all so different than when we met at her house a week ago. Instead of feeling like she's inspecting me, like the bitchy girls at school tend to do, I see she's only… she's only observing. Not even really judging, or if she is, it's already a positive opinion. Miley's human.

I smile. Usually, this weird silent smiling thing we keep doing would be… well, weird, but I see it like we're just communicating, like we were with our friendly, inquisitive conversation, and it's all in the key of happy and you know what? This vacation is really beginning to look up. She smiles back. Her teeth are white, and perfect, and I go to ask if she's had braces or something when I hear loud clamping of hooves approaching.

I can save that question for another conversation. I get the feeling Miley and I will be having plenty more of those.

-

Most boring chapter of this thing, imo. Seeing as to how it was the transition from acquaintance-ship to… an almost friendship. Despite that little Liley-ish horseback scene there:D. The actual Liley won't come until the chapter after the next, possibly. Not sure. Next chapter will be up soon. Peaceee:P