Chapter Four
'Miley don't forget you've got a concert tonight' Robby Ray told her once she was dressed and downstairs. She froze halfway between the bottom of the stairs and the kitchen. She had forgotten.
'What am I singing?' she asked.
'I thought you'd want to choose. You need a few of the newer ones but it's mostly your choice' replied Robby Ray.
'Ok' she said and thought about it while getting out her breakfast. Once she was munching through cereal , she spoke between mouthfuls. 'I'm Still Good. It went down well last night so I guess it's time to give it its official debut. Mixed Up seems ideal right now' Robby Ray was about to cut in but Miley continued before he could. 'Just A Girl and... Every Part of Me'
'Happy songs, Miles' Robby Ray commented with a hint of sarcasm. 'Do you want to talk about it?'
'About what?' asked Miley, playing dumb.
'Last night' replied Robby Ray. 'You seemed pretty upset when you got back and the songs you're choosing are all identity crisis ones.'
'You wrote most of them' Miley counter attacked. 'I'm fine'
'Ok, let's start with something simpler' said Robby Ray. 'Why do you hate Lilly?'
With a sigh Miley replied 'I don't, I was just annoyed. I don't want to talk about it' it was partly true but mostly a lie. She wanted to tell her Dad what happened and take his advice but she knew what his advice would be and she didn't want to hear it right now. 'I just want to get through tonight's concert and... Oh, dang. I told Amber and Ashley I'd get them into a party tonight. I'll have to tell them I can't, I'll just... let them back stage at the concert'
'Miley, you know a friendship that's brought, isn't a friendship worth having' Robby Ray told her.'
'It's not brought' Miley insisted, having has this conversation a good few times before. 'I'm going back on what I promised so making amends for it. It's only fair. At least Amber and Ashley haven't been ignoring me since it came out. Unlike others I could mention'
'No, but Amber and Ashley didn't care when you were just Miley. They only want to be friends with Hannah.'
'Why does everyone keep talking like Miley and Hannah are different? I am Hannah Montana' Miley replied.
'You're the one who wanted to best of both worlds' Robby Ray commented.
'I haven't done anything wrong. I just adjusted to a bad situation. Why can't anyone accept that' Miley sighed, her mind slipping back to the dance. She also thought about before her secret came out. Lilly and her Dad couldn't be right, she hadn't changed that much. It was necessary. Was it too much though? She hadn't meant to. She had just wanted to get through it; she didn't want to have to hide. 'Daddy' she said, waiting for Robby Ray to look at her and added 'I'm sorry' to Robby Ray's confused face she added 'I've been such a cow. Going around like I'm better than everyone else. I'm not, if anything I'm worse. I'm sorry'
'It's all right, darlin'. Now, you going to tell me what happened at that dance last night?'
Miley spent a moment staring at the now empty bowl before taking a deep breath and starting. 'Lilly sang. She was amazing but the song... the song was called "I Hate the Homecoming Queen". It was about a stuck-up girl who's nothing but trouble. It was about me. Well it was about Hannah. I followed her off the stage and ended up having a huge argument with her. The fact is she doesn't understand that I just responded to...' Miley stopped and shook her head. 'She doesn't understand. The song was so harsh but thinking about it, it was probably true. I can't get it out of my head.' Miley demonstrated it 'I hate the homecoming queen, I'm pretty damn sure she can't stand me, her face is on the cover of a magazine. I hate the homecoming queen tonight. That's right'
'I think you need to talk to her, Miley'
'I can't. She said she won't bother me again. She thinks that's what I want'
'Is it?' Robby Ray asked.
'I... I don't know' Miley admitted. 'I don't think so but so much has changed. It's all so complicated and it's my own fault'
Lilly switched the TV off after the film finished and stared at the wall of her bedroom. After only a few minutes the dance was in her mind again. She grabbed a notebook and spent most of the morning writing lyrics. In the afternoon she went to Oliver's to put music to it. By 5 o'clock 'One of Those Days' was finished.
'From the top' Oliver said and started the introduction.
Lilly smiled slightly before starting:
Woke up to the sound of my alarm
Half an hour late
Fell out of bed, I put my t-shirt on
It's got an orange stain
I lost my keys, I lost my head
I wish that I just stayed in bed
I need a break, a sweet escape
It's just one of the days
One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave
I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday
Out of my way cause I think I might go insane
It's just one of those days, one of those days
Tripping out the front door
Traffic jam, now my cell phone's dead
I had to say I'm sorry more than once
Forgot lunch with my friends
Missed a stop sign, my Starbucks line
I only got pennies and I need a dime
I saw my ex and met his girlfriends
It's just one of the days
One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave
I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday
Out of my way cause I think I might go insane
Hey hey, it's just one of those days
Wish I could jump ahead in time
Leave this drama far behind
Let me out before I lose my mind
Yeah, I just wanna get away
Find myself a holiday
I swear, I'm going crazy
Back off, I'm about to break
Don't know how much more I can take
It's just one of the days
One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave
I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday
Out of my way cause I think I might go insane
It's just one of the days
One of those days you wanna crawl into a cave
I wish it could be tomorrow or even yesterday
Out of my way cause I think I might go insane
Hey hey, it's just one of those days
It's just one of those days, one of those days
'Brilliant' Oliver said. 'Hey Lil, I need to tell you something'
'That can't be good. The way everything is going at the moment, that can't be good' Lilly said, sounding a little paranoid. 'What's up?'
'I'm leaving' Oliver said. 'At...'
'What do you mean leaving?' Lilly shrieked, staring at him in horror.
'At the end of the school year, I'm going on tour with the band' Oliver explained. 'I leave the Saturday after the end of the semester.'
'No. You can't go' Lilly said.
'Lilly, let me finish' Oliver said. Lilly just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. 'I want you to come with me.'
'Go with you?' Lilly repeated, not quite believing it. Oliver nodded 'On tour?' He nodded again. 'Eep' Lilly threw her arms around him; 'Of course I'll come with you' she bounced around 'I'm getting out of here!'
A/N: Thanks for everyone who's sticking with me, despite slow updates. I'm back at college now so I don't know when I'll be able to update next, but hopefully it won't be too long. Please R&R, ly'all Carly.