Thursday had come and gone. Before Miley knew it, it was Friday. She went to school and it seemed like an ordinary day. She met up with Lilly and Oliver in the morning, went to class, had lunch, and then went back to class.

Still, throughout the entire day, Miley could feel the tension in her building with each passing minute. It had never really gone away. She and Lilly hadn't talked much about David coming to visit since Wednesday. Lilly was doing her best to not dwell on it, Miley could tell, so she did her best not to bring it up.

As school ended, Miley was shocked that it was already time to go; the day had flown by and it was mere hours before she and Lilly had to go pick David up from the airport.

Before they went their separate ways, the three of them gathered to touch base on their plans for the weekend.

"So," Oliver cleared his throat. "You'll talk with him tonight after you pick him up about what he feel like doing and give me a heads up? We should get started, whatever we end up doing, by 11 at the latest. Wanna make sure we have enough time in the day,"

Lilly nodded, "Yeah, I'll run everything by him and see what appeals to him. When I know I'll give you a text or call."

"'Kay, cool," Oliver glanced over at Miley, who was distributing obvious signs of anxiety. "You two are picking him up soon, right? What are you thinking of doing tonight?"

"I dunno," Lilly frowned, realizing she hadn't really thought of that. "If he's hungry, go get food, or he might just want to get settled in the guest bedroom and relax after his flight."

Miley cringed. The guest bedroom was right at the end of the hall next to Lilly's. Her moms bedroom was practically on the other side of the house. Not to mention, Lilly's mom worked most of the time, even on holidays and weekends.

"Alright, well I guess I'll hear from you in a bit." Oliver smiled, and waved his hand with a departing gesture. "Good luck!" His eyes darted to Miley after saying this, meaning it mostly for her.

"See ya, Oliver," Lilly chimed.

Miley sighed and nodded, so Oliver could see. "Later,"

As soon as Oliver left, Lilly turned to Miley. Miley could immediately sense the intensity of Lilly's nervousness churn. "So, do you want to go home and meet me in an hour? Or... I could come pick you up? Or..." She was running out of options to suggest.

"Why don't I just follow you in my car to your house and we can just hang there for a bit until we have to leave? That way you don't have to worry about running me around." She looked up at Lilly, who seemed to be somewhat more relieved as she said this. "I was thinking, if he wasnt tired and wanted to still do something tonight, we could even go to my place, just for a change of scenery, or something. It's an option,"

Lilly exhaled, and timidly took Miley's arm in hers and they walked to their cars. "God, Miles, you're a life saver. I don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you, I mean it,"

Miley stared blankly out of the passenger seat window of Lilly's car. They had driven to Lilly's and then ended up listening to music while reading in Lilly's room. Miley hadn't gotten a chance to bring up any of the things she wanted to talk to Lilly about. She felt completely unprepared and blindsided.

"So, what's he look like?" Miley couldn't take it, she had to ask something, "I mean, how will we know when we see him?"

Lilly cleared her throat, "Uhm, well... He's a little taller than Oliver. brown hair, kinda grey blue eyes, he's kinda pale, but not in a gross way. He's not buff or anything but he's not completely puny looking either."

A thousand different faces popped into Miley's head. Lilly's description didn't help at all. She could only picture him as a crafty looking character who was up to no good. Sighing, she glanced over at Lilly who sat behind the driver's seat. They were stopped at a stop light and Lilly anxiously strummed her fingertips on the steering wheel.

"Hey, Lil?" Miley found herself speaking, without really thinking.

"What's up Miley?" the light turned green and Lilly drove forward, Making a right hand turn at the light.

Miley hesitated, trying to figure out exactly what she was trying to say. "You know, if anything gets weird with him, when no one's around or something, and you're uncomfortable, you know you can call me right? I can even come spend the night. I'm serious, anything at all, no matter how small it is, if you're uncomfortable, I can be there,"

Lilly smiled softly and relaxed. "Miles, thank you. I'm hoping it'll be fine, and I'm just psyching myself out. I'm sure you've been able to tell how freaked out I've been about this whole thing, nothing gets passed you."

Miley laughed, "You got that right,"

Lilly laughed too, and the atmosphere in the car lifted. "Well I really am thankful. For how much you've supported me."

"No problem," Miley lit up, "I'd do anything for you, Lilly!" She blushed as she realized she said this, but noticed Lilly didn't seem to mind, she just smiled more.

Miley gazed down at Lilly's right hand, that rested on her thigh as she drove. After a straining hesitation, Miley reached and gently took the hand in her own. Lilly glanced at Miley for a split second, and then at their hands. She continued driving, a smile still upon her lips. Grasping Miley's hand tenderly in her own, she pulled into the airport parking lot.

"Flight 4174, now arriving on schedule," The automated voice boomed across the terminal.

Miley looked to Lilly, "That's him, right?"

Lilly nodded. She looked more nervous than Miley had ever seen her. If Miley hadn't felt as if she'd already overstepped her boundaries in the car with, what felt to her like, a very intimate moment with Lilly, she would have reached to hold Lilly's hand once more. It was something so simple, they had done it in the past all the time, but now to Miley it seemed nearly impossible to attempt.

The watched as the approaching plane landed, and slowed to a stop. Soon, the passengers would be exiting. Miley could feel her heart throbbing in her chest. She tried not to panic. It was all happening too fast. He just, "Poof!" out from nowhere popped out of the sky and was here all of a sudden.

The first few passengers came from where the plane had docked. A man in a suit, already on the phone, a family hauling suitcases, another lone man; casually dressed, and elderly couple...

And then, the moment of dread. Miley knew when it had come, because of the ecstatic look on the teenage boy's face after skimming the room untils his eyes locked on Lilly. Not to mention, he fit the description. To further prove Miley's dread, he threw his hand up and waved, somehow in a way that annoyed Miley, and then he called out Lilly's name.

Lilly, who had become partially petrified as soon as she had seen him, and fully petrified as soon as he had seen her, forced an awkward smile and lifted her hand to wave to him briefly. He quickened his stride and practically bounced over to them.

Without stopping, he threw his arms around Lilly and hugged her tightly; too tightly for Miley's comfort. By Lilly's awkward posture, Miley knew Lilly was even more discomforted.

"It's so good to see you! You look great!" He said as he gave her a squeeze.

Lilly didn't know what to do. "Y-you too!"

When the hug appeared to be lasting more than a few seconds, Miley cleared her throat. It was enough to make his realize it was time to let go. He stepped back, still smiling, and then looked at Miley like he had just realized she was there. Miley watched him eye her up and down, but she made sure to glare and that made him back off.

"This is my best friend Miley," Lilly introduced weakly. She really couldn't manage anything else to say at the moment. The intense hug had taken her by surprise and made her flustered

David smiled, though it was slightly strained. "Nice to meet you,"

"It's a pleasure," Miley's tone was less than enthusiastic, but made up for it with subtle sarcasm.

David rolled his eyes back over to Lilly, which made Miley's blood boil. "So, I don't have any luggage to pick up, I brought everything in my carry on. We're all set to go,"

"O-oh, okay! Yeah, sure. You ready, Miles?" Lilly looked at Miley. Miley could see the plea for help on Lilly face. She didn't know what to do.

Miley breathed in, and took initiative, for Lilly's sake. "Yeah, I'm all set!"

The three of them began walking towards the exit. David took Lilly's left. Miley took Lilly's right. Lilly was in the middle.

Once they got to the car, Miley made sure to get to the front passengers seat first. If she had to, she would place the "I'm a girl, you should offer me the front seat anyways," card. Luckily she sensed no problem, and Lilly seemed relieved.

"So how was you flight?" Lilly finally asked awkwardly after they had exited the parking lot and she was merging onto the freeway.

"It was good. I slept through most of it, so no real complaints," David was still smiling in the back seat, glancing at Lilly every so often. Miley could see from the side view mirror.

"Oh, that's good," Lilly fidgeted ever so slightly. "So you're probably not tired, then. Was there anything you wanted to do tonight? If you're hungry we can go get food,"

"Yeah, I'm wide awake!" David grinned. "Not quite hungry yet though,"

Miley was frustrated, to the point where she couldn't speak, even if she wanted to. At first, she didn't think this David guy was so great when she saw him. At second glance, after really taking a minute to look at him, Miley was devastated at the fact that she had to admit to herself that he was actually pretty cute. That made the fact that Lilly had slept with him even worse for Miley to imagine.

Poor Lilly, in the driver's seat, had to deal with not knowing how to converse with David, and noticing Miley's obvious brooding silence. She focused on driving and did her best not to panic. Luckily, David did most the talking, filling Lilly in on how her dad and hid mom were doing, and giving her their regards. Before he was done gabbing his mouth off, they had arrived at Lilly's house.

They all got out of the car, and Lilly led the way to the door. Miley tucked in behind her, making sure to give some distance from David who followed up.

"Well, this is it," Lilly said after she opened the door and they all stood in the entry way. "That's the kitchen over there, and the living room. My mom's room is over there, she'll be home later. The guest room is this way, here, let me show you."

Lilly led them down the hall to the end room and opened the door. Inside was a made up bed, a nightstand, and a shelve of books. Other than that, the room was bare.

"Sorry it's so bland," Lilly laughed to herself, "We don't use this room much, and my mom's not the decorative type anyways,"

David smiled, "No problem, it's fine. Was that your room we passed on the way here?"

Miley shot him a death glare, but he didn't see it, or pretended not to acknowledge it.

"Yeah," Lilly said dryly, "The bathroom's across the hall from it, by the way,"

"Cool, we're neighbors! I'll try not to keep you up at night!" David winked, playfully.

Miley swore she could have punched a whole in the wall right then and there. She didn't though, knowing it would probably hurt, cause a scene, and put a whole in Lilly's wall. Lilly's mother wouldn't be too happy about that. She restrained herself as Lilly laughed awkwardly and changed the subject."So why don't you take a bit and unpack and settle in? Then we can talk about what you wanna do while you're here, and then figure out what to do tonight, sound good?"

"Sounds great!"

"Okay, take your time, just give us a holler when you're done," Lilly smiled and began walking out of the room with Miley.

"Will do!" was called after them.

Lilly and Miley made their way in silence to Lilly's room. When they were both inside, Miley shut the door behind her. Lilly immediately looked at Miley, a worried expression on her face. "Are you okay, Miley?" They spoke in raised whispers.

Miley was at her wits end and let some of her emotion escape in a sarcastic spat that was misdirected at Lilly. "I'm great! Are you?" She immediately regretted allowing this to happen as she saw Lilly's expression fall even more. Miley remembered Lilly was having a hard enough time as it was.

"I, I'm doing my best. It's hard, I'm not going to lie. I already feel really uncomfortable."

Miley sighed, composing herself. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap. I'm spending the night tonight, Lilly. I already decided. He's just too friendly already, it makes me uncomfortable too,"

Lilly lowered her head, about to cry. "Th-thank you, Miles..."

The only thing Miley could do to stop herself from crying too was pull Lilly into a hug. Lilly gratefully excepted it, as if she had been waiting for it. She exhaled shakily, and Miley could feel her tremble.

"It's okay," Miley soothed gently. "It's what I'm here for,"

They stayed like this for several more moment, and then separated. "I guess we should go, we don't want to keep him waiting,"

"No," Miley sighed. He could wait forever for all she cared. "I suppose not,"

Their timing was perfect. As they exited the room, David was coming out from the guest room.

"Oh, hey!" He grinned. "I finished unpacking! So what's next?"

Lilly glanced at her phone to get the time. "Well, it's almost 6. It'll be getting dark soon. We could head out, take a little walk and get food on our way back. There's a cool vista point that overlooks the beach nearby, we might catch sunset,"

David lit up, "That sounds great! I'm ready whenever."

"Cool, um," Lilly glanced over at Miley to make sure they were both ready. "Well let's get going!"

As they left the house and began walking a wave of silence passed over them, each of their minds churning as they focused on their steps.

Finally David spoke. "So, Miley, how long have you known Lilly?"

Miley was actually surprised he had spoken to her. "Since I moved here in 5th grade. We've been close ever since." She made sure to hint her dominance in her voice.

"Oh yeah? Where'd you move from?" he glanced at her as they walked.

"Tennessee," Miley said blankly.

David's eyes widened. "Oh whoa, that was a change, I bet!"

Miley rolled her eyes to herself. "It wasn't that bad. Especially after you find such good friends,"

Miley looked to Lilly as their entire friendship, from the first time they met, rushed through her brain. The laughs, the tears, the screams, the smiles.

Suddenly she shook her head, realizing she was allowing herself to slip. It was Lilly she was trying to protect! She couldn't be sweet talked defenseless with her only weakness!

She snapped back just in time, as she realized David was no longer interested in their conversation, and was quickening his pace to catch up with Lilly more. Miley matched his pace.

"So, tomorrow," Lilly had gathered the courage to speak. "What do you wanna do? See the beaches? Head to the Getty? Venice? I figure we could fit in whatever your wanted to do while your here."

David blinked. "Oh, uhh... I don't wanna make you guys go too much outta the way. Whatever is easy. Those idea all sound good to me, so play it by ear, I guess?"

"Okay, why dont we go see the beaches tomorrow? Then we can see if we feel like hanging there, or checking out the Getty."

David smiled and took a large swerve closer to Lilly in his stride. "That a great idea!"

Lilly cleared her throat and tried not to shiver. Miley was silently fuming nearby. "Okay, so I'll let Oliver know and we'll probably meet up with him somewhere by late morning."

"Oliver?" David repeated blankly, "Oh yeah, that other friend of yours, the guy you grew up with?"

"Yep," Miley answered curtly, before Lilly had a chance to.

There was a more than awkward pause. "Ah, he sounds cool.." David seemed to back off, and was thinking to himself.

Miley could not wait until Oliver was around to help her with this guy.

The rest of the walk was silent. Unfortunately, when they got to the vista point and saw the ocean, David was blown away and wouldn't shut up about how amazing it was. even after they had spent 20 minutes there and then started walking back, he was still running his mouth. They had returned to their original pattern of Lilly being in the middle, and Miley walked with her arms folded.

"Man, I can't wait till we get to actually to go onto the sand! And the ocean? It's huge! I coulda sworn I didn't see an end to it."

Lilly nodded, and then cleared her throat. "Yeah.. um, so what do you feel like getting for dinner? We'll be passing a few food places coming up. There's pizza, Chinese, and burgers. Any of those appeal to you at all?"

David blinked, and then shrugged. "I'll eat anything, so whatever you feel like. I was wondering, what are we doing after this?"

"Uhh," Lilly stammered, looking to Miley desperately for help with her response.

"Shouldn't your mom be home by now, Lilly?" She was hoping the presence of Lilly's mother would make thins easier and less awkward.

Lilly perked up. "Oh! Yeah! She should be home! She'll want to meet you, David!"

"Sure. My mom's boyfriends ex wife, huh?" He thought he as being funny, and only Miley saw the pained look on Lilly's face as he said this.

After picking up a pizza they headed back to Lilly's house. Her mothers car as outside and Miley breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mom!" Lilly called as they entered the house. "Hello?"

They heard footsteps approaching and then Heather appeared from her room. She held a phone to her ear. "Right. Yes, it will be done just in time. Uh huh. Bye," Hanging up, she looked up at the three of them and smiled. "Hey, Lilly, Miley. And this must be David,"

"Nice to meet you," David smiled politely.

Heather extended her hand, and he shook it. "I hope you had a nice flight in"

David nodded. "Yeah, no problems,"

"I hate to say this," Heather turned to Lilly. "but I got called into the office tonight. There's some paperwork that needs to be finished by the end of this weekend. Between that and some last minute meetings, I'll probably be gone most of the time David's here. Make sure you show him a good time,"

Lilly gulped and crossed her arms nervously. Miley tried not to let her aggravation show. "I will, mom, we're gonna meet up with Oliver tomorrow and go see some beaches,"

"Good!" Heather smiled, "You guys make sure to be safe and have a fun! Did you get him all set up in the guest room?"

"Yeah," Lilly nodded.

Heather reached to put her phone in her purse. "Perfect. Well I have to get going," She walked to Lilly and kissed her on the forehead. "Love you. Have a great time guys. Bye Miley, bye David."

Miley smiled best she could as Heather glanced at her. She could tell her daughter was on edge, and as she met eyes with Lilly, Miley knew she was thanking her for being there. Miley's anxiety rose as Heather briskly walked to the door and exited the house. The three of them stood still as they heard the car door from outside, and then the engine turn on and drive away.

"So," Miley spoke up, "We could watch a movie while we eat. Or play a game or something,"

Both Lilly and David turned to Miley. "Sure, that sounds good," Lilly seemed like she was still processing the fact that her mother wouldn't be there.

They sat down on the couch in the living room, and Lilly went to get some plates for the pizza. Right before they all sat down, Miley's phone rang. It startled her.

Pulling out her phone, she saw that it was her father calling. She realized she had completely forgotten to check in with him. "Hello?" She flipped it open and answered.

"Miley! Thank heaven's, I was starting to worry when I hadn't heard from you. Where are you?" Her fathers voice somehow stressed her out even more.

Miley glanced nervously over at Lilly and David and then walked out of the room to talk. "Sorry, daddy, I'm at Lilly's. I'm probably spending the night,"

"Oh, well, that's fine, I just was worried."

Miley paced anxiously up and down the hall. "Yeah, I'm sorry I completely forgot to let you know,"

"No problem, have fun, Just be sure to let me know what your plans are,"

"I will, daddy. Love you,"

"Love you too, Miles, bye,"

"Bye," Miley hang up and sighed. Then she realized she had left Lilly all alone with David. Frantically she started walking back to the living room. She stopped before she entered, hearing David speaking in a low voice.

"So, when's your friend going home?"

"U-um, she's actually spending the night tonight, we... have a project due next week, and were gonna work on it before bed." Lilly was wracking her brain to make the excuse sound valid.

"Aw, that kinda sucks. Do you think you could sneak out after she falls asleep? Maybe come to my room?" Miley heard him move, and could only assume he was closing in on Lilly.

"Um, well, I dunno. We should get good rest tonight for our big day tomorrow,"

"I guess your right. There'll be time tomorrow,"

Lilly laughed nervously. Miley couldn't take anymore, she entered the room. To her displeasure, she saw David sitting incredible close to Lilly on the couch. Their eyes met, and Lilly's expression was one of fear and desperation. Miley immediately walked over and sat down as close as she could next to Lilly who was in the middle of the couch. David, who was on the other end, sat up and awkwardly reached for a piece of pizza. While he was doing this, Miley scooted closer to Lilly so that they were touching, and even went as far as to take Lilly's arm in hers. Lilly seemed to calm down.

"Let's see what movies are on," Lilly grabbed the remote and turned on the television. They sat in silence and ate as the noise from the TV filled the room. Miley made sure not to let go of Lilly, and David didn't make any more moves.

The movie had ended. Lilly reached for the remote and clicked off the TV. A moment of silence hung in the air, and Miley reluctantly detached herself from Lilly.

"So," Lilly boldly spoke, "We should get some sleep tonight for the day tomorrow. Is there anything you need before we turn in, David?" She glanced at him, trying not to seem nervous.

"Mmm, uh, naw, I don't think so," He yawned and rubbed his eyes, "I'm pretty tired anyways,"

Lilly stood up from the couch, Miley did too, almost simultaneously. "Okay, well let's head to bed then,"

The three of them walked down the hall. Miley and Lilly stopped in front of Lilly's door. Miley was already in the room, but David groggily lingered, trying to get Lilly's attention.

"Goodnight, Lilly. I'm really excited for tomorrow," He grinned and then suddenly swept Lilly up into a hug. Miley watched as Lilly froze, and David layed his lips upon her neck, as if it were nothing. She seethed with rage.

"G-G'night," Lilly sputtered, awkwardly patting David's back. He released her, smiled and clumsily drifted off to the guest room, shutting the door behind him.

Lilly slowly turned around and glanced at Miley as she entered the room. Miley looked like she was ready to kill someone.

"Lilly!" If her voice had not been a harsh whisper, Miley would have been screaming. "What the heck was that just now? This guy is just a horn dog!"

Lilly didn't respond. Instead, Miley noticed, she looked like she was about to faint, and walked over to her bed to sit down. Miley held her tongue and went to sit down next to her. She rested her hand on Lilly's forearm and lowered her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out just now. He really just makes me uncomfortable. I feel like I can't even leave him alone with you for two seconds."

Lilly shook her head and then dropped herself back onto her mattress, laying her arm over her eyes. Miley could tell she was trying not to cry. "I'm sorry this is so ridiculous. I just freeze up around him."

Sighing, Miley leaned back onto the mattress as well and ran her fingers through Lilly's hair to try and comfort her. "It'll okay, Lill. Don't worry, I'm not plannin on letting him get a chance to do anything," Her voice was stern.

Lilly exhaled and uncovered her eyes, turning to face Miley. Now they lay both on their sides facing each other. Miley smiled softly, and then scooted a tad closer. Shutting her eyes she pulled some blankets over the two of them.

"Let's go to sleep. I'm exhausted," She was practically in Lilly arms.

Lilly sighed, expelling any lingering negative emotions she had left and reached to turn off the lamp before resting her arm timidly over Miley. Then, she too shut her eyes.