AN: With everything that is going on, will Michael and Miley become a couple? Not if Robby Ray has anything to say about it...

Chapter VII: At A Very Bad Time

As nighttime fell upon this quiet little Malibu neighborhood, four friends were getting ready for sleep. While Melody and Jackson were downstairs watching TV, Michael was busy cleaning up upstairs. Michael walked into his room, while Miley was still sleeping. He leaned over Miley, and made sure she was just sleeping. When he was satisfied that she was just sleeping, he walked over to his dresser, and began to change T-shirts. Miley yawned and began to sit up. She looked around, and realized that she was in Michael's room. She looked towards his dresser, and saw him with his shirt off. Miley looked away, face glowing red. She figured that she should get his attention, but hey, why ruin the show?

"Ahem." Miley coughed. Michael looked towards his bed, and then pulled a white t-shirt on himself.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Michael asked , sitting on the foot of his bed.

"Fine, thanks." Miley said quietly. After a minute of awkward silence, Miley spoke up.

"You saw my dad hit me, didn't you?" Miley said.

"Yeah, I did." Michael said. "I don't think that he should ever do that to you or Jackson. Miley, why didn't you tell anyone that this was happening to you? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew that you wouldn't have believed me." Miley said, tearing up. Michael sat closer to his friend.

"I would have believed you." Michael said sweetly. Miley smiled with tears in her eyes, and threw her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. Michael's face grew red as he let his friend hugged him. Miley broke away, and climbed out of the bed.

"Can I take a shower?" Miley asked him sweetly.

"Sure." Michael said. He pointed towards the bathroom behind them, and Miley went inside. Michael smiled and walked into Melody's room to give Miley some privacy.

As Miley was in Michael's shower, she just couldn't help but think about what he really meant to her. He was a good friend, and she was lucky to have him as just that, a friend. But in the back of her mind, she knew that she wanted him as more than a friend. The one thing that she really wanted to know was did Michael feel the same way? If he rejected her, that would kill her. She turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her, and stepped out of the shower. She walked into his bedroom, and towards his dresser. She saw that he laid out some of Melody's underwear, and she let out a chuckle once she thought about how uncomfortable it was for him to root through Melody's underwear drawer. She got dressed, and pulled on one of Michael's oversized black t-shirts that reached down to her knees. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, and sat on his bed.

Michael walked back into the room, and looked at Miley. His face grew red as he saw her wearing only a t-shirt.

"Are you comfortable?" Michael asked. Miley looked at him, his trying to hide his discomfort at checking out his friend.

"You think it's too little?" Miley asked sweetly.

"No! Not at all!" Michael said, cheerfully. Michael turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Miley asked him.

"Downstairs, I'm going to sleep on the couch." Michael answered her.

"Mike, come on. The bed is big enough for both us." Miley said, patting the area next to her.

"I don't know..." Michael said, backing away from her.

"Michael, it's just me. What are you afraid of?" Miley asked.

"Okay, I'll do it just to make you feel comfortable." Michael said. Before he knew it, Miley had her arms wrapped around him, and she was sound asleep. Michael smiled and soon went to sleep as well. Jackson and Melody peeked into Michael's room and saw them sound asleep.

"About time." They said in unison. They smiled at each other, and tiptoed away, careful not to disturb the sleeping couple.

Robby drove through the city, knowing just exactly where his precious children were. He knew that if they told anyone what he was doing to them (especially Miley), he was going away for a long time. He rounded the corner, and saw Jackson's car parked in front of Michael's and Melody's house. He wrote down the address, turned around, and left. He knew exactly what he was going to do. A sick smile grew on his face as he left.

Michael was going to get it....

AN:Okay, what's going to happen? R&R to find out!