A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. I hope I still have some readers left! I'll try my best to get the next one out much sooner. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my personal favorite author here, KURRENT. She paid me one of the great compliments I can imagine, simply by saying how much she loved this story. So this one's for you, Jo :) I hope you all like it
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"A STAR IS BORN"
- Six Months Later -
The warm sun of late May shone down on Pine Ridge High School, whose students were facing the busy final days of the school year. For sixteen year old Miley Stewart, that meant not only studying for final exams, but preparing herself to finally begin recording her first album as Hannah Montana. With everything suddenly becoming so busy, all Miley really wanted to do was relax and spend some time with her girlfriend, but it didn't seem like that was going to be happening anytime soon.
As Miley stood at her locker, grabbing a few things she needed for her upcoming History final, a familiar pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her from behind, squeezing her in a gentle hug. She didn't have to look to know who it was; the sweet vanilla scent of Lilly's perfume told her all she needed to know.
"Hey, you," she said softly. "How did your cooking class go?" Lilly grinned and rested her head gently on Miley's shoulder.
"I totally aced my final," she replied. "I swear, I'm gonna be able to cook so good for you when we get old!" Miley smiled.
"Oh yeah?" she asked teasingly. "You plannin' on us settling down already?" Lilly responded by playfully nipping at Miley's neck, making her girlfriend jump.
"Some day," she answered, smiling again. "You know I'm never letting you go."
"Good," Miley responded, turning around in Lilly's embrace so they were face-to-face again, "cause I don't ever want you to." She leaned forward until their noses were touching.
"I love you, Lilly," Miley said softly, smiling happily.
"I love you too, Miley," Lilly replied, smiling back. "I always will."
"You know I'd love to stay like this forever, but we've got a history final in a few minutes," Miley pointed out, still smiling. Lilly sighed dramatically.
"Way to ruin the moment, Stewart," she said teasingly. "All right, but after school, you're mine."
"After school we have to study," Miley replied, her smile widening.
"You'd rather play with boring old textbooks than with me?" Lilly asked, trying to sound hurt. Miley took one look at the faux wounded expression on Lilly's face and laughed out loud, burying her face in Lilly's shoulder.
"So now you're gonna laugh at me, huh?" Lilly continued. Miley shook with silent laughter, and though she tried to fight it, soon Lilly was laughing right along with her.
"You're bad," Miley giggled, finally regaining some control.
"You love me anyway," Lilly quipped, smiling widely.
"Uh huh," Miley replied, her eyes sparkling. "Now come on, we're gonna be late, and I'm really not looking forward to another of Mrs. Thompson's lectures!"
Sometime later, Miley & Lilly finally made it home to begin studying for their geometry final. After preparing their study materials, and a few snacks, Miley excused herself to use the restroom for a moment.
"Hurry back!" Lilly called out. Miley turned to look at her, a huge grin on her face.
"I'm only going to the bathroom, silly," she laughed.
"Yeah, but who knows how long you'll be gone?" Lilly countered. "You wouldn't want me to get lonely, would you?" Miley just smiled and shook her head.
"No, we can't have that," she chuckled. "Tell you what…" She walked quickly back over to Lilly and kissed her softly.
"Think that'll hold you over til I get back?" she asked teasingly. Lilly nodded enthusiastically.
"As long as there's more where that came from," she said eagerly. Miley winked.
"Only for you," she said softly. Then, unable to ignore the needs of her body any longer, she hurried away.
While she was gone, Lilly tried to busy herself by doodling on a blank piece of paper. Playfully, she began to draw a large heart, and wrote Miley's name inside it. Without really realizing it, she started to grin, just the sight of her love's name sending a thrill of happiness jolting through her.
"You really love her, don't you?" a familiar voice called out, startling Lilly. She looked up to see Jackson, Miley's older brother, standing in the kitchen not far away, holding a glass of orange juice in one hand and staring at her intently. He had not been at all accepting of her and Miley's relationship thus far, so Lilly wasn't certain what to make of his question. Still, she wasn't about to deny her feelings for Miley, regardless of how her brother felt about it.
"Yes, I do," Lilly replied softly. "I'm sorry it bothers you."
"It doesn't," Jackson answered distantly. "I mean, I want my sister to be happy… I guess I just don't understand why she wants to be with another girl."
"Does it really make a difference?" Lilly asked, trying to control her temper. "Isn't the fact that she's happy enough?" She turned away, finding herself suddenly uncomfortable looking at him.
"Doesn't it bother you what people say?" Jackson continued, placing his glass in the sink. "The things they say, the names they call you?"
"Sometimes," Lilly admitted, drawing another heart on her sheet of paper, connecting it to the one she'd drawn earlier. She added her own name to it. "I can handle it though, as long as I'm with Miley."
"She really means that much to you?" Jackson asked quietly. Something in his tone made Lilly look up again. She took a long, careful look at her girlfriend's older brother, than nodded slowly.
"She means everything to me," Lilly said softly. She paused. "You're really worried about her, aren't you?" Jackson didn't answer right away, pretending to busy himself with cleaning his glass.
"I just don't want to see her hurt again," he said after a moment. A jolt of anger suddenly surged through Lilly.
"You already hurt her more than I ever could," Lilly hissed, "or ever would! Do you know how hard Miley cried when you just ran out after you found out about us?!" Jackson hung his head in shame.
"I know," he said quietly. "Dad told me… right before he read me the riot act."
"You deserved it," Lilly said darkly. Jackson nodded slowly.
"Yeah," he said simply. "I did. I was a jerk." Lilly raised a curious eyebrow. She had not been expecting Jackson to be quite so… agreeable.
"If I were Miley, I'd probably be saying something like 'crazy brother say what' right about now," she quipped. Jackson smiled a little at just how well Lilly knew his sister. Then he sighed.
"After dad tore into me, I got to thinkin'," he said slowly. "I don't wanna lose my sister… like I lost my mom. I'm just worried about her. People can be cruel."
"I'd never hurt Miley," Lilly promised. "I swear Jackson, it hurts me every time I see her sad or upset!" Jackson nodded slowly.
"I know," he said quietly. "I've seen you two together… and I know Miley's happier with you than I've ever seen her before. Heck, you're the reason she got through losin' our mother like we did! It's just…"
"It's just what, Jackson?" Miley's voice interrupted. Jackson whirled around to see his younger sister standing in the doorway to the kitchen, staring at him teary-eyed. Her voice was soft and subdued, without the slightest hint of anger. Jackson swallowed. He had not realized his sister had overheard him, and was simply not used to showing his emotions in front of her… even if they were genuine.
"How much did you hear?" he asked quickly.
"Did you really mean all those things?" Miley asked her brother quietly.
"I just don't want you to get hurt," Jackson admitted softly. He turned around again, not quite able to look his little sister in the eye.
"That's what older brothers are supposed to do, isn't it?" he asked quietly. "Protect their little sisters?" Blinking back tears, Miley walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Neither sibling said a word; they just stood there, silently sharing their love for each other. After a few moments they parted, and Jackson took an embarrassed step back.
"I'm sorry," he said at last. "If you and Lilly are happy together… then that's enough for me." Miley smiled happily.
"Thank you, Jackson… that means a lot to me," she said sincerely. Lilly walked over and put her arms protectively around Miley.
"Just try not to upset her anymore, got it?" Lilly said playfully, "or you'll have to answer to me!" Jackson smiled sheepishly.
"Yes, ma'am," he responded. "I get the feelin' I really wouldn't wanna be on your bad side, Lilly." Miley grinned and rested her cheek against Lilly's.
"Trust me, Jackson… you don't."
A few weeks later, after school finally ended for the summer, Miley found herself back in Mr. Lebeck's studio, getting ready to record her first album as Hannah Montana. She still felt a little nervous, but did her best to get past it by trying to throw herself into the creative process. She and her father both worked with Mr. Lebeck to choose the songs for the album, and Robbie Ray even helped write a few of them, something he hadn't done since his own glory days. The song Miley had written for her mother was also going to be included.
Lilly was there as well, right by Miley's side as always, offering her love and support. When she finally began actually recording the songs, Miley found herself focusing on her best friend, gazing at her through the glass partition and singing each song as though she was performing for Lilly alone. For her part, Lilly smiled shyly back and tried her best to encourage her incredibly talented best friend.
"That was awesome, Miles!" Lilly gushed during on one of the breaks. Miley grinned.
"I guess having an angel to sing to just brings out the best in me," she said happily. Lilly did her best to hide the polite shade of pink she knew her cheeks had to be turning.
"You're doing an awesome job all by yourself, Miles," she said honestly. "Just like I always knew you would."
"Thanks, Lils," Miley said softly. "Thanks for always being there for me. I couldn't have done any of this without you. I love you."
"I love you too, Miles," Lilly replied, just as softly. "I'll always be right here with you, whenever you need me."
"I might just have to keep you around then," Miley said teasingly. "How does the rest of our lives sound?" Lilly grinned.
"Forever it is," she quipped, and she blew Miley a kiss through the glass. A tap on the glass from beside Lilly signaled the break was over. Miley paused long enough to wink at Lilly and slipped her headphones back on, ready to resume recording.
Later, as the long day finally drew to a close, Miley took a moment to talk to Mr. Lebeck. She'd had an idea floating around in her head all day, and she was anxious to her producer's permission to go through with it.
"Mr. Lebeck, would it be all right if I wrote another song for the album?" she asked him quickly. Eddie Lebeck looked up at her from his equipment, a friendly smile on his face.
"I think we could work something out," he said warmly. "The more personal you make the album, the better it'll sound. You have something particular in mind?"
"I, um… I want to write a song for Lilly," Miley said shyly. Mr. Lebeck looked like he was about to say something else, but Miley cut him off.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna use her name or anything," she said quickly. "I just want to dedicate it to her. No one else will know who it's for."
"Relax, Miley," Mr. Lebeck said gently. "I'm not worried about that at all. I don't have a problem with you and Lilly; in fact, you're probably the cutest young couple I've ever seen!" He smiled then, and Miley felt herself relax.
"Your relationships are your own, private business, Miley," he continued, "and if you want to dedicate a song to Lilly, I think that'd be great."
"Thanks Mr. Lebeck!" Miley practically squealed, and she impulsively hugged him.
"Did I miss something?" Lilly asked wryly, as she returned from the rest room.
"Nope," Miley answered. "I was just thanking Mr. Lebeck for being a great producer!" Lilly arched an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.
"Okay, Miss Pop Star," she said with a smile. "Whatever you say."
A few days later, Miley finally finished the song she'd written especially for Lilly and presented it to Mr. Lebeck. He genuinely seemed to like it, and immediately scheduled a demo recording for it.
"You finally gonna tell me about that new song of yours, or do I have to wait until you record it?" Lilly asked her teasingly. "I swear, I don't think I've ever seen you so into a song before… not even the one you wrote for your mom." Miley looked up at her through the partition and smiled shyly.
"I wanted it to be a secret," she explained, "but I really hope you like it."
"I'll like anything you wrote Miles, you know that," Lilly responded. Miley looked at her carefully, fixing Lilly's sapphire gaze with her own.
"I wrote it for you, Lilly," she said softly. Lilly's jaw dropped open, but before she could say anything further, Miley began to sing.
--
My days were dark
No light around
The heart of me
Just couldn't be found
--
Then I met you
And somehow I knew
You were the one
I was waiting for
--
When I see you
I know I've finally found
Where I belong
And when we are close
My heart sings a joyful song
As long as we're together
I know there's nothin' I can't do
'Cause I see my future
When I see you
--
Lilly felt tears trickle down her cheeks as she listened to Miley's heartfelt words, and whispered a silent prayer to whoever might be listening for bringing the sassy brunette into her life. Miley's eyes never once left Lilly's, and with each word and verse she continued to pour her heart out to the young woman she loved so much…
--
My heart leaps
Whenever you come around
It's all I can do
To keep my feet on the ground
--
I've heard it said
There are angels here we can see
Well baby, I believe it
When I feel your arms around me
--
When I see you
I know I've finally found
Where I belong
And when we are close
My heart sings a joyful song
As long as we're together
I know there's nothin' I can't do
'Cause I see my future
When I see you
--
"I love you," Lilly mouthed silently, and Miley responded with a smile, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears. She held a hand over her heart for a moment, then held it out towards Lilly, as if freely offering her heart to the beautiful blonde tomboy who already held it fast.
--
I'll love you forever
My whole life through
'Cause I see our future
When I see you
--
I see our future
When I see you…
--
Yeah, I see our future
When I see you…
--
The song ended, and Lilly jumped from her seat. Without even asking for permission, she bolted into the recording room and pulled Miley into a fierce, tearful hug.
"Oh, Miley, that was beautiful!" she managed through her tears. "Did you really mean all that?"
"I meant every word," Miley whispered back, holding Lilly to her, running a free hand through her long, silky blonde hair. "I love you Lilly, and I always will."
By the way... the song Miley wrote and sang for Lilly? I wrote that myself (I guess you could say I was inspired :) ) Let me know what you think of it. Its probably not very good, but then, I've never tried to write a song before :)