A/N: There is absolutely no excuse for how I've ignored this story. I still intend to see it through the very end, no matter when that end may come. Thank you for all of you that have stuck through me with it. And thanks to AstronSoul for reminding me from time to time. This chapter is for you.

P.S. Not beta'd just wanted to get it up.

Part 10- Insecurities

Wandering into their shared bedroom, Lilly smiled to see Miley laid back on her bed, English book in hand. She seemed to be studying more intently than Lilly was used to seeing her do so. The other girl had, had a meeting at the studio earlier that morning and Lilly had a test in one of her classes so they had been separated all day.

Hearing the door close behind Lilly, Miley looked up from her book and a grin stole over her face when she got sight of her fiancé. "How was the test?" she asked as Lilley moved to take a seat beside her.

"Not to bad, I think I did pretty well," the blonde answered, leaning over to give Miley a gentle kiss on the lips in greeting. Catching a closer look at Miley's text book out of the corner of her eye, she realized what Miley had really been reading. "What's this, Miles?" she asked, lifting the magazine off the book. Closing it to look at the cover, she saw it was a bridal magazine.

"I was trying to get some ideas for our wedding," Miley shrugged liked it was no big deal. "Apparently we really need to pick a date first. Then the rest of the planning can begin, like a venue and a theme."

"I'm pretty sure your dad said we weren't to plan the wedding until at least after we graduated," Lilly felt the need to point out. Secretly it warmed her heart to know that Miley was so excited for the wedding that she couldn't wait, even if she herself wasn't feeling the need to rush.

"I believe what he said was he didn't want to hear any plans. He didn't say we couldn't make them," Miley smirked mischievously. There was complete truth to what she said and Lilly knew it.

Lilly rolled her eyes, knowing there was no stopping a determined Miley. "You know what he meant," she said anyway.

The brunette pulled Lilly into her arms, hugging her close, just needed to feel the girl she loved. Turning serious, "I know, but I had a thought. What do you say about getting married this summer?"

"This summer? As in only a few months from now? Yeah sure," Lilly laughed, believing that Miley was joking. When Miley didn't laugh with her, she studied the girl more closely. "You're serious."

"Yes, I am." She had thought about this idea in length. She wasn't even sure how to begin to explain to Lilly all the reason she wanted them to get married sooner rather than later. Most of them were insecurities rearing their ugly heads in her mind.

Lilly sat there stunned, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, not knowing what to say. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to marry Miley, someday. She didn't know why they needed to rush straight to a wedding though. They were still so young, not even out of high school yet. They had their whole lives ahead of them still.

She was afraid to say any of this though, not knowing how Miley would take it. For some reason the other girl just couldn't seem to accept that being together was what Lilly really wanted. She knew Miley had wanted to be with since before she'd even gotten together with Oliver. She couldn't imagine how much that had to hurt Miley when they announced their relationship. She didn't want to cause her any more hurt.

"Don't you think that's a little soon?" she asked slowly, gauging Miley's reaction.

"Not really, I mean we both know we want to get married so why wait?" Miley questioned back.

"Yes it's true we both want to get married," Lilly agreed. "But weddings normally take a lot of planning? A few months from now doesn't give us a lot of time."

"True, but when you have money, you can usually get things done quicker."

"You don't need to be spending a ton of money on our wedding," Lilly started to argue. "In fact why don't we wait to get married after college so that I can contribute as well," she suggested.

Miley stared deeply into Lilly's eyes, really wanting her to hear what she had to say next. "What did I tell you when I put that ring on your finger?" she tried to say as calmly as possible. "My money is our money, no matter if we are married or not. In fact after my meeting this morning I went to the bank and added your name to my account. The cards in your name should come in a few days."

Lilly was floored. She had no idea Miley had even thought about doing something like that. Sure they'd talked about it being there money, but it was a whole different feeling to know she actually had access to it. Access to the small fortune that Miley sat on. "Mil…"

"No arguing," Miley interrupted. "I meant what I said. As far as I'm concerned you are my partner now. I'm always going to make sure you're taken care of, not matter what happens in the future."

Lilly stared at Miley in awe. She always knew the other girl was mature for her age, but she'd never realized how much that was. Still, there was something in her voice that was telling Lilly that there were things that Miley wasn't saying. Placing a hand on her fiancé's cheek, Lilly leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Touching their foreheads together, she looked deeply into her eyes. "I love you so much, Miley. You're my partner, too. But I don't need money to tell me that."

"I know," Miley breathed. She had always known Lilly after her money. She never took handouts from any of the Stewarts, even when she needed the money. Instead working her ass off to get it. It was only one of the many reason she knew she could trust Lilly with anything and everything.

"What's really going on?" Lilly asked quietly.

Miley flinched, trying to cover it up, but wasn't successful. Pulling back she turned away from Lilly. "Nothing is going on," she insisted.

"Miley, I know you better than that. There's something you're not telling me," the blonde tried again.

"Just drop it, Lilly," Miley all but yelled. She knew her reaction wasn't rational and just made Lilly question her behavior even more. She couldn't help it though. Not wanting to argue, she picked up her English book and pretended to actually study it this time.

"Fine, don't tell me," Lilly huffed. "I'm going to go for a walk. Maybe by the time I get back you'll be ready to tell me what's going on." Standing up, she stormed over to the door, closing it behind her louder than normally would have.

Miley just watched her go, knowing the only way to stop her was to start talking and she wasn't ready to do that yet.

Not knowing where to go, Lilly just quietly wandered the small farm, lost in thought. She couldn't figure out why Miley was being the way she was. Okay, she hadn't really done anything wrong per say, but she wasn't acting entirely like herself either. Why was she trying to rush everything so quickly?

Sure Miley had stated that it was now their money from that first day of their engagement. She had no problem with how it was before, with Miley just paying for all their dates and stuff. She could feel like it was their money then, but still be removed from. But Miley had changed all that today, giving Lilly partial control. It was a daunting thought.

The other issue was the wedding. People didn't really get married right out of high school, did they? Wasn't that something you waited for until after college at least? That's how she'd envisioned it when Miley had proposed. They'd go to college and Lilly would get a good job, because of course Miley already had one, and then they'd start planning.

She wandered the property for awhile before ending up at the barn that was still a barn. Entering she smiled to see Blue Jeans in there, eyes trained on her. "Hey Blue Jeans," she smiled, running a hand down the horses nose. Her relationship with Blue Jeans had really been growing in the last few weeks, seeing why Miley loved the horse so much. "Your mother is exasperating," she told him, getting a snort in return.

Miley was really starting to worry when Lilly still hadn't returned two hours later. She was scared she'd chased Lilly off for good. Which was ironic when you consider the very things she didn't want to talk to Lilly about in the first place.

She was torn between going out to look for her girlfriend, or to just wait it out. She knew she needed to get herself together before either of those things happened though. And she really needed to talk to Lilly.

"You ready to talk now?" Lilly asked, surprising Miley when she suddenly entered the room. All Miley could do was nod her head in response, smiling through the heartbreak she had been feeling only moments ago.

Knowing they needed to seriously talk this through, Miley didn't object when Lilly sat in front of her, instead of beside, as had become habit of late. "I don't even know really what to say."

"Just tell me what's going on. Why this sudden idea that we should get married so soon? Don't get me wrong I want to marry you, I just don't understand why the rush."

"I've always loved the idea of a Summer wedding, so it seemed perfect to just have ours this summer. Then we will be a little more secure in our relationship when we go off to college. Plus we won't have to worry about random people hitting on us, well they probably still will, but we can just say 'I'm married' and that will be the end of that," Miley explained, smiling at the thought. Not of people hitting on her and definitely not on Lilly, but then hearing Lilly utter that phrase.

"Okay, that could be nice," Lilly agreed.

"Plus we'll have less time to plan a wedding in college, and I really think waiting until we finish is just too far away. I mean that's another four years at least."

When she put it like that Lilly really didn't want to wait that long either. She was excited about marrying Miley and four years was a long time to make that happen. Still Miley was holding back. "What aren't you saying still?"

She had hoped that would be enough to convince Lilly of her plan. She should have known better. The other girl knew her better than anyone else on Earth. She would know when Miley wasn't saying everything. Looking down at the bedspread, "Idontwanttoloseyou," she mumbled.

"What?"

"I'm scared of losing you," Miley said with a little more conviction but still not looking at Lilly.

"Losing me, why would you lose me?" Lilly asked, confused.

Miley shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you'll meet someone you like better and there's not stopping you from leaving me if we're not married."

Placing a hand on Miley's chin, she forced the taller girl's head up to look at her. "That Is Not Going To Happen," she told Miley fiercely, emphasizing each word. "I couldn't possibly ever love anyone more than I love you. Married or not, I'm not going to ever leave you for anyone else. I promise you that."

"You say that now."

"No, I KNOW that now," Lilly said firmly. "You are it for me, Miley Stewart. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person. If you really need us to get married this summer to prove that, then I'll do it. I don't want you to ever doubt us."

Miley studied the look in Lilly's eyes, knowing there was nothing but sincerity in them. "No, I believe you," she told her quickly.

"Good," Lilly smiled.

"I still like the idea though. Promise me you'll think about it," Miley pleaded.

Knowing she could never deny Miley, "I promise I'll think about," she agreed. "Now that we've done the fighting and the making up part, how's about we get to the kissing part."

"My pleasure."