Unsung

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters appearing on the Disney Channel's original series, 'Hannah Montana', created by Michael Poryes, Richard Correll & Barry O'Brien. Characters are copyrighted to 'It's A Laugh productions'. Original characters are copyrighted to the original author (QYM). This series is posted to Girls Loving Girls with full permission of the author. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.

Feedback: Every author in his or her own way makes it a point to ask for feedback when posting a story, well me I don't usually. But there are several reasons as to why a reader should consider taking the time to give it. The simple fact is that giving some form of feedback is truly the most important thing a reader can do after reading and enjoying a story. Hopefully in the process providing that author with at least one viable reason as to what you liked about the story. This small amount of time spent will no doubt inspire the author to write more and possibly at a quicker pace, knowing that they have a fan base who are waiting on their next works. So thanks for the feedback and please keep it comin.

Summary: In the ALL NEW 9th episode of 'Unsung', Miley and Lilly intentionally/unintentionally drop the news of their newly formed relationship to best friend Oliver, his reaction is not much of a surprise. Later, Lilly arrives home to find that her father (Ed) and her brother (Will) have dropped down from Sacramento for a visit. Prompting Lilly to reveal the change in her dating status, a revelation that does not go as planned. In the end, Lilly makes a painful decision.

Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 @ 9:30 p.m.
(following an ALL NEW 'My First Time')

Story Codes: no sex

Miley watched from near the microwave and she had to smile. It was fun watching Lilly try to cover up her embarrassment. When the popcorn was done, she dumped the contents of the bag into a large bowl and trotted over to the couch, settling down between her two friends. Lilly was still trying to glare daggers at Oliver, but her features softened when Miley was next to her.

“So what are we watching first?” Miley asked, grabbing a fistful of popcorn.

“I put the first Saw movie in,” Lilly chuckled, glancing at Oliver. Oliver’s face had paled considerably.

“I take it back, Miles, a romantic movie is totally fine.”

Miley glanced to Lilly, who was still grinning. “Lil, come on… You know he can’t deal with the blood.”

Lilly’s grin faded. Miley reached over, squeezing Lilly’s hand gently. “Let’s just watch a comedy for now. Middle ground. Everybody agree?”

Oliver nodded and Lilly shrugged, relenting. Miley got up and ejected the disc from the DVD player. After it was tucked back in its case, Miley searched through the many slim cases under the player.

Meanwhile Lilly had gone back to teasing Oliver, though her embarrassment faded. She stuck her tongue out and tilted her nose in the air. He retorted by waggling his fingers by his ears. She reached over to punch his shoulder when Miley returned to her seat. Lilly quickly withdrew.

As the movie played, Lilly slowly worked her hand from her lap ever-so-slowly over to Miley’s lap. She covertly laced their fingers together, stealing peeks at Miley from the corner of her eye. Miley’s smile greeted her every time. Eventually, she forgot Oliver was even there with them and decided it might be okay to try and sneak in a little kiss.

She scooted her body a little closer on the couch, eyes trained on the television. When she couldn’t possibly get any closer without actually being on Miley’s lap, she sat quite still, building up her resolve. It was funny – she knew Miley wouldn’t reject her, but her nerves were jangling. Finally she finished her mission, catching the side of Miley’s mouth in a nervous kiss. That was when she spotted Oliver – and when he spotted her.

“Finally!” he yelled, interrupting the movie. “I mean, you two have been dancing around for years!”

Lilly blushed. “It so hasn’t been years, doughnut.”

Miley squeezed her hand. “We know you’re okay with this, right?”

He shrugged. “Well, yeah, duh. Just make sure you leave some time for me, okay?”

Miley smiled at him. “We will.”

Oliver turned his attention back to the television. If he’d had a problem with his two best friends dating, he would have mentioned much earlier, before Miley had spent the effort confessing. To him, as long as they were happy, he was happy. He just wished he could get a girlfriend. His two female best friends found girlfriends – granted they were dating each other – and he was still single. It was some cosmic joke, he decided.

“Wait,” he said, interrupting the movie again and turning to Miley. “What happened to Katie?”

Miley explained everything that had happened over the weekend. The way his face changed emotions was comical enough to keep Miley from tearing up again, but she knew that she didn’t really want to tell the story again. Just thinking about it was hard. She really had liked Katie, after all.

If there was any tension in the room between Lilly and Oliver, it had completely dissipated. Lilly was feeling much better now that she was two for two in the realms of coming out. So that was two down, two to go. Well, two and a half down, if you included Jackson. Her happy mood plummeted slightly; it was going to be hard telling her dad and brother. She was a daddy’s girl, she’d easily admit that. And Will had taught her everything from how to tie her shoes to how to skateboard.

Her mind stayed occupied even as the credits rolled and Miley shook her gently. “Lil, you okay?”

Lilly blinked owlishly. “Oh, yeah. I’m good.”

“Are you coming?” Oliver asked, standing by the back door. Obviously Miley and he had made some plans while she was spacing out.

“Yeah… where are we going again?” Lilly got up, following her two friends as they headed outside.

Miley laughed quietly. “Where were you? We’re going down to Rico’s for ice cream.”

Lilly shrugged, indifferent. “I was there. Watching… um, what were we watching?”

“Dodgeball.” Oliver supplied.

“Right. Dodgeball.” Lilly responded.

Miley linked arms with her. “Lils, hon, we were watching Wedding Crashers.”

Oliver guffawed loudly. “I can’t believe you fell for that!”

“And I can’t believe you’ll never have children.” Lilly threatened.

“What?” Oliver narrowed his eyebrows, confused. “When did that happen?”

“In about ten seconds,” Lilly pulled her leg back threateningly. That effectively cut off Oliver’s laughs.

“Not funny,” Oliver grumbled, crossing his legs protectively.

“Are you two done?” Miley asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Yeah, yeah.” Lilly started walking quickly, pulling Miley along for the ride. Miley fell into pace beside her and Oliver had to run to catch up.

Down at Rico’s, Jackson was fiddling with the hotdog maker. It was under-cooking the sausages and his customers were not happy. Almost all of them were demanding their money back and he really didn’t want Rico to find out. Unfortunately, the cooker went haywire, spewing sparks and forcing Jackson to admit defeat. He went to the cash register and popped it open.

As Jackson started refunding the money, the dark-haired boy who reigned over the food stand suddenly popped up at the counter, eyes narrowed.

“I don’t think I authorized this, Jackson,” he stated, raising an eyebrow.

“Look, Rico, it’s not my fault. Fix the darn machine and I won’t have to do it.”

Rico glanced at the dangerous electric equipment. “Sabotage! Somebody is trying to wreck my sales. Jackson, I think I need to start interrogating my employees. I need to find the spy.”

Jackson stared at him, wondering if Rico actually heard the words he was saying. “Um, boss, I’m your only employee.”

“Then you must be the spy.” Rico pounded a fist into his open hand. “Nobody wrongs Rico and gets away with it. Jackson! You’re fired!”

“Rico! Come on! It’s just broken. Call a handy-man, use the warranty to get a new one! You don’t need to fire me, come on…” Jackson begged, “I need this job. Without it, I don’t have money. Without money, I don’t have dates!”

Rico considered the plea. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good man, Rico. You’re giving the women a great gift by keeping me on.”

Miley tapped the counter, getting Jackson’s attention. “Hey, Jackson, how about a little service?”

“One minute, Miles, I might not have to.” Jackson eyed Rico. “So?”

Rico waved his hand noncommittally. “We’ll talk later.”

Jackson grimaced, turning to his customers. “What?”

“Three ice creams, please,” Miley requested, “and some napkins.”

Rico stared at her. “One per customer, thanks.”

Jackson glared at his mini-boss and handed his sister the ice creams. The crowd around the shack had cleared off after receiving their money, so the sand was pretty deserted. Oliver claimed an empty table, dripping water everywhere. When Miley and Lilly were gone as well, Jackson leaned down on the counter, fully prepared to beg for his job.

“Come on, Rico. What’s it going to take?”

Rico rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know.”

“I could tell you a secret,” Jackson tried. He doubted Rico would give in, but it was worth the minimal effort.

“Is it good?” Rico’s interested had been piqued.

“It’s more than good. It’s juicy.” Jackson nodded, glancing over at his sister enjoying her ice cream. This would be the perfect revenge for the prank this morning.

“I’m listening.”

Jackson ran fingers across his lips, zipping them shut. “Not until you promise my job is secure.”

“Yeah, yeah, spill.”

“Well, Miley and Lilly are dating.”

Rico raised an eyebrow thoughtfully and turned his attention towards the three ice cream eaters. “Prove it.”

“Won’t you just take my word for it?”

“I don’t believe you,” Rico shook his head. “You selling out your own family just doesn’t fit.”

Jackson glanced nervously at his sister. “Well, watch ‘em for a while. They’re bound to do something. Rico, this is my job we’re talking about.”

Rico sighed, “They’ve got two hours until I have to go. If something happens, you get to keep your job.”

Jackson pumped a fist in the air. Two hours could be a long time. One of them just had to do something. He thought it was lucky that the beach had been practically abandoned after his under-cooked hot dogs. He was saved – for now.

Miley licked her ice cream, oblivious to her brother’s employment plight. She was sitting so that her leg barely brushed against Lilly’s under the table. Passersby wouldn’t see it, but she could feel it and that was enough. Oliver was already halfway through eating his cone, ice cream painted on his nose, lips, and chin. Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching Lilly – waiting for the perfect time to strike. Lilly had just lifted the cone to her mouth, not quite eating yet when he struck.

Throwing his arm past her face, he pointed to something in the distance, smashing his arm into the cone, cramming it onto her nose.

“Look! Naked cheerleaders!”

Lilly pushed his arm, cone still on her nose. “Hah hah, very funny.”

She got up, threatening him with a deadly gaze. It took less than a second for him to make a break for it, his chair falling backwards into the sand. She was about to give chase when Miley grabbed her wrist. Lilly yanked the cone free, ice cream sliding down her face.

“Lil, he’ll be back.”

“But he ruined my ice cream,” Lilly pouted, staring at her messy cone. “I mean, some of that’s been up my nose.”

“Want me to buy you a new one?” Miley questioned. Her tone suggested minor annoyance, but that was the furthest emotion from her current mood. However awkward they were, Lilly and she were a couple. Finally. She was pretty sure nothing could ruin her mood.

Rico moved closer, pretending to be searching the sand for something. In reality, though, he was listening carefully to every word the two exchanged. He sensed there was something up between the two.

“No, thanks,” Lilly shook her head, still feeling like being silly. She reached over and grabbed Miley’s cone, attempting to steal it. “I’ll just take yours.”

“Lilly!” Miley tried to bat Lilly’s hand away. “Come on! I’ll get you a new one!”

Lilly stopped struggling, glancing around. Because Rico was close to the ground, she didn’t see him and assumed there was nobody nearby other than Jackson. “Come on, Miles, just this once? For your girlfriend?”

Miley gave in instantly. “That’s not fair.”

Lilly shrugged, happily licking her new ice cream. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Rico crawled away, a devilish smirk adorning his face. Now all he had to do was a little planning to decide how best to extort this little secret. When Jackson saw the look on his boss’s face, he felt instantly bad for doing that to Miley. He knew things weren’t going to turn out well for him.

--

Eventually Oliver came back. He eyed Lilly suspiciously but Lilly barely noticed him. The ice cream was long since gone and she and Miley had been lounging at the table waiting.

“Truce Lilly?”

“Yeah,” Lilly reached over, hand open.

“Thanks,” he smiled and shook her hand, only to jerk his hand away suddenly. “Ew! What is that?”

She chuckled – his hand, and hers for that matter, was dripping with melted ice cream. “Just a surprise, that’s all.”

“I thought we truced!”

“We did. After I creamed you.”

Oliver sighed, defeated. “Can we just go hang on the beach now?”

Miley shrugged. “Lilly and I aren’t really dressed for beach-going.”

“So change,” Oliver rolled his eyes. Girls made things too difficult.

“No!” Lilly cried. “We can just roll our pants up or something.”

Miley smiled. “If you guys want.”

The rest of the afternoon managed to pass with Lilly and Oliver’s truce intact. The three of them had fun splashing about in the shallow water. Despite efforts to stay dry, both Miley and Lilly got soaked through – Oliver decided it would be fun to start a splash war. What he hadn’t counted on was Miley and Lilly teaming up. By the time they had stumbled from the water Oliver looked like a wet rat. His hair lay pressed up against his cheeks and plastered on his neck. Grumbling he bid the two good bye, heading home to knock the sand out of his shorts.

When he was gone, Miley walked Lilly up to Lilly's front door. Again, their parting was slightly awkward. Miley knew that giving Lilly a small kiss was dangerous if Lilly hadn’t told anybody but her mom. They settled on a tight hug.

Lilly trudged inside just before dinnertime, wet but utterly cheerful. It was good to know that she, Miley, and Oliver could hang around like nothing had changed. And maybe, she thought, nothing really had. So far all that was different between her and Miley was the kissing, and the hand holding, and the brushes up against each other.

Okay, Lilly reasoned, so things had changed. But she had to admit, they were for the better.

“Mom! I’m home!” She hollered, standing in the doorway, dripping.

“So come inside!” her mom yelled back.

“Can’t! Soggy and wet!”

A towel came flying at her face; she ducked and it whapped the wall behind her. Grabbing it, she scowled at her older brother.

“Will!” she yelled as she ran after him, forgetting that she was splattering sand and water with every step. In the middle of the kitchen she realized that her father was staring at her so she screeched to a halt. “What? He threw a towel at me.”

“And you didn’t use it?” He asked, taking in her wet clothes and hair.

Her face immediately heated up. “I just… Um… Hi Dad. What are you doing here?”

“Your mother has to leave on a business trip, and seeing that I don’t have to work tomorrow, I brought Will down from Sacramento to stay with you. Now, why don’t you go change before dinner?”

“Yeah, will do.” She shook a fist at Will who, at this point, was seated at his place at the table, smiling innocently.

Dinner went well enough. Her parents had been divorced long enough that there was no strange, lingering tension. They were actually very good friends now, they just couldn’t stand living together. Her father talked a little about his job, the people around the office, and about clients. Will spoke very little; he wasn’t the talkative type. Her mother had begun to clear away the dishes when Lilly stood up. She had been preparing for this the entire meal but just looking at her father’s confused face made her knees quail.

“Dad, Will, I have something to tell you.”

Her mother dropped a knife to the glass top table, attracting Lilly’s attention. She gave a barely perceptibly negative shake of her head before continuing over to the sink. Lilly didn’t take it to heart. She knew her dad would love her, no matter what, and that Will would too.

“What is it, Lil?” Mr. Truscott stared at her, wearing very little of his emotion on his sleeve.

“I…” she took another deep breath, deciding last minute that telling them the same way she told her mom was probably safe. “I’m in a relationship.”

Mr. Truscott chuckled softly. “Well who is he? I’m going to have a talk with that boy.”

“Um, really that’s kind of the thing, daddy. I’m not dating a boy.”

Silence descended on the table and Lilly was sure that her heart stopped for a few moments. Eventually Will looked up at her. “So, what? Are you dating a goat? ‘Cause that’s just creepy Lil.” Their mother hit him on the back of the head lightly, telling him to shut up.

Lilly gazed expectantly at her father, who sat there with a blank face. He seemed shell-shocked.

Without a word, he got up from the table and exited the room. Lilly stared at his empty seat, eyes filling with tears. What was going on here?

“Lilly, go to your room,” her mother commanded gently, patting Lilly on the shoulder. Lilly wandered aimlessly towards the destination, mind still processing her father’s reaction. Had he… rejected her?

Mr. Truscott thought he’d done a good job with his kids. Sure, he hadn’t been there all the time, since he did have to work. But even though they were divorced, he thought he and his wife had given both kids a good set of values and a working sense of morality. To have his daughter say she was… he shook his head.

His ex-wife followed him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Ed, talk to me.”

“Talk to you? About what, exactly? The fact that our daughter’s obviously out of her mind, or that what she’s doing is wrong!?” he asked, his volume elevating as he spoke. From her room, Lilly could hear every word her parents said.

“What is wrong with it?”

“Are you joking?” he yelled, staring at her incredulously. “We taught her better than this, Heather.”

“This isn’t wrong,” her mother countered. “It’s just different. There is nothing wrong with being in love.”

Ed stood there, grinding his teeth quietly. “There is when it’s morally disgusting.”

WHAP!

Lilly heard the sound from her room, but it took a moment for her to realize what had happened. Her mother had slapped him.

“Don’t you ever call our daughter disgusting again,” she growled, poking him in the chest.

There was a long silence after she spoke.

“I’m going to talk to Lilly.”

“No, you’re not. You need to leave before you cause her any more grief.”

“I can talk to my own daughter!”

“Not when you’re being an insensitive and ridiculous ass! Now get the hell out of my house!”

Lilly found her way to her bed, sitting down on the edge and staring at the opposite wall. A few seconds later her door opened and Will entered. He looked as if he wanted to puke.

“Lil,” he started, managing to keep his voice level. “I… I’m sorry about dad. He’s just… a little close-minded.”

“I never would have guessed,” she muttered, her sarcasm jumping in to defend her heart.

“Don’t talk to me like that, Lil,” he responded, a little hurt as he came to sit next to her on the bed. “I’m trying to be the supportive older brother here, but if you want to be a bitch, than go ahead and sulk.”

“I’m sorry, Will,” she murmured, her heart breaking a little more.

He shook his head, trying to get some order to his thoughts, but only managed to repeat himself. “So, who’s the lucky girl?”

Lilly felt a few tears leak free from her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Lilly, you’re my sister and I want you happy. If dating a girl makes you happy, then screw dad and be happy,” he stated earnestly, then grinned. “Think I can say happy a few more times? Happy happy happy.” When she didn’t laugh, he grew serious again. “Don’t go doing something stupid because of what he said. You’ll just end up hating yourself because of it.”

“Okay,” she lied, the last pieces of her heart falling to the ground with a ‘clink.’ She already knew what she had to do. What she was going to do to get her daddy to love her again; to make her not so disgusting.

Will hugged Lilly tightly, kissing the crown of her head. “It’ll be okay, Lil. It’ll be okay.”

As she lay down to sleep that night, Lilly tried not to think about the next morning. She’d have to put her foot down, stay strong, and tell Miley that it was all a mistake, that it couldn’t go on. She cried herself to sleep.