Unsung: On Deaf Ears

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.

Authors Note: I realized that I didn't put a disclaimer. So… I don't own Hanny Montanny. So there. Can't make me.

This chapter is frustrating. I had it half written and then Word decided that it disliked me. So we had a fight and it deleted everything. So it's back to square one. Or it was. AND I got back at Word by using Wordpad. Eat that Word.

Original Airdate: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 @ 8:30 p.m.

Story Codes: no sex

Miley sunk lower in her chair – she was down in the kitchen listening to the messages on her phone. Robby Ray had his head jammed into the fridge. By the time Lilly's message had played and concluded, Miley was practically in tears again and Robby had found what he was looking for.

He turned from the refrigerator with a jar of jam in his hands. Popping the top, he took a quick whiff and decided the jam was still good. "What's up, Mile?"

"Lilly left me a message," she murmured.

He set the jar next to the plate that held his bread and grabbed a knife from the silverware drawer. "What'd she say?"

Miley pushed her cell back and forth between her hands on the smooth countertop. "She wants to talk to me."

The jam just wouldn't stay on the knife, as Robby Ray found to his growing consternation. He grunted with mild frustration. "Are you going to hear her out?"

"Try a spoon, Daddy." Miley slouched in her chair, "Yes. No. Maybe."

He threw the knife into the sink. "Don't you miss her?"

She twisted her lips into a faint grimace. "Yes."

The spoon, he discovered, worked much better. "So the problem is…?"

"I don't know. Maybe I want her to feel every ounce of agony I did."

Robby cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, "If you say so, darlin'."

Miley's head hit her forearms. "What would you do, Daddy?"

"Go to the beach and get my mind off of things. She probably expects you to take your time and not answer for a while anyway." After eighteen years, Mr. Robby Ray Stewart felt as though he had teenage age girls down.

"Yeah…. You're probably right."

"'Course I am," he boasted, "I'm your dad."

She hoped off her seat and grabbed his freshly-made jam sandwich. "I'll be back before dinner, okay?"

"That's my sandwich…" he trailed off, groaning as she made off with his meal. He brightened, though, as she left the house. "At least I've still got my pie."

He returned to the fridge and reached for the small box of leftover key lime pie that he'd hidden behind the jug of milk. Much to his chagrin, the pie was missing in action.

"Miley Ray Stewart!" He hollered, only to realize he had just finished sending her to the beach with his sandwich. He sighed and reached for the jam.

Miley plastered a grin on her face. It was passably realistic – several beachgoers returned it with a cheerful smile. How could they be so blissful? Miley wondered. So ignorant? She ignored the fierce burning of the sand against her bare feet and kept walking. Truthfully, she was used to the pain and it was no longer bothersome.

Her eyes flickered to the water. A surfer just off the coast wiped out. She watched as he surfaced and scrambled to find his board.

"What am I supposed to do?" She whispered, nudging a rock with her big toe. Taking a bite of her sandwich, she shook her head.

She came upon her alcove in the trees and gave a wistful sigh. She'd used this one area to reveal Hannah to Oliver, to dump Jake, and to ultimately come out to Lilly. It held a lot of bitter sweet memories, to say the least. And it seemed that she was about to make another.

She settled down onto the sand and settled her head down onto her palms. Her eyes glazed over and her mind whirled silently. Before she knew it, her eyelids slid down and she slid down into her dreams.

"Miley, what are you doing?"

Miley opened her eyes and rubbed a fist to rid herself of sleep-seeds. She didn't respond at first, but merely stared at the speaker with an open mouth. Eventually she remembered herself and she smiled hesitantly. "Hi, Mom."

Mrs. Stewart was seated in the sand a good five feet away. She beamed at her daughter and patted the sand next to her, "Please don't tell me you've been drinking that Loco Hot Cocoa before bed…"

Miley shook her head, "It's not that."

"So what is it this time, sweet pea?" When Miley was seated beside her, Mrs. Stewart draped an arm around her daughter's shoulders.

"Lilly."

"What's wrong with Lilly?"

Miley blushed slightly, "We were dating."

"That's new." Mrs. Stewart chuckled. "But not unexpected."

"You're not mad?"

"'Course not, darling." She rubbed Miley's back gently, "You're my little girl. I'll always love you."

"And she dumped me." Miley finished.

"So you're trying to move on?"

Miley shook her head, "No, more like trying to figure out if I should forgive her or not."

"Mind telling me the whole story?" Mrs. Stewart waited patiently as Miley related the recent events and fell silent again. "Sounds like Lilly was and is going through a tough time right now."

"Well, yeah." Miley conceded.

"Seems to me that you should be helping her, not pushing her away."

Miley ducked her head, "But she hurt me."

"Miley Ray, when have your father and I ever taught you that two wrongs make a right?"

Miley shrugged distantly, "Never."

"It's 'cause they don't."

"But what if I forgive her and she hurts me again?"

"Mile, that's what love is. Giving someone the power to hurt you but trusting them not to. It's also forgiving and growing and accepting. We all make mistakes. We all deserve a second chance."

Miley smiled faintly, "Thanks, Mom."

"Don't thank me. You're the one thinking all this…"

Miley blinked suddenly and found that the sun was setting. She yawned slightly and stared at the ground a few feet away; the sand appeared untouched, but it didn't change the fondness she felt for that empty patch of space.

Her phone jangled loudly in her pocket and she pulled it out, "Yeah?"

Robby Ray was not a happy father, "Mile, it's seven-thirty. Where are you?"

Miley glanced around, "I fell asleep at the beach. I'll be right back."

She hurried through the sand. The beach was mostly deserted, but she spotted a blonde head lying in the sand by a lifeguard tower, a surfboard propped directly beside. She hesitated but knew what had to happen.

"Lilly?"

Lilly didn't want to move at first, afraid this was a dream, but she propped herself up on her elbows and squinted through the setting sunlight, "Miley?"

"Lilly, I'm ready to listen."

Lilly stood up suddenly, ignoring the sudden tunnel-vision in her eyes and the crashing of her surfboard as she knocked it to the side, "Really?"

"Really." Miley reached out and placed a hand on Lilly's forearm.

Lilly cleared her throat and opened her mouth. It snapped shut a few seconds later and her eyes darted away. "I had prepared something to say… and now I can't remember… I never was a good public speaker."

Miley felt her confidence crumbling away, but was determined to stay. "I'm listening. But I do have to get to dinner in like five minutes."

Lilly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried again, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I know you are." Miley responded despondently.

"And I know I was stupid. Completely and utterly stupid."

"Yeah, I know."

Lilly flushed slightly but continued. "And I can't believe that I'd allow myself to hurt you. I'd never want to hurt you ever and I don't know what I was thinking. But I'm hurting, too."

Miley's harsh tone cracked, "I… I know."

"And I hate myself more and more when you're not with me." Lilly admitted, "Every moment I spend hating myself is time I should be spending making your life better. And it kills me inside that I had to go and screw up what we had. 'Cause we had something really nice."

Miley broke their eye contact to stare at the toppled surfboard, "I know."

Lilly was slightly disheartened, but pressed onwards, "I'm running out of things to say. It sounded so much better in my head, but all I can do is ask you for forgiveness and hope you don't hate me forever."

Miley knelt beside the board and dusted the sand off of it, "Did you wax it today?"

Surprised by the change in subject, Lilly shrugged, "Yeah. But I think it just made my surfing worse. I totally wiped out earlier. It was bad."

Miley thought back to the accident she witnessed earlier. "I think I saw you."

Lilly's cheeks colored significantly. "Well."

"I'm sure this is just an off day for you."

Inside, Lilly was going crazy. She'd apologized, poured her heart out, and now Miley seemed to be avoiding the topic. "More like an off week."

Miley grimaced, "I know what you mean about that."

"Well…" Lilly didn't want to add that Miley's life couldn't possibly be worse than her own.

"But I know it can't compare with yours," Miley picked the board up and jammed it back into the sand.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Lilly joked weakly.

"And so I guess it's my turn to apologize."

Lilly's eyes widened and her body tensed, "About what?"

"I should have been there for you." Miley shook her head, "You dumped me as a girlfriend, but I should have been there as a friend."

Lilly felt help swell in her chest, "So we're friends?"

"Yes." Miley nodded, "Friends."

Lilly bit her lower lip. "And would you want me again? As a girlfriend?"

Miley stared at her.