Author's Note: Fairly standard story, just getting my feet wet. Title, chapter titles, and quoted lines all taken from Benjamin Alire Sáenz's poem To The Desert.

Disclaimer: No bags of flour were harmed during the writing of this fic. I don't know where those cookies came from, I swear. Oh, and I don't own Hannah Montana.

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You are sand, wind, sun, and burning sky,
The hottest blue.

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Friday

Miley flew out the front door, not bothering to close it – her daddy would get it – one hand clutching her bookbag and the other holding half a piece of toast. She pounded down the driveway after her brother's car.

"Jackson!" she yelled, or tried to yell, but all that came out was an unintelligible shout and a couple bread crumbs, because the other half of the toast had been shoved in her mouth on the way to the door. She caught up with the car just as it reached the end of the driveway, awkwardly banging on the passenger door with her bookbag to get Jackson's attention.

He braked and looked over at her in surprise that turned to annoyance. Miley stuck her tongue out at him and went to open the car door, but he took his foot off the brake and let the car roll forward several inches, jerking the door handle out of her grasp. Miley lunged for it, and he did it again, and again, until she swallowed her toast and screamed at him. "Jackson!"

Jackson rolled his eyes but finally kept the car still long enough for her to get the door open and climb inside. "I thought you were walking with Lilly," he said.

Miley stuffed the rest of the toast in her mouth. "Overslept," she mumbled through it, sticking her bookbag on the floor at her feet and then fastening her seatbelt. She hoped Lilly hadn't waited for her long.

"Well, I don't have time to chauffer you," Jackson complained. "I'll be late."

Chewing hastily, Miley forced the dry toast down her throat. "It's on the way, Jackson," she told him, which was true. The junior high was right down the street from the high school. "Now quit whining and drive or we'll both be late."

"Fine, but I'm not stopping," he said. "You're just going to have to jump and roll."

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Lilly wasn't in first period. Miley kept expecting her to walk through the door, and she glanced at it in between using the mirror on her compact to unobtrusively check out Richard Bruce, who sat three seats behind her. His eyes were looking especially blue today.

The warning bell rang and Miley started to get a little worried. Where the heck was Lilly? She hadn't been too surprised that Lilly hadn't been at school yet when she got there, after all, it took longer to walk even if you had a head start. But she should have been here by now.

Miley put the compact away and pulled out her cell phone, firing off a quick text to Lilly. where r u?

She tapped her foot up and down impatiently until she got a response a few minutes later. home sick. get assgn 4 me?

Miley frowned. Poor Lilly. Her thumbs moved rapidly over the keypad to type out a reply. :( srry ur sick. how bad?

A moment later she had her answer. been throwing up since last nite. u could tell what i had 4 dinner!!

Ew, Miley thought, wrinkling her nose. TMI!! ur so GROSS!!

The final bell rang and Miley quickly read Lilly's last text as the students around her scrambled into their seats and Mr. Myers walked in the door. :p luv u 2!

Miley slipped the phone into her bookbag – Mr. Myers confiscated cells if he saw them – and shook her head. Her best friend was such a dork.

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First period crawled by without Lilly there to pass notes back and forth. Miley kept a watchful eye on the clock at the front of the classroom, because she'd swear that if she didn't it started to move backwards. They had just under ten minutes left when Mr. Myers cleared his throat and announced that they would be picking partners for their project. Miley sat up a little straighter. Project? What project? She really hadn't been paying attention.

Then Mr. Myers put a sack of flour on his desk and she slumped back down. Oh no, not this stupid thing. Oliver'd had to do it last semester.

"Each pair will be taking care of their baby for a week," Mr. Myers said. "After that, you'll have another week to write up your report. That means it's due the Friday after next, don't forget. I'll be handing out the requirements for that along with each baby. Any questions?" He was met with complete silence. "All right, I think I'm going to let the girls pick this time, so when I call your name, tell me who you'd like for your partner. Abigail Johnson."

Miley perked up again. Now this could be interesting. She looked over her shoulder at Richard, who grinned and winked at her. Miley smiled and turned back to face front, hoping Mr. Myers would call on her soon. This could be very interesting.

Abby picked Patrick Shaw and Joanie took Alex Wilder. "Miley Stewart," Mr. Myers called.

Yes! Miley opened her mouth, all set to say Richard's name, when something stopped her. Lilly was absent. That meant she wouldn't get to pick, which meant she'd get stuck with...Miley's eyes darted around the classroom and settled on Dandruff Danny. Which meant Lilly would totally get stuck with Dandruff Danny, and Miley couldn't let that happen.

"Miley?" Mr. Myers prompted. "Who would you like to be your partner?"

Miley sighed and deflated a little. So much for this project being interesting. "Lilly Truscott," she said.

"Oooo," Amber said from her seat two rows away, making the rest of the class bust out laughing.

"Oh, grow up, Amber," Miley snapped, flushing a little. "There's more girls than boys in this class anyway, so some of us will have to work together."

"Whatever, lesbo," Amber shot back. "I always knew you two were gay for each other."

"That's enough," Mr. Myers said sternly as the rest of the class giggled again. "Amber, we don't tolerate derogatory terms like that at this school and if I hear any more you'll be making a trip to the principal's office." Miley smirked at Amber and Amber narrowed her eyes back, letting Miley know this wasn't over.

"Amanda Yuan?" Mr. Myers continued. Amanda immediately picked Richard and Miley sank down in her seat. Why did Lilly have to be absent today of all days?

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The only good thing to come out of first period was that Amber ended up paired with Dandruff Danny. Mr. Myers had picked her last – purposefully, Miley thought with satisfaction – and Danny was the only one left.

"Why didn't you pick me?" she was whining to Ashley after they had all gotten their bags of flour and were crowding out the classroom door.

"I thought you'd get mad if I picked you!" Ashley said. "I thought you didn't want to work with a girl!"

"There were only girls left!" Amber snapped at her.

"And Danny," Ashley said. "I was saving him for you!"

Miley tried to hide her snicker but was only marginally successful. Amber turned around and glared at her. "Have fun with your partner," Miley told her sweetly. "Do you know yet if the baby's inherited his skin condition? Maybe you can spend tonight shampooing both their heads with Selsun Blue."

Amber leaned in closer to her, fury sparking in her eyes. "Yeah, well, at least I'm not a les-bi-an." She turned the last word into a three syllable insult.

"Yeah, at least we're not lesbians," Ashley piped in, always loyal.

"You're working with a girl, too, Ashley," Miley pointed out, trying not to laugh.

"Only because she had to," Amber retorted. "Not because she wanted to suck face with her girlfriend." She didn't wait to hear Miley's comeback, turning on her heel and flouncing away. Ashley flipped her hair over her shoulder and followed her after giving Miley one last disdainful look.

Miley peered down at the smiling cartoon face that had been pasted onto her bag of flour. "See?" she told it. "Things could be worse. You could be going home with one of them."

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She didn't have any classes with Oliver until lunch. Miley plopped the flour bag down on the lunch table next to her tray. "Meet Miley Jr.," she said when Oliver looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Miley Jr.?" Oliver asked. "Are you sure it's not a boy? Because it kind of looks like a boy."

"It's not a boy," Miley said, scowling. She sat down and picked up her fork, poking at the rubbery mass on her tray that was supposed to be a chicken breast. Amber had spent the last three periods telling everyone she saw that Miley was gay. It had gone past mildly amusing halfway through second period and was now just deeply annoying.

"Um, I don't know if you've heard," Oliver said. "But – "

"Lilly and I are engaged in a torrid lesbian sex affair?" Miley asked.

Oliver nodded. "That about sums it up."

"Yeah, I heard," Miley said. "I picked Lilly for my partner for this stupid project because she's absent and I didn't want her to get stuck with Dandruff Danny, and Amber decided she wanted to use that to make my life miserable."

"Wow," Oliver said, eyes wide. "That really sucks. Are you okay?"

Miley shrugged and dropped her fork back on the tray, deciding that the orange she'd gotten was a safer bet than the chicken. "Whatever. It's Amber, you know? This is hardly the worst thing she's done to me. And, look – " She pointed over towards Amber and Ashley's lunch table, where Dandruff Danny was trying unsuccessfully to get Amber's attention, a sack of flour cradled in his arms.

"Amber got stuck with Danny?" Oliver asked, laughing. "Oh, man, that is so awesome."

Miley laughed too. "I know, right?" She should probably be more upset about this whole thing, but, honestly, Amber spread rumors about people at least twice a week. Probably by Monday no one would ever remember this one.

"Hey, Stewart," Steve Jankowski, a big, hulking eighth grader – for the third year running – called from the next table over. "If I bring my video camera in next week, can I get some footage of you and Truscott making out?" Laughter, catcalls, and a few wolf whistles greeted his remark.

Miley groaned and put her head down on the table, banging her forehead against it repeatedly while Oliver watched in sympathy. She just had to get through today first.

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Bright afternoon sunlight streamed through the rapidly emptying hallway. Miley finished shoving her history and Spanish books into her bookbag and slammed her locker shut, moving onto Lilly's and muttering a list of all the classes Lilly had homework in under her breath. She spun the combination on the lock and then glared at the contents inside, hands on her hips. Hadn't Lilly taken any of her books home last night? Now she was going to have to carry all of them. Lilly was going to owe her big time.

With relief, she spotted Oliver rushing down the hall towards her. "Hey, Oliver, want to come to Lilly's with me? I have to take over her homework." He could help her carry this stuff.

"Sorry, Miley, but my mom's picking me up today," he said without slowing as he went by. "And if I'm not out there in about two seconds she's going to start using her – " He shuddered. " – man voice."

"But...," Miley protested, but he was already gone. Dangflabbit, she thought. That boy was never around when you needed him. "You could have at least offered to give me a ride," she muttered.

Somehow, she managed to get most of Lilly's books in her bag too, but she still ended up having to carry three of them, plus Miley Jr. The walk to Lilly's house wasn't long, which was good, because her back was already screaming by the time she got there and the straps on her bookbag were digging painfully into her shoulders. Miley was surprised to see that Lilly's mom's car was in the driveway, and Heather opened the door before Miley could even knock.

"Oh, Miley, good," she said, trying to shrug into her suit jacket and hold her keys and briefcase at the same time. "I came home to sit with Lilly for a while, but the office just called and I have to go back. Do you think you could stay for a bit? I think she's going a little crazy having to stay in bed all day, you know how she hates being sick."

"Sure," Miley said easily. She had a couple hours before she had to start getting ready for tonight. "How is she?"

"She's doing better," Heather said. She brushed past Miley and hurried towards her car. "We think it was a twenty-four hour thing, or maybe she ate something that didn't agree with her."

"First time for everything," Miley tossed over her shoulder, and Heather laughed as she climbed into her car. Miley went inside and shut the door with her foot, then hauled herself and her increasingly heavy load up the stairs and down the hall to Lilly's room. The door was open and Miley paused in the doorway. "Are you contagious? Because Hannah has a concert tonight and I can't afford to get sick."

"Hey," Lilly said from the bed, looking up from the DS she was playing and brightening when she saw Miley. "It's okay, I don't think I'm contagious. But maybe don't get too close to me just in case."

"Yeah, I think I'll just stay on this side of the room," Miley decided. She walked over and dumped her armload of books and flour baby on Lilly's desk, then slid her bookbag off onto the floor with a sigh of relief. "Are you feeling any better? Your mom said you were."

"Yeah," Lilly said, tossing the DS to one side. "I drank some ginger ale an hour ago and I haven't barfed it up yet!"

Miley flopped down to sit in the desk chair and swiveled it around to face Lilly. "I'll alert Bree Yung Zhusdan Takahashi Samuels," she said dryly.

"God, I'm so glad you're here," Lilly said, ignoring Miley's teasing. "I have been so bored today, you don't even know. You have to tell me everything that happened at school today, okay? Everything."

"Maybe first you can tell me why I just had to drag all of your books here from school?" Miley asked.

"Really? All of them?" Lilly laughed nervously and looked around the room away from Miley. "You know, I really meant to bring my Algebra book home yesterday. And science. And – "

"All right already," Miley said, waving a lazy hand to get Lilly to shut up. "Just know that you me owe for this. Big time."

Lilly scrunched up her face. "For bringing me homework?" she demanded. "That hardly seems fair."

"Lilly...," Miley growled warningly.

"Okay, okay," Lilly said quickly. "Geez, someone's touchy today." She had that look on her face, the one that made it seem like you'd just tried to kick a puppy. Miley hated that look. It always made her feel like, well, like she'd just tried to kick a puppy.

"Sorry," Miley said, relieved when the look immediately left Lilly's face. "It was kind of a long day."

"Um, Miley?" Lilly said. "What the heck is that?" She pointed at the bag of flour, precariously balanced on top of Lilly's Spanish book. "You know I'm not in Home Ec, right?"

Miley turned the bag so that Lilly could see the side with the face on it. "We started that stupid baby project in Mr. Myers's class today," she explained.

"Oh," Lilly said, and then her face fell. "Oh, no. Please, please, please tell me I didn't get stuck with someone horrible because I was absent."

"You didn't get stuck with someone horrible," Miley said obediently.

Lilly covered her face with her hands and peeked out between her fingers. "It's okay. You can tell me the truth. I'm strong, I can take it. I mean, my body's been weakened by illness, but – "

"Lilly," Miley said.

" – I'm sure this won't be the thing that pushes me over the edge – "

"Lilly."

" – leading me to spiral downwards, getting sicker and sicker, until I waste away to nothing – "

"Lilly!"

"Okay, just tell me," Lilly said. "Quick, like ripping off a bandaid. Who'd I get stuck with?" She closed the gaps between her fingers and hunched her shoulders like she was tensing for a blow.

"Me," Miley said.

Lilly dropped her hands. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Miley said.

"You?" Lilly asked.

"Me," Miley confirmed.

"Oh, thank god," Lilly said, leaning back against her propped-up pillows. "I thought for sure you were going to say Dandruff Danny."

Miley laughed. "Come on, you know I wouldn't let that happen. Oh, but guess who did get stuck with him?"

"Who?"

Miley paused a minute to build up the suspense. "Amber."

Lilly's jaw dropped. "Oh my god," she said. "Oh my god, and I missed it? Aw, man! I hate being sick!"

"I know," Miley said. "But don't worry, the project lasts two weeks, so you'll have plenty of time to watch Amber suffer. Danny followed her around all day today, it was great."

"But I missed seeing her face when she first found out!" Lilly pouted. "And I'm going to have to miss the concert tonight. This totally sucks. You know what?" She threw back the blankets covering her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'm not sick anymore, I just decided." She stood up, wobbling a little.

"Lilly, I'm not sure that's such a good – " All the color drained out of Lilly's face and her knees buckled; Miley shot out of the desk chair and across the room, grabbing Lilly before she could hit the floor. " – idea," she finished, frowning down at Lilly, who looked back at her sheepishly.

Miley straightened, lifting Lilly and sliding her back into bed. "Ugh, you're heavy," she complained, pulling the blankets over her friend and then sitting on the bed next to her. No point in staying across the room now.

Lilly slumped bonelessly against the pillows, her eyes shut. "'T's all muscle," she mumbled.

"Yeah, I know," Miley said. She'd seen Lilly in a swimsuit plenty enough times to know that. "That just means it's heavier. You might want to try waiting until you can eat something before you get up again, ya big dope." She gently brushed hair off of Lilly's forehead, then combed it a little with her fingers, straightening it around Lilly's face.

Lilly opened her eyes, her clear blue gaze focusing on Miley's. "You might be right."

"I usually am," Miley said smugly, causing Lilly to snort slightly in disbelief. "Here, you want some water?" She grabbed one of the cups off Lilly's nightstand and held it to her mouth, tilting it a bit so Lilly could take a sip. Lilly's eyes stayed fastened on her the whole time, and Miley suddenly felt uncomfortable, the rumors from school running through her head. "Um, you want to try some more ginger ale? Maybe if you keep it down you can graduate to Jello."

"Yeah," Lilly said, closing her eyes again. "But can you get me some of the cold stuff from the fridge?"

Miley rolled her eyes. "Your wish is my command," she said sarcastically, her discomfort vanishing. Those rumors were absurd. She needed to just forget about them. "I'll be right back."

"I want three ice cubes!" Lilly called after her as she made her way down the hall.

"Anything to help your recovery, Miss Picky!" Miley yelled back.

"Thank you!" Lilly said with fake sweetness.

Miley got the ginger ale, pleased to notice that there was already some cherry Jello congealing in the fridge. She'd make sure Lilly had a bowl before she left. She carried the drink upstairs and handed it to Lilly, who was looking better. Some of the color had come back into her face. "Three ice cubes, exactly as you requested," she said, retaking her seat on the bed.

Lilly sipped at the soda and Miley let her eyes wander around the bedroom. "I'm going to leave Miley Jr. here tonight if that's okay," she said, catching sight of the bag of flour. "I don't want to have to deal with it during the concert."

"Miley Jr.?" Lilly said. "No way. I think you meant Lilly Jr."

"Uh, no," Miley said. "I had to sit through class to get it, I had to haul it around all day, I get to name it. Miley Jr."

"Lilly," Lilly said stubbornly.

"Miley." They glared at each other for several seconds. "Oliver thinks it's a boy," Miley said finally.

Lilly blinked, then giggled. "How about just Junior?" she suggested, putting her glass on the nightstand next to the three others, all with varying levels of liquid in them.

"Deal," Miley said. "But it's still a girl."

"Are you sure you want to leave it here?" Lilly asked. "It might get sick germs on it."

"Well, I can't really cart it around with me on stage tonight," Miley pointed out.

"Uh, it's a bag of flour, Miley," Lilly said. "I think it'll be fine in your room unsupervised for a couple hours."

"Oh. Right," Miley said, chagrined, and Lilly laughed at her.

"So what else did I miss today?" Lilly asked. "Anything juicy?"

"Uhh, funny you should put it that way," Miley said, smiling nervously, stalling a little. For some reason, she didn't really want to tell Lilly about the rumors.

"What?" Lilly said eagerly. "What happened?" She sat up a little and reached behind herself to fluff up her pillows. Miley almost leaned forward to help her, then realized that to reach the pillows she'd have to put her arms around Lilly. Yesterday she wouldn't have hesitated to do it. Today she blushed and didn't move. "Come on, come on, tell me, tell me, tell me."

"It's really not that good, Lilly," Miley said, then hastily added, "Not that it's really bad, or anything..." If she was ever going to like a girl, it would be Lilly. Not that she ever would, Miley thought, pushing the idea away.

"What is it, then?" Lilly asked, looking at her curiously.

"Um, since I picked you to work on the project, Amber decided to tell the whole school that we're gay and having sex with each other." She blurted the explanation out in a rush, then clamped her mouth shut and cleared her throat to keep a nervous giggle from escaping her throat. "Funny, right?"

Lilly's face went pale. "She...what?"

"I know, crazy, right?" Miley said. "I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. I mean, tons of other girls in class are working together, but of course she has to pick on us." Lilly looked so shaken that Miley hurried to reassure her. "But don't worry, Lilly, you know how Amber's always spreading rumors, by Monday she'll have a new one and no one will even remember this. And, anyway, who cares what people think, right?"

"Yeah," Lilly said weakly, staring at the blankets covering her lap. "Plus, um...in my case, it's kind of true. Half true. Partially...partially true."

"What?" Miley croaked, dumbfounded.

"I think I kind of, um, like girls," Lilly said softly, not looking up.

"But...," Miley said stupidly. "But what about Matt Marshall? And Christopher Sinclair?"

"I still like boys, too," Lilly said quickly. "Just..."

"I – but – you," Miley stuttered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I am telling you," Lilly said, glancing up and then back down. "Besides, I wasn't really sure before."

"But you're sure now?" Miley asked, feeling dizzy. She looked over at the bright block of sun that was Lilly's window.

"Yeah," Lilly said. "Umm, is that – is that okay?"

"What?" Miley tore her eyes away from the window and saw the worry on Lilly's face. "Of course it's okay. It's totally okay, Lilly, you have to know that. I'm just a little surprised, that's all."

"Okay." Lilly sighed and relaxed against her pillows. "Okay, good. You don't know how happy I am...That was pretty scary. I've never actually said it out loud before. Thanks for – " She smiled and reached out a hand, covering one of Miley's. A tiny frission of electricity ran up Miley's arm; she pulled it away without thinking.

The smile dropped from Lilly's face like Miley had slapped it off, replaced by a sharp stab of hurt. "Oh no," Miley said. "No, no, no, Lilly, I didn't mean it, not like that. Please, you have to believe me, I didn't mean – " She grabbed up Lilly's hand with both of hers, clutching it tightly. "I didn't mean that, Lilly, please."

"Yeah, okay," Lilly said, a small, pained smile struggling onto her face, but she'd gone back to staring at the blankets and wouldn't look at Miley.

"Are we okay?" Miley asked. She loosened her grip a bit and Lilly slid her hand from Miley's grasp.

"Sure," she said. "We're great."

Miley didn't believe her. She knew she should say something, but she didn't know what, and the longer they sat there in silence, the more awkward it got. "Okay," she said finally, "well, um...I should probably get going, you know, I have to get ready for tonight."

Lilly wriggled down on the bed and turned on her side away from Miley. "Have fun."

"I'll try, but it's gonna be kinda hard without Lola there," Miley said. Lilly didn't answer. Miley stood and fidgeted her way around Lilly's bed to the door. "Do you, um, need anything before I go?"

"No," Lilly said, turning over in the bed so that her back was still to Miley. "My mom should be home soon."

"Okay," Miley said. She stopped in the doorway. "Lilly?"

"What?"

Miley bit her lip. "Feel better, okay?"

"Yeah," Lilly said dully. "Thanks."

It took Miley until she got home to realize she'd left Junior and her bookbag full of books sitting in Lilly's room.

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Lights flashed all around her and the speakers blasted out the end of The Other Side of Me. Miley yelled to crowd that she'd be right back and ran off the stage, making sure to switch off her headset. She'd never forget the time she went to the bathroom in the middle of a show and left it on.

Her dad was waiting in the wings. He tossed her a water bottle, which she unscrewed and drank from gratefully. "You okay out there, bud?" Robby Ray asked. "You seem a little distracted."

"Distracted?" Miley took another long pull from the bottle. "I don't know what you're talking about, Daddy. What makes you say that?"

"You just sang half a verse of Just Like You before you realized it was the wrong song," her dad said.

Sweet niblets. "Yeah, well, uh, no offense or anything, there, Daddy, but some of your lyrics do kinda sound the same."

"Uh huh," Robby Ray said skeptically. "You sure you're all right, darlin'?"

"Me?" Miley asked. "I'm fine. Great. One hundred percent totally awesome."

"O-kay," her dad drawled. "You've got one more song left, so just try to keep it together."

"Yeah, sure," Miley said, wondering exactly what Lilly had meant when she said she liked girls. Did she mean she liked girls, generally, or that she liked a girl, specifically? "One more song. If We Were A Movie, coming right up." She screwed the cap back on the bottle and handed it to him, starting for the stage.

"Miley!" her dad called.

And if she liked a girl, specifically, who was it? Miley tried to think if any of the girls at school deserved to have Lilly like them, but she couldn't come up with anyone. "What?"

"You're singing I Got Nerve."

Oh. "Right," Miley said. "Got it."

She was on the second verse before she remembered she hadn't turned her mic back on.

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This story will have three more chapters. The next chapter will be up Sunday.