Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewd, last chapter :), and a special thanks to ( Pink Starship ). where I got the idea for this chapter :).

They weren't in the mall for more than ten minutes, before people started to point and stare. Some people would openly stare at Lilly with a look of sympathy, others would direct there sympathetic stares towards Miley, they felt bad for her, cause in there opinion she was ' stuck ' taking caring of a disabled person, when she should be out having fun like a normal teenager. Then there were the people who tried to be a little more polite, by just glancing out of curiosity, but the ones that hurt the most, were the little children who would point and ask there parents what was wrong with the blond girl, as they put it.

At first Lilly tried to ignore it, passing it off as paranoia, but after a awhile it became painfully obvious, that it wasn't just her imagination. Miley noticed it too, but she was hoping against hope that Lilly wouldn't. She tried to stay upbeat in a futile attempt to keep Lilly's attention on her, and not on the blatantly rude and curious people. Of course her attempts didn't work. Lilly had already, noticed and was looking around at all the people sadly.

" M-Miles... c-can... we... g-go... s-sit... d-down?" Lilly ask quietly, attempting to hide her obvious stutter, as she fixed her eyes on the ground. Miley looked over at Lilly, who had a tight grip on her arm, for balance.

" Sure honey, how bout we go to the food court?" Miley ask in a pleasant tone, hoping that maybe if she pretended to ignore the stares and act as if nothing was wrong, Lilly would follow suit. Lilly just nodded her head, not once looking up. Miley sighed quietly to herself, shaking her head as she looked around and allowed her eyes to take in the source of Lilly's sadness. " K, come on." Miley said wrapping her arm around Lilly's waist, as an added source of support.

Slowly but surely, the two girls made there way to the food court. It wasn't a long walk, since they entered at the entrance closest to the food court. Lilly kept her eyes down the whole way there, never once letting go of Miley's arm. Miley also kept a tight grip on Lilly, carefully guiding her to there destination. " K, Lilly were at the food court, just sit down here, while I go get our lunch." Miley said quietly, kissing the side of Lilly's head, and leading her to an empty table, where she could sit and rest.

Lilly just nodded her head in response, sitting down as Miley pulled out a chair for her. " I'll be right back honey." Miley said, watching Lilly closely. This time Lilly didn't respond, instead she just kept her eyes on the table. Sighing quietly, Miley walked off towards, the Panda Express, the place they always ate at whenever, they were at the mall, both girls were fond of Chinese food. Miley was hoping a good meal could cheer Lilly up a little.

Lilly was in her own little world, so much so, that she barley noticed when Miley walked off. After sitting alone for a few seconds, with nothing to do, Lilly placed her arms on the table, and laid her head down on top of them. Much to her dismay the table wobbled, Lilly couldn't stand off balance tables, so she decided to get up and go in search of a steady one. Little did she know, that trouble was just a few steps away.

Miley and Lilly, had been so focused on getting to the food court, and finding a table, that they failed to notice, the two queens of mean, sitting just a few table away from them. Amber and Ashley, however hadn't failed to notice Miley and Lilly, and they were already plotting, how they could embarrassed the two girls. They smiled with glee, as they noticed Lilly stumbling there way.

The two conniving girls waited impatiently, till the off balance blond was just a few inches away from them, so focused on balancing, that she didn't even notice the two girls getting ready to put there plan in action. Just as Lilly started to walk past, Amber stuck her foot out, in Lilly's path, successfully tripping her and sending her flying forward, and right into a teenage boy, who's arms happened to be full of food. Needless to say, the food went everywhere, the boy landed on the ground and of course so did Lilly.

Amber and Ashley burst into laughter, at the same time, only stopping long enough to do there trade mark, obnoxious finger thing. " S-So-Sorry." Lilly shuddered out, only glancing up long enough to take in the boy's angry features. " You should be, watch where your going next time, retard." The boy spat out angrily, not even realizing how much his words really stung. Lilly blinked back tears, as the boy's words hit her hard.

The boy got up, shaking his head angrily and walked off, not even bothering to offer Lilly a hand up. Lilly sat there for a few minutes, on the verge of crying, before she decided to get up. She crawled over to a table, so she could pull herself up. She still hadn't noticed who had tripped her, nor had she noticed, that, that very person was occupying the table, she was currently using as a crutch.

When Amber and Ashley noticed, that Lilly hadn't noticed them, and was obviously unaware that they were sitting there. They decided to get her attention. " Here, let me help you up." Amber said sweetly, careful to disguise her voice, as she reached out and took hold of Lilly hand and elbow. Lilly mumbled out a quick and quiet thanks, before allowing the girl to get a better grip and help her up.

Amber waited till she was the only source of Lilly's balance, before letting go and sending Lilly back to the ground hard. The two girls burst into laughter again, amazed that Lilly hadn't noticed them yet. " Oh Tssssss." Amber and Ashley said at the same time. It was then that Lilly realized who was standing above her. Shocked, she looked up in disbelief, and sure enough there stood the two meanest girls in school.

" What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Amber said, sneering down at the worn out girl. Ashley watched the exchange closely, a little confused by Lilly's actions. Neither girl knew what happened to Lilly, all they knew, was that she no longer went to there school. Maybe if they had known what was wrong, they wouldn't have been so mean, but who knows.

" N-No." Lilly answered, averting her eyes back to the ground. Amber and Ashley exchanged confused, and almost worried looks, before Amber decided to speak again.

" What's the matter, take one too many falls off that skateboard of yours, without a helmet?" Amber ask, in a mocking tone, chuckling a bit. Ashley laughed nervously, she sensed they had gone too far. Just then Miley returned holding a tray of Chinese food, She immediately noticed Lilly sitting on the floor, and overheard what Amber said.

" Sweet niblets." Miley mumbled to herself, setting the food down on a table, and heading over to where the girls were. " Hey back off, and leave her alone." Miley said forcefully, while trying to take a hold of Lilly's arm and pull her up, but the blond was having none of that, she quickly jerked her arm back, and hastily crawled over to the railing, where she proceeded to pull herself up, and look down at all the people on the first floor, with a contemplative look in her eyes.

Miley noticed, where Lilly's attention was focused, and got worried, but as she started to head in Lilly direction, Amber spoke up again. " Yeah that's right, go run to your girlfriend." Amber said jeeringly, not even realizing how accurate her statement was.

" Listen you heartless bitch, just shut up and leave us alone. I knew you were cold, but I never thought you would go this far." Miley hissed angrily, through gritted teeth, as she turned and headed towards Lilly. Amber didn't know how to respond, she'd never seen Miley so angry, sure Miley had gotten upset before, but this time was different and Amber knew it, so she finally settled on huffing angrily, and stomping off. " come on Ashely." Amber called over her shoulder, to Ashley, who was trailing behind.

Ashley glanced nervously, between Miley, Lilly and the retreating form of her friend, ( if she could be called that ). Ashley finally decided on staying behind, and seeing how Lilly was doing. Hesitantly, she approached the two girls, who were leaning against the railing. Lilly looking down to the ground floor, apparently lost in thought, and Miley rubbing her back soothingly, and whispering in her ear, what Ashley could only assume, were words of comfort.

" Um Miley, Lilly, can I talk to you guys for a sec?" The usually confident Ashley ask, in a shaky voice. Hearing the voice of one of the meanest girls in school, Miley quickly looked in the direction of where she heard the voice, anger clearly evident in her eyes. Lilly kept her gaze on the ground.

" What do you want? Come back to do some more damage?" Miley ask bitterly. Ashley just shook her head in a defeated manner, looking at Miley carefully, before shifting her gaze, to the obviously hurt, and out of character blond. Ashley was confused, usually Lilly was the fighter and Miley was the quieter one. It was becoming painfully obvious that something was drastically wrong, and she and Amber hadn't helped matters any.

" I came here to apologize, and before you say anything Miley, I'm being sincere. I think Amber took it way too far, and I'm ashamed that I was apart of it. I truly am sorry." Ashley said, sounding surprisingly sincere. Miley blinked a few times, shocked at what she had just heard.

" Well it's not me you should be apologizing too." Miley said, motioning towards Lilly.

" I know. I'm very sorry Lilly, please believe me." Ashley said, looking towards Lilly, who just nodded her head slightly, not once shifting her gave. Ashley sighed a little, before turning to walk away.

" Ashley." Miley called out. Ashley turned around slowly, till she was facing Miley again. " Thank you." Miley said quietly, giving a slight smile in Ashley's direction, before turning her attention back to Lilly. Ashley just nodded quietly in response, before she too turned away, heading in the opposite direction.

" May-Maybe... I... sh-should... h-have... d-died... th-that... d-day... too." Lilly mumbled out in audibly, more to herself, than Miley.

" What was that, honey?" Miley ask, glancing over at Lilly.

" I... s-said,... th-that... may-maybe... I... sh-should... h-have... di-died... w-with... my... par-parents. Lilly said quietly. Miley looked at Lilly with wide eyes, not quite believing what she just heard.

" Lilly don't you ever say that. Don't even think that. Do understand me?" Miley said harshly, turning Lilly towards her, and taking hold of her shoulders. Lilly looked down guiltily, tears shining in her eyes.

" B-But... if... I... wa-wasn't... h-here... it... w-would... b-be... so... mu-much... ea-easier... on... every-everybody,... and... i-it... w-would... b-be... s-so... ea-easy... to... j-just... en-end... it... a-all." Lilly whispered, glancing back down to the ground floor, to emphasize her point. Miley followed Lilly's gaze, horrified at what she was hearing, and what Lilly was hinting at.

" Lilly, listen, and listen good. That's not true and you know it, if something happened to you I'd be devastated, and so would Dad and Jackson. Your not a burden to us at all. I don't want you to even talk like that. Suicide doesn't solve anything, it's selfish, look at what your fathers decision did to your mother and you, all because he took the cowards way out, and I know your not a coward. Nobody said that healing would be easy but I know you can do it, and Daddy, Jackson and I, will be there every step of the way." Miley choked out through her tears, taking Lilly into her arms and squeezing her tight.

At hearing Miley's heartfelt words, Lilly broke down into a fit of tears, grabbing onto Miley's shirt desperately. " Shhhhhh, it's ok Lil, it's ok." Miley whispered soothingly, stroking Lilly's hair in a comforting manner, and kissing her cheek. " Let's go home, shall we?" Miley ask, pulling back to look at Lilly's tear stained face. Lilly nodded, sniffling, with tears still rolling down her face. Miley smiled gently, reaching up and wiping away Lilly's tears.

Miley pulled out her phone, quickly texting Jackson, to let him know they were ready to go home. Jackson immediately responded, saying that he would pick them up in under fifteen minutes, they lived close to the mall, about eight minutes, but Jackson liked to give extra time for traffic. " Come on, Jackson will be here in a few minutes." Miley said, taking hold of Lilly's arm and guiding her to the table she'd previously set the food down on.

Lilly nodded, following Miley over to the table and sitting down. Lilly grinned a little, when she noticed the Chinese food in the middle of the table. She pointed to it, silently asking Miley if she could have some. Miley noticed what Lilly was pointing at, and smiled. " Sure, here you go." Miley said, scooting the food towards Lilly, before getting up to get a carry out box, so they could take it home with them.

It wasn't long before Miley got a text message, announcing Jackson's arrival. " Jackson's here, lets go." Miley said, coming back to the table and transferring the food into the carry out box. Lilly nodded, helping Miley transfer the food.

When they got outside, they spotted Jackson's car immediately, and walked over to it, crawling into the backseat. " Hey, girls. How was the mall?" Jackson ask cheerfully, as he waited for them to get buckled in. Lilly gave Miley a nervous glance, silently begging her not to say anything. Miley nodded in silent agreement, before answering her brother.

" Oh, It was ok, we hung out in the food court for awhile, and ate Chinese food, but that's about it." Miley said, in her best convincing voice. Jackson didn't quite believe his sister, he saw the glance Lilly gave her, but he wasn't going to say anything, he figured if they wanted to tell him, they'd do so in there own time, so he just smiled and put his car in gear.

It didn't take them long to get home. The minute the car was off, both girls jumped out of the car, ran into the house, and headed upstairs to Miley's room. Lilly immediately flopped onto Miley's bed. Miley smiled, realizing Lilly was tired, the day had warn her out. " Get some rest, Lils." Miley said, moving over to stand by the bed. Lilly smiled with her eyes still closed.

" Mmm... ok,... b-but... wi-will... you... l-lay... d-down... wi-with... me." Lilly said opening her eyes, taking hold of Miley's hand and tugging her down onto the bed. Miley giggled falling onto the bed beside Lilly.

"Sure, honey no problem, now go to sleep." Miley said, smiling and tapping Lilly's nose. Lilly giggled, opening her eyes, she was a little shocked when Miley appeared blurry to her, but she quickly chocked it up to being tired, and gave Miley a quick peck on the lips, before snuggling into her side.