Hey guys, hope this is faster than normal, well, at least I didn't wait three months this time, and I know this chapter is a little on the short side, but the next chapter will more than make up for it, it's going to be a long one. Lot of stuff happening in the next chapter, what with the concert in New York and all, so hopefully it will be worth the wait.

I'll be jumping around in time with the songs I choose, hope nobody will mind too much. In this chapter I've used Every part of me, and Miley's "Stay" both of which seemed to work perfectly for this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy.

Chapter Four: Wheels on the bus

The night was mostly quiet as the pink and black bus traveled up the highway. Few cars were out this early in the morning, but those rare drivers that were gave more than a passing glance at the brightly decorated bus as it passed by them. A few scanned the darkened windows, hoping for a passing glance at the Pop star whose name was emblazoned on the bus in bright pink letters, but the star herself was nowhere in sight. One particular spectator, in his eagerness to catch a glimpse, forgot the etiquette of the road and came too close, earning a chastising honk of the horn from the bus driver, before he veered back into his own lane.

Oblivious to it all, the pop star in question was asleep on her bed in the back of the bus. It was far from a restful sleep, however, the occasional light from the street lights passing outside the window reflected down on a face that was troubled, even in her dreams. Her mouth working in a frown, her eyebrows furrowing on her forehead, and the rapid eye movements under her eyelids were all testament to the fact that her dreams were far from friendly. Moaning under her breath, her fingers twitching, almost in a grasping motion, Miley called out in her sleep, the sound itself waking her up from her slumber.

Heaving up into a sitting position, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, her eyes darting around disoriented for a moment in the darkened interior of the bus, it took her a few moments to realize where she was, still caught up in the disturbing images of her dream. "God." She whispered to herself, holding a hand to her chest, feeling nauseous as she waited for the pounding in her chest to settle down. Her body shaking in reaction, she sank back down onto the mattress, breathing slowly in and out of her nose as she willed herself into a calmer state.

Reluctantly, she tried to push herself into remembering what her dream had been about, but already the details were fading. All that was left was the disturbing feeling of being lost in a crowd, searching over and over again for Lilly, who was nowhere to be found. The only feelings that remained from her dream were her mounting desperation and the driving need that she had to find Lilly.

As her heartbeat calmed, she realized she still felt nauseous and shaky. The feel of her nightshirt clinging to her back with her cooling sweat wasn't helping she decided, so she reluctantly crawled out of bed, fumbled for a change of sweats in the dark, and then headed for her bathroom on the bus to change. She blinked against the harsh halogen lights that automatically came on when she closed the bathroom door, then winced as she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror.

Going in for a closer look, she couldn't help shuddering at her zombie-like reflection. The last six weeks of non-sleep was starting to catch up to her, Miley couldn't help but notice as she studied the dark circles that stood out quite plainly against her too pale skin. Right now she more resembled the Bride of Frankenstein than a singing pop sensation. "We have some serious work to do my friend." She told her reflection, as she thought about all of the make-up she was going to have to apply to look even half way decent tomorrow. Sighing, she stuck her tongue out at her reflection, shoulders sinking dejectedly. "Later." She muttered, tiredly, before changing out of her nightshirt into her sweats.

Leaving her bathroom without a backwards glance back, she walked over to where she had left her phone on the nightstand the night before. Even though she knew what it would say, she still felt the compelling need to check anyway. Maybe this time would be different, she consoled herself. Maybe this time there would be… "No new messages." Miley muttered out loud as she read the screen. Over the last week she had left several text messages for Lilly, none of which had been returned. She realized that Lilly would be busy with training and getting ready for Nationals, but she didn't think she'd forget about her entirely, now she wasn't so sure, but as soon as she started to feel bad that Lilly hadn't texted her or called her back, she also started to worry that maybe something bad had happened to her. The only thing that saved her sanity in those moments was the thought that if something had happened to Lilly that Oliver would be the first person to call and let her know. That assuaged the worry, but it didn't help the nagging thoughts of wondering why Lilly wasn't talking to her. Was she just too busy, or was there something else going on?

Despondent, Miley put her cell phone back down onto her nightstand, then headed out into what could be considered the common room on the bus, which held a mini-kitchen (it had everything you could think of that would fit onto a bus, from a miniature refrigerator, to a portable microwave), and a table with seats where they could eat their meals while on the road, and where Miley often sat writing and composing her music. Even her insomnia, and consequent depression hadn't stopped her creative vibes, in fact it had fueled them. She had filled half a notebook with her brooding, and while they weren't exactly 'Hannah' material, the songs seemed to sum up what she was feeling in this moment of time.

Picking up her guitar, she sank down onto the seat at the table and started thrumming idly, unconsciously tuning the guitar as she stared gloomily out into the dark night sky. She stopped as the faint sound of her father moving around in his room caught her ears and she felt a shot of guilt run through her as she hoped that she hadn't woke him up, but couldn't help but be glad at the sight of his shaggy head as he stepped out, glancing at her curiously.

"Sorry if I woke you." She called out to him quietly. Waving at her in a 'don't worry about it' gesture, he spoke back to her just as quietly. "Don't stop on my account. It sounds good." She watched for a moment as he stepped over to the mini-kitchen and started tinkering around in the cupboards, then turned her attention back to her guitar as a melody she was working on started running through her head.

Playing it out softly on her guitar she started singing, "I feel like I'm a million miles away from myself more and more these days." Her eyes were drawn back to the big dark world passing by outside her window. "I've been down so many open roads, but they never lead me home, and now I just don't know. Who I really am, how's it going to be, is there something that I can't see? I want to understand." Her voice trailed off, not just because the song was unfinished and she didn't know what the next part was going to be yet, but because those words hit a chord deep inside of her.

There was something going on with her, the insomnia alone told her that much, but just what it was, what was keeping her up at night and making her miserable remained a mystery. Sure she knew what part of it was. She knew that she was missing Lilly with a desperation that just wasn't funny anymore, but was that it? Was that all that was driving her misery, or was there something else there? Something that she could almost put her finger on, but was elusive just the same. At times, she almost caught glimpses of it, but the truth remained foggy all the same.

The warm smell of chocolate invaded her senses, breaking her out of her reverie to look up at her father, who was standing beside her, two cups of hot chocolate in his hands. She smiled as he set one down in front of her, before taking his seat at the table with her. "You looked like you could use a cup of my famous 'Loco hot cocoa'" Robby Ray explained, as he took a sip from his own mug.

Smiling wanly at him, Miley picked up her own cup with her free hand, sipped on the hot liquid delicately, then set it back on the table in front of her. "Thanks Dad."

"Can't sleep?" Robby Ray asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question as Miley felt his eyes studying her. Tempted to hide her face, knowing how bad she looked, Miley was grateful for the dim lighting inside the bus that prevented her dad from getting a good look. Resting her head on the arm that was propped up on her guitar, Miley shook her head.

"Nervous about the big concert, tomorrow?" Robby Ray asked, though Miley could tell that he himself doubted that was the reason for her sleeplessness.

"It's just a concert, dad." Miley replied ignoring for the moment that it was the concert that Lilly had promised to be at, that was if she had lost the championship…which she hadn't so it was a moot point.

"Yeah, but it's…televised." Robby Ray said, staring intently at her. Miley just shook her head, not bothering to lift her head from the arm it was resting on. "So, it's not the concert that's keeping you up. Huh." Robby Ray trailed off, apparently lost in thought. Miley took another sip of her cocoa, wondering what else he would come up with.

"You know Jackson's flying in tomorrow to see it." Robby Ray commented, off handedly. Miley nodded, not saying anything. It would be nice to see Jackson tomorrow, as much as she hated to admit it, she did love her older brother, and it would be nice to have him there for the show.

They both sat in relative silence there for a while, listening to the hum of the bus's engine as it carried them along the highway while taking sips from their mugs. Finally, Robby Ray's eyes lifted to stare into Miley's once more.

"You know, if there's something bothering you Miles, you know that you can talk to me about it, right?" Robby Ray asked gently, not missing the pain that was in his daughter's eyes. He could almost see the internal debate behind her blue eyes, knowing that she was struggling with the decision to confide in him.

Miley knew that her dad could help her find the answers she was looking for, but she wasn't sure how to ask him what she wanted to ask him. She knew to do that would bring up old, potentially painful memories for him, but at the same time, she couldn't find another way to relay how she was feeling. "Daddy…" She started haltingly, staring intently at the guitar on her lap; she knew that she couldn't look him in the eyes and ask him this. "…what was it like…when me and Jackson were little and you had to leave Mama and us to go on tour? Knowing that you'd have to be gone for a while…" Miley trailed off, finally raising her head, only to see the remembered pain in her Daddy's eyes. She immediately wanted to take the question back.

Robby Ray felt the pain of the distant past, but as he stared into his daughter's eyes he could see the regret in them and knew that she wouldn't have asked if she didn't have a really good reason, so he decided to be open with her. "Well, Mile, leaving your mom and you kids behind to go on tour knowing that I'd be gone for months at a time was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life." He answered honestly. "And I'll tell ya, I didn't do very well at it either."

Miley stared back at him curiously, but kept quiet, wanting to know how he'd felt. "Half the time my stomach would be so sore that I couldn't eat. I barely slept, heck, if I got three hours it would be a good night." Miley felt a jolt as that information sank in. "I felt like half of me was missing. The best half. And it just got worse and worse until finally I decided I couldn't do it anymore." Robby Ray stopped talking, bemused by the expression in Miley's eyes. He had expected to see sympathy in his daughter's eyes, but what he hadn't expected to see was honest to god empathy, like she was actually feeling right now what he had felt all those years ago. The sight of it shocked him. "What's going on in that head of yours, Miles?"

Closing her eyes, Miley ran a frazzled hand through her hair, before she rested her head back against the seat, asking herself the same question. How could she be having the same symptoms as her dad? She knew that she and her father were a lot alike, she had followed in his footsteps after all, but could she really be feeling for Lilly the same way her dad had felt for her mom? "I wish I knew." She whispered, hoarsely, unable to admit it to herself that she was.

Robby Ray stared at his daughter, feeling helpless. He wanted to help her with what she was going through, but he wasn't quite sure how to, not unless she opened up and talked to him, and it didn't look like she was ready to. "Miles?" he prodded, hoping she'd open up her eyes and talk to him.

Miley spent a few more moments centering herself, and then opened up her eyes to look at him. "I'm okay, dad. I didn't mean to worry you. I think I'm just tired."

Robby Ray knew that there had to be more to it than that, but he knew he couldn't force her to talk if she wasn't ready to; his daughter could be stubborn that way. "You're sure?" He prodded her gently, just to make sure. Miley nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Well, when you're ready to talk…you know where I'll be."

"Thanks, Dad." Miley whispered.

Robby Ray smiled gently, and then stood, taking the empty mugs with him. "Get some rest, baby girl, you've got a busy day tomorrow." He said, kissing her on the forehead.

"I will, Daddy," Miley lied, surprising herself with how easy the lie slipped off her tongue, it didn't use to be that easy to lie to her Dad. Miley watched as he rinsed the cups out in the sink before putting them back in the cupboard, then retreated back into his room.

With her head still resting against the seat, Miley's attention returned to the night sky displayed through the bus's window, her thoughts returning to Lilly once more. As she did, the words to a potential song circled like butterflies through her mind. Opening up her notebook, she wrote them down, whispering the words out into the night as she did so. "I'm lost here in this moment and time keeps slipping by, and if I could have just one wish I'd have you by my side. Oh, I miss you. Oh, I need you. And I love you more than I did before, and here today I don't see your face. Nothing's changed no one could take your place. It gets harder every day."

Staring at the words on the page, Miley couldn't help but think just how right they were. 'Oh my god…I'm in love with my best friend.' Stunned by the realization, all Miley could do was cry.