Protection

I heard the airy hiss of the jet's door opening, signaling that we had reached our destination. A smile grew on my freshly glossed lips as I followed my Father and older brother out the door. The streets were crowded, and I was exhausted. I just wanted to reach our hotel and go to bed, but I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Crowded city plus being a world-known pop star equaled total disaster. Though luckily, my bodyguard Roxy was here to ease things down. But as good as she was at her job, she couldn't protect me from everyone.

"Hey everyone, look, it's Hannah Montana!" A voice shouted from across the street. Somehow, this person had managed to get the attention of everyone nearby over the sound of obnoxious horn honking and shouting. Biting my lip, I pushed through the crowd with the help of Roxy. She took my arm and sighed when she saw the fans coming at us from all directions.

It's like a zombie apocalypse.

Desperate to get out of here, I opened the double doors to a restaurant I didn't even recognize. In a hurry, I bumped against a girl, then heard a jingle of a keychain. Once everyone was inside, I finally noticed her on the ground. She sneered up at me, "Who said you could come in here?"

"You're sign said open." I said absentmindedly, "Look, if you want an autograph—"

"I don't care." She interrupted, "I just need you to get out of here so I can lock up." The girl looked out the window, "What're those people doing outside anyway? Did the new iPhone come out?"

I laughed at her joke. The girl smoothed down the ends of her wavy brown locks and crossed her arms, "Seriously, you guys need to get out."

"Look, I'm sorry, will you please let us hide here until this all clears up? I'll get you concert tickets to my next show."

"Oh, are you from one of those lame country cover bands? You look the type."

"Um...no."

"Thank God, those things suck." She shuffled her feet, "So, it's community theatre then? I swear, if I get one more of those pamphlets I will stomp right up there and tell that charity lady to shove it."

"Not an actress." I was baffled, "You really don't know who I am?"

"No. But newsflash, Princess. I don't really care who people are unless they're Gary the Hot Dog Vender, my best friend, or my parents."

"Amen, sister." Jackson spoke up, earning a glare from the teenage girl.

Sighing, I walked forward, "I'm Hannah Montana. Those people outside are chasing me, will you please let us hide in here."

The girl paused for a minute, then shrugged. She walked back over to the doors and locked them both shut, "Hey, um...there's some leftover food over there. Why don't you pick something out of the case?" As we turned around and observed the desert case, we didn't hear her mutter something under her breath. The screens on the windows slid down by themselves and the shutters shut closed. Tucking her wand into her boot, she turned around and sat lazily on a table chair. None of this did I see.

It was no sooner than this did then a older boy walk over to the girl. He glared down at her, "Alex, what are you doing?"

"Sitting down? What, is that some sort of crime, Justin?"

"No. You can do that when we're closed."

"We are closed, dummy. Just read the stupid sign."

"Then why are there people here?" He asked, crossing his arms in frustration.

"Don't blame her." I defended, getting the attention of the boy, "She's just helping me hide from my fans."

Justin's eyes widened at the sight of me and I instantly regretted my choice of words. He began to stutter my name, not being able to form it at all. Rolling her eyes, Alex slipped out of her chair and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "He-ey, you won't believe it, Justin. Mom was cleaning up your dolls yesterday and Jim Bob fell into the garbage disposal."

"What?" He shouted, completely forgetting about me and running upstairs. The brunette sat back down in the table chair and whipped out a Art Magazine, already flipping through it.

Amazed, I slipped down next to her. This girl really was an incredible liar, "Thanks, Alex." I said, earning a nod from her. Getting up, I checked out the window again.

Man, they're still out there.

"Yeah, NYC fans are crazy." The brunette said, not even glancing up from her magazine. A giggle escaped her mouth, "You should've seen the time Beyoncé came on tour. She had it way worse than you, H."

The nickname made me smile. Nobody had ever given Hannah a nickname before. Only Miley had those, and I must say it felt good to have my first celebrity nickname. Even if it wasn't that creative.

"So, um…" I began.

"You better not be asking me if you could spend the night here."

I shook my head no, "I was just gonna ask where the bathroom was."

She lazily lifted her hand and pointed to the back of the restaurant. I smiled and walked away, leaving my Dad and brother alone with Alex.

"We sure do appreciate you hidin' us here, young lady." Robbie Ray said, "My daughter especially."

"Yeah, about that...when are you guys leaving?"

"As soon as that crowd clears up then we'll be outta your hair." He said, earning a satisfied nod from the girl.

I came out a few minutes later and sat down next to Alex. She was still flipping through the same magazine.

She walked upstairs then came back down holding a large sketchbook and an art box. She pulled out a variety of colored pencils and began to draw. She would occasionally look up at her magazine, which lay flat on the table. I curiously looked over her shoulder, admiring the way her pencil was flying across the paper. When she was finished, Alex frowned. I watched her take a black pencil out and draw with it here and there. She frowned, still, at the result.

"Can I see?" I asked.

The brunette jumped in surprise. She had been so into her work that she had forgotten I was here. The girl bit her lower lip and shook her head, "It's not finished yet."

"Oh, come on." I made a grab for it, but she pulled it away. She glared at me for a second, then went back to her work.

"Okay, how long are we going to be here? I'm starting to smell like day-old tuna fish." Jackson complained, earning another glare from Alex.

"The sooner the better." The brunette mumbled, "Blondie, can you go ahead and check?"

Nodding, I walked to the front door and stared out the window.

They were still there. Groaning, I turned to face Alex, who finally seemed satisfied with her work.

"Alex? I know I said I wasn't gonna ask, but do you think I could spend the night here?"

"What?" Alex, Jackson and Dad said at the same time.

"Darlin', don't you think that's a bit forward? Ya barely know that girl." He walked forward, "Besides, how are you 'sposed to go to sleep as Hannah?"

My mouth went dry, how did I not think of that? I reached up and touched my wig, wondering if it would be a good idea. My Dad shook his head. He obviously didn't.

"What other choice do I have? They'll mob me if I go out there. Look, how 'bout this, y'all head to our hotel and I'll meet you there in the mornin'."

"I don't know, Miles." Jackson shook his head, "Can you really trust this girl? To tell her your secret this quick?"

"Yeah Daddy, you're probably right. But what other choice do I have?"

He shook his head, "I don't know."

"You could always spend the night here." Alex offered.

"I just asked you that." I pointed out.

"Whatever, but I really don't think hiding a pop star in my house would be the greatest idea, it's better than nothing." The brunette shrugged, "Knowing my brothers they'll probably blab about it to everyone. Yeah, y'know what? You're better off without me helping."

I just nodded, still unsure what to do.

"Up to you, Darlin'." Dad said, crossing his arms.

I looked back at the girl, a smile growing up on my face, "I think I'll stay."

"But what about Hannah?" Jackson asked.

"I'll figure it out."

It was true I was scared to tell this girl, but she seemed to be the only person in New York that didn't care who I was! So why would it matter if she knew I was Miley as well? It was a little forward, but I had no choice.

Smiling, I hugged my Father and a reluctant Jackson goodbye. Then I turned around and sat down across from the brunette, who was smoothing out her paper and staring at it with a large smile on her face. I took one look at it and a little green monster grew in my stomach. She was so talented. And I told her so.

"There's somethin' I have to tell you." I said, twirling the edges of my fake blonde hair. She looked up at me, then looked straight down.

"I know we just met and all—"

"Please don't tell me you've fallen in love with me." She said, slamming her arms down onto the table.

"What? No!" I flushed red, sneering at Alex as I watched her laugh, "I just needed to tell ya something, if you promise to keep it a secret."

"Whatever."

Turning around, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw the blinds were still closed. Then I took off my wig, "My name's Miley Stewart. And I'm Hannah Montana."

I waited for her to get angry or faint like Lily or Oliver had. But she didn't. Instead, Alex just shrugged, "Cool."

I stared at her in shock, "Cool?"

"Yeah." She shrugged, "So, want to go upstairs? You could meet my best friend Harper, she lives with us. She dresses like a rainbow spit up on her, so just nod and say her outfits are pretty, okay?"

I nodded, "My best friend lives with me too." I said, stuffing the wig into my bag, "I'm going to go change into my regular clothes, okay?"

"Whatever." She shrugged, leaning back into her chair and flipping through a fashion magazine

I came back out wearing my casual (yet fashionable) outfits, "Ready." I announced, following Alex up the spiral staircase and into their loft.

What I saw in front of me caused me to gag. Four out of the five people yelling at the TV, which I supposed was Alex's family, scarfing down chili dogs. A redheaded girl looked up at them in disgust, then back down at her notebook. By the looks of her, I knew it was the rainbow-spat on girl the brunette had told me about.

"Wow, and I thought Jackson was disgusting." I observed, then watched in horror as Alex grabbed the last chili dog and stuffed it down her throat.

"And I thought the rest of your family was bad." I corrected, crossing my arms. She rolled her eyes and dragged me forward, "Harper? This is Miley. She's currently being stalked and so we're giving her sanctuary until she gets tired of us and leaves."

"Food-covered talented artist covered in chili dog say what?"

The brunette just rolled her eyes, "I'm kidding."

"No, she's not." Harper said.

"I'm really not." Alex confirmed.