Okay, hi there. This is a somewhat-awkward first attempt, so let's see how it goes. It's a work in progress but it'll be short, so I expect it to be done soon if anybody wants to read the rest. The first chapter doesn't do a whole lot, but who doesn't love Hannah/Lola/Jonas interaction?
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not. A. Thing. Except for my slippers, which have moose on them. Please don't take them.
Ready to Aim
"Gee Miley, is someone special going to be there tonight? I can't remember," Lilly Truscott teased her best friend as she adjusted a short hot pink wig atop her head. It was unusual that Lilly would be in a position to make Miley Stewart feel embarrassed; she could not help but jump on it.
"Shut up," Miley replied succinctly, midway through her transformation into Hannah Montana. Every time Lilly watched her do it, she could not help but feel like an idiot for missing the resemblance earlier. A blonde wig and some sparkly clothes were hardly an elaborate disguise, but it managed to fool even the people who knew Miley best.
"I'm sensing some hostility on your part," Lilly laughed, straightening out the bright green leggings she had selected to be part of that night's eccentric 'Lola Luftnagle' ensemble.
"Stop torturing me. I do not like Nick Jonas," Miley replied through gritted teeth, applying fake eyelashes.
"I didn't say you liked Nick Jonas," Lilly grinned. "But you basically just did. And you've only mentioned that he's going to be there tonight all of forty seven times."
"Look at you, all confident now. Just wait until they go to hug you backstage. You will turn to goo. Goo, I tell you!" Miley exclaimed.
"I'm looking forward to that. A lot, actually," smirked Lilly, twirling around to examine her whole outfit in the mirror. Instead of dressing in the odd, ill-fitting costumes she normally did at Hannah concerts, she had opted to try something a little bit cuter. She had on a pink and green minidress and green leggings, a girlier ensemble than Lilly Truscott would ever be caught in. Fortunately, it would be Lola Luftnagle wearing it.
"Just try not to faint again. It was pretty dang awkward trying to explain my way around that one in front of Maroon 5," laughed Miley. "Can you hand me my dress?"
Lilly obligingly passed her friend the silver sequined mini. Miley Stewart was thin enough to avoid looking like a human disco ball, luckily for her.
"I heard that Kevin Jonas is dating someone, actually," Lilly said, dropping onto a vanity stool.
"And where did you hear that?"
"Hot Stuff magazine," the blonde answered guiltily, avoiding eye contact.
"Lil, I can't believe you still get that magazine after all the trash they wrote about Hannah," Miley said disapprovingly. Hannah Montana had always had an interesting relationship with the tabloids. Paparazzi always seemed angry with her for being impossible to trace down on nights that she was not performing.
"It's addictive!" Lilly defended. "Plus, it's not hurting anybody. Nobody actually thinks Hannah Montana survives on a diet of bat wings and pickle juice. I don't think…"
"Anyway, did they give a name even slightly realistic or are they still trying to convince people that he's dating someone creepy, like Martha Stewart or every member of Girls Aloud?"
"They said Camilla Belle," Lilly answered.
"Oh, eww!" Miley shuddered, dropping the lip liner she had been using.
"What? I think she's pretty."
"I do too, but if Joe Jonas were a girl, that's the girl he would be," Miley stated adamantly as she put the finishing touches on her makeup. Lilly thought for a moment before shuddering. "See. Told you."
"I'm just trying to figure out if I'm a lesbian now," Lilly mused. Miley rolled her large blue eyes.
"Besides, I have it on good authority that Kevin is dating someone who isn't in show business. Her name is… I want to say Kelly but I can't really remember."
"Well, it's not Nick, so it probably slipped your mind," chortled Lilly, running out of the Hannah closet quickly so that she could not be hit by the pillow Miley hurled in her direction.
--
Backstage at the Hannah Montana concert was always a hectic environment. Dancers frantically dashed around looking for their shoes. Robbie Ray stood around with his clipboard and the world's most ridiculous fake mustache, politely making demands of the crew. 'Lola' was perched on an overstuffed couch, playing the video games that had been provided in the dressing room. On any other day, Hannah Montana would be practicing mic tricks or joking around with her friends. Today she was pacing and doing a thoroughly good job of distracting Lilly.
"Miles, sit! You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Lilly snapped, tugging at the pop star.
"The Jonas Brothers are going to be here in, like, ten minutes! How are you so calm?" Miley asked incredulously.
"Only one of us gets to freak out at a time. You're stealing my squealing," she explained. "It's okay. I'm not mad. It's not every day that someone comes face to face with their soul mate."
"Lilly!" Miley shouted, her face burning crimson.
"Just tell me you like him and all this will stop," Lilly said, quite reasonably. She laid aside her video game controller and batted her eyelashes up at her friend. "You know you want to."
"I hate you," grumbled Miley, pouting beneath her fake blonde fringe. "Fine! I do! Of course I do! Who doesn't?"
"Who doesn't what?" a third voice entered the conversation. Both girls immediately paled and turned to face the door. A sigh of relief slipped from both of them simultaneously when they realized that it was Kevin Jonas. While still uncomfortable, it was not nearly as awful as if his brother had appeared.
"Who doesn't …love grape juice?" Miley asked, seizing a jug of it from atop the minifridge.
"I sure do!" Lilly chimed in cheerfully.
Kevin stared between the two. "Uh, okay. Anyway, it was my job to come down and tell you that we're here and everything's all set up, Hannah. If you want to go say hi to my brothers, they're down the…hall."
He trailed off as Lilly shot past him eagerly. She blushed and abruptly halted. "Sorry, what? Who? Where? Pfft."
"Easy there, Lola," 'Hannah' chuckled as she ushered Kevin out of her dressing room. He laughed as he took the lead down the hall.
"Hey, I'm Kevin," he said, extending a hand to Lilly. She took it, beaming, and shook vigorously.
"Oh, I know! You're the cute, romantic one."
Kevin Jonas simply laughed and shook his head. "Is that like an official label or something? That's exactly what Hannah said when we met her. It's been a while. How have you been?"
"Good, good," Miley nodded. "Busy though."
"Have you been working on a new C.D. or something? You don't usually tour unless it's summer," he said. Miley's eyes widened.
"Umm… yeah. I've been working on some new stuff, catching up on school—er, home schooling. You know how it is," Miley said, her laugh at the end coming out too forced. Kevin blinked at her but did not mention it.
"Yeah, we've been super busy lately too, what with the new CD and the tours. We haven't been home in forever," Kevin said, sounding wistful. "Not that we don't love it. It's been great."
"Is there anyone in particular that you're missing?" Miley asked with a sly grin.
"I'm not married to an Arab woman!" he exclaimed. Miley and Lilly stared at him. "And you didn't ask… sorry, that was a rumor going around for a while."
"Okay then," Miley laughed. Lilly resumed her star-struck stare.
Kevin opened a door at the end of the hall and noise poured forth.
"Nick and Hannah sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage…" a teasing voice sang as loud as humanly possible. A thud could then be heard. As they entered the dressing room, they could see Nick blushing furiously on the couch while Joe was sprawled across the floor, still smug and silly.
"… then comes a baby in a baby—ooh, cute girls!" Joe continued singing before abruptly cutting himself off and jumping to his feet.
"Hey there. I'm Joe," he said, his eyes trained on the girl in the bright pink wig. She stared back at him, her eyes wide and excited.
"You're Joe Jonas!" Lilly shrieked.
"Yeah…" Joe laughed, rubbing his neck. "I kind of just said that. I did say that, right? I didn't do the Enrique Iglesias thing again?"
"No," Kevin shook his head, staring inquisitively at 'Lola'.
"Erm, don't mind her. She's a big fan," Miley said, elbowing Lilly roughly. "She's a little star struck."
"Hannah Montana's best friend gets star struck?" Joe asked skeptically.
"It happens," Miley said defensively.
"You're Joe Jonas!" Lilly repeated, awed. Spontaneously, she reached out and threw her arms around his neck.
"Hey Hannah," Nick said, standing up. He wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug and she held her breath to avoid squealing.
"Hey Nick. How've you been?"
"Good. I'm pretty pumped for the show tonight," he said, patting his unruly curls down with his hand.
"Yeah, it should be great. We haven't done anything together since 'We Got the Party'. This should be really good," Miley said, struggling to maintain eye contact.
"Yeah, yeah. Maybe we should keep in touch. You could give me your number after the show—not that I'm just trying to get your number or anything…" Nick said. Joe laughed, his arms coming to rest comfortably around Lola's waist. Lilly blissfully kept herself wrapped around the lead singer of her favorite band. Miley fully intended to repay her for the weeks of teasing.
"I think keeping in touch would be great," Miley agreed enthusiastically. Nick smiled. Joe hummed the rest of his little song.
"Bud, JoBros, y'all ready?" Robbie Ray poked his head in.
"Yep! Let's get this show on the road!" Miley said. The boys cheered.
"Uh, Joe, you wanna let go of that little lady there? I don't think you can bring her with you," Robbie Ray frowned at him. He gestured to himself. "Cute protective one, remember?"
"Sorry," Joe said, placing a safe foot of space between himself and Lola Luftnagle.
"On stage, now," Robbie Ray declared firmly, rolling his eyes as he left the room. Kevin trailed after him.
Nick and Miley exchanged a look as they followed, both struggling to hold back their laughter. It did not burst forth until they heard Joe continue to speak.
"So… come here often?"