Chapter 3

New York City

Sunday, 11:45 p.m.

The huge, heavy suitcase rolled slowly behind her. Lily had tried to pack light, but "light packing" for a two month trip was still a lot of stuff, as she discovered. Almost all her shorts and t-shirts were in this suitcase. Mr. Stewart. Jackson and Miley were behind her, each assigned a smaller bag to carry. Of course, Mr. Stewart offered to roll the one Lily took, but it was bad enough that he insisted on paying for the cab ride from the hotel.

"We're…almost…there…" Lily assured her companions. Since they got in on the late flight, they hadn't been able to see the sandwich shop sign from the cab, and missed it by a block. Normally Lily would have just bunked with Miley for the night and arrived in the morning. But, as she found out from Alex when she called with the suggestion, Mr. and Mrs. Russo had already been waiting up for her. Lily couldn't disappoint them after that incredibly sweet gesture.

Right behind Lily to her right, Miley replied, "Whew, that's good."

"What are you complaining about, princess?" Jackson snapped. "That makeup getting too heavy for ya?" he asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He'd been stuck with the second-largest suitcase, filled with shoes and other essentials. Miley, however, snagged the easiest load of the duffel bag filled with Lily's makeup and accessories, which included her favorite Lola wigs. Her Lola clothes would stay with Miley, but she'd brought some wigs and outfits herself for when she met Hannah at the reality show set.

Annoyed, Miley retorted, "You don't have to bite my head off! All I said was 'whew, that's good'!"

"Aw, bud, don't mind him," Robbie Ray suggested, Lily's skateboard tucked under his right arm. In his left hand he carried the bag with Lily's helmet and protective gear. "He's just cranky and tired." At Jackson's offended glare, Robbie explained, "We all are. It was a long flight, and it's late. Heck, I'd rather not be around either one of ya."

Lily laughed, though she felt a little guilty that they had to drop her off so late. "Thank you so much for coming with me, guys," she said, not for the first time. "I know you all want to get to bed, so you can just drop me off. I'm sure the Russos are tired too."

"Oh no," Robbie Ray insisted. "You're going to be living with these people for two months, I want to meet 'em. And don't think you're going to be doing whatever you want for two months, either. Though I would've done it anyway, I promised your mama that I'd check on you a few times a week and give her a full report."

Under her breath, Miley muttered to Lily, "Don't worry, we'll still have fun."

"I know. Thanks, Mr. Stewart," Lily called back over her shoulder. When he nodded, she turned around and smiled to herself. Honestly, she didn't mind. While she would never say it out loud, she considered Mr. Stewart to be her father figure, and sometimes envied how close he and Miley were. True, her father visited every now and then, but it was never enough to form any kind of steady relationship.

When they reached the end of the street and still did not see the shop, Lily rounded the corner. Sure enough, the small side street revealed the Waverly Sub Station only a few feet away. "I see it!" Lily shouted, maybe too loud for a quarter to midnight. Then again, this was New York City, the city that supposedly never slept. "There's a flight of stairs, though!" she exclaimed in disappointment. It was a short one, but a flight of stairs nonetheless.

Five minutes later, they had overcome the obstacle and were running the home stretch toward the sandwich shop door. Before they could reach it, though, Alex Russo threw open the door and headed toward them. "Oh my gosh, you're here! Finally!"

"Oh my gosh, Alex!" Lily squealed. Excited, she threw down the handle of her suitcase and began jumping up and down. "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!" she exclaimed.

Alex joined in on the jumping and replied, "I know, I know, I know! This is going to be so awesome!"

"So awesome!" Lily agreed.

Once the two stopped jumping, Miley tapped Lily on the shoulder. "You know what would be even more awesome? If you introduced us!"

"Oh, right!" Lily exclaimed, to enthused to be bothered by the faux pas. "Alex, this is my best friend Miley Stewart," she introduced. "And that's – "

However, Miley interrupted before Lily could continue. "Oh my gosh, Alex, people had to have told you how much you look like the singer Mikayla. I mean, it's uncanny!"

"Thanks! But really, most people tell me I look exactly like Selena Gomez," Alex replied. At Miley's blank stare, she explained, "From the movie Camp Hip Hop?"

Miley just shrugged. "Never seen it."

At that, Alex's eyes widened. "Are you serious? We have to watch that together before you leave!"

"I'm so glad you two are getting along!" Lily said, completely honest. The thought of two of her closest friends meeting had been keeping her up at night. "For some reason I was worried you two wouldn't like each other."

The girls quieted when Jackson walked up with Lily's bag still in hand. "While I'm glad you ladies are all, like, total BFF's, can we please go inside? I'd rather not stay outside in New York City at midnight!"

"Oh, yeah! Let's go inside," Alex suggested and led the way to the shop's front door. Once the small group all made it inside, they were greeted by the sight of Alex's parents, who had been sitting at the shop's counter. "Mom, Dad! Lily's here!" Alex called.

Jerry and Theresa jumped up and walked over to the group. "Oh, thank goodness!" Theresa replied. "I started to worry when you said your flight was delayed. Lily, it's so nice to see you again, we're happy to have you here."

"Yeah! We're looking forward to it," Jerry assured her. When he saw Theresa give Robbie Ray an appreciative glance, Jerry kept the smile on his face but put a protective arm around his wife's shoulders.

As she noticed this, Lily just managed to suppress a laugh. Mr. Russo didn't have to worry – Mr. Stewart was the last guy in the world who would hit on a married woman. "Thanks, I know I said it over the phone, but I really appreciate this, you have no idea. Mr. and Mrs. Russo, this is my best friend Miley, her brother Jackson, and her father Robbie Ray Stewart."

"Nice to meet you both," Robbie Ray said as he shook both their hands.

"Likewise. I'm Theresa, and this is Jerry," Theresa introduced. "Alex is our second child. We also have two boys – our oldest is Justin, and our youngest is Max. They went up to bed a little while ago though. We let Alex stay up to wait."

Robbie Ray nodded, then paused. "Wait, this Justin…how old is he?"

"Almost eighteen," Jerry replied.

With that information, Robbie gave Lily and Miley a sidelong glance. "Funny that neither of you mentioned that Lily would be staying with a seventeen-year-old boy."

"Dad! Stop that, you're embarrassing Lily! And me, and probably Alex too!" Miley objected, her face red.

But instead, Alex was laughing. "Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about. Justin is a total – "

"Gentleman," Jerry interrupted before Alex could finish with whatever unpleasant word she was going to say. "Mr. Stewart, I understand your concern, but Lily will be fine."

"Thank you. And ya'll can call me Robbie Ray, " Robbie Ray said.

After she'd checked her watch, Theresa offered, "Look, I know it's late, but you all must be starving. Do you want something eat? It's on the house."

"Free sandwiches? Yes! I was hoping for this!" Jackson exclaimed. "Can we, Dad?"

Robbie Ray hesitated. "Well, if it's not too much trouble…"

"Oh, no, not at all!" Alex assured them, then grabbed Lily's wrist. "Come on! You can bring your stuff up – you're going to be sleeping in my room. Oh, Miley, you come too, I'll give you both a tour."

Miley followed Alex to the stairs, and though Lily grabbed her big suitcase to go with them, she felt her stomach grumble. They all hadn't eaten since before the flight. "That's great, but I am kind of hungry…"

"Don't worry, we'll come down in a few minutes when the food's ready," Alex assured her in a whisper when they reached the stairs. "I just don't want to get stuck helping Mom and Dad make it."

"Oh, okay! Good plan," Lily replied with a laugh. She attempted to get the suitcase on to the first step, but couldn't lift it enough. "Uh, Alex, Miley? Would you mind…." The three girls took hold of the suitcase, Lily and Miley on each end, with Alex's hold on the strap on the suitcase's side. While the adults and Jackson looked on in amusement, the three girls triumphantly carried the suitcase up the stairs.


Tuesday, 9:15 a.m.

After Alex showed Lily around the city on Monday, Miley was finally able to take Lily onto the set. Hannah had been stuck taping commercial spots, and Miley was annoyed that she couldn't spend her first day in New York with her best friend. Not only that, but her best friend was off having a great time with someone else.

To be honest, she still wished that Lily was staying with her in the hotel. Maybe Miley was being a little selfish…okay, she was being selfish…but she had been looking forward to spending every minute with her best friend. They'd planned to shop 'til they dropped, see a Broadway show, and hang out at Times Square.

Now Lily would be busy working at the sandwich shop (Mr. and Mrs. Russo hadn't let her start until the following Monday, with the idea that Lily should at least enjoy her first week there). And when Lily wasn't working, she would be spending time with Alex. After all, why hang out with plain old Miley, when she did that every day back at home?

Alright, Miley knew she was being ridiculous, and that Lily didn't feel that way. But it was hard not to think like that after she saw how much Lily and Alex clicked.

Well, she could take comfort in knowing that once they got back to California, everything would be back to normal. So she could grin and bear it for two months. After all, no matter how close Lily and Alex seemed, Miley was still Lily's best friend. Miley had to keep reminding herself of that fact.

"So, don't you love it?" Miley asked as she showed Lily her Hannah dressing room. It was an average-sized room, not huge but not a closet either. What she loved that it was decorated in purples and blues, with tons of room for all of her Hannah clothes…and enough three-panel, full-length mirrors that she could probably look directly at her butt. Not that she would want to, of course.

A bright orange wig on, Lily as Lola stared at the room wide-eyed. "Love it? You should've told me! I could've lived here for the summer!"

Miley laughed. "If I'd known it would be here, I promise I would've drawn you a lease."

"Well, it's officially awesome. When does the competition start?" Lily asked as she fell into a comfy purple chair in the corner.

After Miley herself sat at the dressing table's chair, she picked up her Hannah wig and answered, "Tomorrow. There's twelve finalists, all ages thirteen to seventeen, and they're going to start with simple singing challenges. I'm going to have to meet and work with four of them tomorrow. In front of the cameras, of course. For the first four weeks we send two home, then we're left with the top five for the rest of the weeks."

"So that's how you do a reality show in two months," Lily replied while Miley started to put her wig on. "I was wondering that. I mean, American Idol starts late January and doesn't end until May."

As she stuck the last few bobby pins in her wig, Miley explained, "Well, there was a lot of pre-screening apparently, and Next Teen Sensation just had auditions in New York. We only start from the top twelve. The producers said something about wanting to get it all wrapped up in the summer so they can put it with the Fall lineup."

"Wait…twelve contestants, Hannah gets four of them, so…who are the other two judges? Does Hannah know them?" Lily asked with curiosity.

Miley hesitated. To be honest, she'd been wondering the same thing, and it was making her nervous. What if it was someone she didn't get along with? "I have no idea. The producers said that they wanted to keep it a 'fun surprise' so they could get our reactions on camera. Remind me why I signed up for a reality show again?" She raised an eyebrow when Lily laughed. "What?"

"I was just thinking. Wouldn't it be hilarious if one of the judges was Mikayla?" Lily asked, then doubled over in giggles. "You two would always be fighting like Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell!"

"Yeah, hilarious," Miley muttered. Since Hannah was getting to meet the other two judges soon, Miley would rather not think about it, because it would make her a nervous wreck. "So, um…how was your day with Alex yesterday?"

At that, Lily jumped out of her chair. "Oh my gosh, it was so awesome! She took me all around the city…Miley, we rode the subway! Can you believe that? It's gross and it smells and the subway maps are so confusing, but it's awesome! They go so fast, and sometimes you don't get a seat and you have to hold on to these poles and pray you don't fall, it's so cool!"

"If you say so," Miley said with a laugh. Since she was a celebrity, she never took the subway when she went to New York for events – either she took a cab or got a limo. But from the way Lily described it and the few subway entrances she'd seen, she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything.

Once she'd calmed down, Lily went to stand next to Miley. "I do say so. And…I say while Alex is very cool, and I had fun…I'd have had even more fun if my best friend was there too. I missed you yesterday."

Miley stared at Lily's reflection in the mirror, so touched by the sentiment that she was speechless for a moment. "…really?"

"Really," Lily assured her.

While she needed to hear those words, it registered in Miley's mind that Lily knew she needed to hear those words. "So…how did you know I was jealous?"

"Please, how could I not? It took you until just now to ask how yesterday went," Lily pointed out. "Whenever we do something separately, you're texting me before, during, and you make me call the second I get home, no matter how late it is. When I barely got one text from you yesterday, I knew something was up."

"Am I that obvious?" Miley muttered, slightly embarrassed that she was that easy to read. Then again, Lily was her best friend, and knew her better than anyone else. "Anyway, thanks. I'll at least try not to be too jealous when you and Alex are off having fun while I'm stuck working."

Lily scoffed. "Oh, yeah, because judging a reality show is so much work. I'd rather do that than wait tables."

"Hey, it doesn't look like it, but showbiz can be hard work," Miley insisted.

The two were interrupted when Robbie Ray opened the dressing room door. "Hey, Miles, Lily," Robbie Ray greeted. "They want Hannah on the main stage now. It's time to meet the judges."

"Now? Okay, Daddy, just give me a little hint, please?" Miley begged as she and Lily began to follow Robbie Ray into the hallway.

Robbie Ray shook his head. "Nope, I'm under strict orders. It's gotta be a complete surprise…and, honestly, I want to see this myself."

"That doesn't help!" Miley exclaimed as her heart started to speed up from panic. She traded glances with Lily, who was also worried.

Finally they arrived at the backstage area, directly behind the huge wall that prevented them from seeing the stage on the other side. The area was full of activity, but Miley only paid attention to the stage hand who approached her. "Ms. Montana, you're due to enter stage left. Your fellow judges will each enter up stage and stage right."

"Oh…I see they're being theatrical about this. Just great," Miley remarked. She took a few deep breaths, and when she was sure her legs were steady enough to walk, she said, "Well, Daddy, Lola, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Good luck, bud," Robbie Ray told her as he gave her a quick hug.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, good luck Hannah."

After she'd let out one more deep breath, Miley nodded back and headed for the appropriate stage entrance. Once she reached there, however, Lily rushed up to her side. "Oh, who am I kidding? I can't let you do this alone!"

Miley raised an eyebrow. "You can't wait to see who the judges are, can you?"

"Nope. What are they gonna do, drag me off the stage?" Lily joked, but grew serious when she caught the eye of a security guard nearby who had noticed her. "Let's do this quick, okay?"

"You're not gonna hear an argument from me," Miley replied, then noticed a stage hand give her direction to enter. "Well, let's go then," she said. Lily right behind her, Miley gathered her courage and stepped on to the dimly lighted stage. It was completely dark, save for spotlights over her…and the two other judges.

In full panic mode when she recognized them, Miley gave Lily a pleading glance. "Quick, trade lives with me!"

Lily was staring at the two other judges in shock as she replied, "No way."

"Fine, be that way," Miley retorted. Her arms crossed, she stared at the two judges while she tried to figure out how she felt about the situation.