Author's Note: Thanks for the kind reviews! As always, I truly appreciate them, and I'm glad that others share the belief in Miley's and Lilly's love, which really is evident in just casual watching of the show. A friend of mine who has read my first story but never watched Hannah Montanasaw an episode of it over the weekend, and she called to tell me how obvious the affection between Miley and Lilly really was, even to a new viewer. Maybe someday Disney will accept it, if Miley and Emily would be willing to act it... Oh, and has anyone else noticed how their names are anagrams of each other (Miley -- Emily)? Interesting little coincidence there. Please see Chapter 1 for my standard disclaimers!
All I Want
by Jo P.
Chapter 3: Studio Sessions
With a new attitude
Everything can change
Make it how you want it to be
--Hannah Montana"Life's What You Make It"
Lilly woke to the sound of the lawn mower starting outside. The first sight she saw was the sleeping face of Miley, her face smiling even in slumber. Miley's left leg was thrown across Lilly's hips, pulling them fast against each other, while her left arm had made its way up Lilly's shirt during the night, resting against her belly with her hand just short of Lilly's breasts. Trying to get me in your sleep now, Miley? Lilly thought, a grin creeping across her face. And I love it. She reached down and gently helped Miley's hand find its goal, the sensation sending a small shudder through her body when Miley's fingers brushed against her skin. Lilly held her hand on top of Miley's, enjoying the sensation, when she saw Miley's smile enlarge, then Miley's eyelids parted, letting her cobalt blue eyes shine forth.
"Morning lover," Miley said, sleep heavy in her voice. "You wantin' some more this mornin'?"
Lilly loved how Miley's accent got stronger when she was sleepy. Or when she was really excited. Or when they were making love. She released Miley's hand, but it stayed firmly in place. Lilly moved her right arm until it was draped across Miley's body, her right hand tangled in Miley's thick dark brown hair. "I always want more from you, Miles," Lilly said, smiling. "I heard the lawn mower start up, so your dad is mowing the yard. Wasn't Jackson working this morning?"
Miley turned her head to check the clock beside the bed. "Yeah, he's working until four today, and it's just nine-thirty."
Lilly's grin grew. "How long does it usually take your dad to mow the yard, an hour?"
Miley nodded, her own smile quite large. "Uh huh. Got something you want to be doin'?" she asked Lilly, using her sultry voice, the one that she knew drove Lilly wild.
"You," Lilly said with a growl as she rolled forward, pinning Miley underneath her as she leaned down and kissed Miley deeply. She positioned her body over Miley's, then she let her hands drift, seeking out Miley's most intimate spots while Miley did the same for Lilly, letting the desires of both young women burn until they were released.
After half an hour, the girls were much more relaxed. "I needed that soooo badly," Lilly said, kissing Miley's hand as she held it to her lips.
Miley smiled as she played with Lilly's soft blonde hair, now wet with sweat. "So did I, Lil," she said. "Oh, I forgot to tell you!"
Lilly sat up in the bed. "Tell me what?"
Miley grinned, sitting up herself. "I got an email this morning. Well, Hannah got an email, actually. We've been asked to come to the winter Fashion Rocks event in New York City!"
Lilly's smile was huge as she said, "That's great, Miley! So Hannah is going to be performing?" Miley nodded. Lilly said, "Is it okay if Lola comes, too?"
Miley stopped nodding. "Lilly, honey, I don't think you understood me," she said. "I said, WE were invited. They want Lola to be one of the celebrity models!" she said, bouncing up and down on the bed.
"WHAT?!?" yelled Lilly, a look of joy on her face. She jumped up, screaming, "Are you SERIOUS?!?"
Miley dragged Lilly back down onto the bed. "Easy there hoss, don't wake up the neighborhood. A naked Lilly jumping up and down on my bed might be noticed by someone." Lilly was still squealing with glee as Miley pinned her to the bed, finally getting her to stop. "Can I trust you not to yell again if I let you up?" she asked her girlfriend.
Lilly looked up and realized that Miley was leaning over her, her gorgeous hair falling down until it was tickling her face. "I love it when your hair tickles my nose," Lilly said, her face glowing.
Miley indulged her by leaning her head forward a bit more then going back and forth, tickling her face thoroughly. As Lilly laughed and tossed, Miley stopped and said, "There. Now you can be content. We need to get into the shower." Miley released Lilly's wrists, sliding off the bed and walking to the shower. Lilly hopped up, running up behind Miley and making her jump forward as she anticipated a smack on the rear. "What was that for, Truscott?" Miley said when Lilly didn't try to pinch or smack her butt.
Lilly smirked as she walked past Miley and turned on the shower. "Oh, nothing, just testing your reflexes. You pass," she said. For her sauciness, Miley gave Lilly herself a pinch on the butt, getting her to jump just a bit.
"Your butt is sooo cute, Lilly," Miley said, as Lilly quickly used the bathroom. "All that soccer is really making your butt and legs look even more amazing," she said, checking out the aforementioned body parts with a long, slow look. Lilly's legs had added a significant amount of muscle and definition in her thighs and butt, and her calves were likewise starting to develop obvious muscles. Miley shivered thinking about how it good it felt to have those legs wrapped around her, pulling her close with obvious strength while they made love. Lilly had even gotten Miley to start walking and playing some with her as she trained, and Miley was noticing improvement in her back and leg strength as well, though not as much as Lilly.
Lilly smiled and said, "It's all for you, my dear." She then stepped into the shower, with Miley following after she used the bathroom. Working at a leisurely pace, the girls washed their hair and bodies, with a few breaks in between for some kissing and touching. After nearly an hour, they turned off the water and stepped out, drying off with their towels.
"So Miles, are you still wanting to get me something for my birthday?" Lilly asked. "Because you really don't have to. Just being with you is enough, really," Lilly said earnestly. Secretly, she did feel a bit bad that she couldn't really afford to get Miley anything lavish for her birthday. But she had thought of something that she expected Miley would be happy to get as a present. She just had to make sure no one else was around when Miley opened it. Especially their parents.
Miley gave Lilly a look of mild disbelief. "Lilly, what good is being Hannah if I can't get the woman I love something really special for her sixteenth birthday?"
Lilly looked a bit ashamed as she cast her eyes toward the floor and said, "I know, Miley, but even though we've already talked about this, I just feel bad bec--" She was abruptly cut off by a pair of warm, soft lips that tasted faintly of cotton candy lip gloss pressing against her mouth.
After a few seconds, Miley pulled back and said, "Now, were you saying something?" Lilly's only response was a weak smile. "Lilly, we have talked about this, you're right." Miley took Lilly's hands in hers and led her over to their bed, where they sat. "What's this we're sitting on, Lilly?" she asked her girlfriend.
Lilly looked at the covers, still messed up from their amorous activities of the morning. "It's our bed..." Lilly said.
Miley then pointed at the ceiling and said, "And where is our bed located? This place with these walls around it?"
Lilly still didn't see where Miley was going, but she figured she soon would. "Our room?"
Miley smiled and said, "Yes! Our room!" She then pointed to the bathroom and said, "And whose bathroom is that?"
"Um ... ours?" Lilly said hesitantly.
"That's right," Miley said. "OURS. Not mine, ours." She turned and looked directly into Lilly's eyes. "Lilly, Hannah's money isn't my money. It's our money." She reached up and gently cupped Lilly's left cheek with her right hand, her warm skin soft and smooth from the shower. "My dad manages it until I turn eighteen, but he's been really good with teaching me how to manage money, particularly our money. I'm always going to take care of my family, but I'm also always going to take care of you starting now, not just after we get married. I've already had my will changed, Lilly. I had it done last week. If anything happens to me, everything that's mine becomes yours. That way..." She stopped for a minute, her eyes tearing up slightly. "Sorry, this is a touchy subject for me," Miley said as she sniffed a bit. "Anyway, if anything ever happens to me, you'll be taken care of, Lilly, for the rest of your life."
Lilly grabbed Miley and hugged her fiercely, partly out of a desire to keep from crying herself, partly because even thinking about Miley being gone was horrifying, and partly because the love she felt for Miley was so intense that it threatened to overwhelm her at that moment. "Miles, I ..." She tried to compose herself, only partially succeeding. "If anything ever happened to you, I don't know if--"
"Yes, you could!" Miley said sharply. She pulled back slightly, staying in Lilly's embrace but now where she could look Lilly in her teary eyes. "And you will keep going if anything ever happens to me, Lilly Truscott. If it happens in the future, we'll probably have children of our own by then, and they'll need their mother even more. I promise you that I'll keep going if anything ever happens to you ... but I'll hate every night I have to sleep without you. And I'd never, ever want to be with anyone else ever again. I could wait, until I saw you again. Like I know you'd want to wait for me."
Lilly nodded, tears running down her cheeks at the thought of having to live without Miley. "Okay," she said, wiping her tears in a futile effort to stop them. "I could go on, for our children. But I swear on my life, I'd never be with anyone other than you. I would wake up missing you every morning and go to bed missing you every night, but I'd be there for our children." Lilly started crying hard, unable to talk further as she sobbed; instead, she just held Miley, crying onto her shoulder while Miley likewise cried on Lilly's shoulder, the somber subject matter exacting an emotional price from the young women. For a few minutes, the two best friends and partners let their fears of losing each other flow freely, and as their tears slowly subsided, they realized that releasing those tears seemed to help. "I don't like talking about this kind of stuff, Miley," Lilly said, sniffling as she wiped her eyes.
"Neither do I, Lilly, but we need to talk about it sometimes," Miley said, drying her tears as well. "I didn't want to wait until we were married to get things set right. One thing I've learned, sometimes life hits you where you least expect it." She kissed Lilly, expressing how she felt with her lips and her mouth, wordlessly telling Lilly that she loved her and would always be there for her. Lilly returned the kiss with a similar pledge of loyalty and devotion, words unspoken becoming crystal clear across their lips.
As they broke the kiss, Miley said, "Now, as I was saying earlier..." Lilly laughed, tears stopped but still streaked down her cheeks, her smile radiant. Miley continued, "You have money too, Lilly." She stood up and walked over to her dresser, opening it and getting out her red purse, the one she had used earlier in the week. She walked back over to the bed and sat beside Lilly as she opened the purse. Reaching inside, she dug around for a bit, then she pulled out a bright green card which looked like a credit or ATM card. "Here," she said, handing it to Lilly. "This gift card is yours, Lilly. Spend it on what you want. I know you'll be smart about it. It works just like a debit card. The default PIN is the year we were born, but you can change it to whatever you want. You can also sign for it, like a credit card."
Lilly turned the card back and forth in her hand. The signature line on the back was blank, waiting for her to put her name on it. "Miley, you don't have to do this, really." Seeing Miley open her mouth, Lilly quickly added, "But thank you! I'm not going to argue with you, because I really would like to get you something nice for your birthday and for Christmas."
"Well, now you can, but remember, you don't have to," Miley said.
"Right, just like you don't have to get me anything?" Lilly said, raising an eyebrow.
Miley relented. "Okay, point taken," she said, giggling. "Anyway, Daddy was afraid to put too much on that card, but I told him that you needed enough to shop for all your family, so he put three thousand dollars on it."
Lilly's mind whirled. THREE THOUSAND dollars? "Miley, that's way, way too much," she said, trying to hand the card back, her heart suddenly racing.
Miley lightly smacked her hand. "No, it's not, because you haven't seen what I'm getting you for your birthday."
That got another eyebrow lift from Lilly. "Is that a hint, Ms. Stewart? Are you treating me to something for my birthday?"
Miley smiled coyly. "Maybe," she said, drawing the word out slowly. "But you'll have to wait and see."
Lilly kissed Miley lightly on the lips, then her hand went behind Miley's head and pulled her in closer for a longer, more passionate kiss. After the kiss but before they pulled apart, Lilly said, "You are too good to me, Miley Stewart, but I love every minute of it, just like I love you."
Miley reciprocated, whispering against Lilly's lips, "I could never be good enough to you, Lilly Truscott, because no amount of money could match how much I love you."
After holding each other for a minute, Lilly said, "Thank you." She then stood, stretching and drawing a playful smack against her belly from her girlfriend. "What was that for?" she asked Miley.
Miley grinned and said, "Oh, I just like testing your abs," getting a smile in return from Lilly.
"As I recall, you already gave my abs quite a workout both last night and again this morning, lover, along with several other muscle groups," Lilly said, coaxing a blush from Miley.
"What can I say?" Miley answered. "I like to be thorough!"
Lilly extended her hand, helping Miley up when she took it. "And I like it when you are so thorough, my dear." She pushed Miley toward the dresser as she safely tucked the gift card into the small wallet she carried her school ID, house keys and cash in. "Now get a swimsuit, girl, so we can hit the beach! I want to swim some today, then we can lay around for a bit."
After getting dressed and sunscreened, Lilly and Miley did indeed hit the beach, swimming and playing in the sand. No soccer balls were with them this time, but they did bring a Frisbee, which Miley was relatively good at throwing and catching. After nearly two hours of playing in the surf and on the sand, they were ready to cool off.
They trudged back up to the house, where they dropped their beach gear on the back porch and then went inside, making a beeline for the shower. Lilly and Miley scrubbed off good, then Lilly flopped down on their bed, wearing just her lacy pink bra and panties, identical to the set that Miley was now wearing; the girls had bought them together last month, along with several other matching pairs. "I'm tired, Miles," she said, yawning. "Want to take a nap with me?"
Miley thought for about a tenth of a second before she said, "Sure," crawling into bed with Lilly and scooting up against her. Miley slid her left leg between Lilly's legs and draped her left arm across Lilly's chest, holding her tightly. In seconds Lilly was snoozing, safe and secure in the arms of her lover. Not a minute later, Miley also succumbed to the call of sleep, likewise at peace holding her precious Lilly.
After a peaceful hour-long nap, Miley awoke. She was careful not to wake Lilly as she gently slid her right arm out from under her girlfriend, laying a soft kiss on Lilly's blonde hair as she eased out of the bed. She put on an old t-shirt and shorts and went downstairs.
"Hi Daddy," she said as she saw her father sitting at the piano, apparently working on a new song. Miley walked over to the kitchen and started unloading the dishwasher before Robbie Ray lifted his head.
"Sorry Miles, I was just tryin' to figure out the chorus for this new song," he said. "It's really drove me nuts all day long. I tried workin' on it while I was mowin', but no luck there either."
"You'll get it figured out, Daddy," Miley said, carrying the pots and pans to the drawer where they were stored. As she finished putting away the dishes, she went to work loading the dirty dishes.
"Hey Mr. Stewart," Lilly said as she reached the foot of the stairs, likewise wearing one of Miley's t-shirts and a pair of her shorts. Being able to share each other's clothes significantly cut down on the amount of clothes they had to carry back and forth between the Stewart and Truscott houses. "Working on a new song?" she asked with a cheery voice, peeking over his shoulder.
"Yep," Robbie Ray, giving Lilly a smile. "Want to help me work it out?" he asked.
"Sure!" said Lilly, a smile on her face.
"Hey!" said Miley. "How come I don't get to help you work on it? It is gonna be my song, after all."
Robbie Ray turned to face Miley as Lilly sat down beside him. "You seem to have your hands full, Miles," he said, smiling at his daughter's dirty hands as she finished loading the dishwasher.
"Ha ha," Miley said, humorlessly. She washed her hands in the sink, then dried them off as she walked over to the piano. Looking over his shoulder, she said, "Hey, that song looks good, Dad."
Robbie Ray glanced over his shoulder and said, "You know, I do have trouble workin' with people lookin' over my shoulder."
Miley said, "Oops, sorry," and she motioned for Lilly to leave her dad alone.
Lilly got up and walked over to the kitchen with Miley. She said, "Aw, I was looking forward to helping write one of your songs!"
Miley gave her a look of surprise and said, "Well, we can work on a song together if you want, Lilly. I had an idea for one that I think would sound really cool."
"Okay," said Lilly, smiling pleasantly. "Since you've already done the dishes, mind if I start vacuuming upstairs?"
"Nope," said Miley. Since they were staying at her dad's house this weekend, they were going to clean the upstairs some today. After their nap, both girls were energized and ready to work. When Miley finished picking up the downstairs and had started a load of laundry, she moved upstairs, where she saw Lilly had finished vacuuming all the rooms upstairs. The girls then went to work on the upstairs bathrooms, finally calling it quits after getting the bathrooms squeaky clean.
As Lilly plopped down in the hall, she said, "I'm pooped, Miles."
Miley joined her, sitting in more of a controlled fall, landing beside her lover. "Yeah, me too," she said, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Well, at least we'll sleep well tonight," she said with a grin.
Lilly looked at her and nodded her head. "That's for sure," she added. "Let's get something to drink and see if anything good's on TV."
Miley thought that sounded like an excellent idea. "Sounds great to me, Lil," she said as she slowly got to her feet. "I'll fix the drinks, you fix the snacks."
Lilly smiled and said, "Apples work for you?" Miley nodded. Lilly said, "Good, because they're good for you too!"
Lilly and Miley made their way downstairs, where they watched television with Robbie Ray and Jackson for the rest of the evening, finally getting sleepy around ten o'clock, early for them on a weekend. "You ready for bed, hon?" Lilly said through a massive yawn.
Miley snickered as she said, "Yeah, and I guess you are too."
Lilly tried to cover her mouth as she finished her yawn, but it was like trying to cover a swimming pool with a bath towel. As she finally stopped yawning, she said, "Oh yeah. Shall we?" she said, standing and holding out her hand for Miley. "Night Mr. Stewart, Jackson," Lilly said as Miley rose and took her hand.
"Night Daddy, Jackson," Miley added.
"Night Miles, Lilly," Robbie Ray said.
Jackson said, "Night you two. Get some sleep."
Miley was now slightly pushing Lilly up the stairs, trying to get her girlfriend to move a bit faster. Finally they reached their bedroom. Silently they got undressed, both climbing into the bed at the same time but from opposite sides. As they snuggled together, their naked bodies touching all along their length, Miley said, "Night Lilly," leaning slightly forward to kiss her best friend good night.
"Night Miles," Lilly answered, meeting Miley for a kiss. "Love you."
"Love you, hon," Miley answered, then she rolled over onto her left side. Lilly snuggled closer, draping her right arm protectively over Miley's chest. Without another word, they fell asleep instantly, and no dreams disturbed their sleep that night.
The next few days zipped right along. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and even Wednesday morning came and went in a blur. When the bell for lunch rang on Wednesday, Miley and Lilly told Oliver goodbye then made their way to the office, where they met Robbie Ray coming in to sign them out of school for the rest of the day. As he saw them coming down the hall, he said, "Well, If I didn't know better, I'd think you two were excited about goin' somewhere today," smiling the whole time.
Lilly gave him the first hug, saying, "Hi Mr. Stewart," with Miley piling against Lilly for a group hug on her father and her girlfriend. "We're both totally excited, Daddy," Miley said. "So get on in there and sign us out already!"
Robbie Ray laughed and complied, stepping inside the office and signing the two girls out of school. With their paperwork done, the three of them left and headed for the private parking garage owned by the company that handled limousines for Hannah. As they entered their code and pulled into the secure facility, Robbie Ray parked in Hannah's parking place, though it remained unlabeled other than the Private Parking sign painted on the concrete. Directly beside it, in an oversized parking space, was the limo they would be using today. The three of them switched vehicles, with Miley and Lilly grabbing their bags from the back of the Suburban and taking them into the back of the limo with them. Robbie Ray got changed into a suit in the front section of the limo, adding his fake mustache as his final touch.
Miley was wearing Hannah's signature white leather half jacket and white leather boots with tight blue jeans and a long pale orange t-shirt with an all-over print of Chinese characters for the words love, happiness, harmony and peace in various subdued colors. Lilly had opted for Lola's white wig today, paired with a black sleeveless miniskirt dress. Underneath the dress she wore a short sleeve pink shirt with white polka dots and matching pink tights with the same white polka dot pattern. Finishing the outfit were a pair of black boots.
Miley looked at Lilly's choice of outfits and said, "Um, Lilly, not sure if you realized this but ... Lola's shirt and tights actually match today."
Lilly took a long look at her shirt, then said, "Oh! Yeah. Well, I figured that since we were going to be on TV, I probably should tone it down a bit." Miley grinned at her girlfriend's concession to the cameras, prompting Lilly to ask, "What? Did I tone it down too much?"
Miley leaned over and kissed Lilly longingly on the lips, prompting both girls to shift closer to each other so they could embrace tightly. When they finally stopped for air, Miley said, "I think you look beautiful. Don't change anything, sweetie."
They felt the limo start, then slowly pull out of the parking place. As a precaution, the limos were rotated frequently to keep them clean and serviced, as well as to keep anyone from associating the tags with a particular occupant. As expected, all of them were kept in excellent condition. One of the perks of being a record company's highest-selling artist ever was the attention to small details, and Hannah's limo was one the limousine company took pride in. Double leather bench seats as large as love seats facing each other, built-in LCD television, DVD player, surround sound stereo and CD player, a minibar with various juices, sodas, waters and snacks, all of these things were part of the luxurious ride Hannah and Lola were treated to. Lilly helped herself to a bottled water as they made the relatively short drive east to Los Angeles. Though less than thirty miles from Malibu, the drive could take anywhere from forty-five minutes to two hours depending on traffic. Today things seemed to be moving smoothly, and within an hour they had arrived at the television studios in Burbank where Singing With the Stars was filmed.
Lilly and Miley checked each other's wigs, makeup, teeth and clothes. Deciding everything was perfect, they sat, waiting for someone to open the door for them to keep up appearances. Without much delay, the limo was stopped and the door was opened. Miley stepped out first, temporarily dazzled by the sun's brilliance, with Lilly following her. Miley had stopped short as she blinked, trying to get her eyes adjusted, and Lilly, equally blinded, ran headfirst into Miley's butt, sending Miley lurching forward but not falling. "Hey!" Miley said, laughing. "You in that big a hurry to get on television, Lola?"
Lilly rubbed her head where she had connected with Miley's right buttock. "Sorry Hannah," she said, "The sun blinded me, and I didn't see your butt there."
Miley decided to have some fun with Lilly, so she said, "Aha, then how do you know it was my butt you ran into?" She gave the young production assistant who had opened the door a wink, getting a grin in return from him.
Lilly straightened up and said with a grin aimed roughly in Hannah's direction, "Believe me sweetheart, I know what your sexy butt feels like, and I recognized it immediately."
Miley turned quite red at that statement, as did the PA, who didn't look any older than the two of them. Lilly continued, "I mean, it's the perfect blend of tight muscles and tender softness, shaped perfectly--" Miley's hand over Lilly's mouth stopped her exposition of the qualities of Miley's rear, preserving what was left of Miley's humility as well.
"Lola, honey, thank you so much for the compliments, but I don't think this guy over here wants to hear about how great my butt is."
The PA hurriedly said, "Oh no, Ms. Montana, I'd love to hear more about your--" This time his mouth was covered by Lilly's hand, stopping him short.
Lilly looked pointedly at Miley, catching her eye. She glanced down at Miley's hand still over her mouth, then returned her gaze to Miley's eyes, prompting Miley to say, "Oh! Sorry," and remove her hand.
Lilly smiled and said, "Thank you, dear." She then looked at the PA—Teddy, according to his ID—and said, without even a hint of a smile, "I am allowed to talk about my fiancée's butt. You are not. Remember that and we'll get along just fine." She removed her hand from his mouth, at which point he swallowed visibly.
Gathering his courage, he sheepishly said, "S-sorry, Ms. Luftnagle."
"Apology accepted," Lilly said politely. "And I forgive you this time. It is a really cute butt."
Avoiding further comment on Hannah's butt, Teddy said, "If you ladies would be kind enough to follow me, we'll get you backstage. They're getting things set up for filming, but a handful of dress rehearsals are still going on."
Miley took Lilly's hand as they followed the young PA into the studio. She leaned in and whispered to Lilly, "I like it when you get protective of me, sweetie, and thank you." She then gave Lilly a quick kiss on the cheek as they stepped into the studio building.
No sooner had their eyes adjusted to the bright sun outside then they were enveloped by the darkness of the studio, requiring another few seconds to let their eyes adjust again. Lilly and Miley took advantage of the pause to shift closer together, so Lilly could hug Miley from behind and whisper, "Thank you for bringing me. I love you."
Miley tipped her head back and said, "I wouldn't have come if you hadn't come with me, Lola. And I love you too," giving her lover a high-wattage smile as she squeezed Lilly's left hand firmly. As Teddy started forward again, Lilly released Miley from her embrace and once again the girls followed him through the winding corridors of the studio set, finally emerging onto the stage of Singing With the Stars.
"Hannah!" said an older man with graying hair and a prominent belly, rising from his seat and walking to Miley and Lilly. As he reached them, he said, "And you must be Lola!" as he extended his hand for them to shake in turn. "Excited about being here for the first time, Lola?"
"Um, I was here with Hannah the last time she was here, actually." He looked puzzled for a minute, looking to Miley for confirmation. She nodded her head.
"Yeah, Lola was here with me for the whole green paint disaster," Miley said, referring to the prank they had planned for Amber, a classmate of theirs at Seaview High School and possibly their greatest nemesis at that school now, since Jake Ryan was no longer there. The prank had gone wrong when Miley genuinely felt bad for Amber, who had pinned so many of her dreams on the appearance with Hannah, and triggered the trap herself, taking the paint blast meant for Amber.
"Oh," said the man, whose name Miley was trying frantically to remember. She normally did quite well with names, but she just couldn't remember his name. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name," said Miley. His smile never did fade, but he did seem just a bit dejected when he realized that Hannah Montana didn't remember his name. Oh well, thought Miley, maybe you should have remembered that Lola was here last time, too.
"Steve Reznick," he said. "I'm one of the producers for Singing With the Stars."
Lilly spoke up and said, "Then it's nice to meet you, Mr. Reznick. I'm Lola Luftnagle, since we didn't meet last time." As she extended her hand and shook his, his smile seemed to power up slightly and his mood notably perked up.
Miley was impressed at how Lilly had deftly turned the situation around, making him feel better about not remembering her by instead implying that they had never been introduced the last time she was here. She IS good at this stuff. And she doesn't even know how good she's going to be in show business. Not yet. Miley smiled as she recalled one of her dreams, which had given her a small look at her and Lilly's future and the happiness to come for them. As she let go of her reminiscence, Miley realized that Mr. Reznick and Lilly had walked on forward, where he was introducing her to several other people working on the set. Miley smiled as she watched Lilly cheerfully greeting everyone she was introduced to.
Miley sauntered on over, staying back just a bit so she didn't intrude on Lilly's conversation. Soon enough, Lilly turned and saw her, so she reached back and grabbed Miley's hand, guiding her close to her so they could hold hands. "But anyway," Lilly said, "I was so proud of Hannah, who just plugged right along and toughed it out, even with all that green dye in her hair and on her clothes."
Miley gently nudged Lilly's ribs with her elbow as she asked the crew, "Yeah, that was a really weird accident. Did you ever figure out what happened, or who might have done it?"
One of the cameramen whom Miley did remember from that particular show spoke up and said, "Yeah, it turned out someone set up a paint sprayer of some kind, apparently trying to ruin your appearance. We never did catch who it was, though."
Miley faked a grimace to keep from smiling as she said, "Most have been some crazed fan. Or maybe a stalker of some kind." She turned to Lilly and said, "What do you think, sweetheart?"
Lilly flushed just slightly, but she answered, "Yep, most definitely a crazed stalker of some kind. Had to be."
Mr. Reznick spoke up. "Well, there'll be none of that this time, I promise you!" He signaled for Teddy to come back over, then he said, "Teddy, will you show these lovely young ladies to their dressing room? Then they can look around the set before they meet our contestants for today's show."
Teddy nodded and said, "Right this way, ladies." Miley and Lilly followed him to the side of the studio where the guest dressing rooms were kept. The contestants shared one room, while the guest celebrity was given a separate, private room. As Teddy unlocked the door, Miley and Lilly stepped inside. Miley turned to him and said, "Thanks Teddy! We want to look around the dressing room, then we'll check out the rest of the studio in a few minutes."
He looked a bit unsure, but then Miley said, "Bye!" and waved at him as she closed the door. When the door was closed, she turned around and leaned on the door, looking across the room to where Lilly sat on an overstuffed blue couch. "Finally," Miley said as she slowly walked over to Lilly, deliberately walking slowly and accentuating her wiggle in her walk.
"Are you teasing me, Hannah?" Lilly said, smiling at Miley's showing off. "If you are, it's working, I gotta tell you." As Miley reached the couch, she remained standing immediately in front of Lilly, with Lilly's head roughly at the level of Miley's belly. Lilly reached up and lifted Miley's t-shirt just enough to expose her cute belly button, and she leaned forward and kissed her lover on her belly. Miley dropped her right hand, gently holding Lilly's head from behind, giving a slight pull to keep Lilly's mouth against her warm skin. Lilly continued to kiss her lover's stomach for a minute or two, then she pulled back and tugged Miley's shirt down. "Down here," she said to Miley, pointing at the couch beside her. Smiling, Miley sat, not on the couch but in Lilly's lap, putting a look of pleasure on Lilly's face as she pulled Miley down into a long, steamy kiss.
"We're going to mess up our lipstick," Miley said, not really caring about makeup at the moment.
"Don't care," Lilly said as Miley gently licked Lilly's lips, bottom lip first, then up to the top, with the tip of her tongue. "We can always put on more," she breathed, then she recaptured Miley's lips for several more minutes of prolonged kissing and cuddling. The girls did mange to keep things from going any further, however. In the age of the Internet, a celebrity always had to be aware of the possibility that she was being recorded at any time. Hannah and Lola were most definitely out but while neither Miley or Lilly would mind being seen kissing heatedly, they most certainly wouldn't be comfortable being seen doing anything more intimate. After several minutes of reconnecting with each other through physical contact, Miley and Lilly looked into each other's blue eyes and giggled as they hugged tightly. Lilly beat Miley to, "Love you," with Miley saying it just an instant later.
Smiling brightly, Lilly said, "Okay, let's go look around, so we can see who the contestants are."
Miley slid out of Lilly's lap, standing and then helping Lilly up. "Sounds good to me, girlfriend."
They left the dressing room and made their way down the hall to the dressing room used by the contestants. Outside the room was a security guard, who smiled when he saw Miley and Lilly coming. Both the girls remembered the guard Jeff from the last time they were there, a tall man built like a brick wall but with a ready smile and a bright disposition. As Miley and Lilly approached him, he said, "Ms. Montana, it's a pleasure to see you again! And your beautiful companion here, Ms..."
"Luftnagle," said Lilly, "But it'll be Ms. Montana for me too, before much longer," she said as she extended her left arm, showing her engagement ring to Jeff.
He whistled as he looked at the ring, saying, "Yeah, I heard about that. My momma was watching Oprah when you proposed, Ms. Montana, and she nearly fell out of her chair!"
Miley and Lilly laughed at that, with Miley saying, "Well, I hope she didn't hurt herself!"
Jeff chuckled a bit, then he said, "Naw, she was fine, but she called me right up and told me about it. Said she hadn't seen anything like that since TVs went color." He looked at both girls and said, "Seriously, I remember how much you two were into each other the last time you were here. I'm surprised it took you so long to ask, Ms. Montana, but I guess a lot of that was because you weren't sure how everybody would react."
Miley nodded, agreeing with his observant statement. Were we really that obvious with our feelings for each other, even then? Still considering that thought, she said, "Yeah, but finally I realized that I just couldn't imagine a life without Lola, and then what others thought suddenly wasn't so important as keeping the woman I loved."
"Awww," said Lilly. "You're so sweet!" She hugged Miley and kissed her on the cheek. "Will you marry me?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at Miley.
Miley laughed, then said, "Yes, I'll marry you. Wait, I think we already did the proposals part, didn't we?"
"Good pickup, Ms. Montana," Lilly said. "Nice that you remembered that ring on your finger, too."
"Of course, future Ms. Montana," Miley said, getting into the verbal sparring.
At that time, the door to the contestant's room opened, and a young woman who appeared to be about the same age as Miley and Lilly stepped out and then closed the door, then she froze when she saw who was standing in front of her. "Oh my gosh!" she yelled. "Hannah Montana!!" She jumped up and down a few times, then started fanning herself as she began spitting out words at a rapid rate. "I am such a huge fan of yours! I've always dreamed of being able to sing for you, and now I might get to sing with you and I just can't believe that I'm actuallyhererightnowandtalkingtoyou--"
Miley held up her hand, trying to stem the tide of words rushing out of the starstruck girl's mouth. "Whoa. What's your name?" she asked.
"Miriam," the girl said. Now that Miley and Lilly had a chance to really look at her, they realized that the girl was probably only about thirteen or fourteen at the oldest, slightly shorter than the two of them, with short black hair cut in a wedge style, not unlike that of Lola's wig. "I mean, WOW!" she said. "If I won, I'd just ... oh, I don't know what I'd do!"
"Maybe take a few deep breathes?" Lilly offered pleasantly. "Hannah loves her fans, but we don't want you to pass out!"
Miley took the opportunity to take back the conversation from Miriam. "Miriam, you already know who I am, but I want you to meet Lola Luftnagle, my fiancée and my best friend." Lilly waved and said, "Hi!"
Miriam did a double take, then she said, "Fiancée? You mean, you two are engaged?"
"Uh huh," said Lilly.
"Like, you're getting married? To each other?"
"Uh huh," said Lilly again.
Miriam looked a bit confused, then she said, "Um, wow! I mean, I never realized... I mean, Hannah, I saw all those pictures of the time you were going out with Jake Ryan, then that Jackson boy, so I never imagined that you, you know..."
"Liked girls too?" Miley offered, getting a nod from Miriam. "Well, I did like boys, and I never really noticed that I was into girls until I realized that over the years I had known Lola, I had fallen in love with her." Miley reached over to Lilly, putting her arm around Lilly's shoulders and gently pulling her close. "And it's not so much that I decided I liked girls better than boys, it was that I liked Lola better than anyone else, boy or girl."
Miriam said, "But wasn't it hard to talk about that? Did you two tell your parents? Are they okay with this?"
It was obvious that Miriam was very interested and more than a bit nervous in talking about the subject of the girls' sexuality. Lilly began to wonder if Miriam herself was dealing with some sexual confusion. She smiled at Miriam and said, "Yeah, it was really hard to tell each other how we truly felt. I mean, we had been friends for a long time, but I knew I was risking losing Hannah as a friend if she didn't have the same feelings about me. That's what took so long for me to say anything to to her. But finally I knew that I had to have her. We were sleeping in the same bed, and finally I just leaned forward and kissed her. When we kissed, it was like I had been in a dark house all this time, but now all the lights had clicked on at once. I knew that she was the person I was meant to be with, and her being a girl wasn't going to keep me from loving her."
Miley gave Lilly a kiss on the temple, then hugged her with both arms. "That's beautiful, sweetheart. Thank you," she said to Lilly.
Lilly said, "You're welcome." She then turned back to Miriam and said, "And yes, we told our parents, and we were very lucky to have understanding parents who loved us both. Both our families were instantly accepting of our relationship, and that reassured us tremendously." She paused, becoming more sure that Miriam had some conflicts deep inside. "Miriam, if you have feelings for someone that you care about, you owe it to yourself and to them to take that chance and tell them how you feel. If she's a true friend, then she'll still be there whether she has those same feelings for you or not."
"But I would just die of shame if she didn't--" Miriam stopped short, realizing that she had said more than she had planned.
"Miriam, it's okay," said Miley. "Love is love, regardless of its target. As long as two people are mature enough to deal with those emotions and freely give that love to each other, it's a beautiful thing."
Miriam started to smile just a bit. "Well... I do have, like, feelings, for one of my friends. When I see her walking, she just looks so beautiful, and when she talks to me, it's hard for me to concentrate on anything else."
Miley asked, "How do you feel when boys talk to her?"
Miriam quickly said, "I don't like the fact that they can flirt with her, but I can't. I want to be able to talk to her and have her laugh with me like she does with them."
Lilly looked at Miley. "Sounds familiar," she said, her voice heavy with remembrance.
"Yeah," said Miley, looking back at her girlfriend. "Think about giving your friend a chance to hear how you feel about her, Miriam. I mean, there is a chance that she could say no, but there's also a chance she could say yes. And if she really is a true friend, even if she says no, she'll still be there for you and care about you, just not in the way you'd really like. You could still stay good friends, but you wouldn't be carrying this dark secret around the rest of your life. Even more importantly, you wouldn't look back on your life years later and wonder what might have been."
"Hannah, you are amazing," Miriam said with obvious awe. "And Lola, you are amazing too. Thank you both." Suddenly remembering where she was, Miriam said, "Oh! I have to go to the stage, so they can show me where to stand and what to do on the show!" She started to run down the hall, thens he suddenly stopped and said, "Thank you, Hannah and Lola. I hope I get a chance to sing with you, Hannah!" She then turned and ran down the hall, not turning back around this time.
"She seems sweet," said Lilly as they listened to the clacking of her heels echo down the hall. "I hope things work out well for her. If this friend isn't the right one for her, then maybe she'll have found the courage to keep looking wherever her heart leads her."
Miley held Lilly tighter as she said, "Yeah, I hope so." She looked around, as if she had forgotten something. "Where did Jeff go?" she asked Lilly.
Lilly just then noticed that the guard was indeed nowhere to be seen. "I ... don't know. I didn't even notice he had left," she said, looking around. "Did he go in the room?" she asked, not seeing anywhere else nearby.
Miley said, "Let's see," opening the door. As they stepped inside the room, they saw that Jeff was indeed inside. He was sitting just next to the door. As the girls walked in, he stood as the two other occupants of the room were busy arguing about something, one a tall boy with reddish hair who appeared to be fifteen or sixteen, the other a small, petite blonde girl who wasn't that much bigger than their classmate Rico. As Jeff saw them enter, he said, "Figured you young ladies wanted some privacy for your talk."
"Thank you very much," said Miley. "You're very thoughtful." At the sound of her voice, the two arguing teens stopped yelling and turned to regard the newcomers.
"Eeeeeeee!" squealed the blonde girl, who ran forward, stopping in front of Miley but hopping up and down in place. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh," she kept repeating, putting a smile on Miley's and Lilly's faces.
Lilly turned to look at Miley and said, "The Hannah aura gets 'em every time." Miley gently smacked Lilly's chest with the back of her hand, getting a grin from Lilly, who captured Miley's hand and didn't release it.
"Hi sweetie, what's your name?" said Miley, leaning forward and slightly down.
The bouncy girl stopped bouncing, her eyes fixated on Miley. "My name's Clarissa! And you're Hannah Montana!" she yelled, making Miley and Lilly both wince at the high pitch the girl's voice reached.
"Okay Clarissa, can you turn down the volume for now?" Miley asked. The girl complied, smiling up at her favorite singer.
"I love all your albums, Hannah! I have all of them, and I listen to them every day. I just got your new one two weeks ago, and I love it! That was so neat how you put that rebate in it for those of us who already had your albums, because I wound up getting it for just five dollars! I also think that's so cute how you dedicated that album to your girlfriend who's..." she trailed off, her brain just now registering who was standing beside Hannah. "...who's standing right here next to you!" she finished. "Wow! You're Lola! You are SO lucky, because you have the coolest friend ever."
Lilly smiled widely as she leaned down and said, "You're right, and thanks Clarissa!" She started to ruffle the young girl's hair when she remembered that Clarissa was going on television soon, so Lilly left her hair alone. "How old are you, Clarissa?" Lilly asked.
"I turn thirteen next month!" she said proudly.
"Wow, you're pretty young for this show, aren't you?" Lilly asked. The girl nodded, then started to tell Lilly about how she made it through the auditions. ALL the auditions. For the past six months.
While Lilly talked to Clarissa—or, more accurately, listened to Clarissa—Miley walked over to the third finalist, who stood in front of a mirror, fussing with his necktie. "Hi!" Miley said. "What's your name?"
He turned to regard her, and his eyes got big. Miley grinned. Hannah tended to have that effect on boys. He gulped, then stammered, "M-my name is J-J-James."
"Well James," said Miley, "how old are you?"
"Fifteen," he said. "That's how old you are too, right?" he asked, remembering to smile.
"Yeah," said Miley, "but Lola and I turn sixteen next week."
"Oh yeah, Lola," he said, sounding a bit put out.
Miley felt her hackles rise as her mind shifted into its "Protect Lilly" mode. "What's wrong with Lola?" she asked cautiously.
James looked at Miley and said, "Just the fact that now that you and her are together, none of the rest of us in love with you have a chance."
Miley let a small smile creep onto her face as she said, "James, Lola and I have always been meant for each other. Anyone else I dated was a mistake, both for me and for whomever I was dating." She felt compassion ease into her voice as she continued to speak. "Don't waste years pursuing someone you really could never be with. Instead, listen to your heart when it tries to tell you something. I didn't for a long time, and I spent several years chasing others when I could have been with the woman I love. There's someone out there for you, just keep looking and listening."
James seemed to brighten up when Miley finished speaking. "Thanks, Hannah. You really are as nice as everyone says," he said, smiling. Right about then, Lilly walked over.
"Hey Hannah," Lilly said. "Sorry about that."
"Did Clarissa go somewhere?" Miley asked, not hearing the young girl anymore.
"Sound check and her rehearsal," Lilly added, relief evident in her eyes.
Miley snickered. "Okay," she said. "Lola, this is James," she said to Lilly, motioning to the young man next to them.
"Hi James!" Lilly said cheerfully. "Nice to meet you!"
He shook Lilly's hand, then he said, "Wow, you're almost as beautiful as Hannah is!"
"Gee, thanks ... I think," Lilly said, drawing a look of concern from Miley. Lilly then grinned and said, "Just joking! Hannah is more beautiful than anyone else, isn't she?" She looked at Miley with nothing but love in her eyes, evident to anyone who cared to look.
"Aw," said Miley, reaching out to cup her right hand on Lilly's left cheek. "You're just as beautiful as I am, hon, if not even more."
Lilly smiled, then she said, "Well, it's because I'm in love with someone who's totally amazing and who makes me happier than I've ever been," resting her left hand over Miley's right.
James just watched the two girls' conversation in silence, then he said, "You two really are in love. Wow." He paused as Miley and Lilly both turned to regard him, smiles on their faces. "You're really brave, to come out like you did."
Miley said, "Well, I don't think it was exactly courage that did it, more like fear. Fear that I'd lose the person I loved with all my heart before I had the chance to tell her how much I needed her and loved her."
Lilly took Miley's hand off her cheek and kissed it softly. "Same here, Hannah. I couldn't have made it without you."
"Now you don't have to," Miley said, smiling. "Because we're always going to be together."
Right then they were interrupted by the abrupt arrival of Teddy, the young PA, who ran abruptly into the room. "Sorry to bother you, Ms. Montana, Ms. Luftnagle, but we need you two on the set right now."
Lilly and Miley looked at each other, then they hurriedly followed Teddy through the hallways, quickly arriving on the main set. There they saw Mr. Reznick and several other people talking frantically. As they saw Miley and Lilly appear, they all turned to them. Mr. Reznick stepped forward and said, "Hannah, Lola, we sort of have a problem."
Not liking the tone of his voice, Miley said, "What's going on?"
"Well, our host has just gotten sick backstage," he said, the expression on his face unreadable but the sweat beading on his forehead speaking very clearly.
A woman who appeared to be in her thirties stepped forward, saying, "Puking his guts out is more like it, Steve. That's what he gets for eating at that nasty greasy spoon restaurant he likes."
"Yes, well, Colleen," Mr. Reznick said, "He might have brought it on himself, but now we're the ones paying for it! It's ten minutes before we have to start filming, all these people have been flown out here, and we don't have a host!" His face turned progressively darker as he spoke, finally stopping at a dull shade of crimson.
Suddenly Miley had a flash of insight, one of those moments in which things appear as clear as a pool of still, shallow water. Clearing her throat, she said, "Uh, I have an idea." As everyone turned to look at her, Miley reminded herself that she was Hannah right now, as well as the show's celebrity guest for this week. Her idea, no matter how crazy, would be taken very seriously right now. "I think I have your replacement host covered," she said, smiling brightly. Confidence in yourself inspires confidence in others, Miley thought to herself.
Colleen said, "Hannah, you can't perform hosting duties plus sing and judge the contestants, it's just impossible. But I do appreciate you offering." Mr. Reznick sadly nodded his agreement with her statement.
Miley quickly said, "I wasn't offering to host the show."
"You weren't?" Mr. Reznick said.
"Nope," said Miley. She swallowed, thinking, Here we go. Steeling herself and saying a quick prayer, she confidently said, "Lola can host the show!"
"Lola?" said Colleen.
"Lola?" echoed Mr. Reznick.
"LOLA?!?" yelled Lilly.
"Lola," said Miley, as sure of what she was doing as she ever had been.
Author's Afterword: Got you hooked for the next chapter, don't I? Feel free to make your predictions as to who will win, too. Sorry I was a day late with this one, but it was a longer chapter. Expect the next chapter sometime over the weekend; I'll hurry as best as I can.
On a grammatical note for anyone who notices, yes, for these stories I will occasionally end sentences with prepositions. I think it fits in with the mood of the story well enough that it doesn't detract from the story itself but instead helps facilitate things by preventing unnecessarily long and awkward sentences. I'll also deliberately insert other grammatical errors here and there, but only in spoken dialog and only if it fits how a character talks. For those of you still in school, don't do either of these in your English or Composition classes, or you'll get dinged for it. Consider yourself warned.
-- Jo --