Chapter 7

Monday, 7:45 p.m.

After working with the Russos, Lilly had expected regular down time with them to feel weird. The whole day she'd been treated like an average employee. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Russo were still as nice as they usually were, but they kept up a constant stream of instructions for her training. Alex had pretty much steered clear of Lilly until she went off to work at the studio, in order to avoid being assigned more work by her parents. So Lilly was left on her own with her new bosses, who fortunately seemed okay with her amateur waitress skills. Apparently, they'd had a bad experience the last time they hired one of Alex's friends.

Though the considerate parents wouldn't say who it was, Lilly suspected it was Harper.

So, when the shop closed and the family and Lilly retreated to the loft, she feared that the bond they'd already formed would be changed by her first shift. But she found that Mr. and Mrs. Russo went back to treating her like a guest and seemed to forget she was their new employee.

Since Alex only got home fifteen minutes ago, Lilly offered to help with getting dinner on the table while her friend when upstairs to change out of her work clothes. "Would you like me to set the table, Mrs. Russo?" Mr. Russo was on the couch with Justin and Max, the New York Met versus Yankee game on the television.

"That's so sweet of you to offer, thank you," Mrs. Russo agreed. The chicken cutlets almost done cooking, she left the stove to show Lilly where the dishes were. Much to the teen's surprise, the woman embraced her in a grateful hug. "It's so nice to have you around, Lilly. No one ever offers to do anything around here."

Though uneasy, Lilly returned the hug and quickly broke apart. "Well, I mean, it's the least I can do since you're letting me stay here."

"Trust me, the pleasure's all mine. It's so unusual to have a nice, normal person around this house," Theresa assured her.

Lilly hesitated. The way Mrs. Russo said "normal" seemed odd to her, as if there was more than the usual craziness of a five-person family to deal with. Though it was probably nothing, Lilly couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean 'normal'?"

"Oh, uh…" Theresa replied. She seemed to be slightly panicked. "Well, you know…everyone thinks their own family is crazier than usual. If you'll excuse me, I think the chicken is done." Then she rushed over to where the chicken cutlets were frying on the stove.

About five minutes later, the game went to commercial, Mr. Russo and Max approached the counter. "Mom, can we please eat dinner in the living room? It's only the bottom of the fifth! '

"Max! The plan was to work it into conversation, and then suggest it!" Jerry chided.

"I'm sorry," Max retorted, in a tone that suggested he wasn't sorry at all. "But the bases are loaded, and David Wright's up next! If Pettitte doesn't walk him, it could be a home run! You expect me to miss that for chicken cutlets?"

Over by the table, Lilly chuckled as she set down the last place setting. It was strange, but nice to be in a house with so many people. At home, it was just her and her mother.

She came back to the counter just in time for Theresa's negative response. "Jerry, we will not eat a meal on the couch when we have a guest over. Who was just nice enough to set the table! It's rude!"

"I don't mind, really. I like baseball," Lilly said.

Max smiled and pointed at Lilly. "See? She likes baseball! The only one who doesn't is Alex, and she's here all the time!"

"Fine," Theresa relented with an aggravated sigh. "Then Jerry, you and Max go get the plates and silverware from the table. Lilly, would you go get Justin, please?"

"Sure Mrs. Russo," Lilly replied. As she went over to the couch and leaned on the arm, she mused for a moment that this was the second time that day someone had suggested she go talk to Justin. Weird. "Your mom said to come get dinner, Justin."

Startled, he whirled around to find her just about two feet away from him. "Oh! Didn't, uh, see you there."

"Sorry," Lilly said with a laugh. They ended up staring at each other, and Lilly became serious when she felt…something between them. Nothing like a clichéd jolt of romantic energy or anything like that, of course. But definite tension, and she could tell he was aware of it as well.

She shook her head to break it. He did too, and they looked to the TV for a diversion. "S-so, uh, who's winning?" she asked.

"Yankees," Justin answered. He didn't seem happy or sad about that. It was clear that he wasn't into the sport. "My dad and Max are big Met fans. I like baseball, but sports aren't really my thing…I mean…are you a sports fan?"

"Yeah, but I'm more into surfing and skateboarding," Lilly told him. She couldn't help but be a little smug, since she knew those sports were considered to be cool.

As expected, Justin was impressed. "Whoa, I didn't know you were so…sporty. Surfing, that must be awesome, especially in California." He then leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms. "You know, I was on the baseball team for a while."

"Really? Why'd you quit?" Lilly asked out of genuine curiosity. The information came as a surprise, since Justin didn't seem at all like the jock type.

Her assessment of his character was confirmed when Max walked over, a plate full of chicken and mashed potatoes in his hands, and a mouthful of food already in his mouth. "Quit? He was kicked off the team because he stunk up the field," Max informed her.

"I was not kicked off the team!" Justin objected, then lowered his head in embarrassment. "They let me quit first," he mumbled.

Then Mr. Russo came over and held his own plate of food. "You two better get over there before your food gets cold."

"Oh, right. Let's go, Justin," Lilly said. She got off the couch with Justin right behind her, and the two got their food. When Alex came down, and Mrs. Russo joined them, Lilly sank in to the last empty spot on the couch to eat and watch sports with her new temporary family.


Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

"Don't be so nervous, Carly, you'll be great!" Miley, as Hannah, assured the brunette teenager. She gave the excited, bubbly, annoying girl two thumbs up before she turned and bolted for the hallway that led to the dressing rooms.

Taping both for Hannah and Jake happened to end early that day, so Alex had suggested that Miley go back to the loft with her and Lilly to hang out. That was a problem for two reasons. One, Hannah usually took a limo to and from the studio. Two, she needed time to change back to Miley, but she could already see that Alex was saying good-bye to Jake, whose last scene only ended maybe ten minutes before Hannah's.

The second problem was the most pressing at the moment. The first wasn't even a major problem, really, except for the fact that Hannah usually saw Jake, Chad and Mikayla at the valet in the parking lot. Oh well. She could always say she had to wait for her dad for some made up reason.

As she ran around the corner, she began to take off things like her jacket and her earrings. She even had to change her whole outfit since Alex had just seen Hannah in the same exact one.

Miley burst into Hannah's dressing room to find Lilly in the process of changing out of her Lola costume. She'd spent some of the afternoon there after her shift at the restaurant, but unfortunately had to constantly alternate between Lilly and Lola since Alex kept looking for Lilly. As far as Miley knew, this was Lilly's fourth quick change.

"Maybe..." Lilly sputtered as she pulled on the shirt that "Lilly" had been wearing all day. "Superman had the right idea."

While she threw her Hannah wig to the side and let down her hair, Miley laughed. She'd envied Superman's wardrobe techniques every time she watched the movies with her father. "Good idea. We should just keep an extra outfit on under our costumes at all times. Problem solved." She kicked off her boots, then considered the theory. "Well, maybe not. We'd look bulky if we were wearing the second outfit."

"Who cares? I can't take two months of this! When I visit you or Alex on set, I'm going to be either Lola or Lilly, not both. This is nuts," she complained as she fixed her hair in a mirror. Even though Lilly could hang out with Alex or Miley as herself, she needed to be Lola to have a conversation with Hannah.

Miley checked herself in the mirror and decided that her jeans and t-shirt were average enough that they could pass for her own clothes, as long as she accessorized with a jacket and different shoes. Some nondescript sneakers were nearby, so she grabbed them and began to put them on. "You know…" Miley said. "'Miley' is 'Hannah's' assistant. You could just tell Alex that I introduced you, and you and Hannah are friends now."

"That might work," Lilly agreed. "I mean, the main reason I have the Lola is disguise is so that I, Lilly, don't get caught in tabloid pictures with Hannah, and no one we know connects you to her."

"But you still might be in tabloid pictures. I cannot tell you how many crew members have taken pictures of me with their cell phones," Miley replied. When on the internet, she'd already seen tons of Hannah pictures from the reality show set.

Fully changed from Lola by then, Lilly shrugged and walked over to sit down near Miley. "Who cares? It's not like it'd be pictures of me randomly hanging out with Hannah. I'll just use the excuse I've been telling the Russos – I hung out with you on the set. Oh! Now I can finally tell people I met Hannah Montana!" She jumped up and down with excitement at the thought of her increased popularity.

"Hey, speaking of the Russos…what are we going to do about Alex?" Miley said. She then glanced at the door and briefly wondered what was taking Alex so long. "She told me it was weird that Chad had no idea who I was since he and Hannah are together all the time. I told her it was just Chad being self-absorbed, but…that's one excuse. Maybe getting Alex a job wasn't the best idea."

Lilly tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Ya think?" she retorted.

"I know, I know, you told me, but I just wanted Alex to like me," Miley explained. She was about done with her outfit change too, but grabbed a new pair of earrings just to make sure. "And I definitely think I scored some brownie points. You said so yourself that she was telling you all about how she met Jake, Chad and Mikayla."

"But is that worth her finding out your secret? One too many unexplained incidents, and she could catch on," Lilly warned.

It was true. Alex wasn't oblivious. She could definitely figure it out in two months of being around both Hannah and Miley. "Okay. For now, I'll just have 'Miley' make some appearances around set. At least then people will know who Alex is talking about if she happens to mention me," Miley thought aloud. "But if she gets too close, I'll…I'll talk to Jake about it. Maybe he'll agree to fire her."

"It shouldn't be too hard. From what Justin and Max have said, Alex doesn't work if she can help it," Lilly assured her with a smile. "Jake might fire her before you ask him."

Miley laughed. She was glad that Lilly realized that Alex might have to be fired to protect the Hannah secret. "Thanks for understanding. Now, help me find a necklace that goes with this outfit…"

"Oh, you mean the one with that color…"

"Yeah!"

"And the thing…"

"Yup, that's the one," Miley replied.

They were on the hunt when the door opened and Alex walked in. "Hey! You guys ready to go? She then narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Wait…where's Hannah? She just went down this hallway."

"Oh…uh…she…" Lilly blurted, panicked by the question.

The blonde's response gave Miley time to think of her own. "Oh, she left to talk to Mikayla about something. You know those two, such good friends," Miley fibbed. It took all her willpower not to gag at the mention of actually having a conversation with the annoying pop star. "She said good-bye to us already though, so we can leave."

Miley and Lilly grabbed their purses, and they began to follow Alex into the hallway. "So, where's the subway?" Lilly asked.

"Half a block away," Alex answered. "But stick close to me. There's this smelly guy who will play his tuba badly in your face until you give him money. It's hilarious when he does it to other people, though!"

With forced smiles, Miley and Lilly lied through their teeth in unison, "Can't wait."


A/N: Thanks for the reviews, sorry for the wait!

I had some fun with this chapter. I'm from New York City myself (Queens, though), so when I needed something for Jerry and the boys to watch, I had to pick a Mets vs. Yankees game. Of course, even though they're Mets fans, I'm a Yankees fan...so I had the Yankees winning in the game, lol.

And, as I learned from my friend's brother, there actually is a guy who plays tuba (or some other loud instrument, I forget) badly until you pay him to stop. I tweaked it a little though to make it more annoying - really, he just plays for a subway car.