I hope you enjoy, I've been very busy with work at the moment and still am so it's taking a while to get through writing my story. Plus it's getting longer and more detailed every time I sit down. I'm just enjoying it all a little too much! :)

'They Say That Good Things Take Time' – Chapter 5

Lilly's squinted into her dimly lit surroundings, the heavy curtains falling to the floor did well to keep the light out of the room she was sharing with her friend and the noise from the street beyond was a distant rumble. Lilly smiled as she listened to the muffled sounds of the traffic and the very close breathing of the sleeping girl next to her. She could not see Miley as she had shifted in the night to face the window on her side of the bed, but she could feel the aura of warmth surrounding the girl and the way the mattress near her was dipped slightly underneath her weight. The blonde girl slowly rolled over whilst trying not to disturb Miley who was resolutely sleeping on. Lilly grinned at her friend in the grey morning light, she was dead to the world with a stubborn look on her face and her lips were slightly parted, occasionally they would move to make soundless words but Lilly could not quite read what Miley was trying to say. She rolled her eyes as she felt the need for sleep leave her and checked the time on the bedside table next to her, it was seven-thirty and she had slept for almost twelve hours. That was more than enough for the energetic blonde and she felt restless in knowing that she would be praying for this tedious time towards the end of their holiday.

As if struck by sudden inspiration, Lilly's eyes widened slightly and she clambered carefully out of the bed. After a few moments of rummaging through some neatly placed bags which contained their reading material for the flight, she drew out a beautifully patterned book and settled herself at the desk in the room to open it. The pages were blank except for the lines that were printed on them. Lilly smiled to herself as she reached out and took out the flower-printed, matching pen which was handily placed in a special pocket in the spine. The diary was not cheap to buy but she had spent more of her allowance as she knew that she could keep it forever. She slowly raised the pen and put it to the paper and began to record all of her thoughts from their flight the previous day.

A few minutes later, a very sleepy brunette was beginning to stir in the bed. Miley began to shift under the covers and edged closer to the cooling patch of warmth which had belonged to her friend's body only a very short time ago. Miley's hand patted the sheets but she could not find the person she was looking for, she blinked her eyes open and felt herself become more awake as she looked for the missing body.

"Lilly?" Miley's sleep-filled voice spread across the room as she slowly raised her head from her pillow.

"Morning Miles." Lilly's reply was surprisingly chirpy for such an early hour of the day and Miley frowned a sleepy frown as her eyes came to rest on her friend sitting at the desk.

"Morning Lilly, what are you doing up so early?"

"Oh I dunno. I just couldn't sleep anymore I guess and you were taking up the whole bed! I mean, we have the biggest bed I have ever seen and you insist on sleeping practically on top of me." Lilly was teasing and her eyes were twinkling as she sat with her back to her friend. Miley was glad of this fact as she felt her cheeks grow hotter. She mentally cursed and reminded herself that she needed to widen the proximity between their two bodies.

Lilly giggled before answering Miley more kindly, "I'm just filling in this journal that I bought for myself. I thought I would keep a record of our time in London so I'll never forget."

"Aw that's really sweet Lils." Miley said with a smile in her voice. "I guess it's time to get up anyway. Rehearsals this morning and I s'pose I had better shower."

"Ew yeah you definitely should Miss Stinky."

Miley stuck her tongue out at Lilly before sliding gracefully out of bed, hitching up her pyjama bottoms and wandering towards the bathroom. Lilly smiled as she sucked on her pen and began to write her entry for that morning.

Monday

7.46am

Ok so today we're up bright and early and Miley's got some dance rehearsals to go to. I've seen her dance like a billion times but it's always good to catch up with the dancers again and see how they're doing and how she's getting on. I love watching the dancing in its most basic stages and then seeing how it's put into the main performance, it's fascinating.

11.12am

We've been at the dance studio for a couple of hours now and Miley (or should I say, Hannah) is going through the routine with her girls. They've got this cute friendship thing going on for 'True Friend' where she kind of hangs out with each of them in turn. I like watching her performances, Hannah is so perfectly directed at younger kids, they just lap her up, I reckon that's got something to do with her smiley disposition. I'm just kind of sitting in the corner like a bit of a lemon just scribbling away in here now. My first job was to press play and stop on the CD player but now they're just talking through the moves and sipping from their water. I think things are beginning to unwind a bit and Miley needs to save herself as much as possible, she's going to be wrecked if she keeps up this pace for too long.

4.25pm

So we've just got back into the hotel so that Miley can have a little break, she's just in the shower again washing some of that sweat off her! After their rehearsals we snuck out in a change of clothes which Mr S was taking care of and then we went for lunch together. We just wandered into Covent Garden which is so pretty with its cobblestone floors. It's like a really nice market place and we went and had some of the famous Covent Garden soup in this sweet restaurant place. Miley was really happy to get away and relax and it meant that I got lots of opportunities to be an annoying tourist and take some holiday snaps of us next to some stalls. We then kind of wandered out into this courtyard bit and watched this street performer doing all these tricks like juggling chainsaws and riding a unicycle whilst throwing carving knives up in the air! Pretty shocking and at one point Miley really grabbed hold of me tight and wouldn't let go of my arm. When he stripped down to a sparkly pink thong, she kinda buried her head in my shoulder and giggled a lot. It was an intense show and Miley was being a bit of a wimp and wouldn't let go of me! These Londoners sure are strange but it was a really good show. From there we got the tube back and that was an experience! Luckily it was the middle of the day and not too busy but there were loads of different people. People in leather jackets with chains coming out of their noses, business men reading the paper and giving us the evil eye, and lots of young students in hoodies listening to music and chatting away. It's been a really good afternoon

Whilst her bemused friend was filling the pages of her new journal, Miley was beginning to unwind from her shower and was rubbing her long brown hair dry with a fluffy towel. She smiled to herself as she thought about her afternoon with Lilly in one of her favourite places in London. Miley had been to Covent Garden before with her brother when he came on the last tour to London with her. They had seen the street performers, one man was doing magic tricks and then there was a fire-breather but this man today was something that she had never seen before. She was happy to play the coward as she buried her head deep into Lilly's shoulder and made a nest for herself in the long golden hair, which smelled so refreshingly of strawberries that Miley thought she was going to melt. Throughout the performance she stood shoulder to shoulder followed by head on shoulder and then laced fingers with the girl she secretly loved. Miley felt a small shame course through her body and she trembled slightly from the effect. Sighing she pulled on a robe and drifted out towards the bedroom in search of her friend.

"Hey Lilly. Wow, I see you're still writing in that thing."

"Yeah, of course I am! You didn't think I'd give up that easily did you?"

Miley shrugged at her friend before she went to find some clothes. "I don't know what to wear tonight."

"It's just a sound check Miley; you don't have to wear anything special. You just need to stand on stage and sing into the different mics a little so they can suss you out ready for your big debut." Lilly put her pen down on this note before she turned her chair around and granted her friend her full attention.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just getting over stressed about these things." Miley said with a smile. "You don't know what paparazzi are out to get you and if you get caught in sweats looking a state, well it can lead to pretty embarrassing consequences that's for sure."

"Fair enough. But you've never had to worry about that! Hannah Montana is always immaculate which is more than can be said for Lola, god, that girl sure is a mess."

Miley giggled before she settled on a pair of white skinny jeans, pumps, casual t-shirt and a long cardigan to wear over the top. After replacing her blonde Hannah wig, she was ready to go and flapped around Lilly to ensure that she was ready also. Once Lola was correctly dressed and cherry-red wig in place, Miley picked up a camera that she had lying nearby before she took a picture of them posing in front of the mirror. In her guise as Lola, Lilly was obliging and posed appropriately for the camera. In black and white the two girls looked sophisticatedly stunning and Lilly was taken aback by the result.

"Wow! That's a really good picture Miles."

"Yep, Lola and Hannah are looking pretty cute." Miley said and winked at her alter-ego's favourite companion. "Now, don't you think that occasionally Lilly could smile nicely for a picture with Miley?"

Lilly chuckled as she reflected on her notorious photographs with her charming friend. She never knew what to do as Miley was the camera's best friend and she always felt over-shadowed by the sassy brunette. It was probably the safer option to purposefully look foolish, rather than trying to look good but failing miserably.

"Right," Miley's voice broke Lilly out of her trance, "let's get out of here Luftnagle." Lilly nodded her head, snatched up her purse and journal and followed Hannah Montana out of the room.

8.10pm

Miley's just up on stage whilst I sit here in the front row and I thought I would take a moment to scribble down just how big this place is! I'm always shocked when Miley plays these big venues, I mean she's just sorting out another mic up on stage now and she looks so small compared to the size of it, but when she's performing she's larger than life. And soon all these thousands of seats are going to be filled with people who can't get enough of Hannah Montana. I'm glad I normally just chillax backstage but I think I get more nervous than Miley when I look out over the crowds from behind. I just don't know how she does it.

Miley looked up from where she was adjusting the microphone on its stand to where her vivid friend was sitting in the centre of the front row. Lilly was fully absorbed in writing her journal, brow furrowed and lips pouted slightly as she reflected on her thoughts. Miley tilted her head to one side as she regarded her friend, sweeping her eyes over the vulgar scarlet wig and gazed into Lilly's face where she lost herself for a moment in the slight curves of her cheeks. Miley ran her eyes down Lilly's jaw line and subconsciously wet her own lips when she studied the creamy texture of Lilly's graceful neck. Miley's eyes flickered as she was distracted for a moment by the raising of Lilly's pen to her mouth, and she drew in breath, watching as Lilly gently rested the end against her pursed lips. As she admired her love, Miley found herself growing restless and her cheeks flushed a little as she guiltily grew jealous of the inanimate object which was so cruelly touching something which Miley desired above all else.

As if she could feel her friend's gaze grazing her face, Lilly raised her head and her sky blue eyes pierced into Miley, breaking her out of her thoughts. Innocently Lilly grinned at Miley and raised her hand in a wave. Swallowing, Miley smiled back and nodded her own head sharply in response.

Tuesday

9.35pm

Miley and I have had a really good day today. It started off pretty much the same routine as yesterday; we went to the dance studios and saw what was going on with her dancers. One of them had twisted her ankle cos she went out dancing last night, I mean, how stupid can you get? She is so lucky to have the opportunity to be in Hannah Montana's London shows and she almost blows it by going out and getting drunk and falling off the pavement. Her agent said that she should be alright by the main show and she wasn't too bad today. She knows the moves and Hannah can't really afford to bring in some novice, no matter how good they are. Plus, she's quite a lovely person and very apologetic so we'll see how it goes. Miley was getting more and more stressed towards the end of the rehearsal and very tired, we had a late one last night getting the sound all set up and then an early start. I'm exhausted just sitting and watching her with all my Cadburys chocolate here. God I love English chocolate, it's like heaven.

Anyway! Moving sharply on from my candy obsessions…That afternoon Miley really needed a break from it all and her dad suggested that we went to Madame Tussauds so I led the way today and got us both there on the bus system. It was actually quite cool inside! There were all these wax figures of famous people and Miley and I got a bit overexcited with the camera. We got to meet the Queen of England, David Beckham, Amy Winehouse and she was more than a bit scary. I had to do a lot of raising of the old eyebrows at Miles so that she gets the point that drugs are not cool, that girl needs to learn! Lol just kidding future me, she's clean… for now. Someday they'll be a Hannah figure in there, just you wait and see

Then we decided to boycott dinner in the hotel again as Miley was dropping off on my shoulder on another bus trip round the city and I made us get off near Drury Lane theatre. From there we just wandered down and looked at the entrances to the theatres before finding a TGI Fridays for dinner. It was really nice and it cheered Miley up to get some junk food into her body and it was a little girl's birthday party so everyone was singing happy birthday to her.

Now we're just tucked up in bed and about to hit the pillows. Miley's got more dance rehearsals in the morning and then a lunch with some influential people in the BBC followed by an afternoon segment on some kid show here. Should be a laugh but she's getting a bit anxious about it all. Ah well, I'll be there to calm her down.

Miley finished reading Lilly's diary entry for their day and smiled as she quietly closed the book and got up from where she was seated at the desk to join her friend in the bed. Lilly had already dozed off a while ago but Miley was feeling restless again tonight and she had used the diary as a good excuse to put off sleeping even further.

Miley settled down underneath the bed covers next to her friend who was docile in her sleep, breathing long and steadily whilst her eyelids fluttered from dreams. The brunette propped herself up on her side facing toward her friend as she did every night that they had shared the bed so far. She dared herself to move those few inches closer until she felt Lilly's warm breath brushing her face. Miley bit her lip slightly as she bravely tilted her face even nearer until she almost reached the point where Lilly's outline would blur in Miley's vision if they were any closer. Very carefully, Miley brushed loose strands of sun kissed hair off Lilly's forehead before bringing her hand down to rest with only the lightest of touches on the blonde's shoulder. Miley could feel the warmth of Lilly's skin rising up through her shirt and into her open palm. The place where Miley's body was connected with Lilly's began to tingle and dizzy heat began to suffocate the brunette. The tauntingly close proximity to Lilly's body; her lips, her cheeks, her eyes and breath were almost too much to bear. Miley's lips were parted slightly and her breathing became shorter and more ragged as desire rose up in her as the redness flushed her cheeks.

Once again, Miley's sense of self-control was put to the test and it was only with a surprise convulsion from Lilly as her body twitched from relaxing muscles that Miley hastily drew her hand away from shock. Miley rolled over to face the doorway and shook slightly as she realised how stupid she must have looked to have been so close and what she would have said if Lilly had woken up to see her. Shameful tears pricked Miley's eyes in reaction and she silently let them wash over her and trembled from exhausted frustration. It was hard to breathe and Miley could not help but release a single, quiet sob as she gasped for air.

"Miley?"

Miley's body became rigid at the sound of the voice and she squeezed her eyes shut in prayer that her friend would not become too suspicious. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, and then another moment passed. Miley's body did not relax as she heard a sleepy sigh and shuffling coming from behind her back.

Without any sign or warning, the brunette was suddenly aware of a warm arm wrapping itself around her stomach and strawberry scented hair draping across her face as a pair of soft lips brushed her cheek. Miley let the breath out that she was holding in a shaky sigh and her body relaxed instantly at Lilly's touch.

As Lilly tasted Miley's tears on her lips, she tightened her hold on her saddened friend. Lilly snuggled her face into Miley's shoulder and spoke quietly into the long mane of vanilla-scented wavy brown hair.

"It'll be alright Miles."

Miley gulped as more tears trickled their way down her cheeks at the sound of Lilly's caring tone mixed with a slight thickness of sleep.

"You're just stressed out and that's fair enough. You're barely getting half as much sleep as you need for the tour and you're doing so much work! You just need to relax and get some sleep." Lilly finished with a yawn and Miley knew that it was only through concern for her sake that Lilly was able to stay awake.

"Thanks Lilly, I guess I'm just having a bit of a moment here. I'll be alright in a while, just need to get some sleep but I'm just worried is all." Miley gave a small smile as she felt Lilly huddle her face further into her shoulder.

Lilly's lips moved against Miley's neck as she opened her mouth to reply, tickling Miley's skin and causing her heart race to increase at the sensitive touch. "I'm here Miley, I'm not going anywhere. Try and get some sleep kay? Love you."

"Love you too Lillypad." Miley put her hand over Lilly's arm so that the blonde could not escape her, but it seemed that Lilly was going nowhere anyway as she felt Lilly drift off again. Lilly soon began to make adorable snuffling noises that Miley smiled at and felt her misery slowly leave her. "You better not drool on me." Miley quietly slurred as she too fell asleep.

The following day seemed to pass in a blur at the offset for the two young girls as Miley felt her life begin to settle into a routine which consisted of waking, showering and rehearsing. Lilly understood her part in all of this as Miley's shadow, but the talking, happy shadow who made Miley's life much easier on tour.

It was in the third morning dance class that Robbie Ray took a seat next to Lilly as she sat fiddling with a loose string from her shirt. She felt his presence and knew that she did not necessarily need to acknowledge him as they would often sit silently together and watch the rehearsal. They sat quietly for a few minutes as they watched Miley take a swig from her water bottle, turn to smile at Lilly and then count her dancers in for the fourth time that morning. Robbie Ray leaned back in his chair leisurely as he watched his daughter work before turning his attention to Lilly.

"You alright there kiddo? I hope we're not boring you too much?"

Lilly looked up brightly and smiled at Mr Stuart's unexpected decision to talk to her this morning. "Not boring me at all Mr S! I'm really enjoying watching all the hard work that goes into the behind the scenes of Hannah Montana."

"Good, that's really good. I've noticed how much Miley appreciates having you along to help and I have to say that since you've been here, she's been doing a lot better and been keeping more of a level head. You'll have to let me into your secrets sometimes soon." Robbie Ray smiled warmly at Lilly and resumed watching Miley.

"No secrets really, she is still getting stressed but she's not as bad as I thought she would be. Miley loves doing this and she's having a really good time, so am I. Thanks so much for letting me come along."

"It's our pleasure kiddo. Seriously, Miley is never as happy as when she is with you. I've never seen a better friendship between two young women. She really thinks so highly of you, and so do I. Even Jackson does! So keep up the good work." Robbie Ray gave Lilly a friendly wink and pat on the shoulder before he wandered out of the room again.

Lilly smiled to herself and looked back over at her friend. Miley was really working hard today and Lilly knew it was because she was scared for the new routine. She needed to keep her stamina up and all the fresh turns and jumps they had added were really beginning to take their toll on her. Miley's face was flushed pink beneath her Hannah wig and her body was gleaming slightly from sweat but Lilly had to admire the way her body moved underneath her dance sweats and t-shirt, Miley was superb.

As quickly as the pleasure that Lilly had felt from Mr Stuart's praise that she was helping Miley had risen up within her, it was struck harshly down once more from a sudden wave of anxiety that passed across Lilly's mind. She swore under her breath as she watched her oblivious friend dance on whilst in her mind she reminded herself that before they flew back to Malibu, she was going to have to tell Miley that she was moving. It would be too late to tell her on their return, her house was going to be a state and her mother had been hassling her long enough. Heather had also vowed to Lilly that if she did not tell her, then she would have to tell Miley herself.

"It's not fair on Miley." Lilly's mother reprimanded her daughter for possibly the tenth time the week before Lilly was due to fly to London with her friend.

"I know mum, just give it a rest okay? I'll tell her when the time's right."

"Lilly, sweetheart," Heather Truscott softened her tone, "the time is never going to be right in situations like this."

Lilly nodded quietly and looked down at the floor as she felt her eyes fill with tears and the back of her throat tickled as she found it difficult to talk. Heather put down the pair of sneakers she had started packing away for her daughter and wrapped her arm around Lilly's shoulders.

"I know it's not going to be right but I can't tell her now because I'll mess up her tour. I can't tell her when we get back because it will be too late, so I'll just have to do it on the last night."

"I know Lilly, I know…"

Lilly shook her head suddenly as if trying to shake the situation out of it but she knew it was a lost cause. All she could do was stay positive over the next week and a half for the sake of her friend and try to keep such feelings at bay for now.

That afternoon the two girls found themselves in a dressing room at the BBC. Hannah was having her makeup done and Lola was swivelling on a dressing chair nearby, blowing bubblegum and flicking through a magazine. The lady in charge of beautifying the young star was good humoured and insisted on telling Hannah all about her teenage daughter's recent school production. Halfway through listening to "call me Jenny" amusingly ranting about how her daughter almost brought down the backdrop mid-show, Lilly stumbled across photographs of her alter-ego taking up a whole double page spread and could not help but let out a small, "Eeep!"

Hannah's head shot round at once, with a raised eyebrow and puzzled look on her face, "Everything alright there Lola?"

Lilly's eyes were scanning over the pictures of her at the airport, she could hardly believe it but the magazine had made her look like such a star. She was standing in the airport posing for the cameras with a big smile on her face as well as a close-up of her and she was looking very good for someone after a sleepless journey. Another picture, slightly larger than the others was one with Hannah; they were both grinning and casually posing, arms around each other and looking very close. Underneath there was the unedited waffle that Lilly had attempted to spit out about London and Lilly cringed slightly as she read what she had tried to say. Yet overall, she was shed in a very positive light and, apart from the comments about her outlandish hair and dress sense, she had received a warm welcome from the British press.

Grinning she pushed the article across the surface to Miley who regarded it superiorly in her Hannah guise and smiled back at her friend. "Well, someone got a warm reception for their first time in London Lola."

Jenny had been watching Lola's reaction with amusement before she decided to tactfully join the conversation, "You don't get much press do you Lola?" Lilly's mouth dropped open slightly, unaware of how to respond to this accusation. "I just mean," Jenny continued, "it's so good to see you! There's never anything very much about you in any of the magazines I read and if you weren't Hannah's best friend I'm sure half the world wouldn't know you existed. Well, I admire your ability to keep your life private." Jenny smiled warmly at the temporarily blue-haired girl and Lilly found herself smiling back now that she realised she was being paid a compliment.

"Erm, thank you? I guess I do keep my life very private. It's just the ever watching eyes of the media isn't really something that appeals to me, you know? I was friends with Hannah before this got big and I will be friends with her long after it's all over too. Nothing can change that, really I guess we're just as normal as the next pair of teenage girls."

Jenny had been smiling as she finished Hannah's makeup and with one final flourish of a powdered brush, it was complete.

"There we are Miss Montana, what do you think?"

Miley regarded herself in the mirror with a smile, "Thanks Jenny, it looks great."

"Not a problem sweetheart. Now, do you mind if I'm awfully cheeky…?" Jenny smiled a suddenly shy smile as Hannah looked at her inquisitively, "…I was just wondering if I could get both of your autographs for my daughter before you go?"

Miley laughed and said that it was fine. Jenny smiled and produced a book from inside of her handbag which was already filled with several famous signatures.

"Thank you so much for this girls, she'll really appreciate this. I've been trying to get quite a lot together as it's her birthday on Sunday. She is going to love this though; she is such a big fan." Jenny was positively beaming as Miley flicked through the notepad and sucked on the pen top, considering what to write.

"What's your daughter's name?"

"Oh, it's Beth."

Miley bent over once more and scrawled a message to the girl before completing it with Hannah's famous signature and handed the pen over to Lilly who smiled as she took her turn to write one of very rare autographs.

"It's her birthday on Sunday?" Miley repeated.

"Yes." Jenny answered as she packed away her different eye shadows.

"Well, how would she like free tickets to the show on Saturday night?"

Jenny almost dropped a delicate application brush as she spun round to face a smiling Miley. "You would do that?"

"Yeah sure," Miley giggled, "we always have spare tickets. I'll get my manager to give you some."

Jenny looked like Christmas had come early as she shrieked with delight and clapped her hands together energetically. She would not stop beaming as she gushed over the personal messages that Lilly and Miley had written for her daughter and hugged each of them as they were called into the studio. Lilly and Miley giggled together as they were led along a corridor and onto the set, both aware that they had made a lifelong fan and sharing a great sense of happiness that a few words on a piece of paper could brighten someone's day to such an extent.

Wednesday

10.28pm

Well, the Blue Peter TV thing sure was an experience! After meeting the lovely makeup lady, Miley had to go on set and meet the presenters. They were very nice young people in their twenties but oh my god, so enthusiastic! I just sat on the sidelines whilst they babbled on with their dramatic smiles and cheery nature. They even put Hannah Montana in the shadows with how sunny they are. It was quite a laugh though, I have to say. I just kinda sat behind the camera and watch Miley mess about with them all afternoon. She got to make something that I think was supposed to be a doll's house? It was basically out of an old cereal box which they covered in wrapping paper and used a lot of tape… Miley was a bit hopeless and ended up giggling loads but she really got into it too and had quite a laugh with the guy she was doing it with. I think she kinda liked him and I noticed that they were getting a bit close over the tape. She went all silly when I teased her about it later bless her.

After that we finally ended up having dinner in the hotel which was a huge ordeal, I can tell you that! Miley insisted that we dressed nicely and she looked gorgeous in this beautiful bottle green, strapless dress whilst I pootled along with a more modest black wig and a chequered dress. It was a good dinner except the portions were tiny and we had to eat correctly using the right forks or something. Everyone in there was dressed up nicely though and they were smiling over when they recognised who we were. It was good not to be hassled by press too, and the waiters were really sweet guys. So posh though! I felt a bit like the Queen of England! I wonder if she eats like this all the time… I bet she sneaks out for Macdonalds occasionally. That would be hilairious!

Anyway, for once Miley is actually asleep first so I better put this away and get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be stress central. Chow for now!

Miley heard the shrill beeps breaking through the clouds of her dreams before she was aware of them but eventually her mind broke into dreadful clarity that she had to get up and get dressed. Feeling disorientated, Miley sat upright in the bed, triggered by some unknown energy source and pushed her hair out of her eyes as she stared into the dark room. Grumbling sleepily next to her, the slightly irritated blonde slammed her fist down over the source of irritation and with great relief the alarm went off. Sighing contentedly, Lilly snuggled under the covers once more and attempted to go back to sleep as Miley groaned with realisation of what she was doing up so early before a look at the clock confirmed her suspicions. It was four-thirty and Miley had an interview in approximately two hours with some morning talk show. Grumbling she threw the covers off, abolishing the temptation to get back into bed and stumbled towards the bathroom.

Only running a half hour late, the girls found themselves within another dressing room, having the final touches of Hannah's makeup done before she was led onto a sofa and introduced to the presenters. Lilly took her usual place as Lola in the wings next to Miley's dad and watched as the presenters asked her all the usual questions about how she was finding her life, or more rightly, the imagined life her father had created to make her alter-identity appear more realistic. Eventually, after gauging her as a good guest, the presenters progressed to a subject that Miley always secretly dreaded; her love life.

"So, Hannah," the friendly female presenter began, "this is only your second time in London and the U.K. Tell us, what do you think of the English boys?"

Miley laughed at this, she was constantly alert for people delving into these sorts of topics and as uncomfortable as they made her feel, she did not have an alter-ego for nothing, her whole life as Hannah was a lie and it was going to be kept this way.

"Well, I don't really have enough time to get out there and fraternise with the guys whilst I'm on tour, but all the ones I have met have been really nice and polite." Miley smiled and hoped that this would be enough to placate her interrogators; unfortunately this was never the case.

"Is there anyone special in your life right now Hannah?" The male presenter began to inquire, and although he did not mean to, Miley noticed that he neglected to mention a specific gender in the question. On realising this, Miley involuntarily gulped and felt herself begin to tremble slightly. She shook her head more dramatically than she was expecting and forced out a quick laugh.

"No, not really. I'm too busy at the moment for this kind of thing. I just don't really want a boyfriend either. I'm always so busy promoting my music and trying to keep up with my school work that it's just never really an issue, I guess I'm too busy to think about it!"

"Ah well, that's a shame." The female presenter interjected once more and offered Miley a sympathetic smile.

"Aw shucks, don't pity me," Miley replied jokingly, "I'm really having a blast and I'm just enjoying spending time with my friends. At the moment, they're way more important to me than any stupid guy."

The female presenter laughed warmly at this remark whilst her co-worker shifted in his seat a little and smiled at Miley in apology. Miley became oblivious to this as she turned her attention briefly from the interviewers as she locked eyes with Lilly and shared a bright smile with her. The female presenter seemed to pick up on this and continued along this line of conversation, which Miley was only too thrilled to progress with.

"I know what you mean Hannah, sometimes boys can be so stupid and at your stage in life, doing what you're doing you must have barely enough time for your friends as it is." Miley nodded at this before the lady continued. "But you're here with one of your friends in London."

"Yeah, I'm here with my best friend Lola actually." Miley was beaming at this stage and all awkwardness left her as they began to talk about her favourite subject.

"We saw pictures of you two arriving together and you do look very close. How long have you been friends for?"

"Since I was about twelve, we met when I moved to where she lived then and we went to school together and everything just kinda clicked into place on the first day. It's actually quite a funny story about how we met," Miley gushed, "I was really shy because I didn't know anyone and obviously my Tennessee accent was so much stronger then. This other kid like made fun of me for it and then I cried but Li-Lola came and found me and gave me a cookie and everything was alright again."

The presenters shared a smile and seemed to be thrilled to have such a positive and natural response to one of their questions. It seemed that Hannah was only too happy to talk about her friend and after appearing slightly exhausted and quiet she suddenly morphed into a completely different person.

"Well that sounds great," the male presenter cut in, "it must be such a relief to have someone so close to you on tour."

"Yeah, it really, really is. I mean it's such a relief because we've been friends for such a long time, like before I was even discovered or anything so it's really good because she keeps me grounded. I mean, yesterday I was really stressed because of all the dancing I've been doing and everything, but like in a good way you know? But, anyway, I was stressed and she just chatted with me and we do crazy things like have pillow fights and dance around the hotel so it's all good." Miley paused for a minute here and remembered herself, realised just how complimentary she was being towards her friend and how this could be misconstrued by Lilly if she did not behave more normally. "I mean, I don't know why I didn't bring her on tour before…well, except for the fact that she gets over-excited about everything, from the teeny complimentary shower goodies to going backstage, she's like a kid in a candy store, do ya know what I mean?" Miley giggled and glanced over at her father who was smiling pleasantly at her from behind the cameras whilst Lilly jokingly scowled and poked out her tongue.

The presenters chuckled appreciatively before deciding to bring the interview to an end.

"Well, that about sums up all our time here with Miss Montana, she now has to go to a dress rehearsal for her first show tomorrow night on at Wembley. But, before you go," the woman turned back to Miley, "you're going to sing for us?"

"Yeah, that's right, I'm going to sing one of my songs called 'This is the Life' to wake y'all up this morning."

"Excellent, and thank you very much for being on the show this morning Hannah."

Approximately one hour later, Miley found herself changed and ready in her first outfit for a run-through of her concert the following night. She was still feeling tired from that morning as she stood slightly offstage and watched the hustle of everyone else around her. It seemed like everything was moving fast on all sides whilst she stood, as still as a rock, while the currents of movement ebbed and flowed around her. The only other motionless person in the whole procedure was the vivid figure of Lilly, dressed as Lola, in a shockingly pink wig. She sat in the front row, looking like a neon beacon among the shadows of the empty audience chairs. Miley looked out over the expanse of the arena, casting her eyes up to the high roof, filled with thousands of lights which intermittently blinked on and off as they were checked for the last time that morning. She gazed over the endless rows of empty seats and tried to imagine them filled with incessant tides of screaming fans but at this stage, she could not. Her gaze was continuously drawn back to the flare of hot pink in the front row. Miley smiled to herself as she shamelessly watched her friend from this distance, Lilly's attention was fixed on everything going on around her, and her eyes followed keenly where her head stayed still and aloof. She was absorbing as much as she could, the complicated routine which danced in front of her eyes as one hundred people completed the steps of their continuous responsibilities towards the perfect show. Miley smiled as she looked outwards at Lilly and her head filled with the careless daydreams of a young girl in love. In this fantasy, on this occasion, she and Lilly were a couple and Lilly was always there in the front row for Miley to sing to. This version of Lilly was made complete in the knowledge that she was Miley's inspiration for her work and her life and as Miley sang, Lilly would look up at her lover with only the purest love etched on every line of her face.

Miley's dream came to an end as her father emerged from a behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You ready to do this bud?"

"Yep." Miley sighed and took the microphone that a stage-hand passed to her. After sharing a quick smile with her father and led by another attendant, she walked down some steps towards the underground platform that would raise her up to centre stage where she would make her debut in Wembley Arena.

She crouched down and took a deep breath before looking up towards the trap-door and saying clearly: "Let's go."