Life got very hectic very quickly for Mikayla.

She was in and out of the studio constantly, laying down vocals for her CD. Fortunately, she proved to be very adept at giving great performances in as few takes as possible. It didn't hurt that Carey and Jim were both very encouraging and supportive at each recording session.

Still, it was a lot of work. Balancing her time became tricky. Mr. Moseby offered to give her time off from her lounge shows, but the young singer refused. She felt she owed the man after all he'd done for her. To her credit, her lounge performances showed no decline in quality whatsoever. No one that saw her on stage realized how hard the girl was pushing herself.

Cody saw it. He was at her side whenever she wasn't working. Mikayla appreciated his steady presence, though she felt guilty that they couldn't really have any fun together. They didn't have time to go out, and when they were alone together Mikayla rarely had the energy to engage in even a short make-out session. Not that her boyfriend ever complained. He always did everything he could to help her relax. It became common for Mikayla to fall asleep as he gave her a gentle shoulder massage or back rub. Then she'd awaken the next morning in her bed to discover that not only had Cody tucked her in, he'd also set her alarm clock and left a note that listed her schedule for the day. Actions like this made Mikayla look forward to completing work on her album that much more. She longed to have the time to do something special for Cody. His thoughtfulness deserved a proper reward.

Miley's schedule was currently not as hectic as her rivals, but her life was still far from relaxing. She'd hung around in Boston for another two days after being kicked out of the Tipton. Her father and Mikayla's manager had a few phone conversations during that time, but both men had agreed that any further meetings would have to wait. Miley had listened in on some of their calls, and at times had almost laughed bitterly. As difficult as the situation was, Robbie Ray and Mr. Lafayette were always reasonable and polite to one another. Miley wondered if she and Mikayla would ever be able to communicate like that. At the same time, she wondered if it would have made a difference. Because even though their respective managers had no animosity towards each other, it didn't change the fact that they couldn't find a way to end the Hannah/Mikayla feud.

Thus, Miley returned home with nothing resolved. And then Hannah had to face the press. She had many interviews and appearances that had been scheduled long ago to promote her upcoming CD, but now all those appearances were filled with questions about Mikayla.

She did as her father asked and refused to comment on the feud or say anything negative about her rival. That didn't stop reporters from putting their own spin on her silence. No matter what she said or did, somehow the stories were twisted. When Hannah expressed enthusiasm or excitement about her new album, stories would come out that she was bragging about how much better it would be than Mikayla's.

And so it went.

Cody was always putting up a good front for his girlfriend, but it wasn't easy. He was not enjoying life at the moment. He wanted so badly to have some time with her that wouldn't be dominated by her demanding work schedule or by media scandal. In fact, the media was getting intolerable. To his own surprise, Cody was now famous. Much more famous than he would've anticipated. When he'd first seen himself in the tabloids that Zack and London had laughed about, he'd never imagined where it would lead.

He couldn't go anywhere now without being recognized. Sneaking out the back of the hotel to avoid reporters didn't help anymore. He couldn't go to any of his and Zack's old hangouts without someone coming up to him. Reporters, photographers, fans of Mikayla, fans of Hannah, girls who hit on him shamelessly, guys who hit on him shamelessly…it was too much!

Zack was not immune to this either, but he had an advantage Cody did not…London. The heiress had long been accustomed to the intrusions of privacy that came with being a celebrity. Although her friendship with Mikayla and her involvement in the Hannah feud had served to increase the intensity of her own media spotlight, London could deal with such things. Zack may not have been able to walk down the street or skateboard in the park, but his girlfriend's private limos, helicopters, jets and yachts managed to take him to plenty of fun places.

Of course Cody was always welcome to go along with his twin and London but he usually declined. It wasn't very fun being a third wheel, and watching Zack and London together just made him miss Mikayla.

The fame of the twins had another consequence as well, although it was one that everyone could live with. Since the end of the summer was drawing near, decisions had to be made about school enrollment. Zack and Cody didn't want to be separated from their girlfriends, and it was fairly obvious that all of them were now too famous to go to a regular school. It was agreed that all four teens would be taught privately by Miss Tutweiller once the school year resumed. The teacher had already done a fine job of making sure that Mikayla was caught up to her proper grade level, and everyone was optimistic that this arrangement would work out. Yes, the woman would have to deal with the challenges of both Zack and London, but the private lessons would allow her to give them plenty of individual attention. The fact that Cody would be doing mostly independent study would only make matters easier.

The teens weren't the only ones affected by the publicity surrounding Mikayla. Carey's stress levels were much higher than she liked. She was always concerned about her boys and their girlfriends, Mikayla especially. The girl had so much pressure on her, it wasn't right. Carey did her best to make things easier for the teen whenever she could. And she was glad to see that she wasn't the only one doing so.

For as each day passed, Carey's opinion of Jim Lafayette grew more and more positive. Spending so much time in the studio with Mikayla, Carey had many opportunities to see the man at work. With the album's deadline looming, it was important that everyone keep to the tightest possible schedule. And when someone dropped the ball, Jim was quick and decisive in getting things back on track. Tensions were running high, and sometimes when members of the production team fell behind, Carey would see Jim angrily berating them. But she would only see this when Mikayla was in another room. When the young star was present, Jim was always smiling and positive. He'd repeatedly reassure the girl that she was doing a wonderful job and that her album was going to be spectacular. Carey saw that he was doing his best to protect the girl from anything that could upset her, and she appreciated that.

In fact, she was beginning to appreciate a lot of things about him. At first she'd been a little wary of the man. Sure he had charm, good looks, and an obvious interest in her…but the last part had actually troubled her. She had felt flattered that he was attracted to her, but he'd been so obvious about it so soon after meeting her that Carey assumed he was simply a player. That was an assumption that she now hoped was wrong, because she could easily see herself falling for the man.

And on the day that Mikayla finished her last session in the studio, Carey fell.

Everyone was in a good mood, because that day would conclude a major portion of the work on the album. Mikayla was in the recording room and nearing the end of her last vocal track, while Carey and Jim were outside, watching and listening through the glass. The vocals sounded fantastic even without the full background music that would be added in post production.

"She nailed it," Carey exclaimed as Mikayla sang the final note.

"Yes!" Jim pumped his fist once in the air. Both he and Carey were almost giddy that this part of the work was finally over. Each turned to say something to the other at the same moment, which resulted in them facing each other…separated by a few short inches.

Jim pulled her to him and kissed her. It was impulsive, it was unexpected, and it was…very nice. Nonetheless it didn't last long, and when Jim broke the kiss he took a step backwards.

"Sorry," he said. "I wasn't thinking."

Carey took a moment before replying. Despite the shortness of the duration, that had been the most enjoyable kiss she'd had in a long time. "So if you'd been thinking…you wouldn't have done it?" she asked with a slight smile.

Seeing the smile and the spark in her eyes, Jim stepped back towards her. "No, I wouldn't have. If I'd been thinking…if I'd planned it out…" He puts his arms around her. "It would have gone like this."

He kissed her again. This one lasted a much longer time. When it finally ended, Carey, still in his embrace, let out a satisfied sigh.

"I like a man who thinks things through," she said.

Zack and London were in the penthouse. Cody and Mikayla were going to join them shortly and all were going to have a quiet dinner together to celebrate the completion of the recording sessions. While waiting for the other couple, London cuddled with Zack on the couch. The television was on but neither teen was paying it any attention, only having eyes for each other. But that changed when a bit of entertainment news was shown.

"Oh, where's the remote?" London said as she sat up straight.

Zack was a bit annoyed, as he would've preferred the heiress to lean back into his arms and resume trading soft kisses with him. Nevertheless, he handed her the remote and watched with her as some commentators discussed Hannah Montana and Mikayla.

The gist of the story was that Mikayla's new album was hotly anticipated and that her popularity was continuing to rise. At the same time, although Hannah's popularity was taking some major hits, her album was still expected to be very successful. Furthermore, some very vocal groups of Hannah fans were launching a grassroots campaign to defend their idol. Unfortunately, it seemed the only way they could think of to defend Hannah was to attack Mikayla. The story concluded that despite the embarrassing tape of Hannah's rant, it was still too early to tell who the real princess of pop would be.

"Hannah's mean!" London said angrily as she turned off the TV and threw down the remote. "How can anyone like her?"

"She's got a lot of fans," Zack answered. "Hey, I used to be one. And she is a good singer."

"How can you defend her?"

"I'm not defending her. I was just answering your question." Zack put his hand to London's chin and turned her face so that she looked him in the eyes. "You know, you've been really worked up about Hannah ever since this whole thing started."

"Of course I have," the heiress replied. "You heard what she said about Mikayla."

"Yeah, and that made me mad," Zack said. "But nobody's been as mad about this as you. Even Mikayla was trying to make peace with her. And she told us how she was the one who used to treat Hannah like dirt."

"Yeah, but we didn't know her then," came London's response. "The Mikayla we know is nice and sweet and she's my friend…and I'm not going to let anyone be mean to her. I owe her too much."

Zack was puzzled at this. If anything, Mikayla owed London, not the other way around. "What do you mean? What do you owe her for?"

London got a pensive look on her face. It was an expression Zack had seen from her before and knew well. The heiress was trying to think up just the right words to explain herself, because this was something she really wanted Zack to understand.

"Mikayla is one of my best friends ever, just like Maddie and Cody and you," she said. "And so many things have happened since I met her. When she first moved into the hotel, you and Cody and I were all spending so much time with her that it brought us all closer together." She paused and reached her hand up to caress Zack's cheek. "If I hadn't met Mikayla…you wouldn't be here with me right now."

There was only one way Zack felt he could respond to that. He leaned forward and kissed her.

London smiled adorably when the kiss was finished. "Now do you understand why I owe her?"

Zack nodded. "Mikayla sure has affected our lives."

The heiress's smile grew even brighter. "So you agree that we should crush Hannah for being mean to her?"

Zack rolled his eyes. One thing he'd realized about London, she was pure and straight-forward in her feelings. Usually that was a good thing, but when her feelings were vengeful…not so much.

In any case, they had no chance to discuss the matter further, for Cody and Mikayla choose that moment to arrive.

To be continued...

author's note: The end is drawing near. If it does come down to a matter of winning and losing (and I'm not saying it will) who do you want to see come out on top? Please review.