Alrighty, chapter 5. We are inching OH-SO-VERY-CLOSE to the introduction chapter. Yes, we are almost there. So stick with me! And um, I was just wondering. Do I have any other readers than my faithful and awesomely awesome reviewers? Becasue the folks who always leave a review are the same ones. It's not that I don't like them (I love you guys SO F-ING much), but I'd like to hear other people's feedback. Is that okay? Is that too much to ask for? Sorry, but I know it must be boring and you must be wondering, "WHERE THE HELL'S THE LILEY?!" It will come soon, I PROMISE. So leave a review so that we can move on smoothly!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hannah Montana or any of its characters, the creators do.

P.S: People who want to see Emily and Miley in a jello wrestling match, say AYE. They should put in an episode with those two doing that. That'll be awesome to watch.

P.S.S: "Send It On" MV was HILARIOUSLY CHEESY. Should I mention the TOTALLY CLICHE PAIRS they put together? Nick/Miley, Joe/Demi, Kevin/Selena? I mean, everyone should've know that those pairs was BOUND to happen, right? EW to the cliched "Niley." UGH.

The box she was holding felt outrageously big in her hands. The velvety texture started to soak up her sweat from her clammy hands and her head started to throb. Maybe it's too early, and maybe if I say it now, he's going to freak out. You know who he is, Miley closed her eyes and repeated to herself, he's a commitment phobe! Just take it easy and play by ear…

Miley took another swish from her beer and finished soundly. Yep, just play by ear and everything will be just fine.

"Hey Miley," a deep voice came from behind her. Miley smiled and turned around. He took her by the arms and enveloped her into his embrace. He smelt like a hint of thunder mint and a whole lot of Red Spice sprayed on him, which Miley eventually learned to deal with it. "I missed you," he kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey Jake, missed you, too," she hugged back just as tight and waited for him to let go first. She missed his scent (sometimes though) and his embrace. His warm, loving embrace. How Miley wanted to just stay there in his arms and let everyone else disappear.

"So, how are you? Did you get my texts and messages?" he asked as he called for the bartender. "Hey, um, scotch with ice." The bartender nodded and handed him a small glass of liquor.

"Yea, I sure did. Sorry I didn't reply though, got, uh, busy, backtracked." Miley tried to explain the easiest way possible. It was hard not telling someone else other than Marge about other things that happened in her life. But even if she did tell him, would he even care?

"Hey, it's okay. I mean, you're Ann-Ey Ontana-May," he whispered the last part. Miley giggled and nudged him by the elbow. "And you're freaking international and shit…"

"Yea, I guess," Miley blushed. Why is she blushing again? Well, it's Jake Ryan, that's a first. Her eyes wandered to his simple disguise: an LA Dodgers cap. Nice to see that he didn't go all out this time. "So, since when were you a Dodgers fan?"

"Since yesterday. I got it for only ten bucks. You like?"

"I love," Miley flirtatiously winked. "Fits you well."

It went like this for awhile, just some harmless flirting thrown at each other and goofing off like when they were back in high school. Back and forth they talked about the past and any upcoming projects. Miley couldn't help but just look into his eyes see how his blue eyes just shine from the dull lighting of the bar. She remembered when they told each other their biggest secrets (she being Hannah Montana and his real name being Leslie) and they became closer while they were dating. Back in the high school days, before she dropped out, she knew that they had a deep connection between them and somehow fate kept them together. That had to mean something, right?

"So, I have some really good news," Jake said as he gulped down the last of his scotch.

"Really," Miley asked as she did the same with her beer. Her mind started to reel in what could be good news. Could it be good news for him only or good news for the both of them? She crossed her fingers secretly for the second choice.

"You wouldn't believe it, but I finally get to work with Tom Cruise!" His gigantic smile forced her to smile with him too. Of course it had to be the former.

"Really? Man, Jake, that's awesome!" Miley looked into the center of her beer mug. "So, when do you start?"

"In three weeks! Can you believe it? Three weeks and I'm officially working with the Tom Cruise." Jake rapped his fingers on the table. "Is something wrong? You're not…mad are you?

"No! No, of course not!" Miley gleamed to Jake, answering quickly. Maybe a bit too quickly. "Why would I be mad?" Miley turned her head away, facing away from him. Stupid! You are so freakin' stupid!

"Oh…"Jake responded sadly. "Well, last time I told you I was going to Bora Bora for filming, you didn't call me for two months, and ignored me when I came back to visit." He sighed and continued after a short silence. "Anyways, I'm filming in Europe for the next eight months. It might change though, I'm not sure."

"Uh-huh," she nodded. Well, she should've seen this from a long shot. After all it was Jake Ryan. "Jake, can I ask you something?"

"Yea, sure, anything."

"Do you...Are you...If…" How should she say this? If she says it, it might turn out the wrong way. Jake looked at her and waited for the question.

"Do you want to have dinner on Friday? It'll be my treat. Just so we can celebrate your new film," Miley offered. This was not how she wanted it to go.

"Um, sure, yea, thanks!" Jake's expression changed from depressed to happy in a matter of seconds.

"Yea and we'll eat at your favorite restaurant." Miley smiled for real this time. Maybe it was a good idea to ask for dinner.

"Cool," Jake smiled to her and Miley thought she was going to die right then and there. A small beeping noise took over the silence and Jake excused himself. "Be right back."

"'Kay," Miley nodded him off and watched him head towards the restroom area. The bartender came and asked her if she wanted another drink. Instead of asking for a refill, she asked another question. "Do you think it's weird if a girl proposes to a guy?"

The young bartender shrugged and wiped the counter with his cold damp cloth. "I dunno, I mean it's kinda weird, but it's kinda out of the ordinary, y'know? Not many girls do that. But to the girls who actually ask, I gotta give'em props. It's hard to pop the question." He stopped wiping and looked to Miley straight in the eyes. "Why? Are you gonna ask that man who got the scotch?"

Miley sighed, not knowing if she should or not. "Who knows? If the Lord'll let me, I'll take the chance any time of the day." She rapped her fingertips on the surface of the counter.

"Well, if you are, best of luck to ya. My buddies who are married had lots of trouble. One of 'em actually fainted when he thought the girl said no, but really she said yes."

Miley eyed him. "You're not really helping me."

The bartender backed off. "Oh, sorry, I'll leave you alone then. Good luck."

Sighing again, she held her head in her hands. Were things ever going to go easy for her? It seemed like everything didn't want to go her way. This Friday was just going to be a typical dinner between good friends, nothing else. Except…maybe…Miley glanced to the small box sitting right next to her purse. Maybe Friday could be a special day…

"Hey Miley," Jake came from behind Miley again. Miley quickly threw the black box into her purse. "I'm sorry, but my agent just called me and I have to do a couple of phone interviews." Miley stood up and hugged him one last hug until Friday. "But hey, thanks for meeting up with me again. I'll see you in two days?" Miley nodded. "Okay," Jake kissed her quickly on the lips and sped off to the doors. "Bye!"

Her limp hand touched her lips as she waved to Jake until the doors closed shut. Yes, she was most definitely ready for Friday.

"Damn, girl, you got it bad for him." A deep voice behind the counter shook Miley out of her trance.

Miley glared at him. "Shut up," she joked and slammed the tip on the counter. "Thanks." She walked out the door and went over to her Prius. All she could think about was Friday. Friday, Friday, Friday. Friday was D-Day. Was she actually ready for this?

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The buttons on the calculator clicked as it echoed through the house. A pencil was busily scribbling numbers on a notepad and Lilly was sure her body was going to fall apart. Cleaning the house from the ceiling to the little corners was hell, and it was the specific purpose why she didn't clean the house while she used to live there in her own. The house was big and it would take more than one person to make it 'gleaming' from head to toe.

"This is not impossible. If I wake up at six and cook dinner," Lilly counted furiously with her fingers, "okay thirteen hours, plus the three thousand, and the airplane tickets and concert tickets…" she mumbled and calculated everything on the notepad. "Oh no," she groaned. "Six thousand dollars? No way…" She sat down on the wooden chair in the kitchen table. I have to clean the house 24/7 and give back the three thousand? Ugh…Life sucks ass…"

And who was to blame? Jackson. Yes, blame Jackson, her best friend who then manipulated and blackmailed her to go to New York with a one way ticket and sold her house behind her back. That pain in the ass needs to be taken care off quickly and efficiently.

Getting up, she grabbed the vacuum and carried it up the stairs. Hannah's room, which used to be her own room, is the only room that has carpet. Great, she's only been here one day, and she already made a mess? Lilly doubted it, but she was a pop star and pop stars liked to party all the time and leave inconvenient messes.

She opened her door, but only to see that the only thing messy was her bed that was unmade. Well, she thought, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. She plugged in the vacuum and switched it on, beginning to suck up the dirt. If there is any dirt in there…

Back and forth, she pushed and pulled the heavy household instrument around the premises of the room. The apron she was wearing felt like it was going to suffocate her and her pigtail braids were all messed up. God, just kill me now! I hate cleaning someone else's crap, she whined.

Switching off the vacuum she began to make Hannah's bed. She remembered how odd it was in the laundry room. There wasn't any…laundry appliances in there. Lilly began to think if Hannah doesn't like to wash her clothes, but that thought left her since Hannah said herself that she was a total neat freak. But then how was she going to clean her clothes? Wash it in the beach or something?

Patting the bed's covers, she was finished with the housework. It was nearing six o' clock, and it was near dinner time. But this time, Lilly wasn't even close to hungry. Her whole body was pooped. She sat down on the bed and lay down. How long was this going to take? Her whole life? She hoped not.

Lilly turned to her side and glanced at the bedside table. It was covered with many picture frames and old necklaces and bracelets. She climbed out of bed and crawled to the table. The pictures, they were the same exact ones that Lilly saw in Hannah's purse over in New York. The middle aged woman with brown hair was in an individual frame with the phrase "Live. Laugh. Love" as the border. Was this her mom?

The next photo had a little brunette girl leaning her head a middle aged man with bob-ish dirty blonde hair and the two had the same colored eyes and nose. They looked close and so happy. Lilly wondered why all the pictures always had the same brunette girl with the dark blue eyes. Was it Hannah's sister? Hannah's long lost twin, only she just dyed her head blonde just so people can tell the difference? And were this man and woman her parents?

She opened the drawer and took saw a golden necklace that had the word "Miley" attached to it. "What's with the word Miley?" Lilly dug in more to see that it was a name, not a silly word. Who would name their kid Miley, she thought. She took out a wrinkled picture from the very bottom of the drawer to see the man, woman, and the brown-haired girl with –

"Jackson?!" What the hell was Jackson doing in there? And was the brunette chick the sister he was talking about last week? The one who got the tickets? Lilly turned it around to see names hand written on the back. "Susan, Robbie Ray, Jackson, and Miley Stewart 2007," Lilly read aloud. "The Stewart family? Who're they?" Lilly muttered to herself. Jackson seemed to be seventeen and 'Miley' seemed to be fifteen, the same age Lilly was in that year.

This is getting way too weird. She shuffled through more pictures and jewelry to find out who the Stewart's were and why they are so important to the pop star Hannah Montana. Maybe it's some family who sponsored her or some –

The door clicked and Lilly dropped everything she was holding. Her heart stopped beating and she couldn't breathe.

"I'm really, really sorry, I didn't mean to –" Lilly whipped her head around to see no one standing her down. She let out a breath and leaned her weight against the bed. She thought she was going to die right then and there. "Oh my god…"

She opened her eyes and looked to see that the room door didn't open, but the closet door did. The walk-in door closet, to be exact. It wouldn't hurt to take a peek, would it?

Lilly got up and walked over to the closet. When she opened it, she swore she was in a small clothing store. "Oh my god…Dang, look at those shoes!"

She scurried to the shoe section to see sneakers, sandals, boots, heels, literally any kind of foot wear racked against the floor. It must've been five rows aligned to the top, she thought. She looked around to see outerwear separated from tank tops and shirts and such. Pants, shorts, and skirts were racked along the bottom as long and formal dresses were aligned neatly above it. Wow, this is amazing.

Lilly walked over to the giant drawer dresser cabinet at the end of the closet and opened it. Whoa was the only word that could describe it. Latches automatically pushed out and drawers of bejeweled fingerless gloves, brand sunglasses, engraved microphones, and diamond jewelry shone in the light above Lilly. Then a light inside the cabinet lit up from the top and a faceless translucent wig stand.

Wait what? What's a wig stand doing in her cabinet?

The same blonde hair that Hannah has was placed on the plastic head in front of Lilly. She touched the synthetic hair carefully as it stuck to her clammy fingers. A mirror in front of Lilly reflected her gaping face. What was this stuff doing in here? What's a wig doing in Hannah's cabinet?

"Oh no…" Was she…Does she-does she have…cancer? Lilly quickly let go of the wig and wiped her hands on her apron. "Oh my god, oh my god," she breathed. "Hannah Montana has cancer?" Chill, Lilly, chill…you must be overreacting.

Leaning against the shelf, she thought it over reasonably. No way, she does not have cancer. But wait, wasn't that why she was wearing a hat this morning? So she's really bald and she doesn't want to show it off because she's insecure…It explains so much now! Why she wants to keep everything clean, why she's always so grumpy! Lilly thought as she nodded and looked at herself in the circular mirror in front of her. Poor Hannah…Lilly pushed back the drawers and shook her head. It's so unfortunate for such a beautiful young star to have a horrible disease like that…

She turned off the lights inside the closet and walked back the bedside drawer. But who are the Stewart's? Well, first, they are Jackson's family, but what do they have to do with an international singer? Her thoughts became more confusing as she put everything away back as it was before.

But, who was that brunette chick that was standing in the kitchen and was wearing the same exact running outfit as Hannah? Lilly was certain that she saw a woman with brown hair and long, tanned legs. She knows she was sick and hungry, but she was conscious to realize it. And her hair seemed similar to the Miley chick that was in the pictures…Wait a sec…

Why does Hannah need Lilly if she already has a maid? Did Hannah fire her for wearing such inappropriate clothing for work? Lilly looked down at herself. She didn't even have time to change her top but to only change from jeans to basketball shorts.

But it just didn't make any sense. Something just didn't click right. If Hannah did have cancer, she would've looked so damn skinny and pale and fragile, not tanned, well-figured, and strong. Well, she looks strong, and she likes to yell sometimes. So, that means the cancer thing just doesn't fit right with the puzzle. Or maybe it's the make-up at the works, but no, no way. Make-up doesn't work that good.

So the cancer flaw, scratch that out, Lilly made a mental note. So then what's up with the wig?

Lilly saw a small light pink spiral notebook underneath all the scraps of old and wrinkled pictures. Warily, she took it out and saw Miley's Journal written on the cover. Okay. Who is this Miley chick and why the hell does Hannah have it, Lilly thought, frustrated that she can't figure it all out.

She took it out and opened it. Bubbly letters filled every single inch of each page and every time Lilly turned the page, that page made a crinkling sound and Lilly was scared that she could rip the page just by only touching it. Little music notes and small doodles of animal covered the small corners with different colored pens. Turning the page again, Lilly saw lyrics to Hannah's songs. Was this girl the inspiration for Hannah?

Another Kodak picture fell out of the book Lilly was holding. Damn, how many pictures does this girl have? Picking it up, she noticed how long (Lilly didn't know how to put it in other words) it was. It was longer horizontally, and she noticed that it was two pictures taped together. She flipped it over and observed the two together. Wow, a close-up picture of Hannah's and the Miley chick's face taped together. It was the first time Lilly noticed how similar they looked; the same nose, blue-gray eyes, slightly pouty lips, same length of cheekbones, and weirdly enough, Lilly looked very closely and saw the same freckles on both faces…huh…

The sound of a broken record struck Lilly's head. No. Way. She flipped it over, remembering that there was something written on it.

Miley – whether you're up on the stage as Hannah or as Miley down at the schoolyard, always remember that I'll always be in your heart. Love always – Mom

No. Way. No. Freaking. Way. Scratch out the twins idea, Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart are the same people! Oh my god, oh my god, this is huge!

A familiar door slammed and the house creaked. Crap, crap, crap. I'm not even supposed to be here!

Hurriedly, she neatly placed the picture in the book and jammed the book itself with other pictures into the drawer and slammed it shut. She then smoothed out the bed sheets again and the bedside table, rearranging them one by one. After, she ran to the vacuum, which was still plugged in, pulled it out from three feet away and rapidly pushed it towards the door.

"Shit!" she half-whispered as her foot almost got caught in the electrical cord. "Damn it!" Hopping in one foot while pushing out the vacuum out the room, she cursed silently as the lights went on. "Stupid cord," she muttered under her breath. Finally untangling it, she carried the vacuum by its handle and went to her room, quickly and quietly closed her door. Shaky and short breaths filled her head as with the blood gradually flowing back to her feet again.

Footsteps clunked up the wooden staircase and it was coming from the stairs right next to her room. Without any of the lights turned on in her room, Lilly crouched down and slowly opened her door. A pair of brown cowboy boots trudged along across Lilly's room to Hannah's room. Her breath hitched as her eyes went up to her waist, to her shoulders, and to her head.

As she was walking, Lilly watched her every move. It felt like everything was in slow motion. Hannah's left hand went up to the top of her head (Lilly went on with a play-by-play) and then grasped a handful of hair. Lilly held her breath as to what she did next. Hannah dragged the handful of hair down, and her head was now full of brown hair, cascading down to her mid-lower back. Her voice squeaked and Hannah-Miley stopped walking. Oh shit.

Without thinking, Lilly scooted the vacuum away and jumped face first on bed that was resting on the floor. A few empty boxes from the stacks next to her suitcase tumbled down and she thought she was going to die when her heart just literally stopped.

Closing her eyes, she took in deep breaths. No footsteps were heard and that means Hannah-Miley was probably beginning to get suspicious. Just think happy thoughts, Lilly. What was there to think about? All she could think about was that Hannah Montana is Miley Stewart, who's also Jackson's little sister! Was there any other news greater than this? Nope, not to Lilly at least.

"Okay then," a muffled voice Lilly heard from outside her door. She could see the woman's shadow from the door's window. Boots clicked against the hardwood floor and Lilly closed her eyes, exhaling harshly. All of a sudden, she felt really tired. She had no energy what so ever to get up and change out of her clothes and apron. Her eyelids felt heavy, but her mind was still alert.

Hannah Montana is a fake, Hannah Montana is a regular person, Hannah Montana is Jackson's sister, Miley Stewart. No, this-this just doesn't make any sense. She must've been cleaning so much that her mind must've taken too much Pine-Sol. Groggily, she glanced over to the alarm clock by the foot of her bed. It's only nine thirty and she felt like crap already.

It was a long time before Lilly actually fell asleep for real.

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The alarm beeped and her arm smacked it down on the floor. Her head was throbbing from the lack of sleep. She should've never invited him for dinner. What was she thinking? What the hell was going to happen between them? Oh god, why, why did she just do that?

The smell of burnt waffles made Miley crinkle her nose and climb out of bed to see what's going on. From the railing of the hall, she glanced down to see Lilly sleeping on the kitchen table. The burnt smell filled the house even more and Miley went back inside to grab her wig.

By the time she went down, she unplugged the waffle maker and threw it in the sink, and steam rose and blinded Miley from seeing straight. Coughing, she waved it off and guided herself to the kitchen table. Damn smell is burning my throat!

"Hey! Wake up!" Miley shook the table and Lilly fell of her seat. "Get up!"

"What?"

"You nearly burned down the house! What the hell is wrong with you?" Miley stood closer to the girl who was on her knees. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

"I-I…" Lilly wiped her eyes and squinted her eyes to see a tall angry woman standing her down. Suddenly, after looking at Miley for what seemed like the longest time, she stuttered. "Y-you-you-you're…oh my god. You're –" she kept on stuttering breathlessly.

"I'm Hannah Montana, and I think we have published that already. You," Miley pointed to her, "almost burned down my house. Did you know how dangerous that was? Sleep early next time!"

Lilly stood up and fired back just as strong. "Hey, for your information, I did sleep early. I slept at nine thirty." Yea, I went to bed at nine thirty, but didn't sleep at least until four in the morning because of the stupid Miley-Hannah thing. "So don't sass me, you selfish –"

"Hey!" Miley yelled and slammed the table. "You have no right what so ever to call me selfish. You are the one who's selfish. You're the one who asked for three thousand dollars and got it without thanking me! Your provider! How selfish is that?"

"It's not my fault you left your purse in the airplane! Maybe you should thank me for bringing back your purse to you, because I know that you have important stuff in there," Lilly breathed out. She shoved past the singer and walked her way up the stairs. "And maybe you should just make your own breakfast! God!" She tore off the apron and threw it behind her shoulder.

Dear god, Miley thought. If she's going to wake up to her mornings like this, she will die at an early age. She didn't feel so hungry anymore and didn't even bother to change as she went to the jogging on the beach, the only way to let out her anger.

What was she angrier at? The fact that her maid just called her a bitch and selfish, and almost burned down the house, or the fact that she was stupid to enough to think that she was actually ready to ask Jake the big question?

----------

Wrapping a towel around her wet hair, Lilly switched off the heat and walked out to the kitchen. The waffle maker was still in the sink, along with everything else left sitting on the counter. Well, better clean up the mess before Ms. Clean Freak freaks out again. She scrubbed down the brunt bits off the waffle griddle and washed everything else. Why can't she just eat cereal instead? Better yet, how about toast? Everyone loves toast!

Her head ached as she finished cleaning up in the kitchen. She remembered having this terrible dream that Hannah Montana wears a wig. A blonde, synthetic wig. In truth, Hannah Montana isn't Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana is Miley Stewart. Miley Stewart has brown hair and is also Jackson's little sister.

"But it wasn't a dream…I saw the wig. I even saw her take the wig off." She sat down on the table and played with yellow strands of hair that was sitting on the table in front of her. It took her only a few minutes to finally realize what she was playing with. "Oh my god…it's the wig!"

She took her hands away from it as though it had rabies on it. She knew it doesn't, but she's still scared of touching Hannah Montana's wig.

The patio door behind her unlatched and she turned around to see who it was. It was her. It was Hannah Montana, but without the blonde hair.

Oh. Crap. What should I do now?

Both of the girls' faces paled and were frozen in place. The clock ticked with the waves' morning tide turning in. Now what?

"Look, I can explain," she started. "I –"

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you that you're supposed to stay in your room while I'm here!"

"Hey, I just took a shower! I'm living here, too, aren't I?" Lilly took in a breath. "But, I know who you really are, except I'm having trouble believing it.

Miley snatched the wig out of Lilly's hands and walked to the living room. Great. To tell the truth, she was thinking about telling her about the Hannah thing, but if she admits that she knows the truth, might as well just leave it alone.

"Aren't you going to tell me the truth? Why you're living as two different people?" Lilly followed her as she unrolled her towel crown.

Miley stayed quiet and turned on the TV, ignoring Lilly's questions. Lilly repeated her questions in a louder voice and Miley muted the volume. Sighing, she resumed with her answer.

"You wanna know? My real name's Miley Stewart. I'm just a regular girl who's secretly a pop star to hide just so she can live the best of both worlds." God, she hated that pun. "Get it? Got it? Good." She pointed the remote to the screen and raised the volume.

"Ha, 'Best of Both Worlds,'" Lilly chuckled. "Nice pun. But what's the point of living a secret life if you're continuously out as Hannah every single day?"

Boy, Miley had that question ringing in her ears ever since she made The Choice. She hated, hated, that question. "Just forget it okay?" Miley heaved a sigh as she got up to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Just forget it okay? Geez, such a drama queen," Lilly mocked. Should she do something about this whole double life thing? If 'Miley' isn't so surprised about it, maybe Lilly should just call the press about it or something. But it wouldn't be in her place to just call her out. So, if 'Miley' isn't shocked about it, maybe she shouldn't worry about it, too.

"Okay…It's in the mail? Okay, when is it? Sunday? I thought it would be later than that…God, I don't have to call Stan do I? Okay good. I'll check the mail right now. Thanks, bye." Miley hung up and put the phone in the charger. She leaned a hand against the kitchen island and flapped her lips. "Okay, Lilly, listen up."

"Huh?"

"You can't tell anyone else about this, got it? Cannot tell anyone else about it. If you do," Miley began. Lilly sucked in a breath. "If you do, you're most definitely going to regret it." Her voice sound lethal and dangerous. Even Miley herself noticed how different she sounded. "So don't do anything rash, or else I could kick you out of the house and leave you homeless, 'kay?"

Lilly shuddered as Miley looked down closely on her. Her eyes seemed dark and cloudy, nothing what Lilly expected from an international pop star sensation. "Could you just back off? Maybe just a tad bit? You're kinda in my space," Lilly pushed Miley away from the shoulders, but she wouldn't budge. "Okay then, I'll just back away." But Miley moved forward every time Lilly took a step back.

The taller girl glared down directly into the other girl's eyes. "You have to promise me that this doesn't leave the house." She took one small step back and offered a hand to shake. "Deal?"

"Wait, if I do keep this promise, what do I get?"

"You get to stay in this house."

"With no housekeeping."

Miley mocked laughter. "Yea, right. No. No, you still have to pay me back."

Rolling her eyes, she accepted the deal. Better than no place to stay at all. "Fine," and with one firm shake, the deal was set.

"Good. Now clean up. I can sniff up the dust that's clogging up my throat and lungs." Miley turned on her heel and went out the front door.

Lilly resisted the urge to flip her off behind her back, but held her breath. "Hey," she shouted out. "Do you have any other secrets that I should know?"

"No, you don't!" Miley hollered from outside. "Now clean the damn house!" She took out a yellow business letter with the word 'confidential' stamped smacked dabbed in the middle. Ripping out the seam, she took out the thick piece of construction paper that was folded in half horizontally. It was embroidered in colorful fonts and features and was elegant yet outspoken. Miley liked that. She opened it and in cursive writing, it said:

You are cordially invited to Hannah Montana's Masquerade party/private concert and Movie/CD promo.

Underneath it said the date and time and where the private party was going to be held. Miley remembered at least one thousand people were going to be invited, excluding the count of unwanted paparazzi. Her eyes glanced down on the date. It was going to be on a Sunday, two days after Miley was going to ask Jake. Then those two could go together, tell everyone that they're going steady. But that was just a thought. People might think she's going way too fast.

Walking back inside, she called Marge to confirm about the invite copy. While talking to her manager, she saw Lilly jumping up and down, trying to wipe the fifteen feet tall beach front windows.

"Damn windows, why'd you have to be so damn tall…why did you have to make them tall, Dad?" she muttered to herself as she was doing a jumping jack-like thing against the windows. "God-fucking-damn it…"

"Gimme this," Miley whispered under her breath as she still listened on to Marge on the phone. "Uh-huh, yea," she replied back, not paying attention to the conversation. She was actually paying attention to show Lilly how to wipe the windows. "Like this, see?" She wiped the cloth on the window up and down, rather than just simply wiping it to leave streaks.

"Oh, okay I get it…How 'bout this window?" Lilly pointed to the window next to her and Miley moved to it and resumed wiping as she was talking to Marge. The blonde smirked to herself as she crossed her arms, watching the other girl unknowingly cleaning them.

Too bad for Miley she noticed she cleaned every single window for Lilly when she hung up the phone. She stood up from squatting and simply threw the wet rag on Lilly's face, glaring at her. Angry, she threw the yellow envelope on the living room table, grabbed a book, and went outside to sit on the homemade wooden swinging chair in the backyard.

"Hey!" Lilly tossed the rag in the bucket of water sitting two feet away from her. Her eyes glanced to where Miley threw the envelope. She walked down and opened it up. Then she thought, This is the perfect opportunity to get a job in journalism! Many of paps will be there and she could just give them her copy of her recent commentary and/or her fictional story (which Lilly had so much fun writing. It was a pregnant woman trying to find who was the father to her child). Yes this was perfect.

"Hey," Lilly walked outside and stood in front of Miley. "Wait, what am I supposed to call you? Hannah or Miley?"

"Miley," the brunette muttered, who was intensely immersed in the book she was reading.

"Okay, then, Miley," the name was still foreign in her tongue, "I have to go to this party. You have to give me an invite to this."

Miley looked up from her book and stared at her for awhile. In only a few seconds without a reply, she continued reading.

"Please, please, please, please can I go to your party? This will be great for job hunting! I mean, plenty of newspaper and magazine people are going to be there right?" Miley remained reading her book. "You said that I should be looking for a job, right? Well, this I should go!"

Miley rolled her eyes and closed her book. "No."

Lilly whined. "Why not?"

"You need to clean. You have to clean. Cleaning my house is your job, and right now, you are wasting time. Now go away."

Muttering a few curses, Lilly stomped her way back to the house, but then only to come back out to push the swinging chair by kicking the seat. She humphmed as Miley groaned falling face first into a healthy patch of grass.

"Argh…damn you!" Miley got back up and made her way back in. The nerve of this woman… "Hey, I'm hungry. Go cook something."

"You still trust me to cook after I nearly burned down the house," Lilly mocked Miley's previous rant. She passed by the taller girl and dumped the filthy water to the grass.

"I'll be watching you cook breakfast, lunch and dinner from now on. Now go, cook. Make lasagna." She smirked as she propped her elbows on the kitchen, watching her roommate-slash-maid do all the work.

Gaping, she went to the kitchen with hands on hips. "You're crazy, we don't even have the ingredients to make lasagna!"

"Well, look in the refrigerator. I bought a tray from Costco last night. Chill man, all you have to do is just heat it up." Miley teasingly smiled to her as she took out the cold tray of premade lasagna from the fridge. While she was watching Lilly preheat the oven, she questioned Lilly, "So how'd you find out about my secret?"

Lilly faced away from her and pretended to be occupied with the oven. Shoot, what the hell am I going to say? "Well…I was cleaning the house…and…"

"And?" Miley raised an eyebrow. "What, you saw my wig or something?"

"Well, yea…and I coincidentallysawyourpicturesonyourbedsidetable." Lilly turned around and smiled to Miley. Unluckily for Lilly, she understood what she said.

"You what?! I specifically told you that I need my privacy! And that's why I needed my privacy! What the hell is wrong with you, thinking you can just barge into other people's rooms! Are you deaf or something?!" Miley yelled out all in one breath.

Lilly winced and laughed nervously. "Yea, um, I have no excuse for that. I'm sorry." And she meant it. She never fakes an apology. "But y'know," Lilly brought herself back together, "you are eventually going to have to tell me about your secret. It's not like you have to dress up and wear your wig every single morning," she spelled out. "I would have no patience to put up my hair and just wear the same wig over and over again."

Miley shook her head and made her way to sit on the kitchen table, facing away from Lilly. She couldn't believe her. She should've gotten a lock on the door, she really should've. But she also had to admit, Lilly was right. Miley did have to tell her about the Hannah-Miley secret, eventually.

When the lasagna was ready to eat, Miley was still peeved and Lilly was still flushed in embarrassment.

----------

Miley paced the whole kitchen as she held the velvety black box in her hands. She was doing the right thing, isn't she? She likes Jake, a lot. Maybe even love him. Yes, she is ready; she's ready to make a commitment with Jake. But was Jake ready for her? That was the only thing that was scaring her to do it.

"I really like you…"she started. "Stay by my side…" Miley winced. God that sounded really awkward. Shit how the hell was she going to do this?She doesn't want to beg for him to stay with her. She's asking for his hand in marriage, that's all.

Walking over to the sink, she started over. "I've liked you so much for the longest time." She stared into the puddle of water slowly draining into the sink's hole. "I want you by my side. I love you, Jake." She sighed and closed her eyes. "Will you marry me?" It sounded so strange coming out of her mouth, like she's forbidden to say it.

Why was she so worried about? It's Jake! She's known him since high school and they were co-stars. They've been through many ups and downs a lot, but they can make it work…right? Why did she doubt their relationship? What was there to doubt? Other than the constant break-up/make-up thing, but other than that.

"Marry you? Who would want to marry a girl like you?" a voice came from a few feet in front of her. Miley flashed her eyes open and looked up. Of course, Lilly. "What're you doing here so late at night? Are you practicing your lines?"

Miley ignored her questions. "What are you doing up? You're supposed to be in bed. You're gonna wake up early and make my breakfast, remember?"

Lilly turned on the faucet and put her mug underneath it. "I'm thirsty. Move, I need water," she nudged Miley out of the way. "And could those lines be any more cheesier?"

"Hey!" The brunette sighed and looked at her. "I…did not make those lines up. They were from a movie…I did…awhile ago…"she settled for an improvise. "I'm just helping out a friend who's trying on to pop the question, okay?"

"Uh-huh, sure. Whatever you say."

"Listen, okay, I don't care if it's cheesy or not, but you need to go back to your room."

Sighting, the blonde finished drinking her water and set it down on the stainless steel sink. "How would you like toast for breakfast?" she offered. The other girl shook her head and pointed up the stairs. "Aw, c'mon, how could you not like toast?"

"No, I want Belgian waffles, and that's final. Now go." Miley jerked her hand towards the stairs.

"Fine…But, lemme just tell you as a person who's sane: those lines are crap. I'd feel sorry for the dude who's asking for your help." She mocked her previous dramatic questions, "Oh, please stay by my side," the light twinkled in her eyes. "Oh, how I love you so! Marry me!" Laughing, she nudged the other girl. "So childish and corny. Seriously, you're an actress. Improvise some lines. Please do something else then those stupid lines."

Cracking her neck from her pent-up anger, she tried to ignore her innocent insulting, unbeknownst to Miley's real story. "Here's a reminder for you then, you're a maid. By ten AM, I want the bathroom, living room, and kitchen spotless. Especially the bathroom, I hate hard water stains, 'kay?"

Gaping, Lilly scoffed and walked up the stairs, shaking her head in disbelief. All have to be done by ten in the morning? Was she even going to check them all? Shit, man!

Miley rolled her eyes and sat down on the table. God help me now…I'm in for it big…

Tomorrow…Friday…She is ready for this. She really is. No one or nothing could stop her now.

But only from Jake himself. Crap.

Ay dios mio! Miley/Jake drama! So Lilly knows the whole Miley-Hannah sha-bang by snooping into stuff that doesn't even belong to her (yet again). How many more times will Lilly snoop around before she'll be caught red-handed?! ROFL.

Up next, more Miley drama with Jake and the 99.9% probability of Lilly seeing Jackson for the first time ever since the 'incident' with the house. How will Lilly take care of it? How will Miley ask Jake? How will Jake react??? When will I update again? I DON'T KNOW. (but don't let that stop you from giving up faith on this story)

Click the button underneath if you have any thoughts. I'm dying to hear what you guys think about this. AND THAT INCLUDES ALL OF YOU GUYS WHO ARE READING THIS STORY. Thank you.