As the World Turned

Chapter 5: The world is a small place (but we run in big circles)

July 28, 2006

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Zack Martin stood nervously in front of the door to the Presidential Penthouse Suite. It had been a while since he had last seen Miley Stewart, better known by her stage name, Hannah Montana, in person. All of the friends they had in common had cut off their friendship with him after the firestorm that had been his famous parents' divorce.

The split had been amicable, but the tabloids had whipped up a lot of fake news that created a living hell and led to their parents' band losing a lot of fans. Carey and Kurt had filed a defamation suit against the tabloids, but the jury had found the tabloids not guilty, only to have the verdict overturned by the judge. The fracas that had ensued following the first trial had led to the case being appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, which in a 5-4 decision found the tabloids to not be liable for defamation. 

In the end, Carey had left the band and been forced to take a job as a cabaret singer at the Tipton Hotel in Boston after years of being a famous rockstar along with the rest of the band, resulting in the move from New York. Kurt and the other band members toiled away tirelessly to no avail as the band kept losing fans. Additionally, the fortune that their parents had built up over the years had been exhausted in the numerous intense and lengthy legal battles, placing the once wealthy family in a situation of living paycheck to paycheck.

Zack had a hard time adjusting to this seismic shift. One day, he was the child of famous rockstars. the next day, he was a caricature in print media and a punchline on television and radio. His media-friendly and easy-to-approach persona had backfired spectacularly, with his brother Cody emerging unscathed from the firestorm due to his instinct for privacy prevailing. 

The whole scandal had negatively impacted Zack's social life as well. He had become frequently caricatured in cartoons and print, a "leading example" of the negative impact of fame on the children of famous stars and a verbal punching-bag and scapegoat for all that was wrong with Hollywood and the American music industry. All this had resulted in the rather shallow group of friends abandoning both him and his family. Cody had prophetically found all of that group as shallow and maintained limited interaction with them while Zack had thrown himself into what he thought was friendship with them and had been burned and abandoned. 

Miley and her family and friends had proved to be a significant support throughout the whole ordeal: Miley and Jackson wrote, messaged and called regularly, urged by Robby Ray Stewart. Miley had introduced Zack to Lily Truscott and Oliver Oken, who had quickly become close friends of his. They had been a major reason why he had recovered from the whole ordeal so quickly and he was deeply grateful to have them as friends, with the whole experience having taught Zack a valuable lesson about friendship. 

Miley had been distracted when she had run into Zack in the hotel lobby earlier that day, but she had eaten cake off his T-shirt, though she had invited him to her hotel room later for a proper reunion. Zack had initially been hurt that she had not even properly talked to him in the lobby, but later realized that she had been thinking about his past experiences with fame and had deliberately done so not to create chaos in Zack's life as many would try and take advantage of his friendship with her if they discovered the connection. He smiled, appreciating her maturity and compassion. She really is different from other celebrities, and I'm glad that she's my friend. He thought.

That thought finally gave him the courage he desperately needed. He stepped forward and knocked confidently on the door. "Come in!" called a familiar female voice with a slight Tennessee twang which Zack knew became more pronounced when she was angry, sad or shocked. He opened the door, and Miley engulfed him in a bearhug that knocked him to the ground. When they broke apart, she kissed him on both cheeks and gave him the bright and brilliant smile he had come to love.