Life's What You Make It
Lola Luftnagle stood backstage for her best friend, Hannah Montana's latest concert. Their other best friend, Mike Stanley stood near the buffet table. Once he had a plate filled with food, Mike made his way over to Lola.
"Carrot stick?" he offered. Lola nodded, taking one of the vegetables from his towering plate. After a few minutes of comfortable silence as the two of them ate, Lola finally cleared her throat.
"Mikey?"
Mike smiled, his eyes softening at the nickname Lola had given him and continued to use. It had to mean something, right? Then again he was probably reading too much into it. Getting his hopes up over nothing.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever felt like you're hiding a part of yourself?"
Mike raised an eyebrow in her direction, glancing down at his choice of clothing briefly before locking eyes with Lola.
"All the time," he replied softly. Honesty was better than deception. Especially considering they were best friends. Even if it didn't bring him any closer to what he wanted. Being one hundred percent truthful with his best friend since preschool? That was an entirely different issue. He'd secretly been harboring feelings for her for two years.
He could hold out a while longer until the time to be completely honest with her revealed itself. And if it never did? Well, then he would've avoided years filled with angst over a person who was his closest friend and nothing more.
"Oliver?" Lilly whispered, dropping the façade of Lola for a moment.
"Yeah?" he asked, unable to keep the worry from his voice.
"Are you keeping something from me?'
"What? No! Of course not! You're just…" Oliver trailed off feebly, flinching at the glare she shot in his direction. The tension between them grew thick as they once again returned their focus to Hannah's concert.
I'm gonna put on my old blue jeans
Gonna walk out of here into the street
Would you put up resistance
Would it make a difference
Would you know the real me
Me in my old blue jeans
Peel away the surface dig down deep
Put away the secrets we all keep
Take away the moment that we met
Wanna show you what you get
"You forget I know you, Oliver. I know when you're lying. Save it for someone who buys into the act," she said, fighting the urge to cry. Without another word she left him standing backstage, feeling as if he'd been punched in the stomach. Whoever said that high school was the best time of your life was so full of crap. Especially if said 'best time of your life' included the fact that he happened to be crushing hardcore on the one girl who could single-handedly destroy him with one glance. Whether she be in disguise as Lola Luftnagle, Hannah Montana's best gal pal or not. Lilly Truscott was a force to be reckoned with all on her own.
And Oliver had to make her see he needed her. That he'd been an idiot. Oken, it's time to get the girl of your dreams. He coaxed himself, trying his best to ignore the wave of nausea that passed over him at the thought of Lilly laughing in his face.
He burst through the backstage doors, trying desperately to make his way to the exit. All he saw for several feet was dressing room after dressing room.
Groaning loudly, he couldn't help feeling as if he were in the last fifteen minutes of a cheesy romantic comedy. Terrific. Now what? He thought in desperation. As if to confirm his feelings of making or breaking what existed between himself and Lilly, Hannah began her next number.
We all want to believe in love We all want to believe in something Bigger than just us We all want to be a part Of the greater picture That's hanging in our hearts Yeah it's bigger than us
I want to see beyond my own little world Grab your hand so we can twirl around the galaxy See the world with clarity
We have such a long way to go But I know, we're getting closer every day
Finally managing to locate the exit, Oliver burst through the doors, looking left and then right. Nobody in sight. No sign of Lilly. And thankfully the paparazzi was blessedly absent. Must be out in front. He thought in relief.
"Lola!" he yelled, running through the heavily jammed parking lot. Car after car nicely obstructed his view of anything else. Come on, Hannah. Lead me to her. He thought in desperation, the song Life's What You Make It pounding in his ears despite the fact he was far enough away from the stage that in reality he shouldn't have heard anything. He could only assume weeks of hearing the same songs repeatedly was starting to affect his thought process. Sighing heavily, he decided to cut his losses. He'd deal with the possibility of Lilly getting mad at him for this later. Now he was just too worried about her to care.
"Lilly!" he screamed. He finally spotted her on a small section of beach, her arms crossed at her chest, gazing upward at the stars. "Oh, thank god," he murmured in relief.
How did I get here? I turned around and there you were I didn't think twice or rationalize 'Cause somehow I knew That there was more than just chemistry I mean I knew you were kind of into me But I figured it's too good to be true
"Hey, Lilly," he said, reaching out and touching her on the shoulder to get her attention. He flashed her a nervous half-smile, waiting for her to say something.
"Oliver?" she whispered hoarsely, turning a tear-streaked face toward her best friend.
"I'm glad I found you," he said, the relief evident in his voice and features.
I said "Pinch me, where's the catch this time?"
Can't find a single cloud in the sky
Help me before I get used to this guy
She smiled brokenly at him, her lip continuing to quiver. "Really? Then how come you lied to me? What's so awful that we can't talk about it?"
"Nothing. It's just…I don't want to hurt you. But it's a little late for that, huh?" Oliver murmured, staring intently at his shoes. "I'm just like every other guy in your life."
Lilly shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Just because I'm mad at you doesn't mean I hate you. You're my best friend, Oliver. And just because I've been interested in and dated a few losers, doesn't make you one. It's all right if you don't want to tell me all your secrets. I love you no matter what, okay? Come on. We should get back to Hannah's concert, Mikey," she said, winking at him.
"Lilly, wait," Oliver choked out, grabbing a hold of her arm before she could walk any farther.
"Yeah? What's up?" Lilly asked, confusion flooding her features.
"Lilly, I-I…" he trailed off, feeling his hands start to tremble. Stepping away from her for a minute he loudly cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair, finally returning his attention to Lilly. Gazing into her eyes, he carefully took a hold of her hand. He realized he had nothing to be afraid of. Lilly had just told him herself that she would love him no matter what. And ultimately that was all that mattered. "Can I start over?" he asked, chuckling softly.
"Sure. Take your time," Lilly replied, smiling at him.
"Lilly, I-I…What I'm trying to say is…" he closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep breath before continuing in a blind panic. "Lilly Truscott, I'm in love with you. Would you be my girlfriend?" Saying all of this rather fast, Oliver's eyes flew open as he waited anxiously for Lilly's response.
"You're in love with me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction. He nodded slowly. When she said it like that the whole confessing his feelings thing just seemed ridiculous. Ignoring the fact his heart was breaking, Oliver plastered on a fake smile.
"Yeah, stupid, huh? Well, we should really get back to the concert," he mumbled. And then Lilly started laughing. Oh, great. Now she's laughing at you. Could this night possibly get any worse? He wondered. Before he could fully delve any further into the negative thought process Lilly pulled him back toward her, kissing him.
When she finally broke away from him, all thoughts, both good and bad, had vanished from his mind. Lilly buried her face in his shoulder for a moment.
"Sorry I laughed at you. Guess I'm just as scared as you've been. I don't want to lose my best friend." Her eyes welled with tears at the thought of not having Oliver in her life anymore.
"Hey, Lils, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere, promise. We'll take this whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing slow. Sound good?"
Lilly wiped away her tears, nodding in agreement.
"Oliver?"
"Huh?"
"I'm in love with you too. And yes, I would love to be your girlfriend."
As they shared their second kiss of the evening, Oliver was unable to remove the smile from his face.
They say that good things take time But really great things happen In a blink of an eye Thought the chances to meet somebody Like you were a million to one I can't believe it, you're one in a million
THE END