Chapter 1: Breakdown
"We were never friends." He said coldly, driving his hand through his blond hair. Travis Brody's deep voice seemed to echo in Lilly Truscott's mind as she looked at him, confused. The other blonde, Lilly, was trying her best to be lady-like and at the same time straight-faced. And, neither was working. She was acting like an emotional, shiny blue-eyed, tom-boy.
"Travis, if it were up to me… I wouldn't have it this way. But, I'm leaving Tennesse to go back to California tomorrow. The tour is over, finished, gone… And I can't stay. I've got school. We can just be friends…?" Lilly suggested again.
"But I don't even know how to be your friend!" Travis blurted out, his blue eyes flaring, "Ever since the day I saw you, I only saw you as a girlfriend. Not a friend… Friend." Travis said confusingly. Even though Lilly was still slightly confused, she knew what Travis was trying to say. They had never been friends. Since Lilly walked into that barn house with her best friends, his eyes fell upon her and they were instantly both weak kneed and light headed. When Travis saw the crushed look on Lilly's face, his tone softened. "Whatever suits you best…" He mumbled extending his hand towards her, "This is goodbye." He said hoarsely. Lilly unwillingly took his hand, shaking it and nodding her head.
"Bye." Lilly breathed, as there clammy hands dropped uselessly to their sides.
"Just for the record," Travis continued, as he walked away from her, "I won't forget you." He muttered in a cliché fashion, shoving his hands into his denim pockets.
"Ditto." Lilly replied plainly. She turned around slowly, stumbling down the cement pavement. "What did I just do?" She whispered to herself painfully. Travis meant the world to her. Now that he was gone, she felt so alienated. It was as if the sun was shining dimmer, the skies became greyer and the air became even more polluted. Her colorful world became nothing more than an imaginary black and white vignette. Things did not feel the same. Lilly herself, had felt almost broken. Almost. Her heart was in the process of being thrown to the ground. It was about to be smashed into fake, little, red ceramic pieces. Lilly dared not to cry. Constantly, she told herself to breathe, and to hold it all in. Lilly climbed up the steps of the backstairs, and let herself in.
"Dinner in a few minutes!" Miley's dad, Mr. Stewart, laughed as Lilly walked through the kitchen. Lilly did not say a word, afraid that it would come out as a bunch of unnecessary, uncontrollable cries. "Lilly?" He grumbled, seeing the look on her face. He called for her one last time, but, she opened the door to the living room; where her three best friends Oliver Oken, Miley Stewart and Jake Ryan sat. They were laughing hard. Sweet smiles spread across their faces, natural blush on their cheeks, the sparkle of tears caused by laughter in their eyes.
"Lilly, you have to hear this joke Jake just told us! It's…" Oliver started. Then, the room fell silent as Lilly walked past them, towards the stairs. "Hey, you okay?" Lilly's best guy friend asked as she put her hand on the railing and started walking up. Lilly's world was on the verge of collapsing. "Lilly, why aren't you – " Before he could finish, the fragile stand that held up the platform of Lilly's heart snapped and sent the unstable, imaginary platform crashing down unexpectedly. Lilly burst out crying, stumbling forward on the stairs. The faces of her three best friends distorted and they shot up in their seats. Lilly cried hard, putting her face in her hands and letting the tears fall. Miley was the first to run to her side, she was quickly followed by Oliver, Jake and Mr. Stewart. Lilly wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck and cried into his shoulder. Jake put a hand on her knee and Miley hugged her at the waist. Mr. Stewart sat down two stairs below, not making a sound. They all knew what had happened. They all knew that it would happen some time. They just weren't ready for it just yet. And obviously, neither was Lilly.