Title: Invincible
Summary: Lilly makes a grave decision and six months later things are looking grave for her friends. (Lilly/Oliver) (based on a song by Jesse McCartney)
Rating: K+
Warning: Substance Abuse.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with Hannah Montana, nor the song Invincible by Jesse McCartney.
Word Count: 2167
A/N: New one-shot. This is based off the song "Invincible" by Jesse McCartney. R&R and I'll return the favor! Thanks for reading!
"I said don't do it, Babe
Said it ain't worth it, Babe
But you did it anyway
Four or Five drinks
And you were on your way..."
Invincible by Jesse McCartney
Once upon a time he's walking through a cemetery. He's walking slowly, at snail's pace trying to avoid the inevitable. He knows it's a bad idea to be here; he knows it's a bad idea to be anywhere near here. There isn't anything good for him here. Nothing that can heal his wounds or control the rage that still explodes from him every now and again. There's only bad here, there's only her.
Her. The girl that threw it all away for some fun, even when he warned her not too. The one who thought that she was invincible and almost got away with it. The girl who broke his heart the night she died. He's here to see her, or what's left of her anyway.
He stops suddenly. He can see it perfectly from here. Her name engraved into the cold, gray stone. Her birth and death dates blaring at him. That stupid quote he helped her parents pick out just months ago. Looking back, he wouldn't have picked such a ridiculous saying, but he couldn't do anything about it.
And thoughts and memories are suddenly being tossed around in his brain and he can't stand the feelings that are surfacing. His feelings of happiness and laughter, turning to sudden anger and hatred, and finally leaving him just sad and cold.
Memories from her final night will haunt him forever and always, just like their promise to be together until the ends of time. He steps closer to the gravestone; baby steps, one foot in front of the other. He has to remind himself to breathe from time to time, but he's been reminding himself of that for so long, it just feels natural to tell himself to let the air in and then back out.
When he's standing in front of her final resting place, it all comes flooding back in full detail and he's not ready for it. He's been replaying everything over in his head for months now. It's been blurry and rushed until now. Now… now it's sharp. So sharp he feels like he's being stabbed; so sharp he feels like he's there again.
He's sitting on the couch, some hammered couple making out beside him. He's trying to ignore them. His back is turned away from them and he's resting his head on his hand. She's standing by the ping-pong table, slowly awaiting her turn to play beer pong. She's already smashed to the point where she can barely stand and she's leaning on her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend. Neither of them look to happy about it.
He's standing now because she can't have anymore alcohol. She's going to get poisoned or pass out or something. He has to be in bed by a reasonable time tonight, he's leaving tomorrow for three weeks and he's not going to see her until he gets home. He wants some alone time.
Without a word, he slips his hand into hers. She looks up at him as if she's surprised by his gesture, but she places her head on his shoulder. He can smell the alcohol on her breath and it's mixing with her perfume. It smells like lilies, it must be the one that he got her for Christmas. He's never been terribly original with his gifts; a bottle of lily perfume for his beautiful Lilly.
"Lilly," he dares to speak her name. She sways a little bit as she picks her head up. For safety, he places both of his strong hands on her shoulders to help steady her. She places her small hands upon his and she sways.
"It's like one of those silly seventh grade dances isn't it?" she slurs. "It's an awkward way to dance, but you don't know how to do it any other way that isn't going to give you cooties." Even when she's drunk out of her mind she's making observations he never would have thought of. He notices that even though she's a bit more clumsy than usual, she still has her dancer's grace. He agrees, "It is."
"Lilly—" he starts again, but he's interrupted.
"Hey Lilly!" someone from the other side of Matt Marshall's dank basement is calling. "We want to go for a drive, can we take your van?" Lilly giggles.
"Only if I can drive!" she shouts and tries to move away from him, but he's too quick.
"You're in no condition to drive," he tells her. She tries to leave again, but he's got a vice grip on her arm. He's ready to beg and plead with her. "Lilly… Please… Not again."
She's done this before. Gone off and driven when she was obviously not in the right mind to do so. She laughs again and bats those pretty little eyelashes at him. Her eyes are mesmerizing, a gorgeous green that just make him want to melt. He can't say no to them, but he's fighting their power tonight. Something isn't settling right in his stomach and it isn't the beer that he had.
"I'm going to be okay, Baby," she coos and tries to leave again. He still holds firm, but his grip is slipping. He doesn't want her to be mad at him. Not for three weeks, a lot can happen in that time. "Please, let me go. I'm Superman, remember?" She laughs again.
Now is not the time for her to be joking about such things. Just because she was Superman when she was six because she could jump from a tree and be okay… for the most part, didn't make her invincible. He tries to tell her that. "You broke your arm as Superman."
"I'm still here though, aren't I?"
Barely, he wants to scream. Anymore she spends her time with her friends or drunk. It hasn't been the same in ages, but he doesn't want to cause a confrontation. He lets go of her arm, "Go, but call me when you get home and don't stay out too late. You have to work in the morning."
"Work-schmork," she giggles. "I might as well just quit I hate it there!"
She's walking away from him now, but she stops and turns around to walk back toward him. He thinks that maybe she's suddenly comes to her senses and she's going to stay after all. The people at the door are urging her to follow, but she shushes them. He smiles triumphantly.
"I almost forgot to say goodbye," she slurs. The grin is wiped off his face. She leans toward him, her face tilted upward. He catches a good whiff of her, but this time the Lilly is overpowering him and he feels himself drawn toward her. He smiles a little bit before their lips meet. She deepens the kiss, but then pulls away. She starts to walk toward the door and a few of the kids near her hoot. "Have a great time in Paris!" she calls as she exits.
He returns to his perch on the couch, not sure whether to be happy or sad about the whole situation. The couple who had been making out has left, to where, he isn't sure, but he has the whole couch to himself. The party has started to disperse since Lilly's exit and he is now finding himself sleepy. He drifts away to dreamland on Matt Marshall's couch.
His phone rings an hour and a half later. He sits up, pulling it out of his pocket. His house is calling him, "Hello?"
"Oliver? Is that you?"
"No, it's the Boogey-Man. Who is this? James," he asks.
"Oh thank God, you're okay!" his younger brother cries. He's not talking into the phone when he says, "Mom! Dad! He's okay. I've got him on the phone."
There's a mad scramble for the phone on the other line and finally his mother's voice rings through loud and clear, "Oliver Oscar Oken, where are you?"
"Matt Marshall's house, I fell asleep, I'm sorry," he says.
His mother sounds like she's crying. "Stay put, your father is coming to get you."
He laughs. "Mom, what's going on? I have my car, I can drive myself home!" His mother lets out a scream of protest, she tells him to stay where he is, and that his father would explain everything in the car on the ride to the hospital.
And suddenly he begins to piece things together. His family's hysteria, protest about him driving, a trip to the hospital… Lilly. His father can't get there fast enough, Oliver grabs his keys from Pete's kitchen table where he's left them and then jumps in his car. He breaks the speed limit getting to the hospital and leaves a message on James's cell phone tell him where he is. Then he goes to the ER.
His friends and people from school are standing all around, tears streaming down their faces and worried looks on their faces. "Oliver!" someone calls and a brunette reaches out hugging him and bursting out into hysterical tears. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Miley," he says. "What's happened?"
"You don't know?" she sniffles. "Lilly and everyone in the car got into this huge accident. They hit the huge tree right off the highway. They were going really fast and… and…" She loses control of what she's saying to a humungous sob that just erupts from her.
"And what?" Oliver asks.
"Lilly is the only one still…" Another sob. "Alive and they… they don't think… they don't think that…"
"She's going to make it," a tall blonde boy says stepping up behind her and putting his arm around her.
He feels like his world is crashing down. He can't see straight. He throws himself into the nearest chair in the waiting room and people rush toward him. There are questions; tons of them. People are trying to consol him; they offer him food and drinks. He says nothing, but puts a blank stare on his face and waits for someone who truly matters to come to him.
Finally, they do. Lilly's mother, brother, and father come over. Mrs. Truscott wraps her arms around him and starts to sob uncontrollably. He stands there, stone faced. He has to be strong, if not for himself, but for her.
"She's going to be okay," he says and he wills it to be that way; as if that's enough. He repeats it, for himself. "She's going to be okay."
They go upstairs. They wait in the surgical waiting room. His parents and his brother show up and there's more hugging and crying. Amidst the chaos a doctor steps out. His mother is saying something to him, but he's become deaf. Just the look on the doctor's face is enough to tell him; she's gone.
He doesn't realize that he's on his knees now; his forehead is resting against the cool marble headstone. He does realize that someone is behind him. They're crying, he can hear their occasional sniffle and cough. He stands up and turns around; it's Miley.
"Oliver," she chokes. She runs toward him and wraps her arms around him. She weeps for a few minutes, but then pulls back and looks at him. "How are you?"
"It's been six months," is all he says.
She frowns. "Thanks for the reminder."
"You smell like her," he notes.
Miley smiles sadly and nods. "I wanted to keep her with me where ever I went. I don't know why, but her perfume makes me think of her the most." Miley starts to cry again, tears sliding down her cheeks. He can't handle this now.
"I better go," Oliver says. "See you at school Miley."
Miley nods and steps away so he can leave. As he's leaving he hears her talking to Lilly. He stops to listen. "Look at what you've done to him Lilly… He's so broken now. Why Lilly? Why? I thought you were so much better than that… You know we're graduating in a week. By we, I mean Oliver and me. You can't because you're dead." She's yelling by the end of it. Pure rage fills her voice, it hurts him. He rushes out and into the car.
The only way home is the same road she was killed on. He has to remind himself to breathe again as he drives down. He's desperate to get off the road, his speedometer gradually growing. He is speeding now and then he sees it; the site of the crash. The tree is gone; the crash had damaged it too much. Now there are six crosses; one for each of the kids killed in the crash.
Sea View High School has been crushed by the loss of six of its seniors. Oliver Oken, though, only cares about one death; the death of his one true love: Lilly Marie Truscott. And he knows that he's never going to get his happily never after.
