A/N: So, the epside Joanie B. Goode has, for some reason, been stuck on my mind lately, so my recent stories have been spawned by something in it. This one is from Oliver's point of view instead of Lilly's though. Something a little different. And, it's shorter than what I've been writing lately. Enjoy!

Oliver helped Lilly get Miley into her father's car, wondering just what was wrong with him. When was he going to learn to think before he spoke? Obviously, not any time soon. He was lucky Lilly was more concerned with Miley getting hit in the head too many times during the hockey game to get mad at him for his slip.

Honestly, Miley was his best girl bud? What was he thinking? He had known Lilly since he was in preschool. She was obviously his best friend.

Hmm… maybe that was the problem. She wasn't just one of his best girl buds; she was his very best friend.

Oliver was temporarily pulled from his thoughts to say bye to the two friends on his mind, and he wandered back inside to wait for Joanie. She lived close to the rink, and he had agreed to walk her home after her next game was over.

Settling back into his seat on the bleachers near the goal, he played the scene over in his mind.

"You're my best girl bud."

"Hey!"

"One of my two best girl buds."

Lilly's "hey" had been high pitched and more than a little annoyed, but she gave a satisfied smile when he corrected himself. But, did she really think he thought of her the same way he thought about Miley?

Thinking back on it, the correction had been automatic. Any time Lilly got mad at him, he just changed whatever the last thing was to come out of his mouth.

Oliver and Lilly had been friends for more than twice as long as he even knew Miley. It was Lilly who had convinced him to even make an attempt to be friends with the new girl in the sixth grade. It was Lilly who spent an entire summer going to surfing lessons with him when they were nine. It was Lilly who stuck up for him whenever the other kids in school picked on him. It was Lilly who would help him sneak in to Hannah Montana concerts for two years.

Okay, so Miley actually was Hannah Montana, so it would have been difficult for her to sneak in with them, but that was beside the point. And maybe it had been Miley who actually set him up with his first real girlfriend, but then again, Miley had almost ruined that too. It was possible though that Miley stuck up for him at school just as much as Lilly did. But then, Oliver tried to return the favor, taking both girls' sides when they got in fights with other kids. That's what friends did.

He looked up as Joanie shoved a girl into the wall lining the rink and stole the puck. Oliver chuckled, watching his new girlfriend expertly glide to the other end of the rink and push the puck off to someone else. Yep, that's right. His new girlfriend. A smile crossed his face as he thought about that. Oliver Oken had a girlfriend.

The smile fell though as he thought about his friends' initial reactions to that little bit of news. Neither of them had been at all pleased. Lilly in particular had been ready to kill him. He shuddered now. He and Lilly had a lot of fights over the last decade, but she had never actually looked like she was ready to kill him before. Maim him, maybe, but not out and out kill him. It was scary. She was a five foot four inch blond psychopath. He made a mental note to try not to make Lilly angry any time in the near future. It was better to not risk it.

Of course, Lilly and his girlfriend (he really could not get used to saying that) seemed to be getting along a lot better now, so her wanting to kill him was probably not a big issue. At least, not right now. He probably would not have to worry until one of them beat the other at some game in gym or said something stupid about the other being a chicken.

Oh, crap.

That idea had never even occurred to him until now. What was he supposed to do if his best friend and his girlfriend decided to hate each other again? He now realized that his excitement over the two of them getting along so well this morning may have been a little premature. Almost seven years of loathing could not disappear with just one sleepover.

Joanie was taking a penalty shot now. He must have missed someone intentionally fouling her while he was thinking. Hey, he was no great multi-tasker. Oliver gave a few half hearted claps when the puck soared into the net.

Alright, time to weigh his options. What would he do if one, or both, of them changed their minds about being friends?

Okay, well, obviously, he was going to have to listen to both sides of the story. Officer Nancy Oken would approve of that as the first step. His mom always told him to get the facts first. It was definitely rule number one in Nancy Oken's list for mystery solving. Not that this was a mystery or anything. He was no Hardy Boy. Just, facts first. That was important.

But, what if they had completely different stories or something? He already knew Miley hated Joanie too, so obviously she would take Lilly's side in whatever happened. That was a given. Miley wasn't really as dangerous as Lilly though, so she might not even be an issue when it came down to it. Besides, if Lilly was right, then she was right. If Joanie was right, then she was right. He would just have to be honest.

Or he could pretend he agreed with each of them and just keep them away from one another. Yeah, that was probably going to be his best option. Unfortunately, that wouldn't last forever. He would eventually have to pick a side.

Really any road his thoughts traveled down led to only two options: Lilly would kill him, or Joanie would dump him. The question was, which of these concerned him more.

Death was definitely not something that appealed to him. Then again, neither did a girl dumping him. Although, his mom would never be happy if he got dumped by Joanie. If Lilly killed him, Officer Oken would probably help her escape all charges, calling it justifiable homicide. Actually, she might not even file an official report. Knowing his mom, she might help Lilly destroy the evidence and bury him in the backyard or something. It wasn't fair. He was supposed to be his mom's favorite, not his best friend.

Yeah, living definitely trumped keeping his heart in tact.

Alright, problem solved. If hatred resumed, he would side with Lilly. That's all there was to it.

Oliver winced as a particularly large guy was slammed into the wall by his girlfriend.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Joanie could kill him too.

Miley really was his best girl bud, no doubt about it. She was the only female in his life who was never going to murder him if he made her too angry.