AN: Considering I was a softball player, this could have easily became a piece of work written from "Batter's up" point of view but while talking to someone this whole idea came to me in the form of a track race.
Summary: There was no spoken word to indicate that a battle had begun. No bull horn, no air pistol...not even a hand shake to indicate that their was an inner peace still between the two "contestants". Their eyes were too busy taking in the "prize" at the other end of the finish line.
A Friendship, A Love, A Lifetime
The halls of Henry Roscoe High had changed.
Even the glistening of the walls that had been achieved from "Neat Week" was long gone from the humidity attached to the emptiness that lurked there through the summer days.
Grade ten was right around the corner for those who had embraced and conquered the journey of 9th grade up until a little over two months earlier.
Travis spent more time with the band at rehearsals, using the excuse that he wanted to be there for when technical help was desired.
They refused to let school creep up upon them without carrying out the potential that summer allowed for their developing band.
Megan's drumming was awesome to begin with but she had now officially broken the habit of throwing her sticks ever time a song ended. Instead they agreed she would keep it for after live performances only.
Parker played the bass with just as much enthusiasm as always. She had gotten the chance to practice using her voice more for back up vocals and was doing a spectacular job at it if you asked Travis.
Lily...oh the list that could be made about the newest works of the one and only Lily Randall. For someone who lived in a small town that was claimed to have crappy summers, she sure seemed confident in her search for inspiration.
She was jotting down new ideas practically everyday and her fellow band mates were having trouble keeping up with her in all truth. When she wasn't writing she was sitting in her basement with lyrics out and guitar in hand, playing along until she found a sound she liked to go with the words.
Besides music, there was something...or rather someone, who was on two-thirds of the band members minds.
With RFR only broadcasting once a week though the summer months, the gang had a lot of spare time on their hands.
With No Man's Land dedicated to music above all else the most Robbie or Ray saw of Travis or Lily was when they'd actually sit in on a rehearsal.
Everything seemed to be going pretty well until they finally called for a break.
"Guys, I know we have improved a lot in the last two months, but I think it is time that we call for a break," Lily announces to the band after another hour of working on the latest song.
"I agree with Randy. We should find a way to spend our last two weeks of vacation on something other then rocking out," Parker says as they begin to put away and organize the equipment.
Megan nods her head and Travis lets them know that he thinks a break is a good idea as well.
"It's a sealed deal then. No more music practice for at least two weeks," Lily says with a smile.
"You seem especially excited about this. Any specific reason Lil," Travis asks noticing her happy expression.
"Not really, I just think it feels great to be taking a break. We have been practicing ALL summer."
The other three give a silent amen and head up the stairs to leave. Lily follows them a few steps behind and watches as her friends reach their departure from the front door. It feels great to be free to do anything she wants for the duration of the break.
This is where the conflict begins.
For three days the members of the band go separate ways, as Lily gets to visit a mall in Toronto, Parker goes for a swim at the lake, Megan goes birdwatching at the park, and Travis brings out his telescope once again to gaze at the visible stars that the clear summer sky allows.
When it reaches the weekend Lily and Parker both find themselves at a hiatus for fun.
Ray invites Robbie on his family's camping trip, making them both unavailable for Lily to spend time with. '
With high hopes, Lily goes to Mickey's and buys an iced lemonade. She sits alone at the couch in the middle of the room before Travis arrives.
He doesn't expect it, but Lily's face lights up when he sits down beside her. This takes him by surprise because it is similar to look he observed the week of their first kiss.
"Hey Lil, how has the beginning of your vacation from music been," he asks her while resisting temptation to respond to her face's glow.
"It's been okay I guess. I got to go down to Toronto and do some shopping. Right now it seems rather boring though," she responds.
"Yeah, gazing at the stars is only useful at night and it isn't something I can do for longer then maybe an hour before I get tired."
"So you brought out the old telescope again? I thought you'd given up on all that stuff," she says curiously.
"Well, I did for a while. I just figured now was as good a time as any to get back into the hobby."
A man hands Travis his cup of tea that he orders regularly and he takes a sip of it happily.
When the man passes in front of him, Parker comes into view over at the counter. Lily notices she has arrived too but figures that she'll probably see them and come over on her own. As she is thinking this though, Travis gets up and walks over to her himself.
Lily gazes over with interest as he watches him greet her and start a conversation. She had failed to notice it before, but now it appeared plain as day that Parker liked Travis. What bothered her more though was that Travis seemed to like her back.
It wasn't obvious that jealousy hid deep within Lily. Twice before, her and Travis had found themselves seeking a relationship with each other unsuccessfully.
She had told Parker to her face that she didn't feel any of the classic crush symptoms around Travis. At the time she really did feel like friendship was the only thing they were destined to have.
Now her mind had changed itself once again. She found herself drawn to Travis more each day as she watched him, watching them playing the music she wrote.
Without another hesitation Lily walked over and took a seat on the opposite side of Travis then Parker was on.
Parker looked caught off guard by Lily's sudden appearance and didn't finish the sentence she was in the middle of.
Lily gave her a look and Parker saw something in her eyes that made her uneasy. Travis sat still and looked back and fourth between the two as they started an unannounced staring contest that apparently had ended their conversation prematurely.
What was only about ten minutes seemed like an hour to Travis as two of his friends sat on either side of him, exchanging looks in a silence that was highly unusual for either of them to carry.
He eventually just slipped out of his seat and looked back only once as he exited the door of Mickey's to find that neither Parker nor Lily had made an effort to move.
There was no spoken word to indicate that a battle had begun. No bull horn, no air pistol...not even a hand shake to indicate that their was an inner peace still between the two "contestants". Their eyes were too busy taking in the "prize" at the other end of the finish line.