I got the urge to write a new story, and I think it'll be interesting. As usual, some bad things happen to Lilly (I'm always so mean to her) and she's lost and broken. (blah, blah, blah, what else is new?) Anyway for the first few chapters, it will be a bit of Loliver, but eventually it'll turn into Liley! Obviously this will be due to something horrible happening, but you'll have to read the story to find out what that is. :) I promise this is going to be a Liley story! I could never put Lilly with someone else. Well okay, maybe for a little while but not forever. Anyway, please read, review, and give me some feedback. Four reviews would best, so I have a little bit of knowelege on if I should continue this story or not. Thanks! (: And I'll probably update Buttefly Girl before this one, so read that story too!

The Healing Elixir

Lilly Truscott was only twelve years old when she witnessed her mother and father die. Someone had gotten into their house during the night, trying to rob them, but her father heard what was going on and went in the room to have a look. The robber, dressed in black and a mask over his face, tied him up to the couch before continuing to rummage through their belongings. Soon after Lilly's mother came down the stairs, to fetch herself a glass of water, and screamed when she saw what was happening. She was tied up too, and made to watch the evil man rip apart their house. All of the loud noises and screaming of her parents, woke Lilly up and she ran down the stairs to see what was wrong. She felt herself become weak and frightened, looking at the two tied up adults with tears in her eyes. Then, in slow motion it felt like, she watched the man pull out a gun and shoot both her parents right in the head. Even though that alone had been enough to kill them, he chose to shoot them, again, in the chest. Satisfied with himself, he turned to look at the frightened child and smirked, "You're next, little girl." By then, Lilly had already been halfway to the door and ran out as fast as she could. She never entered that house again, and had recurring nightmares of it every night.

A year later, at the age of thirteen, Lilly was living with her best friend, Oliver Oken, and his family. They took her in just days after it happened; Oliver's parents didn't want her to have to deal with being thrown around from foster home to foster home, and besides that, she was already like a daughter to them. It had been very hard for her to cope with the loss of her parents, especially since she had witnessed the whole thing. No matter what they did to try to make her feel better, it never worked. She felt completely lost and alone.

The first day of school had been just a week away and Lilly couldn't care less. She didn't find a reason to care because her parents were no longer there to praise her for her hardwork or nag on her to do her homework. And aside from that, the only real friend she had was Oliver. All the other students either acted like she didn't exist or would pick on her.

Oliver's mother, Kate, was preparing dinner in the kitchen as she looked out to the living room where Lilly sat emotionless on the couch. A sigh escaped her while she turned to her son, who had been busy glancing through one of his favorite comic books at the dining room table. "Oliver, why don't you and Lilly go outside and take a walk? It's a beautiful day out and I really think it'll do the two of you some good." She suggested, tired of watching her son's best friend moping around the house all the time.

"I guess," was Oliver's annoyed mumble as he shut his book and walked into the living room. His annoyance faded into sadness when he saw how depressed his best friend looked. Ever since the loss of her parents, Oliver knew she would never be the same. "Lils, wanna go outside? It's nice out and we can just stroll around the neighborhood." He asked, placing a comforting hand onto her shoulder as he waited for a reply.

Lilly shrugged her shoulders, not really caring what they did. It wouldn't make her feel any better. The only thing that would was if her parents were to come back and she knew there was no chance of that happening. Silently and without emotion, Lilly followed her best friend out of the house and down the street. She didn't say a word during their walk; there had been nothing she could say.

Oliver sighed, he really hated to see his best friend so depressed. Before the inicdent, Lilly had been the most energetic and cheerful person he knew. But now, she barely even spoke to him...or anyone for that matter. He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, squeezing her softly. "It'll get easier, Lil; I promise. Let's just enjoy our walk, and maybe later we can head on up to the skate park." The two continued walking, mostly in silence, when they came across a house with a moving truck in front and a girl, about their age, struggling to lift a box from the ground. He decided the two of them should go on over and help her out. (And introduce themselves as well)

"Hi there," Oliver spoke, a friendly smile on his face as he and Lilly walked over to the girl. "Would you like some help lifting that box?"

The girl turned to them, sparkling blue eyes meeting up at his and then to Lilly's; she smiled. "Why I would really appreciate that. I'm Miley, by the way, just moved here with my dad and brother." Her voice clearly seemed to have an accent, and her face displayed a genuine happiness. She stared at Lilly, when they weren't looking, and right away she could see that something wasn't right about her. But she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to pry into other people's business. Something she was all too well known to do.

Lilly said nothing, continuing to nudge at Oliver's shirt. She hated that he always had to stop and talk to people. Especially when he dragged her along. The shaggy haired teenager smiled brightly, ignoring his friend's plea to leave. "Nice to meet you Miley, I'm Oliver and this is my best friend Lilly. We live just a couple houses down," he explained then walked over and lifted up the box from Miley's weaker arms. "Where do you want me to put this?"

Miley was surprised to see that he could handle such a heavy box, but then rolled her eyes as she realized how natural it was for guys to be stronger. She made her way to the door and held it open for him, "Just place it on the floor in the living room; my daddy will figure out where it goes later on." She watched as he walked into the house, then waited for Lilly to follow but she hadn't. "Come on there Lilly, you're welcome to come in too..." Miley gently offered, but got nothing in response. Not knowing what to do, she stood there to wait for Oliver to come back out.

About a minute later, he reappeared and gave an apologetic smile towards Miley. "Sorry, Lilly's just a bit shy around new people. Why don't you join us on our walk? Maybe if you and her get to know each other, she won't be so quiet around you." He knew that wouldn't happen though as Lilly refused to talk to anyone, but he didn't see the need to make the new girl feel bad.

The three of them walked around the neighborhood for hours. They talked the whole time, Miley and Oliver that is, and decided to head down to the beach for a little while. Oliver led them to a quiet part of the beach where they could enjoy the sunset and have a nice conversation. Lilly turned away from them, not wanting to be apart of their little group. She hated listening to people talk; she hated everything anymore.

Miley looked at Lilly, who sat a few feet away from them, then at Oliver with confusion and concern. "Is there something wrong with Lilly? She seems to be a bit...I don't know...frightened?" She knew she should have just kept her mouth shut, especially since she had only met the two of them a few hours ago, but she couldn't help herself. Lilly's behavior really intrigued her and she was dying to know what the cause of it had been.

Oliver sighed silently, glancing over at his blonde haired best friend and then back at Miley. He didn't know if he should tell her or not what happened to Lilly... He felt it wasn't his place to do so, but he also hadn't want the new girl to think poorly of his best friend. "Well, I'll just tell you that my best friend's been through a lot in the past year and it's changed her...for the worst. I'm not going to say what happened, because that wouldn't be fair to Lilly. But maybe one day, if the two of you become friends, she might talk to you about it. Don't push her on it though, she's not one to give in to pressure." He looked down at his hands, hoping she'd still want to be friends with them. He knew that's exactly what he and Lilly needed.

Miley smiled to herself as she prepared her room for her and Lilly's monthly sleepover. It had been two years since they first met each other and after months of trying to befriend the broken girl, she finally allowed it to happen. Of course, their friendship wasn't nearly as close or as strong as Lilly's and Oliver's but it was much closer than Miley thought possible.

Too busy in her thoughts, she failed to hear her dad yell up and jumped a foot in there when she heard her door open. Quickly her shock turned into a smile as she saw Lilly slowly walk into her room. "Hey Lilly! Didn't hear my daddy yell up," she chuckled softly, her southern accent had faded quite a bit in the past two years. No one could hardly tell that she was from Tenessee. "Just throw your bag in my closet for now, I was thinking that we should go down to the beach for a little bit. What do you think?" She smiled happily when she saw an enthusiastic nod from the other.

After a peaceful walk to the beach, they finally arrived and decided to get a bag of chips to share from the small snack shack on their way. Miley placed a towel gently onto the sand, before taking a seat beside her friend. She smiled over at her as she opened their bag of chips. "I'm so glad you could make it today, we haven't had a sleepover in a while."

Lilly half smiled as she reached in the bag for a chip. "Me too. As much as I love hanging out with Ollie, it's great to spend time with a friend who's a girl for once." She spoke, looking over at Miley. It really was nice to finally have a friend of the same gender; she never had one in the years before her parents' passing, so it meant a lot to her. "Maybe Oliver should come over to hangout with Jackson sometime... They both seem to be into video games and whatnot. And I'm tired of Ollie making me watch him play his stupid games all the time!"

"Sounds like a brilliant idea!" Miley laughed, taking a chip for her herself. She truly was grateful to finally get Lilly to open up and allow their friendship to form. Especially as all the other girls at their school seemed stuck up and rude. "So what should we do this weekend, Lil? Wanna go see a movie tomorrow? Or maybe we can go to the mall?"

The other girl shrugged, munching down on a few more chips. She wasn't one to make plans that often. Even though it had been three years since she lost her parents, she still found it very hard to go on with her life. But she seemed to be improving; she wasn't just an emotionless lump anymore. And that made everyone close to her feel much happier. "Mmmm...how about the mall? Haven't been there in a while. Ollie's not a big shopper," Lilly let a small laugh out as she peered over at her new friend. Maybe things were going to get better. She thought to herself.

The two teenage girls spent a good two hours at the beach before finally heading back home for supper. Robbie Ray, Miley's father, had just finished getting dinner on the table when they came in and he gave a cheerful smile to them. "Why it's good to see you again, Lilly. I've cooked up some steak and deliciously-seasoned red potatoes for supper. Do you like that Lilly? Mile wasn't much help when I asked her what you like to eat." Miley just gave him a playful smirk when he said that before she and Lilly took a seat at the table.

"Oh, yeah," Lilly slowly started, that was one of her parents' signature dishes and it broke her heart to know that they would never be able to cook it again. "My mom and dad used to make that all the time for dinner, it was one of my favorites..." Her voice trailed off with every word, because she knew she'd start crying if she talked about them too much. And the last thing she wanted was to cry in front of Miley and her father.

Miley and Robbie shared a sympathetic look, not knowing what to say. The chestnut haired girl gently grabbed one of her friend's hands, giving it a comforting squeeze, "Well, my daddy sure makes a good steak. I'm sure you'll enjoy it, Lil." She gave her an encouraging smile, not wanting to say anything about the girl's parents. She knew if she did, it would make Lilly feel worse and could possibly even shut her down again.

Her father didn't say a word, just gave a sympathetic nod towards Lilly. He heard from his daughter that her parents had died, but he didn't know the whole story and he hadn't felt it was his place to say anything. Instead, he gave a sad smile to the young teenager as he took a bite of his food. "Well, your brother seems to have found himself a girlfriend. So he's taken her out tonight, which means you girls will have the whole house to yourself seeing as I've got some errands to run after dinner." He hoped that would lighten the mood, as he knew the two would love the alone time. He just prayed they wouldn't burn down the house while he'd been gone.

"Sounds good, daddy," Miley perked when she saw Lilly nod with a slight smile. "We'll probably just watch some movies and chat. And don't worry, we won't make a mess."

A little while later, after Robbie left for the evening, Miley and Lilly had been sat on the living room couch as they talked with the television playing quietly in the background. "So, Lils, I've been meaning to ask you this; do you like Oliver? I mean like him, like him? You two are so close with each other and it's been eating away at me to know!" She questioned, patting the other's hand in encouragement.

"Do I like Oliver?" Lilly repeated the question, thinking of how to answer it. She knew she couldn't live without him, that's for sure, but did she like him? Maybe she did start to develop some feelings toward him, other than loving him as her brother. He'd always been there for, and they had grown much closer since she lost her parents. "Hmm, you know, I've never really thought about that... I've always loved Ollie; he's been there for me since almost forever! I don't know, though, if he'd ever feel the same way about me... What do you think, Miley? Would it be strange if he and I started dating?"

Now, Miley had to take a moment to think about it. Deep down, she knew she'd hate to see anyone with Lilly, which was a thought that concerned her...But she wanted Lilly to be happy and she could easily see that the girl had truly felt something towards her best friend, Oliver. So she smiled and shook her head, "Oh, no, of course not. I think the two of you would make a cute couple, Lil. And I can put a bet on it, that Oliver feels exactly the same of you. You oughta tell him, Lil, don't wait. You never know when that chance will be taken away."

Another month had come and gone since then, Lilly still hadn't bundled up the nerve to tell Oliver what she felt towards him. And it was beginning to get harder to hide her feelings from him. She took a deep breath, and glanced at her reflection one last time before heading down the stairs. Today, she silently thought, today she was going to sit Oliver down and tell him how much she deeply loved him.

Lilly walked into the living room, smiling to herself when she saw the boy she secretly loved playing his favorite video game. She gently sat beside him, silently observing his every move. Her breathing poured into the shaggy-haired teen's ear; he paused the game then turned to face his best friend. "Hey, Lils. What's up? You wanna play?" He asked, ready to hand her another control. When he saw her shake her head, he began to grow concerned. "Are you okay, Lilly?" He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in for a comforting embrace.

"I'd like to talk to you about something, Ollie," she spoke quietly, enjoying being in his strong arms. She battled, silently in her mind, over whether or not she should continue with telling him about her feelings. She figured it'd be best to just do so and get it over with. Maybe he would like her back. And the only way she'd ever know was if she told him.

Oliver became concerned; he stood up from the couch and had Lilly follow him out the door. They walked down to the beach, sat in their favorite secluded spot, and he reached over to hold the blonde's hand. "Is everything all right, Lil?" His voice full of concern and worry as he peered into his best friend's sparkling blue eyes. He hoped and prayed that she wasn't becoming depressed again; he didn't know if he could handle her losing her cheerful spirit again.

Lilly exhaled deeply, squeezing the strong hand that held hers tightly. "Yeah, everything's fine..." She started, still unsure of if she should say anything. She looked up into his dark eyes, seeing the concern and worry that they held. "Ollie... Uhm, I, uhm...what would you think, if I said that I might ...kind of... love you? Like, I mean love you. Soulmate kind of love..." Too afraid to see what his expression was, Lilly bowed her head down. What if he hadn't felt the same way? She would have wasted her time pouring out her emotions to him.

Hearing his best friend of twelve years confess her feelings towards him, made Oliver's heart swell. He knew from the day the two met, even only in pre-school, that he really loved Lilly. He could tell that there were something building between, and it certainly wasn't just friendship. A gentle smile spread across his face as he pulled Lilly into his arms, "I would think that I love you too, Lilly. I've always loved you, ever since we met in pre-k and you stole my crayons. I knew that we were meant to be, but I didn't want to say anything because after your parents' passing, you were so broken. I didn't want to cause anymore emotions to build in your mind. But now that you've found that you feel the same way, I'm so happy Lil. I've always dreamt of this day, but never thought it would actually happen." He ran his hand, lovingly, through Lilly's long blonde hair and smiled softly at her. "I love you too, Lils."