**Disclaimer! I do not own Hannah Montana...or Lilly and Oliver, sadly. :(
"Oliver! Give me back my research paper!" Lilly yelled, reaching for her paper. Oliver held it up even higher to examine it in the light.
A smirk appeared on his face as he finished reading the conclusion. He noticed Lilly look away with a blush creeping up her neck as she folded her arms across her sweatshirt. Her face was bright red, as well as her cheeks.
"Lilly…," he said sweetly.
"Just give me back my paper, Ollie. I know it's not that good, but…," she started to say, but was cut off by Oliver's voice.
"It's awesome, Lils. You never told me you were a writer," he said with a bright smile.
"I'm…not?" she said with a small grin.
Oliver opened his locker with a few flicks of his wrists, and turned back towards the embarrassed blonde that stood about six inches away from him.
"Well your paper was really good."
"Well…thanks…but c'mon, the bell's about to ring," she said quickly as she grabbed his arm and started to lead him to their first class.
He gently pulled her down the hall away from their science class.
A confused look came across Lilly's face as she asked, "Umm, where are you taking me?"
Oliver ignored her as he continued to lead her to a place unknown. Lilly had never taken these routes at school before. Where was he taking her?
"Ollie...," she grumbled, but he silenced her with a look.
Soon enough, Lilly found herself on the huge playground that belonged to the school.
"We're missing class, Oliver!" Lilly said with a hint of anger.
"Lilly! Chill. I thought we could skip first period and hang out…well, here," he said with a smile.
Lilly clenched her fists together and held them stiffly at her sides.
"You're nuts! We're gonna get in sooo much trouble!"
He sighed impatiently and began to walk over to her slowly, meeting her eyes halfway.
She began to fidget a little from his steady gaze, but quickly regained her angry posture.
He stood in front of her, placing his arms on her shoulders.
"I thought you'd be happy to skip class, Lils, as much as you talk about hating school and all," he said with a small laugh.
"But, Oliver, our teachers are going to wonder where we are and…Miley! Crap, crap, crap. She's going to wonder where we are, too!" Lilly replied in a rush.
She began to turn on her heels to head back into the school, when she felt a warm hand wrapped around her wrist.
Oliver pulled her back to him with a small frown, and held onto her hand gently.
"Please, Lilly. Don't go."
Again, she began to blush profusely at his gentle pleading, and finally allowed a small smile to graze her pink lips.
"Fine."
Oliver lit up instantly and pulled her to the tire swings in a rush.
"What's the rush, Ollie?" she teased.
"You'll never let that go, will ya?" he asked, referring to his old nickname that she had given him when they were in pre-school.
She shook her head with a wide grin, and sat upon the rubbery tire securely.
He laughed quietly and placed her hands safely against the tight rope connecting the tire to the gigantic oak tree that loomed over the far side of the playground.
She smiled as she was pushed into the autumn wind, higher and higher until she let go of the ropes and jumped out of the tire swing. She landed with a soft thud on the mulch that littered the ground beneath their feet.
"Lilly!" Oliver yelled as he ran over to her quickly, kneeling down beside her.
He hugged her against his chest, silently begging that she was okay.
She opened her eyes and tried to suppress a giggle from escaping her mouth.
Oliver began to lean closer until both of her eyes popped open and she began to laugh uncontrollably.
She held onto Oliver and buried her face in his jacket, continuing to laugh until soft streaks of tears spilled across her cheeks.
He began to laugh along with her, until they both were breathing heavily in amusement.
Lilly noticed their situation and began to wriggle away from his arms that seemed to somehow find their way across her waist.
Without saying a word, Lilly started to pull Oliver towards the small wooden bench that was stationed underneath the oak tree's many branches.
They sat down beside each other and enjoyed the comfortable silence that fell upon them.
"What's happening between us, Ollie?" Lilly said in a voice barely below a whisper.
Her eyes refused to meet his as she ran her fingers through a lock of her curly hair.
"What do you mean, Lils?" he asked her just as quietly.
"You know what I mean, Oliver!" she said with a sigh as she stood up from the bench and walked to the trunk of the tree. She stood against it and looked beyond at the endless, blue sky.
Oliver stood up from his seat on the bench and turned to look at her curiously.
"Where'd that come from? Of course I have no idea what you're talking about! It seems like I hardly ever do these days…"
He was lying about the first part. Yet, the two had stopped hanging out as much over the past few weeks. Neither wanted to admit the reason why, for both were as stubborn as "Uncle Earl's mule!" At least that's what Miley said, anyway.
"Yes, you do know what I mean! Oliver, I can't explain it! It's just so weird...," she said with a hint of embarrassment.
"It's weird to me, too, Lilly. I miss spending time with you," he replied, meeting her crystal blue eyes.
"I…I do, too," she said hesitantly.
"Have you been avoiding me lately because of the divorce?" he asked bluntly.
She turned away from him once more and held the tears from escaping her eyes.
"How'd you know about that?"
"Why didn't you tell me, Lils?" he asked her softly, while managing to walk to stand directly in front of her.
"I don't like to talk about it," she replied forcefully.
"I can't believe you didn't trust me enough to tell me," he said back.
Her eyes widened as she took a step back and said without losing her calm, "You honestly think I don't trust you? Hah, that's a good one."
"I'm serious, Lilly. Why else wouldn't you have told me before I had to find out through my parents?"
She brought her eyes back up to meet his sadly.
"It's hard for me to talk about, okay? You have no idea how close they were to fixing their marriage, then he goes and gets with that…that woman from the company. He blew it, Oliver. He blew it again," she said with a sob and was welcomed into Oliver's warm embrace whole-heartedly.
"Lils, I'm so sorry. I had no clue. I was just upset because you hadn't told me. I didn't realize how soft this subject was to you," he replied while wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a light squeeze.
"It's okay. I should have told you, I've just had a suspicion about that lady from the start. I wasn't really surprised when he packed up his bags and left a few days ago. It's hurt my mom a whole lot worse than it's hurt me, trust me. It's awful at home. I can't speak to her without causing her to break down into tears. Oliver…I don't know what to do," Lilly managed to say while tears started to pour like rain from her eyes.
His heart began to break as she clutched onto his jacket tighter with each breaking sob. The troubled blonde continued to cry until eventually Oliver whispered soothing comments into her ear.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for you and your mom, Lils. What your dad's done to you both is sorry, mean, every terrible word in the book. You amaze me, though, y'know that?"
She looked up through her watery eyes and managed to meet his eyes with a look of pure astonishment.
"How?"
"You've managed to pull through these past few days without breaking down yourself in front of anyone. At school, the beach, around me. It's unbelievable," he replied with a soft smile.
"It's been so hard, Oliver. You have no idea. I just think about my mom. She needs me right now, and that's what keeps me staying strong. She needs me," she said in a low whisper.
"I know, I know. I need you, too," he said, his warm breath ticking her ear as he hugged her.
"You don't need me, Oliver. Not while I'm like this," she said in a convincing tone.
"I don't know what I'd do without my…best friend," he said back.
Her heart instantly felt heavy after his last remark. That's all she was to him. A best friend.
She gave him a fake smile and shook her head in disbelief.
"You need me, Lilly. Admit it," he said.
"Oliver, I'm going to be fine. I don't need you," she said back falsely.
"Yeah, you do. C'mon, just say it. Say you need me," he pleaded.
"I…I don't…," she began, but was cut off as she felt Oliver's hands cradling both sides of her face.
Suddenly, Oliver's lips were on hers. They moved gently against her full lips, begging her to respond.
Her lips started to move in synch with his almost instantly after his plea. Her tiny hands wrapped around his neck as she continued to kiss him with glee. The kiss grew deeper as Oliver moved one of his hands to the small of her back and pushed her against him. Closer.
Lilly flushed, but she gave a soft moan as she felt Oliver's tongue scrape gently against her bottom lip.
Just as she was about to allow him entrance, he pulled away.
Lilly forced her eyes open. They connected with a set of gorgeous, brown orbs.
Without saying anything, Lilly knew what the kiss had meant. To both of them. He was silently waiting for her response, but she was having trouble getting the words out.
Finally, she said the words he had been waiting to hear.
"Oliver, I need you."
Just like that, they met for another passionate kiss, in which they continued where they had left off.
She gave a soft moan against his soft lips, and in return received a joyous smile against hers.
"BRINGGGG!"
They pulled apart slowly, and rested their foreheads against each others.
"We're missing second period, too," Lilly said with a grin as she wrapped her arms around Oliver's waist.
Eh, not my best. Bad day today, maybe you could tell. I don't know. Reviews are appreciated :)