Finally, the sequel to Sweet Hearts is up! I'm sorry it took so long, but this is a pretty big chapter. I just figured that a good start will grab more peoples' attention and ensure that the rest of the story will stay high-quality. And to all of you who haven't read the first story, you don't really need to read it to understand this one.
Expect this story to be much more light-hearted, upbeat, and funny than Sweet Hearts. True, it had a happy ending, but most of it had a sort of sad, hopeless feel. This story will be more along the lines of a real episode in terms of feel and humor. Hopefully, though, this will not degrade from the quality. I will also be taking a different direction from Sweet Hearts in the issue of whose point-of-view it will be told from. The perspective will switch around between Miley, Lilly, Oliver, and Jackson. I don't think that the end product would feel appropriately complete if you only saw one side of it. So, yeah. That's all I've got left to say. At last, to the story!
To Repay A Debt
By GodzillaGuy
Chapter 1
The Lightbulb Of Halo
"And so, here we are," finished Oliver. "So I just think that we need to repay Lilly somehow."
"Wow," I said simply, rubbing my head to get rid of some of the ache produced by his story.
We were sitting on my couch. He had just told me his account of what happened that Valentine's Day a week or two ago. It was long, complicated, and pretty darn entertaining. Who'da thought his thought processes were that complex? Not me, that's for sure.
"You know, you're a really good storyteller," I said.
"Is that all I'm good at?" he questioned playfully.
I pretended to think for a moment before replying, "No."
He crossed his arms and made a puppy-dog pout face.
Oh, how could resist that?
"Well, there is one other thing you're good at," I yielded.
"And that is?" he asked with a smug smile.
I started to lean in. "You tell me," I said flirtatiously.
My lips met his, and my arms did their customary snap up to his sides as the familiar electricity flooded through my body.
I had to hand it to him, he was a great kisser.
"Hey, love birds. Get a cage."
We abruptly separated, looking around wildly for the culprit. At the foot of the stairs stood Jackson, looking maddeningly pleased with himself.
"Hey, single bird. Get a birdbath," I retorted. Oliver gave me a high-five.
Jackson pretended I hadn't said anything as he stepped over the back of the couch and sat down directly in between us.
"Sheesh, Jackson, way to kill a mood," I said bitterly.
"That's what I'm here for, sis," he answered cheerfully. I gave him a dark scowl.
Still ignoring me, he reached over and turned on the X-box with one hand while grabbing a controller with the other.
"Don't you have anything better to do than stare at a flashing screen for two hours straight while exercizing nothing but your thumbs?" I asked suavely.
"It just so happens that video games involve much more than that," Jackson told me matter-of-factly. "They can teach you a lot."
"I see. And what mind-challenging and completely educational experience are you now about to submerse yourself in this time, dear brother?" I said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"Halo 2," he said over the electric guitar solo and drums that were playing in sync with the Bungie icon.
"Figures," I muttered, casting my eyes to the ceiling.
The phone rang. The fact that Jackson wasn't going to answer it was an automatic given in my mind, so I rose from the sofa and picked it up.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey, it's me! Landing in ten!" rang a high-pitched voice from the other end.
"Alright." I hung up.
"Lilly in ten," I announced.
"I'll get it," said Jackson, setting down his precious controller.
What the heck? was the first thing to cross my mind. I happened to know for a fact that the only things able to drag Jackson away from a functioning video game console were money, food, and girls. Lilly didn't hand out free money, and Jackson wasn't a cannibal...
My thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the door swinging open followed by the sound of the wheels of Lilly's skateboard rolling across the wooden floor.
"Hey, guys," she greeted, propping her board up against the wall.
"Hey," we all echoed. Jackson shut the door and resumed his position in front of the TV screen, which was now displaying the title screen over a choir singing a moody melody in the background.
"Oh, cool, Halo 2," said Lilly, observing the game's menu. "Can I play?"
"Only if we play on co-op."
"What?" she nearly yelled in protest, causing me to wince painfully. "No way! We've gotta play split-screen."
"I don't think so," he answered. "The campaign is way more fun."
A sly smile began to take shape on Lilly's features. "You just don't wanna play against me because you know I'll beat you."
At this proclamation, Jackson's manly pride took over. He plugged in a second controller and slammed it on the coffee table.
"Sit down, Truscott," he commanded with a fierce look in his eye. The smile on her face brighter than ever, she obeyed.
I sat down on the chair to the right of the couch. This was definitely going to be an interesting show.
Jackson, of course, was already signed in. He was one of those humans who wore those big mechanical suits. I couldn't remember the name. Some kind of ancient warrior civilization or something. I knew the main character was one of them. Most of the armor was a deep red, but some of it was sky blue. Lilly logged in to her profile, a hunched-over alien wearing green plating with patches of olive on the same places Jackson's character was blue. Like the cyborg human, one of the other main characters in the main game was a member of Lilly's little creation.
Jackson wordlessly scrolled through the options menu, setting the score limit to five kills and choosing an area called Coagulation.
The game started. "Slayer," said a deep, disembodied voice. Jackson was on top and Lilly was on bottom. They were both holding some kind of black gun with a little scope at the top. I caught the tiny words "Battle Rifle" at the bottom before they faded away. Jackson was standing on a shady hill, while Lilly was at some kind of base.
"Why'd you guys go here?" I asked. "The place is just a big canyon with a base on each side and a dirt road in between them."
"Coagulation is legendary," said Lilly sharply. Jackson promptly nodded, too absorbed in the game to contribute anything more to the conversation. Lilly didn't seem to have anything else to say either, so I decided to change the subject.
"Yeah, about the name Coagulation," I said, "why are all the names of everything in this game completely random?"
"They are not random," said Lilly with a sort of shocked indignance.
"Then tell me, Lilly, what possible reason is there for naming a Jeep with a turret on the back of it a Warthog?" I inquired smoothly.
"And what possible reason is there for making the last name of your alter-ego Montana?" she shot back with surprising vigor.
"She's got a point," said Oliver. I threw a pillow at him.
Lilly was on top of the base by now. There was a gun with a scope and a very long barrel just lying there. She picked it up, and the words "Sniper Rifle" appeared at the bottom of her screen.
The next thing I knew, there was a quiet electronic whoosh, and everything on Lilly's screen was suddenly magnified. The corner of the screen read "5x." There was another sound of it zooming in, for by that time I realized that was what the magnification was, the objects on the screen became twice as big again, and the corner of her screen said "10x."
Lilly directed her improved gaze out towards the open field, roving back and forth as if she was searching for something. Before too long, she spotted the crimson figure of Jackson, who was running towards something on the ground that was too far away to make out clearly.
Speaking of make out...
I gestured to Oliver, who was still sitting on the couch, to come over to my chair.
"Yeah?" he said in a hushed voice once he arrived.
"So like you were saying before, how do we repay Lilly?" I asked.
A loud crack of the Sniper Rifle from the TV pierced the air, shortly accompanied by a cry of outrage from Jackson.
"I was going to ask you that same question," he squeezed out in between chuckles.
Lilly zoomed back out and jumped off the roof of the base. Sitting motionless on the ground was a some kind of big purple thing with a weird little stub sticking out from each side. A short sentence appeared at the top of the screen: "Press X to enter Ghost." I assumed that "Ghost" was the name of the purple thing. What did I tell ya? Completely random.
She climbed into it; apparently it was some kind of vehicle. The little protrusions on the sides seemed to be wings or something of the sort, because they glowed a bright blue as it hovered above the ground. She drove to the spot where Jackson had fallen, reaching it in ten seconds. Once there, she exited the Ghost and walked forwards, towards the thing on the dirt road that Jackson had been running at. I didn't need the words on the bottom that faded in when she picked it up to tell that it was a Rocket Launcher.
Content with her current progress there, Lilly got back in the Ghost and began moving to the base on the other side of the level.
I could see her on Jackson's screen. He was at the base she was going to, his Battle Rifle zoomed in. It wasn't as good at it as the Sniper Rifle - the reading in the corner of his screen said only "2x" - but at least it had a scope.
Lilly was closing in. It looked like she was heading right at him.
Jackson aimed at her head and fired. The Battle Rifle sent three bullets at a time to meet her. I her energy shield flashed bright orange, but she didn't slow down or even acknowledge the fact that she was currently being shot at all.
Jackson realized what she was trying to do too late. He tried to jump to the side, but Lilly's vehicle was too fast. The vehicle crashed into him while he was still in the air, sending his now dead body about ten feet into the air before his progress was halted by the rocky wall of the cliff.
"Got any ideas?" Oliver said, still quiet enough so that Lilly and Jackson couldn't hear.
I shook my head. "Give me some time."
Lilly abandoned her Ghost again, heading to the base. She walked around it until she found an entrance to the bottom of it.
Inside was yet another vehicle. It looked like it was made by the same people as the Ghost. It was exactly the same color, with two short little wings. However, it was clear that it was different from her last ride. It was about twice as tall, and the wings were thinner and touched the ground. Once she was beside it, "Press X to enter the Banshee," popped up at the top of the screen.
Lilly entered this mysterious contraption, and it also rose to the air.
Hmm... how to pay Lilly back? She already got to go to basically any Hannah-related event she pleased, so that wouldn't work.
Lilly revealed that the Banshee did indeed possess an ability the Ghost didn't; it could fly. Not just staying a foot above the ground, but actually flying. She ascended to about one hundred feet in the air within ten seconds.
There was a small red dot on the ground below Lilly, which she turned to. It took me a moment to realize that it was Jackson. He looked so small from this height.
Lilly opened fire on him with the Banshee's twin plasma cannons. See? I knew enough about the game to know what plasma cannons are.
The red figure of Jackson flared the same orange color that Lilly had when Jackson hit her with the Battle Rifle. Bolts of blue plasma rained down on him from above like a swarm of angry bees. He tried running behind a large pile of boulders, but he was already dead by the time he reached them.
I could hear the sound of his teeth grinding together in frustration from my chair.
What could I possibly do for Lilly? Buy her something? Like a cute pair of shoes? Nah, that wasn't enough. And besides, it wasn't like Lilly couldn't borrow any article of clothing she wanted from my Hannah closet already.
Lilly turned the Banshee away from Jackson's body. Now she was flying to a ledge on the rock wall.
When she was right up next to it, she hopped out of the Banshee, which fell uselessly to the ground below. Now she was standing on the ledge, which was covered in most places by a large rock. There was still sufficient room for her to shoot down on anything in the belly of the canyon.
Lilly pulled out her Sniper Rifle and zoomed in. Strangely, Jackson started laughing.
"Nice try, Truscott," he said self-assuredly. "But you'll never shoot me here."
I turned my eyes to Jackson's half of the screen. Sure enough, he had taken cover behind a tree. There was no way she'd be able to hit him without relinquishing her sniping position.
Nevertheless, Lilly kept her gaze focused on the tree. Suddenly, Jackson ran out from his hiding spot. There was another echoing crack from Lilly's Sniper Rifle. But it was too late. Jackson had already ducked behind the tree again.
It only took another second for Jackson to repeat this maneuver. Once again, Lilly missed.
"See?" said Jackson. "Pretty soon, you're gonna be out of ammo."
It was true. Lilly only had four shots left in her Sniper Rifle.
Lilly kept her targeting reticle trained on that exact spot where Jackson had been running out. Her left finger was trembling in apprehension.
Jackson ran out from behind the tree trunk again. Lilly instinctively fired, but she missed completely, considering that Jackson had come out from the other side of the tree. She aimed wildly at the spot he did come out of and fired again, but Jackson had already gotten back behind it.
Now she was aiming at the center of the tree, ready to aim and fire at the slightest movement.
Jackson came out again. This time, Lilly didn't fire. He came out the other side, but she still didn't fire. Jackson started to zigzag in between the left and right side of the tree without stopping for cover. Lilly kept her Sniper Rifle pointed at one spot.
Finally, she fired, missing completely. This seemed to embolden Jackson. He strayed farther and farther from the safety of the tree.
"Can't catch me, catch me, catch me," he began to sing. "Can't catch me, catch me, catch me. Can't catch me, catch-"
Lilly's final sniper shell passed straight through his energy shield and pierced his head. Jackson said nothing, but the smile on his face instantly disappered and he gripped his controller so hard that his knuckles began to turn white.
Maybe I could hook Lilly up with a guy. Play matchmaker. Yeah. After all, that was exactly what she had done for Oliver and I. It would totally be returning the favor.
Even though he had died in the execution of it, Jackson's plan to deprive Lilly of ammo had worked. She jumped off of the sniping spot and walked off toward the dirt road.
At the same time, Jackson had respawned right next to the base that was closest to the ledge. The color returned to his knuckles as he began to run to the Banshee that Lilly had left on the ground when she had jumped on the ledge.
No, playing matchmaker wouldn't work. She had said it herself on Valentine's Day; she didn't have anyone of her own to try to hook up with, which was why she had decided to get Oliver and I together.
"Thanks for the Banshee," he said gloatingly when he was about a foot away from it.
A rocket slammed into the stationary Banshee with a deafening explosion, throwing Jackson's corpse through the air like a feather in a hurricane. It took a full ten seconds for him to finally land. Ten seconds doesn't seem like much when you just say it, but it's actually a pretty long time. Just to give you the idea, count down ten seconds right now. Trust me, he stayed airborn for quite some time.
"You're welcome," replied Lilly, wearing a smile that stretched ear-to-ear, whether that was physically possible or not. Jackson, on the other hand, couldn't seem to decide whether he was mad, shocked, humiliated, or really had to go to the bathroom.
Wait a second. What was I thinking? Lilly always had some guy on her mind. When the day came that she didn't have a crush on anybody, the North Pole would randomly blow up, sending thousands of confused elves and hungry polar bears falling to the earth.
"I think I've thought of something we could do to repay Lilly," I murmured to Oliver.
"Yeah?" he said, leaning towards me with interest.
"We hook her up with a guy. I mean, that's what she did with us. That's the most complete way to do it."
Oliver considered the proposal for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "But who could Lilly possibly like?"
I furrowed my brow in deep thought. That was a very good question. Who did Lilly like?
My eyes drifted off on their own little journeys, the higher areas of my mind preoccupied with other things. Out of a stroke of pure luck, they landed on the sight of Lilly and Jackson sitting on the couch where Oliver and I had been making out mere minutes before.
Somebody reached out and clicked on a little lightbulb in my head.
"Jackson!" I exclaimed in an excited whisper.