Title - It's About Time!

By - PheonixFireBlack

Summary - A little Ray/Lily thing. Lily decides to do a little song, but this time, the song is completely off the top of her head.... Ray is dating some girl (only to try and make Lily jealous)

A/N - I dunno...this came to me all the sudden & I decided to write it all down ^_^

~*~*~*~

Lily Randall was sixteen now and she had just walked into the school building. She was on her way to her locker when she saw it. Ray pulling away from kissing a girl. If she was correct it was Mary Caralosky. Her heart sunk. Although she may not have ever seen and added up all the clues that Ray liked her, she had always known that she liked him. No matter how independent and how open about her feelings she was, that was the one thing that she had never admitted. She had only just admitted it to herself this last summer.

Ray was walking towards Lily. "Hey, Lily!"

"Hey Ray..." Lily said with a sigh.

"What wrong?"

"Nothing...I just found out that the guy I like already had a girlfriend..."

"Oh..." Another guy, eh? Lily...why can't you just see it! Ray thought. He'd been giving her clue over the past two years. The most obvious one so far was two years ago when Lily had started taking guitar lessons and developed a crush on the teacher. He had said, "You're hotter than hot coals, way talented and I dunno . . . just a whole lot of awesome. Anybody would be lucky to have you," but she never did get it. She still didn't so he decided that he would try and make her jealous. Mary was in on everything. She didn't have a boyfriend and, when Ray had told her his plan she agreed, saying, "Well, you may not ever actually be my boyfriend, but at least I'll get to act like it for a little while." Ray was just glad that Mary Caralosky understood.

"Yeah..so, anyway...what's up with you?"

"Nothing really..."

"Anything happen over the summer?"

"No...what about you?"

Lily shook her head, "No...I sat around most of the time, writing lyrics...well, trying to anyway."

"How many songs did you get done?"

"Only like, three or four..." Lily paused, "So...meet anyone over the summer?"

"No..."

"No...girlfriend or anything?"

"No." "Ok...just..wondering."

"Why?"

"Well, I came in and I...I saw you and Mary Caralosky kissing so, I assumed..."

"Oh...well, that didn't happen really over the summer, I think you'd consider it more of a last three days of summer thing..."

"Oh...I see...."

~*~*~*~

Later that day, at the Mickey's there was open mic tonight. Lily decided she'd go and do it again today...but this time, the song wasn't planned. She slowly walked onto the stage. Once she was behind the mic, she started playing and singing. "I...don't know why she's complainin', she's got everything a girl could want....she's got a car everyone likes, she's liked for her parents money, and....I don't know why he's complaining, he's got everything a guy could want...he's got the girl....the girl with the car and the money...and everything she wants...he's liked really well because of it....I thought he liked me, but I soon found out...that wasn't true because...he went out.....I don't know why..." Lily didn't know why, but a tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't know why....I don't know why I'm about to cry...it's not like this is real....it's not based on life...it's just a song...or maybe I'm wrong...I don't know why I'm crying....it's not real...not based off my life...it's just a song...or....maybe I'm wrong." The tears were streaming down her face now.

As Ray listened to her, he felt guilty for everything he had arranged with Mary now. Mary was sitting next to him and she looked at him sympathetically. "I....I didn't think...this wasn't how it was supposed to..." Ray shook his head, "This isn't what I planned..."

"Just explain it to her...hopefully she'll understand...." Mary wasn't sure what else to do to comfort him.

"There's not really much more this song...But there is...one thing I'd like say...." She paused and was looking directly at Ray. "There's just..one last thing I'd like to say...and that is that I....I...." She closed her eyes and shook her head, "I can't do this anymore." She said. Before she left the mic, she hear a few people saying something like, "Come on! Finish the song! It was sad but realistic!" She turned back to the mic, tears stained on her cheeks now. She just picked up where she left off. "There's just one last thing I'd like to say...and that is that I....I think I'm in love with you..." She swallowed and looked around, she wasn't going to say his name if he wasn't there. She saw him. "I think I'm in love with you...Ray...." she finished and ran off the stage, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. She ran out of Mickey's Disks, she couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't even get away from Mickey's before she stopped and leaned against the nearest wall. She slid down to a sitting position and cried.

Ray sat in complete shock for a moment but when he came back, he ran after Lily and found her right outside, crying. He hated seeing her cry. He walked over and knelt down next to her. "Lily...I..."

"Just leave me alone and go back to you're girlfriend, Ray..."

"She's not my girlfriend, Lily."

"What do you mean? I saw you kissing her! What are you two then?"

"She....I talked to her over the summer and she agreed to the plan that I had to make...to make you jealous. That's all she was...that was the first, last, and only time we'd kissed...."

Lily looked up at him, cheeks tear-stained, tears still running down them. "Honestly?"

Ray nodded and stood. He gave her a hand and she stood as well. "Lily....I really hope that none of this is going to ruin our friendship....and...I have a question..."

"No, it's not going to ruin our friendship...and...what's you're question?"

"Did you...mean what you said..."

Lily gave him a look and punched him in the arm.

"Ow! I still don't see why you have to punch me all the time."

"Ray, we've been over this. I only punch you when you say something stupid!"

That said, she stood on her tiptoes and Ray leaned down and the two kissed.

Everyone that had been inside Mickey's, including Robbie and Travis, were all gathered at the window, watching everything. Robbie and Travis glanced at each other. In perfect unison they said, "It's about time!"

Ray and Lily separated and glanced at the window. Lily clapped her hand to her forehead while Ray shook his head. It's not like they hadn't imagined that would happen after what had already taken place.