A/N: This was a two shot. Part one before the dance, part two after. The dance being the 70s dance in "More than a Zombie to Me," of course. But, an idea for a third part came to me. So, it's a trio of chapters surrounding the episode.

I don't know if I am entirely happy with this story, but I got to the point where I did not really want to do anything else to it, so I do hope some of you like it.

Of Dances and Doughnuts Part One

"What do you think of this one?" Lilly Truscott held a blond wig up to her window. It was long, almost the same shade as her own hair, but it was feathered and had a lot more volume.

"Right now it just looks like a clump of hair," Oliver Oken told her over the phone. "You know, you could just come over here, then we wouldn't be running up the phone bill, especially since you just got your phone back from your dad." He gave her a look he was not sure she could see. "Photosynthesis, really. Make sure you study for Biology next time, or start paying for your own phone."

"And I said that you could come over here," she retorted. "And I did study. With you, remember? I wonder what you thought photosynthesis was." She gave him a look as well. "Just come over."

The two of them were standing in their respective bedroom windows, where they could see one another, but it was difficult to hear each other across the small strips of side lawns between their houses without yelling.

"I don't think so. Your mom is still mad at me for getting chocolate on her jacket." The last time Oliver had spent more than twenty minutes at the Truscott house he had dropped a bowl of chocolate ice cream on to the arm of the couch where Mrs. Truscott had thrown her brand new white pea coat. She had yet to forgive him, even though it was the dog's fault for running under his legs and throwing him off balance.

"Fine. Hang on." Lilly rolled her eyes at his fear of her mother. If he was not drooling over her, he was avoiding her. Kind of like any of the girls Oliver was interested in at school now that she thought about it.

"You're coming over?"

"No, I have to put the phone down so I can put the wig on," Lilly's voice was growing impatient.

"Oh. Got it." Oliver waited a beat. He watched as Lilly set the phone on her window sill, gathered her hair up at the base of her neck, and then tugged the wig on to her head.

"So?" she asked once she brought her phone back up to her ear.

"Very Farah Fawcett as an Angel." Oliver's head nodded approval.

"I know. My mom was one of Charlie's Angels for Halloween a few years back. I figured this would be easier than having to do my hair." She flipped her hair over her shoulder in her best imitation of her mother.

"Oh, yeah. I remember that. The next year she was Wonder Woman. She had the lasso and everything. Your mom always comes up with the best costumes for her office's Halloween parties." Oliver appeared lost in thought for a moment. "Is your mom a 'Star Wars' fan?"

"If she is, I will personally make it my mission to make sure you never see her in Princess Leia's golden bikini. Don't make me scrub your brain with soap." Even across the patches of grass, Oliver was sure he could see Lilly's glare.

"You don't know that's what I was thinking," he tried to protest.

"Don't I?" Lilly's glare intensified. "And we agreed that you would never even think about my mother and bikinis at the same time. It's just weird."

"Okay! Jeez! Let's talk about something else... What are you wearing?"

Lilly's brow furrowed in confusion and she looked down at herself. "Oliver, you can see what I'm wearing."

"So not what I meant! I mean to the dance!" Oliver could feel heat rising to his face.

"Oh!" Lilly realized what that had sounded like and her own face colored as well. "I found some pants and a shirt. Nothing really fancy, but they're very seventies. I found a pair of my mom's old platforms too. I'll actually be tall!" She pulled the wig from her head and went to put it on her dresser.

While she could not see his face, Oliver took the opportunity to ask, "how come you aren't wearing a dress? It is a dance."

"You know how I feel about dresses. They never look right. Besides, I'd have to find a dress that was seventies enough by tomorrow night, and I don't want to have to go shopping… again." Lilly made her way back to the window. "What about you?"

"Oh, I always have a hard time finding the right dress too," Oliver joked.

"You know what I mean," Lilly needled.

"I've got an afro. I've still got to find the clothes though. Maybe I'll get Miley to help me since you don't want to go shopping again."

"Good luck with that. She's being a big baby." Lilly picked up her hair brush and began to angrily untangle the long strands of her hair.

"Yeah, I heard that Jake finally picked a lucky girl after Miley turned him down twice," Oliver remarked.

"I know!" Lilly squealed in response. "And it was three times."

Oliver was a little surprised by the excitement and continued, "Yeah, it's too bad I was asked to fill in for the DJ, or I could have my pick of the ladies."

"Sure, Oliver." She giggled, temporarily forgetting her own anger at Miley.

"What? The Olley Trolley never stays parked in the station for long."

"Right. Keep dreaming."

"So, you going to hang out with angry Miley all night, or you want to help me DJ?" Oliver tried to keep the hopeful tone in his voice to a minimum. He did not want to spend his whole night alone, pushing buttons and loading records, even if he did like being the center of attention for the night.

"Umm.." Lilly turned away from the window again so Oliver could not see the expression on her face. 'Actually, Miley's mad at me. I don't even know if she's going to the dance. I haven't talked to her."

"Why?"

"Jake."

"Like it's your fault he asked some other girl?" Oliver's eyes rolled and he walked over to his desk to turn on his computer.

"Well…" she started.

"She turned him down three times."

"That never stopped you," Lilly remarked dryly, flopping down on her bed.

"That was different." He waited for his dad's old laptop to boot up and took a seat. "I guess it's just me and you then."

"No…" Lilly paused for a second and took a breath, trying to calm herself down all over again. "Jake asked me!" It came out as a squeal.

"He asked you what?" Oliver questioned blandly, already knowing the answer.

"To go to the dance with him, you doughnut!"

"Oh, right. That's cool. I'll spend the whole night without either of my best friends." He tried to put a little bit of Lilly's drama queen attitude into his voice, but he was never as good at the guilt trip thing as she was.

"Oh, please. You'll be too busy giving out your phone number over the microphone," Lilly teased him.

"No way. I don't want to risk getting suspended! If Jake's taken, I have to keep my options open for all of those other sad girls. I told you before, they'll need shoulders to cry on."

"Uh huh. Sure."

"This does explain why Miley's mad at you though."

"Hey!"

"What? I'm not saying she should be. She kept pretending she didn't like him." Oliver shrugged his shoulders even though Lilly could no longer see him.

"Pretending? Oliver, she acted like she hated him. How was I supposed to know?"

Privately, Oliver did not think Miley was all that great of an actress, but he did not say that to Lilly. After all, Miley had managed to fool him into believing she was a normal girl for the first two years of their friendship, so who was he to judge?

"I guess you don't need a ride to the school tomorrow night then." Oliver said it as a statement, but he was really fishing for more information.

"Actually, I told Jake I would meet him there because I'd already said I would help you set up all of your crap." Lilly flicked an imaginary piece of lint from her bed spread and sighed. "I never should have agreed to help you…" she teased him.

"Hey, you don't have to help." There was an annoyed edge to his tone now, and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Of course I'll help, I already said I would. We can hang out after the dance too. Jake said he has to be home early because he has a shoot in the morning." Lilly was twirling a piece of hair around her fingers now, lost in daydreams of dancing with Jake in front of the whole school.

"Yeah, sure." Oliver did not sound quite as enthused, but she did not notice. "Just be ready by seven. My mom is going to drop me off, but she's going to some pastry class after. They're going to be learning how to make doughnuts from scratch and she's really excited."

"Doughnuts? Really? That's perfect." Lilly started laughing.

"Not another word out of you," Oliver warned her before they hung up for the night.