A/N: I've written this during the snow falling on me this past week and a half. It's got a second chapter but depending on whether you lot want it posted it'll be up there. This was inspired by JLS' 'Children in Need' 2010 single 'Love You More'... I was surprised I used another of their songs too, yet it was done. Also has strands from Katy Perry (sorry, I can't help but include her!) and Imagine Me and You. None of which I own.
x
The Longest Hours – Part 1
Thought I couldn't want you, more than I did before,
But everyday I love you a little bit more.
Find myself asking, "What are you waiting for?"
Because everyday I love you a little bit more…
The sheet of paper wavered slightly as other people in the hallway brushed past the blonde girl, standing and reading her list fretfully in the middle of the corridor whilst she got her bearings. She glanced up anxiously, casting her eyes about for a familiar face; this had quickly become a habit since moving away from home to a strange city. Yet she was only on day two.
Lilly looked back down to the piece of paper that held a squiggly drawing; a rough map to guide her to the student centre where she was meant to register for classes. The main college building, however, was like a labyrinth and she had long lost her best friend who was taking completely different subjects.
Her brows creased together in confusion whilst she read the written instructions about completing orientation, hoping that they would help her make sense of the map. Lilly put her finger to the page, tracking each word carefully in case she had missed something before. "Where the hell am I meant to be?" Lilly whispered quietly to herself. She felt like giving up. Just standing in a small space, surrounded by people who knew where they were going was making her feel insignificant. How (her mind raced, and not for the first time) was she supposed to deal with actual classes?
Someone else rustled by her and she lost concentration on her poorly composed map. Lilly groaned in frustration as the thing slipped through her fingers and fluttered feebly to the floor.
"Lord, I'm sorry." A soft voice, which belonged to the very person who had jolted her, murmured from behind her, "Let me get that for you."
"No, I've got it." Lilly sighed, lowering herself to the floor, yet the paper was scooped up quickly by another hand.
"Here y'are."
Lilly glanced up disinterestedly to take back her poor excuse for a map. "Thanks." Out of politeness, Lilly knew she should at least make eye contact with the pusher who was nice enough to make amends for what she had done.
Then Lilly kind of wished with some small part of her that she never had. Electric blue eyes sparked with a bright smile, "You're welcome."
Lilly lost her own voice when the other girl spoke. Her eyes blinked a few times, but they did nothing to start up the motor in her throat, to transfer the chatter of thoughts in her head into a conversation.
The other girl smiled expectantly, and Lilly had to glance around quickly to see if anyone else was witness to this. Everyone else in the hall continued to pass by them, unobservant of the girl before her. A couple of people allowed their gaze to linger on Lilly for a few moments, but that was probably because she was staring at them in the first place.
"Are you okay?" The pair of soft, pink lips moved and the question jolted Lilly back into her senses.
"Y-yes…" She spluttered and then smiled sheepishly, feeling her cheeks turn pink. The other girl tilted her head to one side, still smiling as she regarded Lilly, and Lilly's cheeks blushed until they were red splotches on her pale complexion. "I'm lost."
"So am I."
Lilly felt her eyebrows quirk upwards in surprise, this girl looked anything but lost. She looked like she belonged, that she could be anywhere and just fit in easily, but stand out in the crowd at the same time. Why is she talking to me? Lilly thought again, and then her ears burned with the embarrassed heat flushing through her body. Her eyes flickered wildly about her, seeking out hidden cameras that proved she was being 'Punked'. It was surreal that the girl before her could be talking to her.
"What classes are you down for?"
The girl moved until she was standing at Lilly's side, her head bent over the sheet as well. Lilly felt her jaw clench but she managed to hold the paper steady whilst the other girl scanned down the list on the opposite side of the sheet to the map.
"Yeah, I'm down for that art interpretation period as well." The girl reached up with her spare hand and pushed a little of her wavy hair back and out of her eyes. She turned and smiled at Lilly, her eyes aglow with warmth, lulling Lilly in. "Be sure to save me a desk, okay?"
Lilly swallowed and smiled back, unsurely.
Then the girl looked up and her piercing eyes scrutinised the corridor spread out before them, slightly emptier of young students than before. "I think if you keep going down there and take the first left you only need to cross the outside area and take a door, which should be signposted, and then it'll be the second on your right."
Lilly nodded, "Thank you."
The other girl leaned back easily on her heels, "Not a problem." Then she winked, "I'll see you around, Lilly Truscott."
Lilly watched her turn and stride at her leisure down the hall. Others moved out of her way and boys performed double-takes as she walked by. The girl was oblivious to all of this however, and Lilly had to smile at her quiet confidence.
Grinning, she glanced back to her paper, which had her name stamped across the top in bold text. Lilly admired the attractive girl's audacity to use her name when she had only managed to stutter out ten words to her.
First day that I saw you – thought you were beautiful, but I couldn't talk to you, I watched you walk away…
x-x-x
Lilly turned the page of the book that she had propped on her knee and resting against the low table in the coffee shop. She let out a sigh that pushed back a little of her blonde hair from her face and tried to resume her concentration on the text. Studying was difficult however when she wasn't sure what her first classes would entail. Lilly had taken the first book listed on one of her many essential bibliographies, given out by the professors, and decided to read it over a good coffee.
The words on the page became dull after a few seconds and when she blinked, in that half-second when her eyes were closed, she lost her attention completely.
Lilly shook her head, feeling the brush of her hair against her cheeks and lifted her book to place it on the table so that she could take a drink from her frothy mug of coffee. The thick liquid soothed her, and she leaned back in her squashy chair to watch the people beyond the window pass by.
Her eyes glanced over figure after figure; old women gossiping as they trundled past with their middle-aged daughters, and children skipped idly by with stressed mothers following behind, pushing their empty buggies. None of these people were entirely remarkable and Lilly allowed her eyes to close, to squeeze shut so that she could try to figure out what she should have said exactly the day before.
Her eyes opened when she landed on the words which may have taken her an inch closer to the mysterious and very beautiful girl in the corridor.
"Are you okay?"
Lilly laughed lightly, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just lost."
The other girl laughed with her, "Me too. Hey, what classes do you have?"
Lilly offered her list to the girl, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
The other girl paused whilst she scrutinised Lilly's expression with a smile of her own, "Here." She handed Lilly the list.
"Oh cool, we're in the same classes." Lilly acknowledged and the brunette handed her back her piece of paper.
"Save me a seat, okay?"
"Sure. I'm Lilly by the way." Lilly extended her hand and the other girl took it willingly.
"My name is…"
Lilly pressed her lips against the rim of her coffee-cup. Just what was the girl's name? Lilly shook her head, did it even matter?
And yet, somehow, it did. The girl had asked Lilly to save her a seat though she had hardly spoken. Was she just being overly friendly, or did she actually want to know Lilly?
Lilly's features lit up at once, until she shoved the notions away. She was just being hospitable, and the accent was misleading. Why should a girl who makes the stars seem dull in comparison want to sit with me?
And it seems like I spent all of that second day trying to figure out what it was that I should have said…
x-x-x
The hallway was busy with students standing in small groups, talking amongst themselves whilst others darted between the gatherings on the way to classes. Lilly was counting the doors, knowing that hers couldn't be too far away. The building was old however, with new corridors built in at random sporting different numbering systems.
"Lils!"
Lilly frowned and turned towards her friend's voice. There he was, leaning against a bulletin board and waving her over.
"Oliver, what are you doing in here? This is the humanities building. Shouldn't you be doing something...else?"
Oliver shrugged easily, "I needed to get out of the rain and use a computer. This building provides both a roof and there's a computer room on the next floor."
Lilly peered at Oliver closely, "Then why are you on this level?"
Oliver grinned sheepishly, before lowering his voice, "All the cutest girls happen to be in your type of classes Lilly."
"Don't be sexist." Lilly scoffed and Oliver rolled his eyes.
"I'm not! It's just fact. Do you know that seventy-five percent of the people in your lecture theatres are women? I checked out the facts on line myself." He puffed his chest out proudly and Lilly prodded it playfully.
"Whatever you say, Oken. Seen anyone you like?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Oliver grinned. "I have met this really nice girl. I don't think she's into me at all though, which is kind of lame because she's like a model."
Lilly's eyes widened, "A model?"
"Yeah." Oliver sighed. "She's… Well, she's here!"
He jerked out of his casual position at once when his eyes landed on a figure standing closely behind Lilly.
"Hey." The girl breathed and Lilly thought she could feel the other girl's exhalation of air on the back of her neck.
Tingles trickled down her spine as she turned and was met with a warm smile. A pair of cobalt eyes flashed over Lilly's, clearly excited to see her again. Lilly smiled shyly, revealing that she did in fact recognise the girl from before.
Oliver rested his hand on Lilly's shoulder, and Lilly was glad for the contact. She didn't feel quite so out on her ledge as before with him around, though she could feel her pulse twitch in her neck at the sight of the other girl stood before them.
"Lilly, this is who I was just talking to you about. I think she's in most of your classes?" He nudged Lilly forward a little and said to the other girl, "This is my best friend, Lilly Truscott."
The girl with the long brunette tresses offered her hand at once, "Hi Lilly, I'm Miley."
"M-Miley?" Lilly stuttered out the name ungracefully on her tongue, but was quick to slide her hand into Miley's, whose fingers curled around hers instantly, cocooning them in warmth.
"Yeah." Miley grinned, "It's a strange name but I have my dad to blame for that one."
"I think it's a lovely name." Lilly sighed, and she felt Miley squeeze her hand in response to the compliment.
"Thank you." Then Miley's expression turned thoughtful, "You know, those are the most words I've heard you string together."
Lilly's cheeks turned pink from the teasing but she was quick to find her tongue again this time, "Yeah, I'm sorry about the other day - I was totally lost. I still am!" Lilly laughed brightly, feeling better in herself at once.
"Perhaps I can help you to your seat, then?" Miley offered and, now releasing Lilly's hand, indicated towards the open door which other students were filing through.
"Sure." Lilly smiled, "Lead the way."
Oliver cleared his throat from somewhere nearby, "I'll see you later then, Lils?"
"Yeah, great!" Lilly called back, without needing to turn and see her friend, only following Miley into the theatre and aglow with pride for being able to complete her sentences.
Third day saw you again; introduced by a friend. I said all the words I wanted to…
x-x-x
The rain was everywhere and Lilly knew it would last all day. It splashed off the roofs and fell heavily into the gutters. The skies were completely grey, the only lightness coming from the areas where the rain clouds weren't gathered together so tightly, yet they still had enough power in them to soak you through if you were out for a fair few minutes.
Lilly stood in the doorway to her student accommodation, umbrella in hand and ready to be put up to provide adequate shelter from the rain. It wasn't the best device to use to protect her from water altogether, but at least her hair would stay dry and most of her clothes.
Sucking in a deep breath, Lilly took a step away from the door, clicking it shut behind her and putting her shield up in one deft movement. It was days like these when she missed her beloved California weather. It was only day four in student-land but it had now officially rained for fifty-percent of the time Lilly had been there.
"Yuck, yuck, yuck…" Lilly muttered to herself as her feet splashed through the thin layer of water that was a permanent and unceasing puddle on top of the pavement. She had been intelligent enough that morning to swap her sneakers for boots and was happy to at least be able to sport dry feet in her afternoon classes.
Fast footsteps were coming up from behind her and Lilly chuckled to herself in acknowledgement of the forgotten umbrella of the person approaching her. The girl rushed past and Lilly, recognising at once who she was, cried out to stop her, "Hey!" She kept running though, the rain driving her onwards with her light hooded-sweater pulled tight about her head. "Miley!" Lilly called out through the rain and the figure slowed, reluctantly.
Lilly jogged up to meet Miley and, on sighting her, the girl's morose expression turned into a winning smile, "Lilly! Hey, how are ya?" Miley asked as Lilly arrived next to her and held her umbrella up for both of them to share.
Miley pushed her hood back at once, releasing her wild hair from its tight confines. Some raindrops still glistened in the soft curls and Lilly smiled to see the water clinging to Miley's long eyelashes.
"What are you smiling at?" Miley asked, grinning herself in curiosity.
Lilly shook her head, "Just you." Miley tilted her head to one side and Lilly continued, "I can't believe you went out without adequate protection."
Lilly gestured towards the skies and Miley glanced up, her eyes widening in surprise as if she had only just realised it was raining. "Oh." Then she turned back to Lilly, "You're always prepared, then? Always carry one on you?"
"Of course." Lilly blushed to see Miley's bright eyes flash in amusement from the hidden subtext of her words. "Though, I still manage to get wet. Every time."
Miley licked her lips, taking away a little of the water that had fallen on them with her pink tongue, "It wouldn't be fun if you didn't." She replied, her voice low. "Where are you headed anyway?" Miley asked suddenly in a lighter tone.
"To the library. I wanted to get a couple of books out and read them over lunch before class this afternoon."
Miley grinned, "Me too. Wanna be my rain ranger and help me through?"
"I dunno…" Lilly answered slowly, "Can you afford the toll price?"
"I'll buy you a coffee." Miley offered at once, easily, like they did it all the time.
"Deal." Lilly smiled and moved to stand at Miley's side, easing her umbrella over them both properly.
They took a few steps forward, Miley humming happily to herself as they dodged puddles together. They became separated briefly, scooting around a large puddle from opposite sides and Miley cried out in mock frustration, while Lilly laughed, and she missed her cover.
"Well, this is just no good." Miley huffed. She met Lilly's eyes quickly and smiled, before linking her arm through Lilly's. "Much better." Miley sighed and pulled herself tightly up against Lilly's side.
Lilly instantly felt the warmth of it and the softness of Miley's slightly damp body being so near. It was one of the most comforting things ever in the awkwardness of a rainy day, where clothes became clammy and stuck, and noses would sniffle unattractively.
"Does it rain like this where you come from, Lilly?" Miley asked then, whilst they continued their slowed pace.
Lilly laughed softly, "It doesn't quite rain like this in Malibu."
Miley laughed with her, "California girl, hey?"
"Through and through." Lilly admitted with a smirk.
"Like in that song?" Miley frowned slightly, remembering the lyrics, "Fine, fresh, fierce… You got it on lock?"
"Of course." Lilly shrugged casually, "Guys break their necks trying to creep a little sneak-peek. Miley, you can travel the world but nothing comes close to the Golden Coast."
"That I've heard."
"Where are you from?" Lilly asked after a short pause, "I mean, you've got this gorgeous accent and I can't quite figure it out…"
"Sounding like a hillbilly is gorgeous?" Miley stopped walking and, since they were still linked, Lilly came to a halt beside her.
"Well…" Lilly blushed, "You don't sound like a hillbilly really…"
"Hmm." Miley glared at Lilly through suspicious eyes, and then they lightened, "You seriously like the way I talk?"
"You never seem able to shut up, so it's either like it or try to avoid it, which you seem incapable of letting me do." Lilly teased back.
"Perhaps I preferred you when you were a mute?"
Lilly's lips curled into a smile, "Talking to me was the biggest mistake of your life."
"You learn the most from your biggest mistakes." Miley replied and smiled placidly at Lilly, with all the brightness of the sun that was hidden behind the dark clouds.
"So, where are you from?" Lilly asked again.
"Tennessee." Miley sighed, "A small town called Crowley Corners. Both of my parents' families have lived there for generations. They have farms and horses there."
"Sounds wonderful." Lilly replied sincerely, "You must have had the best childhood."
Miley returning smile was subtly pained, "I did okay." Lilly didn't press any further, sensing something that needed to be left unspoken.
"This has to be the best place on campus." Miley stopped and was pointing towards the tall brick building before them. Lilly followed the line of her arm and smiled in recognition of the college library.
"I fell a little bit in love with it from the moment I walked through the doors, is that totally geeky?" Lilly asked.
Miley chuckled, "Lilly, if you ever get to the 'totally geeky' mark, then you'll know how I feel every day of my life. Let's go inside and learn." Miley winked at Lilly, before taking the lead and a step out from beneath Lilly's protective umbrella to walk up the stairs to the main doors.
Lilly carefully lowered her umbrella, sliding it closed and sealing the tie in place, whilst her eyes lingered upon the back of the least geeky girl she had ever known. Miley's feet were clad in leather cowboy-boots and her behind was hugged by a pair of tight, faded jeans, which adored her long legs. She wore a chequered shirt beneath her grey sweater to complete the look, but until she spoke there was no way a person could tell she was from somewhere in the South.
Miley was holding open the glass door to the library, with large droplets of water from the beam across the door dripping onto her smile-stretched cheeks, "Lilly, get your butt in here!" Miley chided with a warm chuckle and Lilly grinned apologetically.
The pair found a table in the group study area and happily sat, after wringing out their damp clothing and setting their books onto the table. Miley sighed happily as she slid into the seat opposite Lilly, tilting it back on two legs whilst she watched Lilly open a text and chew on the end of her pen.
"What are you reading today?" Miley asked and Lilly glanced up to meet Miley's eyes. The brunette was smiling peacefully as she rocked in her seat, all of her books as yet unopened.
"Oh, just the first book from the top of the list." Lilly replied, "I started trying to read it a couple of days ago, but I can't get beyond the first paragraph."
"It's that dull, huh?" Miley assumed with a quirked eyebrow.
"Yeah. And I'm easily distracted." Lilly admitted. She was beginning to feel very warm, yet the increase in temperature had nothing to do with the building's heating system. Just being in the presence of the attractive young woman opposite her was burning her from the core outwards.
"Me too." Miley grinned, and she let her chair plop down so that it was level with the floor again. "You wanna go and grab a coffee?"
Lilly laughed, "We've just got here!"
"Yeah." Miley wrinkled her nose, "There'll be time for studying later in the term."
"Not if I come to the library with you." Lilly chided her and Miley pouted, apparently put out.
"Aww, and I was so hoping you would. I thought you could be a good influence on me."
"Well, I'm clearly failing so far."
Miley smiled sheepishly, "Is it wrong that I want to get to know my study-buddy a little bit first?"
Lilly felt her cheeks twitch into a smile, it was contagious, "In case I turn out to be a raging serial-killer?"
Miley's eyes widened and she nodded solemnly, "A girl can't be too careful."
"Alright. But you're buying." Lilly reminded her and Miley happily hopped to her feet, their books pushed aside and forgotten.
Lilly let Miley lead her through the building, up the stairs to the small coffee shop which overlooked most of the campus. Miley bought them two steaming coffees and together they found a table next to a large window which gave them a view of a courtyard that was currently void of students, due to the rain.
"Yuck." Miley murmured as she glanced over the increasing amounts of puddles on the ground below them, and together they sat and watched the water bubbling down the drains.
"Like I said," Lilly began, "days like these really make me miss Malibu."
Miley smiled sympathetically, "It rains like this sometimes in Tennessee. You just have to put on your waterproofs and get on with it though."
"Do you help out a lot on the farm?" Lilly asked as she took a sip of her drink.
"Yeah." Miley nodded, "I really like it. I have my own chickens and I ride everyday when I'm out there."
"You like to keep busy?"
Miley smiled, "When you live in the middle of nowhere and you've finished school and all of your friends live miles away, you have to keep busy or else you'd go insane."
"And there's me thinking you already had." Lilly teased. "What about your family, are they all farmers?"
Miley paused and wrapped her hands around her coffee cup, "Yeah they are for the most of it, although they all have other interests as well. My dad likes his music, he's really into country and does local performances. My brother Jackson went to college a couple of years back, but he's always home in the holidays, back to annoy me – with a vengeance." Miley smiled and then the happiness slid off her face. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and her bright blue eyes became level with Lilly's again, "And, my mother, well, she died a few years back."
"Oh." Lilly replied softly, and inside her chest her blood ran cold. "I'm so sorry." It seemed that her heart was beating slower, and that each thud was becoming laced with ice.
Miley's eyes flickered to her hands, now drumming quietly on the table-top, "It's okay. I was twelve and it's been a while."
Lilly reached across and placed the tips of her fingers over Miley's knuckles, "But it still hurts."
Miley nodded her head and a tight smile formed across her lips, "Every day."
Lilly's fingers uncurled slowly until her whole palm was covering the back of Miley's hand. She didn't know what to say, and the feeling within her was just a raw pain. She barely knew Miley and yet she was being offered a window into the other girl's damaged soul.
"What about you, Lilly?" Miley asked and her eyes returned to meet the blonde's, her expression more free of pain than before. "Do you have a big family?"
Lilly tilted her head to one side, taking a quick glance at the rain, which had not ceased to fall. "My family's not really that big, and it's a bit spread out. My parents divorced when I was about eight and my older brother was ten. Dad moved away and I only see him during the holidays, and my mum seems happy enough. She's not dating anyone though."
"How did it feel, when your parents divorced?" Miley asked quietly.
Lilly frowned over the question, not because it made her uncomfortable, but because no one had asked her that in years. The last person had been the councillor who had talked to her after it had happened. Divorce was so common these days that people were blasé, yet that hadn't stopped her from suffering.
"It was horrible." Lilly admitted, "It felt like my world was falling apart. The build up before the divorce was a really bad time in my life. My parents were constantly arguing and at each other's throats. I overheard a lot of nasty things when I was only little – sitting and hugging the banister at the top of the stairs whilst they screamed at each other in the kitchen." Lilly shuddered, "Not nice."
"Was it better or worse after the divorce?"
"Worse, at first." Lilly confessed, "I missed my dad and of course I missed all the good times that we used to have when my parents were having a break from fighting. Then, after a while, I came to realise that my mum was so much happier. I still miss dad though, I can't help it. But, life goes on." Lilly offered Miley a small smile.
"I'm sorry to press you with those questions." Miley said after a pause, "I don't really know anyone whose parents have been divorced. I just know that my whole family life was broken after my mum passed away – it must have been kinda similar to a divorce."
Lilly shook her head and squeezed Miley's hand, "No. What you've been through, and had to cope with, it's infinitely worse. And I'm so sorry, Miley."
Miley turned her palm over and then her fingers curled around Lilly's, her thumb soothing over the back of Lilly's hand in a comforting gesture that had the butterflies bursting through Lilly's chest.
"You know, I haven't talked about my mum to anyone other than my family in years."
Lilly smiled, "And no one really cares about divorce these days."
Miley's eyes were shining as they collided with Lilly's, "I care."
Lilly blushed from the sincerity of Miley's words. She hadn't met anyone who was so engaged in how she was feeling before. Miley was burrowing her way into the loose threads of Lilly's life and the blonde could only welcome her interference. She had a feeling that anything she told the brunette would be accepted warmly and with a mind that was ready to bear her emotions and problems.
A smile suddenly overtook Lilly's expression and she tightened her grip on Miley's hand. "I've never met anyone like you." Lilly admitted, her eyes twinkling with an affection that was becoming deeply rooted.
Miley smiled, "Never met a hillbilly before?"
Lilly laughed, and the situation became instantly lighter. She released her grip on Miley's hand and relaxed back into her chair, "You got it."
Miley grinned and returned her hand to trace patterns against the side of her coffee cup, "Hey, Lilly?"
"Yes Miley?"
"How would you like to come and watch the first football game of the year with me on Saturday night?"
Lilly tilted her head to one side as she contemplated the invitation, "Sport on a Saturday night, with a hillbilly?" She pretended to contemplate the proposal seriously, "I don't know. Will you give in to your primitive instincts?"
"Undoubtedly." Miley replied with an amused expression.
"Screaming? Running naked across the pitch at half time?"
Miley laughed, "What football games have you been to? But, yes, there will be a lot of screaming. I don't like my lungs to be idle."
"Awesome. I look forward to it."
It was Lilly's first arranged social event of her time at college and she was more excited than she could let on to Miley. At first she thought it was the strong coffee buzzing through her, kicking up the adrenaline in her bloodstream and causing her heart to thrum faster in her chest and a rushing hum was set singing in her ears. Then Lilly realised it had nothing to do with the caffeinated drink. She actually couldn't take her eyes off the young woman in front of her, easily drinking her coffee whilst she watched the rain falling beyond the windows, the droplets streaming down the pane.
Lilly's breath caught in her throat and she allowed her eyes to roam freely over Miley's still-damp hair; the curls had been made heavier and looser in the rain. The other girl's cheeks were rosy whilst the rest of her face remained paler. Her eyes though – a deep, swirling blue, and currently involved in distant thoughts. They stared out at the rain, but really Miley was thinking inwards. She was so beautiful that Lilly wanted to tell her, but she couldn't.
An emotion inside of her was unfurling like a flower when it gets its first glimpse of the sun as it rises above the horizon in the morning; it was powerful and enough to shock her into silence. Lilly longed to get a grip on it, some hold to prevent it from spreading, yet it was an unstoppable feeling and Lilly was already four days too late.
On day four and five and six I don't know what you did, but all I could think about was you…
x-x-x
The weather had turned surprising cooler by the end of the week and a light drizzle passed down all day on Saturday. In the evening the rain had stopped, yet the chill in the air remained so Lilly pulled on her most comfortable sweater and prepared to brace the cold.
She found Miley waiting for her at the entrance to the football pitch, a bright grin on her face and a spare cup of takeaway coffee in hand which she passed over to Lilly, "Here, I thought you'd need this tonight."
"It is a bit cold." Lilly shivered and Miley laughed.
"It's gonna get a lot colder California girl." Lilly smiled helplessly as she followed Miley to the stands, which they climbed and found a space further up that had a good view of the centre of the pitch.
Lilly happily hugged her coffee into her chest and felt the warmth sink through the thick layer of her top. She took a sip and relished the thrill of the hot liquid sliding down her throat and warming her instantly, "Good coffee." She commented.
Miley, alert and already twitching beside her, could only nod. The players were entering the sports ground and the fans of both colleges were beginning their cheers. "Look at them all…" Miley muttered under her breath, low enough so only Lilly could hear, "…they're not paying a dime towards their education because they're all here on scholarships – apparently among the best players in the country. Well, let's hope they put on a good show tonight."
Lilly grinned, "Not a fan of college sports?"
Miley shook her head, "I am, just not the jerks that come with them." She grinned defiantly at Lilly, "Oh well, in football at least we'll see a load of guys getting messed up."
Lilly chuckled with her friend, she could already see the glint in Miley's eye and she knew a hardcore sport fanatic when she was with one. "I've heard the cheerleaders are also top on the national scores." Lilly commented and Miley smiled.
"Yeah. They do alright."
Lilly rolled her eyes and focused her attention on the rest of her beverage whilst Miley scanned the goings on below with a disdainful expression. Lilly was beginning to get the feeling that Miley just came along to criticise, but she didn't find her new friend's attitude off-putting; it only amused her.
"Look at the ref! He could do with losing some pounds." Miley laughed and turned to see Lilly's bemused expression, "What?"
"Nothing really, just you – getting all worked up."
"I'm not." Miley insisted, "This is my first college football game and I wanna see how things play out. I'm not even really a fan; I don't see the point of guys smashing each other up. Give me ballet any day, now that's what I call a sport."
"Ballet?" Lilly tilted her head to one side as she contemplated this, "That is hardcore. Are you a dancer Miley?"
Miley shrugged, "I used to go along to a studio where each semester we would take on a new dance style. It was really good actually – ballet was definitely the hardest though, but it really strengthened my legs."
Lilly swallowed, thinking of Miley's sublime, long legs which she had already seen in tight jeans. How she longed suddenly even more for the true summer weather, when Miley would have to break into short skirts and dresses and those divine limbs would come into their own.
"I'm more of a surfer/skater girl myself." Lilly replied after a pause.
"Hmm… I can see that. Did you bring a board with you?"
Lilly nodded, "Yeah, I just need to scout out a good park and then I'll be happy again. Skating's a great break from studying."
Miley inclined her head in agreement with the blonde and was about to reply when the referee strode out into the centre of the pitch, closely followed by two lines of bulky football players.
"Here we go." Miley murmured under her breath.
The game was fast and ferocious with cheerleaders singing out their chants from the sidelines in each pause from play. Their voices were a sweet relief from the grunts of the guys running up and down the grounds and being trampled into the earth by each other. Lilly found herself captivated by it all though, especially the atmosphere of the crowd. She felt as if she was caught up in an electric current for the energy of the people screaming around her zinged into her system and had her shouting with them.
The voice next to her was the loudest, however, as Miley bellowed insults across the pitch, "What are you doing Fourteen?" Lilly laughed and Miley turned to see the amusement playing through her new friend, "What? If I don't tell him, no one else will!" Miley objected and Lilly only shrugged, giggling at the innocent expression on Miley's face as the other girl smiled at her hostility to the player.
"How did you get so loud? I swear you're out screaming all the men behind us." Lilly murmured and pointed backwards with her thumb.
Miley chuckled, "It's all in the lungs." She tapped her chest importantly, "Good enunciation is important and it'll get you far in life."
Lilly pouted thoughtfully as she regarded the advice she had been given, "No one can hear me, can they?"
Miley laughed, "If I can't hear you then, no, the players definitely won't know what you're trying to say."
"Hey!" Lilly complained, "That's only because I'm lost as soon as you open your mouth. You're so friggin' loud!"
This didn't stop Miley's laughter however and she continued for a few seconds longer, "Alright, do you want me to teach you how to raise the volume?"
Lilly rolled her eyes, "If you must."
"Please, I'm only trying to improve your life." Miley insisted and Lilly grinned, "Well, I am. Did you know you're kind of shrill? If you want them to hear your abuse better, you've gotta project it."
Lilly rolled her eyes, "Fine, then teach me."
"Okay…" Miley glanced back at the pitch, temporarily lost in thought, and then her eyes locked onto Lilly's once more, "First off you've got to tighten your stomach muscles."
"I don't think I've got any these days." Lilly mumbled and Miley grinned.
"Yeah you do, they're right here." She reached across and rested her hand on Lilly's stomach, and Lilly felt everything constrict. "Tighten them." Miley said.
"Tightened." Lilly grimaced.
"Tense them." Miley replied in a low voice.
"They're pretty tense." Lilly laughed weakly.
"Good." Miley's expression turned mock serious, "Next you need to broaden your diaphragm."
Both of Lilly's eyebrows shot up at once, "My what?"
Miley smiled, "It's here." Her hand slid upwards until it was resting on Lilly's lower ribs and all of Lilly's breath became stuck, in limbo, on its journey to her lungs. Her heart was pounding like a captured bird and she was frightened that Miley would notice it against her palm.
"Oh." Lilly exhaled.
"Okay, push it out against my hand." Lilly tried, but everything was seized up and she could hardly think. The game was passing before her like a blur and all she was aware of was Miley and the proximity of her hand to the underside of her breasts. "You feel my hand?"
Lilly inhaled shakily, her sweatshirt was thick and she found an excuse, "Maybe if you put them both there?"
Miley paused for a moment, but the smile continued to curl around her lips, and she slipped behind Lilly, resting both hands against her chest. "Okay and now for the big one." Miley murmured into Lilly's ear. "Imagine the roof of your mouth is a cathedral."
Lilly laughed, "No, you've lost me." She turned to meet Miley's eyes, which were glowing warmly and she continued, "You had me with the muscles and the diaphragm – I'm there, but…"
"It's a space thing." Miley interrupted, "Alright, your mouth is that big that you have to fill it with sound, deep from inside, filling the space and throwing it out."
"I think I can do that." Lilly answered, and she sounded surprised herself.
Miley nodded and, without moving from behind her she whispered, "Go for it."
Lilly nodded, inhaled, and then let rip, "YOU'RE A JACKASS NUMBER EIGHT!"
She felt Miley almost leap backwards, her hands twitched against Lilly's midsection and the people around her seemed to reel away from her in shock. The player in question, carrying the ball, turned his head for a moment to see just who was addressing him, before he was crushed by an opposing player.
Cheers spilled out from all around them as the supporters of their college watched the enemy bite the dust, or suck the soil as the ground was so wet. Miley was laughing loudly behind Lilly now that she had recovered and then her body became closer when she wrapped her arms tightly around Lilly.
"That's my girl." Miley said and leaned in to kiss Lilly's cheek.
Lilly blushed instantly, but settled back into the embrace. There was nothing sweeter than those few long moments where Miley held onto her from behind, hugging her with such strong affection for two young women who had only known each other for one week.
Day seven that's when I knew – I'll spend the rest of my life with you…
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