There's something beautiful about watching the rain fall; especially when you can still see the sun shining through the hardly-there clouds.
---
I remember jumping out of the small, stuffy car we had to drive in all the way from Tennessee to our new home in Malibu and seeing the huge house for the first time. Jackson stood beside me as we stared wide-mouthed as Daddy started to unlock the U-haul. He yelled, "Hurry up so we can see the inside," to us before we rushed to help him.
Jackson tried to take in all the boxes at once, and needless to say, he ended up spilling all his clothes on the sidewalk up to the front door. After laughing at him briefly, I rushed to the now-open door and up the staircase. Immediately, I had found my room and the huge closet that Daddy had made sure was big enough to handle all the clothes that I would soon have scattered all over the floor.
After I had went back downstairs and gawked at the bottom part of the house I had missed in my rush, I grabbed the couple more boxes before disappearing upstairs again. I had spent the next three hours moving my bed to where I wanted it, moving my dresser to a different spot, and filling the drawers with clothes. I was pretty much exhausted as I went to the kitchen for an early dinner.
When I came back up, I remember going out the doors in my bedroom to the small deck that had a perfect view of my new California sunset. I spent the next hour just staring at the sunset from the low roof that I climbed onto with the help of wooden chair.
This was my first memory of Malibu, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
--
"I heard she got kicked out of her old school because she let snakes loose during a field trip."
"I heard that she doesn't have any teeth."
"I heard she ate opossum."
The whispers followed me for what seemed like forever, but in truth, it was only half a day. I didn't know what to expect, but what I did expect was the rumors that were sure to be there. I'm not going to lie; I was completely nervous and scared. I was in a whole different building from Jackson, but I had that small comfort of knowing he was near to hold onto as I walked the hallways.
My most embarrassing parts of the day would've been when I had to read in front of the entire class and hear the stifled laughs at my accent. It's definitely not high up on my 'memorable' moments. I really didn't want to talk much after that and was most definitely glad for the bell to ring for lunch.
I walked into the cafeteria with fewer stares than this morning when I walked in; people were moving fast, sitting down, and talking loudly to one another. I felt like I was the only one taking time to look at everyone and take in this moment; that was until I met the eyes of a blue-eyed stranger staring straight at me from across the room. I looked away quickly, fearing that I would soon be considered the 'weirdo-new-kid' if I were to keep my eyes looking higher than my shoes.
Somehow, I maneuvered to the line that was forming for the delicious food.
/sarcasm.
I looked at the globs of red and brown, the lumps of white and green, and bypassed the random blues and oranges. I opted for an apple, peanut-free peanut butter, and a small plate of mashed potatoes. I continued through the line, quickly exchanging my crisp ten dollar bill for a crumpled five with some change and sliding between the crowds until I found myself in a corner next to a garbage can.
I sighed, setting my food onto the semi-clean looking table and beginning to look at the package that contained peanut-free peanut butter to see what exactly was in it. I wasn't expecting anyone to come near me, which is understandable because of my morning.
But, of course, since I wasn't expecting the unexpected, the unexpected came unexpectedly.
"Hey."
I jumped, making the small package go flying in the air and landing into the garbage can. I took this as a sign before turning my attention to a pair of blue eyes.
"H-hi." I coughed slightly, my cheeks reddening as my accent slipped through just that one word.
"Is it true you eat opossum?"
O-kay. I wasn't exactly expecting that.
"Uh, no." I felt some anger at the rumor that had been started.
"Oh, okay. It's just, some people were talking about you and they really believed it."
"You shouldn't believe everything people say." I say, giving some attitude that I usually reserved only for my Daddy when he wouldn't let me stay up till 12 on a school night.
"Oh, no, it wasn't me. I didn't believe them." She talks with a sense of courage, as if she isn't afraid of being wrong.
"Oh, sorry." I felt slightly ashamed for giving her attitude, especially since she seemed genuinely nice.
She brushes some hair from her eyes, or the hair that isn't covered by her beanie. I take the time I get as she looks over her shoulder to a boy sitting a couple tables away to take in her appearance; she has some unknown-to-me brand of white skater shoes, some loose-fitting, black skinny jeans, a zip-up green hoodie, and her black beanie topped her appearance off.
"This is Oliver." She motions to the mousy-looking boy who decided I wasn't so bad if his friend was talking to me. Oh, the wonders of middle-school friendships.
"Hello." I say, taking my eyes off the blonde-haired beautiful girl to look at the boy wearing a short-sleeved shirt over a long-sleeved shirt. "My name's Miley."
"She doesn't eat opossum." The girl says, nodding at her friend. "I already asked."
"You don't?" he says, almost sounding disappointed as he reached down to his jean pocket.
"Cough it up, Oaken." She holds her hand out, waiting as Oliver grumbled and pulled out a dollar from his pocket.
"You guys made a bet?" I asked, a little wary of them now.
"Hakuna Matata, Miley. Oaken here doesn't know what to believe." She smiled, holding out her hand. "By the way, my name's Lilly."
I held her hand as we brought them up and down in your casual meeting of two people, only I'm pretty sure random strangers shouldn't feel that spark and the tingle even seconds after they let go.
It's just a thought.
This was my first memory of meeting Lilly, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
AN: Erm; Hello there. I haven't written any Liley stories in a long time, but I'm ready to try again. ^.^ This is starting off rough because I don't have any idea where this is going. R&R?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
