CHAPTER TWO
Maybe It Was a Big Mistake
Written in the Third Person
For a short moment, Lilly actually thought that she was dreaming. After all, there she was, having her first New Year's kiss and her first kiss ever in general, and it was with a really, really cute guy.
A really cute guy she didn't know all that well.
But then she felt his hand on her arm, steady yet gentle. Just the touch of it made chills go up and down her spine, over and over. She was beginning to conclude that it would leave a phantom limb, or possibly even a mark. His lips weren't too pressed up against hers, but it was just close enough to be called a lip-lock. The kiss was long, deep and sweet. Lilly almost found it addictive.
That felt too real to be a dream, she thought to herself, savoring the moment. Somehow, she knew that it would end all too soon. And then everything came back to her. It was just a little promise she'd made with her best friends. How middle school is this? It has 'seventh grade' written all over it.
And to begin with, we're in the ninth grade.
Lilly then found herself coming to her senses. In the real world, she would never have agreed to do such a thing. She was Lilly Truscott, skater girl extraordinaire. Not some cheap slut who kisses anyone on New Year's Eve.
Okay, so slut may not be appropriate, she thought, but you get the point.
She grabbed a hold of his right shoulder, resting her left arm on it. Although the kiss was getting better by the minute, her emotion was beginning to go lower and lower. She felt sick to her stomach, and she realized she had a huge headache.
I cannot believe I just did that.
Lilly pulled away, not know what to do or say.
What does Joe think of me now?
"Um, I—" Joe started to say, but Lilly cut him off. His hand was still holding onto her arm.
"I am so, so sorry," she told him, taking her left arm away from his shoulder. Before she could do anything that would make a fool of herself more, she jerked her arm away and ran.
It wasn't long before a fresh stream of tears was running down her face. She didn't know why she was crying, but somehow it was only right that she was bawling her eyes out at the time.
Why did I have to meet Joe, anyway? Why couldn't I just grab the next guy I saw and gave him a short kiss, or something?
Lilly had counted the seconds as they melted into her kiss with Joe. They kissed for thirty-six seconds. To her, it was either too short or too long.
She found herself outside the house. She needed to take a deep breath. The tears were coming like rain now. She started thinking that maybe this kiss on New Year's was bad news; a silly little tradition.
If this was a 'silly little tradition,' why is it still being carried on until now?
Lilly was confused. She didn't want to feel that away, especially not after kissing the cutest boy in the world. The kiss itself was enough to make her drool, and yet she blew it.
The moment reminded her of the time her dad tried to teach her how to swim. There she was, standing at the edge of the pool, wondering if it was okay to jump in or not yet. She saw her six-year-old self holding on to her dad's hand as tight as she could, shivering in fear. Her dad told her that it was okay; she didn't need to be afraid. He was right there. So she took the risk and dived in. In a matter of seconds, she was out of the pool again, shedding tears. She's stayed out of the water since.
It was exactly like what just happened to her. She tested the water with both feet, and now she couldn't get out.
"Hey!" Joe called after her, interrupting her thoughts. "Wait up! You haven't told me your name yet!" He ran after her, and stopped short to catch a breath.
Lilly glanced back for a moment. Joe seemed so far away, and yet he was almost just five and a half feet away from her.
"I'm sorry," she said again. "But I have to go." She turned away, running off again.
Lilly blinked back tears as she made her way to the house she was staying in. Closing the door behind her, she sighed deeply.
Hayden was sitting on a couch, watching some late night reruns. "Hey, are you okay, Lil?" he asked.
Lilly sniffled and wiped her tears. "Sure I am," she told him. Total lie. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Hayden nodded, turning back to the TV screen. "Okay, Lil. Happy New Year, by the way," he said, sounding genuine and serious. Which was so unlike him. He was always goofing off and joking around.
"Happy New Year," Lilly mumbled. "Thanks for remembering to greet me." She tried her best to sound happy, not dry, dull and lifeless. She climbed up the stairs and entered her room.
She looked out the window and saw several different fireworks go all the way up to the sky before exploding spectacularly.
"What a way to start the New Year," she muttered.
ooHMoo
Miley wasn't doing any better.
Yes, she was the mastermind of this so-called pact, but inside, she was pretty nervous herself.
She went around the house for the last eleven minutes before midnight, trying to calm herself down.
It wasn't working.
Some people were already making out here and there. Talk about PDA, Miley thought with a shudder. I know I'd never do that.
Miley then went off to the punch bowl and grabbed a plastic cup, filling it with the drink she recently poured on her best friend.
She stayed there for a few more minutes, then she moved on to the living room, which was right in front of the backyard. The backyard, as Oliver had said, had a huge pool. Some boys were getting ready to light fireworks.
For the next few instants, she drowned in her thoughts. Maybe it was a big mistake, she mused. Maybe this pact wasn't such a great idea, after all.
She was immersed in her thoughts long enough. When she snapped back to attention, a crowd had formed around her, poised and ready to welcome the year two thousand and eight.
They were in the middle of the countdown, in fact.
As soon as the fireworks went off, she forgot she'd thought the pact was not that great, grabbed hold of the closest boy and kissed him. She felt no connection, if she had to be honest.
The weirdest part was, it wasn't any other guy. The boy in question wasn't a stranger at all.
"Jake?" Miley backed away in shock. She was surprised—both because she kissed Jake, and because the kiss didn't have a single spark in its name. "Oh, heavens, no."
"Miley?" Jake Ryan said at the same time, standing frozen in his place. "What are you doing here?"
"The question is, what are you doing here," Miley told him coldly. "I mean, besides lying to me and not calling. I thought you were in Romania."
"And I was," Jake claimed. "I just came back."
"I also thought we were going on a date," Miley reminded him. "You know, four months from that Saturday?"
"That was three months ago." Jake looked down.
"Exactly!" Miley grunted. She turned to go. "I am so not ready for this conversation. Happy New Year, Jake. I hope you have a good one. Because mine is already ruined."
Miley was already headed for the front door when Jake found another way to stop her. "Why did you kiss me, then?"
Rolling her eyes, Miley turned around. Alrighty, then. Let's give Jake Ryan a chance to explain himself. Giving him a hard time wouldn't hurt, either, she thought, walking up to him grudgingly.
"I don't know," she said. "Maybe I had you confused with someone else. Maybe I kissed you and I was planning on hopping on a plane to some foreign country no one's ever heard of right after it, so you would know how I felt. Or maybe it was because I'm still so in love with you?"
The last one was not a lie, and Miley knew it in her heart. Of course, she wouldn't dare admit it.
"Really, Jake," Miley was saying now. "What are you doing in New Jersey?"
"Visiting my grandmother," Jake replied. "She's sick. She has some type of cancer, and it's in stage four." He shook his head melancholically. "It may not be long before she leaves us for good."
Oh, great, Miley reflected. Giving me a guilt trip so I'll soften up. Whatever the truth is, it's working. "Oh, Jake, I'm so sorry," she heard herself say. "I didn't know."
"And filming was extended for three months," Jake went on. "Some parts were shot again because I grew a few inches and they had to take body measurements again, and…you know."
"Why didn't you write?" Miley asked after what seemed like an eternity. "You could have responded to the millions of e-mails that I sent you." Just as Jake was about to respond, "No time," with an indifferent shrug, she cut him off. "Don't you tell me that you lacked time," she said. "I saw the tabloids, Jake; I'm not stupid. I glared at the picture of you buying a latte from Starbucks. I cut out the photo in which you were found 'strolling' around tourist attractions with your freakin' costars and taped it to a corkboard. I throw darts at it daily. I've gotten so good, I actually hit you between the eyes—twice."
"I know you were hurt," Jake said. "And I'm sorry about that. But I couldn't."
"And why not?"
Miley and Jake weren't causing a scene, since everyone's attention was focused on the fireworks, yelling out, "Happy New Year!" and whooping. Miley thanked her lucky stars for that.
Jake swallowed a lump in his throat. "Because I've been missing you so much. I couldn't work up the nerve to even read your e-mails. I just couldn't bear hearing about how you're doing without me."
"That's the stupidest excuse I've ever heard." Miley shook her head. "You know what, Jake? I'm done." She turned to walk away once more. "And this time, there's nothing you can do to prove me wrong."
Jake pulled her close by the wrist. "How about this?" he murmured, leaning in close.
It was only a second before he finally kissed her. To Miley, it seemed like an eternity.
Now she knew why the kiss earlier had no sparks—Jake wasn't kissing back. But now that he was, Miley felt like she was suspended on air.
But now it was her turn not to kiss back.
She pulled away. "I'm sorry, Jake," she said. "Really, I am. I once thought that you and I, we were perfect. But all that changed a long time ago. Sure, I haven't moved on. But I'm not ready to get hurt again, either. Goodbye, Jake. For good."
Miley hadn't expected to even see Jake in New Jersey in the first place. True, she still cared, but she willed herself not to. She didn't want to care. She just did.
"But, Miley, I—" Jake began. But he was too late.
Miley was gone.
(A/N: Perhaps Miley and Lilly are right—maybe this little vow they made was bound to worsen their lives, not make them feel oh-so-great. But how's Oliver doing? Any ideas on who he kisses? Miley and the rest of you will find out soon. And Lilly also gets the surprise of her life when she realizes that Hayden is…and Joe is… Oh, nevermind. You'll know when you read the following chapters. So stay tuned! Oh, and by the way, I do not write Niley stories anymore. They're just not right for each other, I guess—maybe in fanfics, especially really good stories, but in real life? Uh-uh. So how was this chapter? Good, I hope. My New Year, by the way, pretty much rocked, until there was that darned blackout. Two parts of town literally lost power, because of some dude who accidentally aimed his fireworks towards a power source. At least, that's what I heard. The fireworks were awesome, though. Please review! Thanks for the awesome first-chapter reviews. They willed me to go on and write this second one!)
