Chapter Two

When I arrived home that evening, my mother informed me that my best friend Alice, from Holbrook had called. Upon hearing this news, I dashed up the stairs and picked up the extension in my room. I listened for the dial tone and then dialed her number.

"Hello?" came her tired voice.

"Don't tell me you were sleeping!" I exclaimed.

"Mmmm," she mumbled. I rolled my eyes. She was always asleep.

"It's the first day of school! You should be alert! The world needs more lerts," I snickered at the lameness of my joke and I was answered with another tired moan. I sighed. "Well, I met someone. A cute someone," That woke her up.

"What!"

"Yeah, his name's Mark, and he's so hot! He's got this great hair that falls into his amazing blue eyes. He's perfect," I told her. I could practically hear her grinning on the other end. It wasn't very often that I liked someone. I'm a very picky person when it comes to guys. He can't be too sensitive 'cause that's kind of gay, and he can't be too macho 'cause then he's a dick. He can't be too hot, 'cause then he's stuck up and he can't be ugly 'cause that's just bad.

"And he fits all of your requirements?" She jokes.

"Very funny, but yes, he does," I informed her matter of factly. "And the best part is, I think he likes me too!" This thought was proven the next day when Mark asked me to go out with him the following Friday.

"Hey Lily," He said to me after our class together. He seemed slightly uncomfortable.

"Hi Mark," I said smiling at him. "What's up?" Mark shifted his weight to his other foot and mumbled something incoherent under his breath. I arched an eyebrow at his nervousness. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked.

"Do you want to go out Friday night? You know, just us?" He said, his face turning beet red. I smiled.

"I'd like that," I replied calmly, my voice hiding my true feelings. Mark's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Great! So I'll pick you up at seven?" I nodded. Mark grinned and walked away. When he was out of ear shot, I let out a little squeal, earning me some strange stares.

000

Friday didn't seem like it would come fast enough. But after much impatience, it did come. After school, I met Mark in the lobby. We left the building and he awkwardly took my hand. I smiled at him as we started to walk up the street towards the park. Most of the way we were silent. When we arrived at the park, we headed down to the lake to feed the ducks. We sat down on the grass next to the lake and Mark started to talk.

"I love coming here to feed the ducks. I know it sounds dorky-" I cut him off.

"No, its not dorky. I like coming down here too. Its nice," I said softly. "I thought I was the only one who enjoyed doing things like this. In my old town I used to do it all the time. Especially when my dad died three years ago. I miss him so much," Tears formed in my eyes and I wiped them away before they fell. It was so embarassing. I hadn't meant to start crying in front of Mark. He put his arm around me comfortingly.

"I know. My mom died last year. The worst part is, I didn't get to say goodbye. I was mad at her for something stupid and I ignored her when she left for work. A few hours later I got a call from the cops. They told me she was in an accident and she was killed instantly. I regret not saying goodbye to her every day," Mark's eyes were glazed over, like he forgot I was there.

"We didn't even know my dad was sick. Until he collapsed in our living room. An ambulance rushed him to the hospital but it was too late. He died an hour after he got there. I can't help but think that if we had known, we could have saved him," The tears that were forming in my eyes spilled out down my cheeks. Before I knew it, both of Mark's arms were around me and I was sobbing uncontrollably. It was the first time I had really cried since it happened. I didn't even cry at his funeral. I had convinced myself that I had to be the strong one for Mom and Petunia. I put my arms around his torso and cried myself out. Once I had composed myself, I pulled myself out of his grasp and wiped my face on the sleeve of my new sweater.

"I'm sorry," I said blushing. I looked away.

"It's okay, I understand,"

"No its not that. It just, I never really talked about it since it happened. And I never cried either. I guess three years is a long time to be holding emotions in like that," I smiled sheepishly. "But thanks. You know, for listening. I appreciate it," I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. When I pulled away, we were both blushing. Mark stood up and put out his hand to help me up.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" I shrugged.

"Sure," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling myself up. We walked down to the local pizza store and grabbed a booth. Mark ordered slices for both of us and brought them over to our table and sat down.

"So tell me about yourself," Mark said, taking a bite of his pepperoni slice.

"Well, my full name is Lillian Skye Jaclyn Marie Evans. I was born in Holbrook Hospital on July 18, 1959 and I'm sixteen years old. I have red hair and green eyes and I enjoy long walks on the beach," I joked. "What else do you want to know?" I asked.

"What do you like to do, who are your friends your family?"

"Well, I used to play the violin and I love to draw and read. I sing, but only in the shower, ummm," Mark snorted at this comment. "I have a sister, and my mom remarried a few months ago. My best friend in the whole world still lives in Holbrook along with all of my other friends. Except everyone I met from school." Mark nodded. "So what about you?"

"Well my full name is Markus Charles Fletcher. I was born in Greensboro, NC. I moved here when I was two so I don't have an accent. My birthday is August 22, 1958 and I just turned seventeen. I play the saxophone in the school's jazz band and I like to go to parties and hang out with my friends, who you know. I am an only child and I live with my dad." He finished.

"Interesting." I said.

"Do you wanna go catch a movie or something?" Mark inquired. I nodded in agreement. We left the pizzeria and headed across the street to the dollar theater. We agreed on a movie and Mark turned to the cashier and said, "Two for Dead Run,"

"You don't have to pay for me, its only a dollar," I told him.

"Exactly its only a dollar, its not a big deal,"

"Okay, but I got the popcorn," I argued, and Mark reluctantly agreed. We headed into the small theater and sat in the very back. After a few moments, the lights dimmed and the movie began. I wasn't a very big fan of scary movies but I figured I'd be able to stick one out. It seemed like Mark really wanted to see it so I agreed. After only ten minutes, the movie began to scare me. Then the screen went dark for a second and a frightening image jumped onto the screen. I let out a small scream and buried my face into Mark's shoulder. He chuckled beside me and put his arm around me. I smiled weakly and covered my eyes. A piercing scream filled the theater. I gasped loudly and grabbed Mark's hand that was around my shoulder. He pulled me closer and I rested my head on his shoulder. I sneaked a glance up at him to see that he was looking at me too. He leaned down and covered my lips with his. My eyes fluttered shut as he kissed me softly. He pulled away, his blush visible in the dark. He began to mutter an apology but was interrupted by my lips connecting with his own. Our lips moved together slowly. He licked my lower lip and I opened my mouth slightly, allowing his tongue to push its way in to explore each and every crevice. Our tongues played games with each other for the remainder of the movie. When the lights came back on, we pulled apart both of us were out of breath from our extensive making out. I looked at my phone when we were out of the theater. It was almost eight.

"I should be getting home. I didn't tell my mom I was going out so I can't go home too late,"

"Okay. Can I walk you home?" Mark asked boldly. I nodded as he took my hand. I led him to my house, making small talk along the way. He followed me up the steps to the front door. "Well goodnight," He said. He leaned over and kissed me tenderly. His kiss left me weak in the knees. I fumbled with my keys but finally got the front door open. I yelled a hello to my mother and ran upstairs to my room. I picked up my phone and dialed Alice's number. I didn't care if I woke her up or not. Surprisingly she was awake.

"Hello?"

"Hey, its me!"

"Hey Lils, what's up?" She asked cheerfully.

"I just got back from my date with Mark,"

"You had a date with Mark?" My eyes widened.

"Oh my god! I didn't tell you?"

"Nope,"

"Well I had a date with Mark,"

"I kind of figured," She stated. I went into detail from beginning to end about what happened from the time we left school to when he kissed me on the doorstep. I left out the part where I was crying at the park. I had never told her about my father. She knew that he died but she didn't know the full extent of it. "Wow! I never would have thought you would be telling this story to me. Its always me telling you stories about my dates,"

"Gee thanks," I responded sarcastically. She was right though. Alice was pretty, with long blonde hair and flawless skin. Her eyes were a crystal blue like the sky. So naturally she got all the guys. Alice gushed about cute it was that I had a boyfriend as I argued that he wasn't my boyfriend yet. This went on until my mother called me down to dinner.

xxxx

At school on Monday, it felt really awkward between Mark and me because I didn't know where we stood. Apparently neither did Mark. After lunch on Tuesday however, Mark pulled me aside.

"Lily, I like you a lot. You're really pretty and nice and smart," I blushed scarlet at his compliments as he continued. "Will you be my girlfriend?" I blushed even redder if that was possible and nodded. Mark's face broke out into a goofy grin and he kissed me. I smiled at him and looked around. I wasn't really one for PDA's. Mark walked me to my next class and stopped outside of the door.

"So Anya's having this party on Saturday," Mark started. "You wanna go with me?" I nodded up at him. I had never really noticed how much shorter I was than him until that moment. He towered over my five foot two stance. "Great!" He exclaimed as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. He gave me another quick kiss and dashed off down the hall. I sighed contentedly and headed into my class.