Chapter Three: Lilly's Diet Begins

"Mmmmm. That spaghetti smells great, dad" Miley said as she and I sat down at the dinner table.

"Thanks, bud. Just make sure you get enough before Lilly eats it all" Miley's dad, Robbie Ray, replied with a little laugh. I felt my cheeks grow warm. I'm a sucker for Mr. Stewart's spaghetti. I would have seconds, thirds, and sometimes fourths. It was that good.

"Hey, I can't help it if you make great spaghetti and meatballs" I said with a laugh as I put the spaghetti on my plate and drowned them in meat sauce and parmesan cheese.

"I'm glad you like them, Lilly" Mr. Stewart replied.

"No problem, Mr. S" I replied with my mouth full. Miley gave me a look of disgust but laughed anyway.

"Lills, what do you want to do tomorrow afternoon? I have a Hannah thing at night so we have the whole afternoon" Miley asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"How about the be-" I stopped in the middle of my sentence, thinking about what happened with Amber and Ashley today. "The mall? I need a new skateboard deck and pads."

"Sounds good to me" Miley replied. "You think Oliver would want to come?"

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name. OK, I admit it. I was crushing hard on him. I tried to sound casual when I replied.

"Yeah, that'd be cool" I said with a nod. Miley gave me a suspicious look but I adverted my gaze to my plate.

'Don't eat too much Lilly. You're starting your diet today remember? Oliver will like you more after you lose a few pounds' I thought as I pushed the spaghetti around my plate.

"Everything ok, Lilly?" Mr. Stewart asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind. Where's Jackson?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"He's out with his new 'girlfriend' "Miley said, putting air quotes around girlfriend. "I honestly don't know what girls see in him."

"I've been trying to figure that out for years" Mr. Stewart replied shaking his head.

-

Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out
Now Walk It Out

West Side Walk It Out
South Side Walk It Out
East Side Walk It Out
North Side Walk It Out

Now Walk It Out

Now Walk-

"Hello?" I said, answering my phone. "Lil-ay here."

"Hey, Lills, it's Oliver."

"Oliver" I nearly yelled into the phone.

"Hold on a second, I think you blew out my ear drum" Oliver joked. I blushed, thankful he couldn't see me.

"Sorry about that. So, what's up?" I asked, leaning back against my pillows.

"Not much. I'm bored and I just wanted to talk" Oliver replied.

"Well, why not call Miley?" I asked with a shrug as I picked up a skateboard magazine. Ryan Sheckler was on the cover. He's so hot. But, not as hot as Oliver.

"Because she'll be talking about Jake Ryan and how much she doesn't like him and I'll get all annoyed" Oliver replied, putting emphasis on 'doesn't' and 'like'. I giggled.

"So why call me?" I asked.

"Because we can talk about sports and anything personal because we've been best friends for as long as I can remember. If I told Miley anything, she'd go all crazy" Oliver said with a laugh. I laughed too.

"Yeah, that's Smiley Miley. So, what can I help you with?" I asked, putting down the magazine.

"Well. . .I like this girl. But, she's not like any other girl I've met. She's nice, funny, smart, but into different things then what girls like" Oliver replied.

'Oh my god. He's talking about me. Wait, he might not be. But, he totally described me so it must be me' I thought excitedly. But, what I said into the phone was, "Go on, I'm listening."

"Yeah, and I'm not sure if she likes me back. I'm too afraid to ask her out just in case she thinks I'm weird or something" Oliver replied.

"I'm not that good with advice like this but. . .leave her some notes in her locker. Get into small conversations with her and see how things go" I replied.

"Thanks Lills. You're the best. Uh-"

"Was there anything else?" I asked.

"Miley told me you only ate one plate of spaghetti at her house tonight. Is something wrong? Normally you would almost eat the whole thing before anyone else could get some" Oliver said. He sounded concerned. I forced a laugh.

"I'm fine Ollie. I just got a lot on my mind. You know, school, skateboarding, being Lola" I replied.

"As long as you're ok. I gotta go. Thanks for the advice Lills" Oliver said.

"No problem, Smokin' Oken. I'll call you tomorrow" I replied with a smile.

I hung up and tossed my phone to the end of my bed. I closed my eyes and went to sleep, thoughts of Oliver filling my mind.

-

"Morning, Lilly" mom said as I headed downstairs the next morning.

"Morning mom" I replied, pulling my favorite purple snow cap on my head.

"Have some breakfast" mom replied, motioning to the stacks of pancakes and waffles on the table. There was sausage, bacon, maple syrup and strawberries too.

"No thanks. I'm going to the mall" I replied, grabbing my skateboard and heading to the front door. "I'm meeting Miley and Oliver and I'm running late."

"Eat something sweetie" mom pressured. I stepped out the front door and looked back at her. I sighed heavily and grabbed a piece of bacon.

"I'll get something else at the mall. Love you mom, bye" I replied, rushing down the stairs and towards the mall. I looked at the piece of bacon in my hand and tossed it into the bushes.

'Remember Lilly, you're trying to lose weight so Oliver will notice you' I thought as I stared longingly after it. . .