Author's Note: anniecakes13: you are amazing! Thank you so much for all of your amazing, encouraging reviews. You're the reason for me getting my butt in gear and updating again, so thank you so very much!

So when weakness turns my ego up.

I know you'll count on the me from yesterday,

If I turn into another,

Dig me up from under what is covering,

The better part of me,

Sing this song,

Remind me that we'll always have each other,

When everything else is gone.

-"Dig", Incubus

"Hey Lily," Oliver greeted, entering my house without knocking. I rolled my eyes and continued to make the cookie dough. My parents were finally coming home that night, and, in a last attempt to make them get along, I was cooking an intricate meal.

"Hey Oliver," I said. I blushed slightly at my appearance. I was wearing a ratty old white T-shirt with jeans, a red apron covering me to just above my knees. My hair was pulled back in one sloppy braid, I wore glasses, this time not so ugly ones, and my face was undoubtedly covered in flour.

"Nice outfit," Oliver snickered. I glared at him and felt my face heat up even more. I reached over him, where he sat on my counter, and grabbed the wooden spoon that I was going to use to mix the dough. I smacked him soundly with it before beginning my process. "What's with the housewife get up?"

"I'm making dinner and desert for my parents tonight," I explained, watching as he winced. I rolled my eyes yet again. "It's not that bad."

"Remember what happened last time?" Oliver said cautiously.

"Of course I remember what happened last time," I snapped at him, gripping the spoon harder now. He came up behind me and put his hand over mine.

"Hey now," he whispered. "Don't break the spoon."

I turned to face him, not realizing just how close he was. I trembled and let out a small breath. I could feel his hot breath against my face and I bit my lip. He wasn't moving, and I was pinned to the counter.

"Lily..."

Our lips brushed, and I was dying to kiss him. The front door opened, and an aggravated Miley entered. Oliver and I leapt apart, and I glared at her, surprised to see that he was, too.

"Jake is just so frustrating!"

"What'd he do this time?" I asked in a slightly disinterested voice. I continued to stir my cookie dough while Oliver propped himself back on my counter. Miley sat on the big island in the middle of my kitchen.

"He started freaking out on Dex for talking to me," Miley said with a roll of her eyes.

"Be honest, Miles. Were you flirting?"

"For once, I totally wasn't!" Miley defended, and I could tell she was telling the truth. "He's so insecure about our relationship. It's driving me insane."

"It's better then making little girls cry," Oliver suggested. I gave him a look as he popped open a Coke can, and when I looked back at my female friend, I was surprised to see tears filling her eyes.

"But what if he makes me cry?" she whimpered. Oliver froze, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Good going, donut," I mumbled to him before going to Miley and hugging her.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Miley. We both know he's crazy about you. Maybe he was having a really bad day, and he just snapped. It happens to all of us. Just talk to him," I advised sagely, itching to go back to my cooking. My parents would be home in a couple of hours, and I wanted everything to be absolutely perfect, and, knowing me, it would take quite a few tries before that would actually happen.

"You're right," Miley sniffled.

"I'm just that good," I mockingly bragged.

"I'm gonna go see if he's still at Rico's," Miley said, getting up and heading to the door. 'Thanks, Lily. Bye, Oliver."

"Bye, Miley," Oliver and I said in unison. As the door snapped shut, an awkward silence, the first one in me and Oliver's eleven year friendship.

"So," I said, elongating the word. "What's new?"

Oliver chuckled slightly. "Besides the fact that I just almost kissed my best friend, you mean?"

"Erm...I was hoping you were going to ignore that."

"Do you want me to ignore it?" he said, studying my face. I looked at the bowl, shaking my head.

"Not really. I just don't want to hear you say it was a mistake," I mumbled.

"I'm not positive what this is, Lily," Oliver said honestly. "And to be honest, it scares the crap out of me. But, I want to find out. You know how curious I am."

"Curiosity killed the Oken," I said. It was one of my lines I'd been using since the second grade. Everyone in Oliver's family was always asking questions and trying to figure things out, especially his brother and his mom. That, and using that little line would hopefully diffuse the awkwardness between us. I was also hoping for a subject change.

Oliver laughed, leaping off of the counter and hugging me around the waist from behind. "You're the best, Lily Pad."

"You, too, Ollie Pop," I giggled. "I really need to finish cooking. Unless you're gonna help me, you might wanna go so I won't be distracted."

When I turned back around, he was wearing a frilly purple apron and rubbing his hands together. "Where do we start?"

I laughed and showed him the recipe, beginning to explain.

By the time Oliver left, we still hadn't settled any sort of official closure on this weird new nature of our relationship. I didn't mind too much, though, because I was finally in a place where I was happy. Miley and I were finally completely okay, and I had stopped being so self-destructive. Oliver was sticking by me through thick and thin, and now I knew that he had feelings for me, too.

When my parents walked through the doors, they were already bickering. They had gone on yet another save-the-marriage-that's-falling-apart trip, and I could tell it was yet another failure. They both looked shocked at the huge dinner I had, steaming hot and ready on the table. My mom smiled at me.

"Lily, sweetie, this looks amazing!" she exclaimed.

My dad gave me a big bear hug and popped open a beer. My mom looked at him dissapprovingly, and I closed my eyes with frustration. To diffuse the tension, I lead the way by taking a seat, and they both followed.

"Thank you," I said, "I wanted to surprise you guys."

"Mm, and are those cookies I smell?" my mom asked, sniffing the air jokingly. I grinned at her.

"Homemade double chocolate chunk," I beamed proudly. She smiled at me and hugged me tightly.

"I missed you, sweetheart."

"Missed you, too, Mom."

"My favorites," my dad said, looking at the food hungrily.

Within ten minutes, my parents had begun to fight relentlessly once again, and I sighed, pretending like it didn't bother me as usual. And usual, it really didn't. I looked out of the window and saw that the weather reflected the mood in my house; there was a storm brewing outside, rain pouring, thunder clapping, and to my utter horror, lightning flashing. I absolutely hated lightning.

I brought out the desert and for another moment, they were happy, but it was only momentary. Seconds later, they were back to fighting, this time way past bickering, and I sighed once again, beginning to clean up and do the dishes before slipping away, unnoticed, to my bedroom. I strummed away on an acoustic guitar that Robby Ray had bought me for Christmas, and let the lone tear fall down my face before picking up the pieces and moving on.

They did this a lot, and I would rather them divorce then sit through this hell any longer. As long as I could have both of my parents, whether they were together or not, I would be happy. I would be jut fine with my dad in a different house then my mom, if it would put an end to the civil war my house had become.

Suddenly, I heard doors slamming as the fight made its way upstairs. A new sound had been added to the soundtrack of my nights, and I peeked out of my door to see my dad, lugging a suitcase down the stairs.

"How dare you?!" my mother screamed. My father let a flash of guilt cross his face before he put his impassive mask back on. I knew that mask well; I had learned it from him.

"I love her, Heather. Let's face it, the only thing we have in common is Lily; Lily is the only thing that we have. With Karen, those kids love me and I love them, and most importantly, we love each other!" my father roared back. I came out of my bedroom and into the hallway.

"What's going on?" I demanded. My mother was crying, and my father looked at me with pained eyes.

"I'm leaving, Lily," he said.

"You're leaving us for another family?" I asked, shock and hurt filling my words. "I'll still see you, right? Please tell me you're staying close," I begged, looking at the man that I had considered my hero my entire life. Suddenly, Superman was not so super anymore.

"I'm sorry, Lily. Karen and the kids live in Sacramento."

"You're leaving me for some woman and her kids in Sacramento?!" I screamed at him. My mother didn't attempt to hold me back, and I lashed out at him verbally. "I thought you loved me, Daddy! Just go on, walk out that door, show them how you love them so much more than me! If you don't need me, I sure as hell don't need you!"

With that, I stormed into my room. I heard the front door slam and the car pull away through the storm, and I knew that he was gone; Daddy wasn't coming back.

That is how I found myself knocking on Oliver's door in the pouring rain. My mother had long ago cried herself to sleep; she had wanted to make things work so badly with my father, she had truly loved him, even in the end. When Denise Oken answered the door and took in my appearance, she ushered me inside and called for Oliver, who came loping down the stairs in only his boxers. It was rather late on a school night, and I could tell he had just awoken. He looked at me blearily, and then his eyes clouded with concern.

"He's gone, Oliver," I whispered, my voice cracking. His mother had gone to make us some hot chocolate, and to ultimately give us time alone. Our moms were best friends, and I knew that she would get the scoop the next day. I had left several notes in my house and even brought a cell phone, just in case my mom needed me.

"Your...your dad?"

"Yeah. He loves them more than me. He never loved me, Ollie," I whimpered before dissolving into tears. We were quite the sight, me in my soaking wet flannel PJs and my black T-shirt that was sticking to me, with my little girl style pigtail braids, and him, in his boxers, shirtless, and his hair a complete mess.

We got the hot chocolate from Denise and she led us upstairs into Oliver's room, giving me a hug and turning down the lights, closing the door and leaving without a word.

"Oliver?" I asked feebly, wrapped in his arms under his covers.

"Yeah?"

"Do...do you love me? My d-daddy s-said he did b-but he didn't," I choked out, tears covering my voice.

"I love you, Lily, more than you'll ever know," Oliver said hoarsely. I nodded into his chest.

"My daddy said that and he lied."

"I'll never lie to you."

"Then make me a promise. Tell me something true, something that will always be true." I wasn't sure why I was acting like this, but I needed reassurance and Oliver was my safety net. The words that he spoke hit me like a semi truck, and I held onto him tighter as he uttered the words.

"I'll never leave you, Lily Pad.