A/N: Chapter 7 is up! Lily and Oliver still have a dance to get through, and we'll have lots of fun playing with their emotions in this next chapter. Thanks to Fairywolf for the description of Lily's dress. This chapter goes out to you!

Disclaimer: If I were good enough to own it, would my stories really be here?

Chapter 7: Close to Him

Lily was walking casually along-side Adrienne and Mar over the playing field. Lily had spent most of the next day in bed and around the cabin, but she was feeling fine now, Saturday morning, and the only remnants of her accident were a few scratches and bruises, most of which were covered by her clothing.

The girls had just finished playing a game of touch football and were headed back towards the cabins for lunch when Lily heard her name projected across the field.

She whipped around to see Oliver running up to her and took a few steps back towards him. No one had minded that Oliver made time to talk to Lily a few times each day after what had happened on Wednesday. They'd even let him come up and sit with her around the fire circle once or twice.

"What is it this time, Oliver?" Lily laughed and let her friends walk off without her. "You can never just leave me in the peace of women, huh?"

"Nope," he smiled brightly at her and continued, "So tonight,"

"Yeah, tonight? What's going on,"

"You're still my date to dance it up, aren't you?" he questioned and grabbed her hands, playing romantic.

"Of course. Well, I guess I could always go with some of those Cabin 3 guys. I've heard a lot of good things about them." she pulled her hands away, but moved so that she was now standing at his side with her head on his shoulder.

"Hahaha. Very funny," he threw his head up sarcastically, "Anyway, let's really play it up, okay?"

"What do you mean?" she pulled her head up from his shoulder and looked at him questioningly.

"Well, I'll come to your cabin and pick you up at seven, and we'll walk hand in hand along the lake at dusk, then we'll show up at the dance and make it a real party, and I'll bring you punch and you'll have to dance with me. Then we'll sit by the side of the lake until we're too tired to think, and I'll walk you home." he finished dramatically, as if he'd planned the evening of their wedding.

"Oliver Oken," Lily smiled, pushing his shoulder, "Are you asking me on a date?"

"A date!?" Oliver looked shocked, "Can't your best friend of thirteen years take you to a dance for fun, and have it not be a date?"

Lily was laughing at him, "No, no not really. But let's do it. This place is starting to get boring, and we need to liven it up a little. Of course I'll be your romantic date tonight," she reassured him, enjoying herself immensely.

"But," Oliver started again and Lily groaned at the thought of more guidelines, "You have to dress up, and I'll tuck in my shirt and everything."

"Oliver? Tucking in his shirt?" she shouted as if in hysterics, "I don't believe it! I must be something really special."

"Yeah, yeah, Lily. You're fantastic," he waved her off. "Anyway, seven, right?"

"Seven," she said., smiling, and ran back to her cabin.

Xxx...xxX

Lily stood apprehensively in front of the cheap mirror hung on the inside door of her cabin's bathroom. She studied herself carefully, unsure of what she thought of the way she looked. She scanned herself from head to toe; A baby blue dress. It had a simple v-neck scoop help up with thin strap. A black sparkling belt fit cleanly around her waist, making the short, flirty skirt that fell easily above her knee pop. A pair of beaded black flip flops made home to her painted toes.

She looked up at her hair. She'd done it in soft curls, down over her shoulders, with a sparkling black headband holding back the loose pieces. Soft makeup and a few pieces of delicate silver jewelry her mom had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday finished her look.

Looking at herself, she was unsure. 'I never get dressed up,' she thought. 'Oliver is going to think I look ridiculous like this.'

She began to slide off her flip flops to find something else to wear when Leslie stopped her in the doorway, "Lily!" she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! You look amazing!"

Before Lily could respond, Leslie was fingering the detailing on the hem of her dress and a few of the other girls were walking over, most in states of half-dress.

"Cute hair!" Katie told her, zipping up the back of her gold and white Greek-style dress. Lily smiled a little, but was still unsure. She admired the girls around her, who dressed with such ease for these kinds of things. She wondered why it wasn't easier for her to be girly.

"Do you guys really think so? I'm not sure I can really pull it off," she started explaining, fiddling with her hair and pulling on her dress.

"Lily!" Ellie shouted and looked around at the other girls, "You are easily the best-looking girl in this bathroom. Lily laughed, and Mar piped in.

"Hey! I think I look pretty damn good, too!" She smiled and joined in the laughing, "But Lily, really. You look amazing. You'll be breaking lots of hearts tonight!"

"She doesn't mind," Adrienne said, her head popping out from around the bathroom door. She was clearly not fully-clothed. "The only heart she's watching out for tonight is Oliver's!" she exclaimed.

A murmur went around the girls, who congratulated her, and, without second thoughts, tossed her out of the bathroom with excuses like, "You already look great. It's my turn, so get out."

The mood was considerably more relaxed than it had been in the last few days, which put Lily at ease. She was excited. She couldn't help herself.

She slid of her shoes and sat carefully on her bed, not wanting to ruin any aspect of her dress. She thought about the night ahead of her and felt her heart pick up a little. She felt like she were twelve again, getting butterflies in her stomach over some boy.

A gentle rap came from the door. Lily shuddered a bit happily. 'Oliver,' she thought, and put her shoes back on, walking towards the door.

She took one last look down at herself and pulled open the door. Oliver stood there, grinning madly at her. 'Damn,' she thought, 'This boy cleans up nicely.' His hair was less mop-like, which she was happy to see. She glanced at his button-down shirt tucked nicely into a pair of dressy khaki pants.

"Hey good lookin'," she kidded to him.

"Lily," he looked her in the eye, breathing deep, "You look beautiful tonight." She blushed furiously at him as he held out his arm. She willingly took it and exited the cabin. They stepped carefully along the path that ran next to the lake, casually and happily. Lily was surprised at how natural it felt to her.

She glanced up at the sky to see the sun starting to set and the tiniest bits of stars starting to show through. She watched a tiny bird fly along the lake and ripple the water slightly. She was admiring the beauty when Oliver stopped and looked at her with a burning in his eyes.

"Lily," he breathed, dropping his arm from hers, "You're mine tonight." He slid his hand tentatively around her waist and pulled her in close as they continued to walk. Lily felt her cheeks grow warm for the second time that night. She knew he was going to drive her crazy all night.

They reached the large meeting room towards the far side of the lake and Oliver released her to lead her through the door. He was being unusually like a gentleman, though she could hardly say she minded it.

"Ready to play it up?" he asked her curiously once they were inside and could hear the old songs playing in the background.

"Yeah," she nodded, and took his lead to the dance floor.

The room was done up simply, like it should be. It was summer and carefree. The fast song she heard reminded her of the songs her dad would play her from cassette tapes when she was a little kid. Summer memories was the thought that came to mind. As Oliver began to move to the beat, she followed, remembering the cartwheels and lemonade stands and sprinklers that made her summers.

The two danced wildly alongside each other for a few moments. Lily turned to Oliver and watched him pull a move she hoped she'd never see again. She burst into hysterics and looked at him, "Oliver," she began, "You're a terrible dancer."

His smile only grew wider and a mischievous look played on his face. "Maybe I'd be better if you showed me," he said, pulling her close.

Just as he'd done that, the music changed. Lily felt her body go a little stiff as she realized a typical "slow" song was playing. Oliver, too, seemed surprised by this, and a little in the dark about how to react.

Lily stepped to the right just as Oliver stepped to her left. She laughed apologetically at him and tried again, with similar results. The awkward movements continued for a few moments before Lily took the initiative to take a step closer to Oliver, who immediately responded by resting his two hands on the small of her back. Lily flinched, but realized his move and responded by delicately snaking her arms around his neck.

Lily found her fingers at his hairline, and couldn't help but finger the boyish curls that formed there. She felt Oliver pull her closer and smiled to herself, resting her head along the crook of his neck down to his chest. She was several inches shorter than him, but played it flawlessly to her advantage.

Oliver bent his head low, and she felt his warm breath on her ear. He began humming the song softly to her, making her breath in deeply through her nose, inhaling his smell, and letting her eyes flutter shut. It was just the low vibration of his voice, but it was making her unbelievably flustered.

The lyrics paused as a musical interlude took over. The strong change in the song gave Lily the confidence to pull her hands out from around his neck and slide them down so they were resting on his chest. He pulled his hands up to the middle of her back so he could press her closer to him. 'Snuggled against him,' she thought, 'Just what she'd been longing for.' Lily admired his firm muscles and strength as the pair stepped rhythmically back and forth. By this time, she couldn't even tell whether or not they were moving at all, she was so wrapped up in just being close to him.

It felt so good. She felt a tingling go down her spine. Oliver spiraled his fingers through her curls and rested his head atop hers. It turned her on completely, and she felt incredibly dirty, doing nothing but standing near him.

They were so lost in each other, they barely realized the song had switched, and it wasn't until a strong drum solo in the next that their swaying stopped and they pulled away, flushed and looking completely embarrassed.

Oliver smiled meekly down at her, "Punch?"

"Sure," she said shyly, and sat down along the side of the meeting room, trying to gain control of her emotions. Had her best friends of thirteen years really just done that to her? How would she ever handle being near him again?

Oliver came back with their drinks in a minute or so. They enjoyed them along the side before tossing the empty cups and getting back on the dance floor.

Xxx...xxX

Lily lay next to Oliver in the grass, both spread out under and staring up at the stars. Lily could count all eight words he'd said to her that night. She didn't mind the silence, though. It was peaceful, even if it was leaving her plenty of time to let her thoughts run wild.

She scooted towards him and switched positions so that her head lay on his stomach, each still facing up. She felt his chest move up and down and let her breathing quickly fall into rhythm with his.

She felt a gentle breeze from the lake and turned her head to watch it. Oliver moved his hands and placed them tenderly on her shoulders, rubbing them gentle. Lily had no idea how long they'd been there, but she didn't really feel the need to move.

After a few more minutes, she felt Oliver shift beneath her and sat up to allow him to move. She watched as he stood gently from his position and held a hand out to help her up. She obliged, and, within an instant, was standing face-to-face with him.

"Lily," he bent his head down and whispered into her ear, "I loved having you here with me. Thank you." He brought his head back up and let his gaze find hers. They stared with intensity at each other just long enough for Lily to realize that his head might be getting a little closer to hers. Her butterflies returned and she let her eyes shut with ease. She breathed deeply in anticipation.

"Lily!" a high voice shrilled from the background.

Lily pulled away instantly, her eyes flashing open. "Katie!?" she said shocked. She searched around in the dark for a moment until she found the girl who'd called her.

"Ready to head back to the cabin?" she asked and moved a little closer towards them. "Oh! Oliver! I didn't see you there! Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. We were just finishing up.", he said, pulling Lily into a tight embrace. "Thanks for coming with me, Lily-pad," he told her casually, and she nodded against him. She let him go reluctantly and linked arms with Katie before heading back across the lake.

A/N: Chapter 7 complete! Thoughts? This was pretty fun to write, but probably came off as pretty cheesy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading it. Updates will be a little slower now that we're in a new semester, so sorry for any upcoming waits. Please review!