Ah, for the rush of this posting. I'm supposed to be in the car right now, but I thought I should get this out. Chapter seven, voila.

I fixed some errors in this chapter that I didn't see before. I had to post this early in the morning and quickly since I was heading out to go college visiting and didn't know when I'd be back. And I know this is the second Oscar Wilde quote -- I just love him so.

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The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

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At nine o'clock in the morning on Saturday, Lilly woke again, this time to someone pounding on Miley's door loudly. She groaned softly – the dream and several others like it had been constant companions during her rest and she did not appreciate them. Perhaps, she reasoned, they came merely because she was sleeping in the same bed as her buddy. However, that didn't make sense; it wasn't as if she had never slept next to Miley before.

Miley sat up, rubbing a fist over her eyes. She spotted Lilly at the other end of the bed and tilted her head. Her tired and confused look lapsed into a yawn. She snagged a pillow and chucked it at her door.

"Stop it Jackson!" she hollered loudly, hoping it would be enough to get the pounding to cease.

"Get up, you two! Dad's finished making pancakes!" he hollered back, just as loudly. But the pounding stopped. "And if you don't hurry up, I'm eating yours, too."

Lilly stumbled to her feet, hoping Miley wouldn't ask what she was doing at the foot of the bed. She ran a hand through her hair, taming it slightly. Miley followed suit, though her hair was slightly wilder than Lilly's. Together they tottered downstairs and into the waiting chairs around the table.

Lilly was extremely uncomfortable. Just looking at the kitchen made her think about the Dream. In her mind, it now had a capital letter. It just felt like it needed one. The Dream made her feel funny, especially in her nether region and that was not something she wanted to portray over breakfast.

Fortunately, nobody paid much attention to her as they feasted. Robby Ray was busy arguing with Jackson over Jackson's household chores, and how they never seemed to get done. After the bout of silence that Robby had inflicted on his son as punishment the last time, he'd thought the problem was fixed. All that happened, though, was Jackson starting his chores and then stopping halfway through. Miley was too tired to talk about much and her face was nearly in her pancakes.

After breakfast was eaten by Lilly and Robby Ray, inhaled by Jackson, and absorbed via osmosis by Miley, the two girls headed back upstairs to clean up. Miley hit the shower first and Lilly occupied herself by rooting around Miley's room idly. She neatened the bed, pushed in a few drawers that were jutting out and finally crashed on Miley's desk chair.

Half an hour later, Miley emerged from the bathroom and reentered her bedroom, towel wrapped tightly around her body. Lilly gulped slightly, eyes fixated momentarily on the curves the towel so nicely portrayed. She grabbed her change of clothing and ran for the bathroom herself. She silently reprimanded herself for gazing at Miley's barely clad body in any way shape or form. That was not how best friends looked at each other.

Miley watched Lilly hurry away with a bemused smile riding on her face. She waited until the door to the bathroom was securely closed before pulling on the day's clothing. Casting a few secretive glances around, she opened a desk drawer and pulled out a slim black journal. She opened it to a fresh page, dated it, and set the tip of her pen down on the first line.

Dear Diary –

Lilly has been acting really funny lately. And I mean really funny. She won't meet my eyes, she hasn't said much, and last night she was so protective, it was pretty funny. But I don't know what to make of it.

Does she like me? I know she doesn't want to date me, but could she possibly want to now? I mean, I told her like four days ago. Is that enough for someone to make a full turn around, emotionally?

I'd really love to know what Lilly's thinking. Blah! I feel like every time I write in here, it's all about Lilly. But that's kinda what's going on with me. She's in the shower right now, but I'm not going to think of that. Thinking about that would end up badly.

I think I embarrassed her, though, coming into the same room as her in only a towel. But that used to happen a lot. Did my confession ruin our comfort? Is Lilly anxious that I'm hitting on her? I don't want to make her uncomfortable. I think I'll have to ease off and be quiet for a while. Cut off all contact and any chatter she might take the wrong way.

Well, the water stopped in the bathroom, so that means I have like ten minutes before she comes back. But I don't want to cut it any closer I have to. So I'll stop now. Safer that way.

Miley snapped the journal shut, feeling a little better, even though her thoughts seemed drab and disappointing. Just getting it off her chest and out of her head was a relief. She slid the slim book back into the drawer and proceeded to wait as patiently as she could.

Her estimation was about right – eleven minutes later a clean and redressed Lilly appeared in her doorway, smiling. In the shower, Lilly had taken a few moments to clear her mind and bury the Dream deeply in her memories. Hopefully it wouldn't pop up at an inopportune moment. She focused her mind as she cleaned.

Miley was still just her best friend, right? What she was feeling was how she'd always felt, but Miley's confession had probably caused her to be hyper-aware of what she thought. It made sense to her and she accepted the reasoning. But that only brought up further worries – Had she really felt this way about Miley the whole time?

Rather than worry herself to pieces and waste water, Lilly hurried up and rinsed off. She shut the water off and reached for her towel. As she wrapped it around her body and began rubbing herself dry, she was hit by another inquisitive thought. Why was she so against feeling something for Miley? Lilly had to admit that Miley was the prettiest girl she knew. And not to mention loyal. Miley had stuck by her through a lot, even after their friendly spats. She'd never had someone so devoted to her before.

So if it wasn't Miley that she was afraid of loving, what was it? Lilly gnawed on her lower lip thoughtfully. Sure, she was afraid of what other people would say if they found out. It was almost like a nightmare and her overactive imagination would undoubtedly make it ten times worse than it would be. Of course, people had been whispering about her sexuality since freshman year. She'd blown that off, knowing it was just a silly rumor. It was bound to be around since she skateboarded and wasn't as in to fashion as the girls around her. Most people considered her 'one of the guys'. It didn't help that her handful of boyfriends didn't seem to stick.

As she slid her shorts on, she made a decision. She was going to take today to watch Miley and see if their interactions lead to anything. That meant she was going to have to maintain a low level of contact and constant conversation with the other girl. Then, at the end of the day, she'd have her answer. Maybe by Sunday Miley would have an answer, too.

So when she appeared in Miley's doorway, her smile was genuine. She was ready to grab the bull by the horns and take control of her wayward feelings.

"Ready to do some science?" she asked.

"When you are, captain." Miley mocked a salute, "I figured we could start with the maze before getting a rodent."

"Sounds good." Lilly's face screwed up slightly, "Er, where are we going to get a rodent?"

"My piano."

"That's right!" Lilly giggled, "I forgot about Linda, the wonder mouse."

Miley nodded, "I thought we could use some shoeboxes for the maze. Maybe one for the start and one for the finish? And tons of cardboard for the rest."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan." Lilly walked over, laying a hand on Miley's arm. Miley jerked back slightly and Lilly noticed immediately, but said nothing.

They set to work. Hours drifted by as they constructed their project; it wasn't a lengthy process, but they made it that way by chattering occasionally. Lilly kept trying to put her hands on Miley, and Miley kept trying to keep away. It was confusing to both of them. To Lilly it seemed like Miley had stopped liking her and was repulsed by her touch. To Miley it seemed like Lilly was teasing her, which she didn't think Lilly would do.

Lunch time came and went. Miley left Lilly to work on the maze, which was almost done, to go and fix them a few sandwiches, a big bowl of popcorn, and two sodas. She was gone for a total of six minutes and in that time Lilly had managed to wreck half the project.

Miley stared at the mayhem that was once her hard work and sighed. "Sweet nibblets, Lilly… what did you do?"

Lilly gulped and shifted from foot to foot, hands clasped in front of her. She jerked them unsuccessfully – they were stuck together. "I leaned in some super glue… and… then panicked…"

Miley chuckled, "Should I get you to the emergency room?"

"No!" Lilly cried. "I brought the cheap stuff. I just need to put it under water."

Still giggling madly, Miley helped Lilly to the bathroom, turning on the sink water. While Lilly washed her hands free Miley drummed her fingers on the porcelain, thinking. Lilly eyed her cautiously; they were standing less than half a foot a part, the closest they'd been since breakfast.

"Are you mad at me?" Lilly asked meekly, scrubbing her hands vigorously.

"No?" Miley returned, "Why would you think that?"

And even before she answered, the reason was clear. Of course Lilly would notice that every time they touched, Miley would cringe away. Miley felt very stupid, but it was too late to fix it.

"You don't let me touch you." Lilly's eyes widened slightly – she leapt wildly to the wrong conclusion. Miley was trying to get away because it was torture. Touching Lilly was touching the forbidden fruit. "That's okay. You know what, just forget I said anything. It's okay. I'm okay, you're okay, we're all okay. I should write a book about being okay, that's how okay I am."

"Lilly…" Miley slid one eyebrow up, waiting for Lilly to snap her mouth shut.

"Yeah?"

"It's fine. I'm just being silly."

"Well, okay." Lilly relented, drying her hands. They returned to the world of maze building in relatively uncomfortable silence. The quiet lasted a total of two minutes before Lilly's dam burst and she began chattering as if nothing had happened. After that it was easy enough for Miley to relax, too.

The damage Lilly had caused was rectified and the maze was completed. Together they lifted it downstairs, careful so as not to ruin it, and settled it next to the piano. Lilly went to the fridge and selected a few wedges of cheese, while Miley opened the top of the piano and, cautiously, lifted Linda out.

Several runs later, they had collected enough data to create a lab-write up and small essay. Linda was resettled into her piano-home and Lilly leaped upon the maze, jumping on it. She'd been dying to do that.

"Do you always have to be so destructive?" Miley joked, watching as Lilly went on to kick the cardboard monster.

"Only sometimes." Lilly grunted.

Miley grinned and turned away, "Well when you're done, we can watch some television."

In an instant, the maze was discarded and Lilly had thrown herself over the back of the couch, nestling down between the cushions, "Woo!"

"Y'know, I get the feeling that Oliver isn't the only doughnut I know." Miley settled down near Lilly's feet, hitting the power button on the remote. They watched the ending of a sitcom, since it was near the end of the hour, before flipping through the channels. Miley paused a moment on the news channel.

"Our meteorologist, Phil Metcalf, will tell us about the coming meteor shower." The anchor fiddled with the papers in front of him, trying to look important and interested.

"Tonight is a great night to get outside, John." Phil responded, tapping the wall behind him. Phil was a slightly overweight man with patchy gray hair. His tweed suit was tailored to his form, large stomach and all, and he looked half-professional, save for the fact that his thick-lensed glasses were perched crookedly on his nose. The wall was merely green to him, but to ever other viewer it showed a nice nighttime sky scene. "Shooting stars everywhere. Just grab a blanket and some hot chocolate and look up to the sky. It should start around ten o'clock, and last an hour, at least."

Lilly jumped to her feet, excited. Miley watched her, deeply amused – Lilly was so easily keyed up.

"Miley! We should watch!" Lilly nearly yelled, "Come on! You know you want to! I'll bring the blanket, you bring the hot chocolate, Nature brings the entertainment…"

"Sure," Miley got up as well. It was nearly five, so there was plenty of time to clean up the mess they made while making the maze for science class and to make some hot chocolate.

Lilly ran for the door, nearly outside before she yelled back, "I'll meet you in your backyard in at nine-thirty, okay?"

"Okay!" Miley hollered, though she knew Lilly was already gone. She shook her head knowingly and began neatening the living room. Turning the television off, she fumbled with the remote a moment.

If this was Jake she might consider this date material. But Lilly was still insistent that she wasn't feeling a relationship. It was frustrating, but for now all Miley could do was hope and wait. Maybe she'd wish on a star and suddenly Lilly would love her back. Maybe those touches earlier were Lilly's way of saying she was interested.

Time slipped past quickly and soon enough Miley was dumping the hot chocolate into a thermos, grabbing two large coffee mugs, and hurrying to the backyard. Lilly was already there, spreading a relatively small blanket. There was enough room for two, but not for spreading out.

Miley tucked the thermos into the sand, settling the cups down beside it. She helped Lilly flatten the blanket out; their fingers brushed for a millisecond at one corner and Miley tried to ignore the tremors it caused. She wanted nothing more than to run her fingers over Lilly's. She wanted to claim what she felt should be hers, but she fought off the shiver of excitement before plopping down onto the blanket, lying with her arms propped against her stomach. This was going to be a platonic evening as long as she could manage to keep her hands to herself. Lilly mimicked her position right next to her. Just before ten the first few shooting stars appeared, rushing across the darkened sky.

"Make a wish, Mile." Lilly whispered quietly.