Chapter 9
.
The drive to Murfreesboro was a good half hour, but Lilly had no worries about getting bored. Miley had been too delighted by the state of the art stereo system, switching through all eight CDs in the changer, before moving on to the GPS. She'd fiddled with it for a while, trying to see everything it could find, until Lilly had taken a wrong turn and Miley had sheepishly kept her hands off of it. They were almost at their destination and Lilly kept glancing at the other girl. Miley was almost sitting still, flipping a pen she'd found in the car between her fingers. Lilly smiled and shook her head. Despite what Susan had said, there was no way she could imagine taking the hyperactive brunette to a movie theater.
She'd only been to Murfreesboro a few times with her parents and didn't really know what there was to do. In a way, she had to thank Miley's inane need to fiddle with everything for a destination – she had excitedly pointed out several points of interest on the GPS. This was going to be the most unorthodox date ever, but, Lilly reminded herself, she was perhaps on a date with the most unorthodox person ever. The GPS announced their arrival just as she pulled into the parking lot. Miley was looking out the passenger window then the windshield and back out the passenger window, confusion written on her face. When Lilly stopped the car, Miley turned to her.
"This isn't a movie theater."
Lilly suddenly felt stupid for bringing them here. If she'd been dating a girl in California, there was no way she ever would have considered this a date spot and she would have laughed at anyone who suggested it, but Miley was not like those girls at all. Lilly looked at her, nervous now. "Yeah, uh…you sounded excited about this place earlier and I know you prefer the outdoors…"
Miley smiled and jumped out of the SUV, before Lilly even had a chance to react. She followed her at a much more subdued pace, but Miley was bouncing on her heels waiting for her and eventually just grabbed her hand to drag her along. "I've always wanted to see this place! Did you know they have the world's largest cedar bucket?"
She did sound excited and Lilly relaxed, letting herself enjoy the feeling of the girl's hand in hers. Though she did not share Miley's excitement about the world's largest cedar bucket, she certainly enjoyed the look on her face. "I'm glad you're happy, but slow down, road kill, you don't wanna rush through, do you?"
Miley laughed, but slowed her pace to walk next to Lilly, hand-in-hand. Lilly looked at her, smiling. Whereas to most girls changing before a date meant slipping into fancy dresses and high heels, for Miley it had simply meant swapping out her tree-climbing jeans and shirt for clean ones. And Lilly was surprised to find that she wouldn't have it any other way. Miley was so real, unlike anyone she'd ever been with before; she didn't hold back her emotions and she didn't care what others thought. Though Lilly still had a ton of questions that needed to be answered, she knew this wasn't the time. This was her chance to make this girl happy and she would do whatever it took.
The weather was quite nice; not too hot, with a warm breeze and Lilly was glad she'd chosen a venue outdoors. There were not too many people around and definitely no one their age. It suited her just fine and she led Miley onto the grounds, towards the array of buildings. Cannonsburgh Village was a reproduction of a 19th century pioneer village, something so far removed from Lilly's normal interest range, she would have laughed at anyone suggesting they come here. Anyone but Miley, of course. Though Miley hadn't struck her as particularly studious, she seemed to enjoy this.
"Maybe I can convince grandma to count this as schoolwork," said Miley, making a face.
"Aren't you on break?" Lilly held open the door to the old schoolhouse so Miley could enter.
"No, grandma says I forget too much." Miley didn't sound too upset by it, her eyes scanning the schoolroom setup with immense interest.
Lilly knew she would be a lot less amicable if her summer break were taken away, but, of course, Miley was completely different. "Have you always been home-schooled?"
They exited the building and Miley stretched her face to the sun, eyes closed. She stayed like that for several moments, before turning to Lilly with a soft smile, "No, I used to go to school…until I was 11. That's when it got worse."
"What got worse?" asked Lilly, almost holding her breath for an answer. She hadn't really wanted to get into this subject on their date, but Miley had brought it up.
"People…they're just…I don't know…" Miley trailed off and Lilly hoped she was just gathering her thoughts for an answer, when her eyes suddenly lit up and she pulled on the blonde's hand, "Let's go to the chapel!"
Lilly suppressed a groan, letting herself be dragged along. She'd been so close to an answer, once again. She tried to push those questions from her mind as they continued through the village. Whatever it was that drove the townspeople to fear and hatred, Lilly knew it would never matter to her anyway.
After over an hour, when the growling of Lilly's stomach became rather noticeable, they left to go to dinner. Lilly knew she owed the success of this date to her GPS, which had found a decent Chinese restaurant for them to eat at. There was no way Lilly was ever going to tire of seeing that excited sparkle and happiness in Miley's eyes.
They sat at a back table in the quiet, little restaurant, completely at ease. Miley was playing with her chopsticks, while Lilly watched her, smiling. Miley saw her smile and raised an eyebrow, pointing a chopstick at her. "Don't think you'll get lucky tonight; I don't kiss on the first date."
"Not even for getting to see the world's largest cedar bucket?" Lilly grinned.
Miley scrunched up her face as if she were really thinking about it, "You do have a point." Her smile turned more serious, "This was the best date ever, Lilly. Thank you."
"It's not even over, yet. What if you hate the food?"
Miley laughed. "I don't hate food. And I'm still here with you, which is all that's needed to make it the best date ever."
Lilly liked how Miley never held back what she feeling, but she certainly wasn't used to it. Dating normally required a repertoire of tricks and lies and tests to gauge someone's feelings and reactions, but with Miley none of that even applied. Miley had no reservations about putting her heart out there and it made Lilly all the more angry for someone having taken advantage of that. How could someone look into those sparkling, blue eyes, see that brilliant smile and want to destroy it? A chopstick was suddenly waving in front of her face and she blinked.
"Where'd you go?"
Lilly suppressed the urge to sigh at her thoughts and smiled instead, "I was just thinking…how everyone in here is totally jealous I got the most beautiful, amazing date."
Miley met her eyes, her gaze intense. "I think everyone in here is over 60."
"They're still jealous."
Miley laughed and reached her hand half-way across the table, laying it palm up. Lilly only hesitated the briefest of moments, because they were in public, and reached over, running her fingertips across the palm of Miley's hand. Miley laughed again and Lilly took her hand in hers. Their eyes met again across the table and they held each other's gaze, mesmerized. It was several minutes before the waiter came with their food and Lilly almost moved her hand, but Miley held it tight. The waiter did not bat an eye at them and Miley grinned as soon as he left, clinking her chopsticks at Lilly. Lilly laughed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so light and happy, like nothing could go wrong. She couldn't remember the last time she had fallen for someone so quickly and so completely. Lilly knew she was in trouble, but she'd take on a thousand times of trouble just to get to be with Miley.
xxx
Lilly landed her kick flip with ease and stepped off her board. She wished for the hundredth time there was a real skate park, other than the few homemade ramps and rails they had to skate on at the park. She looked at her cell phone. Still another hour before Miley would be allowed to go outside. Lilly hadn't realized what a tight reign Miley's grandmother had over her schoolwork, until she had all this free time and no Miley to spend it with. She was trying to make plans for their second date, but it was hard when she had to borrow her mother's car all the time. Lilly made a mental note to beg her father for a car, again.
She noticed Oliver coming up to her, a cloudy expression on his face. Lilly took off her helmet and brushed away the hair clinging to her sweaty forehead. "Hey Oliver, what's up?"
He didn't acknowledge her greeting, his eyes darting around, before finally settling on her. She would have laughed, but his seriousness worried her. "I need to talk to you."
Lilly shrugged, following him to one of the picnic benches in a more secluded spot. She sat her helmet on the table and took a seat on the bench, Oliver following suit. He seemed nervous, a bit fidgety even and Lilly wished he would just spit it out. She had a horrible feeling he was going to say something she wouldn't like. After a few moments of him staring at his nails, he finally looked up.
"I heard rumors…that you were in Murfreesboro on Friday with…Miley Stewart." His voice was even until the end, when he practically whispered Miley's name.
Lilly gaped at him. "You're kidding me, right?"
Oliver looked almost relieved. "Oh gosh, so it's not true then? Wow…"
"I didn't say that." She crossed her arms and his face fell. "I want to know why someone cares enough to tell everyone who I went on a date with."
"Well, it's…wait, what? Date?" Oliver suddenly looked an odd combination of nervous and perplexed.
Lilly sighed; she'd forgotten that she hadn't come out to them, yet. "Yes, a date. I'm gay."
He stared for a few moments, lost in thought. "Oh…well…okay…that's fine."
"I know it is. I wasn't asking for your permission." Lilly hadn't planned on being so snappy with him, but now he was just wasting her time. Time she could use to get ready before going over to Miley's.
Oliver swallowed hard at the look on her face then shook his head as if to clear it. "Look, Lilly, that's even worse. You can't date Miley!"
"Why. Not?" It hadn't really been a question, so much as a challenge to finally give her some answers.
He leaned closer and his voice actually shook as he spoke. "Something horrible is going to happen."
Lilly closed her eyes in frustration. "I don't understand, Oliver."
"Don't you know what happened to the last person she dated?" He sounded close to panicking and Lilly just wished he'd calm down.
"What does Jake Ryan have to do with this?"
Oliver made a strangled noise and stood abruptly. He ran a hand through his hair and took a few steps in one direction, before turning to walk back towards her. He leaned closer, eyes intense. "Lilly, I'm telling you this because I am your friend. You need to stay away from that girl; it is not safe. Please, just listen to me."
Lilly took a deep breath and exhaled. She stood up and grabbed her gear, before looking at the boy. "Look, Oliver, I like you; I think you're a great guy, but you need to stay out of my personal business. Now, I gotta go."
She left him standing there and jumped on her board as soon as she got to the road. Lilly pushed as fast as she could, just wanting to get back to her house. She still understood nothing and it frustrated her. But worst of all was that tiny seed of worry he had planted inside of her.
