okay... so i've officially broken. i got ONE good review about someone wanting to know what happens to Lily on her birthday and now i'm posting it. some people are like, 'i'll post at 100 reviews!'. i'll be married if i have to wait for that many reviews!

lol. but whatever. this is probably one of the most intense chapters. but not intense in that way(get your minds out of the gutters, please) :)

enjoy!

izzi

chapter nine:

The day passed quickly, anywhere Lily went someone told her happy birthday. She spend the whole time with Joe, too. It seemed like her day could get much better.

Then it was time for the party.

Lily's backyard had been decked-out for the occasion. Streamers, balloons, and signs added a colorful touch to the many tables dotting the yard. The grass had been cut short and was soft on Lily's bare feet as she stood gazing over the area.

"You should probably go out front, Petunia, people are arriving," said Mr. Berkley, walking past Lily with a tray of hotdogs waiting to be grilled.

"Go on, " Joe prompted, planting a kiss on top of her curly head. "I'll stay back here to help your dad."

Lily smiled and ran around to the front of the house, noticing people starting to park in front of the house. She gave out hugs and welcomes as family, friends, and coworkers filed past her. Lily watched a familiar light-blue convertible pull up, and shrieked when she saw who occupied the back seat.

"Gwenny the Pooh!" Lily screamed.

"Lil Bear!" Gwen responded, leaping out of the car and running up to Lily.

The two embraced, staying that way for a while. Kevin parked the car and he, Nick, and Alexa walked up to the two.

"I can't believe you came all the way from Cali!" Lily exclaimed.

Gwen shrugged, backing up so someone else could hug her. Once Kevin, Alexa, and Nick did so, the four started to walk around to the back of the house.

"Nick, wait!" Lily called, "I want to talk to you."

Nick soon appeared at Lily's side.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Lily hugged him again, then explained, "You made up with Gwen!"

Nick smiled. "Yeah, I sent her a video-"

"I'll have to see it," Lily demanded.

Nick looked like he had been slapped, but then Lily added, "If you don't mind."

"Not at all," he said, "I'll send it to you once I get home."

As another car full of guests arrived, Lily waved. Nick glanced down and when her dress came up a little bit he gasped. She had a huge, nasty-looking bruise on her left thigh.

"What's that?" Nick asked, motioning toward it.

"Oh, I ran into the table. That's all," Lily explained.

"But that's a really bad bruise, and you've never bruised easily in your life," Nick protested.

"You know how clumsy I am," Lily said dismissively.

"I guess," Nick mumbled, turning around and walking to the back yard of Lily's house.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

"So how's the party?" Joe asked from the microphone stand. A make-shift stage had been created, and the stereo system was hooked up with a microphone and everything. Joe was the host of this party, he had planned the entire thing.

Everyone clapped in response to his question. He smiled, pleased with how his party had turned out. Lily looked great, and was having an amazing time. Looking around, he could see that most people had finished their classic picnic-style lunch that Lily's dad had made.

"So… since most people are done eating, how about some cake and ice cream?" Joe offered. Everyone clapped again; it was sort of their universal response.

"Sweet," Joe responded, "Can I ask the birthday girl to join me up here on stage?"

Lily smiled and walked up to the front of the stage, giving Joe her hand and letting him pull her up. They stood side by side with their arms around each other; Joe had taken the microphone out of the stand and was carrying it around with him.

"On the count of three, everybody," Joe commanded. "One… two… three!"

Everyone began to sing 'Happy Birthday', and Kevin and Nick walked onstage, carrying a huge cake with them. Eighteen, brightly burning candles adorned it, and it took Lily a few breaths to get them all out. Once she did, everyone cheered, and Kevin handed the cake to her dad so he could cut it and return with the pieces for everyone.

"Okay, well Mr. Berkley is going to cut the cake and hand it out to everyone then, so for right now I'd like to ask for everyone's attention once again."

Joe waited until everyone was looking at him. Then he turned to Lily and said, "You've always been the biggest fan of my music, besides my family of course, and so I wanted to honor you with that."

Joe looked over his shoulder and nodded. Nick started to play the electric keyboard that had been set up on the stage. Kevin had his acoustic guitar, and soon Joe began to sing. He and Nick switched off singing lines in the verses, then they both sang the chorus. The entire song Joe looked straight at Lily, holding her hand in his.

If the heart is always searchin, can you ever find a home?

I've been looking for that someone, I can't make it on my own.

Dreams can't take the place of lovin you,

There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true:

When you look me in the eyes,

And tell me that you love me,

Everything's alright, when you're right here by my side,

When I hold you in my arms,

I know that it's forever,

I just wanna let you know, I never wanna let you go,

When you look me in the eyes.

How long will I be waitin, to be with you again?

I'm gonna tell you that I love you, in the best way that I can.

I can't take a day without you here,

You're the light that makes my darkness disappear.

When you look me in the eyes,

And tell me that you love me,

Everything's alright, when you're right here by my side,

When I hold you in my arms,

I know that it's forever,

I just wanna let you know, I never wanna let you go,

When you look me in the eyes.

Movin on, I start to realize,

I can reach my tomorrow, I can hold my head up high

And it's all because you're by my side,

When you look me in the eyes,

And tell me that you love me,

Everything's alright, when you're right here by my side,

When I hold you in my arms,

I know that it's forever,

I just wanna let you know, I never wanna let you go,

When you look me in the eyes.

By the end of the song, Lily's eyes had overflowed. Tears ran down her cheeks and she hugged Joe, squeezing him so tight he thought she'd never let go. When she did back up, Joe kissed her. It was a single, long one, and when he was done they smiled at each other. Lily then walked over and hugged both Nick and Kevin as she tried to stop the steady flow of water from her eyes.

She hurried back over to Joe and hugged him one last time, whispering, "That was the best, most amazing birthday gift ever."

Joe smiled and let go; Mr. Berkley had reappeared with the cake. Lily had to mingle with her guests and talk to them, and Joe stayed attached to her hip the entire time.

After receiving a hug from her Nana, Lily introduced Joe. Her Nana said, "Oh, I remember this one from long ago. Quite the charmer."

Joe just smiled modestly. Lily laughed. She said, "Yeah, how about that birthday present?"

"Pretty amazing," Nana replied. She leaned in and whispered to Lily, "That boy's a keeper for sure."

Lily laughed again and moved on to someone else. As she walked around with Joe, she told him, "Well, my Nana approves of you."

"That's always good," Joe responded.

Lily laughed.

"I'm not being sarcastic."

"Since when?" Lily asked.

"Well, I'd have to say that family reunions would be a little awkward if your family ended up not liking me. I mean, heck, my family loves you so you have nothing to worry about," Joe explained.

"Woah, Joe, let's take this one step at a time. I like being just boyfriend and girlfriend for now. That'll all come with time," Lily said. Joe shrugged and they ran into Kevin and Alexa.

"Hey you two," Kevin said.

"Howdy," Joe responded. Lily laughed.

"So Lil, are you, me, and Mabes still on for tonight?" Alexa asked.

"Heck yeah!" Lily replied.

"Sweet," Alexa finished.

"Why don't you go on right now?" Joe offered. When Alexa and Lily agreed, Joe left to get back to the stage and Lily and Alexa went to find their friend Mabeline.

Mabeline, or 'Mabes' as they called her, plus Alexa and Lily, had performed in the school's talent show. The three had done a trio every year, and they thought it'd be fun to perform this year's trio at Lily's party.

When they got on stage, Joe gave them an introduction and Kevin started the music. They were performing 'What I Like About You', and a lot of the audience was getting into it. The song was widely popular, so everyone knew it.

When the girls finished they were met with monstrous applause, and their performance had left Lily with a sort of high that stayed with her for the rest of the day.

Once the party had ended and everyone had left, Lily looked over her back yard. It was still colorful, but now there was food and paper plates everywhere. She sighed, thinking it'd take forever to clean up this mess.

"Need some help?" Joe asked, wrapping his arm around Lily. She turned to look at him, and saw Gwen, Nick, Alexa, and Kevin behind him.

"Are you all here to assist?" Mr. Berkley asked.

Joe nodded.

Mr. Berkley then began to order everyone around, telling them what to clean up and where to put it. Lily thought to herself: Well then, I guess it won't be that hard to clean after all.

"Thanks for helping me pick up," Lily said to the small group of people situated around her kitchen.

"Sure thing," Gwen replied from the sink where she and Nick were washing dishes.

Lily sighed and walked over to Joe. He was wiping down the counter as Alexa moved food from its surface. She rested her head on Joe's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Tired?" he asked. He noticed how cold her forehead felt against his skin.

"Mhmm," she replied.

Kevin glanced at the clock on the oven he was scrubbing down.

"It's only seven," he commented.

Lily shrugged, a large yawn erupting from her mouth. Joe wrapped his arm around her waist as she leaned into him more. His arm almost went all the way around her body.

'She's lost so much weight,' Joe thought to himself.

"Kevin? Can you get me a bottle of water?" Lily asked quietly.

Kevin walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle. He handed it to Lily, then watched her carefully as she tried to open it.

"Do you need help?" Kevin asked, noticing her struggle.

With a satisfying CRACK! the bottle opened. Lily took a big gulp of water, feeling the cold liquid slide down her throat.

Suddenly Lily started shaking. The cap slid out of her hand and clicked as it made contact with the tile floor.

"Joe…" Lily's voice was as shaky as her hands.

The bottle of water dropped from her grip. It hit the floor and rolled, spilling water all around. Alexa, Gwen, and Nick were suddenly as worried and attentive as Kevin and Joe.

"What, Boo?" Joe asked softly, his eyes trying to lock on Lily's.

"I.. I'm really…" Lily's voice faded. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell. Joe caught her delicate body as it rushed to the floor.

Knowing Joe was too shocked to act, Kevin's first aid training went into overdrive. He immediately started ordering everyone around.

"Alexa! Clean the spilled water!" he shouted. She grabbed a towel and began.

"Joe! Help me move her into the living room!" Kevin then picked up Lily's feet, Joe hooking his arms under Lily's armpits. Nick thought ahead and raced into the living room to clear the area.

Kevin called over his shoulder, "Gwen! Call 911 and get an AED!"

Once they reached the living room, Joe and Kevin laid Lily on her back. Joe started pounding on her shoulders, trying to wake her up. Kevin made Joe stop, then kneeled next to Lily's head.

Kevin leaned forward, putting his ear a little bit above her mouth. Kevin watched to see if her chest was rising; no such luck.

Suddenly worried about his brother, Kevin said, "Joe-"

"Do it," Joe commanded, his eyes never leaving Lily.

Kevin nodded, then stretched his cotton shirt over Lily's mouth and began CPR.

(A/N: Some of you might not know this, so I'll explain. When performing CPR, you should use a face guard or breathable fabric over the victim's mouth. This helps prevent passing of germs and works as a guard so if the victim starts to puke it doesn't go into your mouth.)

A few long moments later the ambulance arrived and the professionals began to help Lily. One doctor congratulated the group of young adults standing around him.

"Good job. You did the right thing, and it probably saved this girl's life," the doctor said.

Kevin nodded. Alexa walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, giving him a squeeze.

"So she's going to live?" Joe asked, a thread of hope in his voice.

"Probably, son," the doctor responded.

The doctor then turned and left with the rest of the people. Nick, Gwen, Kevin, and Alexa all walked back toward the kitchen, but Joe stayed in the open doorway watching the ambulance drive away.

'Let her live,' he prayed silently, rubbing the tears from his eyes.

awww! i hope Lily lives! of course i actually know what's gonna happen... but what about all of you? should Lily live? tell me in your REVIEWS!! plz and thank you!

izzi