Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana.
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A/N: If you felt the story lacked of action, then this is for you. I hope you enjoy, it's longer this time. Please read and review :)
WARNING: This chapter contains the use of mild swearing, use of physical violence, underage drinking and smoking, and hinting of adult themes. Read at your own discretion.
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The Joys and Pains of Camping with an Oken
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Chapter 10:
That evening, Oliver sat slumped on the couch in the living room, watching Owen skimming through the channels on the TV. Both Oken boys were bored out of their minds. There was nothing good airing and Oliver couldn't believe this is how he was spending the last remaining days of this summer trip.
"Not that," he said with a yawn when Owen flipped to CNN, then to VH-1. "No." On came National Geographic. "No." And then a really bad chick flick movie. "Hell no!"
"Oliver! Language!" Nancy yelled from the kitchen.
"Sorry, Mum!" he called out sheepishly across the room.
Owen sniggered at Oliver's sudden red face. Oliver poked his tongue at his younger brother in response. "This sucks..." he muttered under his breath, careful not to say it too loudly for his mother to hear him again.
Lilly hadn't spoken a word to him since they came back from their hike. During lunch, he tried to involve her in a conversation, but she cleverly avoided him without raising their parents' suspicions. After that, she locked herself in her room and hadn't come out since then. Oliver was starting to think she was going to skip dinner now, too.
He hated this situation, knowing she was mad at him. He hated she was not speaking to him or looking his way. Yet, he had nothing to be sorry for. He'd done nothing wrong. He would not take the blame for someone else's slipup.
Then, the door to Lilly's room creaked as it opened. Oliver did not bother to turn and look. He could hear her footsteps clicking on the wooden floor, approaching him, until finally they stopped and he knew she was standing behind him.
"Oliver!" she said suddenly, her voice held an irritated note in it.
He rolled his eyes. He glared at the TV, not really watching what Owen had finally settled on. "What?" he replied in a low voice.
"Why aren't you dressed?"
Oliver raised a questioning eyebrow at that. He looked down at himself, noting the white t-shirt and socks and grey sweat pants he was wearing. "Okay, firstly, I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not sitting here butt-naked on this couch," he said sarcastically.
"Thank God!" Owen quipped. "No one wants to see that!"
"Shut up," Oliver hissed at him. "Secondly," he continued his rant to Lilly. "I thought you weren't speaking to me, so what changed now? And lastly..." he said as he turned around to face her, "is... what are you wearing?"
His eyes nearly came out of their sockets when he saw her attire. He certainly wasn't expecting to see her dressed like that.
She looked down at herself, brushing wrinkles off her outfit. She began to swing from side to side. "I don't know if you noticed, but –" she began her sentence just the way he said it, but he cut her off.
"That's a dress," he stated, still disbelieving.
Lilly rolled her eyes. "No kidding, Sherlock."
Oliver could not help but stare. She looked gorgeous. Of course it wasn't the first time he had seen her in a dress, but on the rare occasions that she did, it always took his breath away.
She had enhanced her eyes with dark blue eye shadow and put on rosy lipgloss, her hair was down in waves, and her dress was silver and had a v-shaped neckline that showed a little cleavage, which made Oliver gulp with difficulty. The skirt of her dress was flowy, but the shimmery fabric was wrapped tightly around in all the right places and it emphasized the curves of her body beautifully. To top it all, she even wore black pumps.
"Wow, you look hot!" Owen exclaimed when he looked up from the TV and noticed her. Nancy scolded at him from the kitchen, but he ignored her. "Who are you and what have you done with Lilly?"
Lilly smiled sweetly at him and blushed. She nodded in gratitude.
"W-wh-why... exactly are you wearing it?" Oliver asked feebly, still finding it hard to think straight.
Lilly blinked at him in confusion. "I thought we were going to that party."
Oliver looked up at her face, forcing himself to avoid staring at any other part of her body. "I didn't think we were, considering you didn't speak to me all day."
She simply shrugged. It was a wordless signal telling him she was over it. Oliver sighed. Girls can be so confusing sometimes.
"Well, too bad you didn't tell me you were planning on going. My mum already made dinner."
"Oh," Lilly said quietly. "Oh, that's fine. I'll just go change back, then."
She turned around and began to walk slowly and carefully (probably because she wasn't used to walk on high heels) back to her room.
Two more sets of clicking footsteps came over, this time from the kitchen. Lilly and Oliver's mums walked into the living room to check what Owen had yelled about.
"Lilly!" Heather gushed when she saw her daughter. "You look beautiful! Where are you going?"
Lilly smiled shyly, she cast a fleeting look at Oliver. "Nowhere."
Oliver sighed in regret. "Lilly, I'm sorry," he called over to her when he saw the disappointment on her face.
"No, it's fine, Oliver. You're right. I should have told you I still wanted to go to the party. My bad."
Nancy looked at Oliver with a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about? What party?"
"Logan Hartmann invited us to a party at his parents' lake house," he explained.
"Oh, that's so nice of him! We saw his mother yesterday at Wilma's, but she said they were going back home first thing this morning."
"I guess they did and he's just staying there for awhile longer," Oliver said, remembering Logan said his parents aren't going to be there.
"Then why aren't you going? Lilly is all dressed up," Heather said. She rubbed a hand over her daughter's shoulder.
"You mean we can skip dinner and go?" Lilly asked her hopefully, her eyes suddenly getting bigger.
"Well, I don't see why not. We can save you two plates and put them in the fridge."
Lilly smiled brightly at her mum. She threw her hands around her waist and hugged her tight. "Thank you!" She turned to look for approval from Oliver. "What do you say? Can we go?"
Oliver couldn't turn her down again. She looked so hurt before. He didn't have the heart to see her like that again. "Sure." She clapped excitedly and squealed. "Give me ten minutes to get ready."
Oliver jumped off the couch and went to his room to change. He quickly pulled on a dark pair of jeans, a navy-blue and white striped button down shirt, and wore his black Vans shoes.
He fixed his hair and smacked some cologne on his cheeks and examined himself in the mirror. Satisfied at his look, he smirked. Lilly looked really amazing tonight. He couldn't take the image of her off his mind. He just hoped he was looking dashing enough to catch her attention as well.
He ran down the stairs and straight into the kitchen. His father was sitting at the dining table, reading a paper. Oliver noticed the keys to the car lying beside him on the table. He quickly reached over to grab them, but his father was quicker and fished them out of Oliver's grasp.
"Hold it," his father called warningly.
"Dad, I need the car," Oliver said, reaching his hand over.
His dad lowered the paper and gave him a skeptical stare. "Is there going to be any alcohol at this party?"
Oliver scratched his head. "Uh..." His dad didn't lower his gaze. "No."
Lilly had walked over from the living room, now clad in a warm coat, and silently watched the exchange.
"Are you sure?"
Oliver merely nodded. Honestly, he didn't know whether there will be alcohol there or not. He expected there will be, but he knew that if he will tell his parents that, they will never let them go to that party.
He looked at his father pleadingly. There was no possible way to get to the party without driving there. It was too far. He needed the car.
"Dad, please?"
His dad held the keys in midair and Oliver meant to grab them, but noticed his father's glare and refrained himself. "Now, you take good care of Lilly. You call in case something happens. You'd be back here no later than twelve-thirty. There will be no drinking, no drinking and driving, no texting and driving, no smoking anything and no having unprotected sex. Got it?"
Oliver nodded throughout the entire lecture, until he heard the last part. "Dad!" he called, scandalized.
"Eww! I'm scarred for life!" Owen called all the way from the living room.
"Howard! Not in front of the kid!" Nancy hissed disapprovingly, putting her hands on her hips.
"Got it?" his dad repeated, never taking his gaze off Oliver, never even blinking.
Oliver's face turned bright red. "Yeah, yeah, I got it." He opened his palm and his dad dropped the keys into it. He grabbed them and gestured to Lilly with his head towards the door. "Thanks. Come on, Lils, let's go."
The two teenagers walked together and left the warm cabin and entered the cool night air. They walked silently to the car. Oliver, wanting to show Lilly how he can act like a gentleman and opened the car door for her.
"Thank you," she said in a small, shy voice as she got inside the Oken's rented minivan.
Oliver quickly jogged around the car, opened his door and sat in the driver's seat. He started the engine and turned on the radio, settling on the first thing that came on.
He looked over to Lilly, checking if she had put her seatbelt on and noticed the slight grin on her face.
"What?" he asked, simply amused by seeing her looking like that.
She suddenly burst out laughing. She leaned over and buried her face in her hands while she laughed. "'No having unprotected sex!'" she quoted in between laughs. Oliver couldn't help it. He started chuckling as well.
"I'm lucky he's accepting the fact I'm old enough to have sex," he said, sniggering. Lilly let out a small giggle as she tried to calm herself down. "And you'd think my dad mentioning that would be my problem. I need to find a partner, first."
Lilly chuckled. "Yeah, that's a real problem."
Oliver stopped mid-chuckle, realizing what she said. "Hey!" he called, pretending to be offended.
She looked at him innocently, as if she said nothing wrong. "Maybe you'll find somebody at the party tonight," she said with a cheeky wink.
Oliver gave her half-hearted smile. He backed off the parking spot and drove onto the main road. Oh, there will be someone at the party tonight, he thought to himself.
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About ten minutes later, they arrived at the Hartmanns' lake house. It was a two stories house, at least thrice as big as the Okens' cabin. Logan, being the snob person that he always was, had once told Oliver his family had three lake houses and this was one of them. The Hartmanns had money. They were a well-known family from Orange County, living the life of the rich and the famous.
Oliver parked in a nearby lot and he and Lilly walked out of the car and over to the house. They could hear loud music booming from the inside. A group of girls sat at the porch with red plastic cups in their hands and chatted loudly. Oliver guessed the party had started early, especially for them. As they passed by them and entered the house, Oliver could not help but notice they were eyeing him with interest and he blushed slightly. He thought he heard Lilly huff disapprovingly, but wasn't sure because of the noise.
"Stick beside me," Oliver yelled into her ear, loud enough for her to hear over the music. She grabbed his hand, pressed herself into him and nodded. He led her through the main hall and into the living room. He had been in this house before, but he didn't remember it ever being this packed with people. It looked like a typical teenage party. People danced, talked, drank and made out in every part of the house. Oliver wondered who were all these people and where they'd come from.
Finally, after pushing themselves through the thick, moving crowd, they had reached the living room. Oliver noticed the coffee table was stocked up with small bowls of snacks and a larger bowl with vibrant red punch. Next to it lay what looked like an empty silver flask and Oliver knew the punch had been spiked.
Oliver pulled Lilly to him and held her by the waist. "Can I have this dance?" he asked.
Lilly looked at him as if he was crazy. She laughed, not taking him seriously. When his expression didn't change, she erased the grin from her face. "Uh, it's not a slow song."
He simply shrugged and smiled. She returned his smile and nodded. He peeled off her coat and threw it on the back of the couch, and replaced his hands around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they slowly began to rock from side to side, ignoring the electronic, blasting music that did not match their rhythm.
He wished he could have shown her some awesome dance moves, impress her with something she might have not known about him, but he wasn't a good dancer at all, and she did know almost everything about him already.
He pretended he didn't notice she was avoiding making eye contact with him. Her eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but directly at him. He saw her face was flushed and a small smile traced his lips. Maybe she was embarrassed, but he couldn't feel a little satisfied with himself that there was a slight chance that he was the one making her blush like that.
She buried her face in his shoulder. "This is so silly," she chuckled. "People are staring at us."
Oliver noticed a few people cast them weird glances, but he didn't care. "So? You don't know them, just ignore them."
He could hear the smile in her voice. "You're right."
The music changed and a fast rock song came on. Lilly pulled herself away from Oliver, to his great disappointment, and began to dance around to the song, this time she was in sync with it. Oliver tried to join her, but failed to keep up with her or with the music. He watched her throw her hands up in the air and shake her head to the beat while she swayed her hips and smiled. He enjoyed watching her having fun.
After awhile, they grew tired and had enough of dancing. Oliver walked Lilly over to the large couch, pushing her down to sit on the armrest. The rest of the couch was occupied by a couple making out heatedly, and a boy who played the PlayStation with his friends who stood by next to him. They had a small group of fans, who were cheering them on while they played a boxing game. "Wait here," Oliver told Lilly. "I'm getting us something to drink. Stay away from the punch."
Lilly nodded and he walked off into the direction of the kitchen. He looked back at Lilly and saw her still sitting where he left her, looking uncomfortable at a strange, crowded place. He couldn't help but feel a bit bothered leaving her there alone, but tried to convince himself that she will be fine for a few minutes until he'll be back.
As he entered the kitchen, there was a loud gathering around a circular table. A group of guys were having a drinking contest. Oliver ignored them or the large beer keg in the room. He opened the fridge and helped himself for two cans of soda. As he turned around, he doubled back in surprise. He didn't expect to see Sam standing before him.
"Oken, my man! You made it!" Sam said cheerfully and engulfed Oliver into a big, brotherly hug. Oliver, like the last time, did not hug him back. "I'm so glad to see you, man!"
"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "Great party!" A small hiccup left his throat. Good thing it went unnoticed by Sam. Of course he lied. He hated this sort of things. He only came here to please Lilly. That's where he gathered his enjoyment from. If she had fun, then so will he. He loved seeing and making her happy.
Sam smirked and then his eyebrows rose up. "Hey, where's your friend?" He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember her name. "Oh! Lilly?"
"Uh, she's here," Oliver said. "I'm just getting us something to drink." He waved the two soda cans in his hands.
Sam chuckled. "Seriously, man? Is that what you're having? Let me get you something real to drink!"
"Oh, no thanks," Oliver said quickly, stopping Sam just in time before he made his way to the keg. "I'm good."
Sam shrugged. "Okay, if you say so. Hey, let's go outside to talk."
Oliver hesitated, looking over his shoulder through the hallway to the living room, but it was too crowded to see Lilly there. "Uh..." he said uncertainly.
Sam clapped Oliver on the back and led him through the back door in the kitchen. "Come on, five minutes. I need some fresh air," he said.
Oliver followed him without much choice, leaving the soda cans on the kitchen counter. He was sure that Lilly won't miss him for a few minutes.
They walked out to a large green bank, and Sam sat down on a wooden bench facing a different angle of the lake. Oliver remained standing, bowing his head and shuffling his foot uncomfortably on the damp grass.
Sam dug into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a Zippo lighter and a packet of cigarettes. He pulled one out and offered it to Oliver. "Fresh air?" he asked with a grin. Oliver smiled faintly but shook his head. Sam shrugged, put the cigarette in his mouth and lightened it. A puff of smoke left his mouth when he exhaled. "You're too soft, Ol," Sam said, using an old nickname he once gave him when they were kids. Oliver didn't mind people alternating his name or giving him nicknames, but when Sam said it, it irritated him. "Not drinking or smoking. Makes me think all you Malibu fellas are nerds." He chuckled. Oliver ignored him. He chose not to mention the fact he got a tattoo. For him it wasn't nerdy at all. "Seriously, Oken, it's a party, loosen up."
Oliver shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He shrugged. "I'm goo –"
"Good. Yeah, you said it already. Yet you look out of place."
"A lot changed since we last met, Sam."
Sam stood up and walked over to Oliver, holding his half-smoked cigarette between his fingers. "We didn't change. We just grew up. You know, there is a time in your life when hit a stage and you realize that surfing and skateboarding isn't fun anymore, so you look for something else to pass the time with. Like girls, for an instance."
Sam's ramblings reminded Oliver of Lilly. He looked at his watch, noticing he left her alone for far too long. She was probably wondering where he disappeared to. "I should... get back to Lilly," Oliver said slowly, taking a step back and pointing with his thumb behind him.
Sam grabbed Oliver by the shoulder and stopped him just before he turned to leave. "Speaking of which, what is your deal with Lilly?" he inquired.
Oliver frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Like, what's your status? Are you just friends, or is something happening there?"
"Umm..." Oliver rubbed the back of his neck, feeling uncomfortable at the question. He wasn't sure how to answer it, or even if he should. What was he suppose to say? If Sam liked Lilly, then Oliver didn't like it and he sure didn't want to talk to him about it. "I... It's complic –"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested," Sam said quickly and Oliver immediately felt relieved, but the anxiety came back when Sam went on, "But Logan is. He wanted to know if it's okay to make a move. You know, if she's your girl, then it's cool, he will back off, but if she's single –"
"Yeah, she's my girl," Oliver said confidently in one quick breath, before he even had time to think about it. It all came so fast. He knew there was something behind the way Logan looked at Lilly this morning; he was interested in her. Oliver gulped hard, feeling the room's temperature suddenly rise up.
Sam nodded. "Like I said, that's cool. Good to know."
"Yeah..." Oliver said. His teeth were clenched tight. He wanted to go back to Lilly, but something bothered him. "Hey, where is Logan, by the way?"
Sam shook his head. "Dunno. I saw him earlier, but I have no idea where he is right now. Probably went to look around, if you know what I mean," he said and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Oliver.
Oliver nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. Logan was on a hunt quest for someone to hook up with.
Then it hit him, like a bolt of lightning. "But you –"
Sam shrugged. "He's Logan. There's no stopping him," he excused.
Oliver left Sam in the back yard and quickly made his way back into the house and to the living room where he left Lilly. He was sorry he ever became friends with those two guys. Sure, they used to be fun to hang out with when they were kids, but now, they were nothing but trouble.
"Lilly!" he called out, but his voice disappeared into the loud music.
He entered the living room and found a completely different scene from the one he remembered when he left. The PlayStation competition was already over and the TV was now playing a rerun of a football game, and the making out couple was replaced by a different couple, both were blondes and they both sat very closely, to Oliver's dismay.
Logan was leaning over and whispering something in Lilly's ear. She laughed at whatever he said. She picked a plastic cup off the table and sipped from it and laughed again as Logan flirtingly brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Oliver watched painfully as Logan leaned over and neared his lips to Lilly's.
Realizing quickly why Sam was suddenly so interested in catching up with him, he began to curse himself for being so stupid and blind. It was nothing but a distraction to keep him away from Lilly, to buy Logan time with her.
He couldn't let it happen; he had to interfere, before it'd be too late. He rushed over to them, knocked the drink off Lilly's hand, and pulled her up from the couch. Logan backed away instantly and watched them speechlessly.
"Oliver! What are you doing?!" she asked, outraged by his rude behavior.
"What are you drinking?" he accused, ignoring her. He pointed at the golden liquid that spilled on the floor. The puddle was quite small, showing him that Lilly had drunk most of her drink.
She staggered, but quickly regained balance and folded her hands over her chest. "Relax, it's not punch."
"What did you give her?" Oliver shot at Logan.
"It's just cider, man," Logan answered, trying to sound innocent, but the gleam in his eyes made Oliver aware that he was obviously lying. Oliver looked back at Lilly and she nodded a bit too forcefully for someone who supposedly drank a cup of mere cider.
He picked the cup from the floor and sniffed it. The strong smell of alcohol filled his nose. "That's not cider, Lilly, that's beer."
She frowned scornfully. "Whatever. Can't I have fun? I'm not driving, you are."
"Fun? I left you alone for a few minutes and now look at you! You're drunk! I promised I would take care of you, Lilly."
"I don't need you to take care of me, Oliver. You're not my brother!"
"Listen, Oliver, we were just talking..." Logan said, meaning to get up and raising his hands innocently.
"Shut up!" Oliver yelled at him, pointing him to stay down on the couch. "This doesn't concern you. Come on, Lilly, party's over. We're going home."
He grabbed Lilly's arm, but she yanked it back. "No!" she said in a hard voice. "I want to stay."
"No, you're not. We're leaving. Now," he replied with the same tone of voice.
She frowned. "Who's gonna make me?" she challenged and sat back on couch, her hands still folded over her chest.
Oliver knew it was probably the alcohol talking for her. It was the first time she ever had any and he was sure it caused her to become intoxicated by the first sip. She was acting mean and unlike her usual sweet self. He hated this Lilly. He did not know how to deal with her. He did not have the strength to fight with her over this. If she wanted to stay, then so be it.
"Fine, suit yourself. I'm outta here," he said and left the room.
"Oliver! Oliver, where are you going?" she called after him, but she did not follow and he was glad. He knew if he saw her right now, he would yell or do something much worse, that he would regret later. He was not going to act out of anger or frustration. He needed fresh air to calm down and some time to think.
He strode out of the house and over to his car, full with anger. He stood by it, looking back at the house, waiting to see if maybe she will emerge outside. She didn't.
He felt so mad and he wasn't sure at whom. Was it at himself that he was angry, for leaving her alone and not keeping an eye on her while she got herself drunk? Or was it at her, for acting so stupid and trusting people she shouldn't, for liking someone else after knowing him for ten minutes when she knew Oliver her whole life?
Needing to take off his anger at something, he began to kick the wheels of the car until his foot began to hurt.
"DAMN IT!" he screamed and leaned over the car, burying his face between his hands, not caring if anyone saw or heard him.
He stopped, knowing anger was not the way to resolve his problems. He opened the car and sat inside. He put the key into the ignition and started it. He held his hands on the steering wheel, but sat still, trying to listen to the radio, but his head was packed with thoughts to really hear anything.
About thirty minutes later, the passenger's door opened and Lilly climbed into the seat beside him.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked straight away. He noticed her voice was broken and knew she started crying. He did not turn to look at her. It was the last thing he needed right now. He needed to hate her for a minute. If he would turn to look at her, he will forget it all and forgive her in a heartbeat.
"Nothing. Everything," he replied in a monotonic voice. He was still holding on the steering wheel, looking out the window and into the parking lot outside the lake house.
"So what, are you mad at me right now?" she asked and sniffed loudly.
He didn't reply. It made her turn in her seat and face him. "I should be mad at you, you know!"
Oliver gave one bitter chuckle. "And what for?"
"You left me there, with strangers!"
He gave out another laugh. "I didn't leave you; I'm here, aren't I? And you're the one who insisted to stay, remember? And what you're talking about? 'Strangers'? Really? Because it seemed you weren't strangers at all. You looked pretty friendly, to me."
"I don't know what your problem is, but Logan is not a bad guy."
At that, he finally turned to her and gave her an empty gaze. "He's not a good guy, either."
She shivered. At first, he thought it was the way he looked at her that made her do that, but then he noticed she wrapped her arms tight around herself and he realized something was missing.
"Where's your coat?" he asked. There it was, the caring feeling he felt for her whenever he saw her. He knew it would happen. That's why he knew he was in love with her. He could never stay mad at her for more than five minutes.
She shrugged and looked down at her lap. "I left it inside," she said in a small voice.
Without thinking, Oliver left the car and marched into the house again. He walked straight into the living room; it was the only place he knew Lilly had been and remembered leaving her coat there.
The music was on a much lower volume now. A gaggle of laughter distinctly filled his ears. As he approached the living room, he could hear Logan joking around with his friends. Lilly's name suddenly came up in their conversation. Oliver stopped at the hall and listened.
"Tell me what happened with Lilly," Sam said.
Logan let out a chuckle. "What a beauty, huh? And she was so easy. Once Oken left, had her in a second," he praised proudly.
Sam laughed hard. "Oken said she was his."
Logan sniggered. "Well, she certainly wasn't his when I had her."
Sam and the rest of Logan's friends laughed, as if he just told the most hilarious joke in the world. Oliver felt a sudden wave of goosebumps running down his hands. He could not take it anymore, he gathered too much anger in one night that it was now bubbling inside him, threatening to spill out.
"She was inexperienced at first, but later she got the hang of it," Logan went on and something inside Oliver snapped.
He pushed his way through the crowd and lunged at Logan. He grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, taking him off guard, and threw him down on the coffee table. The table snapped and broke underneath him and a great crash sound filled the room. The red punch spilled over the floor, staining Logan's fancy, 100 dollar shirt.
"You son of a –" Oliver started, but Logan's mocking laugh cut him off.
Oliver did not like being taunted and he did not like hearing people spreading false stories about his friends. Oliver pinned Logan down against the broken pieces of the wooden table and grabbed his collar once again. Before he had time to think it through, his fist had connected with Logan's jaw.
Logan was thrown back to the floor and yelped in pain as blood began to flow from his lip. Logan's friends were up on their feet, an army of bulk men, ready to back him up, but he held his hand up, stopping them.
"You pathetic excuse of a person!" Oliver spat, wanting to kick him but this time he refrained himself.
Logan nursed his cut lip, gingerly touching the bleeding wound. He looked up at Oliver and sneered.
"What's the matter, Oken? She was done with me, so she went back to you?" Logan jeered. "Can't blame her, really; all she wanted was a bit of attention. And when you left her with me, I had to comfort her... somehow."
That's it! Oliver thought and he drew his hand back, ready to strike again, but Sam, who might be shorter than Oliver, but twice as stronger, had grabbed him from behind and held him back.
"You liar!" Oliver yelled, struggling to break free and have a go at him again, but Sam held him back without any difficulty. "Lilly would never –"
"Why don't you ask her, then?" Logan slandered, carefully rising back on his feet. He strutted over to Oliver. "Ask her how she wanted me." He stopped in front of Oliver. "Ask her how she complained you don't appreciate her. Really, Oken, will it kill you to throw her a compliment every once in a while?" Logan finished his rant, cocked his head to the side and smirked. Oliver anticipated him punching him in return. He saw how Logan's hand swung back, ready to blow. He ducked just in time and Logan's fist missed his head by a mere inch and hit Sam's nose. Sam immediately let go of Oliver and held his nose in pain. Before Logan had realized what happened, Oliver raised his knee high and kicked his groin hard. Logan fell to the floor, curled into a ball and whimpered in pain, unable to move.
Oliver saw the rest of Logan's friends beginning to corner him. He noticed Lilly's coat lying on the back of the couch. He managed to grab it quickly and ran for the door, pushing people out of the way as he moved.
He ran to his car, quickly got inside and pressed on the gas paddle, thankful he left the engine still running. He threw Lilly's coat at her, and buckled his seatbelt as he drove out of there as fast as he could.
"What happened?" Lilly asked, panic in her voice.
Oliver didn't reply. He tried to stay calm and focused on the road. His hands shook on the steering wheel and Lilly noticed it. She gasped. "Oliver, your hand!" she called, alarmed. "You're bleeding!"
"It's fine," he dismissed, but she disregarded his words and touched the blood carefully.
"I said it's fine," Oliver scolded in a stiff voice, shooting her a hard stare before his eyes went back to the road ahead. "It's not my blood."
"What did you do?" she asked. He gulped hard and ignored her question again. "You punched him, didn't you?"
Oliver took in a deep breath. After a moment of silence, he said, "He deserved it."
"Did he?"
Oliver shook his head vigorously from side to side, trying to force the memories from the last hour to disappear, but they refused to go away. Logan was stuck in there, his words still as jeering as before.
Oliver's eyes were fixed on the open road, never shifting to look at her again. He couldn't, not after what he heard Logan say.
"Tell me, Lilly, why did we come here tonight?" he asked. "Why did you dress like that? Who were you trying to impress? Him?"
She huffed angrily and sat back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest. "So what if I was? What's it to you? You can wear an outfit and I can't?"
He chuckled hollowly. "What outfit?" He looked down at his clothes and then back to the road. "A shirt and jeans?"
"Well, what's wrong with my dress?"
"You never dress like that, Lilly! Every party we ever gone to, you always wore a blouse and trousers or something really kitschy and bright like a cartoon character would wear."
"Yeah, I also wore pink wigs. That's how Lola dresses, in case you haven't noticed. I'm Lilly, nice to meet you," she retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Oliver, there's no harm with dressing nice to a party!"
"It is when it comes to guys like him! Stop being so naïve, Lilly." She didn't reply to that. The silence gave him a chance to continue his preaching. "I hope at least you got what you wanted. I sure know he did."
She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He turned quiet, contemplating whether he should just throw it in her face or keep it to himself. After a moment of silent, he sighed. "Nothing."
"No, Oliver, tell me!" she demanded. "Did he say anything to you?"
"No."
"He must have said something to trigger you off, or else you wouldn't have punched him until he'd bleed."
Oliver couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know the truth. He knew that one of them was lying and he sure hoped it wasn't Lilly. His whole life he trusted her and he wanted to trust her right now, but still he wanted to hear her say it. His gaze shifted between Lilly and the road and blurted, "Did you kiss him?"
"What?" Lilly asked, taken aback.
"Did you kiss him?" Oliver asked again, his voice harsher. "Did you... Hell, I can't even say it."
"What? No! No, I didn't!" Lilly called in defense. Panic was filling he voice again. "Is that what he said?"
Oliver clenched his teeth hard, wanting so badly to believe her, but something just didn't make sense. He was missing pieces from the puzzle.
"Then where were you?" Oliver asked, trying to make his best not to sound like he was accusing her. He just needed answers. "I must have waited for you for thirty minutes or so."
"I... I..." she stammered. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. "After you left, I stayed there, with him; I thought maybe he will provide me some company until you came back, but you didn't. Logan... He tried to make a move, but I didn't let him. I left him there and went to search around the house for you. When I couldn't find you, I went outside. I saw your car's headlights were on, so I knew you haven't left yet." She took a deep breath. "You may not believe me, Oliver, but it's the truth."
Oliver listened and tried to connect the dots. It made more sense now that she explained her side of the story. He knew he shouldn't have believed Logan. Lilly would never lie to him. She would never do those things Logan said she did. "No, I... I believe you," he said quietly and he wasn't sure she heard him.
Lilly seemed to be thinking about things as well. She seemed troubled. After a moment of silence between them, she finally asked, "Is that why you punched him?"
Oliver did not answer her. He did not want to explain why he punched him; it will hurt her even more.
"What did he say?" she pressed.
"Nothing. Just forget it."
"No, Oliver! I have the right to know if someone said things about me. Tell me what he said!" she demanded, her voice rising up.
"He said you hooked up, okay?" Oliver spat. He watched her heated expression slowly change into the painful look he did not want to see on her face. He regretted it immediately. "Only he used much harsher words than that."
Lilly seemed to be lost in thought. Her eyes darted from side to side as she contemplated what she just heard. She looked hurt and vulnerable and he hated making her feel this way. Still, she was naïve enough to trust someone like Logan.
"Still think he's not a bad guy?" Oliver asked quietly, but she did not reply. She looked tired and Oliver guessed that after he left her with Logan, she drank more beer and the alcohol was now beginning to take effects.
They arrived back to the cabin. He noticed the lights were all out and was surprised everyone already went to sleep. He expected to find his mother or dad staying up and wait for them to come back. He was thankful they didn't.
Oliver turned off the engine and the lights of the car, not wanting to make noise and wake everyone up. It was still early. They didn't spend much time at the party, after all.
A muffled grumble sound caught his attention and his eyes shot to Lilly with curiosity.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. He couldn't help but keep the concern out of his voice. She nodded quietly.
Oliver sighed when he saw her current state. She turned uncooperative and silent. She mellowed with her thoughts and let the alcohol she consumed change her. It was no wonder she had gotten drunk so easily, she drank on an empty stomach.
"Let's see what they left for us to eat," he said. They opened the car's doors and Oliver saw she was struggling standing on her feet. He hurried over to her and helped her out. She threw her hand around his shoulders and he supported her weight as he walked her carefully to the cabin.
"My head hurts," she whimpered. "Everything is spinning."
She staggered as she walked and Oliver wondered how she managed to get back to the car from the house without falling.
"Thank you, Oliver. You are always so kind to me. You're such a good friend," she mumbled. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I like it when you take care of me."
"Shhh... It's nothing, Lilly," Oliver whispered as they entered the dark cabin. He turned on the nearest light switch. She moaned at the sudden brightness in room, squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into his shoulder. "It'd all be over soon."
Before he knew what she was doing, Lilly stepped before him. She held his neck with one hand, while she put the other on his cheek and began caressing it softly. In a swift move, she leaned over and her lips missed his cheek and hit the corner of his mouth in a chaste peck. It took Oliver a long moment to realize what happened. His eyes widened with shock. He saw she had the same, bewildered look on her face.
He didn't even have time to respond. Her head suddenly slid to his shoulder again and her body went limb. Oliver quickly grabbed her before she fell. She giggled. "Oopsie," she muttered and then she passed out.
Oliver looked at her and sighed in disappointment at another missed opportunity. He had no choice but to carry her up to his room and put her on his bed. He covered her with his blanket and watched her sleep peacefully.
This whole day had been very emotional and stressful. He was glad it was over. Tomorrow will be a new day and a start to a new beginning; maybe even a new relationship. He still needed to figure out what to do with this girl that now slept in his bed. They had a lot to talk about. And one particular thing that will probably keep him up all night and will never leave his mind was that unexpected kiss.
He sighed. One day, Lilly Truscott, I will kiss you for real. He cast one last look at her sleeping form and walked out.
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A/N: Wow, that was a really long one, huh? Don't you think it deserve a review? I do. Don't forget your reviews motivate me to keep writing. Thank you! :)