Ray slammed his head down on the desk and sighed. He'd tried to write a letter to Lily telling her how he felt, but it wasn't coming out right.
Dear Lily,
I need to tell you that
Dear Lily,
This is going to sound stupid and clichéd, but
Lily,
For all my life I've been
Lily,
I have to tell you
Lily,
I love you.
Ray
Ray tossed the paper in the bin and walked out. He'd try again later.
Lily felt like an idiot.
An idiot who had no right to feel like one, but still an idiot.
Ray had invited her to his house because he had something to give her. She'd turned up, only to find Ray MIA.
By the tone of his voice, she'd guessed it would be something important. Apparently something more important than watching the new episode of Friends, because he KNEW that she didn't do anything else on Thursday nights. Especially since it was a long weekend for Roscoe High.
She rolled her eyes at his stupidity and got up to leave. As she brushed off her jeans, something in Ray's dustbin caught her eye.
Why would Ray throw a piece of paper with MY name on it in the trash?
Lily carefully picked it up by one corner. After she had checked that there was no gum anywhere on its surface, she flipped it over.
Ray raced up the stairs, skipping every other step. He'd completely forgotten that he'd told Lily to meet him in his room. He had planned to give her the note he'd been trying to write all day, but it looked like he needed to think of a reason for her being there. And fast.
He cautiously opened the door, and the apology died on his lips as he took in the scene. Lily was standing next to his desk, staring at the note as if it was about to bite her.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
She turned to face him, defiance on her face. "Then if I wasn't supposed to see it, why was my name on it?"
Ray sighed. "Well, ok… maybe you were supposed to see it. But not that one."
Lily looked at him like he had lost his mind.
"Um… that was kind of a… a draft I guess you could call it."
She bit her lip, and Ray was surprised by how soft her voice was when she spoke. "Ray… did you mean what you wrote on that note? Do you really love me?"
He nodded quietly and spoke in a hoarse whisper. "Lily Randall, I've always loved you. Since the day you moved to Roscoe thirteen years ago, I've loved you. You've been in my life for longer than I can remember, and I grew up knowing that I was in love with you." He turned away from her and Lily heard his voice break with emotion. "I'm just sorry you had to find out this way… in the way that will change our relationship forever."
She gently touched his shoulder and stepped in front of him. "I'm sorry too. But not for your reasons… I'm sorry because for fourteen years, I've had to live without you in my life that way."
He met her gaze but didn't speak.
"Ever since we were kids, I heard Mom and Dad talk about how wonderful it would be if we grew up and fell in love. What they didn't realize was that we had already fallen in love from the moment we saw each other. We just needed to let each other know."
A tear ran down Ray's cheek.
"So you're right… our relationship will change. But it won't be destroyed, Ray. Love strengthens friendship and makes it beautiful." Tears welled up in her eyes.
His voice was soft when he finally spoke, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes. "You really mean that, don't you?"
She had to think about that for close to a quarter of a second. "I do."
Ray laughed, and the sound was so much more beautiful to her than anything she could every have imagined. "Whoa… aren't you rushing a little ahead of yourself? You're supposed to say that when we get to the altar, not here."
Lily punched his arm, and laughing, the two teenagers walked out of the room, the fateful little note laying on the bed.