Disclaimer: I own nothing you may or may not recognize.

Rating: PG13, just in case

Pairing: Travis/Lily eventually

A/N: O.K. all you Trily fans, it could get a little bumpy for the next couple of chapters but hang tight. Time will jump forward more quickly in the chapters after this one as this story spans their years in high school. Hey, to any Rily fans who were brave enough to read this knowing the outcome. I hope I do the pairing justice.

Because I Know You

Chapter Three: A Softer Landing

After Travis had left, Ray could only remember Lily's face and how upset she had been. He had to find her and try to make her feel better. She'd probably punch him and tell him to go away but he felt it was his duty as the official "best friend." He'd done it so long that it was instinct anyway. From skinned knees, lost trinkets, and crushed crushes, he'd at least let her know he cared. Grudgingly, he admitted to himself that Robbie was probably right, his love confession would have to wait just a little longer. Robbie was telling him to wait and Travis was telling him to hurry. Even in his confusion he had a suspicion that both Robbie and Travis probably knew more about girls. Why was he the horse at the back of the pack with mud in his eye? Well, he knew Lily and that's all that mattered to him.

She wasn't hard to find. She was in her backyard behind the Gigantuous Twee. At least that's how they said it when they were little. It truly was a massive tree and Lily was sitting under it hidden by its trunk with her arms wrapped around her knees, her head lowered. As he approached he whispered, "Be vewy, vewy, qwiet. I'm hunting Keebwer elves." That earned him a sniffling snort and he deemed it safe to sit next to her.

"Sorry for anything that hurts, Lily" and much softer he added, "whether I caused it or not."

She looked at him then, her tears glittering in the soft evening light. She'd been holding back and as she looked at him the dam burst. She reached blindly for him, her sobs hiccuping wildly. He only thought he'd been hurt by the infamous kiss. Seeing the devastating effect this was having on her, he knew she'd faired far worse.

It seemed like she cried for hours, but that was probably an exaggeration. With Lily, everything he felt was multiplied. He did what he always did. He held her, stroked her hair, and occasionally talked about non-sensical things so that she wouldn't feel that her sorrow was in the spotlight. She was a strong and confident person normally; she hated for anyone to see her cry.

As her sobs calmed he decided she was ready to be cheered. He was glad to be so attuned to her patterns. As she pulled away and straightened herself up he tested the waters, "So, Shady, when you did the X-PO-ZAY on softer landings, I didn't know you were speaking from experience." That earned him the trademark punch in the arm and he smiled.

Her voice was hoarse from crying, "Well, I'm probably the only girl I know that can feel dumped without having actually dated."

Her attempt at humor did not convince him, "Really, Lily, are you going to be O.K?"

"Oh, eventually," she glanced shyly at him "How did you know?"

"It wasn't hard. I went back to ask you to walk with me and I knock over a very flustered Shady. Travis was still there and I gave him my opinion about hurting my best friend."

She looked suddenly horrified; "You two didn't fight, did you?"

"No, not exactly. I made it clear that he'd better not hurt you again. Being the guru that he is, he turned around and gave me advice. Don't tell him but he's probably right."

She simply stared…"And?"

"Maybe some other time, Lily. How about we go grab a pizza, you know, girlie comfort food and all that?" She looked as if she was going to cry again and he was frantically replaying the last phrase in his head to find his mistake.

He nearly fell over as she lunged forward and hugged him fiercely. Her breath tickled his ear and his world tilted. "Ray, you always make me feel better. My own personal warm blanket after getting caught in a rainstorm." She pulled away too quickly in his opinion. She spoke again, sounding more like the Lily he knew and loved. "So how about that pizza? You're buying right, seeing as I'm the one who's in need of comfort?"

He rose and pulled her to her feet, "Sure thing, Lily! Um, could I borrow five bucks?" He felt the wallop connect with his bicep and smiled inwardly. As Lily grabbed his hand and leaned her head onto his shoulder he was hopeful that soon he wouldn't have to wait for a crisis to hold her this way.

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The following day was Saturday, the best day of the week as far as Ray was concerned. It was all good; there was sleeping in, cartoons, free reign of his time, the Brennan family smorgasbord his dad liked to call the "Rest of the Best." In the real world it was called leftovers. Most people didn't like them but his mom was a good cook and he could eat five entrees in one meal.

This Saturday, however, he had a little unfinished business. He'd already tried Travis' home and cell numbers, checked under the CD racks at Mickey's, and of course the station. He'd decided to give up and walk home. After all, he wasn't actually looking forward to another conversation with Travis.

As he was passing the neighborhood park, he saw him, meditating as usual. He was in his standard pose of meditation at the end of a seesaw. Travis heard his approach and spoke without breaking his position, "Hello Ray." Ray could only answer with the standard, "Hey," he was unsure how to start this little talk. Of course, Travis solved that little problem by diving in.

"Is Lily OK?"

Ray moved to the other side of the see saw and decided it would be too dorky to straddle it so he used it as a bench. Travis deftly adjusted to the same position on the other side as the weight balanced them. Travis continued his inquiry, "I assume that as her best friend you were able to get her to stop crying? I can't seem to have that effect." Ray almost felt sorry for him.

"Well, it looks like I'm in good company cause I made her cry too." At that comment, Travis finally looked him in the eye, curious but worried. Ray continued, "Well, it was more of a Hallmark moment kind of cry." He saw Travis wince and asked the question he'd been pondering all night. "Travis, if you like Lily like I think you do why are you doing this?"

Travis looked to the sky for a moment before replying honestly, "You're my friend Ray. Granted, I'm probably not as close as Robbie and Lily, but still …a friend. There is no honor in betraying a friend."

Ray was beginning to understand that Travis truly did operate under another code. "I guess I want to say thanks. I really care for Lily and I think this will be a good thing. I mean I have known her since we were wee-little-kids."

Travis turned to look at Ray directly. "The amount of time has little to do with it, Ray. I know her too. And she knows me."

"Oo-Kaay," Ray was unsure how to respond to that statement when Travis asked another question.

"Did you throw the perfect pitch?"

"Ah, so we're back to baseball. No, not yet. It's not really time considering how much she was hurting." Travis winced again and Ray continued, "I won't let my chance go by. I won't take your sense of honor for granted."

Travis nodded and remained silent. Ray decided it was best for him to go. "So I guess I'll see you later, Swami."

"Ray, how many times does it take? Don't call…."

This time Ray was the one, who interrupted, "You know, Travis, it may have started out wrong, but when I say that now, there's respect backing it up."

Travis nodded his acceptance but then playfully narrowed his eyes. "You mean it's a term of endearment now? I'm not sure if I like that."

Ray huffed, "Well, it was either Swami or Poohead, and I was leaning toward giving that one to Robbie."

Travis actually smiled at that. "Shut-up, Ray." And with an evil grin, Travis rose quickly from the seesaw dropping Ray unceremoniously on his butt. He strode off with Ray yelling after him, "A simple punch in the arm would do, Swami!"