EIGHT CHAPS DOWN, TWO TO GO…

Lily walked slowly home from the mall, empty-handed and with an empty heart. Did she really think she could win this battle against Ray and Audrey? They were obviously the match made in heaven; popular girl meets charismatic boy. They were simply destined to be together. And Lily just missed out on her chance. However, somewhere deep inside her, Lily had a burning desire to rip apart their happy little dreams. It wasn't as if she and Travis weren't happy together, right? They were just going through a hard time. Yes, Lily convinced herself, there is no reason why she and Travis shouldn't get to be Winterfest King & Queen. Lily abruptly turned around and got her cell phone. She had a lot of planning to do.

"Yep?" The chirpy voice on the other line answered.

"Parker!" Lily exclaimed, feeling energized again.

"Hey Randy, what's the dealio?" She asked lightheartedly, staring at herself in the mirror and tugging on the dress she was wearing.

"I'm going shopping for a dress. Do you want to join me?" Lily asked.

"Actually, yes. This dress is all wrong." Parker said, dramatically tearing it off her body. After a loud shuffle, Lily laughed and asked if she was okay.

"You bet. Be at the Salvo in ten?" Parker said before she hung up.

Travis was sitting home alone again. To him, it felt like forever since the last time he went out with Lily. He really cared about her and he didn't want them to break up just because not everyone was accepting. In a few weeks would people still care? Travis was still a little scared of the answer. He decided he'd listen to his favorite sounds of Tokyo on his CD player and calm down a little. After about an hour of alone time, there was a loud banging on the door.

"Travis! Open up!" There were laughing voices outside and Travis jumped up at the thought of it being Lily. He opened the door and she revealed herself, along with tagalong Parker.

"Hey!" He exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here?" He asked as Lily dropped her bags at his door. She was carrying about three. Parker had a few too. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a warm hug. When he pulled apart, he asked her what it was for.

"I did a lot of thinking." She said slowly, "and I think we should go to the dance together!" Before the fact could register in his mind, Lily picked up the bags and twirled around. "And I found the perfect, perfect dress!"

"She did." Parker said, nodding.

"Oh really?" Travis asked playfully.

"Yep." Lily smiled and pushed through Travis, into his house. "I'll be back in one second!" She told them as she found her way to the Strong family bathroom. Parker hesitated for a minute; Travis raised his eyebrows and nodded, letting her know she could shut the door and come in. Parker sighed in relief as she fell onto the couch.

"I hate shopping." She said dully, but with a smile on her face. Just then her cell phone rang. "That's me?" She asked, and Travis replied yes. "Oh." She said happily as she picked up. It was a text message.

"Who is it?" Travis asked, curious. Parker read the message aloud.

"Can't wait 'til 2nite, will B so fun." She said, laughing.

"So, who is it?" Travis asked again.

"I don't know!" Parker exclaimed. "Isn't that hilarious?" She began vigorously texting back. Travis rolled his eyes as Lily emerged in her dress. It was a vintage ball gown in charcoal gray. It looked simply amazing on Lily.

"Wow!" Travis said, trying to articulate his emotion. "It's…"

"Ed!!" Parker exclaimed, laughing. Lily and Travis both turned to look at her. She looked up, startled. "The message. It's who has been texting me! Ed!" Lily started laughing, but Parker was already in hysterics.

"I can't believe it!" Parker exclaimed again, once they had calmed down. "He was so sweet to me, why didn't I see it before?"

"Well I think you should give him a chance." Travis told her seriously. Lily nodded.

"He seems genuine." She agreed.

"That's true. And I don't have a date…" Parker said.

"Now you do!" Lily told her, standing up, as they started to do their signature happy dance. Once everything calmed down, Travis invited the girls to stay for a while at his place. But Parker decided to Mickey's and meet up with her not-so-secret admirer.

"So, how come you want to go to the dance now?" Travis asked casually as he got some bottled water out of the refrigerator for Lily.

"Oh, no reason, really." Lily said lamely, but Travis didn't fall for it.

"No reason?" He asked her, handing her the bottle. She opened it but didn't drink.

"It's just…I saw Ray and Audrey."

"Oh no," Travis began.

"It's not just them, though." Lily insisted. "It's us." She paused. "There is no reason why we shouldn't be as happy as they are." Travis thought there was something wrong with that judgment, but he didn't want to ruin the good mood Lily was in. Instead, he wrapped her up in an embrace and told her that with her logic, what could go wrong?

Apparently, everything.

A/N: All this time I was pretending/so much for Lily's happy ending

…Okay, just kidding, it's not as bad as you think it will be!

So I'd really like to thank you all for reviewing; you have no idea how happy it makes me to see botfanfiction letters in my inbox! Especially when those happy reviews say something nice! I know you see that little blue box down in the corner, so click it and tell me what you think! ;)