Fourth: Too Stubborn

It was poor Reed and Samus that got the brunt of her frustration after the encounter with Percival. She wanted to push the incident as far away into the back of her mind as possible, and the best way she knew how to do that was to yell. Of course the things she chose to yell about were completely irrelevant, but it still helped to let off some steam.

After scaring the two men senseless, she went into her room and spent a good twenty minutes screaming into her pillow. Rage was always her defense mechanism to combat whatever came her way in life. As long as she could be pissed off at someone, then they could be at a distance from her and she didn't have the potential risk of being hurt. But even from a distance, she could get wounded.

She drained herself out and laid in bed with her face still pressed to the pillow, her mind traveling back to that encounter. She didn't want to hope that maybe it had been real, but a part of her did. No one could ever really and truly care about her in that way. She was too free spirited, too controlling, too unlike everything a man wanted in a love interest. But surely Percival had gotten the message last time and wouldn't try to fool her again.

Her head was pounding the next morning. She hadn't gotten much sleep again. She needed a nice long bath to relax her nerves. She pulled something on and opened her door. Her still-sleepy eyes gazed blearily down at something that was in the hallway. In an instant all weariness fled her body.

"I love Lilly" was staring back at her.

She growled in annoyance. This guy just didn't know when to quit, did he? She had a suspicion that he was just doing this because he knew it ticked her off. Or maybe he's being sincere. No, she was not going to let herself be taken by false hope. This was all a scam of some kind, some sort of stupid bet he had made or something. She gathered as many of the lilies in her arms that she could and tossed them over the banister, coming back for a second load.

The lilies drifted slowly down to the ground, fanning out in all directions. Viki ran over to try and catch some, giggling happily. Lilly had a feeling that Percival would be waiting for her to see how she would react to this. Well, I'm not going to give him that satisfaction. She would ignore it and continue on with her day as if she hadn't seen it. That'll show him, she thought smugly.

-

She went to Mamie's café for lunch. It was a beautiful day and she enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. She didn't order anything right away. She sat down near the lake and simply enjoyed the view, smiling to herself. It was really quite an enjoyable spot. She and Chris liked to come here to talk. She almost wished that her silver-haired friend were with her now. She really needed to talk to her about her recent problems.

"Hello." She jerked in surprise, glancing up into the handsome face of Percival. He smiled pleasantly at her and set a cup of hot tea on her table. She just glared at him. "You drink hot tea, yes?"

"What?" she snapped. She was not pleased with him at all, and she allowed her voice and body to show this.

"Don't worry, it's from Tinto," he smiled. "I know that you like food from Tinto the best." So now he was learning what she liked? What was this all about? Was he stalking her or something? "Well, goodbye," he waved, and walked off to sit at another table.

Lilly sat dazed for a moment, staring at the cup of hot tea before her. What in the world just happened? She had been expecting him to spout more of his nonsense about caring about her, but he just talked to her a bit and went off. For some reason, that really bothered her. He had said all that crap and now was treating her like it had meant nothing. But that's what I wanted… isn't it? I didn't want him to be sincere.

She glanced over at where he was sitting. He was eating a light meal and was watching Rhett and Wilder bumble around. He didn't seem aware that Lilly was even in the same area. She continued to stare, and suddenly she understood what he was doing. She stood up and walked over to his table, slamming her palm on it to get his attention.

"Ah, yes, Lilly?" He glanced up at her expectantly. He was expecting her to demand why he wasn't showering her with the words of love he had given before, but she wasn't going to give that to him. Sincere or no, she wanted to show him exactly what he was dealing with.

"I know what you're trying to play, Percival. You shower me with gifts, and then pay me no attention. You expected me to get mad at you for changing so suddenly, to perhaps be a little disappointed. Well, I'm afraid your little scheme won't work on me. This shrew will not be tamed." He smiled tranquilly up at her.

"If it doesn't bother you, then why are you talking to me about it?" She growled, scowling that he had put her at a stalemate again. It was almost like the two of them were dueling each other with words.

"I'm letting you know that it won't work," she told him. "So I guess you lose the bet, or whatever it was that got you started on this." Percival raised his eyebrow, looking genuinely confused.

"Bet? I thought I already told you that I was doing this of my own free will. There is no bet. You can ask around my friends if you don't believe me." She couldn't think of a reply at first, which was a first time for her. He just kept smiling up at her, like he knew a secret that he was dying to tell but wanted to be asked about it first.

"This game is so stupid," she spat out at last.

"But the prize is well worth the effort," he returned. Her cheeks flushed despite herself. She desperately tried to cover it with an angry scowl.

"I'm not going to become some stupid little housewife. I'm not like all the other girls." He pushed back his chair and rose to his feet so now she was the one that was looking up at him. He reached out and placed a hand gently on her cheek.

"I don't want the other girls," he whispered softly. He drew his hand away and walked away without another word. She touched her cheek, where the warmth of his hand still lingered. Her heart was pattering wildly inside her chest. The way he had looked at her… She almost wanted to…

"No," she said out loud, her voice quivering. "I can't let you get too close. I don't want to get hurt."

She had to keep herself safe from pain, loneliness, sadness… and yes, even love.