You now the sucky part in romance stories that happens just when you think the main characters have hit it off? Yeah, well this is that part.

10.45pm: Love Shack

This was huge.

Correction – this was HUGE!

Fifteen years of friendship … leading to this moment. Tommy had no idea Lil could effect him like this.

"Lil, I … "

"Tommy ... "

No more talk. Tommy leaned in and kissed her.

I'mkissingLilI'mkissingLilI'mkissingLilI'mkissingLilI'mkissingLilI'm – SHUT UP BRAIN!

She held onto him, and he did the same. Soon the kissing became more urgent. Tommy's brain (hardly operational at this point) and his body seemed to completely disconnect – and his body was issuing command. His hands moved on their own accord … through her hair, all over her back, across her hip … exploring everything. He couldn't control it …

Both were far too preoccupied to notice the lights go back on in the house. Or, some five minutes later, the arrival of a car outside Tommy's driveway …

Never breaking the kiss, Lil rolled on her back, taking Tommy with her. Now Tommy was on top of her – for the second time that night, mind you. Lil's arms snaked around his back and tugged him down – hard – so that his whole weight pressed against her. Tommy moaned into the back of her throat, as his hands continued their exploration …

Somebody put a key in the front door and unlocked it. Again, Tommy and Lil ceased to notice …

Tommy had to break the kiss. He couldn't breath! Instead, he kissed her neck; and from the way Lil responded, he didn't think she minded the swap. He was able to think again – a little. Are we going too fast? Should I stop? His inexperienced male teenage body screamed 'NO!' on all accounts. He didn't want to stop. Please don't stop! But shouldn't I anyway? Shouldn't we talk about this more? Shouldn't … oh – my – GOD!

Lil bent her knees up, causing Tommy's pelvis to drop right between her legs. Feeling as if every nerve ending he had was on fire, Tommy took a sharp intake of breath and gripped the carpet for dear life. He knew he wasn't going to make it out of there alive ...

"What's with all the candles?"

CRAP!

Dil, of course, walked into the living room. Talk about breaking the mood! On hearing his younger brother's voice, Tommy opened his eyes and unburied his head from Lil's neck. Still lying beneath him, Lil opened her eyes too. What now?

"I know you guys are in there!" Dil said loudly, obviously noticing the tent.

I am going to murder him Tommy thought, reluctantly pushing himself off Lil and poking his head out in the open. All the lights were on again. The air felt startingly cool on his face, like he'd spent the last ten minutes in a sauna – which, in a way, was more or less true. Leering in the direction of Dil, who was wearing the same smug face he'd donned earlier that night, Tommy hissed, "Haven't you heard of a thing called privacy in your dimension?"

"Good evening to you too," said Dil, unaffected. "Hey Lil."

Lil had stepped out of the tent. "Hello Dil," she said in a composed voice, despite being irregularly red in the cheeks and neck. She then looked down at Tommy with smiling eyes and said, "T, I have to use your bathroom again. That okay?"

Tommy was having the same thought, seeing he had a rather desperate situation going on inside his sweat pants. "Sure. Go ahead."

She left, walking calmly past Dil and stopping at her bag, before heading upstairs. Tommy's eyes followed her every move, mesmerised, until she was out of sight. Then a pillow collided with his head.

"You are so gone, T!" said Dil, laughing at his brother. "You should see your face. You look like you just discovered the earth was round!"

"Shut up!" said Tommy, chucking the pillow back and standing up. This was no time to hang about and humour Dil.

"Where are you going?" Dil asked as Tommy hurried by him.

"I'm going to go find something to kill you with!" Tommy quickly called back, and dived for the downstairs bathroom.

11.00pm: Signal No. 1

After 'sating' himself in the bathroom, Tommy headed for the kitchen. Dil was there, sitting on the dining table and drinking milk from the carton. Tommy ignored him, went straight for the fridge, opened it, stood in it, and breathed an extended sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?" Dil asked, most intrigued.

"Sticking my groin in the fridge, what does it look like I'm doing?" Tommy replied straightforwardly.

"Interesting method. Make sure you keep it away from the coleslaw, I want to eat that later."

"Ha ha ..."

Dil chuckled again. "You never answered my question: what is with all the candles? Did the Valentine's Day vibes finally hit you?"

"We had a blackout," Tommy explained. "I didn't realise the lights had come back on. I was too busy discovering the earth was round."

"Another question," Dil proposed. "Why do you and Lil both have bruised heads?"

"Long story."

"You guys didn't get carried away in your love shack, did you?"

"It's not a love shack, it's a fold-out tent!" Tommy outlined solidly. He then changed the subject. "You must've been having a good time tonight," he went on, closing the fridge door. "You're practically an hour late."

"Yes, it was very pleasant," Dil agreed. "Ironically, I didn't get nearly as much action as you did, but then I forgot to bring along my own fold-out tent. I'll have to remember that for next time."

Tommy left Dil in the kitchen, deciding to check up on Lil. Walking through the living room, he stopped when he caught sight of a picture on the wall he'd seen many times, but looking at it again now … if felt different. It was a picture of himself, Chuckie, Phil and Lil as babies, during the time before Dil and Kimi had come along. He was sitting in the middle, wedged between Chuckie and Lil. Smiling as he looked at Lil and himself, he suddenly saw something. Something he'd never realised. He took the picture off the wall and looked harder. He couldn't believe it …

"Ahem."

It was Dil - again. Tommy's urge for murder was ebbing back. He returned the picture to the wall and said, "What is it now?"

"Should I start singing 'Memories'?" said Dil dreamily, making eyes with the picture. Tommy folded his arms.

"Only if you want to make the entire neighbourhood deaf."

"You're right, T," said Dil, feigning defeat. "We can't possibly take the risk! I'm going upstairs to stand on my head and meditate before I catch some sleep."

"You do that," said Tommy, glad to be rid of him. Dil waved goodnight and headed upstairs to his room. In the mean time, Lil still hadn't come down. Why do girls always spend an eternity in the bathroom? Maybe he should see if she was all right. Or would that appear needy? Play it cool, Pickles. He resolved to wait at the stairs. With any luck, she's applying more lip cream for me to taste. He grinned to himself. Ten minutes of making out and he was already reduced to this kind of perverted thinking. That's hormones for ya.

Waiting on the bottom step, Tommy spotted something white and rectangular in the corner of his eye, on the floor next to Lil's bag. It was a card. A Valentine's card. He picked it up. It was pretty standard: loveheart on the front, 'Be My Valentine' printed on the top. Where did it come from? Unexpectedly, when he opened the card, a number of notepad-sized sheets of paper fell out. They'd been stapled together, and read like some kind of list …

81. He always, always, ALWAYS sits next to you at lunchtime

82. You're his leading lady in all his films (except the one's Angelica busts in on)

83. He asked you to dance at the Valentine's Day dance (okay, so that was when we were, like, ten. But it still counts!)

84. He hugged you – hello, HUGGED you, after your last three soccer matches and said you were the best girl soccer player he knew!

What the … ?

"TOMMY!"

Jumping in fright, Tommy snapped his head to the top of the stairs. Lil was there, glaring at him with a mortified expression. Before he could do or say anything, she'd bolted past him and out the front door. Tommy was mystified, until he put two and two together. She must think I looked through her bag! He dropped what he was holding and leapt to his feet.

"LIL, WAIT!"

"What's going on?"

Dil emerged from his bedroom, wearing a snorkel.

"Nothing!" Tommy called up to him, grabbing his coat off the rack. "Everything's cool … go back to bed!"

Tommy raced after Lil. Now Dil was the one confused. "Why's everyone going outside? Such strange activity often means … aliens are making contact! YES! And they're forcing people to take up nighttime jogging!"

With this excitingly concluded, Dil and his snorkel went back to his room to set up his telescope.

"LIL!"

Lil ran down the street, ignoring Tommy's calls for her to stop. Flooring it, Tommy was able to catch up and block her.

"Out of my way, Tommy!" She was very upset.

"Lil, no … " Tommy pleaded, out breath.

"You looked through my bag!" she accused.

Bingo.

"I didn't!" Tommy blurted out. "I swear I didn't look through your bag! Look, I was – "

"Then how did you come across that card?"

"It was on the floor!"

"What do you mean it was on the floor?"

"I mean it was on the floor! I picked it up to see what it was, but I didn't know – "

"I wouldn't be that careless!"

"Lil, look at me."

She'd been avoiding his eyes, trying to get past him.

"Lil, please." He put his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him. "I promise I didn't look through your bag. I wouldn't do that. I'm sorry if I saw something I wasn't supposed to see."

Lil's eyes watered, but she managed to calm down. "I'm sorry, Tommy," she said regretfully. "I overreacted. Big time."

Not too far away, at the Finster residence …

"I'm telling you, I heard them!"

"What would they be doing outside at this time of night?"

"We're outside."

"Yeah, but we've been out, moron!"

It was Phil and Kimi, back from their date. Phil was walking Kimi home when he fancied he heard Tommy and his sister arguing further up the street. He eventually spied them from afar.

"See," he said knowingly to Kimi and pointing. "I told you they were outside. What do you think they're doing?"

Phil then saw the part where Tommy put his hands on Lil's shoulders. From his distance, it almost looked like they were …

"WHAT'S HE DOING TO MY SISTER? AGH!"

Phil was set to launch, but Kimi dived on him just in time, sending them both into a bush. She fastened her hand over his mouth and pinned him to the grass.

"Phillip," she whispered warningly, "if you try to go over there and interrupt, I will personally neuter you!"

Phil pushed her hand away.

"Kimi, we can get kinky later. But – "

"No but's!"

"This is so embarrassing … "

"What is?"

Lil sat down on the pavement. Tommy followed suit, sitting close.

"That card you found, and those sheets of paper. They're … " She struggled with her words and brought her knees to her chest. "Well, the card was meant for you. Happy Valentine's Day."

"For me?" said Tommy, shocked. "But … that means … " He thought about this. "When were you planning on giving it to me?"

"Oh," she fidgeted, "about two years ago."

"What?" said Tommy, even more shocked. "You … you've liked me for two years?"

"Pathetic, huh?" she said grimly. "The sheets of paper were something Kimi started. A kind of confidence booster. I didn't know if you saw me as more than a friend, so Kimi kept a tally of any 'signals' you might've given me. Or to others."

"How many did I give?"

"A hundred and eight."

"Oh."

Lil proceeded what was turning into a confession. "I kept one for Kimi, too. For her and Phil. Tonight was the night we were both going to … " Again, she struggled. "Go for it." She paused for a second, then sat up straight and said chirpily, "Well! Glad that's all out in the open. Let's go inside and forget it ever – "

She tried to stand and escape, but Tommy stopped her. He looked into her eyes, which again were watering.

"Lil … " he said softly.

"Tommy, just tell me one thing," she said over him, rubbing away a lingering tear. "Does what happened between us tonight mean something to you? Because … I'll never stop being your friend, but … " She couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to.

Does what happened between us tonight mean something to you?

It seemed such a silly question, but Lil was dead serious. As Tommy looked at this girl – no, this young woman, who'd he'd known all his life, he could see no more natural a step to take. It was evident he'd been living in the past, not paying attention to the way the relationships between his friends had been changing. Worst of all, he hadn't been paying attention to his own changes. It was too easy to fall for Lil the way he had in one night – or one hour for that matter. The feelings, he knew, had always been there.

He put his hand to her cheek, wiped her eye, and kissed her lovingly on the mouth.

"Does that answer your question?"

"How can Lil have liked Tommy for two years?" Phil retorted, still pinned down by Kimi. "She never told me!"

"Duh! She knew you'd freak out."

"I am not freaking out!"

"You so totally are! We've been planning this night for weeks. I even let her borrow my fold-out tent for them to sleep in."

"You did WHAT!"

"See? Freaking out!"

"But – " Phil pouted. "She's my sister. I'm only looking out for her."

"Lil can take care of herself, she's a big girl," Kimi enforced. "And anyway, Tommy's a good guy. You know that! Can you think of anyone else more decent then Tommy?"

She got him there.

"No … " he admitted. "I guess not."

"So," said Kimi, testing him. "Are you going to behave?"

Phil sighed. "Yes."

"Good."

Kimi began easing off, until he grabbed her arm and pulled her down again. He had a wicked glint in his eye.

"I didn't say get off me … "

"Phil!" She slapped his shoulder. "You're a complete perve, you know that?"

"Damn straight! Still wanna neuter me?"

Kimi's lips curled into a smile. She drew her face closer to his. "Damn straight … "

"KIMI!" said an exasperated voice.

Freezing in motion, Phil and Kimi looked up to see Chuckie, standing over them with his hands on his hips. He'd just arrived back from his date with Angelica and, as you can imagine, was rather infuriated at the sight of his sister and friend straddling each other in his front yard.

"Chuckie!" said Kimi, horribly affronted and standing to face him. Phil stood too, but preferred sticking behind Kimi's back. From the way Chuckie was glaring at him, it looked like he wouldn't mind neutering him tonight as well. "Do you mind?"

"Hey Chuck," said Phil gruffly, giving his friend a feeble wave. "Ah … how's it hanging?"

"How's it hanging?" Chuckie repeated nonsensically, before flaring up. "You were on top of my sister in a bush and you ask me how's it hanging!"

"Chuckie, cool it!" Kimi intervened. "And for the record, I was the one on top of Phil."

"That's right!" Phil retaliated, remaining behind Kimi. "All I was doing was innocently spying on my sister and … "

Phil's voice trailed off as he peeped over his shoulder, in the direction of Tommy and Lil. They were walking back to Tommy's house now, hand-in-hand. Phil had a flare up of his own.

"Did you see that?" he remarked indignantly. "I think she put her hand on his ass!"

"Heal, Phillip!" said Kimi, permitting him from another launch. "Or I'll stick my foot in your ass. You two are pathetic!" She eyed both Phil and her brother. "You can both go join an 'Over-Protective Brothers Anonymous' group in morning!"

"Ah, hello?" said an impatient voice from Chuckie and Kimi's porch. Angelica, looking very attractive in a pink dress and overcoat, was tapping her foot and staring at Chuckie. "Extremely beautiful and important date standing here like a lump!"

"Er … " said Chuckie, peering quickly at Angelica and feeling torn.

"Go back to Angelica, Chuckie," Kimi suggested wisely. "Me and Phil are leaving now anyway."

"Fantastic idea!" said Phil, already on his way.

"Okay, fine!" Chuckie gave in. "But this isn't over!" Kimi rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, dad. See you later." She turned and walked away with Phil. As they walked, they could hear Chuckie say 'coming, Angelica!', and Angelica's annoyed reply of 'it's about freakin time!'.

"He's going to murder me in my sleep," Phil assessed, as they walked back to his place.

"Not if I don't do it first," said Kimi, giving him a shove. Phil had that glint in his eye again.

"Is that before or after you're sticking your foot in my ass?"

Oblivious to the happenings between Phil, Kimi, Chuckie and Angelica, Tommy and Lil were once again in Tommy's house. Tommy had taken her to observe the picture of them on the wall, and what he'd seen earlier.

"We are too!" said Lil in amazement, holding the image to her face. "How old are we here?

Tommy shrugged. "Six months. Maybe less."

If you looked carefully at the picture in question, you could see baby Tommy and Lil, while sitting very close together, were actually holding hands. Fingers intertwined and everything – and they weren't even a year old. They didn't even have hair!

"We look like we're doing it on purpose," Lil examined. "But in secret or something ..."

"Let's just call it signal number one."

Smiling, Lil placed the picture back on the wall and laced her arms around Tommy's neck. He put his arms around her waist. Gazing comfortably into her eyes, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Could you really not walk after I hit you in the head?"

Lil responded to this question on four levels. First she went pink, then she giggled, then she sunk her head into his chest (still giggling), and then she looked up at him and said, "You always said I was a good actress."

Tommy gave her a squeeze. "You faker!"

"That's what a good actress does! And FYI Pickles, the bruise you gave me, while it didn't hinder my ability to walk, was not fake."

"Yeah, well neither was mine!" Tommy pretended to argue. "I wouldn't have fallen over that footstool if you weren't standing around looking all beautiful."

Suddenly …

"Extraterrestrials! Did you see any?"

Dil – again! This time in a snorkel and flippers.

"I'm possibly seeing one now," said Tommy, keeping his arms around Lil and surveying Dil's outfit as he flip-flopped down the stairs.

"Not in here, outside!" he said obviously. "I sensed their presence. Were you aware of any paranormal activity out there?"

"Again, the only paranormal activity I'm sensing is in here," Tommy insisted.

"Um, Dil," said Lil, speaking up curiously. "Do you always sleep in swimwear?"

Dil lifted his goggles and smiled. "Lillian, Lillian … I don't sleep in this. I only wear it when I believe aliens are within close proximity to us. That way, if I run into them, I will appear as they do, and we'll have a better chance at relating."

"Oooh," said Lil, sneaking an amused glance at Tommy. "Right! I see now … "

"I think I've had enough science fiction for one night," said Tommy, leading Lil back towards the living room. "Goodnight Dil. For the final time if you catch my drift?"

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight," said Dil, flopping disappointedly back to his room. "And it's not science fiction, Thomas. It's science reality!"

After turning the lights off, Tommy and Lil crawled back inside the tent, laughing to themselves about Dil.

"At least you can't ever say he's boring," said Lil, snuggling up to Tommy as they lay down.

"True," said Tommy, giving her a quick kiss. It felt so comforting and nice lying against her. He wondered how he ever got by without it.

"What are you smiling about?" she said teasingly, pulling him closer.

"Nothing," said Tommy quietly, feeling a wave of sleepiness coming on. "I'm just happy."

"I'm happy too," whispered Lil, finishing with a yawn. "And tired."

"Ditto," yawned Tommy, resting his eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day, Lil."

"It's nearly midnight. Valentine's Day's almost over."

"Not for me … "

Okay, so it was only sucky for a little bit. At least we ended up sleeping together. Not like that people, don't go all dirty on me! We're only fifteen. Give us a year or two …

Hello again. Hey faded star in the sky! Another HP regular. And everyone else who I'm meeting for the first time. Don't really have anything else to say except that was a big ass chapter and one of the sexiest things I've written to date. It's about time I got sexy :) See you all in chapter five!