a/n: I apologize in advance, this chapter is just kinda of weird...and now I'm just too lazy to fix it, hahaha

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Oliver looked up as she approached. "Hey gorgeous," Austin said to Lilly. Both Oliver and Miley wished that simple comment had been between them.

"So, what are you getting?" Miley asked, narrowly avoiding eye contact. Oliver stared at her. "To eat?" she offered.

"Oh!" he said, blushing. "Um…spaghetti."

"Meatballs?" she asked.

"Hate 'em," he answered. "Have since elementary school."

"What? How can you hate them? They're meatballs—they're delicious! You can't have spaghetti without them. I'll prove it to you." She ordered her pasta with extra meatballs.

They may have only been talking about pasta, but at least they weren't imitating a pair of deer caught in headlights anymore. And thank goodness for Lilly and Austin, both voluble characters, who kept the conversation constant, if not flowing.

Once their food got to the table, Miley speared a meatball off her plate and offered it to Oliver. "Tell me it's not amazing," she dared him. He ate it quickly, realizing immediately that it was still very hot. Tears stood out in his eyes and he reached for his water.

"Alright?" she asked. He nodded. She began to giggle, and at first he looked upset, but he couldn't stay annoyed for very long in the face of her laughter.

He grinned at her and said, "Oh, very funny, laugh at me in this moment of weakness. This is all your fault, you know."

"Oh yes, I'm very sorry." She smiled hugely at him, looking not so much sorry as giddy.

"Well, you should be," he smirked.

"I'll make it up to you later," she vowed, sipping her water and looking at him through her eyelashes.

He glanced across the table at Lilly pleadingly. Lilly sighed, smiling patiently, and got up from the table, taking Oliver with her.

"Did you have dinner before you came or what?"

"Lilly, I'm completely frozen up!" he gushed frantically. "She looks so—so—"

"Beautiful? Lovely? Amazing? Fantastic? Gorgeous?"

"All of the above?" he answered weakly.

Lilly squealed gleefully. "Tell her that!"

"Every time I look at her I want to vom," he said darkly.

"Don't tell her that," she advised.

"No, I mean, I just get so nervous, it's like I can't form sentences or say anything normal." Suddenly an expression of discontent took over his face. "How awful for her that she got all dressed up for this dance only to be going with me."

Lilly gaped at him, horrified. "Oliver, she dressed up for you. She wants to be here with you." He still looked skeptical and miserable. "Look, you like her, right?" she guessed.

He nodded, partly in agreement, partly in dawning realization.

"Show her that. You're her best friend, you know how to make her happy—go with your instinct." She added thoughtfully, "And if you're feeling kinda—you know—just, just go."

They returned to the table and finished dinner, continuing to talk lightly. Things were better between Miley and Oliver, but they were still acting awkward.