(A/N: SO sorry for the wait. But I'm on Christmas holidays now so I'm going to go into full scale writing frenzy and get this fic all finished before my birthday. Or, you know, way before that hopefully. I think there are only two more chapters left to write and then we're all done! Yay. Anyway, I suppose you cold call this a late but not that late Christmas present for you, so enjoy! And please review? Thank you. I would appreciate it so, so much. Oh, and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Read, Review and Enjoy.)

"Lilly, you can't say I lost from that. I mean I said one word! And you know, names don't count when you're playing scrabble so it shouldn't count in dares either. I mean, come onnn." Mia spluttered, fully aware of the fact that Michael had taken a seat and was staring at her curiously.

'Probably wondering why Lilly's friends with someone with triangle hair and feet the size of skis.' She thought, inwardly sighing.

"Ahh, but you also said 'I' and that, despite the fact that I know you meant the one lettered word 'I', can also mean 'eye', as in eyeball, which is a word. So you lose and I win! Haaaa!" Lilly did the chicken backstroke again and started laughing wickedly.

"Technically, Lilly, you can't say that Mia has lost because she said 'I'. Because we both know she didn't mean 'I' in the eyeball sense of the word and you can't catch her out for saying one letter. And you know you can't, don't you diddykins." Michael smiled evilly and winked at Mia as soon as Lilly's back was turned.

This, of course, sent Mia into a blushing frenzy. He was defending her honour and trying to get her out of having to wear a stupid costume! Boy did she love him.

"Shut up, doofus." Was all Lilly was able to get out before the overwhelming urge to reach out and smack her brother upside the head became too strong to ignore, and she promptly did so with a bit more force than she'd maybe intended, because as soon as she'd done it, Michael reached up and started rubbing the back of his head and complaining.

"Ouch! Geez, Lilly, we need to get mom and dad to book you into an Anger Management course." He muttered, still rubbing the back of his head and grumbling about the pain.

"Oh don't even joke about that. You know how they have connections." Lilly replied, sitting on the back of the couch and folding her arms. "And anyway. If I had to go then you just know that I'll drag you along for the ride, blabber mouth Moscovitz."

"You wouldn't dare" He mock gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth and raising his eyebrows as high as they could go.

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." Was all she said to this blatant teasing of her, though, and she turned to Mia.

"Mia, you lost, I won. Therefore, you have to do what we agreed you'd do if you spoke to this jerk. Even though it was only two words, you still spoke to him so you have to do it!" She cackled evilly. Michael rolled his eyes and mouthed the words 'She's nuts' to Mia, who giggled silently.

"Don't laugh at me, or I'll scramble you." She narrowed her eyes in what looked to be seriousness, but Mia saw the glint in her eyes and laughed openly, picking up the bowl of popcorn Michael had brought in from the kitchen unnoticed and picking out a piece that looked edible.

"Aw, c'mon, Lilly, don't make her do that. Have a heart!" Michael tried a last ditch attempt to get her out of it, but all he got was Lilly making a very rude gesture in his direction, and a very suggestive look to Mia which clearly said that he should tell her as soon as possible or he would suffer the same fate.

"Lilly, why do you take pleasure in the humiliation of other people?" Mia asked later that night, after Michael had hit Lilly over the head with a couch cushion and stalked off jokingly in a imitation of Lilly after she had found out that her show, 'Lilly Tells It Like It Is' wasn't being funded by their parents anymore.

"Because it amuses me." Was the simple reply she got, however. She could be so annoying at times.

"Making your friends lives as difficult as possible is amusing for you?" She asked incredulously, the pop tart which was half way to her mouth, forgotten.

"In those words? Yes." She reached over and grabbed the TV remote and quickly changed the channel over from the Disney Channel to the CNN News Channel to 'Gather information for the next show.'

"Gee, you're all heart, aren't you." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Lilly's back before she attempted eating her pop tart again.

"Yes I am, and don't think I don't know you're rolling your eyes at me. Now before you eat that, can I have half? I'm starving." Lilly turned around and pointed at the pop tart which was half way to Mia's mouth, and did what she obviously thought was a pleading sweet look, but looked more like a hamster on crack.

"How do you know what I'm doing when your back is turned? What are you, psychic?!" Mia's eyes widened and she leaned back away from the other girl, a look of shock shooting over her face. But realising that asking questions wasn't going to get her anywhere when Lilly had her mind set on something, she broke the pop tart in half and gave Lilly the bigger piece.

Just then, Mia heard a noise in the hallway, and then a line of muttered expletives. A minute later, Michael popped his head around the door and beckoned to Mia while Lilly was pre-occupied with 'the breaking news down at the local Starbucks.'

"Psst, Mia. Follow me. I need to tell you something. It's important."