Oliver drove himself to Miley's house, sweating the whole way. Lilly had berated him constantly about Miley, and they had finally agreed upon (in the sense that Lilly had vowed to disembowel him if he didn't follow through) Prom night as a good time to tell her how he felt about her. He let himself in and sat on the edge of the couch waiting for her.
"Hey, Ollie-boy, what do you think?" Miley asked, gliding into the room. He jumped to his feet and gaped at her. She was a vision in yards of midnight blue silk and her dark hair fell in luminous waves around her sweet face.
"You look beautiful," he told her, smiling. He held up her corsage and met her in the middle of the room.
"Aw, thanks bud. I love you!" She threw her arms around his neck and then stepped back so she could pin the boutonnière to his jacket. He carefully tied the corsage onto her wrist, being vigilant to concentrate solely on the flower and avoid getting lost in her eyes.
"You picked this out yourself?" she asked, holding it up to smell it. He nodded and she smiled at him. She took his hand. "Come on, we're picking up Lilly and Ben on the way there." She led him outside and he followed her happily.
…
Lilly stepped into the limo, Ben right behind her, and zeroed in right away on the face that Oliver and Miley were still holding hands. She asked him with her eyes if he'd told her. He shook his head slightly and shrugged to answer that he hadn't and that he had no idea what this sudden friendliness on her part was about. And although he did not express it, Lilly knew he was not about to question her behavior simply because he had not initiated it. They dined out on an open patio. There were candles on the tables, a light breeze was present, and soft music was playing.
"Fancy place," Lilly commented.
The four teenagers chatted happily, and Oliver actually relaxed enough to enjoy himself. If it weren't for Lilly who kept giving him stern, impatient looks, he could have been downright cheerful. Towards the end of the meal, Miley excused herself to call her dad.
Lilly waited until Miley's back was turned to gesture at Oliver to follow her. He shook his head and mimed her phone usage. Lilly pointed firmly at him and then Miley, and Oliver shook his head vehemently. A silent but furious battle began, climaxing when Ben interrupted, "Is there something going on that I should know about?"
"No," Lilly said, getting up and yanking Oliver out of his seat. He glared at her crossly and rubbed his arm. "He was just leaving." She gave him a good shove and he went, shooting daggers at her with his eyes.
♥♥♥
"Daddy, this is so hard," Miley said into her phone. "We're having such a good time. I think it'll break his heart to hear that I'm leaving him." She paused to listen. "I know, you're right. Oh, I wish I didn't have to be the one to tell him, though. Of course I also wish I didn't have to move." She saw Oliver walking her way. "I gotta go, daddy, talk to you later." She hung up hastily and met Oliver. "Hey, were you eavesdropping?"
"No, I swear." He held up both palms in oath. "I just…I was looking for you. I missed you."
She looked sad. "I was gone for two minutes and you missed me?"
"Yeah, I guess." He laughed nervously. "Listen, there's something I wanted to tell you--"
"That's so sweet!" she said, cutting him off and patting his arm playfully. She headed back towards the table and Oliver hung back for a moment, sighing and wishing she would figure out already how he felt about her. How obvious did it have to be? Lilly had figured it out, for goodness sakes!