Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: Everyone knew in the back of their minds that their story wasn't suitable for an 8 year old to tell his classmates. But they couldn't resist hearing it themselves. LOE.

Let the Pain Begin

"That was just the beginning of Lillian's problems too. She watched as her perfect life began to crumble down, and she thought the worst was over. If she only knew it was just beginning…" Joey said dramatically. The already silent room seemed to get quieter, if possible. Everyone waited for Joey to continue.

XoXo

"It had been a month since the break up and the life shattering news of the divorce, making it July now. Even though the summer was basically just starting, Lilly spent most of her time depressed; she did well to hide it though. Joseph and Miley however, saw right through her, all the time."

Joseph walked into the bedroom where two girls slept soundly, one was his first love the other her best friend. He walked over to Lillian and placed a soft kiss on her lips, causing her to stir. Joe smiled at this and leaned down to do it again, but as he was halfway to her lips, her hand shot up and covered his mouth, causing him to jump.

"Good morning Joseph," she said with a smile, and withdrew her hand from his lips.

Joe smiled, and then put on his fake pouty look. "Lillian that's not fair!" He crossed his arms across his chest and wore a frown. Lilly laughed loudly, waking her best friend from her slumber.

"Whass going on?" Miley asked, confused and half asleep. Joe looked at her amused and Lilly laughed.

"Hey Miley!" Joe said cheerfully. Miley opened her eyes and screamed.

"Joe?! What's he doing here? It's 11 am!" Miley asked as she attempted to hide how she looked in the morning from the cute boy.

"I don't know, he surprised me too actually," Lilly replied to her brunette best friend. She turned her attention towards Joseph and gave him a look that asked for an explanation.

"Well Lillian, Miley, if you must know today is July 16th…" Joe said, earning a weird look from the sleepy girls.

Joe frowned. "Today is the two month mark from the day we actually met." Lilly and Miley giggled.

"You're such a cheese head Joseph," Lilly laughed. Joe grinned and playfully pushed her onto her back. "Only for you my dear," he whispered in a mock-seductive voice. Lilly blushed and smiled.

"Who let you in my house?" Miley asked, still very confused on the whole situation.

"Your dad did, but not after helping me make some amazing breakfast first!" Joe answered back, a huge smile forming on his face.

"Ew, Joe you can't cook. You just serve the food," Lilly said, trying her hardest to keep a straight look on her face.

Joe stuck out his tongue at her, "That's why Mr. Stewart helped me!"

"Pshh, I wish my boyfriend would do things like this for me," Miley grumbled as she slid out of her bed and walked out of the room. Lillian and Joseph watched her go and laughed.

XoXo

"The three of them finished up the breakfast Miley's father prepared for them, and then went their different ways. Jake came by to pick Miley up so they could spend the day together, and Joseph stole Lillian away and took her back to his home…"

"Welcome to my house baby, it's not much…" Joe mumbled as he held the front door to his house open for Lilly. She gasped and looked around.

"Joe, what are you talking about? It's beautiful!" Lilly stated in awe. Joe smiled, "Well thanks pretty lady." Lilly looked at him and laughed. "Cheese head."

Joe grinned and leaned over to kiss her. She put her fingers to his lips instead, causing him to frown at her. "So how about a tour Joseph?" He muttered something under his breath but answered, "Okay, okay. Follow me."

XoXo

"Wait, wait, wait stop the story!" a boy from Joey's eager audience shouted out, "Why won't Lilly let Joe kiss her if they're 'so much in love'?" Joey smiled and everyone proclaimed their agreement. "Well see," Joey explained, "Lilly had just gotten out of her relationship with Adam less than a month ago and she didn't want to rush things with Joe so fast. Yes, she loved him and he loved her but she did not want to speed things up. However if Joseph caught her at a good moment, they did share kisses." The class muttered their 'ohs' this time, and Joey continued the story.

XoXo

"…and last but certainly not least, my room!" Joe said in his best announcer voice as he opened the white door for Lilly. She stepped in and was immediately hit with the strong scent she loved so much. His room was considerably large; it had a queen sized bed, a dresser, a desk with a computer, a TV and a semi-walk in closet. She walked around the room for closer examination. There were posters of some of his favorite bands hanging up, and a few of Jessica Alba. Lilly frowned when she saw these, but continued checking out his room. Framed on his desk was a picture of them taken earlier in the month, Joseph was kissing her cheek and she had a fake surprised look on her face. She smiled at the memory of that day.

"You have a pretty nice room Joseph," Lilly said, turning to him. He smiled, "Thanks baby, I think the picture makes a pretty nice touch if I do say so myself." Lilly just grinned at him.

"I might be crazy, but your room kind of seems bigger than your brothers," Lilly half stated, half asked.

"Oh yeah, well it is," Joe said with a smile, "I kicked ass at getting it first." Lilly laughed with him.

The two stood there awkwardly for a moment before Joe broke the silence. "Lilly…" She looked up at him. The connection that they were now so familiar with happened again, the tingles returned too. She swallowed. "Y-yeah?" She stuttered, trying to regain her focus.

"I love you," He whispered to her. Joe's heart was pounding loudly and they continued to stare into each others eyes. Sure, they'd said it before. Sure, they both knew it was true. But something about the moment made them realize this was for real.

"Joseph…" She started, but lost her train of thought to his eyes once more.

He shook his head angrily, which surprised Lilly. She had never seen Joe look angry. "No Lillian, we both know it, we both feel it, and we both love each other! Why can't you just accept it?" He questioned, voice raising a little.

She sighed and felt her heart drop lower with the tone of his voice. "Joseph," She whispered, barely audible, "I can't. You know I can't."

Joe shook his head again. "Stop saying that Lillian, tell me, why can't you?" Adam?"

She opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Joseph yelling. "You found something so much better! So much more…" His tone dropped lower at the last sentence.

Tears welled up in Lillian's eyes. She took a step towards him. "I'm scared Joe." His expression softened with her confession.

"Scared of what baby?" He asked her softly. He watched a tear fall and she sighed heavily.

"I…I do love you Joseph. But even though I didn't really mind…well I did mind the breakup. It…it hurt Joe. I don't want to feel more pain. And the divorce…" She mumbled to the confused boy in front of her.

He reached out to the tearing girl and pulled her into an embrace. She shivered at the connection of their bodies. "I promise you, I won't ever hurt you," he whispered to her. And he meant it.

They stood there, his strong arms wrapped around her tightly, as she cried. Suddenly, she pulled apart from his body a little bit, leaned up, and kissed him. He was caught by surprise, but quickly returned the kiss. They broke apart, and she looked away, but he gently grabbed her chin and pulled her lips back towards his.

The small kiss turned into a passionate one very quickly. Joe's tongue roamed her bottom lip and begged her to let it in. He gained entrance and a small moan from the back of her throat in return. As their tongues battled and dominated each other, the feelings got more heated with each passing second.

He turned her around and shoved her against the nearest. He pinned her shoulders and began kissing her neck, her collar bone, everywhere that was accessible and not blocked by cotton. She was moaning louder now, both their hearts beating fast together.

She reached down to the bottom of his shirt and began tugging it off his body. He stopped kissing her for a moment and helped it over his head, and once it was off she threw it across the room. His lips were back on her skin now, and her hands were roaming his toned chest wildly.

He started kissing her neck again and tried to move lower. He put his hands under her shirt and she shivered at his touch. Her stomach was showing now and just as she was about to help him take it off, her phone rang. "Forget…it," she managed to breathe out, so upon her command he kept going. Her phone started ringing again, and she regained enough focus to hear that it was Miley's ringtone. Somehow through all the feelings she was having with Joseph right now, she realized she should answer it. Miley knew she was with Joe.

"I…I have to g-get that Joseph," She said, with minor difficulty. He kissed her in protest, but she gently pushed him away and ran over to her phone.

She cleared her throat and answered, "Hello?"

"Lilly?"

Lilly looked at her phone once more, it was Miley's number but that was not Miley's voice.

"Yeah, who is this?" Lilly asked the mystery caller.

"Oh sorry, this is Jackson's girlfriend Taylor," the caller, now known as Taylor, replied. Something was wrong; now that Taylor spoke Lilly could hear a weird tone in her voice.

"Is something wrong?" Lilly asked, concern taking over the feelings she was just experiencing.

"Well actually yes, Miley's boyfriend Jake Ryan just got in a huge car accident. Miley, thank God, wasn't in the car at the time but she's a real mess right now. Her dad and her brother are trying to calm her down, so they had me call you. We're at the hospital-"Taylor began, but Lilly interrupted by saying, "We'll be right there." She hung up the phone and began searching for her things.

"What's going on?" Joe asked, confused by the expression on her face. Lilly didn't answer. "Is everything okay baby?"

"No time Joe, we need to get to the hospital now," Lilly exclaimed when she found her purse. Joe watched the blonde bolt out of his bedroom. He grabbed his shirt and keys and ran right after her.

XoXo

"Miley!"

The brunette turned around at the sound of her name. She saw Lilly and Joe running towards her.

"Miley, we got here as fast as we could," Lilly panted, out of breath, "What's going on?"

Lilly looked up and got a good look at her best friends face. Her cheeks were tear stained and her usually twinkling blue eyes were dull and red. Lilly felt her stomach lurch and her heart sink when she saw Miley like this. Miley burst back into sobs and threw herself into the blonde's arms.

"He…he w-was coming b-back to get me," She cried, barely understandable. Lilly felt her own eyes tear up; Jake was one of her close friends too.

"I…I don't understand…" Lilly whispered. She felt hot tears drip down her face as she held the sobbing brunette.

"Jake got in a serious accident Lilly; he's in critical condition right now. The doctors are doing everything they can, but…they're not too sure he's going to make it," Miley's father sadly answered for his hurting daughter. At these words, Miley began to break down even harder. Except this time, she was joined by her best friend. The two girls stood there in the waiting room, holding each other sobbing. Joseph, Mr. Stewart, Jackson, and Taylor just stood there sadly, watching the girls, praying for this to all be alright.

XoXo

"EEEWWWWWW!" The class exclaimed in unison. Ms. Barlett jumped up from her seat. "Um, Joey…I don't know if that was entirely appropriate. Maybe we should put the story on pause." The whole class turned their gazes towards her. "We want to hear the rest," shouted a boy from the back. "Yeah!" the whole class agreed. Ms. Barlett sighed, as much as she knew this shouldn't be happening, she too wanted to hear. "Okay, fine, continue Joey." Joey smiled and cleared his throat, "Okay…now where was I…"

"A few hours passed without any word from the doctors, or a sign of Jake. His parents had shown up by now and everyone sat just comforting each other, still praying for the best."

The gang were spread all across the waiting room. Miley and her father were sitting by Jake's parents, the two women crying and hugging each other, and the two men talking and expressing their concerns. Taylor and Jackson were reading a magazine off in the corner. Lillian was on the couch, falling asleep in Joseph's arms as he held her and wiped away every tear that fell. It was very late at night.

After what seemed like forever, the eight worried people finally got company. It was Jake's doctor. Everyone immediately sprang to life and began bombarding the doctor with questions. He politely raised his hand and asked for the parents of Jake Ryan. They stepped forward.

"How is he, how is my baby boy?" Jake's mother asked almost hysteric.

The doctor frowned sadly. "Mr. and Mrs. Ryan, I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid Jake did not make it..."

All that could be heard as soon as those tragic words left his lips were the sound of gasping and three women breaking down. Miley screamed and collapsed on the floor.

XoXo

The class was hushed. "Lillian was a mess even more so now. First the divorce, the break up, and now she lost one of her closest friends all in the period of one, maybe two months. Now she definitely thought she'd seen the worst, but she didn't know and didn't think it possible that things could get even worse than this now. But they could, and they were going to." Joey whispered to the class.

Everyone gasped softly.

Im so slow at updating, i apologize ten trillion times!(:

lets review now, shall we?

-Jenna, your new best friend!