a/n-sry this one took so long. maaaddd amounts of hw. tgif tho! wow, whata long week. lol sry i just hate school. but here ya go - 3- Erin

Chapter 15: 4 Hours, 23 Minutes, and 7 Seconds

So I got grounded for getting into another fight. But since I was helping Lilly, it was only for two days. The next morning, I woke up and walked outside, only to find Lilly walking out at the exact same time.

"Hey," she greeted without enthusiasm, as we started our walk to school.

"Hey," I said back.

"So…are you in trouble?"

"Grounded for two days." I stated.

"Sorry," she said.

I shrugged. "It's fine."

"But, I'm also sorry about yesterday. I was a jerk to you, so I'm sorry."

I shrugged once more. "I'm sorry too. I wasn't jealous or anything," I started, which was a complete lie. "I just didn't want you to get hurt…'cause I know guys are jerks and will say anything you want to hear to make you like them."

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

"So did you finish your work?"

"I finished what we did in class, but not the homework we got. They'll let me have an extra day though."

"Yeah," Lilly agreed, when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" I couldn't hear what the other line was saying, but it was the voice of a familiar guy. "Oh, hey Zack!" Lilly smiled.

Zack! Zack! He only met her yesterday and he was already calling her? I really didn't like that kid! I mean, I'm sure I'd like him if Lilly didn't like him, but I can tell she's interested in him. Therefore, he's on my list of guys to hate.

"Sure, that'd be great." Lilly grinned wider at whatever he just said. I just rolled my eyes. "I do, but she's taken. But I'll bring her anyway 'cause I want her to meet you two."

I bet he asked her to bring another girl. What a player.

"Ok, see ya then!" Lilly said and hung up.

"Who was that?" I asked like I didn't already know.

"Zack," she sighed dreamily. "He's so awesome."

"Oh really? What did he want?"

"He wants to meet me at the beach this afternoon. He told me to bring a friend for Cody to meet, so I'll ask Miley if she wants to come."

"Oh…well…why is Zack so 'awesome'?"

"Because we're so much alike! I mean, we both skateboard, we're not too great in school, we both love to have fun."

"Everyone likes to have fun, Lil. I mean have you ever met someone that says 'I love to be boring'? No."

"Plus," she added, ignoring my comment. "He's funny and tells great jokes, he hates to read, his favorite color's red, and he loves Hannah Montana!"

"Go figure. How do you know so much about him anyway? You only talked to him for like five minutes."

"Oh, well last night he called me and we talked for…a while."

"How long's a while?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know, Oliver." Lilly said, and I knew she was lying. I grabbed the phone from her hoodie pocket and looked at the call timers. "Give me back my phone, Oliver."

"4 hours, 23 minutes, and 7 seconds?!" I asked, astonished. "Call began at 9:31 p.m. and ended at 1:54 a.m.?!"

"So, that doesn't mean anything!"

"You guys really do like each other." I said softly, closing the phone and handing it to her.

"Oliver, come on. I just met him." she replied softly.

"Yeah, but I can tell you like him. And it's obvious he likes you, too."

"How do you know?"

I shrugged, defenseless. "If you guys can talk for that long, there's something there." And I shouldn't stand in the way.

She looked down, knowing I was right. I don't know why she was trying to deny it in the first place. She should be happy that he likes her.

"So…you don't mind at all if I go to the beach with him?" she asked. How did she know? She couldn't know, she was just curious.

"Pssh, no! Not at all, why would I care if you go out with some loser?" Ok, so maybe that wasn't the best choice of words.

"He is not a loser, Oliver! He's a really nice guy and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't judge him before even hanging out with him!" Lilly defended Zack. I'm glad she's taking his side over her best friend's. That was sarcasm if you didn't catch it.

"Hey, who's judging?"

"You! Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"I am happy! I'm ecstatic! Peachy even!" I yelled as we approached the school.

"Oliver, what is wrong with you?"

"I could ask you the same question, Lilly."

"I-" she was about to yell something but then stopped. "Wait, did you just call me Lilly?"

"Yeah…that's your name isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but…usually you call me Lil. I don't think you've ever called me Lilly."

"Ever?" I asked, not believing her.

"Maybe like once. It sounds really weird."

"What about when we were five and we were catching lightening bugs. I could have sworn I called you Silly Lilly."

"Nah, that was my mom. You called me Lightening Lil because I caught all those lightening bugs, and you only had two."

"Oh yeah," I laughed, remembering that night. "One of them was dead, and the other wouldn't even light up."

"Yeah, and you cried because I caught more." she laughed.

"I did not cry!" I defending, smiling now. "And even if I did, it was a sad time."

"I'll never forget what your mom said either."

"Haha, how could anyone forget? She shouted it to the whole neighborhood."

"Oliver, quit crying and try to be more like Lilly." we said together, mimicking my mom's voice. Then we laughed and walked to her locker.

"Maybe I should tell Zack I can't hang out today…" she drifted off.

I sighed. I knew she liked him a lot, and obviously he felt the same. I couldn't stop her from being happy, no matter how much I hated Zack. "No, Lil. Go."

"I thought you didn't want me to go?"

"Well…I don't. But you should. I'm grounded anyway, so it's not like we could hang out. Have a good time, and then you can tell me all about it when you get back. Ok?" Man, I am a really good friend, not to be cocky or anything.

"Are you sure?" Lilly asked, closing her locker.

"Yeah," I assured her, now walking to my own locker.

"Ok…thanks."

"Yeah," I said, grabbing my books. "Anytime."