Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I have no reasonable excuse except for lack of free time. But know, the story is always in the back of my mind. I am always planning, plotting, thinking of new chapters and storyline twists…which I hope will come to fruition faster than I think is possible. If only to please you guys of course.

I wanted to take special notice of a certain reviewer. Believe me, I love all of everyone's reviews, but this particular individual's comments struck me. They were so detailed…it was as if this reviewer were having a personal conversation with me. And, if I'm not mistaken, it was done with every chapter! So, in-betweens, I would like to publicly thank you for your wonderfully detailed reviews. I am so glad that you like the story so much and so happy you find it interesting enough to review.

Thanks again.

Now, what you've been waiting for. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 9

"…and I know, and I know, I don't wanna stay…" Oliver mumble/sang as he flipped through his reading assignment. Shakespeare was completely unreadable to him, as in he couldn't read a damn word of it. The backwards way in which those people talked was ridiculous. It was like trying to decode word jumbles all night long. RIDICULOUS! But he had to read it so he could at least tell the teacher he tried. So, he decided to put on some Pearl Jam and thumb through it, expecting nothing more than he had gotten before…which was utter confusion and frustration.

He was sitting up on his bed with his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle, his socked-foot unconsciously bouncing along to the beat when he heard a tap at his bedroom window. He looked up.

It was Lilly. She looked upset.

He threw his book down and hopped up, walking quickly toward the window. He had no idea how Lilly managed to climb to the second floor and stand in front of his window. There was no tree, only a trellis that went half way. After that was a loose drain pipe and about an inch-wide ledge that Lilly seemed to be able to shimmy across without falling off. He opened the window and looked at his wristwatch. "It's ten thirty, what are you doing here?"

Lilly grabbed Oliver's arm and climbed in, rushing past him to pace around his bedroom. "I almost kissed her."

"Who?"

"I think I freaked her out!"

"Who?" Oliver asked again, watching Lilly frantically pace his room.

"Why can't I control myself! She's gonna hate me!"

"WHO!" Oliver shouted, grabbing Lilly by the shoulders, stopping her nervous movement.

"Miley." Lilly whispered, frowning. She plopped down on his bed. "Oliver what am I gonna do?"

Oliver plopped down next to her, his mouth twisting as he thought. "Are you sure you freaked her out?"

Lilly nodded. "I could see it on her face. She tried to hide it but I saw it…she probably thinks I'm disgusting!" She flopped back on Oliver's bed, beating her head with her hand.

Oliver turned to face her. "How do you know? What if she just freaked out because she liked it?"

"I didn't actually kiss her…I almost kissed her. Are you even listening!"

"I am. Lils, look, I'd be pretty freaked if the girl I met YESTERDAY was coming on to me…"

"Liar."

Oliver looked at Lilly for a second. "Okay…I am. But I'm also no Miley or a girl. Do you even know if Miley is gay or bi…or whatever?"

Lilly shook her head. "I didn't want for it to happen. It just did!"

"But nothing happened.

"BUT IT ALMOST HAPPENED!" Lilly shouted, covering her face with her hands, screaming in frustration.

"Okay…look, this almost kiss," Oliver stated using air quotes, "is a molehill. Don't make a mountain out of it. Go home, get some sleep. Things will look better in the morning."

Lilly shot up. "Seriously…that's it? That's all I'm getting out of you!?!"

"What did you expect? Nothing major happened Lilly. You're stressing over nothing."

"I ALMOST KISSED HER!"

Oliver shrugged. "Well…horseshoes and hand grenades."

"What?!?" Lilly asked, clearly having not calmed down.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades…haven't you ever heard that before?"

"No--what does that even--listen, I don't have time for this--I have to call Miley and--" Lilly stood, ready to exit, but Oliver grabbed her by the arm.

"No! Don't call her! If she's as freaked as you say she is, a phone call from you isn't going to help." He said, standing as well.

"THEN WHAT IS!"

"Nothing! Doing nothing. Just give her some time to think things through. Jesus, how many times do I have to say it! Give her the night to think. Things will be better in the morning, trust me."

"How do you know?"

"Honestly Lil, I don't know, but it won't hurt to try, right?"

Lilly looked at Oliver, processing all that he said. After a few seconds of silence, she threw her head into his chest, sighing loudly in frustration. Oliver wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. "Hey, look at it this way…Even if she does stop talking to you, you'll still have me!"

Lilly looked up at Oliver, who gave her a goofy grin. "What…did I do to deserve a friend like you?" She asked flatly.

"Just lucky I guess." He said, squeezing her tight, lifting her up.

"Ugghh." She groaned as he squeezed the life out of her for a moment before releasing. Bear hugs were always Oliver's symbol for closure after a long, emotional conversation. "All right. Thanks buddy." Lilly grumbled, grabbing her back.

She headed back toward the window with Oliver in tow. "Remember, give her tonight to think about it. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT call her. Got me?"

"Loud and clear." Lilly mumbled, stepping out of the window, onto the tiny ledge. "Good night."

"Night." Oliver said and Lilly began to shimmy toward the drain pipe. "Oh wait!"

Lilly turned her head sharply toward him. "What?"

Oliver's smile turned devilish. "What kind of kiss were you going for? A lil innocent on the lips…or full on hot, sweaty, make-out?"

Lilly scowled in disgust. "You pervert."

"Come on…just wanted to get the full visual to help assess the situation better!"

"Sick! You're sick!" She said, sliding down the wobbly drain pipe to the trellis.

"You love me!"

"You wish!"

Oliver smiled and closed the window. "And now…back to Shakespeare…ugh." He grumbled, grabbing the book from the floor as he resumed his position on the bed.

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Lilly begrudgingly did as she was told, even though she had wanted to call Miley all night…and wound up getting close to two hours total of sleep that night. She felt like a zombie the next day. She moved so slow that by the time she got ready and got to Miley's house, the girl was already leaving.

Miley hadn't had that much sleep either, thinking about Lilly. Did she want to be more than friends with the blonde? Was it too soon anyway? What would it be like to kiss her? Did she even want that? What were these weird feelings she got every time Lilly complimented her, or smiled at her…or how much she was missed when she wasn't around. Would she tell her father, and what about people at school? These questions haunted Miley until she fell asleep, which was only four short hours before she had to get up.

In the morning, however, things became a little clearer. She had come to the conclusion that although it would be interesting to go with Lilly, it might be best if they forgot about the whole thing…for the time being.

When Lilly didn't show up to breakfast the next day, Miley thought the worst. As she was leaving for school, she hoped that she would run into Lilly on the way, just to apologize, if nothing else.

It looked as though fate was on her side, though. "Hey." Lilly said, slowly jogging up to Miley.

"Hey…you look terrible." Miley greeted her blonde friend.

Lilly rolled her red, tired eyes. "Thanks. I was up all night worrying that I had freaked you out or something."

Miley's heart jumped. She was worried about me! So much that she didn't sleep all night! She decided to lie. "Oh, I was fine. I wasn't freaked out at all. I swear."

"You sure?" Lilly said suspiciously. She might have been tired…but that didn't mean she couldn't remember the hollowed-out look on Miley's face last night…and the weird look she had at the moment.

She was too exhausted to keep things going. She bowed her head in defeat. "I think we should just forget it and move on."

"I-I-It's already forgotten. D-don't worry about it." Miley stumbled over her words. It would be best if they just went on like normal…well, normal as one can go for new friendships.

Normally, it would've been easy to just disintegrate the friendship then and there. They had only known each other for two days. For anyone else in a situation like this, it would've been easy to walk away, and become those people who nod "hellos" when passing in the hallway, moving on to other things. Logically, two days simply isn't enough time to form a bond, and yet Miley and Lilly somehow did. It was instant, even if the girls themselves hadn't realized it yet. They did, however, realize that avoiding one another was out of the question. Miley was too desperate for a friend…and Lilly was too drawn to the shy southern girl who stole her heart.

So, as they walked to school in silence, but side by side, Miley and Lilly both mentally vowed to press on as if nothing had happened. And the last few moments in the skate park became a distant foggy dream…one that nagged at the back of the head, but wouldn't allow itself to be revealed. And even though neither girl would dare admit it to the other, they both secretly wanted to discover that dream, and make it a reality.

And it stayed that way for three months straight…

Author's note: Yes, I did say three months! We're skipping ahead a bit, but don't worry, nothing important happened during that time, I assure you. Haha. I'm doing this to move the story along. It's true, the girls were taking it slow, but I'm impatient and snail's pace is too slow even for the writer. It's not to say that I'm going to throw them right into a relationship now. No. But there are going to be some big changes in the story. Ones that up until a while ago I didn't even see coming. It's going in the same direction with a few tweaks here and there. I think it'll make for a very interesting experience for me and for you. Bear with me, eh? Thanks. :)