Chapter 4
The growl that rumbled through Lilly's stomach had followed her from first to fourth period, and when the suddenly enticing shrill of the bell rang through the classroom, she jumped out of her seat.
She and Miley retrieved their lunch and set their trays on opposite sides of one of the long, lined-up tables that ran the length of the lunchroom. On one short side of the room, daylight poured in through the window front, which extended all the way down to the floor.
Lilly sank her teeth into the sandwich and ripped out a large chunk, like a lion with its prey.
"You shouldn't hold back so much durin' breakfast." Miley slurped her strawberry milk through the straw.
"You noticed?"
"It's hard not to. I'm still as full as a tick from Daddy's pancakes."
That was hard to believe.
"Just eat until you're no longer hungry, okay? Daddy makes enough food for everyone."
How could Lilly stuff her face with food when Miley mostly just picked at it? "Okay."
Mikayla sat two rows away with her friends, Jake and three other boys. A boy with spiky gelled hair crammed two sandwiches into his mouth and looked around for more to stuff into his cheek pouches. Jake tried to hand spiky boy his sandwich but Mikayla swatted his arm away. They all burst out laughing. They always seemed to have a good time.
Lilly sighed and returned her attention to Miley. "I've noticed you using lots of odd southern sayings."
"Like full as a tick?"
Lilly uh-huhed through her bite of tasteless salad and dry bread.
"I reckon I got it from my family. Spending enough time in their company makes even the sanest person as loopy as a cross-eyed cowboy." Miley giggled. "But I love 'em. "
"Many of the students here have no southern accents at all. And if they do, it isn't as heavy as yours."
"Many of them came from other states."
"To this hick town? Beats me."
Miley squirmed in her chair, her gaze fixed on her mashed potatoes, which she spread out across the entire plate.
Damn. Lilly bit the insides of her cheeks. She had insulted Miley's hometown yet again.
Before Lilly could apologize Miley said, "People move here because of the Talent Show, but there aren't as many as there were two years ago."
A girl sat down next to Lilly, and she pushed her tray aside to make room, and her gaze fell on Oliver, who was sitting one row across from her, staring at her.
Again.
This time he held Lilly's gaze. Her eyes narrowed. Hecka weird. He liked to stare at her but refused to speak to her. They'd only had a few classes together, and Lilly hadn't had a chance to ask him what the hell was wrong with him. "Has Oliver talked to you since school started?"
Miley scraped her mashed potatoes back into a pile. "On the phone the other day."
"I mean at school."
Miley lifted her shoulders and let them fall.
Lilly looked back over to Oliver, who had resumed talking with his friends.
Friday's last period was physical education. Miley didn't seem to share her enthusiasm for sports, as Lilly had to drag her through the hallways to the gymnasium.
Miley stopped in front of a half-torn poster next to the principal's office. "Look, the school rules. Ain't that interestin'?"
"No."
They made it across the corridor before Miley came to a halt again. "I left my backpack in the classroom. I need to go back and get it."
"It's on your back."
When they arrived at the girls' locker room, Miley pressed her ear against the door and jerked back as if burned. Her thumb found its way into her mouth and she bit down on the nail.
God, what was the matter now? Lilly leaned forward. Silvery vocals emerged from between the usual chatter: … used to be easy, all I had to be was me, now I'm mixed up. Som… Lilly drew back with a grin. "That chick's killing Hannah Montana's vocals." She pushed down on the door handle and could barely hide her irritation when Miley pulled her back.
"That's Mikayla."
"Okay." Lilly waited for an explanation, but Miley remained silent. How could she know who to believe when no one would explain what was going on? Ugh, whatever.
Lilly opened the door and inhaled stagnant air, tinged with an undertone of body spray and mold.
Several rows of mustard-colored lockers stood separated by white benches occupied by sophomore girls. Mikayla twirled on top of a bench, her vocals of Hannah Montana's Bigger Than Us drifting through the room. Chelsea and Nancy cheered as she hit a particularly high note. Lilly looked over her shoulder to make sure Miley followed her and found the hallway behind her deserted. Huh? What was going on?
A glitter sticker of a dragonfly with the slogan Fly high, dream hi— stuck to Lilly's locker. The rest had been ripped off.
She yanked her sneakers laces tighter and lowered her leg from the bench. If Miley did not arrive soon, she would be late, and if their physical education teacher was half as bitter as Mrs. Dawson, this was not going to end well.
When Lilly entered the gymnasium, she found Miley hunched in a corner next to the door. Miley tugged her grey shirt, which said Pinewood High School, further down over her navy blue shorts.
Lilly leaned against the brick wall next to her. "I didn't notice you in the locker room."
"I-I forgot my eraser and went back to the classroom."
"You changed there?"
"Yes."
"Huh, hella brave. A boy or, God forbid, a male teacher could have come in."
"I know, but… "
"Mikayla?"
Miley nodded.
When everyone had finished warming up, their teacher, a middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a strong jaw that contrasted with his droopy eyes, told them to pair up.
A hand gripped Lilly's arm, fingernails digging into her skin, and yanked her backward. She found herself staring into Mikayla's flat eyes.
"Why are you still hanging out with her?"
Lilly glanced back at Miley, who ducked her head and bit her lip. "She's my hostess."
Mikayla heaved a sigh. "Come with me." She led Lilly with her hand on the small of her back to Chelsea and Nancy. "Three is an awkward number when it comes to PE. When we have to pair up, one of us is always left out. But now that you're here Chelsea and Nancy can team up, and you and I can work together. You're good at sports, right?"
"I am."
"Good. Me too." The artificial smile that didn't reach Mikayla's eyes only added to Lilly's unease.
Chelsea placed a hand on Lilly's arm. "You know, we've been thinking. It's not your fault you ended up with the Stewarts, and we'd like to help you in finding a new exchange family."
Nancy bobbed her head.
"Wait." Lilly knitted her brows together. "The Stewarts seem nice. I remember you telling me to watch my back, but never why."
"You really haven't heard it yet? She… " Mikayla swallowed visibly. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"How do you know Miley in the first place?"
"From-from middle school."
"And why—"
"—What are you doing?" Chelsea pushed herself between Mikayla and Lilly, towering one head above her. "Can't you see you're distressing her? She wants to help you and you spit on her."
"I didn't mean to—"
"—It's dangerous to be around Miley, all right?"
Lilly returned her gaze to Miley, a lone figure among a sea of paired-up students, her eyes pleading with her. They must have been thirteen or twelve years old in middle school—practically children. What horrible thing could Miley have done at that age? If she had done anything at all. She seemed to be more afraid of Mikayla than the other way around.
A shrill whistle echoed throughout the gym, and the teacher beckoned the students over. The whistle fell from his lips and dangled from the string around his neck. "This year's curriculum requires us to play a series of ball games." He rolled his eyes in his dark-ringed sockets. "Again."
A couple of girls groaned.
Nancy leaned in closer to Lilly and whispered. "That's Mr. Tucker, but we just call him Mr. Plum-Tuckered because he always looks tired."
Lilly had no idea what plum-tuckered meant.
Mr. Tucker lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "I know. We'd all rather be watching a soccer match on TV, but since we're here, let's make the best of it." He pointed to the net at his feet, which was filled with soccer balls. "Form two-person teams and take a ball."
The smile was back on Mikayla's face. "See. I had a feeling he'd want to pair us up." She retrieved a ball from the net and tossed it to Lilly, who instinctively jerked her hands up to catch it. "Excellent catch."
Mr. Tucker silenced the students by clapping his hands. "It's two against two. There is one goalkeeper and one player. Everything clear?"
Lilly nodded along with everyone else.
"Nancy. Chelsea. You two go first. And… " Mr. Tucker's weary eyes wandered over the crowd of students. "And you on the ground, and your partner."
Miley jerked her head up. "I-I don't have a partner." She rose up from her squatting position, leaving her laces untied. Her gaze shifted from Mr. Tucker to the two girls, who fixed her with narrowed eyes.
Mr. Tucker scanned the crowd again. "Who wants to play for two different teams?"
Lilly took a step toward Miley, but Mikalya stopped her by linking their arms. "Come to my house right after school. Then we can talk about how we can help you with this student exchange thing," she whispered.
Lilly should join Miley's team, but… "Is she really that dangerous?"
Mikayla's grip tightened. "Trust me on that."
"No one?" Mr. Tucker asked.
Everyone stayed silent.
"Then it's one versus two. Play hard but fair."
Miley's eyes met Lilly's once more, still pleading, before she returned her gaze to Mr. Tucker. "But—"
"No buts. I'm too exhausted for discussions." Mr. Tucker made a shooing hand gesture, and Miley hurried to the front of her goal.
Lilly swallowed. Oh man, this was wrong. Miley was her hostess. She should team up with her.
Chelsea made the first shot. The ball flew halfway across the field and hit Miley in the stomach. She hunched forward and wrapped her arms around her middle.
Lilly grimaced. Damn, Chelsea was good. Too good.
Chelsea skipped over to Nancy, who was leaning against the goalpost, and high-fived her.
Mr. Tucker's whistle shrilled across the field. "What's there to hi-five about?" his gruff voice echoed through the hall. "You should be hitting the goal, not the goalie." He shook his head, grabbed a sports magazine from the gym floor, and made his way to the top of the bleachers.
Miley placed the ball in front of her feet and took a step back. What was she doing? She would never be able to score a goal from that distance. She stumbled forward, taking the ball along with her, her sneakers squeaking on the linoleum.
Good.
The ball zigzagged from the right side of the field to the left side, and Miley mirrored its movement.
Okay, not so good.
It reminded Lilly of one of her mother's cocktail parties, when Miss Bacon, their family chihuahua, slurped from a cocktail glass and her mother had to chase it across the beach for half an hour. It was a ridiculous sight.
Sheesh, Miley needed her help.
Chelsea waited on the midline, her arms crossed and one brow raised. When Miley passed her, she slid her foot in front of Miley's legs and sent her slamming spread-eagle into the linoleum.
Lilly winced. That was one hell of a foul.
Murmurs rumbled through the gymnasium. Someone snickered. Lilly looked up at the bleachers, where Mr. Tucker flipped through the sports magazine on his lap. A glance at Mikayla confirmed what Lilly had suspected: a smug smile on her lips.
A flush of heat crept up Lilly's neck, she ripped her arms free from Mikayla's grasp and shoved the soccer ball into her hands. Lilly caught Mikayla's eyes widening before she marched over to Miley, who still knelt on the floor. She gave Chelsea a fleeting glance, who pulled the same dumbfounded expression as Mikayla. What did they expect? That she would just stand there and watch them finish Miley off like this was Mortal Kombat?
Lilly held her hand out for Miley to take. She looked up, eyes gleaming wet under the artificial light in a combination of thankfulness and self-pity. "I'm-I'm bad at sports."
"You aren't all that bad. It's just that you're only one person and they're two, and they're not even being fair. But now that there are two of us, let's finish them, all right?"
Nodding, Miley blinked away the unshed tears, grabbed Lilly's hand, and let herself be pulled to her feet. They took their positions on the field, Miley guarding the goal and Lilly in the center, facing Chelsea, with the ball between them.
"You'll regret you helped her." Chelsea pursed her lips. The way Chelsea emphasized regret made the hairs on Lilly's neck stand on end.
"Whatever." She had to pick a side. So it was obvious that she sided with her hostess, right? Miley couldn't be as bad as they said, and definitely not dangerous—whatever that meant.
The whistle shrilled, announcing the start of the game. Lilly snatched the ball away, dribbled it toward the goal, and shot. The ball flew past Nancy's head and hit the net behind her. Lilly smirked.
"You're a cheater," Chelsea screeched, not paying attention to Nancy, who passed the ball to her.
Lilly was there in a flash, kicking the ball back and scoring again. The game progressed, with Lilly scoring goal after goal. The last kick was harder than she had intended. The ball struck the goal post and bounced off, hitting Nancy in the face. Lilly knew she shouldn't be laughing, but she couldn't stop herself as Chelsea's curses echoed across the field.
While the other pairs were playing, all eyes stayed trained on her. She suspected it had less to do with her being an excellent soccer player and more to do with the feud between Mikayla and Miley. Mikayla's cold eyes locked on her, so intensely that Lilly broke eye contact. She may have fallen out of Mikayla's favor, but what else could happen? Sure, having her as a friend would have been nice, but there were plenty of other cool people at Pinewood High she could make friends with.
After the class ended, they returned to the girls' locker room. Miley stopped at the door and chewed down on her nail. "Is it okay if I wait for you outside the school?"
"Aren't you going to change?"
"My bag is in my hallway locker."
"Then go snag it and come back."
The locker room door slammed shut, shutting out the chattering, and silence descended around them.
Miley shook her head.
Lilly reached for Miley's arm but stopped short. "I'll make sure Mikayla doesn't do anything bitchy."
"I… " Miley pressed her eyes shut. "No."
A girl entered the locker room, and giggling reached them from within, and then the door thudded shut again.
Lilly wrapped her finger's around Miley's arm. "Com—"
"—Leave me alone!" Miley ripped her arm free, and staggered backward. She turned on her heel and dashed for the exit.
Lilly hadn't planned to pull her in, only to encourage her, but Miley must have thought so. She clenched her teeth and pushed open the door. She had catapulted herself to the top of Mikayla's most hated list for Miley, and all she got in return was a freaking scream. She ripped open her locker and stood there watching Mikayla and her friends leave the locker room in their gym attire. It was either common practice at Pinewood High to not change after physical education, or they were attempting to intercept Miley now that she was alone and do god knows what. Lilly stared at the bag containing her street clothes that sat on the floor of her locker, contemplating, before tossing it over her shoulder and heading for the exit.
The wind brushed against her bare skin, pushed a gray cloud in front of the sun, and sent a chill down her shorts-clad legs. A bubblegum-pink backpack flashed among the throng of sober-colored students, long brown hair billowing over it. Lilly plodded for it. Miley came to an abrupt halt, turned around, and headed back for the school's entrance. When their gazes met, they both paused.
Miley broke out into a run and flung her arms around Lilly in a fierce hug.
Lilly stiffened.
"I'm real sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." Miley stepped back, her eyes searching Lilly's. "Can you forgive me?"
What kind of question was that? If Miley's yelling had come out of nowhere, she would have had to reconsider, but in these circumstances… "There's nothing to forgive. Mikayla and her gang are Mean Girls hybrids. I figured as much when I saw them, but Mikayla seemed cool, and I hoped she'd be different."
They threw on their respective hoodie and sweater and set off across the lawn. All the way home Miley kept quiet, shuffling her steps and biting her nails. From the fields came the sound of chirping crickets like squealing car tires. There had to be something Lilly could do to cheer Miley up. Her boy friends only ever gave each other pats on the back and rarely discussed the problem. Lilly kicked a rock and it rolled to the edge of the field. And she had feared that a small town like Crowley Corners would bore the hell out of her.
Boring didn't sound so bad after all.
Lilly had hoped Miley would forget, but now she stood in front of her, holding out a charcoal-colored helmet, and Lilly was at a loss for words. Her hands reached for the helmet and brought it to her lap. She stroked across the plastic surface. Well, crap. How would she get out of this one? "I haven't done any horseback riding in a long time."
Miley sat down next to Lilly on the beige leather sofa, their shoulders brushing together. "This ain't somethin' that can be unlearned. We'll start with trottin' and work our way up to gallopin' when you're ready. And if we get bored of the horse pasture, we can go for a ride through the woods."
Trotting? Galloping? What on earth was that supposed to be? But she didn't have to know what the words meant, did she? All she had to do was mimic everything Miley did, and nothing could possibly go wrong, right? "Do you use your fireplace, or is it just for decoration?"
Miley followed Lilly's gaze to the dark wood fireplace, which was adorned with family photos. A shotgun hung on the wall above. One image showed a woman in her thirties, holding toddler Miley in her arms. When Lilly had asked who that was, Miley had answered, My mother. She is no longer with us. She then had changed the subject. "Of course. Durin' the fall and winter." Miley fixed her gaze on Lilly again, waiting, wondering, and Lilly ground her teeth.
"Isn't it almost fall?"
"It is, and ridin' is more fun when it ain't rainin'."
Lilly fiddled with the helmet fasteners. "Of course."
The smell of sawdust and hay became stronger as they approached the horse stable, a long but narrow building made of dark wood that stood on a patch of mowed meadow. The flat roof pitched over the front, where the upper parts of ivory stable doors stood open, horses craning their necks outside. A wooden fence ran along the front, lined with saddles.
Miley stroked the sides of a white horse's head. "Good mornin', Blue Jeans." Blue Jeans rested his head on Miley's shoulder and she giggled. She took a piece of several thick leather straps from the hook next to the stable door and turned to Lilly. "Roam-Man is three stalls over. Why don'tcha put on his bridle and lead him out?"
Bridle? Lilly wiped her sweaty hands on her hoodie. It was most likely the leather thingy in Miley's hand. "Okay… " She had expected the horses to be saddled already. This was off to a fantastic start.
She stopped in front of Roam-Man, who twitched his ears. Lilly unhooked the bridle and the metal pieces clattered against each other. There were so many loops. The long one had to be the reins. Lilly eyed Miley, who wrapped the bridle around Blue Jeans' head with a few complicated-looking movements. So much for mirroring her.
Grass muffled clip-clopping neared, and Miley came to a stop next to Lilly, holding Blue-Jeans reins. "Did you forget how to put it on?"
It wasn't too late, to tell the truth. "No, actually, I—"
Miley fixed her with an intense stare.
Lilly tucked a hair strand behind her ear. "Yeah, it's been a long time." Stupid.
"Let me." Miley snatched the bridle from her grasp, tucked the metal piece into Roam-Man's mouth, and placed the leather straps around his head. "But you can still saddle a horse, can't you?"
Lilly scratched her cheek. No way. "Sure."
A smile parted Miley's lips, and she pressed Roam-Man's reins into Lilly's hand. "You can lead him out of his stable while I get the brushes."
Lilly struggled with the stable door latch for a few moments before getting it open. Roam-Man let himself be led out by the reins and Lilly petted his neck. "Well done, Wander-Boy."
After Miley returned, they brushed the horses, Lilly mirroring Miley's movements. Finally, something she managed to do, but she doubted it was enough to convince Miley that she was truly knowledgeable about horses and riding.
Miley placed one of the small blankets hanging between the saddles on the fence on Roam-Man's back before doing the same with Blue Jeans. Lilly could have done it herself, but the saddle was a different beast altogether. Miley heaved a worn chestnut-colored saddle from the fence and swung it over Blue Jeans' back in a single motion. Lilly followed suit, and it took several tries for her saddle to land on Roam-Man's back. Okay, that wasn't so difficult after all. Lilly wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Now what?
Lilly squinted past Roam-Man's head to Miley, who tightened the saddle belt around Blue Jean's stomach. Lilly did the same, tying the leather straps together. Hopefully, the saddle would stay in place. Being trampled by horse hooves would be an awkward way to die. Here lies Lilly, the lying bitch. Jeez.
"Goodness gracious. This is not the way to fasten the front cinch." Miley reached for the cinch, and Lilly bit her lower lip. Miley untied it, wrapped it through the buckle several times, and buckled the back cinch without asking Lilly if she could do it. "You should ask me if you don't remember how to do somethin'."
Lilly shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She needed to calm down. Okay, riding was probably going to be a disaster, but couldn't she claim she had forgotten everything? More lies though?
Roam-Man tossed his head, his ears pinned.
"Look, you're infectin' Roam-Man with your nervousness. That is completely unnecessary. We'll take things real slow."
"I… " Lilly took a deep breath. "The truth is that I… "
Miley waited, her gaze returning to its previous intensity.
"That I'd rather see you ride first."
"You'll see me ridin' anyway once we're off."
"Yeah, but I saw Jackson horseback riding once and he was sick, and I wondered if you were as good."
Miley rubbed Roam-Man's neck. "Not quite as good as Jackson, but he does this for a livin', after all."
Miley slid her foot into Blue Jeans' stirrup, grabbed a tuft of the horse's mane, and swung her leg over the saddle. Taking the reins in her hand, she steered the horse toward the meadow, then looked back at Lilly. Miley made mounting a horse seem far too simple. It couldn't be that easy. Lilly slid her left foot into the stirrup and glanced up at Miley, who seemed to be watching her every move. Lilly clung to the horse's mane. Had Miley really been holding on to it? Wouldn't it hurt the horse if she pulled on it? Lilly shifted her hand to the saddle's front.
"You'd better hold on to the mane or you'll pull the saddle. It's bad for the horse's spine."
Lilly ducked her head behind Roam-Man's back. She was an idiot. What made her think she could get away with lying? She pushed her foot off the ground, swung her leg up, narrowly missed the saddle, and landed back on the ground.
"D'ya need help?"
"I've only ridden small horses."
"The Falabella?" Miley giggled.
"Yeah."
Silence fell around them.
Miley tilted her head.
Blue-Jeans swished his tail at a fly.
"This breed of horse does not grow larger than a Bernadine… "
Lilly's cheeks grew hot. She swung her leg up for the second time, her sweaty hands slid off the saddle and she thudded backward on the ground. A flaming pain shot up her leg, her foot still hanging in the stirrup.
"Are you all right?" Cowboy boots-clad feet landed on the grass behind Roam-Man's legs and strode toward her.
"Yeah." Lilly squeezed her eyes shut and suppressed the grimace that threatened to appear on her face.
Miley unhooked Lilly's foot from the stirrup, and Lilly scrambled up, making sure to keep her weight on her right foot, and patted her pants down.
"I-I need to ask you this… and please don't get me wrong, but… " Miley took a deep breath. "It seems to me that you have no experience with horses… at all."
Lilly remained quiet.
Miley waited, a line forming between her brows.
She was furious, for God's sake. Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat. "What makes you think I couldn't?"
"I-I know you haven't ridden in a long time. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anythin'."
A shudder ran through Lilly's body.
"I know what might help you mount. Be back directely. " Miley disappeared behind the horse stable and returned with a crate that she placed next to Roam-Man. "That should do it."
Lilly climbed onto the crate and managed to swing her leg over the saddle. Her calfs pressed against the horse's warm flanks. She gathered the reins and took a deep breath.
Miley mounted her own horse and clopity-cloped off.
How did she get the horse to trot away? Where was that damn gas pedal? Lilly leaned forward. "Step on it," she whispered.
The horse blinked and jerked its head.
Miley stopped a few feet away and threw a glance over her shoulder. "Are you comin'?"
Roam-Man trailed behind Blue Jeans for a few steps before he lurched to the left, bend his neck down, and plucked at a tuft of grass. Yeah, she got her hopes up too soon. "Go follow Miley."
The horse continued to eat.
"Lilly?"
"I thought Roam could use a break," Lilly called back.
"He was on his break the entire time."
Lilly pulled the reins to the right, and Roam-Man turned his head in Miley's direction but remained transfixed. "Come on, get moving," Lilly whispered forcefully.
Miley pulled on Blue Jeans' reins. He turned around and they headed back. Lilly clenched her jaw until her teeth hurt. She resisted the urge to scream. Fuck this. Enough with the lies. She would tell Miley everything.
Miley came to a halt right next to Lilly, her gaze searching Lilly's. "How long have you been sayin' you haven't ridden? Two or three years?"
Lilly straightened her back, clutching the reins so tightly that her nails jabbed her palms. There was still a chance Miley would forgive her. After all, she had helped her in physical education, albeit a little late. "Never."
Miley merely nodded, her gaze fixed on her horse's neck, and Lilly's tension rose.
In a moment, Miley would tell her she didn't want anything to do with her anymore.
"You shoulda told me the truth."
"I know."
"I'm just sayin' ridin' a horse without any experience is extremely dangerous."
"I did ride once. On a pony. At an amusement park."
Blue Jeans pawed the ground with his front leg, and Miley tightened her grip on the reins. "Why did you say you had experience with horses when you didn't?"
"I don't know. I—"
Roam-Man strolled away and chomped on another tuft of grass.
"I think I'll let the horses out onto the pasture, and then we can talk."
Miley helped Lilly in dismounting Roam-Man, and they led the horses back to the barn, where they removed the bridles and let the horses trot off on their own.
"So?" Miley leaned against the fence in front of the horse stable and searched Lilly's eyes for answers.
"I don't know." Lilly clipped off her helmet and leaned next to Miley, the wood creaking under her weight. "We didn't seem to have much in common."
Miley's eyes grew distant.
A sky-blue butterfly landed on a saddle next to her and flapped its wings lazily.
"And I don't think you're all that excited about Crowley Corners, but you still wanted to come here, didn'tcha?"
"I thought you were kinda cool." Like Hannah Montana. That was before she discovered her obsession with pink flowered fabrics and how much the rest of the school seemed to despise her.
"Oh?" Miley bit her lip and averted her gaze, but Lilly caught the smile twitching her lips. "That's-that's what I thought about you as well. Skateboardin' and Surfin'. Your dark sense of style. I was intrigued. And I wasn't let down."
Wow, Miley was honest. At least in this case. Had she forgiven her so quickly? She was cool after all. Lilly would never, ever lie again. Being truthful from the start would have saved her a lot of trouble. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "You said you were bad at sports, but you're the Tony Hawk of horseback riding."
"You only saw me trottin' for about a minute… "
"Yeah, and you were dope."
A smile broke through Miley's lips.
"From now on, I promise to be completely honest with you."
"Oh… you-you don't have to. I mean… after all, everyone has secrets, right?"
"Chill." Lilly grinned. "I didn't ask you to show me the skeletons in your closet." She paused. "Unless there are real ones?"
Miley let out a shaky laugh. "Nonsense."