A/N: Chapter Five. Much to my delight, I've gotten this up before going to bed. You'll notice the return of a song very close to the hearts of many of myreaders in this chapter. Oh, Princess Pat, clearly everyone who reads loliver fanfiction used to be a Girl Scout, which, I suppose, makes a reasonable amount of sense. Anyway, her starts the fun, dear readers. And it certainly does not stop next chapter, so keep reading. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I'm really not that into Hannah Montana. I just like the Lily/Oliver business. So, I have no regrets in telling you that I have no relation to Hannah Montana. Also, I can't get sued by saying that Mitchell Musso is in serious need of a haircut. Jeez, boy.
Chapter 5: Goose Bumps
Four yellow buses were pulled into the turn around, ready to carry one hundred and seventeen seniors, twenty-three adults, and luggage for all of them out to South Hillbrook Metroparks for the next two days. It was as cool in the first week of October as it should be, but most of the students standing on the front lawn of the high school were dressed only in light sweatshirts and jackets as the sunny sky had fooled them.
"I can't believe it's already October," Lily swung her green duffle off her shoulder and onto the ground next to where her sleeping bag was lying.
"I know," Oliver shrugged, "I feel like we just got out of junior year."
Lily nodded, "And summer was short."
"You were away."
"My cousin was getting married in New Orleans," she twisted her large red bandana around her wrist as she spoke, "It's not like I could have gotten out of that one."
"You should have taken me with you," Oliver accused, turning away and lifting his nose high in the air as if offended.
"Ha-ha, Oliver. It's not like you would have enjoyed yourself. You know, trying on bridesmaid dresses and fixing flower arrangements.
He turned back to her forgivingly, "I would have helped you try on bridesmaid dresses," he grinned mischievously.
She took the liberty of whipping him playfully with her bandana. "Shut up."
Oliver rubbed the spot on his arm she hit tenderly in mock pain. "You're so mean to me, Lillian Truscott." He paused, pulling the bottle of water out of his backpack and taking a swig. Wiping his mouth, he asked her, "Speaking of weddings, where's Will?"
Lily glared, holding up her bandana as a reminder of what she could do, a threat. "Will," she spat, then recomposed herself dramatically, "is in Lake Placid. His sister is skating Junior Nationals today, and he went to watch."
"How sweet," Oliver joked, batting his eyelashes jokingly.
"Stop," she giggled, "It's a really great thing for him to do. She's only twelve. She could use the support."
"I guess," he started, looking over his shoulder at their moving classmates, "Oh, Lils," he motioned back to her, "bus." She grabbed her sleeping back and duffle off the ground, swinging them over her shoulder with a grunt. For as light a packer as she was, these bags were particularly heavy.
She unbent her contorted body until she was upright, seeing Oliver having just done the same thing before her. She followed him begrudgingly, waiting her turn in the line of impatient seniors, then trudging up the three unfairly steep steps of Bus Three before reaching the hot stuffy air of inside. She slid into one of the front seats where she'd seen Oliver sit a moment earlier, reaching over him immediately to pull down the window.
"Lily," he laughed as she fumbled with the little plastic pieces that would let the window slide, "Get your boobs out of my face."
Lily's face went red, but she made no motion to move, as the window was still stuck. Why is it that she was always trying to open these damn things from such a bad angle? And why were they always stuck? "Oh, you like it, Oliver," she teased, readjusting herself so she was a little closer to his face inadvertently, but was very possible closer to opening the window, "Besides, you could always help me out a little if it bothers you that much," she instructed, but at that instant the window fell, and Lily retook her seat.
The bus started moving a moment later, and Lily found herself shifting things around until her sleeping bag was tucked neatly beneath her seat and her duffle was lying across her lap should she need to reach anything. Oliver had done nearly the same, then turned to her.
"So tell me about you and Will," he told her.
She made a questionable face in his direction, "That was blunt, Oliver." She paused, unzipping the side pocket of her bag to retrieve the hair rubberband she'd slid in their earlier, pulling it around her wrist before reaching up to her hair. "What do you want to know?"
"I dunno," he shrugged, "How serious are you guys?" Lily noticed that he wouldn't hold her gaze, but gave in to answer anyway.
"Oh gross, Oliver. We're just dating, okay? He kissed me at homecoming, and it's just been a little bit here and there since then. It's just fun," she sighed as she worked her fingers through the back of her head.
"Whoa whoa, wait. He kissed you?" Oliver was glaring her down now.
Calmly, she continued her braiding. "Of course. God, Oliver. We're dating. As in, at the moment, he's my boyfriend. I think he has the right to kiss me."
"Guess so," he mumbled, looking down into his lap. "You guys hang out much?"
"Yeah, a little," she told him, tying off the end of her braid, "He's taken me out the last two Friday nights."
"Oh."
"What do you mean, 'Oh'?" Now unoccupied by hair, she glanced at him. "Don't sound so indignant."
"Well I just didn't realize that's what you were doing when I called you last Friday about our hang out day."
"Feeling a little snubbed, eh?" Lily teased him. "Don't be such a baby. I came to your house on Saturday like always, so what is there to worry about?"
"Well," he said pointedly, "I just think I should be able to reach you on Friday nights if I need to talk to you about our Saturday nights, Lily. We've been hanging out every Saturday night since we were ten. You've been seeing this Will kid for what, two weeks?" He glanced out the window, not letting Lily get a good look at him to see if he was joking. But boy was he being stubborn.
"Yes, two weeks, actually. And jeez Oliver, I'm not going to pick up a call from another guy while I'm on a date." She rested a hand on his shoulder, which he promptly shook off.
He whipped around after her last word, "Oh, so now they're dates!?" He asked wildly, and Lily swore she saw him come out of his seat a bit.
"Of course they're dates, Oliver! We're dating!" She laughed again, but Oliver refused to speak for a little while, only coaxed out of his silence at Lily's mention of their plans for next Saturday.
Xxx…xxX
"So this is how it works," Mrs. Yates called to her group of ten seniors, leading them over to the first low-ropes course soon after they'd arrived and set out their things. Lily, Oliver, and eight other seniors who had been closest to them when they were told to form groups, stood curiously studying the scene before them. Two wooden platforms sat low to the ground, about fifteen feet apart, and between them hung a long rope that Lily guessed was for swinging.
"Everyone starts on this side," the young English teacher pointed, "And has to swing to that one safely." 'Seems simple enough. So much for stereotypical trust-building exercises.' Lily thought, looking up at Oliver reassuringly. "Once the first person is across, he or she has to stay on the platform. Then the second person swings, third, fourth fifth, et cetera," she continued simply. "But no one is allowed to get off the platform until after the sixth person has swung. That means there must always be five people standing there."
Lily looked curiously again at the ground before her. That did look like an awfully small arrangement of boards. And people would be swinging into it once it was full.
"Once everyone's made it, you all swing back, always keeping five people on each platform as long as there are that many on the side. If anyone falls or steps off, you're back to the other side." She was standing commandingly holding the rope now, smiling at the challenge she was offering the seniors, who, oddly enough, seemed pretty into it. "Ready?" She held out the rope, pointing to Oliver.
He took it gladly, not wasting time and hopping quickly onto one platform. With a momentous push, he flew to the other side, jumping off onto the second, keeping the rope in hand so as not to lose it to the middle. Oliver himself took up a good deal of room. Lily wondered how they'd all fit.
She, having been standing next to him, found herself as second in line, and took the rope he threw back to her, mimicking Oliver's movement and finding herself next to him on the other side, happily congratulating herself on a good swing.
When Gabriella Ford swung across, Lily was ready to call it quits. The three of them fit snugly across the platform, and Lily had no desire to be crammed any farther. But of course, the fourth senior swung, landing not so gracefully in the leaf-covered dirt below them. Trying again, he reached the group, but it was Oliver's hand that reached out and grabbed the top of the rope that kept him from falling back once he'd gotten there, as there was nowhere for him to put his feet.
Gaby wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him inward. The four adjusted to the new number of people, shifting and holding one another until they were settled. The boy threw the rope back to the other side.
"Wow," Gaby whispered into Lily's ear after a bit of rearranging, "Oliver sure likes holding on to you, huh?" she grinned, glancing down to Lily's middle where she hadn't realized he'd rested his hand. Gaby looked away, silently enjoying her teasing, but suddenly Lily couldn't stop thinking about it. That one hand, spread flush against her stomach. In the moment the fifth senior was flying across the stretch of dirt, Lily mentally traced that hand upward to the arm snaked around her waist, back to his shoulder and chest that she could feel against her back. Oh yes, she realized, Oliver's entire body was pressed tightly against her own, and he seemed very very warm.
Senior number five was caught by senior number four skillfully and pulled in by Gaby. Lily had reached out an arm to help, but, having been very distracted, was quite late. And with a fifth person on the platform, there was a good deal less room for them all, and Lily was pressed only closer to Oliver's form.
'I can feel his hip bone' Lily realized, focusing on the small of her back where something sharp hit it at a strange angle. 'And his chest muscles, Oh God. Oliver has muscles.' She realized in agony, not being able to think of anything else until something moved. It was his hand that had come off her stomach and was now holding the rope of person number six, who, with no help form occupied Lily, had made her way to their side.
Lily felt cold air rush against the spot on her stomach, and, as if they'd been suctioned together, she felt Oliver peel off the back of her body, making her shiver in the absence of his warmth. 'That's right,' She realized, almost sadly, 'It's his turn to get off now. Stop it Lily, you're not upset about it.' She reminded herself.
When it was her turn to get off, she hopped off the back of the platform, moving for almost the first time since she'd gotten on it. She walked over to where Oliver was standing, completely red in the face. He attempted to throw an arm around her, but she rejected him, shaking it off and stepping away a bit so she wasn't facing him.
Glancing up once, she saw him smiling proudly. She turned away to see the end of the activity, trying not to think about how she'd be in exactly the same situation as soon as they had to get to the other side. "Bastard," she mumbled to herself.
Xxx…xxX
He had pushed her nervously into the corner of his living room couch. She'd just come over to drop of a book she borrowed, and somehow, here they'd managed to get. His lips moved in rhythm with hers as he pressed just a little harder against her. She felt her knees go weak and was instantly thankful for the support beneath her.
"Will," she breathed, and his head came up in question.
"What's wrong?" he asked, short on breath and flushed. It was an incredibly sexy look, and it took near all of Lily's strength not to pull him right back down on top of her. "Is this too far?" He looked worried.
But Lily shook her head. There was nothing wrong with a little harmless fun. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this," she whispered.
He grinned and moved back in, holding himself above her with one arm and gently caressing her cheek with the other before moving it down to her side. Following his beat, she pressed a hand lightly to his toned chest, moving her lips deliciously against his and pausing only when needing to breathe.
"Lily?" Maya questioned her, and Lily looked up. Had she been daydreaming again? That boy would surely be the death of her; she knew it. It took a moment to regain consciousness of her surroundings, but she recognized them quickly. She sat across the table from Maya under one of the pavilions, chatting and doodling idly in an old notebook. She glanced down frantically, checking that nothing she'd drawn was particularly explicit. Thus far, no. She relaxed, seeing only a sad attempt at a starfish and a particularly tiny sketch of a fairly familiar couch.
"You okay, Lily?" Maya asked her. Lily nodded, wondering how long she'd been out of it. Their free time had started at two, and she still remembered two thirteen.
"What time is it?" She asked, surprised at how mousy her voice sounded in the quiet afternoon around them.
"Uh," Maya glanced down at the delicate silver watch around her wrist, "Two sixteen. Lily, do you want some water or something?" More questions, Lily shook her head.
"I've gotta go make a call," she shrugged, stood, and disappeared.
"You're not supposed to have your cell phone on!" Maya called to her from her bench seat as a reminder.
Lily, catching on, redirected herself in the path of the girls' bathroom.
Xxx…xxX
After a short call with Will (Greta hadn't skated yet, and he would text her an update later that night), another ropes course, some admittedly stupid but amusing games, and dinner, the nearly whole senior class found it's way around a bonfire just down the road from the pavilions.
Sitting on a short arrangement of logs were four of Lily's best friends. Next to her was Oliver, across were Harvey and Maya, and, on the ground complaining about it was Mike, who hadn't seemed to fit on the logs. Oops. What fun campfires were, Lily noted. Somewhere in the background a group of giggling girls were singing old camp fire songs she'd known back when her mother had her doing Girl Scouts.
Now Captain Jack (Now Captain Jack)
And his loyal crew (Had a mighty fine crew)
They sailed across (They sailed across)
The channel too (The channel too…
"So how's the pho-tog, Lils?" Harvey interrupted the old song, loving to annoy her with cut-up versions of words.
"Well, I guess," she shrugged, holding her hands out towards the fire to warm up a bit. Her thin paisley pajama pants and navy sweater were proving not to be as warm as she might have hoped. Oliver set a hand on her leg to stop her shivering, but with a glare from Lily, he let go. "I've gotten pretty far on my portfolio. A few more pages wouldn't hurt, but I don't have quite the pictures I'm looking for yet," she responded, looking away from her just-assaulted thigh..
"What do you mean?" Mike asked, suddenly compassionate-feeling despite his uncomfortable seat.
"I've got a lot of in-school modern stuff that's pretty neat, al lines and angles and stuff, but I don't have any of that natural wonder goodness. You know, the big tree alone on the hill type stuff," she told them animatedly.
"No, not really," Harvey said matter-of-factly.
"Oh don't be a jerk," Maya slapped his shoulder good-naturedly. "Besides," she shot him a questioning glance, rearranging herself a bit so she wasn't facing the fire as much; it was warm, but along with that, it was extremely bright, "What have you done with your life recently?"
Harvey shot her a nasty glare, "I'll tell you what I haven't been doing," he raised one eyebrow in accusation, "I haven't been hanging around three different guys at once."
"Darn," Maya laughed sarcastically, "Didn't realize you weren't getting any action."
"Harvey!" Mike jumped in brightly, "You're gay?"
This earned a strong laugh from everyone in their circle. Even Oliver, who had spent the better part of the evening staring down at his feet in contemplation, gave a low chuckle. So low, in fact, that Lily swore she could feel it vibrate through her body. He stood suddenly, smiling briefly at her, and walking around the corner of the fire.
Mike threw everyone a questioning glance, "That boy's been so out of it lately."
"Speaking of out of it," Maya piped in happily, glad the conversation was no longer about what she'd been doing with some other senior boys, "Lily, what was up with you this afternoon?"
Lily groaned, suddenly fascinated with the bright pattern on her pajama pants, hoping to hide the pink flush that warmed her cheeks. "It was uh, nothing," she tried unconvincingly, earning suspicious glared from most of her friends, Maya in particular. "Oh come on, guys, don't you ever daydream?" She rolled her eyes and ran her flip-flopped feet through the woodchips, waiting for someone to change the subject. When it didn't, she made it happen.
"Those ropes courses sure make you sore," she told them, stretching each of her arms, "and these logs sure aren't helping," she laughed a little, leaning backwards to stretch out her spine, but clearly, she had poor timing, as her body collided anything but gracefully with a shadow of Oliver, stumbling back through the dark to the group.
Unfortunately, something hot dropped from his unprepared hands.
"Ouch!" Lily hissed, jumping from her seat to confront Oliver in apology, when she realized what were all over her arm were scalding strings of sticky marshmallow.
"Lily!" Oliver protested, grabbing her by the hips and turning her to face him, "You wrecked my s'more!" The mock drama amused Lily, who held her arm out for comparison.
"You wrecked my skin," she teased, and he took her arm in his hand, turning it once over in each direction to assess the damage.
"Looks pretty bad," he told her very professionally. "Follow me, Miss. We'll have that cleaned up for you in minutes." He moved away, motioning for her to follow, and turned his head once over his shoulder to give her a sly grin. She had no choice but to follow.
He took her hand and lead her smartly to the water buckets the teachers had lined up around the log circles to put the fire out later that night, or in case anything were to happen before then. He took the bottom hem of his long-sleeved T-shirt and dipped it carelessly into one of the more full buckets, then brought it up to Lily's arm, beginning to work at the drying white mess.
"Oliver," she giggled at the contact, "You don't have to do that."
"Lily," he told her affectionately, "I made a mess of you. Now I have to clean you up," and proceeded to wipe at her arm in short quick strokes.
Something caught her eye as he worked. The firelight flickered very flatteringly across the taught skin of his stomach, which Lily saw easily beneath Oliver's lifted shirt. Feeling the need to stare (and cursing herself as she did), she closed her eyes, focusing instead on the rough feeling pushing back and forth across her arm. That, of course, didn't help her as Oliver let his strong hand grasp her arm, and, when he'd finally reached high enough on her arm that it began to tickle, pulled away and kissed the tender spot on the inside of her elbow.
She opened only one eye to peer at him. "Finished?" She asked tentatively.
Lily wasn't sure if the fire she saw was just a reflection in his eyes or if something really burned inside of him, but there was something about him staring up at her that sent shivers down her spine, and goose bumps erupted the arm Oliver still held. Then again, it was pretty cold out.
He took notice, too, smiling not so to himself. With a dripping passion she couldn't tell if he faked, Oliver told her "Meet me tonight at the bridge after everyone's gone to sleep." For a moment, Lily looked shocked, but he jumped quickly in again. "I never see you anymore, Lily. We should catch up." He dropped her arm, stood straight, and nearly ran back to the fire pit where their friends still sat unsuspectingly.
Lily, not to anyone in particular, nodded, telling herself contrarily on the inside, 'Oh God, Lily. You can't.
A/N: And so ends Chapter Five. Thoughts? Do you have questions, comments, or concerns…in which case a review would be in order. I promise you you'll have fun with Chapter Six. I know writing it will be quite enjoyable, so pay attention. Also, if you're into Harry Potter (which you all should be), I've just put up an artsy oneshot to the beat of a great song. It's not a songfic, don't worry, just kind of song-ish. Check it out though if you're into that. Otherwise, thanks for reading, please review, and Oh my goodness I'm tired. And Church's in the morning. My-oh-my. Goodnight.
