A week had now passed by since the incident at school, and each passing day at school was getting harder and harder on Lily. She had effectively ruined any relationships with her friends once she began associating with Jack, and to make matters worse now everyone at school had a vendetta against her as well. She also noticed that teachers and faculty treated her differently now too, which especially upset her.

Jack still hadn't returned to school, he was suspended indefinitely but it was most likely that they were going to expel him. Chad's parents wanted to press charges on both the school and on Jack, which wasn't making things any easier either.

Lily had just spent another agonizingly long day at school, and now she finally got to go home at the end of the day. She walked through the hallways, feeling the staring eyes that bore holes in the back of her head as she continued. She grabbed her things from her locker in a hurry, sliding her coat over her shoulders before slamming her locker door shut and dashing through the halls to the door leading outside. She felt both physically and emotionally exhausted, not sure how much longer she could deal with being in this situation at school. The only thing making her days worth it to her anymore was the times she got to see Jack. She was supposed to meet up with him after school today, which made her smile a little.

After school, they usually met up a block or two away from school so Jack could avoid getting in to any trouble. Their preferred meeting spot was at the park close to Lily's house, since it was almost always empty, especially during these colder months. Lily made her way to the park as per usual, walking over to the swing set and sitting down atop one of the swings.

"Hm," she murmured to herself. Usually Jack was already here when she got here. 'Oh well, he's probably just running a few minutes late' she thought to herself, opting to reach in to her book bag and get a head start on some homework while she waited.

She finished most of it fairly easily and quickly, saving her least favorite subject of math for last.

"Ugh." She opened up the chunky textbook, flipping through the pages lightly before looking around her. There was still no sign of Jack anywhere, which was kind of unusual. He was pretty late now. Had he forgotten to meet her today, she wondered?

'No, he wouldn't have forgotten..' she thought to herself. She began to feel a little worried about him. She didn't even know where he lived so she couldn't really go and see if he was home. She let out a dejected sigh, and turned her attention back to her book. An hour had passed before Lily finally decided to gather her things and dejectedly head back home.

Lily arrived home shortly after, walking up the stairs to her room where she nonchalantly tossed her book bag on to the ground beside her bed. She flopped down on to her bed, looking up at the ceiling for a few moments before she reached over to the little table beside her bed, flicking on her lamp and grabbing one of the Lovecraft books sitting there. She sat in her bed for a while, just reading when she heard noises coming from outside her window. She looked up from her book and peered out her window at the yellow and purple toned evening sky, but thought nothing of it and went back to reading. A minute or two later, she heard a very audible 'tick' sound at her window. Confused, she looked up from her book again. This time, she saw a tiny pebble gently hit the pane of the window, making another 'tick' sound. She set her book beside her, sitting up in her bed to push her window open and peer out in to her backyard.

The light outside was beginning to grow dim, but she could still make out the familiar figure standing in her backyard waving sheepishly at her.

"Jack!" she shouted, before hunching her shoulders forward and toning her voice down, remembering her parents were home. She looked around for a moment, and then turned her attention back to the window.

"Wait there," she responded out the window in a hushed tone, before gently pulling the window down so it was closed again. She hurriedly grabbed a jacket from her closet and a quick application of chapstick before darting out her bedroom door.

Jack stood waiting in her back yard with his hands in his jacket pockets, absentmindedly kicking his shoe at the grass, his head propping up when he saw her approaching him.

Lily grinned at him, striding over to him quickly and practically throwing herself at him as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, gently nuzzling her face in to the soft fabric of his shirt and gently inhaling his scent before letting out a light sigh of contentment.

"I missed you…" she spoke in a barely audible whisper, her cheeks flushed slightly red. She pulled her head away from his chest slightly and looked back toward her house.

"We can't stay here though…" she trailed off. "My parents, uh…" she didn't want to say it, but she was afraid of them seeing her with Jack, since the whole school and most of town heard about what he did.

"I know," was all Jack said, as if he already knew. "C'mon." He took her hand in his gently, leading her away from her house and down the sidewalk.

"Where were you today?" Lily piped up. "I was worried sick about you, y'know…"

Jack swallowed, pausing and halting his steps for a moment. "Um, about that…"

Once Jack stopped walking, Lily noticed in the dim streetlight that the stitches no longer riddled his lip. She smiled slightly, stepping in front of him and reaching her hand up to his face.

"Hey, no more stitches." She smiled warmly at him, gently running her fingertips over the spot where they used to be.

"Yeah," Jack responded. "I uh, had to go to the hospital today to get them taken out. That's why I was late, sorry." He swallowed again.

He was lying to her, but only because he couldn't tell her the real reason he was late today.

She just smiled at him more. "I'm just glad you're okay."

He smiled back slightly. "Yeah. I have a pretty gnarly scar now though."

"Can I see?" Lily asked inquisitively. Jack obliged, turning his face more towards the fluorescent glow of the streetlights. Lily lifted her fingers up to his face again, now noticing the two minuscule ridges left in his lip, one near the middle and the other on his left side. They continued down from his lip, scarring the skin below his lip into a strange Y-like shape above his chin. The scar was fairly deep, but was only about an inch long.

"It's not even bad." She smiled at him more.

Jack looked slightly less convinced. "Sure, if you say so." He continued walking down the sidewalk, and Lily followed him.

"No, really, I mean that." She felt a twinge of guilt, since she was the reason he had that scar now.

Within a few short minutes, they both arrived at the playground. Jack made his way over to the spinning roundabout, sitting down on the edge and grasping one of the metal handles with his hand.

Lily followed him, but she halted momentarily in front of where he sat. She sat down next to him, slightly hesitant. He has his feet planted and was gently swaying his hips to move the platform from side to side.

Lily sat for a moment, trying to muster up the right words. "Um, Jack?"

He stopped his movement, turning his head slightly to look at her.

Lily felt her cheeks flushing again, and turned her face away from his gaze slightly. "I um, I don't know if I ever thanked you for standing up for me, but-" her sentence was halted when she felt his free hand gently grasp her chin, before pulling her face to his and colliding their lips together.

Her cheeks grew REALLY hot this time, feeling the sensation of his lips against hers for the first time without the obstruction of his stitches. They were soft and warm, and she willingly parted her own and returned his kiss with fervor.

Jack was also blushing ever so slightly at the thrill of getting to kiss her uninhibited. She was soft and sweet, her lips tasted like her strawberry chapstick. He pulled away for a moment, wrapping his arms around her torso and bringing them closer together before returning his lips to hers.

She felt her heart flutter when he pulled her closer to him, feeling his strong lean arms wrapping around her back sent shivers down her spine. Meanwhile, her tiny hands pressed against his muscular chest as they continued their kiss. Jack pulled away again after a minute, his eyes meeting hers with a slight grin on his face as he pushed stray bits of hair away from her face.

"You don't have to thank me for anything."