Chapter 3-Accidental Shirt Loss
"Lilly, I need your help," Miley whispered, as she came to stand next to her locker, looking extremely stressed.
"Miley, a C- is not that bad," She rolled her eyes, shoving a navy binder into her locker and pulling out her orange one for Advanced Algebra. "If you're so worried about it, just ask Sarah to tutor you. She's AP in Chemistry."
She shook her head, her eyes growing big and sad, "Please don't hate me," She pleaded, her voice trembling.
"I could never hate you," Lilly looked at her sympathetically, "That's crazy, what's wrong?"
"I…I…" Miley started. "I had-"
"Guess what!" Oliver popped up just then, looking excited.
"Hold on, moron, Miley needs to tell me something," She hissed, turning towards her friend.
"Never mind," The brunette smiled shakily, still looking extremely upset despite the fake pep. "I'm late for English." And with that she swerved on her heel and sped down the hallway.
"What's with her?" Oliver asked, scrunching his forehead as they stared after her.
"I don't know, she just got a C-," Lilly shrugged, although she was almost positive that wasn't the case.
"Her and her stupid grades." He shook his head, and then broke out into a grin again. "Rico gave me Jackson's old job," Lilly scoffed, looking over at him from her books. And something caught her eyes, and it wasn't the usual bed head she stopped to tease him about. He looked good. Like, insanely good. He had on a pair of jeans which were actually belted where they were supposed to be for once, and a black, white, and red Boys Like Girls hoodie over a wife-beater. And it was unzipped, and boy did they make those shirts thin now. She could see his chest muscles right through it, and she remembered all too clearly how they felt under her hands. So firm, but nice and soft at the same time…oh.
She blushed, "Um, I'm gonna be late for gym, let's go." Great, now she got to spend her time minutes changing thinking about him naked in the next room. Actually, it wasn't a particularly bad image, but that was bad. Wasn't it?
*A*C*C*I*D*E*N*T*S*
Lilly had no trouble avoiding the mental image of Oliver Oken in his birthday suit as she changed. She had no trouble avoiding it while they played volleyball in gym and she had to watch sweat bead down his forehead until he wiped it off. She didn't have any trouble at all, until an hour after class and school had ended.
She had been sitting in the grass on the football field with Todd, Oliver, and Cooper. They'd just been drinking Gatorade and joking around. Todd and Oliver had been talking about some disgusting Youtube video while Cooper had tried to explain to her why she should waste her time watching American Idol. Then Cooper had called Jackson to tell him he didn't need a ride, and he'd come. And then Miley'd called Lilly wanting her to come to the mall, and she'd found her way over. And then Sarah had followed Jackson and there they all were sitting in the middle of the field.
One of the boys found a soggy Nerf ball in the grass. And someone tossed it at Oliver's head. Oliver had been mad about the guck getting in his perfect hair and tackled Jackson, who hadn't actually thrown it. Which somehow ended up in Todd getting jumped on by Cooper, and then they were all playing football.
The problem started when Lilly and Sarah had decided they wanted to play. Jackson, in an attempt to get rid of Sarah, had declared that the "squaws" couldn't play unless they were skins. It had worked, Sarah had decided to sit on the sidelines and be a cheerleader with Miley.
Lilly had to go and open her big mouth, "Okay, pig, maybe if you take your shirt off, she'll take her shirt off."
Jackson had raised his eyebrows at Lilly and then turned to Sarah, who was blushing, "Oh really?" He asked, waggling them. He pulled his shirt, emblazoned with the Rico logo on it, over his head. And stared challengingly at the girl.
Sarah had continued looking flustered for a moment, but had then jumped up and pulled her own shirt over her head, revealing a plain white bra. The boys had whooped and cheered as she turned bright red. And Lilly had rolled her eyes, "Can we please just play football now?"
Jackson had grinned, "Shirt off, game on."
Lilly had blinked, and it took everything in her not to look at Oliver's face for his reaction to Jackson's comment. She struggled to breathe regularly for a second but then her brain woke up again and she retorted, "Uh, no, I don't think so, Stewart. Your shirt is already off."
"Exactly, and yours isn't," He smirked sleazily, "Take it off, Truscott!"
"That depends, who are you trading me for?" She smiled smugly, crossing her arms over her chest to keep him from staring at it the way he was leering at Sarah's.
"Todd," Jackson said, turning to motion to him.
Todd began to unbutton his polo and Lilly cringed, "Keep it on, Spring. I've been surfing with you once, that was enough." Todd bit his lip and looked away, it was no secret he had an unrequited crush on Lilly.
"I'll do it," Cooper volunteered, looking embarrassed to his credit.
Lilly was going to accept this offer, as not to insult the boy but then Miley had cut in with her stupid Southern accent, "Aw, come on, I've had breakfast with him in just a pair of boxers before, it's nothing to see," Cooper looked at Miley like she was a fallen angel and she smiled back before glancing at Lilly and smirking. "Give her Oliver."
She felt her whole body seize up, and her cheeks go scarlet. She darted her eyes to the left, but she was met by Sarah, staring at her pleadingly. She sighed, it was only fair she attempt to do it since Saint Sarah of all people had taken it off in front of the guy she liked. She peered over at Oliver, only to find him staring at her expectantly, "Oliver won't do it," She said as loudly as she could muster.
The boys all stared at him. Lilly suddenly realized that while both Miley and Sarah had seen her in her bikini, Oliver was the only boy she'd ever felt comfortable enough around to go swimming without a t-shirt on over one. She gulped, and willed him to say anything the least bit helpful to her. Instead, he walked over and towered over her threateningly, as if to say 'In your face!' before smirking and thrusting his wife beater off and onto the sidelines in one swift motion.
Lilly licked her lips before she consciously realized what she was doing, and then she internally kicked herself. She grinned, despite her nervousness. And cursed that she'd chosen today of all days to wear a black t-shirt and, therefore, a black bra. None-the-less, she wriggled out of her shirt and tossed it even further than Oliver's, sending it over the nearby tennis courts chain-link fence of a wall.
She raised her eyebrows at his stunned face which was staring directly at her chest, "Take a picture, it'll last longer." She turned to Miley, simply to keep her sanity. "Alright Little Miss Instigator, your turn."
Miley's eyes went wide, and he smug smile dropped off her face. "Oh I don't like football."
"So what?" Lilly shrugged, "I bet the boys will even give you a two for one deal on Todd and Coop to get the beautiful Miley Stewart out of her blouse," She laughed, turning to them. "What do you say gents?"
"Hellz yeah!" Cooper shouted, whipping his off. Todd looked slightly more shocked but pulled his off too after a second.
"I'm not playing," Miley crossed her arms huffily. God, Lilly couldn't believe her best friend was being such a brat after making her so uncomfortable.
Jackson looked at the three shirtless guys on field, two of whom were staring intently at his little sister and seemed to have a change of heart about all skins football. "You don't even have to take your shirt off, sis," He offered gently. "And you can be on my team. I'll even pick you first."
Miley still didn't budge from her seat on the bleachers, "Miley," Lilly glared at her, "Get your ass up right now or get it off the field."
She looked up at the blond in front of her and then pulled her backpack over her shoulder, "Fine, get your boy to drive you home then," She hissed, sending a hateful glance Oliver's way before storming off. Lilly felt the color flood to her face. Sure, Miley hadn't meant it that way. And sure, she definitely didn't know, but that didn't make her heart beat any slower. And it definitely didn't make it any easier to feel Oliver's chest hot up against her back as he tried to wrestle the Nerf ball away from her for the next hour. She could feel her sweat mixing with his as she jumped on his back in the last play attempting to tackle him but instead sending a cold chill down her spine and losing her hold, falling on her butt seconds later.
She'd begun hiking across the grass towards the parking lot she usually parked in when it was her turn to drive Miley afterwards but was startled by his voice, "Uh, Lils…" And then she remembered, she had to sit next to him all the god damn way home. So she trudged back, careful not to look at him, and found her way to the passenger seat of his Jeep.
*H*A*P*P*E*N*
Oliver didn't have many rules about his car. You could eat greasy food in it and then leave the leftover trash there for him to pick up, you didn't have to buckle your seatbelt, you could sit with your feet dangling in the sunroof if he was going slow enough in traffic, you just couldn't touch his radio. This was the thing that pissed him off the most, and the thing Miley did the most while in his car. She was forever finding a pop station that was playing Hannah or trying to talk him into letting her bring stupid girly mix CDs that consisted of cheesy songs like "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias and "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. Oliver always changed it back, or threatened to chuck the disc out the window or, on rare occasions when he was especially ticked off to begin with, to drop Miley on the side of the road.
Miley's response to this was always the same. She pouted, slumping down in her seat, and claimed that apparently rules didn't apply to Lilly. And Oliver was always quiet, because if Lilly had chosen the same "girly crap" (and sometimes she did want to listen to a Hannah song or Kelly Clarkson) he would have let her listen.
Usually this didn't bug Lilly but today it did. She was sitting with her flip-flop clad feet up on the dashboard, her shirt back on, and flipping through the stations when she landed on Taylor Swift's "Crazier." It was mid song and she closed her eyes to listen.
Every sky was your own kind of blue,
And I wanted to know how that would feel,
And you made it so real…
You showed me something that I couldn't see,
You opened my eyes and you made me believe…
She heard Oliver snort, and she opened one eye to glare but he was faced toward the road so she continued in her state of easy listening.
You lift my feet off the ground,
You spin me around,
You make me crazier…crazier…
Feels like I'm falling and I…
I'm lost in your eyes,
And then she was sure she heard it, that annoyed scoff that came out when his mother wanted him to clean his room or Miley used him as a test subject for the various shades of nail polish she was considering wearing on her latest date.
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier,
"What?" Lilly snapped, hoping he would jump. If he would jump and be afraid of her everything would be a little closer to normal. She could throw one of her flip-flops at his head and he could hold it ransom until she apologized.
Baby you showed me what living is for,
I don't want to hide anymore…
"It's just, how can you like this song? When has anyone ever done that for you? Made you feel that way," He shook his head, not taking his eyes off the road. "Was it Matt? Or Lucas?" He laughed.
You lift my feet off the ground,
You spin me around,
You make me crazier, crazier…
"Just because I haven't felt that way doesn't mean I don't want to," She whispered, feeling the air in her chest weighing heavily down on her. "Why am I allowed to change your radio but Miley's not?" She retorted, staring at him intently.
"Because," He said nonchalantly, still not looking at her as he pulled into his driveway.
Feels like I'm falling and I…
I'm lost in your eyes,
You make me crazier, crazier, crazier…
Crazier,
Crazier…
"No seriously, we're both two moody teenage girls that would rather listen to pop crap then whiny emo music, why is it okay if it's me?" Lilly persisted. Look at me, She mentally willed him, as he stared at the garage door as "Let It Be" by Paul McCartney filled the speakers. Oliver Oken, you look at me right now.
When he did, she half-jumped against the window it scared her so much. "That's why," He hissed, shooting daggers at her, "If you think for a second Miley's ever gotten into my head the way you do then you're crazy. She just sits there and talks about boys and keeping her fucking secrets. Do you think I've ever had a real conversation with her?" Lilly was silent, she stared at his floor mats, they were dirty. He needed to vacuum. "No, maybe you have but the only person I ever can sit around with and talk without worrying about judging or lies or anything else is you, okay? And I doubt Miley even knows what she's listening to beyond the fact that it was in iTunes Top 100 or some guy mentioned it to her. You do things for a reason Lilly, it's who you are. And I don't ever want to be the one to take that away from you." And the next thing she knew she was sprinting from the car, granted her house was two past his and he'd definitely be able to weasel her brother Dean into unlocking their front door for him, but she needed to think. Maybe it wasn't the best time for thinking though, because as she turned towards her brick steps, Oliver close behind her Miley was sitting there.
She stood up as she saw her, "I need to talk to you."
"Now's not a good time," She mumbled, fighting to keep her surging emotions in check when it would be so easy to spill to her best girlfriend and cry.
"Miley just stood there though, looking pale and sick, "Lilly…" And something about her tone stopped Lilly in her tracks. "I think I'm pregnant." And that was when she saw Oliver at the edge of her yard, looking shocked.
And then she got sick all over her lawn.
AN: Ending's a little shotty but I like it. I've gotta go to class now though.