I don't know. I really don't.
A rapping sound chorused the strums of Lilly's electric guitar and she paused for a moment, ear cocked as she pondered on whether it was just her imagination that fabricated the thudding. More knocks signalled the visitor's rising impatience and Lilly abandoned her instrument to find out who exactly wanted to bother her at such an early hour of the morning. She swung the front door open with a frown, but it lifted into a look of surprise when Lilly found the wild party thrower Miley before her, grinning shyly with her hands in the pockets of her jeans. For the first time since meeting her, Miley actually looked kempt and sober.
"What do you want?" Lilly inquired, greeting Miley with a glare.
"I want to apologise again," she replied.
"That's wonderful." Nothing in Lilly's expression and blank tone gave Miley the impression that her second apology was in the least bit wonderful.
"I know, I know. I'm probably right at the top of your shit list, but I really do feel bad about everything," Miley said.
"Okay... Bye." Lilly went to shut the door, but fingers she was tempted to crush appeared through the crack and stopped her.
"Wait, what's your name?"
"Agnes."
"Alright," Miley grinned, holding back a laugh, "Now what's your real name?" Lilly almost smiled.
"Lilly."
"Come get breakfast with me, Lilly? I won't leave until you agree and I'll even pay for you," Miley offered and Lilly's stomach jumped at the idea of a free meal. She knew on many occasions her control had slipped from her mind and wormed into her gut, leading her into messes she hated trying to get out of. This was another one of those times.
She pulled the door back open to reveal Miley's innocent smile, but Lilly knew deep down she was relishing in her victory for luring the skater out of her abode. Lilly was most likely foolishly walking right into Miley's little trap, but the threat of eternal envelopment struck no fear within Lilly. She wouldn't let Miley drag her into the world she'd avoided since the moment she herself was left for it by her supposed best friend.
"I guess I'll go with you, but only if you promise to leave me the hell alone afterwards," Lilly wagered, following Miley down the three steps that lead them to the front lawn.
"I will, but I guarantee you'll change your mind by the end of the day," Miley said with unwavering confidence and a sparkle in her eye that puzzled Lilly greatly.
"Bite me..." Lilly grumbled, not intending to be won over by the cheerful brunette no matter what she did. Lilly still hated her.
Miley had admitted to not knowing many places to buy food from, so Lilly had to escort her to the beach where Rico's shack sat, already open and satisfying the few early bird customers who dropped by. They climbed onto the stools surrounding the counter and Miley ordered them both nachos without even asking Lilly if she liked them or not. The boy serving them came back with their order and smiled at Lilly when he placed her food before her.
"Hey there, Lilly. Have you been practicing since I last saw you?" he asked.
"Yeah a little, when I'm not being bribed by my neighbours." Lilly eyed Miley, who winked in return. A flitter of happiness swooped by, but Lilly quickly suppressed it. God, how she hated Miley.
"That's good! If you need more lessons, I'm free after four every day except Sunday. That's my day off."
"Ha, yeah sure. You probably just spend your entire day in the water trying to show off your 'moves'," Lilly joked lightly, the familiarity between the two evident to Miley as she listened to their exchanges with piqued interest.
"Quit stalking me, Lilly," he laughed, but stopped when the manager, Rico, demanded that he get back to work.
"You better go before you're fired Gabe. I might come by tomorrow to surf for a few hours," Lilly said and Gabe nodded before leaving to serve the other patrons. When he was a distance away, Miley leaned towards Lilly.
"A friend of yours?"
"Hardly. We went to school together and I ran into him a couple days ago at the beach and now he's decided to be my surfing coach," Lilly explained, glancing at Miley to see her intrigued expression.
"What made you want to surf?"
"The destruction of my hopes and dreams..." Lilly answered flatly.
"Lilly, be serious would you?" Miley chided gently. Lilly faced her with cold eyes, suddenly feeling all of her resentment for Miley rushing back into her veins as she remembered why she hated the girl in the first place.
"I am being serious. I loved the skate park your stupid house was built on top of and now that I have nowhere else to skate privately, I had to learn how to surf because I need to be active and concentrating on something so I don't think about-" Lilly stopped abruptly, realising what she was about to confess and slid off of her stool.
"What's wrong?" Miley asked, mimicking Lilly's movements and joining her in the sand.
"Nothing. I'm going home," Lilly said.
"Lilly, wait! What don't you want to think about?" Miley followed Lilly, but before she could even lay one manicured finger on the blonde's arm, Lilly froze. Miley bumped into her, but Lilly remained immobile.
"Miley, don't come near me again. I don't know what made you think it was okay to invite me out, but don't let that thought cross your mind again. I don't want to be acquainted with a person like you."
"What are you talking about?" Angered by the coy question, Lilly twisted her head until Miley was in her line of sight.
"You're a pathetic alcoholic and most likely a junkie, considering the amount of joints I used to find on my lawn, and your house is a bad reminder of what I've lost. I don't like you," Lilly understated firmly.
Miley didn't move as Lilly backed up, watching for any sign of a possible pursuit, but the brunette was nailed to the spot.
Lilly fled the beach with a strange sadness following her. The image of Miley's wide blue eyes, shining with the promise of tears, was vivid in her mind and she couldn't shake off the stab of remorse it caused. She hadn't even said that she hated her, and yet she still felt bad for judging Miley's persona without more evidence on what she was truly like beneath the idiocy of her actions. But Lilly knew what that lifestyle did to a person and she couldn't live with herself if she was to defencelessly watch another fall prey to it.
Dreams were beginning to come into focus and a familiar face was taking form, but the moment blue eyes were visible, tongues of black slashed through the image and Lilly flung up from under her covers as a loud thumping noise came from somewhere in the night. Lilly crawled forward on her bed and peeked through her curtains, not surprised by what she found. Cars lined the gutters and Miley's house was alight and movement within told Lilly all she needed to know.
Without thought, without tidying her attire, Lilly walked robotically out of her room, out of her house and continued on until she was padding across Miley's front lawn. She entered the premises without being noticed and stole a cup from someone's hand, but before they could react, she was sucked into the sea of swaying bodies. Her name was called, but Lilly didn't care as she manoeuvred around the kitchen counter to reach the sink. She filled the nearly empty cup with cold water and then proceeded on her mission. Once she found the source of the obnoxious music, Lilly threw the cups contents onto the device.
The music slurred like the drunks around her and the pounding slowed until all fell silent after a small popping noise erupted from the stereo system. With its wiring drenched and its purpose lost, Lilly smiled in satisfaction and ran from the stoned fools before they could fully understand what had happened.
When Lilly was safely in her home, she locked the doors and slunk up to her room, collapsing onto bed. Her light sigh was accompanied by the sounds of departing cars and curses shouted from those who didn't want the party to end. And then slumber took her.
Lilly trekked down the beach with a borrowed surfboard resting under one arm, planning to practice for two hours until Gabe joined her in the sea. But that changed when the consequences from last night decided to come by.
"Hey, Lilly, wait up!" Miley called and Lilly turned to see the bikini clad girl trotting up to her.
"Have you come to sue me for property damages?" Lilly asked sullenly.
"You'd think so, but busting my stereo is probably the least I deserve for what I did. I'm actually glad you put a stop to things before they got worse," Miley admitted, displaying no concern for the repair costs or the fact Lilly trespassed on her land.
"It was my pleasure." They scuffed their toes in the sand, not used to the type of calm atmosphere that sat between them. Though while Miley glimpsed at her feet, Lilly absentmindedly took in Miley's exposed body and casually confessed that what she saw wasn't too bad, even if the body belonged to a moron.
"Was wanting silence really the only reason why you did that?" Miley questioned suddenly.
"No."
"What was the other reason?"
"I did it because you wanted me to," Lilly said simply, choosing that moment of perplexed quiet to leave Miley for the ocean. Once submerged, Lilly paid no mind to the confused eyes that followed her and studied her for the next hour or so. But when Lilly finally looked out to the shore to see if Miley was still blindly building her lump of a sandcastle merely to keep her hands occupied, she found the brunette gone.
I blame blood meridian for this change of style! It's messing with my head!