Lollipops are for Kids

Ch 6

Miley shot warning glances at Oliver all through the day and he assumed that she was displeased with him for not being more intelligent about his sexual endeavors. He pulled Lilly aside while Miley was chatting with the guys in the band to question her about the previous night. "What's up with her?" he asked his girlfriend.

"She's not exactly happy about me getting preggers right before our senior year, but I don't think she'll castrate you or anything," Lilly told him. "Don't worry about it," she added when the blood drained from his face. Miley turned around to see an intimate moment between her best friends as Lilly kissed Oliver softly, urging him to free his mind of all worries. She knew that Lilly getting pregnant wasn't the best thing that could have happened, but she knew Oliver would at least take care of her. She turned back to the guys to give the two a bit of privacy.

"What's up with the two halves of the same lollipop?" Robbie asked Miley later that evening when they had slipped back to the hotel room under the pretense of calling their parents…simultaneously.

Miley tried to keep the guilty look off her face. "Nothing. They're just missing their folks, I guess. I'd miss you if I was gonna be away for a whole summer!" She threw her arms around her father, hoping to distract him from the truth…he of course, wasn't buying her lies.

"Really. How sweet, darlin'. I don't believe you, though. They've both been acting really weird the whole trip. Usually Y'all are giggling and such the whole time. Now, I know they're dating now, but it's getting a little ridiculous." Miley blushed, tipping Robbie off to the fact that there was something going on. "What are they really doing?" he demanded.

When Miley used the excuse that she was sworn to secrecy, he sighed and headed up to the room Miley was sharing with Lilly, ignoring his daughter's protests that there was nothing going on. He walked into the room without bothering to knock and found his daughter's best friends tangled in the sheets, fully naked and groaning.

"Sweet Southern Pride!" he said loudly, covering his eyes. "You could have at least warned me, Miley!" Oliver and Lilly tried desperately to cover themselves, the faces of everyone in the room bright red. "I'll…be outside. Get dressed and come find me…we have to talk," he told the lovers. Miley mouthed an apology and followed her father out into the hall.

"Daddy, I didn't think you'd just barge in…" she started but he held up his hand. "I know you kids are growing up, but really? There's a lot to be said for the institution of marriage."

"I know, Daddy…"

He cut her off again. "You aren't…active…are you?" he asked hoping against hope that his daughter was a little more virtuous than her friends.

"No. Of course not!" she protested. "Look. Oliver and Lilly aren't your kids…go easy on 'em." He sighed, but nodded and they waited in silence for the pair of fornicators to appear.

Oliver and Lilly were both still bright red when they came outside to face the metaphorical music. Robbie ushered the entire group into the room again and settled down uncomfortably in the bed that wasn't recently occupied by the two now clothed people sitting in front of him. "All I'm going to say about this is that you two should be careful," he said, staring at the ceiling. "Being a parent is hard work and would be especially hard for kids…just…be safe."

"Actually," Lilly said, not meeting his gaze, "we already kind of…well…we're going to be parents, Mr. Stewart."

Robbie looked at his daughter fiercely and she squeaked. "Don't look at me…I didn't do anything," she protested.

"Thanks for the help, Miles," Oliver said sarcastically. Robbie turned his gaze on the boy. "I know…stupid. But we can't do anything about it now. We're going to finish school and then I'll get a job."

"No. You're going to college," Lilly told him. "You have a full basketball scholarship to UCLA. You're not blowing it."

"You're having my child," he replied. "I'm going to help you."

"Hold up," Robbie stopped them from getting into a major argument. "You're both going to have to get an education and yeah it'll be hard, but you've just entered the adult world a few years early."

"He can't give up a scholarship!" Lilly protested.

"No. But he does have to support you, Lilly. You've both got to get your acts together if you want to give this child a decent life…do your parents know yet?" he asked the teens.

"No," all three younger people replied in unison. Robbie gave Miley a warning look and turned back to the parents-to-be. "Tell them…soon. They might be able to help you out. If not…well I'll do what I can to help." He stood up. "I've got to go talk to some reporters…Miley, you coming?"

She stood. "It'll be fine, guys. I'll see you when we get on the bus." Both of Miley's best friends nodded and watched her walk away.

"Are you ready to tell your mom?" Oliver asked.

"Only when you tell your parents," she said. "They'll be a little more understanding and might be able to keep my mom from killing me."

"Right. I'll call them and we can wait to tell your mom until we get back." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

Oliver's parents were far from pleased about the news, but they didn't berate him. The Okens promised to arrange a meeting with Lilly's mother for the date of their return, by which time Lilly would hopefully have worked out a plan for breaking the news gently. By the time Oliver hung up the phone, Lilly was in tears. "What are we going to do?" she asked him.

"I'll take care of you," he replied, causing her to cry even harder. She cleaned her face and they met Miley, Robbie, Jackson, and the musicians on the bus a few hours later, ready to depart for Oklahoma.