When Oliver left, Lilly cried for a grand total of two and a half minutes. She considered crying as weak, and she was not, under any circumstances, weak. Weak was her mother, who stayed with her stiff, unemotional father for the money and the home and the reputation. She built her whole life around her father, not setting a career for herself and living off of his mound of money for support. Independence was key, and Lilly promised herself she wouldn't depend on a man - or anyone else, for as long as she lived. Lilly was not like her mother. She was not weak.

She felt as if her mind had drank an entire six-pack of Red Bull. It was going through every mistake, every possibility, and every love she has ever had. It was telling her to dump Jake, and it was also telling her to make up with him and keep him. It was telling her to run out into the pouring rain and grab Oliver to talk about what had just happened. It was telling her to call up Miley and vent to her about kissing Oliver, but also telling her to keep her mouth shut. Whoever said 'think things over before you act' has never been into the mind of Lilly Truscott.

A huge bang of thunder brought her out of her thoughts. She jumped backwards, and held a hand to her heart. She took a deep breath. The rain started to come down harder, and she suddenly felt guilty about kicking Oliver out. She hoped he found a ride. She heard a whimper from outside of her door. Confused, she stood up and walked to her it. She opened it slowly, and her little black pug ran full speed into her bedroom. A small smile formed on her face. She's been very neglectful of her puppy lately, with the new school year.. and well, Oliver showing up. Things have been hectic. She picked her small dog up carefully, and stroked his back. "Hey, Rascal." She cooed. "Scared of the thunder?" She giggled, as he licked her face.

It was amazing how the littlest things can make people feel so much better. Rascal buried his face into Lilly's arm as another bang of thunder erupted from outside. Lilly comforted her puppy, and realized that she wasn't alone in this scary, messed up, crazy world.

--

Hey, it's Lilly. Sorry I missed your call, but it's 2008. You should know what to do. Beep.

Lilly! Hey, it's me, Oliver.. Um, right. So, I've called you a couple times. OK. So like, fifteen times. But who's counting? Anyways.. Are you still mad at me? I really think we should talk. I'm sorry for what happened, I shouldn't have done that. I hope I didn't scare you anything.. I got caught up in the moment, that was all. I promise you.. please Lilly, just call me back.

--

Hey, it's Lilly. Sorry I missed your call, but it's 2008. You should know what to do. Beep.

Hey, Lils. It's Jake. Are you ever going to talk to me again? It's been almost a week.. I know you're mad, and you should be. I was a jerk. I'm really sorry. Call me back, please?

--

Lilly slammed her phone shut and groaned. Why, oh why was everything such a mess? And on Friday morning, right before school. She got dressed, hiding her mess of a life from the world with her celebrity-inspired outfit. She threw on a smile, and she was set to go. As long as nobody knew, everything was fine.

She bid farewell to Rascal, ignored her parents, and drove off to school.

She figured she had to talk to Jake sooner or later, even if she was going to break up with him or stay with him. The boy had a right to know. She sucked it up, took a deep breath, and walked her way over to where Jake was standing at his locker, surrounded by a sea of people. She cleared her throat, and Jake's eyes seemed to brighten up a little when he saw Lilly there. Everyone suddenly went silent as the tension grew. One by one, they each scattered away, knowing better then to stay.

Jake cleared his throat awkwardly. "So.."

Lilly sighed. "I got your messages.. and texts. And e-mails."

His face flushed. "Yeah.. Well, I wanted to talk."

She nodded. "Yeah, and I think we should. I'm ready now." Her face grew hot when she realized what she had just said. "You know, to talk."

Jake's face relaxed a little. "Oh, right. Free period?" He asked, knowing that all the juniors had the same free period together.

She agreed. "Sounds good. I'll meet you in the library."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "We have a library?"

Lilly laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, we have a library. Nobody ever goes there. It'll be perfect to talk."

"Right.." He scratched the back of his neck. "So.. where exactly is it?"

She sighed, but couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Third floor, first door to your right."

"Gotcha. See you at one." He smiled, before standing awkwardly. He went to lean into a kiss, but stopped abruptly. He didn't know what to do, it seemed.

Lilly waved awkwardly. "Yeah, well.. See ya." She turned on her heel, sighing relief as she walked off to her own locker.

Miley stood waiting. She noticed Lilly's contorted facial expression and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What's up with you?" She asked, leaning against her locker.

Lilly sighed while she put in her locker combination. "I just talked to Jake, we're meeting in the library at free period."

Miley's eyes flickered with curiosity. "Really? Are you gonna.. you know?"

"Dump him?" Lilly said blantly, turning to her friend. She shrugged. "I don't know." She turned back to her locker, and took out her books.

Miley nodded. "Right.. well, you have -" She checked her watch. "- four hours to think about it." She smiled and patted her friends back. "Do the right thing."

Lilly furrowed her eyebrows. "The right thing?" She asked, confused as Miley strutted away. "Miley!" She called out, but she just kept walking. Lilly shook her head, and wondered why Miley was acting so weird.

--

Oliver wasn't in school that day, Lilly noticed. She wondered if she had anything to do with it, but stopped herself. She wasn't the center of the world, and Oliver probably had bigger things going on. And then her mind wandered off.. thinking that something bad happened with his mom. What if she came back? What if he went back to San Clemente? For some reason, it hurt for her to think about that.

One o'clock approached, and Lilly headed off towards the library. As she requested, Jake was there. He stood up when he saw her. "Hey." He smiled. "I found it."

"I can see that." She grinned. Just as she expected, no one was there. With the exception of the librarian, of course. She took a seat at one the tables, and Jake sat across from her.

"So.. what do you want to talk about?" Jake asked.

Lilly narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you kidding me?"

He sighed. "No.. sorry. I mean.. well.."

"You seemed like you had a lot to say in your messages." She crossed her arms.

He bit his lip. "Well, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry. What you said before you left.. that I only said.. you know.. so that we could.. you know.."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know."

"Right." He blushed. "Anyways.. I meant what I said. Really."

Now was her chance. She could tell him that she didn't mean what she said. She could break it off, before it became more complicated. She took a deep breath, "Jake, I -"

"Oh my God, are you two back together?"

Lilly inwardly groaned when she saw who entered the library. "Jacqueline, not now.."

"We never weren't together." Jake defended. He sounded a bit annoyed.

"Huh? Oh." Her face flushed. "I thought.. never mind. Sorry." She bit her lip and shrugged, before heading over to the history section.

Lilly raised her eyebrows. "You're staying here? On free period?" She asked disbelievingly.

Jacqueline froze, while holding a book in her hands. "Yeah.. well, I need this book for history class. There's a quiz on the first two chapters, which I have yet to read." She sighed dramatically, and pulled out a chair on the table next to Lilly and Jake's.

Lilly could feel the heat rising in her face. She had to control herself from yelling at Jacqueline to get the hell out.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else." Jake suggested, his tone of voice showing that he felt the same way Lilly did.

Lilly nodded. "Agreed."

They both grabbed their belongings, while Jacqueline eyes them suspiciously. Lilly gave her an unconvincing smile and departed from the library. She sighed relief as she walked down the empty hallway.

"Now where do we go?" Jake asked.

She thought for a moment. "Um.."

"Ah, Ms. Truscott." Her white-haired, quirky Trig teacher approached them. "Just the girl I wanted to see."

She wanted to slap someone. Why was it so hard to just talk? This was supposed to be her free period! She mustered a smile. "Yes, Mr. Fuller?"

"Come with me. This is a more -" His gaze shifted from Lilly to Jake. "- private matter."

Jake looked frustrated, but knew better then to go against a teacher. Lilly shot him a sorrowful gaze before walking with Mr. Fuller to his classroom. "What's this about?" She asked, trying hard to cover up how annoyed she was feeling at the time.

He didn't look at her, just continued to shuffle through his papers. "Ms. Truscott, did you know that you're failing my class?"

Lilly's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" She screeched. "That's impossible.. I've never -"

"- failed anything in your life, I know." He finished the sentence for her. She was speechless. "I checked up on your files. I'm a bit surprised, I have to say. I was told by your Geometry teacher that you were best in the class last year."

"I was.." She squeaked out, still in shock. "How.. What.." She stuttered. "I didn't even notice!"

Finally, he looked up at her. "Is there anything going on in your life right now that might have distracted you? Junior year is tough year, and I know the stress can get to you. I hope your not doing any bad things to help get rid of it."

"Bad things?" Lilly raised her eyebrows. "I'm not doing anything bad, Mr. Fuller, if that's what you think."

"Good. I'm glad." He stacked his papers neatly onto his desk and pointed outside, to where Jake was waiting. "Boyfriend, eh?" Lilly nodded. "Maybe that's it. I know being young, that's all you really worry about.. but, that's not the most important thing in the world."

"I know that." Lilly said, a little too harshly.

Mr. Fuller blinked, looking a little taken-a-back. He cleared his throat. "Anyways, I want to assign you a tutor."

She laughed bitterly. "A tutor? I don't think so."

He peered at her through the tops of his glasses. "It's not your decision, Ms. Truscott. Now, I have three excellent students who would perfect to help you catch up."

Lilly, on the inside, was having a panic attack. A tutor? She has never, ever, needed help in any school subject before. Stupid Jake and stupid Oliver with their stupid drama. She sighed. It was all there fault, they shouldn't distracted her like that.

"Ashley Sullivan could be a great help." Mr. Fuller continued on.

Lilly crossed her arms. If she had Ashley Sullivan as a tutor, the entire school would know. "And the other choices?"

"Oh. Yes. Well, I understand you're good friends with Oliver Oken, am I correct?"

Suddenly, her mouth became very dry. Her mind was screaming no! and she was so close to breaking down. "I guess.." She said quietly, through gritted teeth.

Mr. Fuller smiled. "Thought so. Which is exactly why I'd rather you with Ashley."

At this rate, she'd rather have to suffer through being tutored by Oliver then Ashley. Atleast he wouldn't spread it around school. "Wait." Revelation hit her. "Didn't you say there were three kids?"

He nodded. "Oh, right. Mr. Denn. One of the brightest students I have. I'm not sure if you know him, he's in my other class."

Denn. Where did she know that name from? And then it hit her: Kyle. She perked up instantly. "No, sir. I don't know him."

"You don't?" He looked suspicious. "Well, he is one of my more quiet students.." He glanced at Lilly. "Unlike yourself."

Lilly let that one go, and mustered a smile. "So, this Denn kid. He's my tutor?"

He nodded. "I'll have to ask him first, of course. If he's not willing, then Ashley it is."

"Fine." She agreed. All she had to do was talk to Kyle. She knew he would agree. "Thank you, Mr. Fuller." She said, as she walked out of the classroom. She didn't mean it.

Jake stood, waiting. "What was that about?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just have to make-up an exam, that's all."

"Oh." He was so gullible. "Anyways, what were you saying?"

"I think - "

Brrrrrring.

She swore in her head, as the end of the period bell went off. Could anything go her way? She groaned.

Jake sighed. "This is stupid." He shook his head. "We're cool now, right?"

She bit her lip. "Uh.. right."

He grinned, and pecked her on the lips. "Awesome. See? Took no time at all. Later!" He waved, as he walked off to his last class.

--

Yeah.. Lilly's sort of a mess right now.

Review? :)

Love,

steph