A/N – Hello everyone! I am really excited about this chapter! It was so much fun to write and I think everyone will love it! Thanks to everyone who is reading! Especially those of you who review! Reading all the comments is so encouraging, so please just drop a few words after reading! I will love you for it! Okay, on to the story!

Chapter 9 – Giving In

Georgie knocked on Lulu's door and waited impatiently for Lulu to answer. Lulu hadn't taken any of Georgie's calls since the movie set up and Georgie was feeling horrible. She didn't mean to upset Lulu, but she had to do something to make her friend see what was right in front of her face.

"What?" Lulu yelled, opening her door.

"I'm sorry," Georgie offered but Lulu scoffed.

"I heard you in your first one hundred messages," Lulu said. "It doesn't change what you did."

"I know," Georgie replied. "I thought if you just spent time with Johnny you would see he wasn't such a bad guy."

"How do you know?" Lulu asked. "How do you know he's not a bad guy? You told me you don't know him very well."

"You're right," Georgie conceded. "But I've talked to Matt a lot since you've been back in town. He keeps telling me how much Johnny cares about you and I know you care about him. If you both care about each other you should be together."

"Do you want to come in?" Lulu wondered and Georgie nodded. "I've never felt anything as hurtful as what happened with Johnny. It's too much of a risk to go there again."

"Answer me one question," Georgie requested. "Have you felt anything as wonderful as what happened with Johnny?"

"No," Lulu admitted slowly.

"Okay," Georgie nodded. "Isn't it too much of a risk to give up the possibility of all that happiness?"

"I don't know anymore," Lulu answered. "I just want things to be simple. Is that too much to ask?"

"If love was simple, it wouldn't be worth it," Georgie responded.

"But it would be less confusing," Lulu argued.

"I'm not saying you should just forgive him," Georgie replied. "I'm saying stop being so hard on him. Maybe allow yourself to get along with him."

"He is pretty relentless," Lulu observed.

"And what do you think of how relentless he is?" Georgie prodded.

"It's kind of cute," Lulu sighed.

"Cute?" Georgie asked.

"Okay," Lulu admitted. "It's sexy just like everything he does."

"You should tell him that," Georgie suggested.

"No way," Lulu laughed. "Although his smirk is sexy too, I don't need to see it all the time. If I admitted to him I thought he was sexy, I would never hear the end of it."

"So are you willing to spend more time with him?" Georgie wondered.

"I'm willing to let things happen the way they are meant to," Lulu answered.

"That's all I ask," Georgie smiled.

Her smile was one of victory. Lulu was willing to let fate take the reigns and Georgie had another great idea on how to push fate along.

"So are we friends again?" Georgie asked.

"Of course," Lulu replied.

"Great," Georgie responded. "Because my place needs painting in the worst way and one more brush would do wonders."

"I'd love to help you," Lulu offered.

"I'd love for you to help me," Georgie said with a smile.

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Johnny didn't know if it was a good idea to accept the invitation to help Georgie paint her place after the movie incident. He didn't want to upset Lulu, but he wanted to see her and hopefully get some time alone with her again. Matt had come too and he knocked on the door at seven just as they had been instructed.

"Hey," Georgie greeted. "Come on in. We're ready to get started."

"Great," Matt smiled.

Johnny followed Matt in the door and his eyes immediately locked on Lulu. She looked beautiful. She was wearing an old t-shirt and shorts that showed off her beautiful legs. She caught him staring at her and smirked. He blushed slightly, but didn't look away.

"Okay," Georgie said brightly. "Lulu and I already taped everything, so all that we need to do is paint. I'm not looking for any fancy textures, so it should be simple."

"Let's get started," Johnny suggested.

Johnny grabbed two brushes and went to stand beside Lulu. He handed her a brush and smiled at her. She dipped the brush in the paint and turned to the wall to get started. He laughed under his breath and painted beside her. They continued painting silently for awhile until Georgie finally broke the silence.

"I am so thirsty," Georgie complained. "I don't think I have anything though."

"I think we could use a break," Matt noted. "Why don't we all go get something?"

"There's no need for everyone to go," Lulu argued. "Two people could get four drinks."

"You're right," Georgie agreed. "I'm buying so I have to go. And no offense, but I barely know you guys. I'm not leaving you two alone here, so that rules out Lulu."

"Johnny could go with you," Lulu offered, smirking at Johnny.

"No way," Matt cut in. "I drove here and I'm not letting him drive my car."

"You can just take Georgie's car," Lulu reasoned.

"Or you can stop fighting it," Georgie countered. "Matt and I will be back in about twenty minutes. Play nice."

Johnny laughed as Georgie and Matt left. He hated that Lulu still didn't want to be alone with him, but he found it amusing because he knew she didn't want to be alone with him because she didn't trust herself.

"I guess we should get to painting," Lulu said softly.

"Why are you so afraid to be alone with me?" Johnny wondered.

"I'm not," Lulu replied.

"Really?" Johnny prodded. "It seemed to me that you were pretty desperate to keep it from happening. I would be offended, but I know the answer to my question."

"And what is that?" Lulu asked.

"You're worried that if we're alone together, you won't be able to stop yourself," Johnny smirked, walking closer to her. "Admit it, Lulu. You're having a really hard time believing your own lies that there is nothing between us. With every second that passes, you want to give in and tell me that you want me like I want you."

"You're right," Lulu admitted, closing the distance between them and taking Johnny off guard. "I want to kiss you...right...now."

Johnny smiled and leaned closer to her. She closed her eyes and he did the same. Just as he was expecting to feel the softness of Lulu's lips, he felt something cold and wet come into contact with his cheek. He opened his eyes to see Lulu smiling triumphantly with her paint brush in hand.

"You really shouldn't have done that," Johnny muttered.

"Why?" Lulu asked. "You don't appreciate it when your ego gets bruised?"

"That's not it," Johnny shook his head. "I just don't think you will appreciate it when I retaliate."

"You wouldn't," Lulu said slowly.

"Why wouldn't I?" Johnny smirked.

"You should never go against a Spencer in anything," Lulu warned.

"You started this," Johnny laughed. "I'll finish it."

With those words, Johnny brought his brush to Lulu's face and smeared the paint down her forehead, over her nose, skipped her lips, but dotted her chin. Lulu's mouth opened in horror and she dipped her brush and spread paint across his face. The paint began to fly wildly as both Johnny and Lulu retaliated against each other. After five minutes of all out war, Johnny took Lulu's brush and cornered her with both brushes.

"Surrender?" Johnny asked.

"I have paint everywhere," Lulu pointed out. "What's a little more?"

"You're right," Johnny breathed, setting the brushes off to the side. "I don't want to get any more paint on your beautiful face."

"What do you want?" Lulu wondered.

"I can admit it," Johnny whispered. "I want to kiss you."

"No one's stopping you," Lulu smiled.

Johnny leaned close to Lulu and she held still. He looked into her eyes and found the passion he remembered from their first night together staring back at him. Her breathing was growing shallow as Johnny slowly inched closer to her lips. Just as his lips grazed hers, the door opened and Johnny and Lulu jumped away from each other.

"What the hell happened here?" Georgie demanded, taking notice of the paint that covered both Johnny and Lulu. "I'm going to have to buy more paint."

"Lulu started it," Johnny laughed.

"And you were completely innocent?" Lulu asked.

"Never," Johnny smirked and Lulu blushed.

"Do you two want us to leave again?" Matt wondered with a smirk of his own.

"That won't be necessary," Lulu smiled, finally tearing her gaze from Johnny's. "But maybe we can finish tomorrow. I'm a mess and I want to clean up."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Johnny agreed.

"So you two want to ditch me because you got into a paint fight with each other and as a result got dirty?" Georgie questioned and Johnny and Lulu nodded. "Just checking. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. But no more paint fights."

"I promise," Johnny smiled. "As long as Lulu does."

"I do," Lulu agreed. "See you tomorrow."

Georgie watched Lulu leave and smirked at Johnny. He rolled his eyes and followed Lulu out the door. Georgie turned to Matt and they both burst into laughter.

"Did you see how flustered they were when we came in here?" Matt said between laughs.

"I'm glad we got back when we did," Georgie giggled. "I'm scared to think what would have happened in my apartment if we had gotten here five minutes later."

"I bet Johnny will want to kill me for us walking in when we did," Matt replied.

"At least they're finally giving in to each other," Georgie sighed. "We had to work pretty hard."

"I didn't mind so much," Matt smiled. "I like plotting with you."

"I like plotting with you too," Georgie agreed.

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Johnny hurried out of the building to catch up to Lulu. He found her leaning against her car, obviously waiting for him to come. He offered her a smile and she blushed slightly. He couldn't help but love the effect he had on her.

"Hey," Johnny said softly.

"Hi," Lulu muttered. "About what happened in the apartment..."

"I'm not going to forget it," Johnny interrupted. "Don't ask me to."

"I wasn't going to," Lulu replied. "I was going to ask you what it meant."

"What it meant to me?" Johnny asked and Lulu nodded. "It meant a lot. I liked being in the moment with you. I wish I had really gotten to kiss you, but I'm hoping that wasn't the last chance I had."

"It wasn't," Lulu whispered. "As much as I've tried to make myself hate you, I can't do it. I'm tired of trying."

"I know that I hurt you," Johnny started, but Lulu cut him off.

"It's in the past," Lulu assured him. "You've proven that you aren't the horrible guy I thought you were. I would rather just go forward."

"Do you mean that?" Johnny wondered.

"Yes," Lulu nodded.

"I'm really glad," Johnny smiled. "So, in the spirit of moving forward, would you like to go with me to the gala at the Metro Court on Saturday night?"

"I would love to," Lulu answered.

"Great," Johnny responded.

"Wow, a gala," Lulu laughed. "Do I have to wear a fancy dress?"

"I think you're supposed to," Johnny replied. "But I don't care what you wear, as long as you're with me."

Johnny watched Lulu blush again and he smiled. He brought his hand to her face and traced the paint that was still there. She laughed lightly and he laughed because she was laughing.

"What are you waiting for?" Lulu smirked. "I thought you wanted to kiss me."

It was Johnny's turn to blush at Lulu's boldness, but he quickly recovered. He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. His lips were gentle, but passionate and she returned his kiss with everything she had. Her hands came to his chest and she softly pushed him away. She smiled coyly at him and he smirked.

"That's enough, Zacchara," Lulu giggled. "I would hate for you to think I'm easy."

"Trust me," Johnny quipped. "After the last few weeks I know you're anything but easy."

"I like to think I'm worth the wait," Lulu said.

"I'd wait forever for you," Johnny promised.

"I better go," Lulu noted. "The longer I'm covered in this paint, the harder it will be to get it off. And I have a date on Saturday that requires me to look my best."

"Covered in paint or not, your date will be the luckiest man on earth," Johnny responded. "Goodnight."

"Night," Lulu said, getting in her car.

Johnny watched her drive away on cloud nine. He had wanted her for so long and it was finally going to happen. He was finally getting a chance to be with the woman he loved. He was lost in dreamland when Matt tapped him on the shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that?" Johnny demanded.

"You're lucky it was me and not an enemy or something," Matt laughed. "So it obviously went well. What happened?"

"We talked," Johnny answered. "She told me she was going to stop fighting her feelings for me."

"Finally," Matt sighed. "I'm tired of forcing you two together."

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy spending all that time with Georgie," Johnny smirked. "I saw you looking at her."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Matt shook his head.

"I have no problem with you dating Georgie as long as you don't do anything to compromise Lulu and me," Johnny replied. "Maybe you could take her to the gala this weekend."

"Are you taking Lulu?" Matt wondered and Johnny nodded. "I don't know. I'm not a gala kind of guy."

"Well, we'll save your place at our table," Johnny offered.

"I'm happy for you, Johnny," Matt smiled. "I know how much you love her."

Johnny offered his friend a smile. He did love Lulu. He loved her more than anything and he was so relieved to finally start the relationship he envisioned with her all those months ago when he found her note in Las Vegas.