Hey there.

This is a one-shot. In case ya hadn't already guessed.

It's short, fluffy and, quite frankly, over dramatic. I haven't edited it, so I have no doubt there will be some bad usage to words and I've picked up this crazy bad habit recently of going to type something like 'still' and writing 'steal'. It's because I'm dim. But anyway, I apologise for that.

I will edit it in the morning. I know I'll wake up tomorrow, read this and go "What the hell was I thinking?!" but for now, 'tis alright.

I'm pretty damn sleepy and my light has broken. GRRR.

None of my friends know I write so I also don't get my stuff checked so I don't know if it's any good.

Please read and review.

Love alllllllll around.

Read on.

Second Only.

Lilly and her best friend, Jake, sat in an old fashioned room, curtains closed, lights not working and silence looming. Rain pattered against the roof and window panes heavily. It was a strange and foreign situation for the two but after recent (and by recent, we're talking 30 or so minutes before they entered the room.) it was clear something needed to be said.

Lilly known Jake for a long time and knew him pretty well, and one of the ways she could constantly prove this (too herself) was by reading him. His behavior. It was an art. A hundred of the girls at school wished they knew Jake as well as she did. She liked to think they never would. She was slightly proud of it.

Right now, as Jake picked at the end of his already messy jeans, almost violently, his brow creased, mouth twitching now and then as if at any moment he would explode with speech. He was angry. But she already knew that. Hell, every single person who had been at the party did.

"I'm scared" Lilly whimpered into the darkness, the thunder crashed outside and the entire room seemed to vibrate with the shear strength of the storm. They were still inside the house that had been hired by the person who had hosted the party, Casey or Katy or Kelly, some rich bimbo probably in love with Jake, hoping for a chance. The house was big and old and creaky (perfect for a Halloween party.), not at all in contrast with the large blue pool and outdoor tiki bar that been the centre of the house party.

"No you're not," Jake said, staring with his your-in-so-much-trouble face. It was rather handsome. She then mentally slapped herself.

She seemed to consider his statement for a moment, her face no long scared in the least and her back straightened and she sighed. "You're right. I'm not. But can I have a hug anyway?"

Usually the wide eyed trick worked on him.

"No." He said bluntly. He was sitting with his back against the wall where as Lilly rested against the end of the bed, a good five feet a part. There was a reason for that.

It was silent again for a few minutes.

"Please?!" She whined, flashing him the puppy dog eyes (not quite as effective when your dressed as a dead Dorothy.) There was more thunder and Lilly really did jump.

"No." His head snapped up. She had unleashed the beast. Lilly had a sudden urge to run for cover. "Seriously Lil', how the fuck could you do that?" Now his eyes really were blazing. Funny, she didn't think he'd get much angrier than he had been only half an hour ago. He really was handsome, she noticed again. Mind slap.

"I didn't mean too!" She gushed.

"No, of course you didn't. You just kissed him by accident."

"Hey mister, HE was the one who kissed me!" She point at herself and raising her eye brows dramatically, remembering back to the blond haired superman she'd been dancing with at the party.

He copied her with the eye brows, clearly mocking the fact that she seemed to be annoyed with him. She had no right, in his mind. "You didn't exactly push him away!" And there was the explosion. Like fireworks, Lilly mused, Without the pretty lights. So basically just a bang.

"I was a little tipsy, and I did stop kissing him..." She looked down at her bright red high heels, they weren't on her feet anymore. She'd had difficulty enough walking in them in the first place but when you added alcohol and following a fuming best friend when he walks 5 times as fast as you, and it had suddenly become rather pointless and so she had kicked them off her feet, collected them and then hurried after Jake.

"When exactly?!"

"When you punched him..." She trailed off, and then even quieter; "Poor sod."

"Poor sod?! He was kissing you!"

Too be fair, she had been dressed rather provocatively, her blue checked dress, trimmed with lace did not even reach mid thigh, the blue stopped below her bust and was replaced with a white material which, quite frankly, made her boobs look bigger (they hadn't been small before (Well, maybe a little.) but they were no where near as big as the bimbos she sometimes saw Jake kiss.) it had cute puffy sleeves in a blue that match that of the bows in her brown and red hair (dyed... badly.) With her entire outfit she'd worn long white stockings, something that according to the kisser guy (Ethan, Edward, Emery?) was rather sexy (She'd been drunkenly pleased, until Jake had gone all brother on her arse.)

"Really?! I hadn't noticed." She dead panned.

"Don't use that sarcasm with me!" She half expected him to finish that sentence with "Young lady." but he didn't.

"I just kissed a guy. You punched him."

"Yeah... well..." He sputtered, "He was one of my friends."

"You met him three days ago. I was there."

"So what, I punched him. What exactly did you think I would do?"

"I don't know, maybe a "Hey, Lilly you amazing beast of a wonderful best friend." She played herself up a little, "There's a guy on your face." might have been an itsy bit better."

"Would that have worked?"

"Yeahhhh..." She lied. "Okay, no. But you didn't need to punch him! God, I'm not a little kid Jay, I'm one year younger then you, it might have been okay to boss me around when I was five, but I'm not anymore. I don't need you to be like my.. my.. damn brother!"

An unreadable emotion flashed across his face."Why in hell would I want to be your brother? Your so bloody clueless." Naturally, Lilly took that as an insult and looked away, bottom lip trembling. It annoyed her that everything Jake did seemed to effect her so much. He could reduce her to tears with only a few words.

Jake sighed and rested his head in his hands, "Don't cry Lils" His voice was muffled by his jeans. His beautiful face looked tired. Good but tired. His shaggy brown hair had green face paint in it but still looked pretty damn nice. He had a strong jaw line (stubbornly set) and deep green eyes. It was hardly Lilly's fault that she cared so much. He had made it this way with his long intelligent words and cute expressions. Damn him.

He even managed to look good today and he had come as a, rather unconvincing zombie, ("Doesn't matter. I still look hot." Lilly had mentally agreed and 'Hmphed' out loud.) but his make up was smudged and had left a strange print on his jeans. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." She whimpered, for real this time. Silence again.

He sighed in defeat."You still up for that hug?"

She nodded quickly, childishly even. Even if it meant her heart speeding up to the point where she feared it might burst, or her tensing up and acting all weird or relaxing too much and forgetting completely that they were only friends, Jake's hugs were like magic.

He looked up and opened his arms to her. Now, happier than before, she crawled towards him, not a smart move in her little dress she realised too late and blushed slightly as she continued her trek to her best friend (Cringe.) Jake's Adams apple bobbed at the view (He was a guy, after all.) and he looked away, blushing too. Now that she thought about it, he had been fairly red in the face most of the evening. He was probably still angry.

She slid into the space next to him and lent against his chest as a strong pair of arms wrapped around her. His chest of hard but warm and she closed her eyes. She didn't see his Adam's apple begin to bob more. She frowned, usually she was the tense one but today, as they hugged awkwardly in a little dark room, so did he. Despite this, she took the opportunity to settle into him and curled up to him into the pain of his previous words numbed.

Clueless?

She was sure he hadn't meant it but the words had been so solid and he'd said brother with such resentment. She thought sometimes she could be a nuisance, countless times she had been told to 'back off' by a jealous girl and it stung to know despite her own feelings and all the years they spent he didn't even feel close enough to consider himself a brother.

She tried to relaxed again, glad that her heart beat he stayed steady enough. They were so close together that he might feel it if it increased too much. She then realised how close, exactly they were and blushed.

Was he so shaken up about punching that guy that he might hug her like this?

Sniff.

Wait, was he smelling her hair?

Now, her heart speed increased and her eyes flew open only to see that he hands were now somehow clinging to his shirt and she wished she had a fruity smelling shampoo rather than jasmine. She suddenly felt like crying again. This entire situation meant an entirely different thing to her than it did to him. She began to pull away, releasing his shirt and pushing gently at his chest, only to find that she couldn't. A pair of toned arms were keeping her firmly in place.

"Jake?" She whispered against his plain white shirt, panicking slightly.

His grip seemed only to tighten. For a moment she thought he might have fallen asleep and was using her as a teddy bear, it wouldn't be the first time, but she knew he snored. She stayed in his arms quietly, completely unsure of what to do.

"Jakey?" She tried again.

And when he spoke his voice was strained.

"Please." He begged quietly, "Please Lilly, just give me a few more minutes."

She was shocked to say the least. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest her her arms were coated in tiny goose bumps. Her mind whired but the only logical explanation she could come up with was that he was sorry for punching the guy.

All too soon, Jake's arms dropped back to his sides and Lilly felt herself move back reluctantly. The atmostphere was heavy was tension.

"Apology accepted." She said with a small uncertain smile, breaking the silence. His looked at her with a strange expression and then stated;

"Apology? For what?"

She was a little taken back and immediately regretted ever saying it. "For punching that guy..." She murmured in a voice as small as she felt. She only managed to make the situation worse. The pair had fought before, infact, they did most of the time, but this time all the harsh words seemed to hang in the air as constant reminders.

"I'm not sorry," He look almost furious again. Lilly shuffled away. "I'm sorry for making you almost cry and I'm sorry for dragging you too this god-awful party but I'll be damnned if I'm sorry about that."

"Oh."

She was confused.

"I'm sorry if you want me to be like a brother." He added, his eyes sad.

"I.. I don't." She whispered before she could stop herself.

"I can't be your brother. It would kill me. When I saw... wait, what?"

"I don't want you to be my brother." She said with false cheeriness, "I mean, your my best friend, why on earth would you be my brother?!" She faulted on the last word, "As if I'm not annoying enough already." She laughed painfully, dread filled her.

"I.. I don't want to be your best friend either." He stuttered, turning bright red. "Lilly, it's been different for a while now, being friends with you is hard."

Suddenly the world fell a part for the brunette/red head. She felt her heart break, no, shatter into a million pieces inside of her and tears well up suddenly in her eyes. He didn't want her. It hurt. She got to her feet and plastered the same fake smile on as before. She was confused and angry and sad. He was reaching for her, trying to speak. So that was what the hug was about - a goodbye.

"Oh, well." This is the bit where you let him explain, the logical side of her brain let her know but her knees felt as though they might give away just at the thought of Jake leaving her after so long. What would she do without him? "Oh, look at the time," She didn't have a watch and even if she did she doubted she'd be away to read it with tears blurring her vision, "I've got to go."

"Lils, let me explain."

He didn't need too. He'd been acting weird for ages now, she'd not wanted to see it. The strange looks, the stiff hugs. Of course he didn't want her. Not as a friend. Not as anything.

"I'm fine. It doesn't matter. You're right. I really am fine." And then fled the room, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

Idiot. Her mind screamed as she ran down the wooden stairs of the house. She wasn't sure if the insult was directed at herself or Jake.

She should have seen this coming. Jake was popular and so bloody pretty and she was her - the half-wit that had just shouted a bunch of useless crap at him and then run from him before he could even say anything. Only a few hours ago her life he been fine.

"LILLY!" She heard his silky voice shout from behind her somewhere and his loud heavy foot steps on the stairs. Blindly, she reached the front door, fumbling with the handle until it finally sprung open and she could run out into the rain.

"LILLY!" She heard again, nearer this time, "LET ME EXPLAIN!"

"You don't need too," She wanted to shout, "Bastard, we've known eachother since we were tiny, I'm allowed to cry."

She felt dizzy, her face paint was running down her face, her costume was sticking to her body, wet, her feet were bare, bar the thin stockings. Not so sexy now, huh?

She felt familiar strong hand grab onto her and she felt she should pull away like in the movies but she was pathetic and cold and so, instead, she folded into her ex-best friend's arms.

"Lilly," He whispered and she cried quietly against him, "I've gone about this all wrong, haven't I?" He laughed humourlessly and tucked her thumb under her chin so she would look at him. He stared at her a few seconds, looking somewhat happy. Lilly hated that, "You really are clueless. And kinda rude."

She punched him on the chest, "Are you trying to apologise or what?" She scowled, confused, still crying and praying he could tell her tears from raindrops.

"Oi, listen to me, pipsqueek!" Raining rain down his face too, ruining the only good part of his costume, "Today I punched that guy."

Lilly felt her upset lessen and her annoyance build. "I know, our faces were touching when it happened."

He flinched, blinking against the rain. They had both forgotten about the weather though.

"And I'm going to do it again."

"Why? He's hardly going to kiss me again after today."

"No. I mean, if someone kisses you. I might punch them. Or kill them. I probably won't be able to help it." He said, half jokingly.

Lilly stared, her tears had stopped and her mind got more muddled with every word he spoke.

"Why?" She said, stunned.

"Because I don't want to be your friend," He smiled softly, "Or your best friend or your shoulder to cry on or your childhood mate. I don't want to be that too you."

Lilly wondered how he could still look so god damn appealing when it was pelting with rain, he had broken her heart and was now talking in riddles.

"Because, I want to be your everything."

Wait, what?

"Uhhhh?" Was the most intelligent thing she could muster, it seemed her entire brain, as small as it was, had gone to mush.

"Wait, did I say it wrong? Oh god." He was flustered, running one nice hand through his hair. "I like you." He said, as if he was just correcting a mistake he'd make in a sentence, "No no, that's wrong too. I love you." She continued to stare at him in total awe, "Oh shit, did I scare you, 'cause I totally didn't mean that If I did. Am I supposed to just ask you too coffee or something? You don't like coffee. Too the movies. Right? Zoo? You love those little monkey things... Man, I just really lik..."

And then Lilly did something she never thought she had the guts to do. She kissed him. Right there, in the rain, dressed as Dorothy, covered in make-up and barefooted.

He froze.

"The movies," She said against his lips, despite the giant mutant butterflies attacking her stomach, "Sounds great."

And then laughed his heavenly laugh and crashed his lips to hers, pulling her until she was pressed to him, goose bumps covered her body and she shivered against him. She laughed against the kiss.

"You really scared me for a moment back there." She whispered.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well now you get to make it up too me. You aint gettin' off easy, mister." She smirked, his lips still hovering a few millimetres away from her own.

"God forbid." He breathed against her skin.

She turned and began to walk back to the house, out of the rain. He trailed hopelessly, dazed, fully aware she would be revenge for the pain he'd caused today. He'd be quite happy if the revenge continued for eternity as long as it was her. He made a mental note to remember to tell her she was the most beautiful drenched zombie he'd ever scene. Though that might earn him a punch. And also tell her that he'd never let her wear a dress like she was tonight around other guys unless he was that and in possession of a baseball bat or stick of some sort but if they were alone, she could feel welcome. He'd definitely get a slap for that.

"Oh yeah, by the way," She called over her shoulder, eye brows raised, cheeks pink underneath the green, "I love you too."

That night was one of the most ridiculous things she'd ever done, second only, to falling in love with her best friend.

and there you go.

told you it was short.

:)

they must have colds, ey?

sucks for them.

REVIEW!

pleaseee.