~*~ Lilliahna ~*~
I woke up the next morning with my clothes from last night still on and I remembered the way I acted. I sighed and got out of bed.
"Mum? Dad?" I called out gently as I opened the door to their room.
"I'm sorry about the way I acted last night. It was immature of me."
They said it was okay and that they needed to talk to me after school. I nodded and headed for the bathroom. It would take a long hot shower and a tonne of make-up for me to look respectable today but thankfully I pulled it off.
I was just ready to leave when I heard a quiet knock on the door. It was Zac.
"Bye Mum, Bye Dad," I called out as I closed the door behind me.
"Zac, I'm sorry about the way I acted last night..." I began but he cut me off.
"Hey it's okay. You were tired and had been through a lot," he said gently. I smiled at him and took his hand.
"I love you Zac," I said.
"I've waited so long to hear that Lilliahna; I love you too."
~*~ Zac ~*~
As we got closer to the school I let go of Lilliahna's hand. She looked at me slightly confused but she didn't say anything. I think she wanted to let the whole world know but I was still unsure where I stood with the guys and wanted to suss that out first.
"Lil, quick, come here," Summer called out as soon as she saw us. Lil went over to her, leaving me alone. Not for long.
"So matey, where's your girlfriend?" Billy asked me.
"With Summer," I said before I realised what I had said.
"So you two are actually together then?" Adam asked. I shrugged.
"I guess," I said unsurely.
"That's awesome, now you can join our gang and be stuck with us guys," Chris added laughing. I smiled.
"Here come our gorgeous buddies." Billy said nodding over my shoulder. I felt arms around my waist and smiled.
"Hi guys," she said.
"Hey Lil," Billy said.
"Just letting you know that we've voted on the whole 'Zac Thing'" commented Adam.
"He's definitely good enough for you. We are not a hundred percent sure on this, but we get the impression that he probably deserves better then you," Chris joked. Lil laughed and hugged me tighter.
The bell went and we headed for class.
~*~ Lilliahna ~*~
Olivia, Summer, Kylie and I all had Art first up, which gave us all a chance to talk. The Art class was quite small, with Stacey, Laura and Amanda being the only other people.
"So Lilliahna, what happened between you and Zac?" asked Kylie.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Well as far as I know you never even liked him. Now you are together." Olivia looked as confused as Kylie did but Summer just smiled.
"You guys call yourselves Lil's best friends and you didn't pick up on how much she liked Zac?" she teased them. I laughed as realisation finally dawned on their faces.
"I guess now that you have said something I can see want you're on about. But I always thought you and Billy would hook up again," Kylie told us.
"Yeah, that was the obvious thing that should happen hey," I said thinking about it.
"So how did the funeral plans go last night," Summer asked me quietly.
"I know you don't want to talk about it Lil but how are you involved? We're your best friends, you can tell us."
"Well, I guess. It's kinda out now anyway hey. Here's how it goes: I finally plucked up the courage to let Zac know that I liked him and everything was going well. I rang him Wednesday night after I'd done my homework to see if we could catch up and he sounded really upset so I went to park 'cause that's where he said he was.
"When I found him he had blood in his hair and a cut that was pretty bad on the back of his head. I tried to get him to go to hospital to be checked but he wouldn't let me.
"You see, after his Mum died 3 months ago his Dad, who was heartbroken, turned to alcohol and became an alcoholic. When he drunk he got violent and Zac must have upset him somehow and anyways his Dad was the reason he was hurt.
"In the end, I walked Zac home and flirted with him heaps. We almost kissed when there was this bang from inside Zac's house. We ran inside and his Dad was on the ground not breathing. Zac called an ambulance while I began CPR on his Dad. By the time the ambulance had arrived he still hadn't started breathing and he was pronounced dead.
"To make things even better Mum banned me from seeing him, which sucked, but there was no way I was going to stop seeing him. Last night after you guys walked us home we just chilled out and did homework, Mum and Dad weren't home. They got home later and found us snuggled up watching a movie and spat it at me.
"Dad said some horrible stuff, not meaning to of course, and upset Zac and I got really annoyed and ran off to find him but then Zac took me home and told my Dad how much he loved me. Then he left. Now Mum and Dad want to talk to me after school. That's 'bout it really," I said.
"OMG Lil. Poor Zac, I had no idea. He doesn't seem all that upset," commented Olivia.
"I know, I mean he's cried a bit but I don't think that it has sunken in very well yet. When it does he's gunna be a mess," I said.
"So, does he have any relatives nearby or is he moving?" Kylie asked me.
"He hasn't got any nearby, the closest are in Adelaide. He doesn't know what he's gunna do yet and honestly I think that that particular problem is the last thing on his mind."
"So the reason he never hung around with people was because he was always caring for his Mum in his spare time and then she died and his Dad became an alcoholic so he cared for him and then his Dad died?" Summer asked me. I nodded.
"Well now he can be part of our little family." Kylie and Olivia agreed and the guys kinda said this morning that they were happy for Zac to hang with us. I guess it would all work out ok.
~*~ Zac ~*~
This was the only class Adam, Billy, Chris and I were all in. What subject? Physical Education, of course.
Until now the teams were even, those guys had Chad with them too and I went with the 'others' or the unpopular people of our grade but not anymore, Chad had left and I was now him, in a sense.
"Zac, buddy, can you answer a question for me?" Billy asked as Adam and Chris went and set up the field for a quick game of soccer.
"Uh, yeah I guess. What is on your mind?" I asked him.
"Well, as you know Lil and I had something a long time ago but I never got a chance to even kiss her while we were an item, I was wondering if she was any good? I know this sounds really rude but..."
"Hey Billy, it's ok, I understand. She is the most awesome kisser in the universe. How's that? She turns me on so fast," then I stopped coz Billy was looking upset.
"You're not over her yet are you?" I asked him. He shook his head.
"Don't worry Zac, I'm not gunna do anything to try and get her away from you, you two are a great couple. It's just that I've tried to get over her but haven't managed too."
"That's okay Billy, I trust you. I'm sorry," I said.
"Thanks for not getting all shitty at me mate; I just felt that I needed to be honest with you."
"I appreciate it," I said as Mr Jamo called us together. Poor Billy, I knew what it was like to have strong feelings for someone and those feelings weren't returned.
~*~ Lilliahna ~*~
At lunch Zac and the guys were already at our spot on the edge of the oval kicking the footy and tackling each other. Every time I saw him I was so glad that he was mine.
"Lil," he called out as he saw me and jogged over to us.
