Diffrent Now

Chapter Eight - Day with Oliver

The rest of the day was spent training and talking. When they all got home everyone's body ached but Lily still felt more awake and alive then she had for the past three years. It was a strange feeling of exhaustion and pure excitement. Lily loved it, the feeling of pure happiness flowing through her, her tense mussels aching yet feeling more refreshed then ever. Lily had missed the feeling. 

"Right I'd better turn in. Tomorrow we have babysitting to do." Lily smirked, deciding to only mention now how she had promised to look after Oliver for the day. 

"Ok - wait what?" Ace questions, his mind taking a second to fully process her words. 

"I promised Lyla, she works so hard and her mum is hardly ever around so she practically has to raise Ollie alone." Lily pouts, exaggerating the truth slightly. It wasn't quite that bad but it wasn't far from the truth. "Since I planned on taking you guys to a theme park tomorrow I decided what harm could it do taking Ollie with us?" 

"Fine." Ace groans. 

"I can't wait! I love kids!" April exclaims, showing signs of still having far too much energy after five hours of training. 

"Night guys." Lily giggles, walking up to her room and snuggling into her bed, sleep soon consuming her. 

-----9am the next morning-----

Lily had dragged herself out of bed an hour ago. Lyla starts her shift in an hour so Lily starts to wake everyone up. By everyone she means Duke and Jack. Lily's small body slightly ached from yesterday's long training session but Lily liked the sensation and it would only push her to work harder next time. 

"DJ!" Lily yells, right next to his ear, causing him to jump up and almost knock her over in the process. "Worth it." Lily smiles to herself while Duke composes himself, giving her a death glare. Lily goes and repeats the process with Jack who actually knocks her over this time. "Not so worth it." Lily mumbles to herself, watching Jack's confused look turn to one of joy before he starts laughing. 

"That backfired." Jack manages to spit out through his laughter. 

"Shut up jackass we leave in 40 minutes." Lily pouts, clearly faking her anger. 

"Yes sir." Jack salutes walking off to take a shower. Lily chuckles and skips downstairs to talk to the others. 

Half an hour later both boys were downstairs and dressed, Lily laughs at how long it takes the two to get ready but she wouldn't expect any different. Ten minutes later they all climb into the mini van and driving to Lily's bakery. The ride is full of chatter and laughter, Ethan is nervous for later, a bundle of nerves that he pushes down until the time is right. Ace is sat as close as he can to Lily, he hated being away from her and now that he finally can, he won't let her out of his sight. The two stare each other down, protectively watching over Lily waiting to make their moves. But who will make it first? 

The mini van stops and everyone jumps up, piling into the bakery where Abby is stood behind the counter, her mouth drops open when she sees the group chatting and laughing with Lily. 

"Wow Lilz, when you said you had some friends visiting. You never mentioned how hot they are." Abby chuckled, Lily rolled her eyes but smiled and started introducing everyone. 

"Well you know Ethan, then there's my brother Daniel with his girlfriend April who is also my best friend. Then there's Ace, Jack, Duke, Lex and his boyfriend Alex." Lily finishes, making sure to point at the right people. 

"So Ethan, your still single right?" Abby questions, Lily rolls her eyes but lets her continue flirting while Lily goes back to her conversation with the others while waiting for Lyla. Soon Lyla arrives, five minutes early for her shift with Oliver close behind. 

"Hey Lil." Lyla smiles. "Are you sure you still wanna take him? Pl-" Lyla is stopped by Lily who shakes her head. 

"Lyla stop, I've told you before don't worry. I want to." Lily smiles. "Me and Ollie have fun don't we?" 

"Yes!" the small boy exclaims, jumping up into Lily's arms. Despite the fact that Oliver is a young boy who Lily would obviously never have any romantic feelings jealousy swirls inside Ace, all he wanted to do was spend some time with Lily who he fought so hard to prove was alive but instead he was over shadowed by his friends and now this little boy. 

"Guys this is Ollie." Lily smiles, directing her head to point at Oliver. 

"Are you Lilz are they your friends?" Oliver innocently questions. 

"Awe he's so cute!" April squeals.

"Yes these are my friends Ollie." Lily smiles, putting Oliver down, " Now go get your bag from your sister and we can go. And you," Lily says now looking up at Lyla. "Go home, James will be hear to cover your shift." James is someone that works in her studio but due to needing the money and the studio being closed for a while James agreed to also work here. 

"Lil..." Lyla goes to protest once more. 

"No Lyla. You need this. Now go home I'll drop him home at 4." 

"Okay, thanks Lil." Lyla smiles, passing Oliver his bag and bending down to his height. "Be good for Lily okay Ollie?" Oliver excitedly nods and skips over to Lily's side. 

After saying their goodbyes everyone piles back into the mini van and Ethan drives them to a theme park near by. Oliver excitedly chats the whole way, everyone joining in and chatting with him. Ace bites his lip, watching how cute Lily looked while looking after Oliver and how he wished that was their kid. Maybe one day it would be if Ethan didn't beat him to winning her over. 

They eventually arrive, Oliver stays glued to Lily's side for the first hour or so before he becomes comfortable enough with everyone else to talk to them all. It's another half an hour before Ethan works up the courage to talk to Lily. 

"Lil, can I talk to you for a sec?" Ethan asks, his voice feeling weak and coming out softer then usual. 

"Yes of course Eth, April can you look after Ollie for me?" Lily requests, April excitedly nods, expecting what is about to happen. 

"Come on Olz." April giggles, skipping off to the next ride while disappointment fills Ace and he walks after them, sending one last longing look to Lily who of course doesn't notice. 

"So what's up Eth?" Lily asked, worry filling her features when he hesitates before answering.

"Well Lil when you came into my life I was going through a hard time. You really helped me through it. Being the only one to have face to face contact with you, I know this makes me selfish but I loved it. For the last three years I have seen how amazing you are. Your smart and talented and loving. You've been hurt so many times in the past I just want to protect you from it all. Can you please give me a chance and go on one date with me, please?" Ethan speaks, his rant leaving Lily speechless. "You don-" 

"Yes." Lily agrees, apart of her always wanting this to happen although half of her heart still longing for Ace. But she knew that couldn't happen so instead she ignored it. "I'd love to." Lily smiles, placing a kiss on Ethan's cheek. "Now let's go find the others, Ollie has to be home soon." Lily smiles, grabbing Ethan's hand and walking to find where her friends had wondered off to.