Our Secret...

Part One:

"The First Day"

It was the first day of junior year, and Lilly was at her vanity getting ready. She didn't like leaving the house without makeup on so she did her usual glowy makeup and then got up and got dressed into a dress and a little white sweater. 

She had already brushed her teeth and such so she went downstairs and saw her mom, brother and his best friend in the kitchen. 

Liam smiled over to her "Good morning Lilly, ready for ur junior year"

Lilly had looked over to him and smiled a bit "morning, and I don't know.. I'm kinda ready for high school to just be over already"

Jackson smiled "You still got a whole two years" he says and laughs a little 

She nods "Great" 

"You'll do great, you always do" her brother reassured her

Lilly sighs "It was easier when dad was here" she says and grabs her bag and walks out the door, trying to keep her tears back 

Jackson looks at him "I thought she was doing better with the whole death thing, is she alright?"

Liam shrugs "I thought she was doing better too, I don't know whats wrong with her this morning"

He nodded before grabbing his own bag as well and started walking to the door

They soon all arrived to school, Lilly just got out quietly and walks to her group of friends and started talking to them which eventually made her feel better. Liam and Jackson walked in too and they went to their homeroom after catching up with the team for a couple of minutes 

Jackson stayed quiet for a few minutes he couldn't help but worry about Lilly, he hadn't seen her this upset since her father's funeral a few months ago. As Jackson sat in homeroom, his thoughts kept drifting back to Lilly. He replayed their interactions from earlier that morning, noticing how subdued she had been. Her usually bright spirit seemed overshadowed by something deeper.He remembered the day of Lilly's father's funeral vividly—the shared sorrow, and then just sticking together the whole day. All three of them were together. 

Their father was like a father figure to him, their dad knew about everything Jacksons parents put him through, and he spent a lot of time at the pierce's house. Seeing Lilly like this again genuinely concerned him. During a break between their classes Jackson pulled his phone out and pulled up Lillys contact and opened their messages -Hey Lilly, I noticed you seemed a bit off today. Just wanted to check in and see how you're doing. If you need to talk or anything, I'm here.-

His fingers hovered over the screen of his phone going back and forth in his mind if he should actually send the message to her. He knew Lilly liked her privacy when it came to feelings, especially when she is upset.He just wanted her to know he was there for her.

He eventually sent the message to her and was half expecting her to reply, he then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Liam "Yeah?"

Liam chuckled "You look serious over there, everything okay?"

Jackson shut his phone off and nods "Oh yeah everything is great" he says and turns his attention to the lesson, but in his mind it was all Lilly.

Lunchtime had finally arrived, and Jackson made his way to the cafeteria, his mind preoccupied with the conversation he needed to have with the coach. As he entered the bustling room, he immediately started scanning the tables for Lilly. Spotting her sitting alone, his heart sank a little, confirming his worries. He grabbed a tray of food and walked over to her table, taking a seat next to her. "Hey, Lilly," he said softly, his voice filled with concern. "How are you holding up?"