Payback [ON HOLD]

Chapter 2

"Lillian, at least talk to me," Timothy pleaded desperately. "Don't I at least deserve that much?"

At this, Lilly whirled around to face him. "You don't deserve anything from me or my friends after what you did."

A few students who were also almost late for lunch stopped to stare at Lillian's outburst, but when she glared at them they quickly moved along.

"That's just it," Timothy told her. "I don't understand what I did that was so wrong!"

"What?" Dakota practically spat from beside Lilly. "You seriously don't understand what's wrong with breaking an amazing girl's heart to be with her friend?"

"It's not like that," Timothy protested. "And even if it was, I don't see why you'd stop talking to me," he said, directing this part to Lilly.

"You've got to be kidding me," Lillian mumbled to herself. Then, voice at normal volume again for Timothy, "Fine. If you want me to talk to you, I'll say this: I can't be your friend anymore."

For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Then, finally, Timothy said, "I guess I kind of deserved that. But c'mon, Lill-"

"Don't call me that," Lillian snapped. Lill had been Timothy's nickname for her while they were friends, and while they were more than friends. Since they were currently neither, he had absolutely no right to call her that.

Timothy was silent—obviously in deep thought—for a moment before he said, "I'm looking like a huge jerk right now. But I enjoy taking to you, Lilly. If we can't be friends anymore, I..." He swallowed hard. "I'd miss you."

Dakota rolled her eyes and grabbed Lillian's hand, dragging her toward the cafeteria. "C'mon Lilly, he's not worth it."

She let her best friend guide her away, mostly trusting her judgement, but as she stole a glance back at Timothy walking a few yards behind them for lunch, she felt a pang of guilt. But when they reached their table, the guilt evaporated.

"Hey Grace," Lilly mumbled awkwardly, trying to smile at her friend but failing.

The others who sat with them—Lilly's great friends Jessica, Ria, and Maddie—stayed silent until Jessica whispered with a laugh, "MOOSEN. I SAW A FLOCK OF MOOSEN."

All the girls laughed. The joke was from a video they'd all seen on YouTube. The version they preferred was a Wings of Fire rendition, called something like "Wings of Fire Plurals."

"Thank you for that lovely bit of humor, Jess," Lilly said with a laugh as she and Dakota took their seats. Lillian sat between Maddie, and Dakota.

Maddie threw her arms around Lilly. "I'm so, so happy to see you!" I mean, France was amazing," she said, referring to her recent vacation to the lovely European country, "but I missed you guys too much!"

"Yeah," Jessica said with a grin as she got in on the hug. "You're never allowed to leave us ever again!"

Someone tapped on Lilly's shoulder then. A very familiar voice said, "Can I get in on this? Or have you forgotten about me after a year?"

All eyes swiveled to the speaker.

"Sophia," Jessica whispered hoarsely, tears already trickling down her cheeks at the sight of her long-lost soul sister. All the girls dragged Sophia into a tight embrace. No way were they ever letting her go again.

Dakota lifted her head from the group hug and said, "Sophia, how are you HERE? You moved!"

Sophia laughed. "The new area we moved to was just for my dad's new job, as you know. Turns out it was a horrible job. Super bad working conditions and such. My dad stuck it out for a year, but he couldn't take it anymore, so... here I am!"

"Here you are!" Jessica said, a happy cry escaping her lips.

Jessica might have taken it the hardest when Sophia moved. All the girls were close to each-other, but Jessica and Sophia? They'd always had an extra special bond.

When the hug and crying eventually ended, the other girls quickly made room for their dear friend.

"So," Sophia said, rubbing her hands together, "tell me all the latest gossip. Did Timmy and Ann get together?!"

A hush fell over the group for a moment before Lillian said, "No, they didn't actually. And we don't call him Timmy anymore—well, besides our rebel here, Grace. Now he's just Timothy."

Sophia's eyes widened. "Okay, what did he do this time? Sounds really, really bad if you're dropping his pet name."

Before Lilly could say a word, Dakota had begun in an animated voice to tell the sad story of how she and Timothy had gotten together two months before, been very happy, then suddenly his feelings for her were just... gone.

Sophia listened, face contorted in emotional pain, and at the end she exclaimed, "THE JERK BROKE MY LILLY'S HEART?!" Her gaze fell on Grace. "No offense, but HOW COULD YOU GO FOR A GUY LIKE THAT?!"

Grace opened her mouth, then closed it. Finally, she said, "I really have no clue. Like, I hate him for hurting Lilly, but at the same time..."

"...you can't resist his charm," Lillian finished for her. She knew the feeling all too well.

"Exactly," Grace replied awkwardly. "I wish I didn't like him at all. He doesn't deserve it after what he did to you. I'm so, so sorry Lilly."

The sincerity and catch in Grace's voice melted any grudge Lillian had been carrying. She walked around the table and hugged her friend. "It's okay, Gracie. Don't you dare apologize for something like this ever again. It's not your fault Timothy was a jerk to me. And hey, you never know, maybe we had to break up so you guys could get together. Maybe you're meant to be! You never know, right?"

Grace and Dakota both snorted at the last bit, but Dakota went a step further and said, "I just can't see that boy treating any girl right. No offense," she added quickly for Grace. "And, honestly, he doesn't deserve any nice girl. Not after the way he treated Lilly."

While Dakota had been speaking, Lillian had taken her seat again after one last squeeze to Grace's hand. She was feeling so much all at once, and she didn't understand half of it. She began to zone out as her friends continued talking about Timothy's stupidity. Grace got into the insulting more than any of the other girls, surprisingly. At some point, when Lilly wasn't totally zoned out, she'd hear the crude insults and flinch, a knife stabbing her heart. Or, at least, that's what it felt like. She hated that she still cared for Timothy so much.

Finally, Jessica touched her shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Are you okay?"

Lillian started to nod, then stopped.

"No," she admitted, also in a whisper so as not to interrupt the conversation going on between the other girls. She glanced down at her still-full plate for a second. So much for eating a full lunch. Still, she picked up one-half of her sandwich and started munching on it.

"I didn't think so," Jessica whispered back in her sweet Australian accent. (She'd moved to the States two years before, but had lived most of her life in the Outback.) "I could see it plain as day on your face. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

Lilly smiled warmly, her first real smile since before Timothy had broken up with her a week before. "Being here for me is the best you could possibly do for me. It lets me know somebody cares. And I'm sure glad it's you."

Jessica grinned from ear-to-ear and was about to say something when Timothy laid a hand on Lillian's shoulder and said, "Can we please talk?"