To Keep You Off My Mind

Chapter 1

Lily's POV

I walked through the front door to my mom cooking dinner in the kitchen and my brothers playing Xbox in the living room.

"Lily, I'm so glad you're home, help me cut up these tomatos, please?!" My mother pleaded. I nodded, dropped my backpack on the ground then walked into the kitchen. I washed my hands and grabbed a knife and a couple tomatos. I began cutting when Lando, my 12-year-old brother, wondered into the kitchen looking for food. He reached for the first thing in sight, my perfectly cubed tomatos. He then grabbed some of the freshly cut beauties and popped them into his mouth.

"Lando! I just cut those!" I half yelled, half whined. He just laughed and ran out to finish his game. I let out an annoyed breath of air. "And that is the exact reason I am at school all day, so I don't have to deal with the world's most abnoxious brothers!"

"Oh geez, Lily. It's just a few tomatos!" My mother relied.

"Sure, a few tomatos now, but then what?! If you don't watch those sons of yours, they'll both end up in prison!!"

"Yes, because stealing tomatos is a gateway crime. A couple tomatos today, a whole tomato farm tomorrow!!" We laughed. Just then my dad walked in. He walked over to my mom and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"What's so funny?" He questioned.

"Oh nothing, just the impending future of your sons imprisonment." I said casually as I continued to cut up the tomatos. He cracked a smile and adusted his glasses. As he walked out of the kitchen, my phone buzzed. I set the knife down, wiped my hands, and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I looked down and saw I had received a text from Locke, my dad's best friend's son who I had been in love with since I could remember, but never thought of me as more than friends. And I guess I never blamed him, seeing as I was a bookworm who kept to herself, and he was one of the school's most popular jocks. My fingers shoke with excitement as I unlocked my phone and saw the words on the screen. The text read,

"Hey, are you busy, I need to tell you something. Let's met up at the park by my house. It's urgent!"

I replied; "Okay, I'll be there in 10 mins!"

I put my phone back in my pocket, quickly finished cutting the tomatos, and grabbed my keys and wallet. "Mom, I'll be back in a little while, I'm meeting a friend at the park."

"Okay, but be back by dinner time!" Mom yelled in return. I ran and got in my car and turned the key. I drove just across the block to the park adjacent to Locke's house as fast as I could. I pulled into one of the parking spaces, and I saw Locke run across the street to meet me.

"Hey! What's up?" I said, trying to act casual, stepping out of the car and closing the door.

"It's Julie. She asked me to the Sadie's dance." He said as he caught up to me. I stopped.

"That's it? That's what's so urgent?!" I said as I started to question the urgency of our meeting, but not taking the few minutes we have for granted. "You made me come all the way down here just so you could tell me about Julie asking you to the stupid dance?" I started to look down a little, because Julie knew how much I wanted to ask him, but she obviously had gotten to him first so I was starting to get disappointed.

"Yeah. I don't wanna go with her!" I perked up. "She's a brat. What am I supposed to do now? Why couldn't someone nice, like you ask me?" I looked down because I knew my face was red. As I looked up I wondered if this was finally my chance to confess my feelings to him by asking him? But before I could he but in, "Ha, think how funny that'd be if you asked me to Sadie's?! Or even better if I asked you to a dance!" He laughed, and I faked a smile but I was dying on the inside.

"Yeah, that'd be crazy." I added, with an obviously fake laugh after, but Locke didn't catch the hint.

"Lily!" He grabbed my shoulders and my heart skipped a beat. "What am I gonna do?!" I looked up at him, because even though he was only 16, he was already a towering 6'4. "I can't go to the dance with her! I know she's only using me to make Todd jealous..." I started to daydream about him and I at the dance, dancing to a slow song, holding tight to each other, "...You know?" I snapped out of my dream.

"Oh, yeah, I totally get it!" I said without knowing what I had mindlessly agreed to. He released his grip on me and sat down on the pavement. I sat down next to him, and he put his head down. I was puzzled at what I should do, as he was obviously conflicted, so I lightly placed my hand on the small of his back. He sat for a minute, but then he looked up at me, and I removed my hand from his back. He just stared into my eyes, and I his, but I got nervous, so my eyes darted to an ant on the ground.

"Lily, you're such a good friend," I kept my head down thinking I might die from that one little sentence,"I don't know what'd I'd so without you." I looked up and he smiled at me, I couldn't help but smile back. Then as we both stood up, he hugged me. I reached my arms up and around his neck and he put his around my waist. We just hugged for a glorious minute, our bodies fitting perfectly, but then he started to pull away, so I let go. "Hey, do you wanna come over for dinner, I'm sure my mom won't care."

"Oh, thanks, but I really should be getting home, my parents are expecting me." I said although my heart screamed YES!!

"Alright, I'll see you later then. Bye."

"Bye." I turned around and got back in my car to head home.