Two weeks later

Spring was near and Ryan wasn't here with Lillian. She bounced Zane on her thigh as she ate her dinner and couldn't stop thinking about him. Zane was turning nine months, he was getting so big and Ryan isn't here to watch him.

“Ready to go, girls?”, her mother asked her and Cassandra.

Cassandra said yes but Lillian only nodded. She handed Zane over to her dad who will watch him until her mom gets back from dropping them off. She grabbed her jacket and headed out to the car. She leaned against the car door and stared out the window.

The only time she has talked to Ryan was about Zane. Lillian took Zane over to his mother every other morning since she still wanted to see her grandbaby, which Lillian wasn't going to deny her and Ryan got him on the weekend. He would try to bring them up, but she made up an excuse she had to go.

Maybe she wasn't so much as mad at him anymore, but needed space. Maybe they needed to be apart for right now so she could clear her head, though she missed him still but she didn't feel like she was falling apart.

Her mom pulled into the high school parking lot and she got out. She didn't see Ryan's car here, but her mom always dropped her off early to school. She made her way into the building and started her morning.

…

{Ryan}

Ryan will never listen to his dumb friends again. He looked across the caf over at Lillian who was sitting with some people, but she wasn't even talking to them but eating her food. He tapped his nail against the table as he looked down at the table and sighed. He thought by now they would have gotten back together now but they were just wishes

He doesn't know what to do with his life anymore. His dad always started by waking up and feeding Zane and making sure Lillian got up, but now his mornings are quiet and lonely. He's so use to it that he isn't sure what to do anymore.

She wouldn't even look at him in the halls when they go passed each other.

. . .

When school was over, he was hoping to catch Lillian come outside. He only made it out before her once but she just ignored him. He waited by the doors and waited for a couple of moments. He saw her come down the hallway reading from a text book and he hated the Duncan showed up next to her, pointing at something at the book.

He looked away from them and waited until she came out. When she did, he reached out and took her arm, “Lil,”, he said and she looked taken back for a moment. “I need to talk to you.”.

She stared at him for a moment then looked at Duncan before nodded. Duncan left and he took his hand off her arm and she cleared her throat, “Yes, Ryan?”

He looked around and didn't want people to be noisy, so he grabbed her hand again and took her over by a bush where not a lot of people were, “Why wont you talk to me?”, he asked her and happy she didn't snatch her hand away from his...yet

“I have talked to you.”, she said, looking down at the ground.

“Not about us.”, he said. “You were right about Hanna, she did just want to break us up. I'm sorry I didn't believe you, but I never cheated on you with her.”.

She brought her hand up to her forehead before brushing her bangs back. She breathed out hard and looked up at him, “I believe you Ryan, I have since that night.”

His eyebrows came together in confusion, “Then why are you mad at me? Because I didn't tell you?”

“Yes, no—I don't know. I just needed to get away for a moment.”, she said then brought her hand up to her mouth.

He looked at her surprised a little, “From me? Why would you need to get away from me, Lil?”

“That's not what I meant.”, she said, taking her hand away.

“How did you mean then?”, he asked, his voice getting hard without meaning to. He was hoping to hold his shock and pain inside, but it came out rude.

“Not the way it came out.”, she said. “I just needed some time to think about everything, Ryan. It was more than Hanna, I just needed to be away.”

“Don't you think two weeks is enough?”, he asked, his voice much softer now. “I miss you, Lil.”

“I miss you to Ryan. . .but I still need time.”, she said.

Ryan wanted to argue and ask how much more time does she need? If she misses him, what's the problem? What girl—may sound like a jerk but—wouldn't come back to him if there was no problem between them? What is there really to think about? They still love each other, but she needs time to be alone? That made no sense.

He knew auguring wouldn't do them any better though. He took a deep breath and let it out, “Okay, take as much time as you need.”

She just nodded before turning around and he watched her walked over next to Duncan side. He bit his tongue before he says anything he might regret later and turned to walk over to his car to go home to get ready for work.

. . .

{Lillian}

“So acute or obtuse?”, Duncan asked.

Lillian pursed her lips and hummed, checking over her work again, “Obtuse.”

“Correcto.”, he said

She just smiled while Cassandra went down the stairs, “Tell mom and dad I'm going out to hang my friends!”, she said, chasing over to the door and Lil's eyebrows came together

“Your in a rush.”, she said and Cassandra froze, her cheeks blushing up.

She turned and faced her, chuckling nervously, “So.”

Lillian looked over Cassandra and saw she was pretty dressed up to go hang out with her friends, “And go where?”

“To the park.”, she scuffed.

Lillian brought her hand up to her mouth and bit her nail, “Oh really, Cass?”

Her face redden up, “I don't need to explain anything to you!”, she said, running out the door and Lillian quickly got up from the floor, going on the couch and peeked out the window to see Cassandra jogging down the street.

She gasped when she saw a boy at the end on a bike and Cassandra hugged him, “No she doesn't!”, she said to herself. Her thirteen year old sister has a boyfriend!

Lillian quickly got up from the couch, running over to the door, but Duncan cleared his throat and chuckled, “Where are you going?”

“Go get her.”, Lillian said in a 'duh' way. “And to young to have a boyfriend!”

He chuckled more, “So? Lots of girls her age have boyfriend, it's no big thing. Lot of my cousins her age have boyfriends.”

“No—no, she could—could--”

“Could what?”, he asked, leaning against the coffee table amused.

“She's to young!”, she augured.

“She's a teenager, relax. The most she'll do is kiss him, Cassandra is a smart girl.”, he said and Lillian pouted that he wasn't taking her side. Okay, so maybe she is being over protective, but it's just uprising to find her having a boyfriend.

She let go of the door knob and walked back over to the living room floor. He patted her knee and muttered, “Good girl.”, as he looked back down at the work. She playfully hit his arm and he playfully hit her back. She gave him a look and hit him again, but harder.

He gave her the same look and hit her again.

“Ow, don't you know to never hit a girl?”, she asked, hitting him back harder then last time.

“Yes,”, he said, hitting her again, “but your my friend, so there's an exception made.”

She brought her hand up to her arm and rubbed it, glaring at him. She reached both hands out and started hitting him. He laughed and grabbed her wrist. She was leaning up on her knees, trying to make her self bring then him and attack, but he had a good hold.

“If you were my son, you would be in so much trouble.”, she said to him.

He chuckled, “And I would just make it much harder for you. Being taken of like a little kid sound so amazing.”.

“Oh shut up.”, she said, chuckling and tried her hardest to hit him, but when she couldn't, she snatched her hands away and huffed out her nose heavily.

“Even you wouldn't have the guts to hit me if I was your son.”, he chuckled.

“Well good thing you ain’t my son.”, she said, hitting him in his head.

“Ow!”, he said and he tackled her to the ground, taking her wrist and holding them beside her head on both side. “That wasn't nice.”.

Lillian was blushing to hard to even respond to him. He was straddling her and he was far to close for her liking that it was just making her nervous. She couldn't look away from his brown eyes that were warm and soft.

Her eyes widen when he lowered his head and when she thought he was going to kiss her, he surprised her by kissing her forehead slowly. A balled formed in her throat when he inched lowered to kiss the tip of her nose and then hesitated before kissing her own on her mouth.

Now maybe it was because she was confused or vulnerable—or both!--but she closed her eyes and kissed him back. She wasn't going to lie that she hasn't thought about kissing him the last two weeks. At first it was just her anger but then she got real curious. Duncan did have nice big soft lips where Ryan's were on the normal side and a little chapped.

She brought one of her hands up to her chest and grabbed a hand full of her sweater, wishing she hadn't thought about Ryan. It just upset her to think about him while kissing Duncan. She knows she said needed time to think about everything still, but it was a lie cause she was just trying to be strong and brave in front of him.

When she really just wanted to jump back into Ryan's arms and tell him she loved him so much.

She hated herself when tears slid out of her squeezing shut eyes and a sob came out. She let go of her sweater and put it on Duncan chest, pushing him away from her. “I can't—I'm sorry Duncan.”, she said, getting up from the floor.

He sucked his lips in and nodded, looking at the carpet as he got up, “Maybe I should go.”.

She crossed her arms over her chest and just nodded.