They Say Love is the Key

Zach gave a slight smile to her words before nodding a bit, though he silently wondered why the excitement had left so quickly. He didn't question it, though. "Yeah," he mused quietly in agreement before tilting his head to the side slightly, "Just like when we were kids." At least, back then, everything had been completely simple and easy to get through. They didn't have many worries and they were normal around each other, rather than always awkward.

Lily sighed softly at his questions before shrugging slightly. "I already told you," she pointed out, "Boys are idiots." The fact that he didn't understand what she was even talking about or even notice how much she actually cared for him hurt her. But, knowing that he didn't even notice, nor would he likely care, how much she loved him hurt even more. Not that she'd comment on any of that; it didn't matter, in the end.

Addy sighed as she looked out the window. She rolled her eyes but Zach was driving so he didn't notice - or if he did he didn't say anything. "I wish we could go back to those times, you know?" She asked him, almost with tears in her eyes. "When things were simple and you still saw the good in the world - not always partying and hooking up..." She wanted to hate him for it. She was perfectly fine being his, and then he as messed it up by abandoning love.

Josh sighed a little. "Well I wish I could protect you from the idiocy of boys then!" He chuckled. He hated feeling so awkward around her, but he didn't know what to do to change it. He remembered a time when they weren't awkward, but that was when they were little and Lily was the only girl in his life... Things were just more complicated now...

Zach felt himself tense at her words, though he didn't respond to them. What was he supposed to say? It wasn't his fault that he had abandoned all of that. It was his father's. The rest of the drive was silent before he pulled up at the park, parking the car and climbing out with the bag of snacks. He let out a quiet sigh once he was in the fresh air, running a hand back through his hair. He just felt like the two of them were growing farther apart each time that the conversation turned to his wrong-doings.

Lily gave a quiet sigh before shrugging a bit. "I think that's impossible, Josh," she muttered, soon getting to her house and making her way inside, leaving the door open for him. She just wanted to forget everything and push away her emotions for him. She was slowly losing herself in her thoughts about how much she loved Josh, but he would never even notice. She hated it and wished that she could hate him.

Addy felt like crying when he didn't respond. She hated him for being such a partier and a jerk. She just wanted her best friend back. She knew that was impossible - all of the good parts about him, the tiny parts that she always loved, were abandoned when his parents abandoned their marriage... It sucked. She wished he would comfort her when she cried, but she knew he wouldn't... She sniffled slightly, not feeling like she wanted to be at the park anymore...

Josh could see that Lily was hurting and he wanted nothing more than to protect her from the wickedness of boys. Then again, he was one of those wicked boys. He wanted to hate himself for it, but he didn't. His parents had taught him a fine lesson about love with their divorce and he wasn't going to fall in it. "I think I can take care of a few guys for you!" He teased as he followed her inside.

Zach let himself push away the awkwardness of the entire thing before making his way back to the car to get Addy. Though, when he noticed how hurt she looked from the window of the car, he frowned slightly. Had he caused that? It wasn't like there was anybody else around to cause her to look like she was near tears. Feeling rather contrite, he made his way closer, opening the door and bending down to her level. "What's wrong, Addy?" he asked softly, his teasing and joking tone gone; she was his best friend, after all. It was his job to be there for her.

Lily rolled her eyes slightly. "Sure, add fighting to your list of stupid things to do," she muttered before making her way to the kitchen, seeing her mother with the cookies on trays. Her mother registered the emotions from Lily and frowned slightly. She was about to speak, but Lily shook her head, gesturing that Josh was with her and talking about it would just be pointless. Sighing, her mother put on a smile - one just as fake as the ones that Lily could pull off when something was wrong. "The cookies just got done," she announced.

Addy sighed when she saw Zach coming back to fetch her from the car. She wished he wouldn't. She wished he would forget about her just like he had forgotten the way that they had once loved each other...or the way that he forgot about her every time he got in bed with another girl. "Nothing's wrong," she lied unsmoothly. "Absolutely nothing... I just don't feel like being here anymore." She answered, looking at the concern in his face and wishing it were real.

Josh groaned as he followed Lily into the kitchen. She was his best friend... Why the hell would she be hiding anything from him?! It didn't seem right and he wished to end all of this pain. Whoever had caused it was a royal jackass and they weren't getting away with it - not on his watch. When they had each taken a cookie and Lily's mother had exited the room for a moment, he looked at her. "I don't believe this conversation was finished. I don't like people hurting you and I want to know who did it." He said, rather calmly from the emotions that he was feeling inside.

Zach frowned slightly to her words before sighing softly and shaking his head. "If nothing was wrong, you wouldn't be near tears," he said quietly, not wanting to be too loud in fear of causing the tears to fall anyways. He didn't understand it; he had hardly ever seen his best friend in such a state that she looked broken. He wanted to know what was wrong and he wanted to fix it. But, it seemed that the more he tried to mend it, the farther away the two of them grew.

Lily blinked at his words before busying herself with eating her cookie. She refrained from saying, 'You're the one hurting me, you idiot!' and simply shrugged. "I'm hurting myself," she said simply, which wasn't much of a lie, "Not in the sense of causing actual pain, but because I let my thoughts and emotions control me. I can't even control my own attraction when I know it's pointless."

Addy shook her head as her lower lip fell down into a pout. "There's nothing to talk about!" She whispered, the tears evident in her voice. Now he noticed her... She was beyond the point of sadness and now he chose to care. Why didn't he care when she called all weekend to make sure that he was ok? No, he was too busy with other girls... Getting drunk. "It doesn't matter!" She told him, turning away as the first tears slid down her cheeks.

Josh listened to her words. He hasn't know that she had an attraction to him... It hurt him a little. The only thing that had ever remained constant in her life was her - through his parents' divorce... All of his changing girls... She was the one thing he could always rely on. It hurt to think that he could lose her to someone else. He didn't want that to happen... "So who's this person that you're attracted to?" He asked.

Zach frowned slightly before quickly wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him in a hug. "It does matter," he muttered softly, "I'm your best friend. It's my obligation to make sure that you're okay. And, you're obviously not okay." He had heard the tears in her voice and was pretty sure that she had turned away from him to hide the tears that were probably falling from her eyes right now. He hated it, knowing that there wasn't much he could do except try to comfort her.

Lily sighed softly to his question before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter," she said simply, grabbing another cooking and hopping onto a stool, spinning around in it childishly. She was honestly just trying to distract herself from her thoughts. "He's an idiot, anyways." If only Josh knew that she was talking about him. She knew that would ruin their friendship, though; that was the only thing that would change between them, and she wouldn't have him in her life at all anymore.

Addy only sobbed harder as she felt Zach's arms pull around her. How badly she wanted to enjoy the feeling of his arms around her... But then she thought about all of the girls that he had probably had in his arms. It hurt her badly. She had the slightest hint that she wanted to tell him that she loved him, but what was she supposed to do about it now? He could never feel the same way about her... She still threw her arms around him. "It doesn't matter!" She said, annoyed. He couldn't care... She would ruin their relationship if he ever found out about her love.

Josh felt the slightest bit of jealousy when she was talkin about this guy, even if there was no chance for them. He didn't know why he felt like that either... Lily was just a friend, but he also didn't want to lose her as that... She was important to him for that. "Well maybe that's better then..." He said softly. "At least you know he's an idiot now before you make a mistake with him..."

Zach rubbed her back soothingly, resting his head above hers. He had never seen Addy cry before and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. "It does matter," he said softly, letting out a quiet sigh. "But, I'm not going to make you talk about it. So... So, just cry until you feel better, okay? I'll be right here." He didn't plan on moving from that spot, wanting to comfort his best friend. Something about seeing those tears was tearing him up inside, though he wasn't sure why. He ignored it, though, figuring that it didn't matter; all that mattered was that he needed to comfort Addy.

Lily shrugged slightly to his words before picking up another cookie. At this rate, she was going to end up hyper, but she didn't really care. She just wanted something to distract her from her thoughts and the cookies were all she had at the moment. "I guess so," she said simply, looking down at the cookie for a moment. Was it really better, though, to keep her feelings for him to herself? Would it have been a mistake to tell him? She shook the thoughts away, deciding to just agree with Josh's words for now.

Addy rolled her eyes. Zach wasn't so much the comforting type and she wanted to hate him for being so awkward in this moment...when all she wanted was to be loved by him... That was when she decided to push him away. "Just go!" She cried. "I don't need you around to see me cry..." What good was he actually doing her when it was him she was crying about and he was only comforting her as a friend?

Josh smiled and ruffled her hair. "That's my girl!" He mused quietly. "Come on though, put on a happy face!" He hated to see her sad. He saw enough of that in his own life and he didn't need to see it from her now. This was why love sucked - it did this to you. "Come on, do I have to cheer you up by singing?!" He asked. He was a terrible singer, but he knew it always made her laugh.

Zach blinked, surprised to feel her push him away. He sighed before standing up and taking a few steps back, figuring the best he could do was give her the space she needed. It felt strange, being so incapable of comforting her. She was always his shoulder to lean on when he needed somebody to talk to and he hated himself for not being able to be her support when she needed somebody. Running a hand through his hair, he muttered a simple, "Alright," not really wanted to bother her.

Lily pouted slightly before trying to fix her hair. She felt her heart jump at him calling her his girl, but immediately hated herself for it. There weren't any hidden meanings to his words, there wasn't even any affection meant from them. So, why bother getting happy about it? She gave a small smile to his suggestion before arching an eyebrow. "Your singing would cheer me up," she mused quietly. Even if his singing was bad, she still liked listening to it, because she knew that he didn't do that often.

Addy hated that Zach gave up comforting her so quickly. What had ever happened to being the shoulder to lean on?! She had been his... But obviously he didn't feel like being hers... She wanted to hate him, but she only sobbed harder because she just forgave him instantly. She wanted to just kiss him and tell him, but she couldn't... "Can you just take me home?" She asked. "You know I'm not going to be fun here... Just - go find someone else to have 'fun' with!" She snapped.

Josh sighed slightly. He didn't sing for any girl other than Lily, and even that was rare since he knew he was a sucky singer. It made her feel better though, so he didn't mind doing it for her. He flipped on the radio, unsure of what song to sing for her. "The Only Exception" by Paramore came on and he gave a slight chuckle as he started to sing for her. Odd song choice, but he wrapped his arms around her and made her sway with him.

Zach couldn't help but wince at her words. He wasn't sure why, but they cut deep. "I'm not leaving you like that," he said quietly, looking away from her. How could he face her when he had obviously done something wrong? He hated himself for it. "I'm not going to abandon my best friend when she needs me." He crossed his arms over his chest, obviously having settled with that choice. And he wasn't planning on going back on it.

Lily froze once she noticed the song. If only the song actually related to Josh... She bit down on her lower lip, feeling heat rise to her cheeks when he wrapped his arms around her and began to sway. She couldn't really do anything other than place her arms on his shoulders and follow his actions. She officially hated this song, because it just made her realize what she already knew: there wouldn't be anything between them besides friendship.

Addy sighed. She knew she had hurt him almost with her words, but she couldn't regret it. He was only her friend when he needed one. "Yes you will."
She whispered softly, turning away softly so he couldn't see the pain in her face. "You always do. You just run away from me whenever another girl enters the room!" She told him. It hurt to admit, but it was true.

Josh liked dancing with her. It was nice just being with his friend again and he actually felt happy when he was with her. When the song was over, he placed a kiss on the top of her head and pulled away slightly. "Feeling better Lily?" He asked softly. "You know I hate seeing you upset. I wanna kill the boy that would ever cause you this much pain!" She was his best friend; she had always been there for him and now he was going to be there for her.

Zach frowned slightly to her words. He couldn't exactly say that it was a lie, because it wasn't. "I won't do that right now," he promised quietly, running a hand through his hair and sighing softly. "You need me and I wouldn't dare leave you when you need me. You know that, Addy. You're always there for me when I need you, so I won't hesitate in being there for you when you need me, no matter what."

Lily gave a quiet sigh at feeling him kiss the top of her head and hearing his words. Why couldn't he just see that it was him that was causing her all this pain? His actions and words weren't really helping, because it was making it impossible to even force away her feelings for him. "I'm fine," she muttered softly before looking up at him and smiling a bit. "There's no reason to worry about it anymore."

Addy just shook her head. She couldn't wrap her mind around his words sometimes. He didn't love her, so why did he even try?! He just had all of these random hook-ups but she was the one there to just pick up the pieces... Why he didn't see that was beyond her. "Sometimes..." She sobbed, "I just can't believe you." She had to convince herself that he didn't care. It was the only way to not love him even more.

Josh smiled at her softly. He could tell that she was still hiding something, but be wasn't exactly sure how to ask her about such things. "So did my singing help?!" He asked sarcastically. He knew she liked it, but something that terrible couldn't make her feel better. "I just don't want you to be sad anymore Lily. I hate it when you are!" He said.

Zach frowned slightly and quickly returned to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to himself in a tight hug. "I wouldn't lie to you," he promised quietly. And, he never had lied to her. He had always tell her everything and anything and never had any reason to lie to her. "You should know I would never lie to you, so you shouldn't have a reason to not believe me. Just... Trust me, okay?"

Lily blinked, looking up at him. Lifting her hand, she flicked his forehead - something she had often done whenever she had first found out about his partying. "I'm not sad, you big idiot," she grumbled before sticking her tongue out at him. Shrugging a bit, she stepped away from him and returned to the table, picking up another cookie. "I'm never sad. You know that."

Addy felt herself pulled against him and rested her head on his chest. Things were so terrible between them and she hated it. Sometimes she just wished she could be another girl that wasn't his best friend.... Then maybe she could know what it was like to be "loved" by him, if it were only for a night. "I do Zach!" She said quietly. "Just sometimes... I hate you for it."

Josh reeled backwards when his best friend flicked him in the forehead. He should be used to it by now... He made a lot of mistakes that she punished him this way for. "Well, you seem sad to me!" He remarked. "And I hate seeing you like that. You're my best friend!" He wanted to hug her or something, but he felt weird. They weren't touchy friends.