"Lilly! Lilly! Lilly!" calls out Caden frantically. It has now been fifteen minutes and he still hasn't found her. "Where could she be?" sighs Caden with worry laced all through his voice. A couple of minutes go by and all of a sudden, he spots something shining beside a giant tree. He thinks, "Could it be her?" He rushes over to the tree and confirms his thoughts. It is her, although not as he anticipated. He peers behind the tree to find her passed out on the grass. "Oh my God! Lilly!" He rushes to her side, kneeling down on the ground to lift her head up. He snatches up her glittering backpack, which he saw shining beside the big tree, and gently lies her head on it. He gently shakes her shoulders as he calls out her name, "Lilly! Lilly! Lilly, wake up! Please! Lilly!" She doesn't wake up. He gently taps her cheeks with his hand as he continuously calls her name, "Lilly. Lilly. Lilly, please wake up. I'm sorry, Lilly. I'm so sorry I lied to you. That was very wrong of me. I'm sorry. Please wake up.... Lilly!" Once again, she doesn't wake. He places his hand on her forehead, but immediately jerks it off of her. When he touched her forehead, he thought that he had touched a hot stove. He exclaims, "Oh my God, Lilly! You're burning up!... Hang on, Lil. I have an idea," says Caden as he reaches over to grab his backpack. He rummages through it and pulls out a bottle of ice cold water. He unscrews the cap and gently pours a tiny bit of the water over her forehead as he calls her name, "Lilly. Please wake up, Lilly."

   Lilly finally regains consciousness. She feels a soft, warm hand gently caressing her cheek as a muffled, worried voice calls her name, "Lilly. Lilly. Lilly." She slowly blinks her eyes open to reveal a very distraught boy.

   She mumbles, "Caden?" 

Caden lets out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding in and exclaims, "Oh, Lilly! Thank God, you're ok! I was really worried about you. What happened? Did you get too hot? Did you have another one of your dizzy spells?"

Lilly slowly sits up and looks at Caden. "What are you doing here?"

Caden replies, "Forget about why I'm here, Lilly. Are you ok? What happened?"

   Lilly pulls away from Caden's hand and says, "Why do you care?

Puzzled by her question, Caden asks, "Wh-what do you mean why do I care? Of course I care."

Lilly snaps back, "Really? If you cared about me, you wouldn't have lied to me and you wouldn't have treated me the way you did this morning."

Lilly stands up, picks up her backpack, and begins to walk away, when all of a sudden, she feels a hand gently grab her arm. She jumps and whips around, locking eyes with Caden. He tells her, "Lilly, I'm really sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied to you this morning. That was so wrong of me and I'm sorry."

   Lilly sighs. "Caden, it's not just that you lied to me, it's what you did," states Lilly as she begins to walk away once more.

   Caden just stands there, completely clueless as to what she meant about 'what he did'. He stands there running through many different thoughts as to what she could have meant, but he still can't come to a conclusion. He runs up behind her and gently tugs on her arm. "Lilly, wait. What do you mean? What did I do?" asks Caden with an almost broken voice.

Lilly whips around and with tears stinging her eyes, she states, "Caden, how can you be so clueless? Do you even realize that you treated me pretty much exactly how Brittney did Tuesday morning?"

Caden truly did not realize that and after hearing it, he feels even worse. He didn't mean to hurt her. He just didn't want her to be mad at him. Lilly turns to walk away, but once again Caden gently latches onto her wrist. Before she can speak, he says with pure sincerity, "No, Lilly, I didn't realize that. I'm really sorry. I never wanted to upset you or hurt you, especially not like Brittney did. I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to be mad at me. That's why I lied. I'm sorry, Lilly. I'm so stupid. I should've just told you the truth."

Lilly can no longer hold in her tears and as they begin to fall, she immediately wipes them away. She asks, "It's ok, Caden, but why did you think that I was going to be mad at you? What would I have been mad about?"

   Caden says, "Well... that's kind of a long story. Do you want to go back over to the tree so we can be in the shade and I'll tell you?" Lilly nods her head and they walk over to the tree. They sit down and Caden reaches into his backpack. "Oh. First, before I explain, here's some lunch," says Caden as he pulls out his lunchbox and gives it to Lilly.

   Lilly opens the lunchbox, revealing warm shrimp Alfredo pasta. She asks, "Caden, why are you giving me this?"

   Caden replies, "Well, you didn't get to have your dinner, so I figured that you could have mine. I haven't eaten any of it."

   "No, Caden, I can't eat your lunch." She closes the lunchbox and tries to give it back to him, but he won't take it back. He insists for her to eat it. Lilly still tries to give it back to him. "Here, Caden, take it. You need to eat your dinner. I'm fine. I'm not even hungry anyway."

   Caden still will not take no for an answer but neither will Lilly so, he makes a compromise. He says, "Fine, but you need to eat too. So how about this, we split it?" Lilly nods her head in agreement; so Caden gives her one of the spoons he picked up earlier and they share the container of pasta. Once they finish the pasta, Caden surprises Lilly once more. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out the two puddings that he snatched out of the cafeteria earlier. He says, "Surprise," and gives one to Lilly along with a spoon.

   Lilly smiles and says, "Wow, thanks, Caden."

   Caden smiles back and says, "Of course, Lilly. Anything for you.... Now, about this morning.... I woke up to the sound of my little sister, Emmy, calling my name and telling me to get up. I was so confused why she was waking me up and not my mom, because my mom is usually my alarm. Well, once I finally got awake, I asked Emmy where my mom was and she told me that she was still in the bed. She also said that my mom didn't feel good. So, I immediately hopped out of bed and went to check on her. She told me that she had a really bad migraine and that she wouldn't be able to take Emmy to school, much less go to work. So, I grabbed her phone, called her boss, and told him that she wouldn't be able to come into work today since she's sick. Then I had to go make breakfast for my mom, my sister, and myself. Then, I had to get ready for school and by the time I had done all of that, I completely forgot to text you and tell you that I wasn't going to be able to pick you up for school. I also forgot to turn my phone back on before I picked it up to leave. So that's why I never heard any of your calls or texts this morning. And the reason I lied, telling you that I left my phone at the house instead of just telling you the truth is because I thought that you wouldn't believe me and you would be mad. So, I'm sorry, Lilly, and I promise that I'll never lie to you again."

   Lilly says, "It's ok, Caden. I forgive you. The pudding also helps as an apology." Lilly giggles.

   Caden laughs. "Yeah. Duh. That's why I brought it." They both laugh and after a few minutes pass by, Lilly rests her head on Caden's shoulder and he wraps his arm around her. He teases, "Your hair smells delicious, kinda shrimpy."

   Lilly kinda frowns and says, "Yeah, you can thank Brittney for that."

   Caden pulls Lilly closer to him. "Hey, Lilly, don't be upset about that. It's ok. Don't worry about it. It's in the past. You'll just have to make sure that I don't try to eat your hair," laughs Caden causing Lilly to giggle.

   A couple of more minutes go by and Lilly sighs, "Well, I guess we better go back inside now. Biology class should be starting soon and we don't want to be late." Caden nods in agreement and stands up. He turns around and reaches his hand out to Lilly to help her up. Then they snatch up their backpacks and saunter into the school. Once they are inside, they only separate from each other long enough to collect their Biology books and for Caden to throw away their empty pudding cups. Now that they have got their books and Caden has thrown away their trash, they meet back up and walk to Biology class. They get there just before the bell rings.

   Finally, a few hours later, after their last class of the day, History, the school bell rings signaling the end of classes. Caden races to his locker, puts his things away, grabs what he needs to take home, and meets Lilly back up at her locker. He smiles at her. "So, are you ready to go?"

   Lilly says, "Yes, get me out of here. Please."

Caden smirks, takes Lilly by the hand, and says, "Anything for you," as he leads her outside. They walk over to his car and hop in. They fasten their seatbelts, Caden cranks the car, looks over at Lilly, and asks, "So, where do you want to go? What do you want to do?"

Lilly thinks for a moment and replies, "Well, I was thinking about going to the ca...."

Caden interrupts, "Oh, shoot. Hold that thought, Lilly. I'm really sorry I forgot that I have to pick up my little sister from school. Do you mind if we go by her school to pick her up first?"

Lilly giggles. "That's ok, Caden. Of course I don't mind. I'd love to meet your sister anyway."

Caden says, "Great. Thanks, Lilly."

Lilly says, "Of course, but do you mind stopping by my house first so I can get out of this shrimpy dress? Please. The middle school is just a few blocks from my house."

Caden laughs. "Of course, Lil. No problem. Do you want to listen to some music on the way?"

Lilly says, "Yes," and Caden flips on her playlist." They jam out for a few minutes, then once they get to Lilly's house, Lilly hops out of the car to go change out of her smelly dress. She says, "I'll be right back." Caden nods his head and Lilly races inside. She runs upstairs, over to her closet, and snatches out a long hot pink dress with tiny lavender flowers. Then she tosses her "shrimpy" dress into her bathroom and slips on the pink dress. Once she's dressed, she runs downstairs, and out the door, locking it behind her. She hops in the car and they continue jamming out on their way to the middle school.

About ten minutes go by and they pull up to the middle school. As they pull up to the school, Lilly spots a young, fourteen year old girl with shining golden hair, misty blue eyes, and a smile that could brighten anyone's day. She thinks, "Hmm, I wonder if...." Her thought is then interrupted when Caden spots Emmy and motions for her to get in the backseat, so Emmy waves goodbye to her friends and hops in the car. Lilly was right. That girl is Caden's sister. Lilly thinks, "I knew it."

Emmy says, "Hey, Caden," as she fastens her seatbelt.

Caden pulls out into the road and says, "Hey, little sis. How was school?"

Emmy shrugs her shoulders. "Ehh, it was school, same old boring stuff." Caden rolls his eyes at her comment. Then Emmy looks over at Lilly and says, "So, you must be Caden's girlfriend." Lilly blushes. Emmy continues, "It's about time he got a girlfriend. I'm tired of him always moping around the house." Lilly smiles as she tries to contain her laughter.

Caden blushes. "Emmy!"

Emmy looks over at Caden and replies, "What? I'm just being honest."

Caden bites back, "Stop saying things like that. You don't want me to say things like that in front of Lucas do you?"

Emmy glares at Caden and growls, "You wouldn't dare."

Caden smirks. "Oh yeah I would"

Emmy huffs, "Ugh. Whatever." Then she looks back at Lilly and smirks. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm Emmy. What's your name?"

Lilly smiles. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Lilly."

   Emmy smiles. "Ooh, cool. Like the flower. That's a really pretty name."

Lilly smiles back. "Thank you, Emmy. You have a really pretty name as well."

A few more minutes go by and before they know it, they're right outside Caden's house. Emmy tosses off her seatbelt and hops out of the car. "Thanks, Caden."

Caden smiles. "You're welcome. Anytime, little sis. See you later."

Emmy questions, "Later? What do you mean later? Y'all aren't coming inside?"

Caden replies, "No, Emmy. Sorry. Lilly wanted to go to grandpa's old fishing cabin to watch the sunset."

Disappointed, Emmy pouts. "Aww, but I thought y'all were going to come inside and maybe play a board game with me."

Caden starts to answer her but Lilly interrupts, "Oh, that would be great, Emmy. You can go set one up and we'll be there in a minute."

Emmy smiles and pumps her fist. "Yes!" Then she walks into the house.

Caden looks over at Lilly confused and questions, "But I thought that you said that you wanted to go to the cabin?"

Lilly says, "Yeah, I did, but it seemed like Emmy got really upset when you said that we weren't going to stay so...I figured why not. Besides, we can go to the cabin some other time. I-is that ok?"

Caden smiles. "Yes, that's perfectly fine, Lilly. I'm down with whatever you want to do. Although, I really should warn you...Emmy is really competitive so... best of luck," laughs Caden.

Lilly giggles and they hop out of the car. They walk inside to find Emmy sitting at the coffee table with a huge stack of board games beside her and a big grin upon her face. "Well, I didn't know which one y'all would want to play, so I just got all of them." Lilly smiles at her and walks over to sit beside her. Emmy asks, "Well, Lilly, which one do you want to play?"

Lilly smiles. "I don't know, Emmy. There's so many to choose from. Why don't you pick?"

Emmy smiles. "Ok. Well, I choose...this one," says Emmy as she holds up a black and yellow box that has the word Scrabble written in big, bold letters.

Lilly smiles. "Well, Scrabble it is then."

Caden walks up, carrying three glasses of sweet tea. "So...what game did you two decide on?" Emmy holds up the box to show Caden and he gets wide-eyed. "Oh, no.... Well, this should be fun," says Caden in a very sarcastic tone.

Lilly looks at him with a perplexed look. "What? What's wrong with Scrabble?"

Caden sets down a glass of tea in front of Emmy, then Lilly, and lastly himself as he sits down right beside Lilly. "Well, nothing...except that that's the game that always causes a fight between us," says Caden as he points his finger back and forth between himself then Emmy.

Lilly giggles. "Are you serious?"

Cadens smiles. "Don't laugh and yes, I'm serious. Dead serious. We're that competitive," says Caden with a smirk spreading across his face.

"Well then it's a good thing that I'm competitive too," says Lilly, returning the smirk.

Caden rolls his eyes and snickers. "Ok. You were warned."

"Finally, you two are done bickering. Now let's play the darn game before I'm old and gray. I have a life to live you know," huffs Emmy as she places a few tiles on the board.

Caden glares at Emmy and says, "Emmy, we were not bickering and you need to stop being so rude today. We have a guest and you're not being very nice to her.... This isn't like you. What's the matter? Is something bothering you?"

   Emmy sighs, "No, it's just that I've been dealing with a lot today in school. Geometry is so frustrating. I freaking hate it."

   "Oh, I understand, Emmy, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon. Maybe I could help you study more," suggests Caden as he places a few tiles on the board, connecting them with Emmy's.

   Lilly places a few tiles on the board as Emmy and Caden continue their conversation. Emmy says, "No, there's no use. I already study really hard and I just can't seem to get the hang of it. I should just face the facts, I'm never going to be good at geometry." Emmy frowns, disappointed in herself, and places a few more tiles on the board.

   Before Caden can respond, Lilly places a comforting hand on Emmy's shoulder. "Don't say that, Emmy. You can be great at geometry. You can do anything you put your mind to, just ask God to help you. Remember, you can do anything with God's help. It says so in Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.' So don't ever say that you can't do something, because you can. You just have to ask God to help you and He will."

Emmy sighs, "I know and I do ask God to help me, but I still get it wrong."

   Caden places some more tiles on the board and continues listening to their conversation.

"Well, maybe I could help you," says Lilly in a very soft tone as she places a few tiles on the board.

Emmy places some tiles on the board. "I don't know."

Caden intervenes, "Emmy, that's a great idea. You should let Lilly help you. She's a math genius," says Caden as he places some more tiles on the board.

Lilly blushes. "Well, I don't know about that, but I am pretty good at any type of math," says Lilly, placing more tiles on the board.

Caden leans over and whispers to Emmy as she's placing more tiles on the board, "See I told you, math genius." Lilly giggles and Emmy smiles as Caden places two of his tiles on the board.

   Lilly places four of her tiles on the board and looks over at Emmy. "I'd be more than happy to help you, Emmy."

   Emmy smiles at Lilly. "Really?" Lilly nods. Emmy says, "Ok. That would be great." Emmy hugs Lilly. "Thank you."

   Lilly hugs Emmy back and smiles. "Of course. You're very welcome. When do you want to start? Say...tomorrow evening?"

   Emmy's smile disappears and she shakes her head. "No, that won't work. I'm supposed to have a sleepover with Ashley tomorrow."

   Lilly says, "Well, that's ok. What about Monday evening?"

   Emmy's smile returns. "Yes, that would be great," says Emmy, placing five of her remaining six tiles on the board.

   Caden smirks, placing four of his remaining seven tiles on the board. "Perfect. Sounds like a plan. You two can study geometry and I'll just be a spectator."

   Lilly giggles as she places six of her seven remaining tiles on the board. "I don't know about that. We might rope you into it as well. Huh, Emmy?"

   Emmy smiles deviously at Caden. "Mhm. Yep. Definitely. You're not just going to sit on your butt and do nothing, big brother."

   Caden quivers. "Oh no, I'm shaking in my boots."

   Emmy and Lilly burst into laughter.

   Mrs. Smith walks in the room. "Hey, kids."

   Caden and Emmy wave. "Hey, mama."

   Mrs. Smith looks at Lilly. "Oh, I'm sorry. We've never met before. What's your name?"

   Lilly smiles and before she can answer, Emmy interrupts, "Oh, yeah. Mom, this is Lilly." Emmy smirks and whispers in her ear, "She's Caden's girlfriend."

   Mrs. Smith smiles at Lilly. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lilly."

   Lilly returns the smile. "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Smith."

   Caden stands up, hugs his mom, and asks, "So, mom, are you feeling better now?"

   She hugs him back and says, "Yes, sweetheart. I'm feeling much better now. Thank goodness. Oh. Thank you for everything you did this morning and for picking your sister up from school. I really appreciate it." She whispers in his hear, "You and I have to talk later about Lilly." Caden gives her a confused look, then nods his head. She kisses him on the forehead and he sits back down beside Lilly.

   Mrs. Smith walks into the kitchen and Emmy states, "Well, looks like I win. The game's over. What do y'all want to do now?" Emmy looks at her watch and before Caden or Lilly can reply to her question, Emmy says, "Shoot! Caden, you and I have to go get ready. We don't want to be late for the Fourth of July fireworks show."

   The moment of realization hits Caden. "Shoot, Emmy! You're right. That is tonight. With everything going on at school, I completely forgot."

   Emmy races upstairs to get ready and Lilly finally remembers what they're talking about. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about it too. I'm supposed to go with my family. Caden, I hate to ask you, but can you please give me a ride home real quick, so I can get ready?"

   Cadens nods. "Yeah, of course I can. Although, you already look beautiful." Caden smirks.

   A smile spreads across Lilly's face and she blushes. "Aww, thanks, Caden. That's very sweet of you to say, but I had a special outfit planned out for today."

Caden smiles. "Ok. Well, we better get going." Lilly smiles back at him.

They walk outside to Caden's car, hop in, and fasten their seatbelts. Caden turns on the playlist he made for Lilly, and they jam out as they travel to Lilly's house.

About ten to fifteen minutes later, they arrive at Lilly's house. Lilly smiles. "Well, thanks, Caden. See you in a little bit."

He smiles back at her. "You're welcome, Lilly. Anything for you. See you then."

Lilly gives him one last smile and walks inside the house. Once she's safely inside, he drives home to get himself ready.

Lilly walks over to her closet and pulls out a beautiful, ankle-length, dark blue dress with red and white fireworks all over it. It also has the words, "Happy 4th of July" written in big, red, glittery letters on the front of it. She slips on the dress along with a pair of red, white, and blue glittery sandals. Then she walks into her bathroom and does her makeup. Lastly, she unbraids her hair, allowing it to flow down her back, and sets a red, white, and blue flower crown on her head. She pulls a few curls in front of her face and makes her way downstairs. Once downstairs, she asks, "Well, are y'all ready to go?"

   Her mom and dad reply, "Yeah, we're ready. And sweetie, you look beautiful."

   Lilly smiles. "Aww, thanks, mom and dad."

   "Yeah, you look very pretty, baby sis. You're going to have that Caden kid falling head over heels for you," teases Mike.

   Lilly says, "Oh hush, Mike. We're just friends."

   "Uh, huh. Sure. Whatever you say," laughs Mike.

   "It's true. We are just friends," retorts Lilly with a slight annoyance in her voice.

   Mike continues to tease her. "Ok. Whatever you have to tell yourself."

   Lilly finally says, "Oh, just shut up, Mike."

Mike bursts out laughing at his sister's annoyance as he gets in the car. "Ok, we're all here. Let's go."

   Mr. Andrews says, "Alrighty then. Fasten y'all's seatbelts." Everyone fastens their seatbelts and they head out to the fireworks show.

   While riding, Lilly pulls out her phone, and texts Caden, "Hey, we just pulled out of the driveway. We should be there in about twenty minutes or so."

   Immediately after, Caden texts back, "Cool. We're about to be pulling out of the driveway as well. Sounds like we'll be arriving at about the same time."

   As Lilly begins to type a message back to Caden, Mike glances at her phone. "Ooh. Are you texting your boyfriend?" he snickers.

   Lilly huffs and slams her fist on her leg. "Ugh! Mike, for the last time. He. Is. Not. My. Boyfriend!"

   Mike busts out laughing and Mrs. Andrews says, "Mike, stop teasing your sister."

   Mike laughs. "Aww, but it's so much fun."

   Lilly glares at him for a minute and then continues texting Caden, "Oh, cool. I can't wait till we get there. It's going to be so much fun. See you there!" She ends the message with a smiley face emoji and sends it.

Immediately after, Caden texts back. The message reads, "Me either. Yeah, especially if you're there! See you there!" and ends with a smiley face emoji.

Lilly smiles after reading the message and once again, before she can turn her phone off, Mike also reads the message. "Ooh, sounds like he's flirting," snickers Mike, bumping into Lilly's arm with his elbow.

Lilly doesn't say anything. She just glares at him.

Mike throws his hands in the air and leans back against his door. "Ok. Ok. I'm going to leave you alone now. I don't want you to get all angry-looking before you see your boyfriend."

Lilly huffs. "Ok, that's enough. For the one thousandth time. He! Is! Not! My! Boyfriend!" She shoves Mike after every word, while he just laughs.

Mrs. Andrews says, "Ok, you two, that's enough. Stop fighting."

They both nod and say, "Yes, ma'am."

About ten minutes go by and they pull up in the parking lot. They throw off their seatbelts and hop out of the car. About four spaces to the right of their car, Lilly spots Caden and his family. Caden hops out of the car.

   "I'll be right back," says Lilly as she runs over to meet up with him.

   When Caden lays his eyes on Lilly, his jaw falls open. "Wow, Lilly. You look...."

   "Patriotic," interrupts Lilly with a giggle.

   "Well, I was going to say absolutely beautiful, but yeah, very patriotic as well," says Caden with a smile.

   Lilly's cheeks turn bright red and she smiles. "Aww, thanks, Caden. You're sweet."

   Caden continues smiling at her. "Of course. I was always taught to tell the truth anyway."

   Lilly blushes more at that comment and before she can say anything, Emmy interrupts, "Ok, lovebirds, are y'all ready or are you going to stand here and stare at each other all night long?"

   Caden glares at Emmy. Before he can say anything, Mrs. Smith taps Emmy on the shoulder. "Emmy, leave them alone; and quit irritating your brother."

   "But, mom, it's so much fun," whines Emmy with a devilish grin.

   "Uh, huh. You're going to be thinking about fun when I tell what's his name that you like him," replies Mrs. Smith.

   Emmy begs, "No, mom. Please. Don't."

   Mrs. Smith replies, "Ok, then. Now you stop teasing your brother about his...friend."

   Lilly's family walks up behind her, startling her, and causing her to jump. Mike laughs. "What's the matter, baby sis?"

   Lilly says, "Nothing. You just spooked me. That's all."

   Mike rolls his eyes. "Mhm, sure.

Lilly glares at him for a second then looks away. "Mom, dad, Mike, I would like to introduce y'all to Caden's mom and sister, Mrs. Smith and Emmy," says Lilly, pointing at Mrs. Smith then Emmy.

   Lilly's family says, "It's nice to meet you two."

   Mrs. Andrews adds, "Your son is very sweet, Mrs. Smith. We were delighted to have him for supper last night."

   Mrs. Smith smiles and before she can reply, Emmy interrupts. She laughs. "Sweet? Delightful? You must have had the wrong boy at your house. Because my brother is not sweet and delightful. He's very irritating and a pain in the b...."

   Emmy is cut off by her mom, who looks none too pleased with her. "Young lady, don't you say another word. Quit talking so bad about your brother. He wouldn't talk about you like that in front of what's his name's family, so you stop doing it in front of Lilly's family."

   Emmy shrugs her shoulders. "You're right, mom." Emmy looks over at Caden with a commiserating look. "Sorry, big brother. I was just messing around. I didn't mean any of it. I know you're awesome," says Emmy with a laugh.

   Caden laughs and hugs his little sister. "Aww, thanks, little sis. You're awesome too."

   Emmy smiles. "I know." Everyone laughs.

   Mrs. Smith replies to Mrs. Andrews' comment, "Thank you, Mrs. Andrews. I've tried to raise him right. Oh, and thank you so much for letting him stay over at your house for supper last night. I could tell he really enjoyed it and I just didn't feel like cooking last night anyway."

   Mrs. Andrews smiles. "Of course. He's welcome anytime. Oh, and please, call me Rebecca. Mrs. Andrews is just too formal," laughs Mrs. Andrews.

   Mrs. Smith laughs as well. "Thank you, and I agree. You can call me Kelly."

   Emmy says, "Well, it was nice for all of us to meet, but we better get going now so we can get some good seats."

   Mrs. Smith giggles at Emmy's excitement. "Yes, Emmy, you're right. We really should get going."

   Both families walk across the parking lot and onto the lake. Alongside the lake, sits a small stage with a band playing. As they get closer to the stage, a huge crowd forms. Caden says to Lilly, "Hey, Lil, I know the best place to watch the fireworks from. Do you want to come?"

   "Sure, but I'll have to ask my parents first," replies Lilly with a smile. Lilly walks over to her mom and dad. "Caden says that he knows the perfect place to watch the fireworks from. Is it ok if I go with him?" asks Lilly with a pleading smile.

   Her parents reply, "Well, I don't see why not. Go ahead, sweetie."

   Lilly smiles and hugs them both. "Thank y'all." She runs back over to Caden and says, "They said I can. Let's go. I heard they're about to start in about ten minutes."

   Caden smiles at Lilly's excitement. "Ok. Let's go then," says Caden, grabbing Lilly's hand.

   Emmy walks up. "Where are y'all going? The show's about to start."

   Caden says, "Oh. I was just telling Lilly about the best place to watch the show from. Do you want to come?"

   Emmy shrugs her shoulders. "Sure. Should I ask Mike if he wants to join us?"

   Caden mentally sighs, but says, "Sure."

   Emmy runs to ask him and a few seconds later, she returns with Mike. "Ok. He's coming with us. Let's go."

   Caden then leads all three of them up a tower, which is sort of like a press box. It's just a few feet away from the stage, so they can still hear the music. He says, "Well, here we are."

   Caden and Lilly sit down right beside each other and a few feet away from them, Emmy and Mike sit down beside each other. About six minutes later, the show begins. All four teens sit there and watch, in pure amazement, as the beautiful array of shimmering colors light up the dark night sky and reflect in the dark lake. Lilly points at different ones and says, "Wow! You were right, Caden. This is the best place to watch them."

   Caden looks over at her and smiles as he watches the colorful twinkle of wonder in her eyes after each firework. Lilly looks away from the fireworks for a quick moment and locks eyes with him. She smiles at him then they slowly lean in close to each other, and as one huge firework goes off above them, their lips meet. At first she seems surprised by the kiss, but then she leans into it and a few seconds later, they pull away from each other. They both smile at one another. Then she lies her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around her as they continue to watch the sparkling sky.

   Finally, about twenty minutes later, the final firework explodes with mesmerizing colors, and the show is over. Lilly sits up. "Wow! That was so beautiful. Thanks for bringing me up here, Caden."

   He smiles. "Of course. Anything for you."

   Lilly smiles and Emmy comes running up with Mike behind her. "Wow, y'all. That was so amazing. It was much better up here. Great idea, big brother," says Emmy, patting Caden on the back.

   Caden smiles, then all four teens walk down the stairs and back over to their families. Mrs. Andrews asks Lilly, "Well, did you enjoy the show, sweetie?"

   A great big smile spreads across Lilly's face. "Definitely, mama. It was so amazing and beautiful."

   Her mother smiles at her excitement. "Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed it, baby girl." Her mother looks at her watch and says, "Ooh. We better head back home now. You're father has to be at work at six o'clock tomorrow morning."

   Lilly frowns a bit. "Ok, mama, but first, can I tell Caden bye?"

   Mrs. Andrews nods her head. "Of course. We'll meet you at the car, ok?"

   Lilly nods her head in agreement and dashes off to find Caden, who is talking to his mom and sister. Lilly walks up and Mrs. Smith yawns. She looks at Caden and says, "It's getting pretty late. Emmy and I are going to head to the car. You can meet us there after you talk to Lilly." Caden nods his head in agreement and Mrs. Smith says to Lilly, "Goodnight, darling. It was so nice to meet you. Oh, and by the way, you look beautiful tonight."

   Lilly smiles at the compliment and says, "Thanks, Mrs. Smith. It was nice meeting you too. I hope you have a good night."

   Mrs. Smith smiles back. "You as well, sweetie." Then she looks at Emmy and says, "Come on, Emmy. Let's go get in the car."

   Emmy says, "Ok, mom, but first, I want to tell Lilly good night." Then Emmy walks over to Lilly, gives her a hug, and says, "Goodnight, Lilly. It was nice meeting you and I enjoyed playing Scrabble and watching the fireworks with you."

   Lilly smiles, hugs her back, and says, "It was nice meeting you too, Emmy. I enjoyed it as well. Good night and sweet dreams."

   Emmy smiles at her, then she walks with her mama to the car, leaving Lilly and Caden alone.

   Caden smiles at Lilly and sighs. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow?"

   Lilly frowns. "Oh, I'm sorry, Caden. I won't be able to do anything tomorrow."

   He asks, "Why not?"

   She explains, "Because I have to walk some dogs tomorrow.... Wait. Hold that thought. Hmm.... Maybe we could hangout sometime after twelve o'clock. Would that be ok?"

   Caden smiles. "Sure. Although, I could just come with you to walk the dogs. I wouldn't mind. I love dogs."

   Lilly smiles. "Really? Are you sure? You would have to be at my house by eight o'clock."

   "Of course I'm sure. It doesn't matter what time. I'd love to come with you. I can be your protector," says Caden with a smirk.

   Lilly blushes and giggles. "Ok. Sounds great. Oh, and thanks for tonight. It was so much more beautiful."

   He smiles. "Of course. Anything for you. Although, those fireworks could never compare to your beauty."

   Lilly blushes even more. "Aww, Caden. You're so sweet.... Well, I better get going now. My dad has to be at work by six o'clock in the morning tomorrow."

   Caden replies, "Ooh, that's early."

   She nods in agreement. "Yeah, really early."

   "Well, sweet dreams. Good night," says Caden as he wraps his arms around her.

   She smiles and wraps her arms around him as well. Then she kisses him, pulls away, and says, "Sweet dreams and good night to you too, Caden."

   He blushes. Then he walks her to her family's car.

   She says, "Thanks for walking me to the car."

   He smiles. "No problem. Anything for you."

   She smiles back. "Well, see you tomorrow," says Lilly as she gives him one last hug.

   He hugs her back one last time and says, "See you tomorrow at eight o'clock on the dot."

   She smiles, hops in the car, fastens her seatbelt, and waves goodbye to Caden as they pull out of the parking lot. He waves goodbye to her then hops in his car.

Once they get back home, Lilly's dad sighs, "Thank goodness the Braves were off tonight. I'd be up until midnight," he chuckles.

Lilly giggles, "Yeah."

Mrs. Andrews yawns. "Well, I guess we should be heading to bed. Good night, sweetheart and sweet dreams. Love you," says Mrs. Andrews as she hugs Mike.

   He hugs her back and says, "Good night, mom and sweet dreams to you too. Love you too," and she kisses his cheek.

   "Good night, sweetie. Sweet dreams. Love you," says Mrs. Andrews as she hugs Lilly and kisses her cheek.

   Lilly hugs her back and says, "Good night, mama. Sweet dreams to you too. Love you too."

   Then Lilly hugs her dad and says, "Good night, daddy. Sweet dreams. Love you."

   Mr. Andrews hugs her back. "Good night, sweetheart and sweet dreams to you too. Love you too, baby girl." He kisses her on the forehead, tells Mike good night, and heads upstairs to go to bed.

   Once her parents are upstairs, she hugs Mike and says, "Good night, big brother. Sweet dreams. Love you."

   Mike hugs her back and says, "Good night, baby sis. Sweet dreams. Love you too," then they both run upstairs to get ready for bed.

   Once Lilly gets her night gown on, brushes her teeth, and says her night prayer; she hops into bed and turns her TV on. She turns it down to a low volume to go to sleep to and all of a sudden, Mike walks in her door. He asks, "Hey, baby sis, is it ok if I come in?"

   Lilly nods her head. "Sure," and he walks into her room.

   She scoots up to the head of her bed, where she sits Indian style to leave room for him to sit. He sits down and begins, "I just wanted to say, in all seriousness, joking aside, I'm happy for you." Lilly gives him a puzzled look and he continues, "I'm glad that you and Caden found each other."

   Lilly turns red and repeats, "Found each other? What do you mean. I told you, Mike, we're just friends," Lilly lies.

   Mike shakes his head. "Oh no you're not. I saw the way he looked at you tonight and how he held your hand." Mike leans closer to Lilly and whispers, "I also saw you two kiss."

   Lilly turns into a stuttering tomato. "Wh-wh-what? Y-y-you saw us kiss?!"

   Mike nods. "Yep, but don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. And you shouldn't be ashamed anyway. I mean it's clear that he cares about you and he will always protect you. I can tell that you feel the same way too. It's ok, baby sis. It's part of growing up. Definitely don't be embarrassed, because it seems like to me, you two belong together."

   Lilly smiles. "Wow. Thanks, big brother. I'm not embarrassed. I just didn't know what people would think since I've only known him for almost a week."

   Mike smiles. "You're welcome, baby sis. And here's some advice, don't worry about what other people think. You just worry about what you think and what you want. Besides, if he ever breaks your heart, I'll just break him," snickers Mike.

   Lilly laughs. "Ok, big brother. Thanks again for talking to me, but I really need to get some sleep. I'm kind of tired," says Lilly with a yawn.

   Mike laughs. "Ok, baby sis." He leans over and hugs her. "Good night."

   She hugs him back. "Good night." Then he walks out of the room, turning off her light on his way out. Once Mike has left, Lilly lies down and within a few minutes, begins to dream about different scenarios with Caden.