[Candycane]: 728.Dangerous Secrets.Chapter 4

"Ha! I got you now!" Kyle yelled as his thumbs rapidly pressed combination after combination. "You're goin' down!" The headset allowed him to hear people and talk to them. Obviously, they were battling, or something. It was fun to watch for some.

Lillian came up behind Kyle and placed her arms on his shoulders, her hands dangling by his stomach, her head to his right, watching the same screen. She could hear voices of those who he was facing, at least, the last of the sentence. "...better than you!"

"Yeah right!" Kyle scoffed, tapping away, the familiar, almost monotone beep of each key pressed on the controller, making Lillian feel slightly sleepy. "My M64 Auto can totally beat your Mac Auto Machine! And in my sleep, too!"

"In your dreams, 69!" the other male voice said. Obviously, they were comrads on another plane because they knew each other's usernames so well, they shortened them to the last two numbers, obviously a requirement.

"You seriously need help, 24," Kyle replied, tapping repeatedly as the machine gun he carried rapid fired. "HA!" He couldn't jump up because of Lilly, but would've. His arms raised in vicotry. "You own me 20 Culos!" Culos being the online dollars in the game.

Lilly giggled. "Kyle, why do you have to hurt people's feelings like that?" she asked, her sweet voice resoinding into the microphone.

"69, you with some chick and you still beat me!?" the other guy said. "Damn!"

Kyle's face went red. "She's just my sister," he bluffed and moved on. "Hey, where are you going to go now? You need to level up, man. You can't make it with that puny number in this plane."

"Yeah, I know, but don't change the subject! Who is she really?" the guy asked, obviously interested...or curious.

"I'm his best friend," Lilly replied before Kyle did. "Ruby783, remember? Yeah, I haven't gotten on in a while."

"Really? I didn't know you and 69 knew each other in real life," their mutual friend replied. "You should get on now. We can all ambush the Green Code 71 guild and get 'em back for messin with us last time. It'd be Blue Code 03 Reunited!"

Lilly smiled but shook her head, straightening up so Kyle had his freedom back. She moved over to a couch and plopped down, still wearing his clothing. "Nah," Kyle replied for her. "I gotta take her home, anyways. Maybe she'll get on. Who knows?" He glanced over to Lilly before he said his 'see ya later' and turned off the game, pulling the headset from his ears and face.

"Sounds like 24 wants our help, huh?" Lilly said. "I'll get on when I get home and say hi..." She glanced around the room, not looking at Kyle as she spoke, her hand finding the side of her face, the latter leaning on the former.

"Yeah, him," Kyle said, unconvinced. "You really need to tell me whatever's bothering you. I can help..." He saw now that the fling didn't work out because one of them wasn't being honest, and he had no idea who it was. He had his secrets, so why was he forcing the truth from her?

Lilly only shook her head, her eyes closed as she did so. "I need to let things die down..." was all she said before she decided to get up and get dressed. She'd kept a few change of clothes over here, and Kyle did at her house.

Having reached Kyle's room again, she smiled as the clothes were still folded, and smelled like fresh laundry, despite them having been sitting for a bit. "Hey Kyle," she said, knowing he followed her. "...why didn't we work out?" She opened his closet door and stood behind it, changing. She still didn't feel comfortable changing in front of him.

"Kyle leaned against the bedroom doorframe. He shrugged, looking up at his ceiling. "I dunno," he replied. "It would've been nice if it did..." He stopped talking, even though he had more to say. He figured she didn't want to hear it.

Lilly had pulled off the shirt she slept in and put on the sports bra before pulling the shirt over her head. She waited a bit, holding the shirt around her shoulders before she straightened it, pulling it towards her waist. "I know what you mean," she said, quietly. She'd slipped off the pajama pants and picked up the jeans. She pulled them on easily, buttoning and zipping them.

Kyle glanced over to the closet door. He could see her feet moving on the other side from underneath it. He smiled, absently. "Think we should give it a second chance?" he asked, facing the wind on this one.

Lilly had fluffed her hair from being in the shirt, and yawned as he asked, stiffling the end when he did. She stood, wide eyed, one hand holding her mouth from the yawn and the other holding the elbow of the opposite. No...no...I...can't... she thought as her mouth moved on its own. "Yeah," she said, not sure if that was agreement or the answer.

Kyle blinked and moved into the room, him wearing slack jeans and a muscle t-shirt. His hand grabbed the door's edge the other one resting at his side. He stopped, waiting to see if Lilly would move. "Yeah what?" he asked, the volume of his voice dropping for the change in distance.

Lilly blinked before she turned to face Kyle. "Just yeah," she replied, a smile slowly sprinkled over her chin. She had to look up at Kyle, her being short and all. It was the perfect atmosphere for a kiss, but Lilly ruined it with a sudden flash of memory of the previous night, the pain, the torture, the rape. She shook her head and backed away from Kyle, stumbling and landing into the circular chair whose cushion served Kyle as a bed.

"Hey," he said, concerned and he rushed to Lilly. Kyle manuevered himself next to her, pulling her to him in a comforting hug. She laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." His voice was a comfort too. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I'm sorry you had to go through it all." He only hugged her tighter with the last few words.

Lilly's arms were pinned to her chest, not that she minded, they were just a slight nuescence. With a quick tug, she was able to pull them out and wrap them around Kyle, her hands holding the guy's shoulderblades, her forehead pressed against his shoulder. Tears began to form which created a language barrier, stopping her words from ever reaching her tongue. She knew if she spoke now, all would come out is more tears.

The two stayed like that for about twenty minutes before Lilly moved her head, her eyes slightly watery, but a smile on her lips. "Thank you," she said, quietly. With that she moved up and kissed his cheek. It lessened his grip around her and she was able to stand up and walk to the door, picking up her shoes as she went. She placed a hand on the doorframe before she actually exited and turned to look at Kyle again. "Thank you for so much..." Tears whelled up again, but she didn't care.

Kyle blinked at her kiss, stunned more the word that describe it, but he followed her movements with his gaze. When she stopped at the door and thanked him again, he stood. She had gone down the stairs and he was quick to follow. She wasn't running from him. That was a good sign, but why was it good? Could he really like her as more?

Lilly had sat down at a dining room chair and was pulling on the now dry socks and shoes when Kyle came up in front of her. He offered his hand, and she glanced up at his face before her hand met his. She thought it was very cute how he didn't come out right and kiss her. Was he holding back? Could he really not like her like that or is he messing with her? Playing with her emotions? NO! He wouldn't do that. He was her best friend, right?

Kyle pulled her to a standing position and his free hand found her neck and shoulder joint. This light caress made Lilly forget about tying her shoes to leave. Yes, this was the moment and she wasn't about to destroy it. She leaned forwards towards him and he met her, their lips pressed against each other. In mere moments, this kiss became more than just a kiss, it meant that yes, they were more than just best friends. They both pulled back at the same time, Kyle opening his eyes first as he looked at Lilly. She was smiling which made him smile.

With a few moments of watching her, Lilly opened her eyes which were met with his. She smiled even broader as her hands found both of his shoulders. "Does that mean we're a couple?" she asked, jokingly serious.

"Only if you want us to be," he joked back. Kyle let Lilly go so she could finish, but stayed nearby, sitting in a chair next to her. "You don't have to go, you know. I just said that so 24 would let us go." He smiled, his hand resting on the table.

Lilly smiled. "I know," she said, standing upright, both shoes tied. She lightly brushed her lips against his forehead and moved as if about to leave, for real. In a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing, Kyle's arm, not on the table, had grabbed Lilly's wrist, holding her. He stood up, too, and without words, lead her back to the bedroom.