Live It Up (c)

[Tag Along]

By some miracle, Lillian was able to catch one in her mouth.

"Thanks!" She said cheekily, chomping up the M&M.

[Specs]

"You never change," chuckled Ryan, shaking his head at her. "So, what does our Princess want to do with her night?"

He grinned, walking towards her. He definitely hadn't had this much fun in a while.

[Tag Along]

"To be honest, I just want to stay in. Watch a movie. Relax."

Lillian sighed, realizing just now that she was pretty exhausted. But she didn't want to tell Ryan that, for he might take that as a cue to leave.

[Specs]

"Alright, then," said Ryan, offering his hand to her. "Your place or mine?"

Wait, that came out wrong. He flinched inwardly. Best friends, they were definitely just best friends.

[Tag Along]

Lillian was so excited that he actually took her seriously that she didn't notice the innuendo.

"Well, seeing as I don't have a place in this city..." She replied, raising an eyebrow.

[Specs]

Ryan chuckled nervously, kicking himself in the head. Duh, stupid!

"My place it is, then," he said smoothly, acting as if nothing had happened. He gently took her hand, opened the door and led her out to the hallway, back towards his car. Most of the crowd was gone along with all the other workers in the arena. He just prayed that any photographers wouldn't be leering around. That was the last thing he wanted for Lillian to worry about.

[Tag Along]

Oh, Ryan. So naive. Of course there were photographers waiting outside the arena. Lillian ducked her head as they walked outside and the bulbs started flashing like lightning during a summer storm.

She just felt sorry for Ryan. He didn't ask for this.

[Specs]

He was obviously wrong. Quick to react, Ryan immediately led Lillian towards his car, unlocking the doors so they can both get in as fast as they can. He peeled out quickly, refusing to look at any photographers and set out on the highway.

"Does that mean I'm a celebrity now too?" he joked, once the photographers were out of reach.

[Tag Along]

Lillian didn't take it as a joke. She was frowning as she looked over at him.

"You'll be on celebrity blogs everywhere tomorrow..." She answered, knowing that was the truth. They'd probably tag him as "Mystery Man" or go so far as to find out who he was.

[Specs]

"I better have a good picture, then," he teased, looking over at her. His smile fell, however, when he noticed her frown. "H-hey, it's really no big deal to me. I could care less. You never know, it might bring in more business for the arena."

Business. Why'd I have to talk business? Now it seems like I'm using her. Great.

[Tag Along]

Lillian's frown turned into a smirk.

"I'm gonna assume you were joking about the business thing." She replied, reaching over and pinching his arm as hard as she could.

[Specs]

"I -- hey, it wasn't supposed to come out that way!" he laughed as he continued driving. Thank God he lived far so they wouldn't be followed.

"I just couldn't care less what other people think. Besides, we've been friends before and what's to stop us from hanging out now?"

[Tag Along]

Lillian leaned back in her seat, watching the scenery as they drove by.

"But, you do know they're going to say we're dating, right? Because I'm a girl, you're a guy, and we were walking together. So, obviously, we're in love."

[Specs]

"Obviously. It's what you celebrities do," said Ryan, smirking. He turned in towards an exit, taking side streets to get to his house. Ryan refused to live in a big house, figuring that it was too much space for one guy. He lived in a nice house; a house that was comfortable and homey. He pulled in the driveway and turned off the engine.

"Well, we're here," he said, unbuckling his seat belt and walking over to her side to open the door for her.

[Tag Along]

Lillian examined the house and thought, from the outside, it looked perfect.

"Not bad, Lane." She said, nodding her head slowly.