FicWad

Lily looked down at the small scrap of paper in her hand. She adjusted her black sunglasses, pushing them up the bridge of her nose.
"One bag penne pasta..." she murmured under her breath, searching the shelves.
An hour earlier, her mother handed over the shopping list, along with her check-card and sent Lily to the grocery store. And here she was, alone in aisle 7, debating over which brand of pasta to buy. Her hair was pulled up, razored side-bangs falling across her face, stray pieces of hair falling out of the bun on the top of her head. She wore a black t-shirt boasting Molly Ringwald, and blue jeans tucked into soft, suede boots lined with fleece. She held the piece of paper between her newly painted pink nails, bangles tinkling daintily with every movement of her wrist. She decided on an old Italian brand and threw the bag into the shopping cart, the satisfying crunch of noodles following. She pulled out a ball point from her jean pocket and crossed out the item, moving on to the next.
"One red onion..." she whispered, pocketing the pen along with the small piece of paper. She pushed the cart down the aisle, turning the corner towards the vegetables, boots softly patting the linoleum floor. She ran her index finger over her ear, tracing the cartilage as she browsed the brightly colored displays, tugging gently at the small metal hoops that lined the outer edges of her ear. She ripped off a small plastic bag from one of the many rolls placed throughout the area, eyeing the produce. Lily decided on a particularly large purple onion, and placed it in the bag, twirling it until it closed. She placed the onion in the cart, beginning to grow weary of the elevator music drifting from the speakers. Just as she began to push the cart away, her ears perked up at the sound of her cell phone. She dug through her purse and pulled it out victoriously, pushing the green button,
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lily..it's me."
Her heart melted...face burning red at the sound of his voice. She put a hand to her rouge cheek,
"Hey Gerard...how are you?"
"Ah..I'm great..just got to L.A...it's not raining yet, so that's a good sign..."
"Yeah.."Lily agreed, looking at the stained and worn tiles, "You in a hotel?" she asked, glancing over at the variety of yogurt next to her.
"Yeah, you know the drill...what are you doing?"
Lily looked at her feet and smiled, "I'm grocery shopping for my mom.." she admitted with a grin.
Gerard laughed on the other line, "That's cute. Fun?"
Lily looked around her at the elderly scuffling around, leaning on their carts, purses plopped in front of them...
"Yeah..it's..nice. Makes me feel human."
"Nobody bothering you, then?" Gerard asked.
Lily could almost picture his face...
Lily nodded, "Nobody. I'm the master of disguise." she joked, adjusting her glasses.
Gerard laughed softly, "Yeah..well...I called for two...no, three reasons."
Lily hummed in question.
"One being..I wanted to hear your voice.."
Lily was a puddle on the floor...blending with the dirt and dropped lollipops...
"Two being I wanted to apologize for the way I talked to you this morning..I was a real ass..."
Lily didn't argue that point. Gerard continued,
"I shouldn't bring you between what Bert and I have going on...it's not for you to deal with, it's between him..and me."
Lily nodded, "Ok.."
Gerard continued, "And..to show you that I'm really sorry...I talked to Brian, and...he said it was ok..but..."
Gerard paused, leaving Lily to rake her brain for possible scenarios. What was ok with Brian? Taking her on a private jet to Hawaii? Out on a date? Painting pottery together? Flying to Ethiopia to do charity work? Running with the bulls in Pamplona? What was it?!
"...Yeah?" Lily asked impatiently
"Do you want to be in my new video?" Gerard asked abruptly, maybe even nervously.
Lily gasped, "Like..a cameo?"
"Yeah!" Gerard agreed...she could hear a smile in his voice...see his dimples...his cheeks...
"That'd be so much fun...are you sure its ok? I mean.." Lily was tingling with excitement.
"Of course, I already talked to Brian...he said I owe you anyway. And besides, I haven't seen you in a while...I miss you." Gerard mumbled the last part, voice low.
Lily smiled widely, looking at her feet.
"I...I miss you too." she said softly, blushing brightly.