Christmas Eve Bells

A/N: Shane is 20 and on Christmas break from college and Lilly is 19 and also on break from college. There is no Connect 3; Shane's parents are just rich.

Lilly smiled as she put on a Santa hat. Shane looked at her, smiling in the presence of her beauty. Lilly looked at him as she pulled some long blonde hair over her shoulders. "Are you ready?" she asked him as she tugged on the red 'Sexy Mrs. Claus' outfit. It was red and reached about 2 inches above her knee. The buttons were furry white and there was white trim along the end of the skirt, the neck line, and the wrist. Lilly pulled up the white stockings that currently covered her legs. She looked at Shane, the Santa suit fitting him well; very well.

The air was cold and the wind was blowing. The forecast was calling for snow. Shane cut the engine of his new blue 2009 Saleen Dark Horse Mustang and put on his red gloves. "Are you ready to stand in the cold for two hours?" he asked her, a smile on his face. Lilly laughed and smiled.

"No duh Shane. We're gonna be the best bell ringers that the Salvation Army ever had. You know why? Because we're the bestest best friends ever," Lilly said in response. Shane laughed and shook his head as he got out of the car, Lilly doing the same.

"Which you have often informed me that it is all we shall ever be," Shane said. Lilly rolled her eyes at her best friend. Confused? Yeah, Shane is kind of in love with Lilly. He's been so open about it to her. Now, they joke about it sometimes even though he falls even more in love with her every day. Lilly and Shane began walking towards the entrance of Target. They were going to ring bells for the Salvation Army outside of it. Harry, an old man around the age of sixty smiled at them two young 'kids' as they appeared closer to him.

"Hey Shane and Lilly! I see both of you are bell ringing again this year," he said to them, his Texas accent showing in his voice. He handed a worn, gold bell to Shane. "It's nice to see you Shane. Not a lot of rich folks want to help out, especially around the holidays. Give your parents my greetings!" said Harry, his voice beginning to fade as he walked away in a hurry to reach his car, begging for the heat. The current temperature? 16 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Hour one begins now, rich kid," said Lilly, a smile on her face as she looked at Shane, him sending a glare in her direction. Lilly grasped her hand around the cold metal of the extra bell. No one really got as into it as Shane and Lilly but they made it fun. It was their fourth year doing it. "C'mon and donate to the Salvation Army! It's Christmas Eve!" said Lilly as people walked past her. It was barely 11:05am and people were pouring in and out of Target.

"Lils, they're not gonna listen. You need something more catching," Shane whispered to Lilly. "I thought you knew that already."

"Well, people have changed since then; they've become rude- very rude," she said, pouting as she rang the small hand held bell. Shane smiled.

"Watch and learn Lilly," he said. "I'll sing any Christmas song you want if you please donate to the Salvation Army!" Shane shouted. A girl, the age of ten walked away from her mother as she headed in. She inched her way towards Shane, her footsteps barely heard in the black boots she wore. She took her puffy brown hair behind her ear and searched through her pockets of the black fur-like coat. She smiled as she pulled a nickel out of her pocket.

"Is this enough?" she asked us, her voice small. Lilly bent down next to her.

"Anything is fine. Now what's your name?" she asked the girl.

"Tiffany," the girl replied back. Lilly smiled at the little girl, the shy one she was.

"Ok Tiffany, I'm Lilly and he's my best friend Shane. Do you want him to sing a Christmas song for you?" Lilly asked her. She nodded her head slowly. "Ok, what song?" The girl stood in her spot thinking.

"Can you sing 'Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer'?" Tiffany asked, a smile playing on her lips. Shane smiled and nodded.

"Anything for a cutie," he replied. He picked up Tiffany, her small seven year old body as light as could be, and sang the song she wanted.

…

Lilly took Shane's wrist, pulled up his sleeve, and checked the time on his wrist watch. "Ugh, we've been ringing bells for only an hour yet it feels like three!" Lilly complained. The cold was getting to her. She looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds forming. "I see snow coming too," she said.

"What's up with you? Cold getting to you?" Shane asked sarcastically. He continued to ring bells, switching hands for his starting wrist was beginning to bother him.

"Cold getting to you?" Lilly mimicked. "Of course the cold is getting to me. But, being the awesome best friend that you are… you'll let me take your car to 7-11 so I can get us some hot chocolate," suggested Lilly.

"No Lilly, not my brand new car. Plus, you signed up for it, you're sticking with me," said Shane.

"I'll kiss you on the lips," Lilly said, trying to compromise. She was lying of course. Shane looked at her skeptically.

"You're lying to me," he said. He sent a smile and a 'thank you' to a young man who donated ten dollars. Lilly crossed her arms and looked at him.

"So what if I'm lying! Plus, no offense, I don't wanna kiss you. For a hundred dollars, count me in," Lilly said with a shrug. Personally, she really needed the money. She wouldn't let Shane know that. Her family has been really down in the dumps since her father lost his job. She couldn't let Shane find out about it. He'd do everything her could to make sure my family was well off and ok but that was the last thing she wanted. To Lilly, that was pity money.

"Fine," said Shane. He put down his gold bell, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "If I can get 100 dollars donated then the girl of my dreams, who obviously doesn't like me, will kiss me!" Shane smiled as a couple of people huddled together by the exit. Lilly's mouth dropped.

"You seriously want to kiss me?!" she asked, shocked. Shane shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," he said. Lilly couldn't get over the fact that someone wanted to kiss her so much. What was so special about Lilly anyway that made her different from every other girl that walks the planet? Lilly closed her mouth and silently rung her bell. The small group of people walked over to Shane. A woman, around the age of thirty, stepped up to him, money in hand. Her long red hair was in a professional bun at the back of her neck. She took off her black gloves and smiled at Shane.

"We have one hundred dollars," she said proudly. Lilly tried her best to keep her mouth shut and to stop it from dropping to the ground in shock. The woman counted the money in front of Shane and the minute she reached a hundred, she folded the money, smiled at the two of us, and dropped it into the Salvation Army kettle. "Good luck," she whispered to Shane and walked over to the small group who awaited her return over by the exit. Shane smiled at Lilly.

"Well, I believe you owe me a kiss," he said. Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever," she said. Lilly put her bell down onto the garbage next to Shane's bell and grabbed his face. She pulled him in closer and felt his arms snake around her waist. There was a small gap between the two, their lips barely brushing each others, and Shane eagerly closed it. Lilly was shocked by his rush yet his lips were slow and patient. Lilly kissed him back, feeling his lips mold perfectly into hers. She tried her hardest not to smile. She tried not to show any emotion yet, she had to admit to herself that maybe, she actually enjoyed kissing him. She couldn't believe it. The boy who has been in love with her since the 8th grade. The boy who has been her best friend since kindergarten. That boy stood here, kissing Lilly with her kissing right back.

Lilly couldn't hold back any longer and she smiled as they continued to kiss. Shane pulled away a little while later as the need for oxygen became too much. Lilly bit her lip to stop the smile forming on her face. She didn't know what was getting into her. Shane slowly smiled and continued to ring the bell.

…

It was an hour later, their shift done. Silence had welcomed them since the kiss, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. As they sat down in Shane's car, Shane pulled out his wallet. He pulled out five 20s and handed them to Lilly. "You said you'd kiss me for a hundred dollars and since it wasn't entirely fair to you it got donated, you deserve it," he said. Lilly numbly grabbed the money, watching as Shane took off his gloves and put the key into the ignition. They both sat still for a moment, waiting to turn on the heat knowing that it would just blast cold air at the moment.

"Shane?" Lilly said quietly.

"Hm?" he asked, turning to Lilly. Lilly bit her lip before grabbing his face and pulling it towards her until their lips connected. She knew Shane was shocked by the action but quickly responded. Lilly smiled. She could have sworn she heard her own Christmas Eve bells going off in her head. Lilly giggled as Shane reluctantly pulled away when he hit the radio with his knee. He turned it off before turning back to a smiling and blushing Lilly.

"Well, who needs to turn on the heat when you've got that," he said before kissing Lilly quickly and pulling out of the parking lot.

...

Eh, I'm a month late for Christmas but hey, there's not a lot of Shilly/Loe stories out there so I just couldn't wait until NEXT Christmas to post it. Hope you all like it though! It's not my best work but I still kind of like it! Hope you enjoy your very early holiday gift! =)