Missing Martha

76

Jemma emerged from the bedroom with her hair in a wet pony tail and with a plain white shirt and light blue ripped jeans. The sky was murky, dark cumulonimbus clouds looked overhead, rain was beginning to trickle down the window panes while storms gathered overhead.
"Hey Jem." Greeted Lucy, who was lying on one of the sofa's.
She blankly smiled back, "hi." She said, looking briefly over at Ollie who stood up immediately and walked towards her in the kitchen.
"What do you want?" She moaned quietly,
"To be with you." He whispered, making her sigh and look up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath.
"Y'know... maybe we should just be friends.." dared Jemma, looking down again, her eyes not meeting Ollie's shocked ones.
"What?" He questioned, unblinking.
"Hey, do you guys need your own space?" Asked Ryan,
"Thanks.." said Ollie, not making eye contact with him as Ryan and Lucy walked into another room and Cloda followed slowly behind.

Once the door was fully closed, Ollie walked away from the kitchen corner and out to the window.
"I love you, Jemma." He told her, feeling nauseated.
"Really?" She asked, not believing him.
"Yes. I do." He told her, turning around and facing her, who was just a few steps behind him.
Jemma's face was pale and her eyes were red,
"Then why did you kiss Cloda?" She growled,
"Oh my god you asked me to!" Yelled Ollie with fury,
"What I asked you to do was to, as friends kiss her! Not have some guilty affair with her!" Jemma shouted back.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" He yelled back, "you told me to kiss her so I did! You said there'd be no hard feelings!"
"And there wasn't going to be until I saw your tongue go into her mouth and I saw her eyes open with shock and now you keep giving her all these guilty looks."
Ollie couldn't find any words to kickback apart from, "you're wrong."
"I'm not wrong." She corrected, a tear streaming quickly down her cheek. "You know I'm right."
Ollie's jaw was shivering as his eyes and nose began to tense,
"I love you.." he repeated, almost like a beg,
"I love you too." Jemma replied, shaking her head, "but not the way I used to."
Ollie sat down on the sofa and held his head in his hands as another door opened.
"Hey what's with all the shouting?" Asked Martin, protruding from the threshold.
Nobody responded, nobody even faced him.
"Guys?" He asked, taking a couple more steps into the main room.
"Sorry for disturbing you, sir." Said Jemma, standing up and leaving, entering her bedroom again.
Ollie didn't want to follow her, but he didn't want to be here with Mr McCafferson, and he definitely didn't want to be in the same room with Ryan, Lucy and Cloda. He couldn't face seeing them.
Before he had the chance to move, Martin had already sat down beside him.
"Sir.. I really don't wanna talk right now." Muttered Ollie.
Martin looked over at him, knowing what had happened,
"Then don't." He said.
Ollie pressed his hand up against his mouth, looking up at the rain that was pouring down the window.
"I cheated on her, Sir." He admitted, just wanting to tell someone.
Martin looked over at Ollie with surprise, "and you're admitting it?"
Ollie laughed a little while wiping his tears.
"Okay.. this is an unpopular opinion but... you're only sixteen."
"Sir.. it's not like that."
"You kissed Cloda, you got carried away and you've been feeling guilty ever since." Guessed Martin,
"For god's sake does everybody know?!" Shouted Ollie with anger and embarrassment.
"No. But I can't count the amount of times I've done the same thing."
"Sir... I don't want to hear about Emily." Groaned Ollie,
"I'm not talking about Emily, I'm talking about on this trip, I'm talking about the girl I kissed in Nice, and the girl at the border going into Italy, and Natasha. Ollie I'm a bloody player and I'm nearly twice your age."
Ollie laughed in response, "Sir, Miss Flynn told you to kiss that girl in Nice."
"She didn't tell me to kiss her like that." He admitted, biting his lip, "remind you of a similar situation?"
Ollie sighed and nodded before smiling a little, "it was pretty funny though."
Martin laughed, "it was absolutely humiliating."
"What about Mrs Watson?" Asked Ollie,
"Oh jeez don't talk about her." He said, looking back down at Ollie with pity.
"So..." said Martin, "do you love her?"
"What?" Ollie burst out,
"Go on, Jemma, do you love her?" Repeated Martin, recalling the day before they went on tour, outside school where Martin and Zoe had spotted Ollie and Jemma about to kiss, and Ollie proceeded to give advice to Martin about Zoe.
"A little bit, Yeah." Ollie replied, smiling to hide his anguish.
Martin knew that a little bit meant a lot.
"Then stop stalling and tell her." Encouraged Martin, patting his shoulder.
"I can't believe I'm getting dating advice from my teacher." Said Ollie, looking up at Martin, referencing that talk.
"I can't believe I'm giving it to you. Now go and get her."

Ollie took a big gulp of water before slowly standing up, his hands shivering with nerves as he approached the bedroom door, but before he could open it, Jemma opened it first, she had been listening to every word that Martin and Ollie had said with her ear against the door, they stood opposite each other on the threshold, their eyes focused on each other. Ollie decided that he ought to speak first, so he did so bluntly,
"Jem.. this is a shitty apology.. but I'm sorry for being a slutty twat, you deserve so much better than me, but I do genuinely love you, and at least I want to be your friend." He said, feeling so anxious, until Jemma smiled at him before wrapping her arms around him. Ollie, with butterflies in his stomach, hugged her warmly, his chin in her soft sweet-smelling hair, he closed his eyes with relief, knowing he'd been given a second chance, he opened his eyes again, looking over her shoulder to Martin who winked at him before walking back into his own bedroom.