¶ Whenever You're Ready ¶

Need A Resolution Pt. 2

"Forget the damn phone and go see her face to face, Spencer!"  Kia urged of an indecisive Spencer. "Invite her to the party, then rip off the band-aid and demand to talk. Show her you're serious about fixing the problem. You can't show sincerity through a damn phone."

Those intense, but honest words of advice rang through his mind. Kia, like the rest of their friends, was fed up with how he and Olivia avoided each other like a disease. Despite being out of state, Kia also received an emotional ear full from Olivia about their current conflict in hopes of gaining a new perspective. And after a week of Liv leaning on her for comfort, like Spencer's friends, Kia reached her point of distress.

"You are both miserable. And as much I adore Olivia to bits, my girl has a bad habit of avoiding her problems. You have to step to her and tell what's what, Spencer."

So there he stood on her front porch after shooting Olivia a warning text that he'd be dropping by.

Gently opening the door, Liv peered through with a sympathetic expression that matched his own. Keeping her hand on the door, she kept herself inside the threshold of her home. Gripping the doorknob tightly, her lips lined with an unreadable tightness as she took in his appearance.

His brown eyes were tugged down by dark circles to convey a lack of sleep. His fit frame remained stiff, to keep himself at a safe distance from Liv's bubble. His hands balled into fists, as he shoved them into his jacket pockets. A movement that mirrored Olivia's own as they attempted to keep from embracing one another into a hug that they both desired.

"Hey." He greeted calmly, keeping his words short.

"Hi," Liv replied lightly, nervously biting her lip before opening the door wider. "Sorry, come in." She added, realizing how long they'd stood in their current awkward positions.

"Thanks." He sighed, quickly making his way inside.

Once the door was shut Spencer and Olivia walked in silence until they reached the kitchen. Rounding the bar area, Olivia made her way back to her workspace finally gazing at Spencer.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Olivia asked, hoping this wasn't the big talk because she hadn't readied herself in the last hour since he messaged her about coming over.

"The guys are throwing a party. Everyone's coming and I wanted you to know it's cool if you come by." Spencer assured her, wanting there to be no weird tension them when around the crew. "Maybe you could stay after everybody leaves so we can finally have that talk too."

"Yeah, maybe," Olivia responded, indecisiveness echoing in her tone.

"Look, Liv, I won't keep going on like this," Spencer demanded. "...Without seeing you, talking to you. I can't do it anymore. I won't." He concluded sternly, leaving no room for argument.

"I'm sorry, Spencer." Liv attempted to her boyfriend to apologize for the mess their relationship had become.

"Don't be sorry, Liv." Spencer heaved, "Just be there." Gesturing to her laptop, he added, "Keep working, I said what I wanted to. Come to the party, Liv."

That was it. He didn't wait for anything to fall from Olivia's mouth before strutting out of the kitchen, and out of the Baker house.

Glancing back to where Spencer stood, Olivia scrunched her eyes, processing what just happened. Spencer put his foot down, and she could tell he was serious. No matter how much he loved her, Spencer also had his limits.

Exhaling a much-needed breath, Olivia tried to clear some mental space as sje tried to recenter her focus back to her laptop. However, the peace hadn't lasted long before Coop approached Olivia.

"Hey, was that Spencer I heard down here?" Coop inquired, breaking Liv's focus. "Did y'all finally work yalls' shit out?"

"Yes and no." Olivia huffed as she continued dragging her fingers across the keyboard, trying to keep her train of thought.

"Why the hell not?" Coop questioned. "You've been sulking around here all break, missing him, then push him away the first chance you get. I don't it."

Balling her hands into fists of frustration, Olivia inhaled a breath of impatience. Opening her eyes once more, she glared at Coop.

"It's more complicated than that, alright." Olivia scoffed. "We both needed time to process how to work around the fact that I building a story against his coach. This whole space thing is hard on both of us. Do you think I like knowing he is hurting because of me or my job?"

Coop shrugged. "All I know is your little article is the reason y'all are miserably storming around everywhere." She argued unconvinced that Olivia was completely on board with working things out with Spencer.

"You two barely speak anymore. You avoid each other like a plague." Coop dramatized. "And it all falls back to you and your article, Liv." Coop pressed harder, causing Olivia to stare up to the ceiling praying for her last nerve to not snap.

Despite how stressed Olivia appeared Coop continued to chew into her. "You telling me you can't just scrap your piece, huh? There isn't any other investigative piece that you could write about? Why does it have to be Spencer's team?"

"It's because it's Spencer's team that makes it so important!" Olivia shouted, at her wit's end with Coop's interrogation. "Coach Garrett has Spencer's future in the palm of his hand. And I will be damned if I sit in silence and let that prick ruin my boyfriend like he's done to so many other talented athletes." Liv grimaced harshly at the thought. "I won't sit by and watch Garrett go unpunished for what he's done. What he could do? He isn't just a threat to Spencer, but to that entire football program. And if I can help get rid of him then why shouldn't I?"

Coop was brought to a standstill in reaction to Olivia's social justice, outburst.

"And I get that as Spencer's oldest friend you have a right to ensure he is happy," Olivia admitted politely. "But, Spencer is the love of my life and I have his best interest at the end of the day. He may not understand the bigger picture right now, but he will come around." Liv confidently stood her ground. "Until then, as my friend, I need you to my boundaries. Our relationship is our business."

"Nah, you're right." Coop agreed. "I don't mean implying you won't do right by, Spence. Or by telling you how to do your job. I'm just concerned." Coop confessed. "Scrap the story or run it, whatever you decide, just don't drag your relationship through hell for it. Y'all either together or y'all not. You gotta figure that out." Coop finalized her end of the conversation before, patting an overwhelmed Olivia on the shoulders and leaving.

Left alone with her thoughts, Olivia shut her laptop down, mentally preparing for the next raw conversation that awaited her evening.