Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

Begin Again

The teen pulls away, beaming up at me before landing a not-so-gentle punch to my upper arm. "Do you know how worried I was about your dumb-ass?!"

I rub at the spot on my arm, rolling my eyes. Yes I knew. She practically blew up my phone until I texted her back to let her know that I was indeed alive. And she's not stopped since. Not that I really minded. Olivia and I share a lot of the same interests, mostly in music and it's been nice talking to someone who isn't my friends or family while I've been recovering. "Yes, I was. Where the hell did you learn how to punch?"

"Y/N! Watch your language, there are children present!"

Letting out a sight, I narrow my eyes at the teenager for getting me in trouble with my girlfriend as I turn to look at the brunette. "She started it!"

Olivia, who apparently hadn't bothered to notice that Lizzie was with me, only stares at the other woman, mouth hanging open just a little. The sight causes me to smile widely, having been the most excited about this, about Lizzie and Olivia meeting finally.

I gently shove the teenager towards my girlfriend, chuckling when she stumbles a little and glares over her shoulder at me. It reminds me so much of what Scarlett did at the con all those months ago. Now I understand why Scar did it, it's so damn amusing. "Liv, this is Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Olivia."

I watch as the teenager gives Lizzie an awkward half-wave. "Hi. I'm a huge fan."

Lizzie just smiles, instantly pulling the younger girl in for a hug. "It's nice to officially meet you, Olivia. Y/N talks about you all the time."

The teen glares over at me as the two pull out of their hug, which only causes me to chuckle. "What? I didn't tell her anything embarrassing about you. Yet."

I manage to dodge another punch, laughing loudly as I motion for Olivia to take her seat. The afternoon is spent mostly just talking between us all, mostly about our upcoming Thanksgiving plans since the holiday is this Thursday. Lizzie gets her fair share of questions, but the brunette answers them all with a smile the entire time. We did manage to dedicate fifteen minutes so I could see where everyone was in terms of playing, since they'd all been instructed to practice as much as they could until I could return. So far everyone is doing really well, and I'm not at all surprised that Olivia has already learned several more chords on top of the three I taught them. They all can easily switch between chords without missing a beat, so I promise them that Tuesday we'll begin talking about strumming patterns.

When time is up, a few kids stick around to ask a few more questions, or just to hang for as long as they can before their parents pick them up. Lizzie and I make sure each kid gets picked up before we head to the car, Olivia in tow.

"So how did you two meet?"

Smiling, I turn in the passenger seat until I'm facing the teenager in the back seat. "I was actually helping Scarlett with something and happened to meet Lizzie while I was on set."

Olivia's eyes widen as they meet mine. "On set? Like on the set of a movie?"

"Well, I was just at the studio set. But I did see where some of the sets the Marvel movies were filmed on."

The teen lets out a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "God, that must have been so freaking cool."

I nod, making a mental note to ask Lizzie later if we can somehow manage to bring Olivia to the studio sets once or twice as I turn back around in my seat upon Lizzie's quiet request. "So what are your holiday plans, kid?"

"Oh, nothing. I think Marty and Gloria are going to a family dinner or something, but I'm staying home."

Frowning, I turn my head back around so I can, once again, look at the teen. "Why are you not going with them?"