The summer sun in Los Angeles had a way of spilling through the glass windows of the rehearsal studio, flooding everything in a honeyed warmth that made time feel slower. The air hummed with the faint buzz of amps and the rhythmic thud of drumsticks against a pad somewhere in the corner.
Olivia sat cross-legged on the worn leather couch, a notebook balanced on her knees. Her pen tapped against the paper, not writing anything yet, just... waiting. Across from her, Joshua was sprawled in a rolling chair, guitar resting lazily across his lap, his foot pushing him back and forth in slow, aimless arcs.
"Play it again," Olivia said, breaking the comfortable silence.
Joshua grinned, fingers moving easily along the fretboard. "You just like making me repeat stuff so you can steal it."
"I don't steal," she countered, flipping a page in her notebook. "I improve."
He laughed — that low, easy sound that always felt like it belonged to moments like this. "Fine. But you're writing the lyrics. No excuses this time."
The melody drifted through the air, sweet and a little haunting. Olivia found herself mouthing potential words before she even realized she was doing it.
There was something about these afternoons — no directors, no cameras, just them. On set, their banter had become a thing everyone noticed, the kind of chemistry people teased them about. But behind the jokes was a rhythm they both leaned on.
"Okay," she said after a moment. "What about—" She stopped, biting her lip. "Actually, I'll show you later."
Joshua tilted his head. "Scared I'll make fun of it?"
"No. Just... want to get it right first."
His eyes softened in a way that made her stomach twist. "You always get it right."
The words hung between them for a beat too long, and Olivia looked down, scribbling something random just to break the spell.
⸻
Later that afternoon, they were outside, the heat clinging to their skin as they walked to the parking lot. Joshua jingled his keys, glancing at her. "Want a ride home? I was gonna stop for milkshakes."
"You just want company so you don't have to sing along to the radio alone," she teased.
"Guilty."
They ended up in his car, windows down, music up, the city passing in a blur. Somewhere between Silver Lake and Glendale, he slowed at a red light, and Olivia noticed how the late sun caught in his hair, turning it gold. He was tapping the steering wheel in time with the song — a track they'd been obsessed with for weeks.
"This one's ours," he said.
She smiled. "We have, like, ten 'our songs.'"
"Then this is number eleven."
It felt easy. Natural. Like maybe they were building something without saying it out loud.
⸻
That night, after they parted ways, Olivia lay in bed replaying the day. The guitar riff, the way he'd looked at her, the way her name sounded when he said it. She told herself it didn't mean anything — that she wasn't going to turn this into more than it was.
Still, her hand found her phone, and without thinking, she typed:
today was fun
She hesitated, then hit send.
The reply came quickly:
always is with you
Olivia smiled into the dark. She didn't know it then, but she'd remember this night for a long time — the last summer where everything still felt uncomplicated.
BINABASA MO ANG
Default Title - Write Your Own
Fanfiction📜 Description: In the golden haze of summer, Olivia and Joshua shared inside jokes, late-night drives, and melodies that felt like they belonged to only them. But when Sabrina enters the picture, their unspoken connection begins to unravel. Songs b...
