Anyone Else

9. Anyone Else Would Do This For You Too

These next few chapters might seem a bit like fillers but that's because I have some big stuff coming up. But without further ado...

Oh crap. Olivia turned quickly as she saw Josh walk down the hallway towards her. Scarpering into a nearby room she spotted Stephy, she was sitting in there on her phone.

"Hi." She said breathlessly, "I'm hiding from Josh."

"Alright," Stephy laughed, patting the seat beside her. "You're welcome to hide here with me." Olivia smiled and finally relaxed as she fell into the seat. All day, she'd been twisting and turning to avoid Josh at all costs. It was hectic and hellish and she was bloody fed up of it. She hated not being able to see him or talk to him. "So what did he do? Other than get a crazy girlfriend." Olivia opened her mouth in protest. "Come on, everyone knows how you feel about it."

"Yeah it seems like everyone does..." Olivia groaned, reminded of the horrific conversation- well more like Alice's monologue- she'd had the night before. "But that's not why, really." She wanted to explain, she really did, but that would be an incredibly stupid idea.

"I'm guessing you don't want to talk about it." Stephy snorted.

"Yeah" Olivia laughed at the ridiculous situation she found herself in. Then Josh's face poked round the corner of the door. Immediately, at the creek of the door opening, she fell and run to hide behind a piece of set.

"Hey, have you seen Liv?" Stephy shook her head. "I think she might be avoiding me."

"Sorry" She shrugged, "I think I saw her go towards props."

"Thanks." Josh groaned.

"You know, if she's avoiding you, maybe you shouldn't try and find her." Stephy laughed, but Josh was serious.

"She's my best friend. And I don't understand what I've done wrong. I need her to tell me so I can make it better." Stephy nodded with understanding and smiled sympathetically as Josh left to follow her fake trail. Shyly, Olivia left her hiding space and looked at the ground. There were tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, guilt was starting to take over. Maybe she should have just let Alice out her, then Josh wouldn't be so upset. Who was she to be so selfish? All Alice could do is ruin her reputation, surely Josh would believe her. Right? There was always a chance he would believe her, they would all believe her. That's why she was doing this, she couldn't risk ruining her career, reputation and what Josh thought of her.

"Sorry" She whispered, before grabbing her bag and running out in the opposite direction to Josh.

"Everyone here is so bloody dramatic." Stephy muttered to herself as she shook her head.

Her foot tapped against the linoleum floor that reflected her anxious reflection right back at her. She had close her eyes to avoid the guilty stare she was emitting. Josh was about to walk through that door, then soon they'd be trapped in that claustrophobic room and she'd have to go to extreme lengths to avoid him. That would be especially hard, especially since they were about to perform a scene where they would be in VERY close proximity to each other. Silently begging she would disappear into the ground before anyone would show up. But of course, that didn't happen and Josh strolled in right then. Whipping his head around, searching for Olivia. Smiling brightly as he spotted her, he sat down beside her.

"You alright? I haven't seen you today." She hummed noncommittally as a response and headed straight for Tim.

"Hi Tim, which scene is it today?" She asked, hoping he might have changed his mind and cut all scenes in which Ricky and Nini were alone. But since they were the main couple of the show, that wasn't likely.

"YAC conversation in Nini's room. We want it to be reminiscent of the I think I kinda you know scene. So," By now, Josh had shown up and was standing beside Olivia. A bit too close for comfort. "Josh, you'll be lying across Olivia's lap." He gestured towards Nini's bed and for them to get set. The make-up and hair artists adjusted them and costume gave them any last minute changes. Taking a deep breath, Olivia sat up on the bed, she patiently waited for Josh's slightly golden curls to fall into her lap. Soon he was lying there, his hair spread about her thighs, staring up at her with a smile.

"Hi." He whispered. She could barely tear her eyes away from his but she managed to and looked up at Tim, trying not to panic. Tim raised his eyebrows, confused, and mouthed to Olivia.

'Are you okay?' She nodded quickly. Tim, while still unconvinced, continued to direct them.

"Alright you two, just do whatever you want but be touching somehow. Obviously Disney safe though." Tim laughed, but Josh and Olivia just went bright red and avoided eye contact even further. "Um okay. I think we're ready to go. Start when you're ready." Olivia nodded, she entwined her hands into his curls and smiles down at his face as he eagerly shows the post on Instagram. She listened in silence, nodding along as he spoke but still playing with his hair. He fell silent as he scrolled down.

"Look." He coughed out. The picture was Emily at the Youth Actors Conservatory. Flipping around so he was sitting up and facing her he took a deep breath. "Neens, we need to talk about this." She looked away with an exasperated groan.

"I told you Ricky, I don't want to make a decision yet." Looking away from him and staring at her hands she tried to ignore him.

"Nini." He soothed, turning her to face him with his hands on her cheeks. "This is a big opportunity for you. Forget about me, forget about Kourtney, forget about your mums and forget about East High. Make the decision based on what you want, not who."

"I don't want to forget about you" She retorted tearfully, "I just got you back Ricky, I can't leave you again. I-I..."

"I know," Ricky was crying slightly now too, "But I'll always be here, this is your chance Nini. I can't be the one to hold you back."

"What are you saying?" Nini broke away from his touch, suddenly sobered and serious. She searched his face for meaning. "You aren't saying we should break up, are you?"

"No, No Nini. I don't want that. But I'm not going to hold you back from your dreams. You are insanely talented and I love you. I love you so much that I know you have to go. Anyone else would do this for you too."

"No." Nini sobbed, her voice was breaking now. "I love you Ricky."

"I love you too Nini." He pulled her into his arms and rocked her against his chest. Kissing the crown of her head every so often. "It's going to be okay. We're going to be okay. I'll be right here waiting for you when you come back." Nini looked up and kissed him softly with a melancholy smile.

"You better be."

The camera panned away from the tearful couple on Nini's bed and Tim shouted "Cut!" Olivia breathed out a shaky laugh and wiped her eyes as she detached herself from Josh. "Wow, Guys. That was incredible. Amazing, really."

"Thanks Tim." Olivia whispered, "I'm sorry but do you think we could take a 5 minute break?" Tim nodded and gestured in the direction of the door as a sign of permission. Liv grabbed her bag lying on the chair and left before Josh could follow her. Tears were starting to stream down her face and she didn't know how she was meant to do that again. Leave her heart out on the stage, be that close to Josh. It hurt. It hurt to be near him. It felt like someone had grabbed her heart and wrenched it out, her stomach twisting and turning in protest making her feel sick.

"Oh God." She shakily muttered to herself as she lid onto a bench and dumped her head into her hands. She thought she could hear Josh's concerned voice in the distance accompanied with anxious pacing. But that only made her breathing rate increase and her heart beat faster and faster until it felt like it might explode but at least it was confirmation. She was alive, she still had her heart. That was one thing Alice couldn't take from her.

Author's note: Sorry this is short, I'm about to leave for a walk. Wow this one's pretty emotional. I actually really like the scene between Ricky and Nini, I hope they have something like that in season two but I guess we wont find out for another year because of the bloody virus. I hope you guys are having a good day. If not, feel free to have a rant. A good rant always helps and I'm here to listen because I know sometimes you can't tell anyone in your non-digital live. Thanks for reading and I want you guys to know how happy all of this makes me. I'm going to stop being sappy now, see you later.