Anyone Else

10. Anyone Else Would Be On Her Side

"Liv?"

"Olivia?"

"Livvy?"

"Where are you?"

She tried, desperately, to make her sobs quieter as she heard Josh round the corner. His feet pounded against the concrete incessantly. She shook her head trying to ignore it and regain composure before he arrived. Darting her gaze, she searched for an escape plan, she needed to find a way to escape. Avoiding him was the only option, if Alice found out everything would be ruined. Her plan was to wait it out, until Josh saw the truth in Alice and they finally broke up. If she could just stay away until then everything would be fine and normal again. She would have her best friend back but until then they were only colleagues. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Olivia. Are you okay?" Josh asked, now standing awkwardly beside her. She shook her head violently but still refused to look him in the eyes of even in his general direction. "Liv. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you." She hissed. His insistence, while admirable, was starting to get incredibly irritating.

"Something is obviously upsetting you. Let me help." Sliding into the seat beside her, he reached his arm around her waist. She knew she should probably shrug it off but she couldn't help but entertain the notion.

"It, It's nothing." Olivia tried to assure him but he knew her to well and simply raised an eyebrow to indicate he obviously didn't believe her.

"Liv." He said softly, caressing her face and moving her so she was looking into his eyes. "Tell me. Whatever it is, we can handle it."

"We?" Before she could stop herself, she blurted in disbelief. Blinking, she attempted to not let his calming eyes and soft hands cloud her judgement. She wouldn't fool herself into believing she had a chance or that they would ever be a 'we'. He was already part of a pair, with Alice.

The aforementioned part of a pair, just happened to be in a conspicuous silver car nearby. Peering over the edge of her sunglasses, she scanned the scene unfolding in front of her. Anyone would think a girlfriend seeing this, what is seemingly her being displaced by the 'best friend', would be angry. But Alice wasn't angry, she was calculating. How could she twist this to her advantage? Olivia had done the opposite of what she said, she had warned her, it was only fair she got what was coming to her. It was blatant disrespect. It was also bad for her reputation. She couldn't let people think she was the girlfriend that just let him do whatever he wanted, let him entertain childish crushes from other girls. She was not a pushover and she wasn't going to let them get away with this. She needed to make drama. If there was one thing she's good at, it's making drama. Alice wasn't stupid. She knew Josh was in love with Olivia, even if he didn't. That's exactly what she wanted. He was bound to mess up. A self proclaimed hopeless romantic, she'd be the victim and they would be the perpetrators. As they were part of one of the biggest production companies in the world, and both of them were famous in their own right, she would be dragged up into the limelight. Their relationship was one of the most speculated and shipped at the moment. Any intervening would be important news to most teens in the country. Since, the announcement, she had gained nearly 300k followers and was close to a million now. Having kept track since the second she posted, she had been more vigilant over all media attention she'd been given. There had been multiple news websites commenting on her and Josh's relationship. All fans of the show knew her name, part of her plan was complete. If she were to post something, they would all know within a matter of minutes. Her new found power was intoxicating, it fueled her. Just knowing what she could do, it made her hungry for more.

Sure. Maybe it wasn't the best plan. But it had worked. It was relatively simple, she put herself in his way and flirted until he thought he fell. Lower his self esteem until he thinks he can't leave. It's science. She's perfected the algorithm and finally found the initial test subject. Now, she knew exactly what she needed to do. Smirking to herself, she pulled out her phone and took a quick photo of the 'best friends' in their compromising position as insurance. She'd need proof in case the Olivia plan didn't work out. Then she'd have to destroy him too.

As Josh detached himself from Olivia, he noticed a glint of silver out of the corner of his eye. But before he could blink, the car was pulling away and speeding off into the distance.

"Yes. We." He couldn't tear his mind away from the car, something about it felt wrong. "I'm your best friend, and you're mine. I'll always be here for you." Olivia nodded and tried not to feel disappointed. She'd gone and got her hopes up. For a brief moment, it felt like there was a possibility of something more.

"Josh." She bit back tears, "You can't help me with this. It'll only make it worse. I'm sorry." Josh shook his head but it was clear he understood Olivia needed him to stop. If she needed him to back off, he would. Patting his shoulder quickly and awkwardly, Olivia left as soon as possible. While she was sat alone, contemplating her options, in the makeup trailer, Alice was considering her own options. Ideas popped through her head and were dismissed or adapted as they came. Then, the perfect idea came to her.

"Oh Olivia, you have no idea what's coming." She giggled to herself as she set her plan into motion. Reaching for her phone, she propped it up on the dashboard carefully, before moving on to planning. Scribbling furiously, the ideas poured out and melted together until she had the formula for destruction. It was time to break the rosy-coloured character she'd put on. After tonight, everything would change, her true intentions would be visible. Josh might not be convinced, he wasn't completely idiotic but he wasn't important. The fans were, as long as they even entertained the idea, she would be propelled into the limelight.

At this point, her acting was so good she was better than Josh and Olivia combined. She could convince them all when she was barely trying. Forcing tears to dribble from her stone cold eyes, she pinched her cheeks to make them seem flushed and messed up her hair and outfit to seem distressed. The best disguise was so simple no one could possibly know it was a disguise.

Oblivious, on the other side of Salt Lake CIty, Olivia truly believed she had a choice about what would happen and what to do. But of course, that's not how it works. Especially not when someone like Alice is involved. And, boy, was she involved. More than both Josh and Olivia realised, she was already intertwined between them, threatening to break a dam and cause irreparable damage.
And she was excited.
Actually, more than excited, she was buzzing at the prospect. Switching nearly instantly to a different face, Alice pressed record on her phone. This face was grief stricken and confused, it was melancholy and angry, it was perfect. It didn't matter what Josh and Olivia thought because anyone else would be on her side.

Author's note: Sorry this is short but I'm hopefully going to write another chapter tonight. Let me know what you think she's gonna do, I want to see if any of you get it right.