❝Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby❞
Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus
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[Ribs - Lorde]
1:40 ─〇───── 2:13
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Olivia's POV
My arms ache as I stretch my entire body upwards to paint the top of the wall in the new shop. I started the day in a plain white shirt and jeans but had to change into James' spare oversized button-down shirt because mine was covered in paint. I don't even know how it got there. He didn't mind though, in fact, he was more than happy to have me wearing his shirt. Luckily, Steve didn't say anything about it. He continued to help James with building the wooden table in the middle of the room. Although, Natasha did give me side eyes every now and then and smirked. She's helping Wanda with building and putting up shelves on the wall. Vision is upstairs in his and Wanda's apartment, building their bed and other essentials. We've all been here, building the new shop, since 7 in the morning.
I put down the paintbrush and grab my water bottle from my bag, drinking from it. My attention is pulled towards the front door when I hear mail slip through the slot, and my heart drops to my feet. Everybody else also hears it and looks at me, thinking the exact same thing. I scarcely walk over to the door and pick up the envelope with my name and address on it. The others circle around me and look over my shoulder, watching me open the envelope. I pull the paper out and unfold it, confused why it is typed and not handwritten. Liam usually hand-writes his notes in red. I gasp when I see the logo I only thought I would see in my dreams.
Stark's Writing And Art Company
My eyes scan over every word on the paper, unable to believe I am actually reading it. Everyone stays silent beside me and waits for me to speak, but I don't know what to say.
"Oh my god." I whisper.
Wanda places her hand on my shoulder and looks down at me concerned.
"Is everything okay?" She asks.
"Yes, oh my god, yes."
"What does the paper say?" Natasha questions.
"Stark's Company accepted my book!" I exclaim.
We all roared in congratulations and they all engulfed me in a group hug. Eventually, Vision walks down the stairs and looks confused as to why we are all hugging each other by the door and not decorating the shop. Wanda notices him walk in and pulls him over to us.
"Liv's book is going to be published!"
"Well done, Liv. That's amazing."
"Oh my god, we need to celebrate!" Wanda bellows.
"That's not necessary. We need to finish decorating the shop." I comment.
"Don't be silly, Liv. You've wanted this since you were little. We are going out to celebrate and can finish decorating tomorrow."
Everyone else agrees and grabs their coats to go to their cars and drive to a restaurant. Natasha gets into her own car, Wanda and Vision in theirs, and me, James and Steve into James' car. We all follow Wanda and Vision towards the restaurant. For the entire drive, James' radio blasts music that he and Steve sing to in the front of the car. I sit in the back and bop to the music with the biggest smile. I am so unbelievably happy.
We arrive at the restaurant, and we all get out of our cars—the large doors open to a fancy, rich and popular-looking restaurant. The smell of wine and gourmet food flushes me as we walk in and sit down at a large booth table. Wanda, Vision, and Natasha sit on one bench, and me, James, and Steve sit opposite them. A waiter places menus on the table, and we all put our orders and instantly dive into the conversation.
"So, little bug, what got you into writing?" Nat asks.
"Wanda actually."
"Me?" Wanda's head whips up with a beaming smile.
"Yeah. Remember when we used to sit together in your room and read every book from your dad's bookshelf from his office?" She nods. "The way you would compliment and love every word, I wanted people to do that with something I've created. I wanted you to do it with mine."
Wanda smiles as tears brew in her eyes. She reaches over the table and holds my hands.
"I'm really proud of you, Livvy. I always knew you were going to make it."
We hold hands and smile at each other for what feels like forever until Nat breaks our trance.
"How long have you two been friends?" She asks.
"Since Kindergarten. I remember the first day I saw Liv. She was playing in the sand pit and Johnny Kirt, the biggest prick in the entire class, walked over to her and stole her bucket. Being the quietest person ever, she just let it happen, but I..." Wanda cuts herself off by laughing at the memory.
"What did you do, I wanna know." Steve practically sang.
"She walked over and stomped on his sand castle. I think it was the first time I saw him cry." I finish.
Everyone erupts in laughter, gaining us a few odd looks from other customers, but we don't care. We're here to celebrate, after all.
"The look in her eye actually scared me. You were probably going to shove his face in the sand if Mr Stanley didn't intervene." I laugh.
"As I should. He shouldn't have stolen your bucket!" Wanda defends.
"She's right, Kids are little shits." Nat jokes.
Once again, we all laugh together. I look around the table, appreciating every one of them for being here and with me. I couldn't be happier.
"So, you two have been friends since then?" James questions.
"Yeah. My biggest life regret, actually." Wanda jokes.
"Hey! I'm not that bad."
"Well..."
"Oh, okay. It's like that, is it? I have so much ammunition I could use against you, right now."
"Do it." Nat encourages.
"Okay, where do I begin? High School, Senior year."
"Don't you dare!" Wanda threats, knowing exactly what I'm going to say.
"Prom night, I was getting ready in my room and my brother tells me Wanda has arrived. I tell him to bring her upstairs, and when she walks into my room, I burst into laughter. She had shaved her eyebrows so thin they were practically non-existence. She had a porcupine hairstyle, blue eye shadow overload with pale foundation, body glitter, brown lipstick, and chunky highlights in her hair, which she did herself."
"Oh god." Nat whispers.
"It gets worse." Wanda growls.
"She had worn a flowy dress with beads on the skirt." I continue.
"Not my finest moment." Wanda recoils.
"We were enjoying the night with our dates, and then Wanda needed to go to the bathroom. When she came back, everything seemed fine, until Lindsey Cott shouts at the top of her lungs." I point to Wanda for her to finish my sentence.
"Maximoff's ass is hanging out." Wanda whispers.
"What!" Nat shouts.
"Her flowy skirt got caught in her panties and she didn't notice, but Lindsey did and she told everyone."
Everyone attempts to hold back their laughter but ultimately fails, causing Wanda to giggle.
"My date was so embarrassed, he didn't want to go out with me anymore." Wanda pouts.
"Yeah, but the rest of the guys did. I wonder why." I taunt.
"Shut up!" Wanda hits my hand and laughs. "At least I didn't get caught in the boys' locker room with Paul Richards and given detention for a week where I had to clean up the cafeteria after hours." She fights back.
"Oh my god, what were you doing in the boys' locker room?" Nat asks.
I stay quiet and look down at my hands, letting everyone else piece the puzzle by themselves.
"Olivia! You dirtbag! Doing it in the boys' locker room!" Nat shouts.
"Oh my god, not so loud, Nat. People can hear you." I gasp.
"Actually, I don't think that couple in the back quite heard you. Why don't you shout it again." Wanda jokes.
"OLIVIA HAD SE" I cover her mouth before she can finish her sentence.
Everyone laughs as I take my hand off of her mouth and give her a warning look, which she smiles at. The entire meal consists of telling embarrassing stories over wine, laughing at each other's jokes, and learning about each other's lives. When we leave, Wanda and Vision get into their car, Natasha in hers, and Steve in the driver's seat in James' car. James and I sat in the back, with him saying he was a little tipsy to drive. He wasn't, it was just an excuse to sit next to me and draw circles on my thigh with his fingers. When we do get back to the apartment, James and I get ready for bed and Steve stands in the doorway, looking puzzled.
"Everything okay, Stevie?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'll be back in a minute. I have to get the paint from the car." Steve walks out of the apartment, leaving me and James alone together.
The second the door shuts, James' lips are on mine. As we kiss, his hands are holding my waist, pulling me close to him.
"I've wanted to do that all night." He breaks the kiss.
"I could tell." I tease.
"In all seriousness, I'm really proud of you, doll."
"Thank you, James." I smile.
"Now back to what we were doing." We both giggle as we kiss again.
When he breaks the kiss again, he looks down at me with a smirk.
"Did you really have sex in a boys' locker room?"
"Yeah."
"That's really hot."
"Not really." I laugh. "It stunk of sweat."
"Yeah, I didn't really think of that."
We laugh again and I can see the clogs turning in his head as he looks down at me.
"You know what you wore on our dinner date?" He asks.
"Yeah?"
"Could you wear it again for our date on Saturday to the restaurant?"
"I don't know, that dress is pretty hard to clean and..."
"No." He interrupts me. "Wear what you were wearing underneath."
"Oh."
He leans down to kiss me but abruptly stops when we hear the door knob turn and the door open. Steve walks into the apartment with a tub of paint and walks over to his bedroom.
"Good night, guys. Congrats on the book, Tiny."
"Thanks, Stevie."
He walks into his bedroom and shuts the door. James grabs my hand and ushers me into his bedroom, which I happily follow. When he closes the door, he turns towards me and smiles.
"Stay with me tonight, doll?"
I smile up at him and nod, ripping my clothes off and changing into his spare pair of sweatpants and oversized shirt. We jump into his bed and cuddle up to each other.
This is the perfect way to end a perfect day.