As predicted, Olivia missed the Arctic Monkeys 'and co.' (Katie and Breana) being around. Being at Miles' was the most fun that she'd had in a while - there was something so intimate about a bunch of friends gathered in a house, she preferred it to the times that they had been to various clubs. After that day they truly felt like friends - not just people you pass in the street and say hi to or would talk to briefly at events. That just made it worse when they left.
They weren't going to be gone for long. (2 and a half months, roughly) but somehow it felt longer.
They were going to Manchester first and Olivia went to Alex's house to help him pack. It was their first time hanging out just the two of them - it had always been as a group before then. So, whilst she knew it was just as friends - and because she offered to help out when he mentioned it in a text, she still overthought the situation. She changed outfits 5 times before putting back on the first one and setting off.
She arrived at his house and immediately any anxiety she had previously had, faded - it was just so easy to be around him (something she never thought she'd say).
"I was half expecting a suitcase just for your sunglasses." She joked as he led her in to his bedroom, which she was going to make a joke about but didn't. It wasn't because she didn't think that he'd find it funny (she could already picture him laughing at it) but because their relationship didn't need any more confusing sexual tension added, which the joke would've done. On his bed was an empty suitcase.
"That one's already packed." He replied, referring to the sunglasses joke, with a smirk bringing Olivia back to reality - she had gotten slightly carried away in her admiring of his bedroom and the whole 'joke' situation, not a good idea to think about sex with someone attractive, especially when they're right in front of you reminding you of how attractive they are.
"Of course it is, I wouldn't expect anything less. I bet your have separate sunglasses for am and pm. Aviators at night and wayfarer's during the day."
Olivia playfully rolled her eyes before seeing what he was planning to take so far - there was a small pile of clothes placed next to the suitcase. She flicked through with an approving nod. "Okay so jeans and T-shirts so far. That's a good start."
"You have full reign of my wardrobe. I don't have a fucking clue about clothes." He nodded towards the closet and Olivia jumped up from the bed excitedly and immediately began flicking through the hangers - she always loved looking through peoples clothes, it tells you a lot about a person. Alex smiled at the pure joy on her face.
He laid down on his made bed, putting his hands behind his head as he watched Olivia look through his clothes occasionally taking something out and placing it on the bed.
"You don't give yourself enough credit. You know how to dress, I don't think you've ever worn something that I thought was ugly. It's more about confidence. If you act like you look good then it doesn't matter what your actually wearing."
"I just wear the same thing everyday." He shrugged.
"Yeah but it looks good on you." She told him.
She could feel his eyes on her and she turned around to see him smirking at her smugly. She rolled her eyes, "Stop it.", she complained and when he didn't, he made an effort to turn his head but he still had the smug expression on his face as he smiled to himself, she groaned throwing a leather jacket at him - which he managed to catch, "Your so annoying. Now pack that."
"I didn't even say anything.", he argued, she sent him a playful glare, he got up from the bed and took the coat off the hanger to pack.
Whilst he folded the clothes and put them in to the case he heard Olivia gag. "Why do you have this? It's awful!" She said in disgust holding up a blue Lacoste t-shirt picking it like it was contagious or mouldy.
"I dunno, my taste in clothes was a bit shit back then. I guess it was just the trend wasn't it." He shrugged, he had loads of old clothes that he hadn't ever gotten rid of.
Olivia grimaced, "It's hideous."
Alex took the shirt out of her hands and held it up to her to see what it what look like, "It's not that bad, I bet that it'd look good on you."
"I'm a model. Clothes are meant to look good on me."
"Here put it on." He said nonchalantly passing it back to her.
"Why?" She asked confused as she looked between him and the t-shirt.
He smirked and shrugged, "Just wanna prove my point."
"Turn around then." She said to him, and when he didn't and simply smirked again she physically turned him around with a small laugh, she slipped off the t-shirt she was already wearing and put on the blue polo shirt. "Happy?" She asked causing him to turn around as she lifted her arms up slightly and did a small spin.
Alex squinted one eye as he looked at the T-shirt on her. "Hmm, yeah you're right it does look shit." Clearly he was just joking by the teasing smirk he had. She ignored the fact that he was basically checking her out as his eyes scanned up and down her body.
Olivia hummed as she turned in her heel to look in the mirror on his wardrobe, "I quite like it now." She said tilting her head to the side and adjusting the shirt so it sat better, "It's much comfier than I thought it would be."
Alex nodded his head towards her, "You can 'ave it. Looks much better on you."
To avoid slipping back into the habit of flirting that they seemed to have developed Olivia ignored his compliment (though she was sure that her cheeks turned pink) as she shook her head in a 'duh' way. "Well of course it does, have you seen me?" She stated with a smile.
He had seen her. That was the issue. Now that he had seen her, she was all he wanted to see.
"And you say I'm the one with the ego." He replied, jokingly.
Seeing her stood in his bedroom wearing one of his shirts, it should've been obvious that it would create fantasies in his head. She looked effortlessly stunning as she tucked on side of the shirt into her jeans trying to style it and make it look slightly less worse. He just admired her getting lost slightly - which he always seemed to do when she was around, he couldn't help himself she was mesmerising.
She stopped messing with the shirt (deciding it wasn't going to get any better) and went back to helping Alex pack by now looking through his shoes. "Are you excited to be going back to Sheffield?" She asked passing him a pair of black boots.
He nodded, though she couldn't see it, he was thankful for the change in topics. Now he could try to ignore the fact that she was wearing his shirt, at least for a little while. "Yeah, probably my favourite place on the tour."
"They always say that when musicians play their hometown it's always the best." Olivia told him standing up from her crouching position.
"Yeah it's true." He agreed.
"Right I think that's all for clothes." She told him dusting off her jeans and moving over to his bed to help him fold the pile or clothes she had created and pack them into his suitcase. "You better make London the second best." She warned him with a smile.
He chuckled, "I'll try my best." Before adding, "Thanks for helping me out today."
"Trust me this was way more fun then what I had planned."
Just then Olivia's phone rang, it was Lauren and she quickly answered it (giving Alex a short apology) walking into the hallway for slightly more privacy. He watched through the doorway as she enthusiastically talked on the phone, laughing and pinching her bottom lip as she concentrated on the phone. There was something so attractive about the way she was so attentive and seemed like she genuinely was interested in listening to people.
He had been trying harder to flirt with her but he wasn't sure if her retorts were her flirting back or just being friendly - she was so happy all the time it was hard to tell. It was impossible to tell if it was one sided or if she felt the same as he did.
Olivia didn't stay long after the call. Once all of Alex's clothes had been packed she had went back home - to be fair it was around 7 o'clock. Alex needed to be up early anyway but he still wanted to spend as much time with Olivia as he could before leaving. She gave him a hug when she left.
"Okay, I hope you have fun. I'll be watching all the clips and videos I can find." She whispered to him whilst hugging him, her lips right next to his ear which made his hairs on the back of his neck stand up - as if being this close to her wasn't already torture enough.
Alex had noticed that being away from Olivia did not help with his feelings at all, in fact they just grew from the distance. Replaying her laugh in his head and seeing her in dreams - he hadn't realised how much he would miss her until she wasn't there. A part of him was hoping that being away, not seeing her face anyone, would elevate him of any feelings he had towards her - of only it was that easy.
Often he thought about her and he wondered if she ever thought about him too - if she even missed him at all, she gave no indication that she would the last time that he saw her.
The fact that he hasn't seen her in 2 months and she was still consistently appearing in his mind made it clear to him that this wasn't just a childish crush but he really did like her. Currently his thoughts were filled with seeing her again. She was so perfect that it was almost impossible to believe that she was real - seeing her was a nice reminder that she did exist and wasn't a figment of his dreams.