olivia adjusted the beanie on her head as she laid down on her crowded bed, it somehow managed to become everyone's bed. her brothers were beside her and hardy was laying across her, his thighs on her stomach as she read through her own book. one of the many reasons ezra had left for new york was to finalize the publishing of her book.
"anyone up for takeout?" ezra ran his fingers through his hair and wes responded by saying he wouldn't mind having some chinese food. he left to get his phone and olivia rolled over, taking his spot as her own phone started going off beneath her pillow. she didn't bother to pick it up, but hardy goes for it.
"whoever it is, text them back for me." olivia yawned as she slammed the book shut and tossed it aside like garbage.
she was meant to be proud of it, her first work but she couldn't stop thinking about aria. aria and her poem, it was ripped out of the book but it still haunted her.
"your buddy a want to know if daddy's little storm cloud, their words not mine, is making it to camp mona. it'll be a bloodbath without you." hardy read the text and olivia sat up, brushing hairs out of her face as she grabs her phone from her friend. he frowns at her quick movements. she read the message for herself, and pushed hardy off her.
"i have to go." she pulled on her shoes, she pulled wes' jacket on as she made her way to her bedroom door. "where you off to?" ezra asked as she walked through the kitchen.
"i'm going glamping, if i don't come back in an hour, i've driven myself off the road," she plucked up wes' car keys as she left the apartment.
she didn't know what this a bitch meant with a bloodbath and although she and aria weren't on good terms, it wouldn't be very girl power of her to let another girl get hurt. the drive was quick, mostly because she was speeding and when she stopped in the middle of the woods, someone slammed their hand against her car window, giving her the fright of her life.
"fuck." she reached over to open the door and aria climbed in with big puffy hair and despite the seriousness of the situation, she can't help but laugh.
"what are you doing here?" aria was trying to pat down her hair before she quit and snatched the beanie off olivia's head and putting it on her head.
"i got a text from a, i was worried about you but i guess i can't protect you for a shotty blow up." olivia pulled on the ends of aria's hair, the girl slapped her hand away.
"you came here to protect me?" olivia looked away, licked her bottom lip. "i guess i didn't want us to be on bad terms if something happened to you." olivia swallowed her pride, first time for everything.
"last time i saw you, you didn't wanna even look at me." olivia sighed, "that was like two hours ago, people change their minds." olivia had enough time to change her mind, she only needed ten minutes for her to regret her choices. that text was like a wakeup call, if aria was hurt, olivia knew she would drop everything but why? so they could sit in awkward silence in a car together, tension bubbling in their every movement, every time olivia shifts in her seat or aria looks at her and looks away.
both girls were aware of the tension that had spun them around in some kind of web, and for the first time, possibly in her entire life, olivia had no idea what the right move was. she had no idea what to say to the girl that sat beside her.
"you wrote a poem about me." aria spoke, easing some of the tension.
"i wrote a poem about you." olivia admitted, eyes refusing to meet aria's.
"i got my own copy, i read the rest. you were right, jester's privilege is the best one, it's my favorite." then olivia couldn't help but turn to aria, eyes unwavering as the lock with aria's. she opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out, so she shut it in embarrassment.
"so, you're a mathematical genius, you're great at hockey, amazing at english and now you're a poet. i didn't take you as a secret genius." olivia's face softened at her words. she was just stating random facts on top of one another, "and you can bake, i keep forgetting about that one." aria smiled in the low-lit car and olivia still had nothing to say to her. she had said all she wanted to in her poem.
"why are you singing my praise in the middle of nowhere?" olivia's eyes felt like they could burn into aria's head, a few loose strands of hair from her now messy bangs seemed to cover the top half of her eyes, something that always bothered aria, so she gently raised her hand to brush the strands to the side, pulling a bobby pin from her own hair and sticking the girl's hair down.
"i don't like when we're upset with each other." when olivia's hair had been successfully moved out of her face, aria's palm remained on the girl's sharp cheekbones. she couldn't make it move away.
"it's all my fault, i'm sorry for everything. i never wanted to hurt you." olivia started talking but aria had stopped listening, her hand sliding down olivia's perfectly sculpted jaw and moving to her chin, her thumb dragging itself across olivia's bottom lip, silencing her once again.
"what i'm trying to say is," olivia's eyes moved to aria's fingers before going back to her eyes. she hadn't really realized just how close they were to one another. so close that she could feel aria's breath on her lips.
"i miss being your friend." the word friend felt wrong, like it wasn't meant to be on her tongue, especially not in that moment. friend felt like a small word for a moment that felt too big for words because without thinking, olivia's specialty, her mouth was on aria's.
aria doesn't hesitate to kiss olivia back, eager to taste her. she had kissed about two people before this but nothing ever felt quite like this, olivia's lips were the softest she had ever felt, her tongue the sweetest. girls and guys at their school would rave about how good olivia had been at kissing but up until this moment she didn't understand why people acted so crazy about it, why they fawned over the girl, worshipped her mouth, her tongue and her hands, not until she felt them all over her, olivia's beautiful hands were all over her body and it wasn't long until aria was on her lap, feeling how eager olivia's hands were to touch her, how desperate she was for aria. and for a while aria loses herself in the moment, because olivia fitz is kissing her like a starving animal, like aria first meal in a long time and she wants to make sure she savors every taste and touch.