amanda's pov
a week has passed, and the two haven't talked. emma decided to push through with the whole san francisco thing to visit her parents, so she flew there for the week.
her cosmopolitan shoot was moved, too, so i guess her travel was really on-point.
olivia, on the other hand, has her life like it would be. she's doing shoots, having acting classes, filmed videos, the normal shit.
emma left me her apartment keys, though.
"hey," she said before i left the following morning after the disastrous event, "mind if you go over here some time this week or something?" she asked.
"yeah sure, but why the key?" i asked.
"oh right. um, i'm flying to san francisco. i figured i'd still go. i miss my parents anyway," she said. i reached over for the keys, and said "yeah, i'll be here. see when i see you, then?"
"i guess," she said. a moment later and emma reaches in for a hug.
"it'll be a week," she said, breaking away.
"i'll miss you," i said.
she texted me afternoon that night when she was boarding her flight, and later on when she landed.
she usually does this in our chatroom when she flies somewhere, but for obvious reasons she messaged me this time.
i had time to drive over at her place everyday to check in on her cats and shit. i was there on the night that emma was gonna be back from san fran, which emma instructed me to do so we could have a sleep over. and then olivia hit me up.
"wanna sleep over?" it was clear that i had to call olivia over. i mean, it's been a week! that's a sure enough time for them to start talking again. i mean, they fought over the dolan twins. imagine if the twins ever found out about this.
i called olivia.
olivia: hey, wanna sleep over?
amanda: i'd like to, but over at emma's. she isn't here, though. she's at sf.
olivia: oh.
amanda: come over!
olivia: oh come on amanda, as if
amanda: what? emma said it was okay
i mean, to be fair, emma did say it was okay. i asked her if olivia could come with me and sleep over some time, and she said "sure,".
olivia: yeah because she's emma, she never says no
amanda: oh quit it with the bull and come over here, she won't be home until tomorrow night
that was a lie. but hey, i'm a strained middle man here!
olivia: fine, whatever
amanda: that's it
i hang up on her and message emma. she doesn't respond so it means she's still flying.
a few minutes later and olivia comes over with some clothes.
"came from dogpound," she said. she took a shower right away and changed afterwards.
"when'd she leave?" olivia asks, sitting in front of me.
"i don't know i've forgotten, but she left just this week,"
"she left the keys?"
"yep," i said, gesturing to emma's cats.
olivia raised her eyebrows as if she were saying "welp", and i said "what? you two weren't talking, you wouldn't expect her to tell you,"
"well you didn't tell me," she said.
"would you wanna know?"
and she was silent. a moment later and emma texts me.
omw there, see you
i wonder if i should tell either of them that either of them are here.
olivia and i start playing fortnite on emma's console, when we hear the front open.
"i thought you said she wasn't gonna be home until tomorrow night?" olivia said, dropping her controller and standing up.
"i lied," grinning and pulling her back down. i stood up and raced to emma.
"hey!" i said, hugging her.
"hey," she said.
"listen, liv's here," i said.
"you did not," emma said, shooting daggers at me.
"you both need to talk, okay?" i said, and a moment later emma nods and says, "fine,"
olivia has shut off the console and was sitting in the kitchen, on her phone.
emma steps in. olivia looks up, and looks back to her phone.
"hey," olivia mutters.
"hey," emma replies.
emma shuffles around the kitchen to make some coffee and i join her. i make olivia some coffee, too.
emma sits downs and starts scrolling through her phone, too, while i finish up on the coffees.
"where'd'y'all wanna eat?" emma asks, looking up.
bingo! i've been waiting for this!
"i want some italian," i started, and both of them swung their heads toward me. they knew what i was up to and they both didn't want me to do it. haha!
"i'll get some across the street," i said, putting down a cup of coffee in front of olivia. "be right back," i said, leaving the two of them to buy italian.
i think i'll go have some donuts before i go back.
olivia's pov
amanda, the great woman that she is, left me and emma alone here. she tricked me with going here and now she's successfully left us two here behind. now what?
there's no way i'm gonna be talking to her first. nu-uh. no way.
but i want to make up with her already :(
but no! she came at me first, why would i say sorry first then?
emma's pov
i should have known amanda would do this, it's so easy to realize it! i mean, why would she ask if it's okay to bring olivia over right?
but then again, this is bound to happen anyway...
i fix my stuff in my bedroom, thinking how to somehow approach olivia. it was my fault, i snapped at her first. i know she wouldn't snap at me like that if i hadn't done anything rude. the only question is how i'm going to talk to her.
i finish unpacking my stuff and i take off my hoodie. erk, i reek of airplane smell.
i step out and i see olivia, back towards me, drinking coffee while watching something.
/////////
emma walks toward olivia, who's focused on the third episode of the fifth season of a series she can never quite finish. emma hesitates, but goes through with a back hug.
olivia, stricken, paused the show.
"hey," emma says, whispering near olivia's ear.
"hey," olivia replies. she faces emma and looks down. emma sits beside her.
"i'm sorry," emma mutters. olivia turns to face her.
"me too, i'm sorry,"
" i don't even want to talk about the shit i said, it's all so... immature," emma admitted.
"same here, it's just that... i don't know, i felt like you were trying to get back on me for looking like i'm having a thing with ethan," emma said.
"oh my god em that's so--" olivia starts, but emma cuts her off.
" i know, i can't even say it out loud without cringing,"
"if you're feeling that way with gray and i, imagine my uncertainty with you and ethan, and like... it's obvious you like him, and--"
"but i don't like him, i like someone else," emma goes to start, but olivia cuts her off this time.
"wait, you like someone else? why are you only saying this to me now?" somehow, olivia's nerves are starting to heat up again. she's having a hard time hiding how she feels from emma.
"it's not the right time for you to know," emma replied.
"and amanda knows?" olivia asks, and emma doesn't reply.
"so amanda knows," olivia says, not as a question, but as a statement.
"so what happened to the shit you said? that you'd tell me no matter what? i mean, em, i'm your best friend! i mean sure you could have privacy, but if amanda knows, why shouldn't i? is it someone i know? is it ellie?"
"what? no! it's not ellie, geez,"
"well then, who is it? oh, i get it," she says, and emma's heart drops.
"you like grayson, and it's pissing you off that i'm talking to him. and the reason why you're talking to ethan is because you like grayson, and you can't tell me because you think grayson and i are talking, is that it?" by now, olivia is acting on pure frustration.
"olivia, list--"
"if it's not that and i hope the fuck it's not that, then what is it? who is it? i mean, i must sound crazy rig--"
"it's you, dummy!" emma blurts out. olivia is left stunned. speechless. unable to respond.
"it's you, i like you, asshat. you're asking why i'm not telling you? it's because it's you! how do i tell you? oh, and liv? by the way, i like you. do i say it like that?! no! it's not easy, okay? my god, olivia, i've liked you since 2020! yes! i've liked you since after you and ellie broke up! i've liked you for so long and you haven't noticed for some fucking reason! and on my birthday? the thing i wished for? the thing you asked me about? it was about you! i wished that i could tell you that i've loved you for two whole fucking years now! i've wished that i could summon up all the goddamned courage to tell you that i like you, that i love you! and i didn't even wish for you to like me back because i know you're never going to see me the way i see you, because you're into people like ellie fucking thumann, because you're never going to like me--"
"but i do...,"
silence occupies the space between them. emma doesn't know how to respond, and neither does olivia.
"i've realized these feelings recently, and i haven't had the heart to tell you, especially when ethan came round. oh god, you have no idea how agonizing it was to watch you be so close with ethan, and i don't even know if you two were a thing or not. seeing you asleep with ethan on the couch that night was something i never want to see again, em. watching you with someone else is the last thing i---"
emma goes in for a hug. she pulls olivia in tight, and doesn't let go. olivia hugs back, with furious tears rushing through. she has never felt this way before in so long. she hasn't felt pain so difficult yet so right in so long.
emma, too, hasn't felt this sense of belongingness in so long. they cry their hearts out, and for emma, who's waited for this day for two years now, this all seemed unreal. for olivia, however, it felt surreal.
amanda returns and catches them in tears on the kitchen floor.
"you've known all this time and you didn't even tip me off?" olivia teases, wiping her off.
amanda looks at emma, and emma nods. amanda shrieks of happiness.
"sorry, emma's orders. but wow, i didn't sense yours!" amanda says, sitting with the pair.
"i knew you'd notice, so i kept careful," olivia said, smiling.
it was the first of many moments where the three would eat dinner on the kitchen floor, across the large windows that overlooked the city of los angeles.
it was the first of many sleep overs, too, where emma would find hersef staring at olivia, who stared back with as much intensity as emma.
that night, amanda slept on the inflatable bed situated beside emma's bed. she let the two have their own space, for they have been craving for this in their own minds for so long.
as they drift in a sleep, olivia places her hand on emma's arm, much to emma's joy. emma smiles, and she hears olivia breathe a smile as well.
all was well.