A/N: Thanks for the review guys, sorry I'm a bit under the weather right now, but I did manage to get this next section up. Also, I made a FB just look for Yoo Hye Su and you'll probably find some of my drawings. Other than that, thanks to your suggestions, I will add in a part where Olivia will meet Zoe, but it'll probably be after a few more parts.
Flashback
"…AND TOUCHDOWN! Looks like Spencer Cooper's leading the Squirrels to victory and a stunning end to this season!"
That was the last time I saw Nate. It was at the last football game of the season. I came to watch with Taylor since she said it'd be a way to bring up my school spirit. Guess there's still some cheerleader in her somewhere. After that, I can't really remember what happened.
After Winter break School [Olivia's POV]
With rumors, you've got about three kinds. You've got your juicy rumors that just about everybody finds out about. Then there are gossip rumors which only your friends know. Lastly, we've got the sub-par rumors which no one really cares about, but it spreads anyway. Mine and Nate's relationship was in that sub-par category. It basically made for idle chit-chat within the lowerclassmen and entertainment for the upperclassmen. Our month-long romance dwindled too quickly for people to pick up on it, but some people did acknowledge it and the people who were the most interested were the ones who could easily demolish the system of rumors and put it way beyond the parameters of a juicy rumor. And who would be able to do that? …No one other than Maria.
"So spill! Is it true you and Nate were a thing? There's so much rumors going around it's driving me nuts!" She had run all the down the hall to ask me at my locker and I figured that I'd at least listen.
I couldn't help but show that I was moderately intrigued by what rumors were spreading, so I tried to draw them out from her. "What rumors?" I smiled precariously.
She frowned at me and asked what seemed to be at the top of her list, "Like, you wouldn't let Nate do you, which drove him to the point where he ran out of patience and inevitably fell out of love with you. It sounds pretty reasonable to me!"
Her friends were right behind her listening intently on our conversation which caused me to twitch my eyebrow a bit. What's up with that rumor?
"Tell us, is it true?" Nicole nudged Maria aside and peered right at my eyes with her hands on my shoulders.
I tried my best to not seem baffled that they'd even ask, so I took the political stance. "Sorry, I can't say. I'm sorry, but this is really something I don't feel like discussing."
"Whatever, it's fine." Nicole withdrew her hands, "Supposedly, you really liked him. I guess even things like love can fade over time, huh?"
I watched them walk away as I placed the last of my things into my locker and looked at the small star covered bag I had brought. I could still hear them whispering in the hall.
"She must have, right?"
"No way. He wouldn't with someone as plain as her."
During lunchtime In a classroom
Nate's popularity was at its highest point now that rumors had been going around. He had just checked out the Frankenstein book from the library and skimmed it for information. Originally, he borrowed the same book from Olivia, but he knew he had to return it soon. As he was about to stuff it into his backpack, he saw something rather peculiar on his desk.
A star covered bag?
Olivia had returned all the things he had bought her to make up for his flaking out on their dates. She even returned a mechanical pencil she took without him noticing. Since school had started back up, they hadn't spoken to each other once. They never made eye contact in class. They never even paid attention to each other. Just like that, they were slowly becoming strangers.
Luigi's Pizzeria
"He definitely two-timed her." Lee said as he ate pizza with Cameron and Jacob. "That must be it. There's no other logical explanation as to why he'd be dumped."
"Not possible. If he cheated, she'd be so angry right now she'd want him dead." Cameron joked around while sipping his soda at hand.
"No, he definitely cheated. At least I think so too. It was probably a mental situation though." Jacob mumbled as he waited for his pizza.
"Poor baby Olivia, she must've had it bad for him too." Lee scarfed down another pizza before high-fiving Jacob for finishing an entire medium pizza on his own.
"Baby? Why do you call her that?" Cameron raised an eyebrow.
"You know, she's got that baby-face going. Although she'll probably be one of those really hot mom's one day that look like they're in their twenties after they hit forty."
The boys laugh at their table and finish their meal before they head back to campus for class.
Passing time in the hallways
Since Cameron mediated a lot of what went on when Nate would bail on plans with Olivia, he was close enough to her that she let him know her schedule at one point. Right around passing time, he knew she'd be passing the window near the lockers.
He called out to her, "Hey Olivia. Are you free after school?" He smiled in his usual charming way.
"Not really. Why?" She smiled back up at him. They had become closer friends since they had first met. She found herself smiling a lot more around him.
He leaned out the window, "I wanna show you something to make you smile more."
"Smile more?" Olivia tilted her head unsure of what he meant.
Cameron's POV Cameron's house
"Awww!~ They're so cute!" Olivia laughed as she picked up one of the puppies. "How'd you get these little things?"
I could tell she was happy because her English accent had come through when she spoke. "They were dropped off in front of my house a week ago. I guess I lucked out."
"What? That's so mean. Why would someone do that?" She pouted at first and then returned to smiling as she played with the puppies.
I chuckle softly, "Some people have their reasons. I actually need to find a home for these guys though." I pick up the other puppy as it attempts to lick me. "I was thinking about your place, if you could."
She pouted again, "I would if I could, but Jett hates pets."
I sighed jokingly, "Well, I guess I'll just take care of them myself."
"Both of them by yourself?" Her eyes widened as she looked at me like I was crazy.
"I can't abandon them. It must be fate that they were dropped off at my house, right?" The puppy in my hands barks in response.
Just a second passes by of silence when the other puppy starts licking Olivia's cheek. "It tickles!" She starts to laugh.
"You finally laughed." I say as place the puppy back on the grass.
"Huh? I've laughed before." Olivia looks over to me.
"No, I mean…Like you did just now, I think sometimes it's important to take time to forget things and just laugh." I pick up the puppy's paw and shake it.
Olivia's POV
I smile thinking for a moment about Cameron's words. I see. He's right. Cameron just stays by my side without asking me anything. I watch as the puppy he's holding licks the underside of his chin.
"Hey, stop that." He laughs as the puppy tries to lick his face.
"Can I come and see them again?" I ask we put them back in the house for their nap.
"Sure, whenever you want." He says as he closes the door behind him. "If you're ever feeling lonely, please don't hesitate to come by." Cameron hears himself and clears his throat, "I'm really not implying anything by that."
I let it slide by, "Thank you, Cameron. I really mean it, thanks for today." I begin to feel a slight tingly feeling.
"Oh…umm…Sure." He hesitates a moment as the feeling of the setting sun sets in.
"By-Bye then." I say as I walk away hurriedly.
"Ye-yeah." He stutters out as he waves to me.
The Next Day Before Politics [Nate's POV]
"It's after class, I told you before." Lee was standing at my desk as I flipped my phone.
"Ah, sorry, I can't make it. I'm broke." I yawned, stretching back in my seat.
He points at me to get my attention, "Don't screw around like that. I've got a lot of girls going by promising you'd be there."
"Oh, really?" I grin just to annoy him a bit.
"You bastard, Nate. You had no intention of actually going, did you?" He frowns. We both know that this is how we have a roundabout of poking fun at each other.
"Well, you know, I just went through a break up and I'm not yet passed my month of mourning yet." I gesture with my eyebrows.
He merely laughs, "Ha, saying things like that will surely make people fall for it and pity you. However, it doesn't really suit you, man." He waves in confirmation that I've agreed.
I place my hand on my forehead to wipe away some hairs when I accidentally notice Olivia talking with Taylor.
"I want to have a picnic by a riverbed!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
"You should invite your boyfriend."
"Can't, he's in college."
"Then invite more friends?"
"Yeah, that'll be fun."
Right when I thought Lee was out of the room, he comes back and says, "Oh, you can use my sunglasses if you're feelin' terrible." He slips some ray-ban's into my desk.
After book club the Group Date
Lee looks over to Nate who seems to be extremely mismatched for the outing by wearing sunglasses, a beanie and bowtie at a fancy restaurant.
"I said to wear sunglasses, not to stand out." Lee whispers to Jacob.
"Did you really just get through a break up?" A girl sitting next to Nate asks him.
"Ah, go easy on the guy. He just got dumped." Jacob waves to the girl while looking through his menu.
"Why'd you get dumped?" The same girl asks.
"Why does it matter? Who cares?" Nate replies as he looks at his phone.
"Did we hurt your feelings?"
"Poor thing. Sorry."
The girls giggle as they look over at him.
I want to go home already.
"Can I borrow your phone? It looks like the same model as mine." A girl across the table says as she compares both phones side by side. "I guess they are." Since Nate doesn't use a special pin for his phone, it's unlocked just by swiping and the girl happens to see Olivia's photo as his background.
"Oh, this is your ex, isn't it?" Another girl picks up the phone and shows everyone. "He's still got a picture of her as his background."
"Let me see!" The rest of the girls join in to see her.
"Oh, that's her?"
"She seems so…"
"Plain? I thought he'd go out with someone much cuter." The girls laugh as they look at the picture of Olivia Wes had sent months ago.
"Are you still in love with her?" The girl next to Nate asks.
"Not really. It's just been too much of a pain to change. That's why it's still there." Nate answers as he looks at his food.
"I'll change it for you then." The girl takes a quick picture with her friends and begins pushing buttons on Nate's phone. "I'll just delete her picture and replace it."
Almost instinctively, Nate stands from his seat to retrieve his phone, but just as the last button is pushed, he grabs it,
"It…It's too late. I already erased it." The girl sinks into her chair as Nate sees the blank screen on his phone.
A thump is heard as Nate steps away from the table and excuses himself to the bathroom. Inside, he makes a call to an old friend.
"Please leave your message after the tone. Beep."
"Hey Wes, do you still have that picture of Olivia in a dress you sent me a few months ago? If you do send it to me right away – " Nate barely makes the last word as Lee slams open the door to the bathroom. Nate promptly hangs up.
"Don't say a word." He scowls as Lee approaches a urinal.
"I won't." Lee says as he uses the bathroom.
"Can I leave now?" Nate frowns as Lee washes his hands.
"Yeah. Go ahead. I'm actually really sorry." Lee looks at him sympathetically and heads back out to the group.
As Nate heads out the bathroom, he sees the girl who deleted Olivia's photo.
She stands apologetically in front of him bowing her head, "Hey, I'm sorry about your picture. To make it up maybe we can go somewhere else?"
"Sorry, I'm broke." He replies while stuffing away his wallet which is clearly filled.
"That's fine, I'm not. If you want, we could head to your place and…" She suggests going after the easiest approach.
"Really?" Nate smiles, "You're into to that?" He raises an eyebrow.
"If it's with you, I don't mind." She smiles at him.
He could easily see through her. It then dawned on him, "You know. I'm really not so good if I'm not with the person I love." After that, he walked out of the restaurant and headed over to Cameron's house to stay the night. He could always vent there about his terrible dates.
Olivia's POV Olivia's room
I looked in the mirror and watched as the tears strolled down my face. It was basically a month later and I felt upset still. After the break up, it felt like I lost a part of myself I was never going to get back. Well, if I'm going to stay up all night, I can make it productive. I took out scissors and make up. Basically, a whole bunch of things I had no use for before, but did use when I felt upset. I was great at doing makeup when I wanted to do it. My mother would say I had a knack for it in fact. I began snipping away at parts of my hair, curling it, and then applying makeup to my face.
Whoa. I gave myself a good look in the mirror and was surprised by the results. However, it didn't last long. Why couldn't he have seen me like this? That must be why he liked Allison. She always looked good with a bit of makeup. I was almost to tears again when I thought about it, but easily shook it away when I remembered how ridiculous I'd look with makeup streaming down my face from hot tears. Thank goodness I stopped myself.
Middle of the night Cameron's Room
"Cameron." Nate shook him in his bed seeing he was fast asleep. "Cameron! Wake up!"
"Nnnh. What do you want? What time do you think it is?" He sleepily answered as he rolled to the opposite side.
"The picture. I want the picture of Olivia I sent to you to keep for me!" Nate demanded.
"That old thing? Why would I still have it?" Cameron opens one of his eyes to look through his phone, "It's two in the morning. Go to sleep."
"C'mon. Even if you're secretly hiding that picture from me, I promise I won't be mad." Nate kneels down beside Cameron's bed pleading his friend.
"I don't have it!" Cameron grumbled. "What would be fun about having a picture of someone else's girlfriend?" He throws his phone over to Nate. "Here, take a look yourself."
Nate presses his chin down on Cameron's mattress as the phone lands in front of him. "The girls I met today…they called Olivia, ugly. They said she's too plain. What's wrong with being plain?"
"Please…Just let me sleep…" Cameron urges for Nate to leave him alone by kicking at him.
"She's a hundred times way cuter than those arrogant, unsympathetic, 'pretty' bitches who drench their faces with make up. Don't you think so?" Nate vents as Cameron faces away from him. "Correction, I meant a million times. Heh." Nate smiles as he places a pillow on the ground.
"…But who's cuter? Zoe, Allison, or Olivia?" Cameron responded almost cryptically without moving.
"What's up with everyone lately? Seriously, all of you…Try bringing them together and lining them up in front of me." Nate seemed rather annoyed. A moment of silence passed and Nate buried his face into his pillow, "I'd like to know who I'd pick, too."
Cameron sat up as he watched Nate grab some extra sheets from his closet for warmth, "What would you do if I dated Olivia?"
Nate plopped back onto the floor, "Ha. What're you getting at?"
"I'm saying you have no right to complain if she finds another guy while you idle around like this." Cameron laid back in his previous position on his bed, "After all, 'timing is everything'."
"Hm?" Nate perked up remembering those words.
"I heard what you told Spencer. Maybe you should listen to yourself." Cameron looked at his wall. "If you don't say the right thing at the right time, no matter how much fate had a hand in your relationship, it could all be ruined in an instant. Even if you regret it, it'll be too late." Cameron thought back to his time with Sara.
'I am a Kessler.'
"Even if you regret it…" He then thinks about his times with Allison.
'So, these are talking candles?'
"There'll be nothing you can do." He remembers the month he spent with Olivia whenever Nate cancelled his plans with her.
'That's more money than I borrowed from you.' He said as Olivia handed him a twenty.
'It's fine, that's five more dollars. It's no big deal. That's like pocket change!' She smiled.
'Yes, it is a big deal. Whether it's five or fifty, money is still money.' Cameron reached into his pocket to look for change but came out with some spare coins, a paper clip, and some gum.
Olivia picked up the wrapped gum from his hand, 'This gum will be just fine.'
Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was mesmerized with Olivia.
"Love is all about timing." As soon as he uttered those words, Cameron fell quickly back to sleep after murmuring one last thing that was incoherent, leaving Nate to relish on his words.
Next morning Cameron's Room
"What the heck? I can see my breath here in my own room!" He exclaimed while wrapping himself in his blanket. "Come to think of it, how did he get in last night?" He looks over to the foot of his bed where Nate slept. He notices the open window and closes it. "From now on, if I don't forget to lock it, I may actually get some sleep."
He kneels down to see Nate's phone still open. Was he in the middle of texting someone? He reads the message displayed on Nate's phone.
'Olivia, I just wanted to let you know
that you were never a replacement for Zoe.
None of my feelings have been false,
I'm just in the middle of a really complicated situation
and I can't talk to you about it. Please trust me.
I regret everything I did or didn't do during that month.
Back then…Back at the library…
What I said and did…
Everything I chose to do was wrong.
I want you to listen to me. Olivia, I – '
That's as far as he got, hm? Cameron watched as the phone's cursor blinked.
Later that day Student Parking Lot
"Tch. Ach…ACHOO!" Cameron sneezed. "Because you took all my sheets this morning, I caught a cold."
"Better you, than me." Nate says as he fixes his hair in a mirror.
"If you have time to worry about your appearance, why not just say what needs to be said already?" Cameron wiped his nose with some tissue.
"Oh, don't you dare lay a finger on Olivia." Nate looks at him, picks up his bag, and gets out of the car.
That's not what I meant.
"Hurry and tell Olivia that, or it'll be too late." Cameron whispered as he got his things out of Nate's trunk. "You'll regret it."
In the hallway
"Hey Cameron, do you mind if I see the puppies today?" Olivia runs up to him with a bag full of dog chew toys. "Aren't they cute?"
"Sorry, but I've got other plans today." He tried to make up an excuse since he was Nate's best friend. After seeing Nate's attempted text to Olivia, Cameron decided that he was unsure of his feelings towards Olivia. She did look different today, to him anyway. It must've been her new look that threw him off.
"Oh…Maybe some other time then?" She was visibly embarrassed. Maybe she too had thought the other day meant more to the both of them than they had originally thought. "I'm sorry." She nervously tried to stuff some of the plush toys back into her bag.
I see…I must be an annoyance to him.
Cameron cleared his throat, feeling bad that he had just hurt her feelings a little, "Um…Well, you can go see them even if I'm not there."
That must be it.
"Uh…Yeah. Some other time would be better." Hurriedly, Olivia ran off down the hall.
I'm just the ex of one of his friends.
She hadn't even noticed that he watched her leave all the way down the hallway. Olivia walked with everything she had brought to give to Cameron, but other thoughts harbored her mind.
Whenever there's nothing left for me to do, it feels like an empty hole is forming in my chest. I even start to notice the things in my room I forgot to give back to him. My memories of Nate…His cute side, his hateful side, his childish side…when he teases me…Everything he left behind. I need to move on.
Later English Class [Olivia's POV]
Believe it or not, passing notes was still a thing for our class at Twin Branches. We weren't allowed to use our phones, but passing notes became easy when the teachers simply thought you were doing origami or some silly thing like that. I had spent the longest time avoiding Nate's gaze because he sat behind me in class and whenever Nicole and Hannah wanted to pass notes to each other, I had to pass the note to Nate and vise versa. However, since everyone could guess that we weren't in the best of reputations with one another, they ceased passing notes.
"Alright, since I've actually got your attention today, how about we read a book and write an essay about it. Something we can all get into." Mr. Bernstein smiled from his desk. "Any suggestions?"
Erik was the first person to respond, "How about 'The Game of Thrones'?" Everyone around me groaned. "Then, what about a biography on Paul Revere?"
Jenna laughed, "I can barely remember my lines for historic scenes, why would old stuff like that be any different? I'll still forget about it. It has to be something with more sustenance!"
"Like what, 'Twilight'? You really think all the guys in the class want to read that lame girly book you read during off-period?" Zach snickered.
Why not just read Frankenstein? It's still a good book even up to this day. Nate still has my copy and I haven't been able to read it since. I was about to raise my hand when a voice from right behind me rang out.
"Maybe we could read 'Frankenstein'? I've read a small portion of it, but I don't think it'd be that bad of a read." Nate said as everyone turned to look at him. Just like that, everyone supported his decision.
So, he remembered…
It was one of the books I had lent him that he hadn't returned to me yet. I thought he forgot about it, but I'm glad he decided to read it. Even though I didn't look at him, I could still feel him smiling right behind me.
After Class Nate's Locker
By the time class ended, Olivia tried to catch up with Nate just to see if they could at least not pretend to be spiteful of each other. She tracked him down all the way to his locker.
"Na-Nate." Olivia hesitated to speak for a moment with his back turned to her. "That book you proposed in class. It really was a good choice." She thought that at least attempting to mend broken pieces of their friendship were at least worth a shot. I finally spoke to him again.
He turned to her after placing his things in his backpack, "Well, I suppose it's – ", and Olivia impeded his words as she bowed her head to him. Just seeing Olivia dressed the way she was, so elegant and beautiful, just made him stand there in awe for a second, even though he noticed her subconsciously.
"Anyway, I've got to go to my class rep. meeting. See you again." She seemed rather timid in her response as she ran in the opposite direction of him.
This isn't good though, whenever I look into his eyes, I begin to waver from my plans.
Please don't get my feelings mixed up for you anymore…
After school Bus Stop
Since Nate's father had become mayor, he hadn't quite ridden in a bus in awhile. He was planning to go hang out with Lee, Jacob, and Cameron after school, so he waited with Jacob and Lee until he spotted the last of the group. His car was in the shop today for a tune-up.
"Cameron." He called to his friend walking towards the sidewalk at the stop. Cameron seemed rather dazed while walking over to them.
Lee noticed this and asked, "What happened to you?"
"Nothing." Cameron smiled casually.
Jacob patted Nate and Lee on the shoulder as Cameron came towards them, "Hey, do you guys mind if we check out the Esplanade before we head to the usual spot?"
"Why?" Lee chatted with Jacob as Cameron took a quick glance at Nate's line of vision leading to Olivia who was talking with her friends further away from the stop.
"Bye Taylor!" Olivia waved Taylor goodbye. Cameron and Nate could be seen eavesdropping, but not detected.
"See you tomorrow and don't be late!" Taylor seemed to be threatening, but friendly at the same time.
"Olivia, what are you gonna do now?" Kimi said as she latched onto Olivia's arm. "Why don't we go shopping?"
"Sure, I think I might buy another bag." She smiled when she responded to Kimi.
Their idle dawdling almost made them miss their bus.
"Guys, it's here!" Jacob called over, gesturing for Nate and Cameron to follow on.
Nate walked in front of Cameron onto the bus, letting his guard down. He had no reason to think Cameron was up to something…right? Before stepping a foot into the bus, Cameron recalled Olivia's feelings from earlier and all the effort she made to bring something for the puppies at his house.
He saw Nate about to get seated when he spoke up, "Nate, I just remembered, there's something I need to take care of."
Nate turned his head to see Cameron still standing on the sidewalk, "Hm?" He looked confused.
Cameron watched as Nate gave him a puzzling look, "Just remember…I gave you my final notice this morning." He held up a hand to wave away Nate, Lee, and Jacob. "Didn't I tell you", He could see Nate's eyes widen with realization. "…You'd regret it?" As the doors to the bus slammed shut, there was nothing Nate could do other than watch. "Sorry." Cameron said as he turned his back to him.
Love is all about timing…
Cameron ran as fast as he could as soon as the bus took off towards Olivia and Kimi. They could see him approaching and turned their attention to him. Olivia furrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly wondering just why he had shown up when he told her he had plans.
"Change of plans. Looks like you can see them today." Cameron huffed out as his breath returned to him.
Nate could see them clearly from the window of the bus heading the opposite direction.
'I won't hold back anymore.' Those were the words that Nate didn't seem to hear as Cameron had fallen asleep. It haunted him.
Chapter 6 :: Love is all about timing - Part 2 [END]
A/N: No, it's not the ending, but it will be for this section. Also, I was wondering if in the next chapter you guys would like to see just exactly what happened between Olivia, Nate, and Cameron for the period that Nate and Olivia were dating and how Allison came into the picture. If not, I'll just omit that from the story. Anyway, please let me know what you guys think. A review, follow, and favorite are always much appreciated!~
(I'll edit this page when necessary. i.e. spelling, punctuation, and grammar fixes. Also when there's a question that needs to be answered but also if I don't get a chapter out in time)