Olive quickly shook her head. "No no, I- no. If I liked you like that I would have already told you." She said. But of course that's what she wanted, but it's selfish. She smiled. "You know what, there's nothing wrong, I'm just overdramatic or something. Um, yeah, sorry."
“I don’t understand..what are you trying to tell me?” She asked, confused out of her mind. “Do you not like Madeline?” Ana realized, her voice going quiet.
"What no! Well… I actually don't really know because I've never met her before. But if she's good enough for you then I bet she's amazing." Olive said with a little sigh. "Sorry about all this… I should probably go so I'm not worrying or confusing you anymore. Uh… bye." She apologized as she stood up.
Ana frowned, starting to get up. “Wait, Olive. I still don’t understand!” She called desperately after her.
Olive turned around to face Ana. "I don't fully understand either…" She said as she slowly went forward and wrapped her arms around Ana.
Ana just stared down at Olive in shock. She slowly returned the hug, resting her chin on Olives head. “What’s going on?” She asked once more, gentler this time.
Olive smiled a little as she felt Ana return the hug. She didn't move, but she started talking softly, "Er… maybe I just realized that I'm going to have to get used to not hanging out with you as much or maybe I finally realized how few people I know let alone hang out with. I haven't had to worry about being alone or anything in a long time and I'm not quite sure how to deal with it. And I know this probably doesn't seem like much since you click with people so easily and stuff. I don't know…" She trailed off at the end with a little sigh.
Ana laughed softly, shaking her head. “I don’t click with people, Liv. I don’t really know how I got friends. But you’re friendly and kind and if you just made more of an effort, maybe joining some clubs, you would probably realize how much people like you.” She said, slightly shocked by the sudden outpouring of words from her mouth. They were actually kind of nice, too.
"Really?" Olive asked surprised for both of the things Ana said. She always thought Ana got along pretty well with everyone and stuff. "It's just, it's kinda hard for me to make an effort. Like joining clubs may not be hard, but meeting people in said clubs… I'm just not good at talking to people I don't know."
"I know. We can go together if you want." She suggested, pulling away from the hug and shoving her hands in her pockets, looking down at the ground with unusual nervousness. "I wish you would've told me this earlier.."
Olive let go as well with a smile. "That would be great. But I'm sorry. I just thought it wasn't something to burden you with so I kept it to myself. I also thought it was kinda selfish or something like that… thank you, for listening and stuff."
“It’s okay. You can tell me anything, I swear.” She replied gently, shivering slightly as a sudden gust of wind blew across the field. “I should probably be heading home though..”
Olive smile, "Thanks. I'm also here if you need anything, you know that right?" Liv was already shivering, even before the gust. "Also, would mind giving me a ride home?"
“Course, let’s go.” Ana said quietly, picking up her bag and starting to walk towards the parking lot. She didn’t know how to feel. The only thing she could do is help Olive get more friends.
(I'm sorry I won't be responding until Saturday, possibly Sunday. I'm very busy this week/weekend, but I'll be fairly free after that. Again, I'm sorry for being gone for a while.)
(That’s okay! Take good care of yourself! No pressure to respond :)
(Heck… I'm so sorry I haven't replied or said anything in advance. I had an unexpected hiatus, but, hopefully, I'll be back on regularly.)
Olive smiled slightly as she got up and followed Ana to her car. She was so glad to have such a great friend, even if she didn't fully understand where Liv was coming from.
(You’re Okay! Glad you’re back!)
Ana got in and began to drive her home, thinking in silence. She was still a bit confused about the conversation they had just had though. Was Olive jealous of her and Madeline? She said she wasn’t but it was weird. She didn’t know how to bring it up again.
(Thank you!!)
Olive sat in silence, looking out the window. It had definitely been a really strange conversation and she suspected it wasn't the most clear or helpful. She just needed to sort out herself, but maybe she wouldn't have to worry about Ana constantly asking if everything was okay.
They eventually reached Olive’s house and Ana leaned back in her seat, glancing over at her. “See you tomorrow, then?” She asked casually, sensing the slight tension between them.
"Er, yeah. Thank you so much, Ana." Olive said as she gathered her stuff and opened the door. She closed it and looked back at Ana once more and waved. With a sigh, she unlocked the door and went inside.
Ana didn't notice her look back, too busy checking her phone before she drove back home.
(Do you mind if we skip a couple weeks ahead or months maybe so that Ana and Madeline can have an established relationship before they break up or smthn? If you have something planned though, that's okay! We don't have to! :)
(I actually think that's a really good idea! Maybe a month and a halfish??)
(Okay, awesome, yeah!)
(would you like me to start?)
(That would be great!)
There had been a time where Ana would be with Madeline everyday after school, getting home late, and getting up early in the mornings to see her before school started. Something had changed though. Something about Madeline seemed off now and she didn't like it. They hardly ever hung out anymore.
Hey, you said we'd meet at my car at 3. Where are you?
Ana texted, leaning back in her seat and letting out a huff.
yeah..sorry..had things to do.
You've been saying that for the past week now.
yeah well. I'm sure olive isn't busy. why don't you just hang out with her instead?
She's probably home by now, plus I had plans with you, not her.
you always seem to find an opportunity to hang out with her. even if we had hung out today you'd still be talking about her
What are you implying??
you're always talking about her and I see the way you look at her. it's like she's your girlfriend and not me. you're clearly in love with her. us dating isn't working out anyways.
Are you seriously breaking up with me over this??
guess so. you'll realize i'm right soon enough.
Olive was indeed already home. The week after her talk with Ana, she had found a club that was perfect for her, winter guard. She immediately clicked with the group and she had made some friends, none as good as Ana though. But, Liv still constantly thought about Ana, even if it was subconsciously. She had kind of suppressed her crush on Ana, only because she had gotten busier. Both that and the fact that Ana seemed to be spending all of her time with Madeline, she didn't see her quite as much as she would have liked.
Now she was sitting on her bed, actually socializing with the winter guard group chat, and listening to music like typical Olive.
Ana sat back, turning her phone off and staring down at her lap. What the heck had just happened? She stayed frozen for at least another hour, thinking about Olive. I'm not in love with her..that doesn't make any sense. She's my best friend. It doesn't make any sense. She thought, picturing Olive in her mind. She's just sort of..perfect. That's what you want in a best friend, right?
She had finally made it home and stared at Olive's contact photo, considering texting her. She's probably busy with her new friends. What if she likes them better than me? She better not. She put down her phone angrily and eventually fell asleep a couple hours later.
With at least ten minutes of no activity on the group chat, Olive turned off her phone, just listening to the music through her earbuds. She knew this feeling all too well, talking to no one since everyone was too busy to do anything with her. Ana was to busy with Madeline, like always, and everyone else had other clubs and obligations.
(skip to morning?)
