Chapter 22

"Guess what's coming up?" Winona grins widely at everyone at the lunch table.

"What?" Nicholas prompts as he stares at the taco on his plate.

"Valentine's Day!" she answers jubilantly. "Does anyone have plans?"

"No," Nicholas mutters unhappily. I want to pipe in with a 'same' but decide against it.

"Maybe," Jackson shrugs. I discreetly nudge Cassidy and she elbows Winona, who glances at us.

"What do you mean by that?" Winona questions Jack once she catches on to what we're getting at.

He shrugs again as he twirls his fork around. "I might have a date. I might not. I still have to ask."

"What about you, Liv; do you have any plans?" Winona wonders with a stupid simper on her face. Everyone at the table seems to find humor in this, seeing as they all wear matching smirks. I repress the urge to say that I do and leave it at that but decide not to lie.

"Well, do you?" Maddox wonders with his lips upturned in a smug kind of way.

Scowling at all of them, I suck my teeth. "No," I state the obvious.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Winona frowns, earning a glare from me before I return my attention to my food. "Maddox, do you have plans?"

I try hard not to listen, mostly because I don't want his answer to affect me. I know everyone will look at me if he answers yes, and I don't know if I'd be able to face the awkwardness of admitting that said plans do not include me. "Maybe," Maddox answers with a shrug as he glances at his phone.

Instead of sitting on his answer too long, Winona hops on over to Cassidy. "And you, Cass?"

Cassidy's eyes flicker to our friend and she gave her an annoyed smile. "What do you think?" she retorts sarcastically.

"I think you're a very pretty girl and any guy would be lucky to spend his Valentine's Day with you," Winona winks at her. "You too, Liv."

Cassidy rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "No, Winona, I don't have plans."

"Do you have plans?" I turn the question on Winona.

She seems elated that someone asks and prepares to go on a rate. Cassidy makes it a point to plug her ears. "Isaac and I are going on our second date!" Win announces

"When'd you go on the first?" Jackson wonders curiously.

"Saturday," Winona tells him.

"He asked you?" Nicholas inquires.

"No, I asked him," Winona clarifies.

"I thought you said you'd never ask a guy out," Jackson pipes and she shrugs.

"I was doing it to prove a point," Winona blurts as she gives me and Cass a short glance.

"And what point was that?" Maddox wonders like the nosy idiot he is.

"I was trying to show the girls that asking—," Winona starts but I quickly fall into cough.

"Shut up," I hiss through the coughs. Winona doesn't seem to hear me, and instead, waits patiently for me finish my violent coughing fit. Maddox smirks at me before his eyes flickers back to Winona, who starts speaking again. He definitely heard me.

"I was trying to show the girls that asking out their crushes isn't that hard," she finishes before I can say anything else. I'm too busy trying to soothe my throat with my juice. The coughs had scratched it a bit.

I feel my face heat up as I duck my head. Cassidy, who is looking at us despite the fact that she has her ears covered, notice my blush and removes her hands from the sides of her head. "You have a crush?" Jackson wonders aloud before she can even speak.

"U-Uh—," Cassidy stutters as she looks around, trying to figure out what had happened in the minute she spent with her ears covered.

"Yeah, Cassidy, who's your crush?" Nicholas asks her as he leans forward slightly. He wiggles his eyebrows twice and she immediately looks at me.

"We're talking about the point that Winona tried to prove when she asked out your brother," I awkwardly smile at her as I try to send her a mental message.

"About how asking out your crush is easy," Winona further explains. Cassidy's eyes widen as she gives a slow nod.

"What crush?" Cassidy blurts.

"What? You don't trust us?" Nicholas frowns, which almost makes me laugh. None of the people at this table are trustworthy.

"What? No," Cassidy struggles to speak. "I-I do trust you. I just- I got to go- homework."

Abruptly, Cassidy stands up from the table and snatches her bag off the floor. She trips over herself as she tries to walk away. She manages to make an escape without falling over and we all turn our attention back to each other.

"So who is it?" Nicholas pesters with a wondrous expression.

Jackson waits expectantly and I scoff. "You expect us to tell you guys who her crush is?"

"Well, yeah, why would we ask if we didn't expect you to?" Jackson blurts, which gets an eye roll from me.

"I'm not telling you. And neither is Winona." Winona shakes her head as she took a bite of her taco. "When Cassidy wants to tell you, she'll tell you."

"That can take forever," Nicholas whines.

"Yeah, I mean, look how long it took for you to tell Maddox," Jackson motions towards the boy beside him eating an apple.

Ignoring the burning of my cheeks, I keep my eyes locked on Jackson. "When she's ready to tell you guys, she will."

The bell suddenly rings and we all stand up. Maddox watches me with curious eyes and I don't bother questioning him. The only thing on my mind is who he might have Valentine's Day plans with.

+ + +

By the time the day is over, I have at least three hours of homework to complete. Winona, Maddox, and I walk out of school together and head to the parking lot in silence. Winona splits off eventually, leaving Maddox and I to walk to his car. It isn't until I was buckling my seatbelt that he speaks.

"Is it Jackson?" he blurts, which causes me to jump a little.

"What?" I ask as I twist in my seat to face him.

"Does Cassidy like Jackson?" he clarifies as he starts the car.

"I'm not telling you anything," I scoff with a shake of my head. I pretend to zip my mouth and throw away the key

"Come on," he frowns, slightly poking out his lower lip. "Please, Olivia."

"You're trying to take advantage of me, and it's not working," I deny immediately. As cute as that may have been, I can't just tell him who Cassidy likes. It's not my secret to tell. Vivica was different; she's not in the friend group so no one would really care if that information got out. Cassidy, like me, would receive endless heaps of harassment.

"Come on, Olivia," he presses, blinking his eyes rapidly. Trying to throw off the odd feeling of being called Olivia twice in a row, I shake my head. He protrudes out his lower lip more, tilts his head downwards, and blinks rapidly. 

I laugh loudly at the scene in front of me. He drops the act when he sees it's not working and blows out a loud breath, which causes his hair to fly up and off of his forehead for a second. "You're a lot cuter when you don't try," I inform him boldly.

Instead of things getting awkward, Maddox glares at me. "I wouldn't have to try if you would just tell me."

By the time we arrive at my house, Maddox is grumbling about how secrets are stupid. I tell him to stop complaining and he rolls his eyes at me. "You don't understand because you've been in the loop from the start both times."

"You'll find out eventually," I assure him before getting out of the car.

+ + +

"Hey, honey," my mom speaks into the phone.

"Hey, mom," I reply in a perky tone.

"How have you been?" she wonders. It's been a few days since we've last talked but it's not uncommon for us.

"I've been good," I confirm as I think about all the things I could tell her. "How are you guys?"

"We're great. We miss you a lot," she assures me, like she does every time.

"When do you think I'll be able to come home?" I ask bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush. I furrow my eyebrows only seconds after I say it. I'm starting to act like Winona.

"Why? Is something wrong?" she questions, suddenly sounding worried.

"No, no, everything's fine," I convince her. "I just want to know."

"Oh," she says with a relieved sigh. "Your father and I have decided that you can come home this summer."

"For good?" I question as I stare at my lap.

"Yes," she confirms. "For good."

"Do you think it's possible that I can stay?" I question her after a few seconds of silence.

"Stay? In Harrington?" she asks in slight surprise.

"Yeah," I confirm.

"Why do you want to stay?" she inquires after a few seconds of thought. I can already imagine her face; she's probably frowning and staring at the wall sadly.

"I don't feel like starting over," I sigh her as I drop down on my bed.

"What do you mean 'starting over?'" she pries quickly.

"I mean, I'd have to find a new group of friends..." I start to explain.

"What about your old friends?" she wonders. I want to scoff at this.

"You and I both know that they were never really my friends," I mutter. "But in Harrington, I have friends and a job. I miss you guys, I do, but it's nice here and you guys visit enough."

"Well, I'll run this by your father and your aunt," my mom trails and I can hear the sadness in her voice.

"Thanks mom," I sigh in relief. I was kind of expecting a hard 'no'. 

"Do you know how proud I am of you, Liv?" she asks in a heartfelt tone.

"Why are you proud of me?" I ask, holding back a laugh. I haven't won a Nobel Peace Prize recently.

"Because you've matured a lot," she explains in a tone that tells me she's on the verge of happy tears.

"Oh," I respond awkwardly.

"So do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?" my mother asks in a teasing voice.

"No, mother," I sigh as I let out a quiet chuckle.

"Your aunt told me that you're spending a lot of time with Maddox..." my mom trails suggestively and I immediately become defensive.

"We're friends," I inform her.

"Should I give you the talk?" she asks. My eyes immediately widen at her boldness.

"Mom, that's not necessary! We're just friends!" I retort dismissively.

"When two people have very strong feelings for each other—," my mother starts but I cut her off.

"Mom!" I shout in slight disgust. She lets out a loud laugh and I cringe and put my head in my hands. 

+ + +

Nicholas and Jackson have been hounding Cassidy about her crush all week. And it isn't until Thursday that she actually acknowledges it. "Come on, Cass," Nicholas frowns.

"When are you going to tell us?" Jackson pleas with her. She'd usually just ignore them until they'd stop but apparently not anymore.

"Why does it matter?" she snaps, obviously agitated. "He likes someone else so there's no point in telling anyone about it." I feel guilt at her words so I duck my head awkwardly.

"How do you know that?" Jackson pries with a curious look on her face. 

"Because I know," she bites as she glares at him with a look of annoyance clear on her face.

"Just tell us, we can probably score you a date with him," Nicholas replies hopefully.

"No," she says with a tone of finality. Maddox stares at me and I discreetly shrug before going back to my food.

At the end of the day, when we're walking to the car, Maddox looks at me. "So she's never going to tell us," he assumes with a curt nod.

"I don't know," I retort, annoyed that the topic has come up again. "She'll come around."

"It sure seemed like it," he mutters, which earns an eye roll from me. He doesn't speak again until we're almost at my house. He turns to me when we hit a red light. He opens his mouth twice before he finally manages to form words. "We should hang out on Saturday,"

"Saturday?" I ask him with slightly wide eyes. He gives me a nod and I give him a second to realize the significance of that day. When he doesn't, I lick my lips and continue. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Why wouldn't I" he replies just as the light turns green.

"Well, because it's Valentine's Day," I respond with an awkwardly tilted mouth. I rub at my inner elbow as I wait for him to cringe, nod, and ask for a rain-check.

"And?" he retorts with a small shrug. The word sends a shiver through my body as I try to gauge what he means by it.

"Won't it be awkward?" I reply slowly.

"Why would it be awkward?" he questions, which makes me want to groan.

I turn my gaze out the window and try my best to ignore the blush on my cheeks. "Never mind."

"So do you want to?" he asks when I don't bother to say anything else. When he sees my slightly confused look, he chuckles quietly. "Hang out on Saturday?"

"I don't really want to go out. I mean, I don't want to see couples everywhere," I tell him awkwardly.

"We don't have to go out," he replies quickly. I stare at him with furrowed eyebrows. "We could always hang out at my house."

"Hang out at your house?" I question, trying to see if he realizes how odd this sounds.

His cheeks tinge pink as he blinks a few times. He just nods. "We could watch a movie, talk— I don't know."

"Why are you blushing?" I wonder with a small smirk on my lips.

"I'm not! I'm embarrassed! You're putting me under pressure! You can't just say yes or no?" he retorts in slight frustration.

"Yes," I reply, going against my better judgment.

He sighs at this. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?"

"I must've learned it from you."

For the rest of the ride, I bite back a smile. I settle on looking out the window and try to act like it isn't a big deal for me. We arrive at my house and I thank Maddox for the ride before moving to unbuckle my seatbelt. "Wait," he starts so I turn my attention back to him. "What's your favorite ice cream?"

"Vanilla," I reply after a few seconds of thought.

"Okay," he confirms. "Now get out of my car, Olivia."

"Olivia?" I ask with a dissatisfied look on my face.

"That's your name, isn't it?" he replies as if entertained at the fact that I'm acknowledging his use of my real name.

"Yeah, but you usually call me Olive," I reply. Honestly, I've gotten used to that nickname coming from him. I like it when he calls me Olive. As pathetic as it sounds, I feel special. "It's weird when you call me Olivia, and you've been doing it often lately."

"Do you not like it?" he asks with a smirk.

"I already told you that I didn't mind," I mutter.

"Yeah, you did, when you were drunk. Yet, when you're sober, you claim not to like it," he replies. I try to think back to when I said that and he falls into character, "'don't call me Olive, Maddox. I hate you so much. Blah, blah, blah, hate you, blah, blah, so much."

"Shut up," I snap as I hold back a laugh. That's a majority of our conversations, really.

"So can I call you Olive?" he asks and I shrug in response. "It's a simple yes or no question."

"Yes," I reply. "Call me Olive. You're one of the few people who can call me that, so take advantage of it."

"Sure thing...Olive."

+ + +

On Friday, I'm extremely nervous. We're in lunch when Winona asks her question again. "Jackson, have you secured your plans for Valentine's Day?" she wonders with a raised brow.

"No, Winona, I have not. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop asking," he responds sourly.

"Maddox?" Winona asks after sticking her tongue out at Jackson, who, in response, throws a chip at her.

"Yeah," Maddox nods.

Winona looks at me but I keep my eyes on my plate. I didn't think Maddox was going to tell people. "With who?" Winona presses in a slightly hesitant manner.

"Olive," Maddox replies casually. The table goes silent and I feel all eyes on me.

"Really?" Winona questions, sounding happy.

"Yeah," I grumble quietly.

"What are you guys going to be doing?" Cassidy inquires after she nudges me in the side. I try my best not to look up and, instead, focus my attention on my lunch. I'll let Maddox handle this one.

"She doesn't want to go out, so we're going to be hanging out at my place; we're probably going to watch a movie," Maddox explains as if it's a normal topic of discussion.

"Watch a movie? Is that code for something?" Nicholas repeats with a mischievous laugh. I glance up at him and see that he's wiggling his eyebrows at Maddox. I don't even dare to look at the green eyed boy.

"Don't make it into something it's not," I snap almost immediately.

"Whoa, harsh," Nicholas mutters. "I was simply making sure that's what I heard."

I glare at Nicholas and Maddox chuckles. "That is what you heard, Nick."

"Okay, just checking," Nicholas confirms with a smirk in my direction.

+ + +

When my aunt asks when she needs to drop me off at work, I ask her to stop by the mall first in hopes that Raven has a shift. I feel the need to clear the air. She may not have been in the right but I want to at least put those harsh words behind us; I have a feeling I'll be seeing more of her when summer comes around and everyone's hanging out together. I've been trying to put myself in her shoes and see the situation as her simply trying to warn me. Though she could've done it better, she probably had better intentions.

I jog into the store and immediately find Raven. She's manning the register alone and other than the two other people looking around the store, it's pretty much dead. I look around for a cute shirt. After glancing at the tag and deeming it as affordable, I grab my size and approach the counter. When Raven sees me coming, I hear her scoff. I place the shirt on the counter and she starts to remove the sensors.

"What? Have you come to defend Maddox's honor some more?" she asks with a scowl.

"Actually, I want to put that behind us," I announce, trying to sound like an adult. "I apologize for how rude I was being."

"Apologize?" she inquires with raised brows.

I nod. "Yes, apologize. I feel kind of like a jerk for saying what I said," I mutter. I repress the urge to call her out for her rude statements, too. But I'll let her speak on that.

"Well you were," she bluntly informs me. "But I kind of was, too. So I'm sorry for that."

I give her a slow nod in surprise that this went over so smoothly. I was expected to have a coat hanger or two thrown at me. "Whatever you had with Maddox is none of my business," I announce.

"And whatever you have with Maddox is none of my business," she comments before continuing, "but I can't help but wonder what exactly it is."

"I like him," I admit with a sigh as she types on the register screen. "That's all it is."

"Has he told you that he doesn't like you?" she questions and I watch as the price decreases. "Employee discount."

"Thanks," I mutter as I retrieve my card from my wallet. "And no he hasn't, but—," I start.

"Then I doubt that's all it is," she responds in short. "Maddox may be a player, but he wouldn't play with his friend's feelings. He would've told you by now that he doesn't like you to make getting over him easier for you. You know, so you won't think he's leading you on whenever he does something remotely nice, which is rare for him."

"Well, he doesn't need to tell me. I already told him that I know he doesn't like me," I reply with a shrug as I insert my card into the machine.

"He probably assumes you're smart enough to have figured it out already," she mutters, completely ignoring my statement.

"Figured what out?" I ask as she returns my receipt to me.

She sighs as she puts my shirt in the bag. "Let me break it down for you. Maddox would have told you already if he didn't like you. He hasn't told you, therefore he likes you."

"Listen, I'm not trying to be rude, but I don't want false hope. Unless he personally tells me that he likes me, then I'm not going to make any assumptions. Like you said, he's a player, and what do players do best? Play," I reply as I accept the bag and shove the receipt into it. "So unless he tells me that he likes me, I'm not going totake advice from anyone."

She nods in understanding. "That makes sense, but you should know that it can take Maddox a while to admit his feelings."

"I guess I'll just have to wait," I respond with a shrug. "That's if he likes me. And again, sorry about last time."

"It's old news," she shrugs. "Good luck with Maddox. He wasn't the guy for me but maybe he is for you."

I give a slow nod before awkwardly walking away. Now I see why Maddox never apologizes.

+ + +

When my break at work rolls around, I drop down beside Abel, who is eating chicken nuggets and waiting to clock in. "Hey," I smile.

"Hey," he greets me happily. "Before I forget, Maddox told me to ask you something." Immediately, his eyes widen and his hands covers his mouth. "He wanted me to be discreet and not mention him. Too late now."

"What is the question?" I snap, growing frustrated with Abel's rambling.

"Calm down, little sheep," Abel soothes me. "What kind of chocolate do you like?"

I furrow my eyebrows before stuttering a little. "Milk chocolate? I don't know."

"Okay, milk chocolate it is," he smiles. "May I ask why he wants to know?"

"How's Caroline?" I blurt to distract him. He looks confused for a moment but quickly recovers once he hears his official girlfriend's name. I'm grateful for the fact that he has an attention span the size of a pea.

"She's good. I'd ask how Maddox is, but he's my brother, so I already know."

"Are you guys doing anything for Valentine's Day?" I question after acknowledging his statement with a short laugh.

"We're going on a date," he grins excitedly. "I'm taking her out rollerblading. She's always wanted to go but she's too scared."

"And you're going to help her overcome her fear?" I ask but answer before he can. "That's very romantic."

"Uh, no, I'm going to watch her fall so I can laugh," he corrects me. "I'll try to get it on video for you." I try to hold back my laughter but fail.

Before he can ask about Maddox, I change the subject. "How's this semester going for you?"

"I fell in front of my class today..." Abel trails off into his story while I listen, chuckling ever so often. I'm grateful not only for his pea-sized attention span, but for the fact that he can take my mind off of Maddox and the information I received from Raven.