HI!

I'm updating today because I'm on vacation but I've been busy these past few days. I'll be updating either tomorrow or Sunday as well.

I have a song stuck in my head and it's not even English! It's called Bad Boy by Big Bang. My friend told me to listen to it and it's been playing in my head for nearly 2 weeks. It's so catchy.

TO ALL OF YOU GUYS WHO KEEP ASKING WHO PARKER IS, he's a distant friend of the group. He was at the homecoming and the carnival. He's closer friends with Raven? He's in college? Majoring in Psychology? Ring a bell? lol.

DO YOU GUYS REMEMBER LA LA LAND BY DEMI LOVATO???

Chapter 27: Matching Pajamas

I got a call from my father on Sunday night, when he finally got a break from work. I answered the phone immediately, shoving my homework to the side as I crossed my legs. “Hello?” I asked quickly.

“Hey, Liv,” my father greeted me. I was expecting his call. I tried calling him twice, but both times, I had no choice but to hang up and wait for a response. I know my father’s a busy man, but I have a feeling that he was avoiding this conversation.

“How are you?” I asked, not even giving him a second to answer. “So do you like him?”

“Like who?” he asked, playing dumb. I got off my bed and began pacing around the room nervously.

“Maddox,” I responded, trying to sound casual.

“Oh,” my father spoke. I waited a few seconds but my father didn’t speak.

“’Oh?’” I repeated. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s a…nice boy,” my father announced.

“A nice boy?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s…polite,” my dad informed me.

“Polite?” I stopped walking around my room, standing in one spot with furrowed eyebrows.

“I’m an idiot,” my father chuckled.

“What?” I asked, completely and utterly confused.

“No, I just thought you were going to repeat that, too,” my father explained.

“Dad, what do you think of him?” I inquired with a sigh as I dropped on my bed.

“I mean, he’s not as bad as I thought he was,” my father admitted.

“So you like him?” I asked, biting my lip as my eyes widened.

“Yeah, I guess,” my father responded with a loud sigh. I squealed loudly and he grunted. “Why are you so happy?”

“You gave me your approval! Now I can date him without having to sneak around,” I explained.

“You two are dating?” my father asked, growing louder.

“No!” I responded. “Not yet.”

“Not yet?” my father inquired.

“We have a date on Saturday,” I told my dad.

“Liv—,” my dad started. I could tell that he was going to try to talk to me about the thought process of a teenage boy, and I wanted to avoid that, so I began talking over him.

“Well, thanks for your approval, dad! I have to go now. I have homework! I love you! Bye!” I responded, hearing a sigh before I hung up. With a large grin on my face, I went back to my homework, fist pumping as I put my phone on the table beside my bed.

+ + +

I got in the car on Monday morning and handed Maddox his breakfast before buckling up. He leaned in and I smirked at him before turning up the heat, thoroughly eluding his attempt to kiss me. He sighed as he slumped in his seat. “When are you going to let me kiss you?” he asked.

“When are you going to make things between us official?” I retorted as I dropped my bag on the floor in front of me, waiting for him to head to school.

“You act like you can’t!” he responded as he began driving.

“I’m the one that made this happen! I asked you to homecoming! If it wasn’t for my boldness, you wouldn’t even know my name,” I told him with an eye roll.

“Yes I would. Cassidy and Winona would have felt bad for your lack of friends and would’ve taken you in whether you wanted it or not,” Maddox retorted.

“Either way, I spoke to you first, not to mention, I told you that I liked you—,” I started.

“You were drunk when you confessed your feelings,” Maddox noted.

“At least I had the nerve to say it,” I muttered.

“Well, that was rude,” Maddox noted.

“I’m just saying,” I shrugged. “If you hadn’t kissed me so much, how else would I have known?”

He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the road ahead of us. “Because I’m nice to you?” he suggested. “Because I actually let you meet my parents? Because I want you to stay in Harrington? Because I got jealous?”

“Friend jealous,” I corrected him.

“What else was I supposed to say?” he replied.

“That you were actually jealous?” I asked. “I only gave you the easy way out because I missed talking you to.” He grunted while I smirked. “And you do realize that all of the things you just listed are things that normal friends do, right? I mean, aside from the jealousy.”

“Do you have to be such a know-it-all?” he retorted as he stared at me. His cheeks were pink and he was trying to hide it by bowing his head, however he had to keep his eyes on the road, so his attempts weren’t working.

“Do you have to be so stubborn?” I asked him.

“Yes, it’s what makes me Maddox,” he replied.

“Then being a know-it-all is what makes me Olive,” I responded.

+ + +

“So are you two together now or what?” Winona blurted loudly from her spot beside me at the table. I looked at her with wide eyes and she shrugged. “We’re all wondering.”

I opened my mouth to speak but saw that Maddox was going to, so I stopped. “Not yet,” he responded as he took a large bite of his burger.

Cassidy’s eyes widened, as well as Winona’s. Jackson and Nicholas only continued eating, like me and Maddox. The two girls turned to look at me. “You should spend the night on Saturday,” Cassidy blurted and I shook my head. I could already tell that she meant ‘you should come over and tell us everything that’s been happening.’

“I have a date,” I replied.

“Friday?” Cassidy asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah,” I told her. “I’m up for Friday.”

“It’s not like you have much of a choice,” Winona snorted.

As silence took over, Jackson asked a question that caused Maddox to start choking on his burger. “Is it true that you won’t let him kiss you until you’re official?”

Biting the inside of my cheek as I glanced curiously at Maddox, I nodded slowly. “That’s true. What else did he tell you?” I inquired.

“Everything,” Jackson chuckled.

“Like what?” I inquired.

“Like—,” Nicholas started but Maddox’s coughing became more prominent. I don’t know if it was because he wanted Nicholas to shut up or if it was because there was a chunk of cheeseburger lodged in his throat. Nick slammed his hand on Maddox’s back, giving his friend a moment to compose himself before attempting to speak again.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her anything, Nick,” Maddox responded before taking a long gulp of water.

“Too late,” I retorted, silencing Maddox. “Like what, Nick?”

Maddox was glaring at Nicholas and I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t be getting any information out of him.

+ + +

“So I hear you have a date tomorrow,” Abel noted as he drove in the direction of my house. I was taking off my nametag and shoving it into my pocket.

“You’ve heard correctly,” I responded with a nod.

“Did he tell you where you’re going?” Abel asked and I shook my head. “He told me.”

“Of course he did,” I scoffed. “Did he also tell you—?” I started, but Abel swiftly cut me off.

“About how you’re not going to kiss him until you two are official? Yeah, and I feel as if you should’ve done that a long time ago. It’s taken you two forever to get together- and you guys aren’t even together yet,” Abel ranted as I stared at him with an annoyed look on my face.

“Shut up, Abel,” I grunted and he laughed in response. “Can you at least give me a hint as to where we’re going?”

“What happened to shutting up?” he asked as he smiled at me.

“Come on, Abel, I’m completely in the dark,” I responded and he shrugged.

“Well, I’m not telling you anything,” he responded. “Ask Maddox if you really want to know.”

I scowled at him. “You’re such a jerk, Abel. I see where Maddox gets it from.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a hint,” Abel sighed and I looked at him hopefully. “It involves food.”

The excitement died down as I stared at him with a flat look on my face. “Thank you Abel, for the helpful hint.”

“Anytime, Liv, anytime,” he responded.

+ + +

By the time my aunt arrived home, I was ready to go to Cassidy’s house. It was nine o’clock and I had been waiting patiently for two hours. After being driven to my friend’s home, I rang the doorbell and listened as footsteps rushed towards the entrance. Before I could even greet them, I was being yanked inside and dragged upstairs towards Cassidy’s room.

I put my bag down, apologizing for my lateness. I looked at my two friends standing before me, both decked in Hello Kitty pajamas. I was going to make a comment about them before I noticed a bag with what looked to be the same pajamas sitting right inside it. Cassidy grabbed the bag and threw it at me, while I stared at the both of them hesitantly; waiting for them to tell me that it was optional to wear the nightclothes. When I saw Winona’s narrowed eyes, I walked over to the bathroom and changed.

After an in-depth discussion of the recent events I hadn’t told my two friends about, we found ourselves getting into the drama with Jackson and Cassidy. Apparently, Jackson confided in Cass about his crush on my cousin. He even asked her what he should do about it, seeing as Vivica seemed to have lost interest in him after Valentine’s Day.

Cassidy was insisting that she didn’t care and was even going as far as to say that she was over Jackson. I could tell by the look on her face that she did care and that she hadn’t lost her feelings for Jackson at all. And in an attempt to provide some comfort, Winona suggested that she and Cassidy go to a party on Saturday night.

“I’d invite you, but you have a date,” Winona smirked at me.

“That I do,” I responded. “Did you ever find out where we’re going, Win?”

I was resting back on Cassidy’s bed, counting down the hours until I’d be sitting beside Maddox in his car, on our way to wherever it is he plans on bringing me. “Yup,” Winona replied and I immediately sat up.

“Where?” I asked her with wide eyes.

“I can’t tell you that,” she responded and my jaw dropped.

“Winona!” I gasped.

“What? He made me promise not to tell you! I barely know what it is! He just told me that you should dress warm,” Winona replied.

“So now you keep your promise!” I scoffed.

“Listen, I only say things when I think that they’d do some good for others to know!” Winona responded. “For example, if Cassidy told me that she was going to be making brownies for a party- I’d tell everyone because her brownies are really good, but if she told me that she killed a man on her way here, I would keep my mouth shut.”

“I would never tell you if I killed someone,” Cassidy scoffed. “Everyone knows you can’t keep a secret.”

“What? Yes I can!” Winona responded as she crossed her arms. When she saw our doubtful looks, she nodded her head vigorously. “If I really want to keep a secret, I can!”

“Yeah, right,” Cassidy scoffed.

“Tell me a secret then!” Winona replied.

“Why would we do that?” Cassidy retorted.

“I bit Maddox’s tongue when we were kissing,” I blurted. I know for a fact that he didn’t tell any of the guys, mainly because I begged him not to over text. And I called him just to hear him say that he wouldn’t, to which he replied with: ‘I’m not going to tell them, tongue biter.’ I cringed but accepted his response.

I listened as the two girls laughed at my expense. After ten minutes of listening to them gasp for breath while calling me a ‘terrible kisser’ and ‘a tongue chewer,’ they finally slowly stopped laughing. Cassidy was lying on her back with her hands on her stomach as she breathed deeply. Winona was hunched over, letting out an occasional chuckle.

“I’m not a terrible kisser,” I retorted defensively.

“Yeah, you are; you bit his tongue,” Cassidy responded as she smirked.

“I am not! I didn’t mean to!” I replied with a red face. “He said I was a good kisser.”

“Let’s find out,” Winona grinned as she held her phone a few inches from her face. It was on speaker and I prayed that Maddox didn’t answer. I knew I couldn’t take Winona on even if I tried. She was quick and would probably run into Isaac’s room, and he’d hear Maddox telling her about my kissing skills, or lack thereof.

I began texting Maddox to tell him not to answer the phone. For a moment, I thought I succeeded because the sound of his voicemail sounded throughout Cassidy’s room. I sighed in relief, only to have my eyes widen as I heard Winona’s ringtone playing through the bedroom. She immediately answered, putting it on speaker for all of us to hear.

“Yes?” Maddox’s familiar voice entered the phone and I felt my stomach tighten. I immediately groaned into my hands as Winona began talking.

“So your girlfriend just told me the funniest story,” she started. “She bit your tongue?”

Instead of answering, Maddox began laughing. I stared at the phone in her hands as I let out a groan. After a few seconds, Maddox’s laughter slowly stopped. “Yeah, that happened.”

“And she’s trying to tell us that she’s a good kisser,” Cassidy called as I cringed. “Is this true?”

“Is she in the room?” Maddox asked.

“Yes,” Winona replied.

“Then yes, she’s a great kisser,” Maddox responded and I gaped at the phone.

“Maddox!” I hissed.

“What?” he responded. “I said yes!”

“Yeah, after seeing whether or not I was in the room!” I retorted.

“My answer wouldn’t have changed if you weren’t in the room!” Maddox replied and I scoffed. “If I say no, would you try to prove me wrong?” I immediately started blushing and Winona wrinkled her nose while Cassidy cackled.

“Okay, this just got awkward. I’m hanging up now,” Winona muttered, shivering in slight disgust.

Silence filled the awkward room and I looked at Winona. “You can keep a secret, right?” I sarcastically bit.

“That doesn’t count! He already knew!” Winona blurted. Once again, an argument commenced about whether or not Winona could keep her mouth shut. And I think we all know who won that one.

+ + +

The following day, after a tiring shift at work, I thanked Abel for the ride home before quickly entering my house. I immediately made my way to my room, where my cousin was resting on my bed. I jumped at the sight of her, swearing quietly. “What are you doing in here?” I asked her as I opened the doors to my closet, looking around for something comfortable yet warm to wear on my date.

“Resting,” she responded as she sat up. “Now, I’m sitting.”

“Well, get off your lazy butt and help me find something to wear,” I told her as I continued to riffle through my clothes.

“You smell like French fries,” my cousin told me once she reached me. I sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, that happens when you work in a fast food restaurant,” I responded.

“How about you go take a much needed shower while I pick something out for you?” she suggested.

I nodded my head as I went to my dresser, grabbing some underclothes and something to throw on until I know what I’m going to wear. “That sounds good. It needs to be warm and comfortable.”

“Okay,” my cousin told me.

“Nothing revealing!” I cautioned her as I slowly exited the room.

“I know,” my cousin replied.

“No crop tops, no shorts, nothing of the sort!” I warned her.

“That’s not exactly warm, is it?” she asked.

“But make sure it’s cute!” I demanded.

“Just go shower, French fry grease,” my cousin responded and, with a frown, I turned on my heel and walked towards the bathroom.

By the time I was finished in the lavatory, my cousin had found the “perfect outfit” and she was sure that I would love it. I wrapped my head in my towel before opening the door. She was standing there with her arms behind her back while she ushered me to my room. I entered, looking at her curiously.

The clothes that my cousin picked out for me were resting on my bed. It was a large, dark blue sweater with black jeans and my usual black combat boots. I stared at the purse that was sitting beside it. It, like the shirt, was blue. “What’s that for?” I asked her, nodding towards the bag.

“So you can hold your things in it,” she told me. “Now hurry up and get dressed, I’ll be waiting outside.”

Once I was finished getting dressed, I scoffed at the purse. I won’t need that. I have useful pockets! As I went to tuck my phone away, I realized that the pockets on the pants were fake. “Lies!” I exclaimed as I felt the back pockets, which were also nonexistent. With a grunt, I pulled my sweater on over my undershirt, mumbling to myself about the idiot who invented fake pockets.

My cousin grinned when she saw me stuffing my belongings into the purse. I rolled my eyes as I lifted the medium sized bag and held it at my side. “I feel like an idiot.”

“You look so cute! Now put down your purse and let me do your hair!” she insisted. “You still have two hours left.”

“What are you going to do to it?” I asked her as I lifted a damp strand of hair from my head.

“Do you want me to curl it?” she asked as she dragged me to her room and sat me in front of a vanity. She plugged in her blow drier while I shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess,” I told her.

“Good, allow me to get to work!” she cheered.

+ + +

Two hours, a bunch of hair products, and many spritz of perfume later, I was standing by the front door, staring nervously at my cousin. “Well, he’s waiting,” she told me as she stood beside me. If it was up to me, I’d still be upstairs, admiring my hair in the mirror, but she decided to make sure I was punctual. About five minutes ago, the two of us watched as he pulled up to the front of the house from my window before she dragged me down the steps, not even waiting for him to honk the horn.

“I’m scared,” I admitted as I shifted from one foot to the other.

“What? Why?” she asked. “Haven’t you been dreaming about this for months?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know. Dreaming and actually doing are two very different things,” I told her as I started to nibble on my nails.

“Just go out there,” she told me with a smile. “I’m sure everything will go as you want it to.”

“He didn’t even honk yet. What if he’s still composing himself? What if he regrets asking me?” I hissed nervously as I began tugging at the curls in my hair.

“Trust me, he doesn’t regret asking you. He likes you,” she told me as she slapped my hand away from my head. “And stop touching your hair; you’re going to ruin it.”

“I’m just going to wait until he honks,” I responded. I waited a few seconds before the sound of the doorbell filled my ears. My eyes widened as I looked at her. “Can you hear through the door?” I asked quietly.

“No,” she smiled before it faltered slightly. “I don’t think so.”

“What if he heard your pep talk?” I hissed.

“Well,” she started, “Go check!”

“What should I talk about?” I asked her but before I could get a response, she opened the door and basically shoved me out. I stumbled slightly but caught myself as Maddox stood there, rocking back and forth on his heels with a small smile on his face.

“She was thinking about cancelling on you,” my cousin blurted. I stared at her, wide eyed. She smiled and whispered: “How’s that for something to talk about?”

“Vivica—,” I started but she smiled at Maddox.

“Have her home by midnight,” she said before closing the door. I slowly turned to look at Maddox, who was staring at my hand with a look of genuine curiosity written across his face.

“What?” I asked, growing uncomfortable.

“Is that a purse?” he furthered as he looked at the blue tote in my hand. He poked it with his hand as if expecting it to attack him.

“Yeah,” I replied quietly. I immediately tucked it behind my back. “Don’t stare at it!”

“It’s just weird seeing you so…girly,” he replied. I immediately started blushing out of embarrassment. Did I try too hard? I ducked my head I stared at my feet. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that! You look great!” I stared at him with furrowed eyebrows as he stuttered. “Y-you look very pretty!” he blurted.

I chuckled. “It’s okay, I’m used to being called manly,” I joked as I walked down the path towards his idling car.

“I didn’t say that!” he replied from behind me, earning a laugh in response. As we got in the car, I turned to him.

“So what’s on the agenda for tonight?” I inquired.

“I’m not telling you,” he sang as he started driving down the street.

“Can I at least get a hint?” I inquired.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. “I just hope you’re not clumsy.”