chapter eight

 Laying out on my roof and looking at the stars, I'm caught up in the memories of Homecoming's past. After all, this is my senior year, and going to Homecoming with Oliver is making me rather nostalgic. I reread the text he sent me, telling me to meet him on the roof, and some sort of giddy anticipation is brewing in my stomach, and I can't wipe the smile off my face. I'm wearing his letterman jacket, and wrapped up in its warmth is nothing compared to Ollie, but I want to show him that I still have it, and like it means something to me that he gave it to me.

"Oliver, what're you doing awake?" I hear Mr. Tate ask, and I sit up, and look at the window across from mine.

"Just some Homecoming planning Dad," Oliver responds, and by the tone of his voice I know that something is off.

"You should be getting ready for the game tomorrow," Mr. Tate tells Oliver, and I frown, pulling out my phone. I debate texting Oliver, asking him what's going on, but something stops me in my tracks.

"You and I both know that this isn't about the game," Oliver says cooly, and my stomach drops to my feet. I can't see anything that's going on in the room, but something about the tone of Oliver's voice feels all too serious, all too real.

"I don't want you going with Adeana Coleman," Mr. Tate responds, and I feel like I'm about to be sick. I don't want to hear what Oliver says in response, I don't even really want to know why Mr. Tate doesn't like me that much, but something sick and twisted inside me has me staying out on the roof, listening to see what happens next.

"What's your problem with Addy?" Oliver asks, using his newfound nickname for me, and I can tell that it causes Mr. Tate to pause.

"It's not just her, I don't want you distracting yourself before your big game," Mr. Tate backtracks, and I run a hand through my hair.

"Distracting myself?"

"Oliver, you should be preparing for the game tomorrow, instead of planning for some silly dance. There are going to be college scouts at that game tomorrow, and your future depends on you playing well for them tomorrow."

"What makes tomorrow different from any other game?"

"Apparently an article was written about you, praising your athletic skill. It has more people interested in you Oliver. This game is make or break."

And that's when everything sinks in. I wrote that article. I published it without Oliver seeing, because I wanted to surprise him, so he must not have known that it was kind of breaking the internet. Everyone and their grandmother wants to read about Norwood High's golden boy apparently, which means that if tomorrow's game should be more important, it's my fault that it is.

"And Addy wrote that article Dad, so what's your problem?"

"I want you to focus on your future Oliver, that's all."

Oliver is quiet. I'm quiet. Even Mr. Tate, for a moment, is quiet.

"What do you know about my future?" Oliver asks, and my mouth drops. "What if Addy is my future Dad? What if I don't want to play football as my career?"

"Don't say things like that," Mr. Tate snaps, and I wrap my arms around my chest. Of all of the conversations I could have overheard, I wish that I didn't hear this one. "You are going to play football in college, because you need the scholarship. And if you plan on getting that scholarship, you are going to have to play well tomorrow, you hear me? You don't need to be wasting your time on some girl with no real plans for the future."

"Dad, just, get out," Oliver says after a moment, and I assume Mr. Tate complies, because Oliver steps out of his window a few moments later.

I should go back to my room. I should close my window, and let him focus on the game tomorrow. Because if it weren't for me, who knows if his dad would be putting all of this pressure on him.

But I don't. Because I'm selfish, and I just want a few more moments with him.

"Hey Addy," he whispers as he walks over to me, and I bury my hands in his letterman jacket as he walks up to me, sitting down in front of me.

"Hey," I whisper in response, and he leans up close to me, pulling me on top of his lap. "Is everything okay?" I don't know if I should tell him that I overheard him and his father talking, that he said that I could be his future. I'm sure I must have imagined that last part, some part of my brain ran rampant with the knowledge that the boy that I have loved forever was going to Homecoming with me, and from there I simply spiraled.

"Yeah," he says, sighing, and I run my hands through his hair as he rests his head upon my shoulder. "Just, my Dad, you know?" I nod my head, remembering all of the late nights we spent talking about his father, and the things that he wished his Dad understood. Even at a young age, there was a gap between Oliver and his father, and I suppose that the gap was only magnified with age.

"I'm sure you guys can work it out," I reply, and he looks up at me, suddenly shy.

"Addy, I have a question for you," Ollie tells me, and I feel my heart drop to my stomach as I meet his eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

He's earnest and honest, and I nod my head, smiling largely. As I nod my head, I see my smile reflect upon his face, the smile of two kids who have been waiting for this moment since they were kids. He leans forward, and my heart beats loudly with anticipation, until his lips meet mine and suddenly all other sounds fade to quiet. And it's just him and me, and his lips upon mine.

"Wow," Oliver says breathlessly as we break apart, and my mind is running a thousand miles a minute. Because I have just been kissed by Oliver Tate, the boy that I am in love with, and it was more perfect than I could imagine.

Oliver leans in for another kiss, but I stop him slowly, as much as I want to kiss him again, and again, and again, I have to ask him something first.

"Does this mean you like me?" I ask him, and he laughs, pulling me closer to his chest good naturedly.

"Addy, it means that I like like you," he replies, and I giggle, running my hands through his hair.

"I just wanted to make sure," I defend myself, and he nods his head, leaning in again to kiss me once more. We kiss for a little while after that, we kiss for longer enough that I forget that he has a big game tomorrow, and he really should be sleeping.

"Addy?" he asks me between kisses, and we hesitantly break apart as I lean back to look him in the eyes. "Are you going to be at the football game tomorrow?"

I nod my head, and then the real world begins to sink in. Tomorrow he has potentially the biggest game of his career, and I'm making him stay up late just to make out with me. This game could define his future, and I'm sitting here, potentially ruining it.

And worse? We're both going to be going off to college at the end of the year. I'm not sure why I thought that I could handle a relationship with him at the moment, especially considering that he's going to be leaving to become famous, and I'll be here, living in his wake.

"I have to cover it for the paper," I tell him, and he nods his head thoughtfully. He doesn't say anything else, just kisses me again, and the fireworks that go off in my head each time we kiss are almost loud enough to quiet the thoughts in my head.

But almost loud enough isn't loud enough.

His hands are tangled in my hair, and he kisses me sweetly, like he has nothing but time and wouldn't rather be doing anything else. He kisses me with a passion that no boy ever has before, and I know that he kisses me because he wants to kiss me, not for any other reason.

"Ollie, we should probably stop," I say regretfully, and a low groan comes from the boy underneath me.

"But Addy, what if I never want to stop kissing you?" he asks me, pressing another kiss to my lips, and I shake my head and laugh, despite the awful thoughts that run rampant through my head.

"We will need to sleep sometime," I tell him, and he shakes his head playfully, taking one of my hands in his and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

"Come back to my room?" he asks me, and I'm sure my features mold into those of a properly scandalized expression. He quickly backtracks, causing me to laugh. "I meant to sleep, and cuddle, nothing like that. I promise it was going to be kept entirely PG, that's not what I meant I swear."

I should say no. I should let him go and sleep alone, and let him play his game tomorrow, and then we can continue whatever just happened between the two of us.

But I don't. Because I'm selfish.

"Sure," I tell him, and he grins. He pulls me over to his side of the roof, and through his window. We don't talk much, his little sister is two rooms away, and his father is three, so we don't need any company.

He offers me a t-shirt and shorts that I can change into. I take them into the bathroom down the hall, changing quickly. His shirt is large on me, and I have to roll up the shorts to make sure that they aren't hanging past my knees. I try not to think about how I'm wearing his clothes, how his letterman jacket felt on me, how I imagine it must feel to wear his hoodies. To walk around and wear clothes that signify that I am his, and he is mine. I shake those thoughts away, and run back to his room, praying that his father and sister don't see me.

"Hey," he says when I return, closing the door behind me. I walk over and sit down upon his bed, and he joins me, running his hands up and down my arms as he leans forward to kiss me.

I evade his kiss, laying down upon his bed, flat on my back, and he frowns, but joins me reluctantly. I curl into his side, and he begins to run his hands through my hair, pressing a kiss to the top of my head and my forehead every so often.

"I love you," I whisper to him when I'm sure he's asleep, and I close my eyes. I fall asleep quickly, quickly enough that I don't hear him whisper it back.

opening gif credits to: zuleszn
sign off gif credits to: potterlulls

AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS:

Welcome to the mad dash of Parker posting the chapters for this book to make the ONC word count deadline-thingy. IN other news, while I'm writing this, we're at around 19500, so I'm super close to being finished! I hope you guys are liking this sweet story so far, it's been such a pleasure to write!

Who's your favorite character so far? (Mine is definitely Ollie, he's just so sweet, I wish I knew a guy like him in real life tbh.)

As always, please comment and vote and let me know your thoughts!