CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

BITS AND PIECES — JP COOPER
You built a home from the pieces of a broken man

A FEW DAYS and one lecture about skipping school later, Olivia found herself falling through a rabbit hole of thorough thought. While things with the band were taking off with regular gigs at Sonny's and a club gig on the way, her personal life was not so much to celebrate. Her and Luke were still on the outs despite their single day of playing nice, Christa had taken a couple days off from school, no doubt related to their prior argument, and her father left a fairly lengthy voicemail that almost made her call him back.

Anthony took a different approach with his message this time. Instead of pleading that she give him a chance, he acknowledged that she had a right to be upset. He showed understanding and proposed that they sit down so they could talk it out. He promised he would listen to both her and Mikey. He wanted to form a relationship again. There was true sincerity in his voice as well.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place—the hard place being the inescapable fact of the past and the rock being the hurdle of her stubbornness. She could either stay in the past or work through her bitterness and talk to him. Mikey made it clear which course of action he wanted to take.

While all of this was going on, Olivia only wanted to talk to one person.

Luke.

Luke Patterson had this special thing about him where he could cheer her up no matter the circumstance. He was the sun personified. He was light. He was life. She looked at him and felt true warmth. He was the kind of person she knew she'd only meet a handful of times in her life. She didn't want him to leave, gone from her life for good.

She didn't want to risk that and that was exactly what she was doing. If she acted on her feelings for him, there was a chance that he'd disappear from her life. But if she kept pushing him away like she was doing now, his disappearance wouldn't be up to chance. It would be a guarantee.

So she found herself sitting in the garage, her fingers grazing the keys of her walnut coloured grand piano. Her notebook, the one that Luke had gifted to her, was open in front of her.

Olivia didn't want to push him away anymore. She wanted his warmth and she wanted him close, hoping that some of his light would somehow transfer to her and by some miracle, she could be his sun.

Her fingers pressed down on the white and black keys. She could feel the notes swirling around her. It had been so long since she had played in the garage all alone.

She felt the melody in her soul, knowing that Luke had left his fingerprints upon it. With heavenly conviction, she began to sing.

"I was in bits
I was in pieces
covered in silence and concrete."

Olivia hadn't realized how flat her life had been before she got detention that day. She was broken down, clinging to the false stability given to her by Jason.

"People walked by
No one could hear me
Nobody knows what's underneath."

No one truly knew her. They knew of her, but never enough to consider themselves her friend. She was an illusion, the golden girlfriend of a star athlete sitting on the sidelines while he took all the glory for himself. No one bothered to know her, to see what was under the mask. No one until the boys of Sunset Curve. No one until Luke.

"Somehow, you found me
And now you're patching up the cracks and holes."

Most of Olivia's life had been spent making herself smaller. Quieter. Less opinionated. Less her. She changed parts of herself to fit into the mould others had for her. She wanted to get rid of anything that could make someone un-love her, because people left and she was always the common denominator.

"Filling in the gaps with gold,
You said you're never giving up on me."

She wanted people to like her, that's why she put up with Christa's torment. She wanted acceptance, which was why she'd deal with Jason's flakiness for a single moment of praise. She wanted to be cared for. Valued.

"I see your fingerprints around my soul,
Filling in the gaps with gold."

Over the course of two years, she had sacrificed pieces of herself for people who didn't care if she suffered. She was tired of suffering and she had realized this the moment the band played together for the first time. It was not her job to fit the mould other people had for her. It wasn't her job to make sure people were comfortable with her presence so they viewed her worthwhile. Because she already was worthwhile. It was there all along, she just hadn't found it yet. And she had Luke to thank. Not because he suddenly gave her value, no man could ever assign her worth, but because he gave her the push to start looking. She did that. She found her worth all on her own.

"You said you're never giving up on me."

She didn't want to push him away anymore. She had to apologize.

Olivia's hands pulled away from the piano keys and she reached for a pen to scribble down the lyrics she had created.

Just as she finished the chorus, the garage doors opened and Alex walked in with a tired expression.

"Hey," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, "mind if I crash here tonight?"

Olivia looked up, concern replacing the feeling of invincibility she felt, and placed her pen down in her book. "Of course, Alex. You don't even need to ask," she assured, standing from the piano bench. She studied his appearance as he plopped down on the couch, shut her book, then moved to sit with him. "You alright?"

He sighed, the shouts of his parents still ringing in his ears. "Yeah, I just... I had a fight with my parents."

Olivia gave him a look of sympathy. This wasn't the first time he asked to sleep over at the Montez residence. There had been countless nights where Olivia had held him through teary eyed hurricanes as he wondered if he'd ever be loved the same. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Alex shook his head, not wanting to relive his grief. "There's nothing to talk about. I don't think they're ever going to look at me the same as before." It wasn't all hopeless, he still had people who loved him. He cracked a smile, more so to put her at ease than himself. "At least I've got you, and Kat, and the guys. Speaking about the band, why've you been avoiding us?"

Talking about your feelings is good, Olivia reminded herself.

She looked down at her lap before meeting his gaze. There was a glint in his eye that indicated that he already knew the answer. "It's about Luke," she confessed. "Would it be weird if we talked about it? I know you dated before..."

"Nah, it wouldn't be weird at all," Alex dismissed. "That ship has sailed. If anything I'm the best person to talk to since I've known him for so long."

Olivia turned in her spot so her back was pressed against the armrest of the couch and she was facing her friend. She brought her knees up to her chest and tucked her notebook between her thighs and stomach, trying her best to fight the smile making its way onto her face. "We almost kissed."

Alex's jaw dropped, his eyes widening and hand flying to cover his mouth.

Olivia put her fingers out, holding them an inch away from each other. "And we were like this close, but I pulled away at the last second."

The drummer dropped his hand and gave her a look of disbelief. "Why?"

"If we kissed, everything would change. Not just us, but the whole band. If we got together and broke up, it would be so awkward and everyone would end up picking sides, and then the band would be at jeopardy. We have something great going for us, I don't want to risk it."

Alex could see her reasoning plain as day. She was scared and she didn't want to lose anyone. He twisted in his seat so he mirrored the way she was sitting. "I can assure you that Luke feels the exact same way. This band is his everything, but so are you. And if you do kiss and it doesn't work out, it might be awkward for a week or two, but you guys are best friends, you'll work past it."

She fiddled with the charms that hung around her neck. "You think so?"

"I know so."

The corners of her lips turned upwards. "Alright, so what do you think I should do?"

Alex scoffed and shook his head, his own smile making its way to his lip. "I can't tell you what to do, Liv."

"I know," Olivia said, playfully rolling her eyes, "just humour me."

"I think you should tell him what you told me. Just go for it," Alex advised. "And I'm not just saying that because me, Reg, and Bobby have a bet going about when you'll get together."

It was Olivia's turn have a dropped jaw. "You guys bet on us? Dude." The pair laughed, eyes light and problems of family and feelings forgotten. "For how much?"

"Fifty bucks."

"Fifty bucks?"

"We upped the price from twenty after New Years."

"Where the hell are you guys gonna get fifty bucks? You're all broke as shit!"

Alex grabbed the closest thing next to him and threw it at Olivia. She laughed as she caught the throw pillow and tossed it back at him.

Once their laughter died down, he gave her a look of comfort. It was a look that she was used to giving Mikey, one that an older sibling would give their younger one.

"Liv, me and the guys just want you and Luke to be happy. If being together means you're happy then you should be together. I don't think you should miss out on something great because you're scared. You and Luke are good for each other. He pushes you out of your comfort zone and you ground him when he gets in over his head. You guys would be great together."

Olivia found what she was looking for. Her interesting relationship with Luke wasn't going to mess with the band and maybe she already knew that somewhere deep, deep down. And thanks to Alex's reassurances, she believed it. She got what she wanted. The red light that her consideration was stopped at had finally turned green.

She gave her friend a soft and thankful smile. "Thank you, Alex."

As Alex opened his mouth to ask what she had been doing before he came, the garage door opened to reveal Luke. He stormed in, his brows knitted together in frustration and his mouth set in a frown. His footsteps were heavy with emotion, carrying him to the dart board hanging near the couch. He paced angrily with the darts in his hand before stopping to face the board.

Olivia watched the boy in front of her as he prepared to throw. "Uh... Luke, you alright?"

He shook his head, letting out a bitter laugh. "Nope."

Olivia and Alex shared a look as a loud smack hit the cork board. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Yeah, I'm pissed. My parents won't get off my back about school." Luke threw another dart. "As if Columbia Records is going to care if I passed chemistry or not."

"They just want what's best for you," Olivia said, offering an explanation for his parents behaviour. She could remember Emily thanking her for keeping his head on straight when she couldn't.

Luke rolled his eyes, still not turning to look at either of his friends. "Me being happy would be what's best for me. I don't want to wake up at forty, stuck in a job I hate, because I listened to them instead of trusting my gut. Ugh!" He threw the last dart, hard enough to make his friends flinch, then walked to the couch. He sat in the middle and crossed his arms over his chest, glancing between the pair. "What are you guys doing here?"

Olivia pulled her journal from where it was tucked and waved it in the air for him to see. "Songwriting," she said.

At the same time as Olivia, Alex answered, "Giving advice to Liv." He gave an awkward smile as a tense silence overcame them. Saving himself from further trouble, he stood up and walked towards the door. "Actually, I was just going to the bathroom."

"Alex—"

Olivia's shoulders sank as the door shut, leaving her and Luke alone.

Luke glanced at the bathroom in the garage before looking over at the singer. "He's not going to the bathroom, is he?"

"No, he's not."

Luke pursed his lips and took the notebook from Olivia's hands. He moved into Alex's previous seat, leaning against the arm rest to look at her. He flipped the book open, landing on the page bookmarked with a pen. He read the lyrics, unwarranted jealousy planting itself in his chest. He was person she went to for songwriting advice, not Alex.

"So he was giving you song advice?"

Under his heavy gaze, she shifted. "No, he was giving me advice about you, actually."

His eyebrow raised. "Me?"

She nodded and leaned forward to take the book from him, making it so all his attention was on her. "I'm sorry for ghosting you these past few weeks. It's just..." She prepared herself for the conversation they were about to have. "After that day in your backyard when we nearly kissed—"

"Look, Liv, it was a mistake," he stated firmly. "If I knew that it was going to come between us, then I wouldn't have made a move."

Olivia shook her head. "Luke, that's the thing." She offered the faintest of smiles. It was barely there, but the reassurance was and it could be felt like the presence of a ghost. "It wasn't a mistake, not to me, at least. I wanted to kiss you, I still do, but I was scared. I am scared. You're my best friend and I don't want to lose you, or the guys, because if we do this, whatever it is that's going on between us, there's a chance that it could end badly. I don't want to risk anything."

Luke stared at her, his mind wandering away from his body. He was taken back to the very first time Olivia had shown him vulnerability—that night on her small rooftop, under the stars with her far off look. "It's scary, isn't it?" She said to him. "How someone can just wake up one day and not want you in their life anymore."

But what was life without a little bit of risk?

He stayed in his seat, but somehow, Olivia could feel his touch. The look he gave her was riddled with adoration, twinkling like stars and city lights, shimmering like the sun on the ocean. "Olivia Juliette..." He spoke her name like he was pondering the beauty of existence. "Even if this thing ends up exploding in our faces, you would never lose me. You're my best friend and you always will be."

With a promise hanging in the air, Olivia smiled. Whatever minor falling out they had was fixed. Their feelings were both out on the table, free to act upon should they choose to.

"Alright! I'm back!"

Alex entered the garage with a plate of cookies, causing Luke to throw his head back.

"Dude," the guitarist groaned.

"Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"Yeah, actually, you were."

"Oh, what a shame," Alex replied with sarcasm. He raised the plate higher, drawing their attention to it. "Look, I brought cookies."

As the trio grabbed some treats from the plate, the garage door opened gain. Mikey ran in, shouting the names of the three teens present.

"Whoa, bud. Slow down."

They watched as Mikey turned the nearby stereo on, switching it to the radio setting before searching for a station.

Olivia stood up and made her way over. "What are you—"

"Sh!" Mikey snapped, turning the volume up. "Shut up and listen."

There was a brief moment of static before the chorus of Get Lost travelled through the air. As it turned out, one of the radio hosts of a local station had a sister that went to Los Feliz High School who played him their demo from the Halloween dance.

Olivia turned to her friends, brows furrowed. "Is that...?"

Alex placed the cookies on the coffee table with wide eyes. "Holy shit, that's us."

Luke stood, slowly hitting Alex repeatedly in the chest. "Guys, we're on the radio." A large smile grew across his face. "We're on the radio!"

Joy overfilled them as they laughed in disbelief. They screamed the lyrics to each other, jumping onto furniture, feeling like they were on top of the world. When the song was finished, Luke was the one to pull them together into a group hug, Mikey included.

"That was Get Lost by Sunset Curve, an up and coming band based right here in the City of Angels. We can expect great things from these guys! Next up, here's Duran Duran with Ordinary World..."

RAE SPEAKS !
alex being the supportive king that he is:

also can't remember if i've told you already but i've decided that luke and liv's ship name is luv <3