Olivia showed up on the doorstep of Jack Grealish's house, the place where Matty had been staying until he found his feet in Birmingham. She wrapped her cardigan tightly around her body, having forgotten her jacket at home in the mad rush that she had been in earlier that day. She looked up from her feet as she heard the front door creak open and as soon as she saw the person that she had been so desperate to see, she rushed forward and engulfed him tightly in a hug.

"Rough day, huh?" Matty asked as his arms instinctively found themselves to be holding her to his body closely. He could feel how cold her body was and the wet tears soaking through his t-shirt. Normally, Matty would have been irked by some girl ruining his Dior t-shirt but not with Olivia. He could easily replace the clothes that he was wearing but he could never replace Olivia.

Once Olivia was stable enough, he pulled away from the hug and used his thumbs to wipe underneath her eyes, her makeup smudging slightly but he still found her to be beautiful. He brought her into the warmth of Jack's house with his arm still firmly around her waist. He was almost afraid of letting her go. He feared that she would run away from him and he would no longer be the one to comfort her.

"Want to talk about it?" Matty pulled her down onto the couch next to him and Olivia let out a large sigh as she felt Matty's hands reach for her and twiddle strands between his fingers.

As Olivia spoke to Matty about the events of that day, she felt a large weight being lifted off her shoulders. She knew that Matty would understand her situation for he too was in the same one but what she didn't expect was for him to sit back and listen so intently to everything that she had to say.

The only person that Olivia felt that she could really rant to was Ava and it had been that way for years. Her mum, although she tried, always gave the worst advice. Her dad was clueless about everything unless it involved football and Robbie was far too young for Olivia to even consider running to him with all of her problems.

"Do you want to hear what I think or would you rather just mope about it?" Matty offered as they were both now lying on the couch. His hands were still in Olivia's hair, playing with it as her head rested on his chest.

She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. She was interested in what it was that Matty had to say but at the same time, she wanted to feel sorry for herself.

"What do you think then?" She looked up at him and waited for his input on the whole situation. Regardless of whether she was going to agree or disagree with him, she appreciated him listening to her when he didn't need to and him trying to give her advice.

"Did it ever occur to you that Jordan hurt your parents as well as hurting you? Maybe them staying in touch with them is a cover-up. If they showed you how upset and hurt they were, it would only make it worse for you." He suggested as his hands stopped playing with her brunette hair for a few seconds. Olivia paused for a second, thinking about what Matty had just said to her. She had never thought about it that way and now, she felt guilty for it.

"You're right." Olivia groaned and buried her face further into Matty's chest. She couldn't believe that her family had been protecting her from their hurt for so long and she had never seen it. She had been blinded by her heartbreak and given her parents hell for the connection that they still held with her ex-boyfriend.

Matty smiled at the girl beside him and rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her and calm her down. It was clear to see that she was filled with regret and needed some time to unwind.

Over the past few weeks, the fake couple had been getting to know each other really well. They knew all the fine details about each other. They knew each other's favourite colours, favourite TV shows and movies. Matty knew Olivia's favourite candle scent, her favourite flower and her favourite Haribo. Olivia knew Matty's favourite footballers, his favourite aftershave and his favourite FIFA gameplay mode. They knew every last detail about each other and that was something that brought a lot of comfort to both of them.

Matty had only known Olivia for about a month and a half, a lot of their conversations taking place over the phone yet, he could still feel himself falling for her. He would drop everything to be by her side during times of hardship. He would do anything to see her smile and he would do anything to see her happy.

"When did you become so wise, Matty?" She questioned with a smile on her face which in turn, made him smile back.

"I've always been wise, Olivia." He teased and the two of them burst out laughing soon after, knowing that it was a load of rubbish. Neither of them were geniuses nor were they wise for that matter.

For Olivia, it felt good to be able to have a proper laugh with someone other than Ava for the first time since she split up with Jordan. She had someone else in her corner, someone that she could rely on and it felt good.

"You're a good friend, Matty." Olivia sighed as she fell back on the couch and enjoyed the silence between the two of them because as far as she was concerned, any place with Matty was where she wanted to be.

Little did she know that the innocent words that she had just spoken were a painful reminder that everything with Olivia was just for show. It was all fake.

note from e !

Hey! So it's been a minute since I updated, I apologise. Life has been so hectic recently and I have assignments at the moment before placement so updates are going to be a bit less frequent than I would like but oh well.

The World Cup starts this week and Matty is going to be there!!

Who are you supporting this World Cup?
- Australia (come on Boyle!), Poland (Matty Cash has my heart) and Argentina because I would love for Messi to win it at his last tournament.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Lots of love, e x