by Nicole Shay
After a few minutes of going back and forth Olivia finally pulled away, catching her breath as her gaze fell on Imogen. “As much as I like making out with you, I don’t think I can do it if I know you still feel the need to hate me.”
Reality hit Imogen once again as the words came spilling out of Olivia. She sighed heavily as she stared into her piercing blue eyes which seemed to have an effect on her even in the dark. She knew the reality of the situation, and simply put, there was too much at stake. She let go of the girl “We can’t do this Olivia..you know we can’t..if it was any other world..then, maybe.”
“What are you so afraid of, Imogen?”
Imogen paused for a moment unsure if she was ready to say what was really on her mind.
“You..I’m scared of you, terrified actually”
Olivia stared at the girl, waiting for her to continue.
“In any other world I’d ask you out, I’d take you on a date, and we could laugh, and have a great time. But you’re Olivia McBray, and I’m Imogen Sloane and in this world we can’t do ‘this’ .”
Olivia’s bottom lip tucked under her teeth, the words coming out of Imogen’s mouth causing something in her to long for the midfielder. Imogen was more than right; they both knew that. There wasn’t anything they could do to change who they were and how the world worked.
Suddenly, an idea dawned on Olivia. She looked up to meet Imogen’s warm brown eyes. “But what if no one knew?” she challenged.
Feeling defeated Imogen quirked an eyebrow at Olivia’s suggestion. The thought hadn’t crossed her mind. In fact the only thing crossing her mind was Olivia and how soon their lips could touch again. But now that the girl brought it up she was intrigued. She didn’t know what was going on between them but she knew that she didn’t want it to stop.
“It’ll be hard” Imogen began. She watched the look on Olivia’s face sink but she smirked knowing she wasn’t done yet “But it would be worth it”
Olivia’s expression perked up at Imogen’s last statement. A smile found her lips and she pressed her forehead against Imogen’s. “I’m in if you’re in.”
Imogen was amazed at all that was happening. It was like her sense had flown out the window but she reasoned that if it meant that she could be with Olivia then it was worth it. She wasn’t sure when she crossed the line between rivals and something more but she figured it was sometime around when Olivia’s lips acquainted themselves with hers.
“I’m in” she said as she flashed the younger girl a smile.
CHAPTER 5
“So I guess this is a good time to tell you..” Imogen began but paused to let Olivia worry about whatever she was going to say next. “...You were right about the shoes”
All the initial panic that had shot up Olivia’s system at the tone of Imogen’s voice dissipated as she laughed, nudging Imogen’s shoulder. “I told you,” she smirked. They were sitting with their backs against the tree, Imogen’s tree, with Olivia leaning into the older girl comfortably.
Imogen opened her mouth to speak again but was stopped as her phone rang in her pocket.
“Hello? …..Oh yeah okay I’ll be back in a few” She hung up and turned her attention back to the girl leaning on her. “It was my mom, dinner time.” She got up helping Olivia up as she went “Can I see you tomorrow?” She asked suddenly shy again.
Olivia’s expression slightly fell as she realized their time together was coming to an end for the night. At Imogen’s question, it lit up again. “Um….” she thought for a moment. “Yeah, all I have tomorrow after school is practice. Where are we going to meet up?”
Imogen thought about it for a minute. She was so lost in Olivia’s kiss that she seemed to forget that they weren’t allowed to be together, let alone be seen together.
“How about I meet you at your field after your practice?” Imogen realized the risk in meeting Olivia on her turf but she liked a good challenge.
Olivia bit her lip, looking at Imogen with a worried expression. “Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry about it cap, no one will see me!”
The striker giggled, grabbing Imogen’s hoodie and tugging her closer. “If you say so, Captain,” she smirked before leaning in to give Imogen a soft kiss before they parted ways.
Imogen felt the butterflies once again as Olivia’s lips left hers for the night. She flashed the girl another smile “Till then!”
Nothing could ruin Olivia’s mood the following day. For the first time in over a week, she wasn’t moping around, and for the first time in days her mind was nowhere else. She noticed a few of her teammates in the courtyard before the bell rang, so she made her way over.
“Hey guys,” she smiled, taking a seat next to Maeve.
“Hello there Miss Sunshine,” Kerrie deadpanned. “What’s got you in a good mood today?”
Olivia shrugged, a shy smile crossing her lips. “I don’t know. Just...feels like a good day.”
Maeve exchanged a glance with Kerrie. “Oh...right. And what brought on this good mood?’
“Not sure,” Olivia lied easily. “Just..I’m ready to be focused again.”
Justine leaned over, patting Olivia’s shoulder. “That’s the spirit, Livvie.”
“Thanks,” the captain laughed.
Elaine was eyeing her teammate carefully. She knew something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t tell what it was. Of course she was happy that Olivia had gotten out of her funk, but was it possible for Olivia to blow over everything she’d been freaking out about so quickly?
The bell rang and the girls all went their separate ways, but Elaine quickly caught up to Olivia. “Hey Ollie.”
“Hi Elaine,” Olivia grinned at her.
“Are you okay?”
Olivia quirked an eyebrow at the tall keeper. “I’m fine, Elaine. I’m great, actually. Why?”
“Well for one,” Elaine started, falling into step with the girl as they entered the doors of the school. “You’re in a happy go-lucky mood, and it’s kind of freaking me out.”
The striker only laughed. “I’m great, really.”
“Oh-huh….” Elaine said, unconvinced. “And second, you can’t stop fidgeting. When you fidget it means you’re anxious or excited.”
Olivia’s step faltered for a moment. Damn Elaine for knowing her so well. “Oh...I don’t know what it is Elaine.” She felt bad for lying to the one person she could count on to get her through anything and guide her in the right direction, but she wasn’t going to share the fact that she was dating Imogen Sloane and that they were meeting after school. That wouldn’t end well for anyone.
“But seriously, don’t worry about me,” she assured the older girl.
“Is this about Imogen?” Elaine suddenly asked in a quieter tone.
“What?” Olivia asked, almost tripping over her own feet at the question. “Imogen?”
“You know...Friday night,” Elaine said slowly, as if jogging Olivia’s memory.
“Oh!” Olivia exclaimed, trying to do her best to play her part. “No. Well, yeah. It’s whatever Elaine,” she explained. “It’s the past. You were right, blew over pretty quickly.”
Elaine looked at the younger girl strangely. This was nowhere near Olivia’s normal behavior. “Okay…”
“I have to go to class. I’ll see you at lunch?” Olivia offered, patting Elaine’s arm. “Bye Elaine!” she called as she walked off to class.
“What the hell…” Elaine muttered, completely dumbfounded by Olivia.
The blue eyed striker didn’t leave Imogen’s mind all day as she sat through class. But this time it was because she couldn’t wait to see the girl again rather than the other way around. She counted the seconds until the last bell rang and she could be on her way. The team was taking a break and she relished in the fact that she could sneakily catch some of Olivia’s practice.
“Oh hey Imogen! Wait up!”
Imogen turned to see Lilith waving to her as she opened the door to leave school.
/> “Where you headed off to in such a rush?” she asked knowing her best friend was usually never one to jump up and rush off places.
“Ah I told my parents I’d go to the store for them” Imogen horribly fibbed.
Lilith looked at her suspiciously as she quirked an eyebrow.
“Well you want to hang after you go to the store? I’m taking full advantage of this day off and Chloe and I were going to go shopping! Want to come?”
Imogen hummed unsure of another equally bad excuse to give her friend.
“I’ll let you know, I never know what other errands my parents might need me to run you know?”
“Okay.. yeah just let me know” Lilith said increasingly suspicious.
“Alright later!” Imogen said with a sigh as she continued on her way to her car once again.
A fresh bead of sweat rolled down Imogen’s face as she pulled into her rival’s parking lot. She knew she told Olivia she could handle being there and successfully not get seen but she wasn’t so sure as she looked at the number of people in the lot. She found some sunglasses and an old baseball cap in her car to disguise herself . She looked around as she snuck towards the bleachers of the soccer field. Noticing no one was even paying attention to her she breathed knowing she made it this far.
Meanwhile on the field, Olivia was just wanting practice to be over so she could see Imogen. Though she attempted to tone it down after Elaine pointed it out that morning, she couldn’t stop herself from moving around. She was constantly jumping in place or shifting her weight from foot to foot. Her eyes went to the bleachers, wondering what time Imogen would arrive when she saw a guy sitting there, watching. Once they made eye contact, he smiled at her. It took Olivia a moment, but she realized it was Julio from the indoor soccer gym. She smiled back and waved at him, but was still confused. What is he doing here?
“Olivia, is that the guy from the indoor soccer gym?” Kerrie asked, noticing the exchange.
It only took Maeve a moment to jump into the conversation. “Hey! That’s the guy you’re always telling me is cute!”
Olivia’s eyes widened as she smacked Maeve’s arms. “Maeve!”
Kerrie laughed. “Hey, he’s cute Ollie,” she shrugged.
“Well whatever,” Olivia hissed, glaring at the both of them. “Can we not look like we’re talking about him?”
“But we are,” Maeve said with a smirk. She looked at Kerrie before the two of them burst into laughter.
Olivia rolled her eyes, annoyed. “I hate you two.”
Their coach called out to them. “If you’re done with your gossip circle, it’d be nice if you could join us for our next drill.”
The captain sent death glares to her two teammates. “Great guys, just great.”
“Oh sorry Ollie, did we embarrass you in front of Mr. Indoor Soccer Gym?” Maeve teased.
Olivia let out a frustrated groan, stomping away from them and over to the rest of the team. “Idiots,” she mumbled.
Imogen stealthily snuck under the bleachers to watch the rest of practice so as to not be seen by any of Olivia’s teammates. Imogen gave herself a mental high five for actually getting there unseen, a feat she wasn’t sure she could overcome even when she promised Olivia she could. Her little victory was interrupted when she heard a rumble above her as someone shuffled their feet. She peered to see the face of the feet which looked very familiar for some reason. Before she could see she jumped back at the sound of a very yell. She almost bumped her head as she looked around her in a panic. She looked on the field to see Olivia’s coach in what appeared to be a frenzied state as she yelled at Olivia, the Maeve girl and her friend.
Huh I wonder what she’s yelling about? Imogen thought as she shrugged.
As practice concluded Imogen couldn't help but feel guilty. For what, she wasn’t sure but she couldn’t deny that Olivia’s team was good, and looked even better than last time she saw them. She smiled as she watched Olivia struggle with her penny What a dork, she mouthed to no one.
She patiently waited under the bleachers until she could see everyone leave but she noticed Olivia, Maeve, and the Kerrie girl lagging behind the rest of the team. They looked to be pointing and waving in Imogen’s direction and she forgot for a moment that there was another person on the bleachers who didn’t leave. As much as she wanted to run over and see Olivia she would have to wait a little longer.
Olivia wanted nothing more than to look for Imogen, but she couldn’t do that with Maeve and Kerrie teasing her and pointing to Julio, who still hadn’t left. She wasn’t even sure why he was there watching them in the first place, but she pulled off her cleats slowly, wondering what it would take to get Maeve and Kerrie to leave.
“Olivia, aren’t you going to go talk to him?”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Why would I?”
“Um hello,” Maeve said, nudging Olivia. “He’s obviously here for you. He’s waiting for you.”
“He could be waiting for Kerrie,” Olivia pointed out as she pulled on her other shoes. “He knows her.”
“He doesn’t flirt with me like he flirts with you,” Kerrie laughed in a singsong voice. “Come on Ollie, let’s see what he wants.”
Olivia groaned. “Would it make you happy if I went over there?”
Maeve and Kerrie eagerly nodded, just as Elaine came around. “Hey, what’s he doing here?”
“He’s here for Olivia,” Maeve immediately answered.
“Maeve!”
Elaine’s eyebrows raised as she turned to Olivia. “Is this why you’re in a good mood out of nowhere?”
Maeve gasped as she connected the dots like Elaine. “Oh my god! Olivia!’
“No!” Olivia groaned.
“She doesn’t want to admit it,” Maeve smirked. “Come on, let’s go over there!”
Finally, reasoning that everyone would leave her alone if she did it, Olivia stood. “Fine, if it really makes you happy.”
“You’re such a good captain!” Maeve grinned, now bouncing around.
“Well have fun with that,” Elaine said, smirking at Olivia. She gave her a light nudge before walking off to the parking lot.
Olivia let out a long sigh. “What did I do to deserve this?” She was itching to find Imogen, but that was practically impossible with everything going on.
The three made their way to Julio, who had walked off the bleachers and waited for them with his hands in his pockets. It seemed like Kerrie and Maeve were more excited for the interaction than Olivia was, which was probably true.
“Hi Julio,” Olivia mustered up a smile.
“Hey Olivia,” he grinned at her, then turned to the other two. “Kerrie, right? And…?”
“I’m Maeve,” the striker enthusiastically filled in for him.
“Nice to meet you,” he nodded, then turned his attention back to Olivia. “You’re great out there, you know.”
Olivia blushed at the compliment, thanking the hard work she was putting out there for covering it up. “Thanks.”
“Sessions at the gym helping you out?” Julio teased.
Olivia laughed, but at the mention of the gym, she was reminded of when she first ran into Imogen. “Sure.”
“So Julio,” Kerrie said as the conversation came to a lull. “What brings you here?”
“Well actually, I have to ask Olivia something,” he explained.
Maeve and Kerrie looked at each other, then at Olivia, who held in a groan at their antics.
“What’s up?” Olivia asked, wondering what on earth could possibly bring him to her practice.
“I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go out with me this weekend?” Julio asked, looking at Olivia with a shy gaze.
Oh god, Olivia thought.
Maeve had no shame in letting out a squeal. “Olivia!”
“Only if you’re not busy,” he quickly added.
“We don’t have anything planned this weekend, right?” Kerrie asked Maeve.
Maeve thought for a moment. “Nop
e, Olivia should be free.”
“Huh?” Olivia asked, looking between the two of them. “How do you know I’m free?”
“Cause all you ever do on the weekends is hang out with us,” Maeve explained in a duh voice.
“Do not!” Olivia argued, pouting.
“She does,” Kerrie told Julio, patting Olivia’s back.
“But anyway,” Maeve said, turning her attention back to the guy in front of Olivia. “She’d love to.”
“I didn’t--”
“She’s a little shy,” Maeve told Julio over Olivia’s voice so she was cut off.
Julio laughed. “She’s not shy when it comes to one-on-ones.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. I’m never going to live this down with Maeve. “Julio!”
Julio chuckled. “It’s okay Olivia, it’s okay. I’ll see you this weekend then. Saturday?”
“Perfect!” Maeve exclaimed.
“Alright, bye ladies. I have to get going. I’ll see you around,” he said to the other two before walking away.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Maeve and Kerrie began squealing while Olivia turned to them and snapped. “What was that?”
“Olivia, we’re doing you a favor. You’re shy when it comes to guys.”
“Am not!”
“You kind of are,” Kerrie shrugged, siding with her best friend.
“You’re going to thank us later!” Maeve proclaimed. “But we’ve got to get going. Bye Ollie!”
“Best Captain ever!” Kerrie added before running off with Maeve.
Imogen let out a cautious breath not knowing that she had been holding it since the group of people including Olivia walked over. Thoughts were swimming in her head as what just happened was still processing.
Julio? Imogen thought, she was confused and a bit let down. Sure, Olivia didn’t directly say ‘yes’ to him but she also didn’t say ‘no’ putting Imogen in an even more of a situation than she originally thought. Noticing that Kerrie and Maeve ran off, and Julio left in the other direction, Imogen whispered as she came to her senses. “Olivia, down here”
