Hey guys. If you don't follow me (or don't look at your notifications), then you're probably asking where I've been for the past 20 days. Well, you see, what had happened was...my charger for my laptop broke and it took me quite a while to go get one. Now I have a charger, and updates are back to normal. :)

So while I wasn't able to write anything, I was keeping watch on the app and I've noticed that there are 2 types of commenters: "WHERE'S THE UPDATE? UPDATE NOW!" and the "omg are you okay? you haven't been up here in a while." And, just so you guys know, demanding that I update doesn't make me update any quicker. lol. If I don't update, it's because I can't update, not because I don't want to update.

I will probably update again this weekend, but I'm not sure yet because I'm stressed and I have a busy weekend ahead, so unless I find time (as in four hours or so) to just sit and write, then I'll probably update in the middle of the week, or something. I don't have Spring break until April, so I have school next week, unlike a lot of people. 

ANYWHOOOOO, enjoy the chapter.

(I forgot the word when you're going back over what happened so I'm going to do it like a TV show) PREVIOUSLY ON FOREVER AND ALWAYS OLIVE:

*dramatic music* BAAASICALLY, they went on a date. it was ruined because of the rain and Maddox's lack in common sense. He complained a bunch like a lil fetus. Olivia kissed him. He stopped his fetus like whining.

Chapter 29: The Aftermath

I woke up on Sunday morning to 17 missed calls. My eyes widened when I saw that they were from a mixture of three people: Nick, Winona, and Cass. I stared at the messages, noting that they were ranging from two to four in the morning. I immediately called Cassidy back, seeing as she called 7 times. It rang twice before someone picked up, but it wasn’t Cass.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Olivia, you’ll never guess what happened,” Winona replied, sounding surprisingly calm for a girl who called me five times within two hours.

“What?” I asked her as I sat on my bed, brushing my hair.

“Okay, so you know how I was going to bring Cassidy to a party, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I replied as I waited patiently for her to continue.

“Well, we went and left early because she wasn’t feeling it. So, we go back to her house, and she calls Nick to come over because he was the only one of us who didn’t have plans. You and Maddox were on a date, and so was Jackson. Nick eventually comes over and I turned in at around one. I couldn’t fall asleep, so around two, I go to the living room and what do I see?” she spoke.

My mouth opened as I slowly began to think of the possible things that came into Winona’s line of vision. “No.”

“They were kissing! And I don’t mean kissing like innocent kissing. I mean…kissing,” Winona said and I could tell she let out a shiver.

“Kissing?” I asked with a wrinkled nose.

“Kissing,” Winona assured me. “She was, like sitting on him, and he was just—.”

“I don’t want to know, Win,” I replied as my face contorted. I mean, it’s good for Nick, but I really don’t want to imagine my friends intensely making out.

“Yeah, I wish I didn’t have to see it,” she muttered. “But I didn’t expect to see that. I thought Nick had left a little while after I did because he started grabbing his things. But I guess not.”

“What happened after?” I asked her.

“Well, I screamed. And Cassidy jumped off of him and fell on the floor. He stood up and was as red as a fire hydrant, and he just took his stuff and left before Cassidy could even get up from the ground,” Winona explained.

“Well, did she say anything?” I asked.

“No, she just got up and looked at me before walking off,” Winona answered. “She’s sleeping now.”

I whistled quietly. “Well, I have to go. We’ll discuss this after I get back from work, okay?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Now, keep this a secret,” I told her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she muttered. I hung up and stared at the phone. Nice job, Nick.

+ + +

Maddox insisted on coming along for the ride to work, seeing as Abel offered to bring me. This was good because my aunt was running on a tight schedule and I didn’t want to have to wake up my cousin, seeing as she waited until I arrived home to listen to my in-depth retelling of the date. I stepped outside into the rainy weather and when I saw Maddox in the backseat, I completely ditched the idea of sitting in the front. I opened the backdoor and got in alongside him.

The moment I slipped into the car, Maddox looked at me. “Did you hear about what happened?”

“With Nick and Cass?” I asked him with wide eyes and he nodded quickly. “Who told you?”

“Nick, who else?” he retorted as I buckled my seatbelt. He didn’t have his on and he moved over to the middle seat, earning a cough from Abel.

“Seatbelt, Maddox,” Abel announced. “And go back to the seat behind me.”

“Why?” Maddox asked as he slowly reached up and touched my face, smirking. Abel was uncomfortable with physical contact unless he was the one receiving it.

“There will be no touching in this car! Now listen to me and move!” Abel insisted.

Maddox simply laughed before leaning in and kissing me. I smiled into the kiss as we heard Abel groan in frustration. Once we pulled away, Abel looked at me with narrowed eyes. “I thought you were better than that.”

“I like your brother- how much better can I be?” I retorted.

“Hey,” Maddox hissed.

“But it’s okay, because I probably won’t like him for long,” I scoffed in response.

“What?” Maddox asked as he looked at me.

“You still haven’t asked me out,” I shrugged. “I mean, I’ll have to get over you at one point in time.”

“I told you that I’m waiting for the right moment!” he responded and I shrugged, glancing at my phone.

“Any moment is the right moment,” I reiterated, earning a glare from the boy beside me.

“Anyway,” he stressed, not even bothering to smoothly change the subject. “I knew that was going to happen.” He appeared to be smug at the fact that his prediction came true.

“What?” I asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“That Nick and Cass were going to get together. It was only a matter of time,” Maddox responded. “I mean, Nick likes her and has liked her ever since I can remember; though he’s never actually admitted it, you could always tell. And everything Cass looks for in a guy is practically based off of what she sees in Nick.”

I stared at him, considering his words for a moment before I grinned and began shaking my head. “You’re such a girl!”

“What? How?” he asked.

“Is that all you think about? Who’s going to get together?” I laughed.

“That, and you,” he winked.

“Please stop. I’m uncomfortable,” Abel announced from the front seat.

“Yeah, Mr. Matchmaker, stop. You’re making your brother uncomfortable,” I responded and he laughed, leaning in and pressing his lips against mine, earning another complaint from his older brother.

+ + +

Lunch on Monday was thoroughly uncomfortable for everyone except Winona. It was officially the first time that Nick and Cass were forced to acknowledge each other. They couldn’t exactly ignore the fact that they kissed, mainly because everyone else knew and some of us wouldn’t let it go. “So…the weather’s nice,” Winona started.

Everyone immediately looked at her. “Really?” Cassidy whispered.

“What? It’s not like anyone is going to actually say anything about it,” Winona started.

“Because you usually do,” Jackson expressed.

“Well, since you suggested that I do it—,” Winona started.

“No one suggested anything,” Nick insisted, red in the face.

“Nick and Cass kissed,” Winona blurted. “As if we all didn’t already know.”

Cass put her head in her hands and slowly shook it before looking at her best friend with something of a glare. “Do you have to be so irritating?”

“Well, I’m just being honest!” Winona responded.

“Nick and I are friends! He knows that, and I know that!” Cassidy explained and my eyes flickered to Nick, as did Maddox’s. His head was ducked as he moved around the food on his plate. He was obviously listening, just like the rest of us. I suddenly felt a pang in my chest as I realized how he probably comprehended Cassidy’s words. I slowly tuned back in to the conversation. “The kiss just happened, okay? It was in the heat of the moment, and that’s all it was. Now just leave me alone and mind your own business.”

After a moment of tense and uncomfortable silence, Nick cleared his throat and threw his fork down. “Well, I’m going to leave now,” Nick muttered as he stood up, grabbing his bag from under the table. I frowned deeply as I looked at Cassidy.

“That was harsh,” Jackson muttered. “Even for you, Cass.”

“It’s obvious the guy’s in love with you,” Winona noted quietly. I could tell that Cassidy’s words penetrated her hard casing, too. In a way, she was only trying to help. In her eyes, she’s doing more good than she is doing bad.

“He’s not in love with me. Nick doesn’t like me; he thinks of me as a sister,” Cassidy scoffed before looking at all of us. When we bowed our heads and avoided eye contact, her shoulders slumped. “He doesn’t like me, right guys?”

When we didn’t reply, Cassidy’s face immediately fell as she watched him dump his trash. “Nick, wait!” she called out, not even bothering to throw away her food. Instead, she grabbed her things and jogged after our upset friend.

“Do you really have to be so blunt?” Jackson asked Winona with slightly narrowed eyes.

“What?” Winona asked with a small frown.

“Had you not opened your mouth, Nick would still be sitting here and Cass would still be in the dark about his feelings,” Jackson informed her. “Sometimes, Winona, it’s like you don’t even think.”

Winona just bowed her head and stared at her food. A few moments later, she got up and left, taking Cassidy’s trash to the garbage can and letting the trays fall in before leaving.

+ + +

Wednesday rolled around and Maddox was a ball of nerves. It was his first baseball game and practically everyone was going. Not only was it an actual sports game to attend, but it was a celebration of the nice weather. I had to snag a ride home from Vivica because Maddox had to stay after school in preparation for the game. He told me that I had to be there at five o’clock sharp and I told him that I’d be there and not to worry. I’d be catching a ride with the rest of our friends, seeing as Vivica wouldn’t be going.

I took my time getting ready, waiting for Nick to pull up to the front of my house in his father’s truck. I opened the door and saw Cassidy sitting in the front seat. She offered me a smile and I repressed a grin when Nick made eye contact with me in the rearview mirror. When we arrived at school, where the game was being hosted, I followed everyone else towards the stands.

As the players filed out, I narrowed my eyes in search of Maddox. I didn’t have to look very hard because he looked up at us, grinning and waving. I smiled and waved, too. It didn’t take long for the game to begin and while I was enjoying the actual playing of the sport, I couldn’t help but laugh at Winona’s comments. She seemed to cheer up a bit in the time that she was away from us, but she wasn’t fully herself. She would normally be loud and boisterous but she was whispering comments to me, not bothering to say them to everyone else too. She made sure to sit next to me and a stranger instead of wedging herself between me and Jackson, or me and Nick. Or next to Cass even Cass.

“Baseball pants are perfect,” she muttered, earning a laugh from me. “They have such nice butts.”

I looked at her and furrowed my eyebrows. “Are you looking at Maddox’s butt?”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, look at number fifteen’s butt.” I searched for the player and chuckled. “Exactly.”

I paid close attention because I knew I’d have to tell my father about how good of a player Maddox is. And I’d also have to impress Maddox with my knowledge of baseball. As the game ended, our side of the stand stood up and cheered, including me and my friends. We exited the stands and met up with Maddox, who was a grimy, sweating mess, but he was a happy, grimy, sweating mess.

He went in for a hug and I wrinkled my nose. “No, you’re all sweaty and gross,” I muttered, shaking my head. He didn’t listen, though, because he just hugged me anyway. And despite the stickiness of his skin, I still returned the hug, laughing as he went to wipe his face only to create a large smudge under his eye.

“How’d I do?” he asked me as the crowd slowly thinned out.

“Not the best, but I mean, you were okay,” I joked and he rolled his eyes.

“I did fantastic and you know it,” he responded.

“If you did so well, why are you asking for my opinion?” I snorted.

“Because it matters to me,” he replied.

I smiled at him before immediately wrinkling my nose. “You really need a shower.”

“Yeah, I do,” he nodded before slowly heading towards the locker room.

I noticed the player that Winona pointed out from the top of the stands walking by. Apparently his name was Mitchell. “Look, there’s number fifteen,” I whispered to Winona.

“Isaac will have to do,” she smiled at me.

“You okay?” I inquired and she shrugged.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?” she inquired.

I smiled at her and slowly shook my head, noticing her discomfort. “Nothing.” It’s not the time, nor the place, to ask about this.

+ + +

On Friday, Maddox finally got to telling me what we’d be doing on the following day for our second first date. Of course, he didn’t tell me exactly what we’d be doing, but he told me what I should wear, so I figured that it’s probably going to be something proper, because he told me to wear a dress. When I asked him what kind of dress I should wear, he told me to wear a fancy dress. After searching my closet twice over, I realized that the only dress I’d consider fancy was from my eighth grade graduation, and I’m definitely not putting that thing anywhere but into a fire.

So, I decided to stop at the mall before work with the one and only Vivica. “Where are you guys going?” she asked me when I explained why I needed her to make a quick stop.

I looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just need a nice dress,” I responded.

“What color?” she asked.

I shrugged again. “Blue?”

“Okay, let’s go with blue,” she nodded. After giving her my size, we both set out on a search. At first I was scared that she’d come back with something that wasn’t my style at all, but I was surprised to see that she stuck to my rules. I tried on a few dresses, only to find that they were either too tight, too odd fitting, or just plain ugly. When I finally found a dress that I deemed as worthy of wearing out on a date, I quickly bought it and got in the car with my cousin, who would be bringing me to work and then bringing my dress home.

As she drove me to work, I turned to look at her. “Do you still talk to Jackson?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I mean, he’s cute and all but we don’t really click well, you know?”

“Oh,” I replied with a short nod. Jackson moves fast then. Who was he out with this past weekend?

“Not like you and Maddox, you know?” she responded and grinned when she caught my blush.

I was happy to get work over with, both my Friday shift and my Saturday shift, and before I knew it, I was squeezing into the blue dress that I had purchased the day before. My cousin insisted that I wear heels, so after I managed to tug them on my feet, I allowed my cousin to yank on my hair and then slap on some makeup; I was all ready to go.

“You look great!” my aunt smiled at me when she saw me walking down the steps with another purse. This time, it wasn’t so weird having to hold one, aside from the fact that this one didn’t have any handles. I guess it wasn’t so bad, but then again, I didn’t really have a choice as to whether or not I wanted to bring one. I had absolutely no pockets and I had to bring my things with me. “But you remember the rules, right?”

I looked at her and nodded. “I’m to be home by 11 o’clock sharp- no later,” I listed. My cousin looked at me with a smirk. My aunt leaves for work at ten, so technically, I don’t have to be home at eleven. She just has to think that I am. I continued to repeat back her rules but she looked at me and reminded me of the last one- the one she most recently added to the list.

“And no going over his house,” she responded. I stared at her with slightly wide eyes. I remember her telling me this after she caught me and Maddox kissing but I didn’t think too much of it. Does she honestly think I’d do something like that? I looked behind my aunt to see Vivica making vulgar gestures and I held back a laugh.

“Okay, Aunt Gen, I won’t,” I told her with a smile.

The doorbell rang and I walked over towards the door, opening it and slipping out before my aunt could try and enforce the rules upon Maddox. He furrowed his eyes at me. “You look taller,” he noted.

I clicked my feet together and he looked down.  “Heels,” I responded after a moment of him staring at my feet.

“I noticed,” he responded before leading me down the steps. We walked towards his car and I turned to him.

“So what are we doing today?” I asked.

“Something a lot safer, so you won’t be falling. And it’s a lot cleaner- so no dirt, or bugs, or darkness, or rain. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. Caroline and Abel suggested it,” Maddox nodded and I looked at him.

“Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” I asked with a smirk on my lips.