{Gif of Olivia}

Song: Youth

Artist (s): Shawn Mendes ft Khalid

Stop looking for happiness in the same place you lost it.

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I trust Neel and that scares me. I'm giving him new ways to hurt me everyday day. But do you know what the strangest thing is? I don't think he will. And that says a lot, especially coming from me. Trust takes years to build but Neel managed to do it within a few months.

The first time I met him , it wasn't love at first sight. My liking for him formed gradually, his personality, his voice, his hair, his eyes, his humour, the way he looks away and smiles. It made me slowly realise he was exactly what I was looking for.

I liked Neel. A lot. He walked into my heart like he always belonged there, took down my walls and lit my soul on fire.

One boy. Thousands of feelings.

I stretched once more, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes taking a sip of my orange juice. Julian and Julius had made pancakes for breakfast and they were absolutely delicious. During breakfast I couldn't help but glance at Neel. Did he feel the same way?

"You finished?" Neel asked looking up at me. I nodded picking up my plate placing it in the sink before following Neel to the car, sending a goodbye over my shoulder to the twins.

"You look beautiful" Neel muttered not taking his eyes off the road. I looked down at my basic t-shirt and jeans and then back up at Neel.

"Thank you" I whispered nonetheless.

"Do you wanna visit the beach after school?" Neel asked rolling down the windows. It was hot day, much hotter than it usually is.

"I don't see why not" I smiled as we pulled up in-front of the school. Neel got out and ran to my side opening the door for me. He has specifically instructed me to always allow him to open the door for me.

"Meet me here after school, okay?" I nod at his instruction before we parted ways. I stuffed everything in my locker and headed to sociology taking a seat. A few minutes later the chair next to me screeched.

"Hey" Nathans voice filled my ears. I looked up at him to reply but instead gasped instead.

"Oh my God, are you okay? What happened?" I inspected Nathans face as he sat down noticing his swollen cheek.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Trust me, I did more damage" he winked settling back.

"More damage to who?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head" Nathan ignored me for the rest of the lesson until the bell rang allowing us to leave.

"Watch it" Tobias gritted as he ran into me harshly in the hallway. I sighed bending down to retrieve my books before looking back up at him.

"Leave. Now" Nathan stood in-front of me just as I caught a glimpse of Tobias's face. As soon as he left I grabbed Nathans arm pulling him into a corner.

"You fought Tobias, didn't you?" I asked already knowing the answer. Tobias's black eye and busted lip said it all.

"What do you expect. He deserved it after what happened at the cafe" I didn't reply and instead looked at the direction Tobias walked. 'Watch out' he had said and call me paranoid but I swear he had a double meaning.

"Thank you, but don't get yourself in trouble. All this wasn't necessary" I sighed continuing to walk to my next class with Nathan in tow.

"Of course it was. Why is he bothering you anyway? Do you know him?" Nathan fell into step with me and I could feel his gaze burning me.

"Hey, erm, we're heading to the beach after school, do you want to come?" I asked Nathan wanting to change the topic. I didn't mind him tagging along, it would be a thank you from me. After Nathan agreed to meet us at the car after school we left each other.

The day passed excruciatingly slow and I nearly cried in joy when the final bell rung. I ran straight out of school and straight to Neel who was already waiting by his car. He smiled as soon as he saw me opening the passenger seat door.

"Nathan's joining us" I said looking at the school entrance in case he showed up.

"What, why? No one invited him" Neel whined loudly as soon as he saw Nathan approach us.

"Actually, Olivia did" Nathan smirked throwing his bag into the backseat of the car.

"What happened to your face?" Neel asked assessing Nathan with scrunched eyebrows.

"Well, it's definitely an improvement from how it was before" Neel added after Nathan shrugged at his question. We all sat into the car and picked up Julian and Julius from the house who had a large picnic basket with them. The next 40 minutes were spent listening to music and the constant bickering between Neel and Nathan.

"I bought you a swimsuit" Neel informed me once we got to the beach handing me a bag. I smiled at him taking out the one-piece. There was a supportive halter tie with ruched neck detail, and a waist-defining lattice window decorating the centre of the piece.

"If you're not comfortable wearing it, you don't have to" Neel said walking closer to me rubbing my arms.

"I'm fine. I'll happily wear it thanks to you" Neel looked at me confused telling me to elaborate. Nathan, Julian and Julius had long gone onto the beach.

"You came into my life at a bad time, when I truly hated who I was and what I had become. I was broken, damaged, fading. But you fought your way and saved me. You made me love myself." I explained as we walked to the changing rooms.

"I didn't save you. You saved yourself." Neel said smiling at me. I shook my head at him gently but didn't say anything else. Neel waiting outside while I walked into the room to change. The one piece fit me perfectly. A bit too perfectly, hugging all my newly found curves. Not over-thinking, I quickly pulled my hair up in a ponytail before opening the door to face Neel.

"Holy..." Neels words died in his mouth as he continued to gawk at me making me blush red. Taking my time, my eyes travelled over Neels black swimming trunks, that hung low on his hips, up towards his chiselled chest and down his tattooed arm.

"That bad, huh?" I chuckled walking over to him.

"Trust me, you don't want to know what I'm thinking right now" Neel sighed holding his hand out for me to take, which I happily did. We walked down to the water where the twins and Nathan were already present.

"Work it, girl" Julian wolf-whistled at making me blush once again. Neel walked me into the water until we were waist deep.

"You look amazing, Olivia" Nathan swam up next to me.

"Thank you" I looked back at Neel who was glaring at the proximity between Nathan and I. Neel swam the short distance towards me yanking my hand pulling my body against his and away from Nathan. I didn't complain.

This was perfect.

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Someone had requested that I use pictures in my books so I did.

Also my Prom was last night and it was absolutely amazing. My dress fit perfectly and everything went smoothly. Only down side was that I never usually wear heels but yesterday I decided to wear them. I'm currently suffering due to that. I cannot walk to save a life. My feet and in pieces. I won't go into detail but trust me it's gross. Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I cannot wait to publish the next chapter but it won't be soon since I'm going on a short holiday. Patience is key.

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