“Okay, so is this Jack guy into men or not?” Samuel's voice belted through the phone, almost frustrated sounding. Olivia laughed; she admired his persistence.

“Not to my knowledge, sorry,” she responded absent-mindedly, rummaging through her luggage for something casual. Casual wasn't really in Olivia's vocabulary, but she managed to find a t-shirt she'd typically wear as a pyjama top – despite it costing a good $70 – and pair it with some dark wash jeans and a pair of camel ankle boots.

“So, this Alex guy is picking you up?” Samuel questioned, his voice already too loud, but on loud speaker Olivia was certain her neighbours could hear. If she had neighbours. Who the hell else was stranded in a hotel in late December?

“Yep, in like 10 minutes or something,” she mumbled, fumbling to pull on her outfit in a speedy fashion. She'd messaged Jack her hotel location and he'd forwarded it on to Alex, now she was just awaiting that 'I'm outside' text. She didn't know why, but she was super nervous to see Alex. What if he didn't even want her there? Would it be awkward? She didn't even know how she felt, so how was she supposed to figure out how he felt?

“OMG, you should wear something slutty,” Samuel exclaimed, enthusiastic, she could imagine him clapping to himself at his own brilliant idea. And yes, he did say 'OMG' out loud.

“OMG,” Olivia mocked, “No I shouldn't,” she deadpanned.

“Why not? How are you gonna get his attention if you show up all Plain Jane?”

“Since when am I trying to get his attention?” Olivia questioned, quickly applying a generous coat of lip gloss; her heart beating a little too fast for her liking.

“I don't know, you just give off this vibe when you speak about him, it's kinda cute actually, you're like all nervous and stuff, plus didn't you guys like date in high school?” Samuel pondered, his ramblings far too accurate, making Olivia more nervous.

“We didn't date, we just did some stuff,” her volume decreasing as she finished the sentence.

Ding. A text message from Alex. Saved by the bell.

“WHAT?! WHAT STUFF?!” Samuel screeched down the phone; anger and excitement laced his voice.

“Gotta go, bye,” Olivia breathed, hanging up and opening the text.

I'm outside :)
Lame, she thought, smiling to herself.

Making her way down the stairs she noticed she was shaking a little and her heart felt like it was going to pound right out of her chest. What was going on? She didn't know whether she was excited or just scared. Something was telling her that Alex was still mad about her leaving all those years ago; just the atmosphere he gave off when they first bumped into each other, it was strange and uncomfortable and she didn't know if attending tonight would just make things worse.

Once she made it outside she heard honking, her head whipped round and caught sight of Alex sat in a gorgeous black BMW, she was surprised actually. She had no idea what kind of money teachers made, but she wasn't expecting him to have such a nice car. He himself looked really good too, his hair was a lot neater and he wore a flannel over just a basic black t-shirt. She smiled in his direction and he waved, a grin on his face. Maybe she'd imagined all the awkward atmosphere, maybe he didn't hate her. She made her way over to the car and opened the passenger side door, immediately she was greeted with the sound of Fall Out Boy's new album, she smiled. Wow, some things never change.

“Heeeeey,” he greeted her as she took a seat beside him, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine thanks, you?” they exchanged pleasantries for a little while, she complimented his car, he complimented her 'casual' attire – basic stuff. “So, you guys are performing tonight, right?” she questioned, avoiding looking over at him.

“Uh, yeah,” he chuckled, his heart rate increasingly immediately. He'd totally forgot about that. Fuck.

“What? What's funny?” Olivia smiled, glancing at him secretly. His eyes darted around, checking the roads ahead of him intently, his hands moved so smoothly across the wheel, his chiselled jaw locked. He was gorgeous. She shook her head; snapped out of it and looked away.

“Just, it's been so long since you've heard us play,” he glanced quickly at her before looking straight ahead again.

“Yeah, I know, I'm excited, I had no idea you guys still performed and stuff.”

“Well, we only started jamming together again a couple months ago, yano, we're all super busy now, but it's a fun thing to do in our free time, yano, we all missed performing, even if it is just to a bunch of 40 year old drunk men,” Alex laughed. His speech was so fast and messy, it was clear he was nervous too, which made Olivia feel a little more at ease.

“That's great though, I'm glad you guys haven't stopped, you were my favourite band,” Olivia laughed, her tone cheeky and playful, but she was being completely serious. Alex chuckled as he pulled the car up outside of what she assumed must be the bar Jack worked at.

The place was a big detached building, very old looking but not rundown. In fact, from what Olivia could tell, it was well lit, the music was loud, not dingy or rundown like Jack had made her think. Big, burly men stood outside, enjoying a smoke, drinks in hands, laughing loudly. Alex stepped out of the car and ran round to open her door, putting his hand out for her to grab for support, which made her laugh.

“Such a gent,” she mocked and he jokingly curtsied in response, causing her to laugh more.

“Hey Gaskarth,” a few of the men at the door echoed as the pair stepped into the bar.

“Yo, hey, sup Danny, you okay?” Alex reeled off responses enthusiastically, fist bumping one guy. Olivia raised an eyebrow at him, “That's right, emo boy Gaskarth is popular now,” he nodded, a fake cocky smile on his face.

“Yeah, okaaaaay,” Olivia raised her eyebrows questionably, laughing.

“Alex! Livvy!” a voice exclaimed, grabbing Olivia's attention, her eyes meeting a very excited looking Jack. She looked around and took in the place, it was a lot different from what she was expecting, it was big and roomy, a large stage right at the back, with spotlights and speakers set up. There was old Paisley carpet on the floor and big ugly lamp shades hanging from the ceiling, but it was cute and a lot more welcoming than she'd expected. A lot of people had attended tonight, people buzzed around the bar; awaiting drinks, whilst others sat at tables all facing the stage which was currently occupied by a tall blonde 30 year old, who appeared to be telling jokes which, the laughter in the room would suggest, were very successful.

Notes

olivia's outfit