Should've Said No

Olivia Mason thought Rian Dawson was the world’s most perfect guy and had been since they met. It happened two weeks into senior year. Olivia was new at Dulaney and had been studying in the library. She was listening to New Found Glory on her iPod which caught Rian’s attention when he walked by her. He mustered the courage to strike up a conversation with her and the rest was history.

Rian Dawson was the kind of boyfriend who knew just when to send an I miss you text or leave a cute I love you and can’t wait to see you voicemail for Olivia while she was in class and he was out on tour counting down to the almost exact second until they would see each other again.

Rian Dawson was the kind of boyfriend who brought Olivia ice cream and her favorite movies when she was upset and soup and flowers when she wasn’t feeling well.

Rian Dawson was the kind of boyfriend who gave Olivia a promise ring – one that matched the one he wore – after the first time they slept together. He said the rings were to symbolize how much he loved her and how much he only loved her.

Rian Dawson had a secret. Rian Dawson was an asshole. He wasn’t an asshole in the way where he was blatantly rude to people or made a hobby out of treating his friends like shit.

Rian Dawson was an asshole in the way where since All Time Low went out of their first big tour – Tourzilla, with Boys Like Girls – he began to rack up a groupie list so long, it would make Alex Gaskarth blush. He would argue that it was nothing he ever planned to do, but more like something that just sort of fell into his lap.

It started after a show in Orlando the first week into the tour. Courtney had her eye on Rian the second she spotted him in the bar. Rian had drank a little too much and Courtney knew it. She watched him all night, full aware that the silver band on the ring finger on his left hand was not just some family heirloom he wore every day.

Courtney didn’t know Olivia. She didn’t even know Rian. But she was fairly certain she would get to know him very well by the end of the night.

Courtney played her cards exactly right once she finally approached Rian. She knew exactly what to say and exactly how to touch him to make Rian essentially turn to putty in her hands. And by 1:27 that morning, Courtney was being invited back to Rian’s room at the hotel across the street from the bar.

Rian’s friends barely noticed that he’d been talking to a girl who wasn’t his girlfriend. And Rian’s friends certainly didn’t notice that same girl sneaking out from Rian’s hotel room later that morning.

Rian had the reputation of being the world’s most perfect boyfriend and the thought of him drunkenly having sex with a girl he just met was just nonsensical.

But he did have drunken sex with Courtney and only managed to feel bad about it for about the first five minutes when he woke up. Then he realized he liked the feeling of not being the perfect guy anymore. He liked having his own dirty little secret. While he was sure he still loved Olivia, he had no regrets for cheating on her.

He was careful about cheating again. He waited until after the tour had gone through Baltimore and he reunited with Olivia. The weekend they had together was perfect. For Olivia, it was perfect mostly because she got to spend time with who she thought was still the world’s most perfect boyfriend. But for Rian, it was perfect because, yes, he got to spend time with Olivia, but also he was convinced he’d gotten away with cheating and knew if he was as careful as he’d been the first time, he could get away with it over and over.
***

“Well, thanks again,” Rian said, squeezing the hand of his latest conquest. Her name was Rachel and she worked at the box office of the venue All Time Low was playing a show at that night.

“You’re welcome,” she purred, leaning forward and pressing her lips fully to Rian’s. “Don’t forget to call me the next time you’re in town,” she reminded him – slipping a post-it note with her number written down in his back pocket.

“Of course,” he told her, like he told he told all of them and gave a rehearsed smile before slipping from the room and closing the door behind him. “It’s too easy,” he mumbled to himself before walking right into Jack.

“What are you doing?” Jack asked, eyebrow raised.

“Nothing,” Rian shrugged. “Sound check soon?”

“In an hour… Did you just leave that room?” Jack asked, motioning to the door Rian just closed.

“Uh…” he paused. “Yeah, I thought it was a bathroom.”

“It clearly says right on the door that it’s the box office…” Jack pointed out.

“Which is why I realized I was wrong.” Rian defended himself. “What’s your problem?”

Jack opened his mouth to point out that Rian’s fly was down but stopped after Rachel walked out of the office, winking at Rian and reminding him, again, to call her. “Clearly I’m not the one who has the problem.”

“I don’t have a problem,” Rian shrugged. Who would consider having tons of sex with tons of hot girls a problem?

“Oh. You totally do. Your fly is down and you have a nasty mark forming on your neck. I can’t imagine you fell on a running vacuum when you tried to go the bathroom in the box office…”
Jack spat, shaking his head in disgust.

“It’s none of your business, now is it, Jack?” Rian asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I knew you were different,” Jack nodded. “I’ve noticed it more and more over the past year.”

“There’s nothing different about me,” Rian argued.

“Yes, there is,” Jack said. “The old Rian would never cheat on his girlfriend.”

“I never-“ Rian tried but Jack blew him off.

“Save it, Rian. I’ve had my suspicions for a long time ever since you stopped wearing your ring when we go out at night. But that little display right there confirmed it for me,” Jack said before he turned to walk away.

“Wait,” Rian yelled, running to catch up to Jack and grabbing his arm. “Does she know?”

“Olivia?” Jack asked, yanking his arm back. “No, not yet. But if too much time goes by and you don’t tell her, I will.”
***

Olivia Mason was really excited to have her boyfriend and best friends home for a few weeks before heading out for a big fall tour.

She expected the next few weeks to be great and couldn’t wait to spend a lot of time with Rian – in between her classes. She had even planned a surprise weekend getaway for her and Rian.

But that was all shot to shit a few days after they got home when Jack asked Olivia to meet her in the park to talk. The last time Jack had approached Olivia in such a serious manner, was when he asked for her help with a research paper. If he failed, he didn’t graduate. If he didn’t graduate, he didn’t get to continue with the band, so failing was not an option.

“Jack, what’s wrong?” Olivia asked as they sat on a bench under a large oak tree in almost silence.

Jack pretended he didn’t know Rian and Olivia sat on this very bench when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

“If you knew something that could potentially really hurt someone else, but they needed to know, would you still tell that person?”
Olivia looked up at Jack with a very confused look on her face. “Jack, what happened?”

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I really don’t know how else to say this…” he muttered.

“Jack,” she urged. “Please.”

“Rian’s cheating on you,” he blurted out and his heart instantly sunk when Olivia looked like she’d been slapped in the face.

“What?” she gasped. “That’s not possible.”

“I’m sorry,” Jack said again, shaking his head.

“You have to be wrong,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes. “Rian wouldn’t cheat on me.”

“It’s been going on since last November. I caught him a few weeks ago and he confessed everything.”


Olivia shook her head in disbelief. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“I don’t know,” Jack shrugged. “I gave him the chance to before we got home and I guess he didn’t want to take it.”

Standing from the bench, Olivia wiped tears away from her eyes. “There has to be some miscommunication here, Jack, Rian loves me. He wouldn’t risk ruining our relationship like that.”

Jack sighed, trying to hide his frustrations. “I saw him, Liv. He told me everything.”

“I have to go,” she said quickly before turning away from Jack and walking away.

At that moment, Olivia knew her fairy tale romance with Rian Dawson was over. Jack was one of her closest friends and someone she trusted most in her life. She knew he never would have told her something like this if he wasn’t certain it was true.

Olivia got into her car and once she composed herself, she head in the direction of the one place she had no desire to be at this time, but knew she needed to go.
***

Rian Dawson knew he messed up. He knew he should have been more careful but he had gotten cocky and Jack caught him. Jack more than likely would have instantly told Alex, who more than likely would have instantly told his girlfriend. One way or another Olivia was going to find out his not-so-secret secret.

Jack was the least confrontational person Rian knew and he had to believe there was no way he’d actually tell Olivia Rian wasn’t the perfect boyfriend everyone thought.

Rian was wrong and he was also a coward. Because no matter how many chances he’d gotten, he couldn’t bring himself to tell Olivia. And he wasn’t sure if he was afraid to tell her because that would mean admitting defeat and he didn’t get away with the cheating like he intended. Or if he was afraid of hurting Olivia. Or maybe it was a mix of both.

“Rian!” Olivia yelled as she walked through the door of Rian and Alex’s house, not really caring all too much if anyone else was there.

Rian jumped and turned from the sink in the kitchen and planted a smile on his face when saw Olivia. He knew right then and there Olivia knew and he was fucked. Olivia was a smart girl and there was no away she’d stay with a boy who fucked around on her. Rian wished he thought of that sooner.

“Hey baby,” he said, walking towards her.

“Don’t,” she said, holding her hand up.

“What’s wrong?”

“You know exactly what’s wrong, Rian!” she yelled. “You’ve been cheating on me?!”

“Baby,” he shook his head.

“Answer the question, Rian. Jack told me you confessed everything to him. But if you tell me that he’s wrong, I’ll believe you” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said after a few moments of silence and it was all he needed to say to give Olivia her answer. She turned away from him, tears slipping from her eyes.

“Why?” she asked, looking up at him finally. “Did I do something?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Of course you didn’t do anything, Liv. You were perfect.”

“I must not have been,” she snapped. “Why the hell else would you have done it?”

“I’m sorry,” he said again and for the first time since that first five minutes, he felt guilty for what he did.

“Sorry? Rian you being sorry doesn’t mean anything,” she shook her head. “I never thought we’d be having this fight.”

“You’re right,” he said. “And it never should have started and I really am sorry.”

“Why did it start?” she asked.

He shrugged, disgusted in himself when the only reason he could come up with was that he knew he was getting away with it. “I’m not sure. It just happened once and when you never found out, I figured I could always get away with it.”

Olivia shook her head, scoffing a bit. “I appreciate the honesty, Rian, but it’s too late.”

“I love you and I’m sorry,” he said again, stepping closer to her and reaching for her head. “If I could take it all back, I would. I would have said no that first night and this never would have happened.”

“You’re right,” she nodded, slipping the ring he’d given her so long away from her finger and placing it in his hand. “You should have no, then you’d still have me.”

Notes

Story Title: Taylor Swift - Should've Said No

I'm extremely stuck on my other two stories so I decided to post an old one-shot I found on my computer from a few years ago.