Identical Hiding Spots
A story by e-oshippa47
Thirteen year-old Olivia Benson always had secrets. She never spoke about them, though, for she feared that they would become true if spoken aloud. Most of her secrets were of her mom or of her family, but she did have one good one: her hiding spot.
The sight of seeing her mother passed out on the couch from alcohol used to upset her, but now she didn't mind it as much. But when this happened, she knew she had to get out of the house.
As always, Olivia took the letter-opener with her, and slipped it up her jacket sleeve. Going out of the house and quietly closing the door behind her, she made her way to her secret place.
It wasn't a long walk—maybe a minute or so. She thought quietly to herself while she walked, before she turned the corner and reached her destination.
The grass of the field was up to her waist, which was perfect for lying down in and disappearing from the rest of the world. Once she reached her spot, she did just that.
Stars shimmered brightly in the clear night sky. It was more beautiful than any planetarium could ever conjure, she had always thought.
Suddenly, Olivia heard something rustle in the grass—and it was too big to be any normal animal. She clutched the letter-opener that was still in her sleeve, and sat up.
Even though it was dark, Olivia's brain registered a tall boy standing in front of her, wearing a Boston College sweatshirt, a worn-out Boston College hat, long jeans, and flat skater shoes. Seeing Olivia, he looked surprised, and a little bit baffled. "Um," he muttered, putting a hand behind his neck. "Sorry, is this your spot?"
Stunned that he was even talking to her, Olivia shook her head and scooched over. He sat down next to her, and Olivia's heart did a back flip—she had never been this close to a guy before.
Once he was settled, the boy held out his hand, and smiled. "I'm Elliot." With a quick shrug, he added "Elliot Stabler."
Olivia quickly took it to avoid any unnecessary awkwardness, and said softly, "Olivia Benson." She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was something about Elliot that made her very at ease. And for that she almost grew wary.
Surprised, she found herself on her back next to Elliot. "So, you come here often?" He asked, showing a cocky smile. The moon hit his eyes just then, and Olivia noticed that they were ice-blue. They were beautiful.
"You could say that," she said softly. She looked up to the stars, and then back to him. "You?"
Elliot shrugged. "Sometimes. My parents fight a lot." He sighed, and looked up to the stars for the first time.
"My mother drinks. My father left when I was a week old." Olivia slowly and discreetly put her hand over her mouth. How did that slip out? Furthermore, why did it slip out so easily?
"Jeez…I'm so sorry." He said, genuinely.
Olivia shrugged, and then did something that surprised her very much—she chuckled. "I've uh…I've never actually told anyone that." She continued to stare upward, but this time not to the stars.
"Then why did you tell me?" He asked slowly, her right ear ringing.
She flopped her head back to face him. "I don't know… I thought we were having a moment."
Elliot stared softly at Olivia, his beautiful eyes scanning her thoughts, her heart. He then slowly put his fingers on Olivia's chin, and drew her closer to him. What are you doing?! Pull back! Her mind commanded, but her heart wasn't listening. She soon found her lips had collided with Elliot's, and in the first time in her whole life, she felt like she was in the right place at the right time.
"Liv?" A voice said, breaking her off from her memory. Olivia looked around; she was sitting at her desk in the empty precinct. She was no longer 13, but 32. She turned around, responding to her name, and smiled at a fully-grown Elliot Stabler.
"Hey, El." She said, pretending to be tired to hide the excitement in her voice.
Elliot sat down across from her, and said, "What were you thinking of? I've never seen you that deep in thought."
Olivia sighed, debating on whether to tell the truth or not. She decided to be truthful—mainly because she was in a good mood—and said, "The night we met." She felt heat rise to her cheeks.
Elliot grinned in memory, slight redness on his face. "Oh yeah, I remember that night." He looked down at Olivia.
Olivia nodded, and walked over to the lockers, Her heart was pounding so hard and so loud that she was afraid that Elliot would hear it. What she didn't know, was that Elliot had followed her to the lockers. "I also remember what we did." He said softly, his eyes twinkling.
Olivia looked down at the floor, bashfully. But she felt something bring her chin back up, and she saw that it was Elliot's soft fingers, drawing her near him like they did the night they met. Olivia's mind nor heart didn't fight this time.
When their lips were wire-width away from touching, they both hesitated. They then let each other's lips lightly collide, taking in the new environment. Then Olivia couldn't control herself, she wrapped her arms around Elliot's back, and kissed him. Elliot did the same, and they both enjoyed every second of it.
When they pulled away, they both looked at each other lovingly. And as Olivia gazed at Elliot, she was no longer looking at the tough detective who scared the shit out of people when he interrogated them.
She was looking at the boy she fell in love with 21 years ago.