Hello there, and welcome to this little story.

Based on what once started as a self-insert (yes I know, go ahead and groan and allow that to pass), now becomes this, a pairing I've been writing for approximately 6 months now.

Normally I keep my work on my personal Tumblr account, but I finally have the balls to upload my work here.

I'd like to thank user leave your sanity at the door for helping me with both my confidence and for critiquing my writing thus far. What a saint.

Chapters will come in time, and there will be violence, smut, and the like.

Enjoy!

The world had changed, but to those born after, the past was foreign.

From her few books Olivia knew as much as she was free to. Her schooling had ended years ago, out to the east of the United States. University was out of the picture, as up until her graduation of public school, her education had been without charge. If she had dared to take another step beyond that line, then she would risk asking her family to dig too deeply into their pockets. As much as her parents had wanted the best for their child, as most parents do, they could not afford to send her off for a higher calling. Olivia had accepted that fate at age 14.

The only thing left for her was to leave. There was nothing for her here. With companies falling into corporate ruin and the South being stricken into a financial crisis, she had to go. Of course where she dared to go was no better than home. The city of Los Angeles was facing a hard time of its own. When her flight had flown over the beginning of the city limits, she managed to squeeze by the aircraft's window and see the current state of decay. Overpopulation, high rates of crime, and "a city living in sin" as her mother had called it, were awaiting her below.

Leaving home hadn't been easy, as her family was all she had ever known. But even still her father recognized the wanderlust in her at an early age. He had urged her to go, as it was her time now to try and make something of what the world was giving her, and that was an opportunity to run. With a few bags in hand, she kissed her family goodbye and stopped to cry with her mother. "You get your emotions from her side of the family," her father had laughed as he drove her to the airstrip. He was known for only talking when he found it necessary – a trait she would soon notice she developed herself – and for being a bit of a stone-faced man.

"I think I get something from both sides. Mainly yours."

"That you do. Thank the good Lord above you didn't get their tendency to be incredibly irritable."

Olivia laughed and turned to the window. Anything to hide her crying.

Now ultimately alone in a city she had only seen through search engines, Olivia had to learn to move quick and think light on her feet. She clung tight to her belongings and found a corner of the airport to stop and gather her thoughts. Call a taxi, get to the nearest apartment complex, slap down the first note of rent and settle in. She'd find a job in the morning.

The taxi ride didn't calm her nerves, as the driver weaved through traffic and slammed on the brakes whenever he deemed it necessary. He spoke fast and seemed to want her in and out of his cab as soon as possible. She paid him and stepped away from the dirty vehicle just as he blared the horn at an adjacent driver and proceeded to cut them off and weave back into the city. That was when she excused herself into a nearby alley and vomited from the empty pits of her stomach.

Finding a room wasn't the hard part of her move. She knew she would have to settle for first-come-first-serve, and that was what she got. One bedroom, one bath, and a den and kitchen would keep her satisfied. The woman who had taken her money at the front desk was surprisingly pleasant for owning such a shabby little place. She had sprayed her room with a can of Febreze before they both stepped inside, but the faux aroma of clean cotton did not last long. Helping her put her bags away she asked why she had come to Los Angeles. Most people who came only did so to get away or for business, and even then it wasn't much of a wanting to be here, but rather a necessity.

"Seemed like the best option."

But maybe it wasn't.