Authors Note:
I borrowed the title for this story from one of my reviews on another story. It was something that was suggested by Anastasia, as she read (Learning To Love With A Broken Heart.) In trying to think of a name for this one, "Beautifully Broken" kept creeping into my head and seemed to fit so perfectly.
Also, this is going to be a bit of a tear jerker as the relationship is tried, so grab your box of tissues! This story is different from anything else I have ever written on here before, but I figured I'd give it a shot seeing as my other AU story (Beautiful Stranger) has had such a following. Thank you all for checking it out!
Love it? Hate it? Hit the review button & tell me about it! ~ Detective Olivia Stabler ~
Beautifully Broken
(Chapter One: Fifteen)
The first time Elliot saw her she was sitting on the tailgate on the back of a friends truck. She had one of her blue and white pom poms in her lap and the other was on the ground below her feet. On her left cheek was a blue paw print in face paint and the blue and white ribbons holding up her brown pony tail matched the colors in her cheerleading uniform perfectly.
He stood and stared for a moment as she talked and laughed with her friends. He had never seen a girl like her before. She was young, a good year or two younger than him and had a glow of innocence around her. Her big smile was bright and her laugh was warm and playful. And Elliot was immediately taken by her.
"Dude, we're gonna be late," he heard as his friend Steve shoved him forward.
"I'm going," Elliot snapped as he spun around to hit his buddy in the shoulder.
"We still have to warm up before the game and if we're late coach is gonna kill us. I'm already on probation for getting a 'D' on that math test. If I screw up anymore I'll be cut for sure."
"He's not gonna cut you," Elliot replied. "You have the best arm on the team. So relax. Besides, we're not gonna be late."
Elliot glanced back toward the truck to catch another look at his exotic beauty. This time she shifted her eyes up to meet his and smiled at him. She was the most incredible thing he had ever seen.
"Who is he?" Courtney asked nudging Olivia with her elbow.
"I don't know," Olivia replied.
"So if you don't know him why is he staring?"
"He isn't staring. He is looking. Besides, he's kind of cute," Olivia said looking back at her friend as her handsome stranger disappeared behind the school building.
"Ehh, not as cute as…."
"Roger Halloway, I know," Olivia cut her off laughing.
"Hey, there was a time when you wanted him too."
"Roger is cute."
"Yeah. The why did you turn him down when he asked you out?"
"Because you like him a lot more than I do. And…."
"And?"
"I don't know, he just seems kind of self involved."
"Olivia, any guy who looks the way he looks has the right to be a little self involved."
"I guess so. I also heard that he only dates girls who sleep with him."
"That is probably because all of the girls he dates want to sleep with him."
"I don't want to sleep with him."
"You don't?"
"No. I don't really want to sleep with anybody."
"You're telling me that you wouldn't give it up for a hottie like Roger Halloway?"
"I just don't know many high school guys who are worth the trouble. Including Roger Halloway. I just want it to be special, you know? With someone I love and who loves me back."
"How do you know Roger didn't love you?"
Olivia laughed. "The only person Roger Halloway loves is Roger Halloway!"
Courtney laughed with her. "True. But I can't honestly say that if Roger asked me out and we were dating and he wanted to, that I wouldn't sleep with him."
"Well, what do you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your first time, how do you want it to be?"
"Someone I care about. But it doesn't have to be the man I am going to marry. Really I just want it to happen before college."
"You set a timeframe for losing your virginity? Courtney, there is something seriously wrong with you!"
"I just want to be more experienced by the time I go to college, that's all. No college guy wants to date a virgin. Besides, you're supposed to lose it in high school. It's kind of like….an unwritten rule or something."
"You are seriously demented! Do you know that?"
"Yes, but you're my best friend so you have to love me anyway!"
Both girls laughed as they picked up their pom poms and headed back to the football field.
Courtney and Olivia stood beside the concession stand waiting for the game to start. As they talked, Olivia noticed the handsome stranger as he got into the line.
"Talk to him," Courtney said looking in Elliot's direction.
"No. I don't even know him."
"You will if you talk to him."
"Court, no."
Both girls watched silently as Elliot purchased a pack of gum and two sodas. As he turned to walk off he dropped a five dollar bill onto the ground.
"Now's your chance," Courtney said pushing Olivia forward causing her to stumble and almost slam into Elliot's back.
She picked up the money from the ground and brushed off her skirt. She pressed her glossed lips together and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she walked quickly to catch up to him.
"Excuse me," she said watching him turn around to look at her. "You dropped this."
"Thank you," Elliot said dumbfounded as he stared into her eyes. It wasn't often the girl of your dreams just came walking up and spoke to you. In his experience most of the girls he dreamed about didn't really even know he existed.
"No problem," Olivia said with a smile as she folded her hands in front of her. "So, you play for the Devils?"
"Uhh, yeah." He said finding it hard to stare at her and focus on her words at the same time.
"I hear you guys are a really good team."
"We have only lost one game this season."
"I know. It was to us," she smiled.
Elliot laughed. "You're a Wildcat?"
"Well, I'm a Wildcat cheerleader. I don't play football."
"Oh," Elliot said with a smile. He knew he sounded completely stupid, but he didn't care. "What's your name?"
"Olivia Benson. I'm a freshman here," she said with a smile.
"Elliot Stabler. I'm a junior," he replied extending his hand to shake hers. "Quarter back for the Devils."
"It's nice to meet you Elliot."
"It is nice to meet you, too. Listen, I have to go. I have to be on the field in five minutes. Maybe we could talk again sometime."
"Yeah, maybe."
Elliot let her hand slip from his as she turned and walked toward her teams side of the football field. She was beautiful, she was incredible and with a five minute conversation, she stole his heart.
At halftime Elliot watched as Olivia and the other Wildcat cheerleaders did a dance. He couldn't help but notice the large smile that crossed her face each time their eyes met and she tried not to laugh. She was adorable and he had to get to know this girl.
After the game Elliot and Steve stood with some of their teammates in the parking lot of Olivia's high school as they discussed their second loss to the Wildcats. Some of the guys got in their cars and left. Steve and Elliot however decided it was too early to go home and were looking for something to do. They struck up a conversation with a few of the players on the other team who told them about a after game get together and they decided to check it out.
Elliot drove until they found the house where the party was. He pulled over a few blocks away at a gas station so that he and Steve could go inside and change their clothes and get cleaned up a bit before going on to the party.
Inside Elliot talked football as Steve tried his luck with some of the girls there. But the second she walked in it was like Elliot could feel her presence in the room. He turned around to see Olivia standing talking to Courtney and a few other girls. He took a deep breath and walked in her direction grabbing a few beers on his way to her. But before he reached her one of the Wildcat football players wrapped his arm around her and handed her a drink.
"Shit," Elliot said feeling so stupid. He had never even thought to ask her if she had a boyfriend.
"There you are man," Steve said as he approached Elliot. "Dude, you got me a beer. Thanks," he said taking one of the beers from Elliot's hand.
"Yeah," Elliot said trying not to look at Olivia.
"Why the long face? You see all of these hot cheerleaders around here? This place is like foot ball Heaven!"
"I'm an idiot."
"I could have told you that," Steve said pretending to punch Elliot in the shoulder.
"No. There was this girl. She was beautiful and she smiled at me and I talked to her before the game." Elliot turned to face Olivia again and she still had not spotted him. "That girl," he said nodding his head in her direction.
"She's cute," Steve said checking Olivia out. "Her friend is not bad either."
"She is sweet. I was going to talk to her, take her a drink."
"So why are you standing here with me instead of over there talking to her."
"Because her boyfriend just showed up and brought her a drink."
"Harsh."
"I didn't even think to ask if she had a boyfriend. What was I thinking? Girls like that always have boyfriends."
"Yes, they do. She looks young."
"She is a freshman cheerleader."
"A freshman? She is fifteen, man."
"Yeah, so."
"And you are seventeen. She's a kid."
"She isn't a kid. She's more mature than all of the girls you have dated. Besides, there is something about her."
"Look, I'm not gonna disagree with that you that she is hot. But you know a fifteen year old isn't gonna put out. And with a body like that, it's a real shame. I could teach her a few things."
"Back off man," Elliot said shoving him back a bit.
"It was a joke man."
"There are other things to a relationship besides sex. You make it sound like a wont date a girl who wont sleep with me."
"I wouldn't."
"You're a jerk."
"I'm not trying to be a jerk. I am trying to be honest. I worked hard to finally get past being a virgin. I like having sex with my girlfriend."
"What girlfriend? You have not had a girlfriend in four months!"
"I know. Even more reason to make sure my next girlfriend puts out. If you want to date a freshman then go for it. I just prefer to get paid to baby sit. I'm gonna go over here and check out this blonde in the corner."
Elliot stared at Olivia for a few more minutes. So what if she was a freshman, there are plenty of freshman girls who did have sex. And so what if she didn't. There was nothing wrong with being a virgin. Better than dating a girl who jumped into bed with every guy she met. Besides Elliot had only slept with one girl anyway, a half a dozen times or so before they broke up. And although he really liked sex, it was not a requirement for the women he dated. Infact that was when he and Ashley's relationship had gone bad, shortly after they started having sex. Then she dumped Elliot for her ex-boyfriend.
He exhaled and moved to the table to grab some pretzels and a soda, dropping the beer back into a cooler. He found a seat on the steps and waited for Steve to decide he was tired of being slapped for rubbing up on girls he didn't know and was ready to go home.
Olivia shrugged off Roger's advances. He was always trying to hug her and touch her and convince her of how badly she wanted him. The truth was, the harder he tired to date her, the more she was sure she had made the right decision not to. High school boys were so immature.
Courtney however was eating up the attention Roger began to pour on her after he finally realized Olivia wasn't going to give in to his childlike charm. She stood talking and flirting and drinking a beer, trying hard to look like someone she wasn't just to impress someone who was probably only after one thing. But Courtney was Olivia's best friend and although she was pretty sure the choice was not a good one, Olivia respected her wishes and gave them a little privacy.
She walked around the room talking to some of the other cheerleaders and drinking a diet cola. She wasn't quite as into the party scene as her friends were.
"Olivia," she heard Courtney call from across the room. She turned and walked back toward her friend as Courtney motioned for the door and mouthed something about leaving with Roger.
"What? Court, I have a big test tomorrow."
Courtney said something to Roger then walked back to Olivia. "We're gonna go for a walk, then Roger wants to drive me home."
"Are you sure that is a good idea?"
"Liv, it's Roger. I'm not worried. I think he's gonna ask me out."
"That is cool. But Courtney, how am I going to get home? I can't stay much longer, I have home work and a test tomorrow morning."
"Rick will still drive you home." Rick was Courtney's older brother who was also on the football team. He had driven them to the game and then to the party in his pick up truck. His best friend was Collin, the senior who was hosting the party.
"Rick is over there making out with his girlfriend. Please, Court."
"Alright, hold on a second." Olivia watched as Courtney walked over to her brother and talked to him for a minute. He handed her some money and nodded his head. "Rick said he will still give you a ride home. Or you can take this and get a cab if you want to leave earlier. He's trying to make up with Emily."
"I thought he was dating Crystal?"
"He was, they broke up. He cheated on Emily with Crystal. This could take a while," Courtney said pointing at her brother arguing with Emily in the corner of the room. "Besides, Elliot is here."
"He is?"
"Yup. Sitting over there on the steps, all alone. This would be the perfect time for you to go talk to him."
"I have a curfew and a test."
"Curfew? Please. Honey. You and I both know that your mother has passed out for the night after making love to a bottle of Jim Beam. She isn't going to notice if you break curfew."
Olivia stood there for a moment feeling ashamed. Courtney was right. Serena Benson probably wouldn't notice if her daughter didn't come home at all.
"Liv, I'm sorry. That was a shitty thing for me to say."
"It's fine," Olivia said softly.
"No it isn't." Courtney exhaled. "I know what goes on with your mother and I know how hard it is on you. I never should have said a thing like that. And I'm sorry. You are my best friend in the entire world and I love you," she said hugging Olivia.
Olivia laughed. "I love you too, Courtney."
"I have an idea," Courtney said fumbling through her purse. She slipped her a key off the key ring and handed it to Olivia. "Don't go home. Stay with me tonight. I'll be home late, but not too late. Spend the night and when I get back we can talk about Roger and Elliot until we pass out."
Olivia smiled again. "What about your parents?"
"They love you. Besides they are out of town until next Tuesday. Help yourself to any food in the house and just crash in my bed when you get tired."
Olivia took the key from Courtney's hand. "I will be home by one or so. And don't worry about your test, you are a straight 'A' student and you have never failed a test in your life. You have been cramming for two days, you could pass this one with your eyes closed."
"Thanks Court. Be careful and good luck."
"You, too. Go talk to him."
"I will."
Olivia made her way to the stair case where Elliot sat alone.
"Hi," she said in a soft voice as he looked up at her.
"Hey," he said standing up. "I was going to come talk to you," he said pointing to where she had been standing earlier in the night.
"Why didn't you?"
"As I started to come over your boyfriend showed up."
Olivia laughed. "Roger only wishes he was my boyfriend. My friend Courtney likes him. I don't have a boyfriend."
"You don't?"
"No."
Elliot stared at her for a moment then scooted over on the step. "Would you like to sit down?"
"Sure," she said with a smile.
"So, how do you like high school?"
Olivia laughed. "It's alright, I guess."
"Yeah, it isn't that great at my school either."
"It is a place to be until I am old enough to get out of here."
"Where you planning on going in such a hurry?"
"Anywhere. Anywhere, but here."
"I know that feeling. I get it myself sometimes."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"So what do you do besides play football?"
"Basketball, baseball, work on cars. I signed up for the Marines."
"You did? Already? It's only your junior year."
"I wanted to sign up really bad. So I signed up. But I can't do my basic training until after I graduate. What are you doing after school?"
"College. Then, I don't know. Career, a family maybe."
They talked for a couple of hours there on the steps as the rest of the party continued around them. It was as is they were the only two people in the room. Elliot was secretly counting the times she smiled at him and Olivia could not stop staring into the blue of his eyes.
That night Elliot drove her back to Courtney's house. He pulled up in front of the big empty house.
"This one?"
"Yes. This is it."
Elliot opened his car door and walked around opening the door for her. Olivia smiled as she climbed out of his car and Steve climbed from the back seat into the front. Elliot walked her up the sidewalk to the door step of the house. He watched her as she slipped the key into the lock and the door opened.
"I should go, I have a really big test in the morning."
"Yeah," Elliot said gazing into her eyes. "Olivia, can I see you again?"
"I don't know if that is such a good idea."
"I'm sorry. Maybe I was reading this wrong. I thought you were interested in….I'm sorry to bother you."
"No, Elliot. I am interested. It's just….my mother."
"Your mother?"
"She's controlling. If she knew that I was talking to an older guy, she would freak out."
"So I won't call your house. Olivia, I am talking about getting a soda some day after school or something."
"Give me your number," she said staring at him.
Her suggestion caught Elliot a little off guard.
"My number?"
"Your phone number," she said with a smile. "You can't call my house. But I could call you sometime."
"Okay," he said with a smile.
Olivia opened her purse and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen. She watched as Elliot scribbled down some numbers on the paper. He folded it up and placed it in her palm.
"You will call me, right?"
"Yes."
"What about this weekend? Can I meet you somewhere sometime this weekend?"
"Umm…" she thought for a moment then pulled out another piece of paper and wrote an address on it. "This is my address. Obviously, you can't show up there. But there is a little 24 hour café around the corner from our apartment. I will meet you there at noon on Saturday."
Elliot smiled. "Noon on Saturday. Okay."
"Good night, Elliot." Olivia leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"Good night, Olivia."