1

Past, Present, Future

Chapter 2

"Hey Olivia, you okay?" He was almost eighteen now, and was maturing much faster than would be expected for a boy his age. Tall and pencil-thin, he didn't excel any sports, and as a result, threw himself into his studies. Since he didn't have any friends from school, he was not surprised to find himself up on the roof with Olivia yet again.

Olivia, he soon to be ten year old, sighed, " I'm fine. It's just, my birthday's two days from now, and for once, I'd like to have a friend to celebrate it with. My mom doesn't care."

" Olivia, come on." Said John in a light, teasing tone, " do you think I'd leave you alone on your birthday?"

Olivia giggled, " I...guess not." She suddenly had a revelation, " Wait, does that make you..my friend?" She asked hopefully with a bit of confusion thrown in.

" Olivia, we've been meeting up on this lonely little rooftop almost every night for the past three months. If that doesn't make us friends, I don't know what does."

" But, my mom says that I won't ever have any friends, because I'm mean and useless."

She said in a way that made her sound about half her age. John hugged her and held on tight, praying that she wouldn't cry. Not so close to her birthday.

"Olivia, parents aren't always right. If they were, I would have been arrested for my fathers murder by now."

"Hey John, you okay?"Asked Fin, jolting Munch from his thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah Fin, I'm fine. Just tired." He replied distractedly.

"It's past midnight, Munch. Go home and get some sleep, will ya?" Demanded Fin, concerned for his partner.

"Yeah, thanks Fin. I will soon."

Satisfied, Fin got up from beside his partner, bidding Munch, Elliot, and Olivia goodbye one more time before heading out. Munch sighed, rubbing his forehead and muttering something fiercely in Russian. Olivia, who was walking past him at the time, teased, "Hey, that wasn't very nice."

Munch looked up abruptly, confused and embarrassed.

" You understood that?"

"Yeah, a friend I had when I was little taught me some Russian. I didn't think it was important to mention." Shrugged Olivia.

" Of course it is! Now we can talk behind our partners backs, even when they're around!" Exclaimed Munch. Olivia rolled her eyes and smirked at him.

"Johnny, " Began Olivia, changing the subject, " Last night, I heard a woman's yelling coming from your apartment. It sounded like a foreign language. What was your mom speaking? It sounded weird."

"Oh, that was Russian, kiddo."

Olivia smiled, " I told you not to call me that. I'm almost ten now." She said proudly.

"Right." John laughed. "That was Russian, big grown up."

He looked at her curiously, wondering why she wanted to know.

" It sounded cool. Could you teach me some? Learning Spanish in school is so boring." Olivia moaned as she said the last part.

" Sure, I could teach you some Russian. In fact, since I never have anywhere else to be, I'll teach you as much of it as you want." John said, wanting to do anything to make his best friend happy. It was weird, calling the little girl his best friend. But when it came to the truth, she really was.

" Hey, Liv," began Munch, coming back to reality just as Olivia sat down next to him with a cup of coffee in her hands."Have you ever had a friend in your childhood that you really wish you could see again, you know, just to see how they're doing?"

" Yeah John," replied Olivia, sympathizing with him instantly, " I have. I think about him everyday, too." Olivia looked at Munch closely. Seeing how tired he was, she offered, " Hey, do you need a ride home?"

"Sure, I could use a ride. Thanks, Benson." He said, quickly going back to professionalism, out of habit, more than anything.

"Olivia, let me walk you back to down your place. You look really tired." He offered.

"Sure, thanks Johnny."

TBC