"Red dress or blue dress?" Erin turned from the rack and asked Olivia. It was the Thursday afternoon before valentines day and Olivia was out at the mall with Erin helping her find the perfect dress for her date with Shane.
"Red. Wait, no blue. It brings out your eyes."
"Hmm, I'm going to try them both on just in case." Erin says and adds both dresses to the growing pile of clothing hanging over her arm. "Do you have anything planned for tomorrow night?"
"No. I have a paper due and a quiz on Tuesday, so I plan on staying in and studying...what?" Olivia asked at Erin's raised eyebrow.
"You need to get a boyfriend, or at least a guy friend." Erin tells her. Olivia rolled her eyes and looked over the nearby rack of shoes. "I'm serious, Liv. You need to meet someone and I think I know just the guy. Shane's roommate is single."
"Thanks, but no thanks."
"His name is Jake. He's a political science major and cute enough to be seen around campus with. It doesn't have to be serious, y'all can just be friends...with benefits and we could all go on double dates together!"
"Sounds fun but I'll pass."
"Ugh, Olivia." Erin grumbled then teased. "Don't worry, I won't tell my brother."
"Huh? Wha- what do you mean?" Olivia managed to get out, quickly whipping her head around.
"William. He asked me to keep an eye on you." Erin laughed and Olivia nervously chuckled in relief. "His crush on you is adorable and slightly obsessive, but still adorable."
"Oh." She blushed. "How is your family?"
"Good. Everyone is great! They all ask about you."
Picking up a pair of shoes she thought would match one of the dresses on Erin's arm and showing them to her, Olivia says, "I'll have to remember to call them."
The two spend another hour in the mall, finding the perfect outfit for Erin's date and even a few items of clothing for Olivia. Since neither felt like cooking dinner that night, they grabbed a quick bite to eat from the food court then headed home.
"Spending time together today was nice." Olivia says with a small smile while walking through the parking lot of the mall and towards Erin's car.
"What, don't tell me you miss me?"
"Actually, I do." Olivia admits. "You're hardly ever home anymore. I see you on campus more than I see you around the house now."
"I have a boyfriend, Liv." Erin pulled her car keys from her purse and unlocked the doors. Both girls tossed all of their bags in the back seat then hurried towards their respective doors. "You'll understand one day."
"What, that I will meet a guy and forget all about my friends?" Olivia responded in a snippy tone.
"That's not fair, Liv. I miss you too, but Shane is also important to me and he thinks that we should spen-"
"Oh, so you practically moving out was his idea." She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Since their initial meeting in the kitchen, Shane had accompanied Erin over twice and both times Olivia felt uncomfortable around him. She couldn't explain why, but she did not trust Shane, not even a little bit. For the sake of her friendship with Erin, she kept her ill feelings about him to herself, but remained extra cautious whenever around him.
"Again...not fair, Liv." Erin sighed and opened the driver's side door, sliding into the car. Olivia remained quiet when she opened her door and stepped in the car herself. Erin waited a moment before turning on the car and tried to see things from Olivia's perspective. Soon, she realized that she might have been the one who wasn't being fair. Olivia didn't have many friends and before things with her and Shane became serious, they'd spent all of their time together. It was wrong of her to turn her back on Olivia and leave her all alone when she had done nothing but be a good friend to her. "Okay, you may have a point, Liv. I'm sorry." Erin apologized and put the key in the ignition. "We should spend more time together. I'll talk it over with Shane and see what he thinks."
Talk it over with Shane?! Olivia cut her eyes but kept her comment to herself. She wasn't a fan of the person Erin was becoming as a result of her relationship with Shane. It was barely noticeable when they first started dating, but now Olivia could see the change in her. She didn't talk the same or act the same. She changed her hair and was even beginning to dress different. She wasnt quite herself anymore and that frustrated Olivia because she was use to and also preferred the free thinking, fun spirited Erin not the girl who needed to get the approval of an idea from her boyfriend.
As Erin drove them home, Olivia wondered if that was what relationships were all about. Change. Did she need to change herself to make a guy happy? Would she have to change herself to make Fitz happy? Didn't that defeat the purpose? If she was no longer the person he knew when they first met how could the same intense level of attraction still be there in the end?
Suddenly her mind was full of questions and it made her curious to know if she would still be the same person when in a relationship with Fitz.
XOXOXO
"There's an open lieutenant position and I'm going to apply for it."
"Are you being serious, or is this another one of your jokes?"
"No, I'm serious." Fitz looked up from the pager he held in his hand and over at Stephen who laid on the bed across from him. "I have bigger dreams and aspirations than just being a firefighter my entire career. It's time to move up the ladder."
"Good for you. I think you'll make a good lieutenant." Stephen stated honestly, showing his friend he had his support.
"Thanks, man. I'm not going to lie, I am nervous. I haven't told anyone yet, you know, in case I don't pass the test."
"If anyone here is cut out to be a leader it's you. The test will be easy the hard part comes later."
Fitz nodded his head and looked down at the pager in his hand. He knew Olivia was in class still, but he couldn't wait until she found time to call him so he could share the news with her. If he knew her as well as he thought he did, she would be happy for him. Stephen was his best friend but having Olivia's support meant the world to him.
This was the first step towards his career goal and he had a long journey ahead of him. The road would not be easy and a strong support system standing behind him would be necessary.
"Hey, you guys we have a call!" Harrison appeared at the top of the stairs and yelled to the room. Looking down at his pager once more, Fitz set it down on the bed and hurried off downstairs.
There's a package waiting on her doorstep when she arrives home. She picks up the small box, which is address to her, and brings it into the house with her. Placing her coat in the closet and hanging her keys on the hook, Olivia grabbed the phone and plops down on the couch. Unable to remember if Fitz had to work or not she quickly dials his house number and listens while it rings. It eventually goes to voicemail and she hangs the phone up with a frown. This was the third time she'd called him that day and he did not answer.
Picking up the phone again, she dials the number to his pager, and waits for him to call. Five minutes passed by before Olivia finally gives up and goes to her room with her package in hand. She sets the box down on her bed and curiously looked it over. There is no return address, only her name and address is written. Pulling a pair of scissors from her dresser, she slices through the tape and begins to open the box when Erin knocks on her open bedroom door and enters her room.
"How do I look?" She spins around and shows off her dress. The blue material fits her thin frame perfectly.
"Beautiful!" Olivia approved with a smile. "What time is Shane picking you up?"
"He should be here any moment. How does my makeup look?" Erin walked over to the full length mirror hanging on Olivia's wall and checked herself over. "Hair?"
"Erin, you look absolutely gorgeous. Shane is going to love it."
"You really think so?"
"Yes, Erin!"
"Tonight might be the night." She says turning around to check her backside out in the mirror. "I want to look perfect."
The doorbell rings and Erin spins around for Olivia one last time. Liv gives her two thumbs up and tells her to enjoy herself. After Erin leaves, Olivia goes to the kitchen to cook herself a grilled cheese sandwich and decides to finish her English paper. Her package is still waiting on her bed for her when she returned back to her room, so she places her plate on the dresser and opens the box, pulling out a pink and red valentines day card.
"Roses are red, violets are blue.
I suck at poems, but know that
I am thinking of you!" -Fitz
Olivia read the card twice and chuckled before placing it upright on her nightstand. Beneath the card laid two boxes of chocolate and a video tape. She opens one box and pops a piece of candy in her mouth while turning on her television and VCR. She slips the video in and after a second or two, Fitz appears on her television screen, fussing at someone off camera.
"Is it on yet?"
"Hold on a second, man." An annoyed voice she recognized as Stephen responds, and focused the camera on Fitz.
"Would you hurry up!"
"It's recording."
"Shit." He straightened up and adjusted his shirt, looking directly into the camera. "Uhh, Hey, Liv. It's me Fitz." He smiles her favorite adorable, goofy smirk and she sits back on the bed. "You probably know it's me because you can see me, but that's not the point. It's valentines day! Or at least I'm hoping you receive this in time for valentines day, along with your box of chocolate, the card, and shirt. I wanted to send you flowers, but I didn't think they would last."
He was nervously rambling and Olivia thought it was adorable.
"I miss you, Liv, and I hope you're missing me too."
"Awwww." She can hear Stephen in the background and Fitz mouthed for him to shut up.
"Anyway, it's valentines day and I'm in New York, you're in D.C and I wanted to do something nice since we couldn't spend the day together. I don't have a lot of money for anything extravagant and fancy, so I hope you like your box or whatever. It's the thought that counts, right? Yeah - so, I guess I'll talk to you later and I hope to see you in person soon. Real soon. Happy valentines day, Livvie." Olivia smiles and mouthed the words back to the television. She goes to turn the video off but Fitz remains on camera as he suddenly remembers something else. "The shirt! I almost forgot."
Olivia turned the box over and looked inside, pulling out a large grey t-shirt.
"The shirt I sent was my very first FDNY t-shirt. I've had it since I was 19, and it's special to me, but since you're special to me too, I thought you would like it and wanted you to have it. I slept in it the night before I sent the box off and I sprayed it with some of my cologne so that if you ever miss me you can just pick up my shirt and think of me and know that I am missing you too."
He smiles one last time before the video finally ends and Olivia sits back in awe. She picks up the t-shirt and holds it close to her chest. She recognized the scent and clings to the shirt even tighter. Its him. With her eyes closed and the piece of clothing pressed to her nose, she can feel his presence in her room.
She thought about him often. Every second of every minute of every hour of the day and now she finally had a tiny piece of him there with her. The distance between the two of them felt like a death sentence on nights when she craved to be close to him. When she yearned to be wrapped in his strong arms and held until she fell asleep. Their relationship was growing stronger by the day and she wasn't sure how they were going to cope living in two different states much longer.
Going back to the living room, Olivia grabbed the telephone and dialed Fitz's number. Not expecting him to answer, she leaves him a voicemail that she is certain he'd be glad to hear when he arrived home.
Fitz was exhausted when he walked through the front door of his home late that night. Kicking off his shoes at the door and dropping his coat on the couch, he cracks his sore neck. He'd just finished a busy 48 hour shift.
His firehouse couldn't quite catch a break, receiving back to back calls for anything from gas leaks, to abandoned car fires and countless false alarms. The fire alarm went off so many times that Fitz lost count and could still almost hear the loud, shrill ring from the alarm in his ears.
He wanted a hot shower and his bed but first he needed to fix himself something to eat. On his way towards the kitchen the red light on the house phone indicating that he had a voicemail is flashing and he stops to press the button.
Going to the fridge and pulling out left over spaghetti from earlier that week, he listened to two voicemails from his mother, one from Chris and another Harrison before finally hearing Olivia's voice. He momentarily stopped fixing his plate and just listened to the sound. He hadn't spoken to her in well over 24 hours and the soft, flowing sound of her voice is just what he needs to hear after the long day that he had.
"Hi, Fitz. It's me Olivia. I called to say thank you for my valentines day gift. It was very thoughtful of you to think of me today. I really enjoyed being able to see your face and hear your voice. I appreciate the card and the chocolate, and I LOVE the shirt. It's a little big but I think I can make it work. Thank you, Fitz. I hope to hear from you soon."
The voicemail ends just as he's twirling his fork around, scooping up the pasta. It was close to one am when he looked at the clock. He didn't call Olivia after midnight unless she paged him first just in case Erin decided to answer the phone. There wouldn't be a good enough explanation in the world to explain his late night call. He would just have to call her first thing in the morning.
Finishing off his dinner, he goes through his voicemails once again, deleting the messages he does not want and saving the ones he does. Listening to Olivia's message again, he's satisfied with the cheerful smile in her tone. He wasn't sure if she would like her untraditional gift and Stephen had to spend an entire day convincing him to do the video before he finally gave in. She sounded elated about all he placed in the box especially the old shirt of his and he goes to bed with the comforting thought.
Ok, so this chapter was shorter than the last, but anything over nothing, right?
Thanks for reading! :))
