Thanks for the comments last chapter, loves. :) This chapter has me wanting to a 90s movie marathon so bad. Who's with me?

just the other day i felt i had you by a string
just the other day i felt we could be everything
but now when i see you, you're somebody else
with somebody's eyes and your skin
your skin is like porcelain
yeah, your skin is like porcelain
Better Than Ezra, "Porcelain"

Olivia had been practically falling asleep at her desk all day. She was exhausted, but in a pleasant, happy way. Lately the nasty little whispers and barbed comments had just rolled off her. She'd told herself before she didn't care…and now she really didn't. It didn't matter what they said, or that everyone in metal shop blamed her for what happened to Ben.

She listened to them talk and snickered. They would all shit themselves if they knew.

She gave a languorous stretch and ducked her head to hide a grin. Tara elbowed her and lifted her brows. Olivia gave her an innocent look and shrugged.

"Ms. Gable, Ms. Knowles, is there something you need to share with all of us?" Mr. Thompson, their English Lit teacher, said from the front of the room.

Olivia stifled a giggle and Tara rolled her eyes. "Jane should've dumped him when she found out about the crazy wife in the attic," Tara said.

"She didn't exactly have a lot of career options," Olivia said.

"So she should just accept crazy attic wife?" Tara countered.

"I didn't say that. I just mean sometimes you're trapped in your circumstances and your decisions are influenced by things that might not even be on the page."

Mr. Thompson cleared his throat. "All right, ladies, thank you. But as you know Jane Eyre was last week. Can we please concentrate on Lord Byron?"

"Sure," they said with matching shrugs.

Olivia opened her mouth to say something else, but he cut her off with a lifted hand. "Moving on," he said. He turned back to the board and resumed the lesson.

When class was finally over Tara dragged Olivia into the girls' room and chased everyone out before she rounded on her with a hard glare.

"What the fuck is going on with you? And don't try to lie to me, because I've known you since second grade and I know when something's up. You've been weird ever since we got back from break."

Olivia grinned and lifted her hands. "Just livin' life," she said.

"Are you on drugs? Why are you acting so...giddy?" Her eyes went wide and she slapped a palm over her mouth. "Oh my God you're fucking Juice."

"What? Holy—no, I'm not fucking Juice. Why would you think I'm fucking Juice?"

Tara's eyes narrowed at the way she said it: she wasn't asking why Tara would ask if she were fucking someone, just why she'd chosen Juice. "Hum," she said. She leaned against one of the sinks and crossed her arms. "I don't know. I thought maybe after what happened at Christmas—"

"Tara, please stop bringing that up. It didn't mean anything."

"Protest much, Gertrude?"

She rolled her eyes and squared her jaw.

Tara recognized that stubborn expression. "If it's not Juice, then who?"

Color flooded Olivia's face and she looked away. "I don't know why you assume that's what's going on."

Tara lifted a brow. "For the last two weeks you've done your shifts at TM and disappeared. No one can find you on the weekends. You aren't at home, or else you're just ignoring the phone. You're not online. I drove by your house the other day and the Cougar was there but you weren't."

She stepped closer and lowered her voice even though they were alone. "So who is it? A girl? Is that why you're not telling anyone? You know we don't care about that."

"So you thought it might be Ortiz because I'm not talking about it?"

"You seem so adamantly opposed to the idea, and I know you hate to admit it when you're wrong."

She tucked her hands in her jeans pockets. "I'm not sleeping with Juice. It's not about stubbornness."

She didn't tell Tara about the suspicion that had been growing for the past several days: that Juice had been the one to go to Presbo with the accusations about Ben. She wanted to blame TJ with all her heart, but honestly it just didn't make much sense. How would he know enough to make up a story like that? He had no idea how close they'd been.

"Are you going to tell me or what?" Tara said with a frown.

Olivia sighed. She checked the stalls again just to be sure, and stuck the doorstop under the edge of the door to wedge it closed. "Okay, but listen: you can't tell anyone. Not Jax. Not Donna. Anyone, Tara. Got it?"

Her brow furrowed, but she nodded. "Yeah, Ollie, I get it. Big secret. Best friend level clearance only."

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "The story about Mr. Collins and me is a lie. He was my favorite teacher, but that was it, ever."

"I know that," Tara said with a shake of her head. "It's just more of TJ's asshole shenanigans. What does that have to do with—" She broke off. Blinked. Then went perfectly still, like her batteries had run down or something.

Olivia waited her out.

Tara lifted a hand, and when she spoke again it was in a low, furious whisper. "Olivia Jameson Gable, are you trying to tell me you're fucking Mr. Collins? After everything? He got fired because of that shit!"

"No kidding. But they can't fire him twice."

"I know he's hot, but he's like thirty, Olivia!"

She made a face. "He's twenty-six."

"That is nine years older than you!"

"I can do basic math, Tara."

"Why are you being so calm about this? Do you not understand what a big deal this is?"

"Of course I do. But it's not—we're not in a relationship. It's just…a thing. That's happening. That's. Really happening."

Tara's mouth fell open. "What exactly is that look?"

"Tara." She gripped her friend's arm. "I have never—I mean I had no idea—he made me come four times yesterday, Tara. Four. I didn't even know that was possible. Over the last two weeks I think I've had more orgasms than in my entire life before that combined."

Her eyes widened a little. "Are you serious? I mean, does he do that weird tantra thing like Sting where he can keep it up for hours?"

Olivia waved a hand. "It's not like that. Sometimes we don't even have sex."

"I don't get it."

"We talk a lot. I mean, a lot. And then he'll spend like an hour—or more even—just…and he always asks like what's working and what isn't and if I like that better or this better, and just…paying attention."

"Wait." Tara closed her eyes and seemed to be playing the last several seconds of their conversation over again. She opened them and fixed Olivia with a disbelieving stare. "You're saying he'll spend hours on you? Without getting his dick involved?"

Olivia nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Is he gay?"

"No, Tara! We have sex sometimes—plenty of times—just not every time. And trust me he has no problem getting it up."

"Then what's in it for him?"

"He's just—I mean, we're just—he's sort of like…teaching me." It sounded so weird when she said it out loud, so clinical, but she couldn't really explain what it was like.

"Teaching you. How to fuck."

She slumped against the sinks next to her. "No, that part's easy. He's teaching me how to enjoy it. Because life's too short for bad sex."

"Oh my God." Tara pressed a hand to her forehead. "Well, I mean, he was your fucking teacher."

Olivia giggled. "Now he's my fucking teacher."

"You're going to Hell," she said even as she laughed.

"Oh, babe. Totally. Worth. It."

She laughed harder. "How are you having better sex than me? That's not fair."

"You need to tell him."

"Tell who what?"

She sighed and nudged Tara with her shoulder. "Tell Jax what he should do. If he's not getting the job done, talk to him about it."

"I can't just—that's—Olivia, come on."

"I'm serious, Tara. How's he gonna know if you don't tell him?" She paused. "Do you fake it?"

Tara squirmed a little. "Sometimes."

Olivia eyed her.

"Most of the time," she admitted with a frown.

"Yeah, see. If you do that how's he supposed to know? He thinks he's king of the world because he makes his girlfriend come at the drop of a hat, and meanwhile you're waiting for him to leave so you can dig out your vibrator."

She choked out a laugh. "Ollie!" She shook her head a little. "I don't know. Wouldn't that, like…hurt his feelings? To know he's not…"

She trailed off and Olivia lifted a brow. "If his ego's so fragile he can't handle a little course correction then he has bigger problems. Look, you aren't telling him he's shit in bed. You're just telling him what you like. You're telling him he needs to pay attention, and that his orgasm isn't the be-all, end-all. And, I mean, it's kinda sexy. More than kinda. It's really fucking sexy. Once you get past the awkward bit at the beginning."

"It's the awkward bit at the beginning that worries me."

Someone banged on the bathroom door when it wouldn't open.

"Fuck off!" Tara yelled. "We're busy in here!"

There was a flurry of angry whispers before the voices faded and it was quiet again. The second bell had rung several minutes ago, but apparently they'd both decided to skip their next class without even talking about it beforehand.

"So, okay, I get that," Olivia said as if they hadn't been interrupted. "But you trust Jax, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Okay. Then how bad could it be? You love each other. He probably wants to know what you like. And, I mean, if he doesn't—?" She lifted her arms in a shrug.

"That's a point, I guess. God I can't believe you're fucking Mr. Collins."

"I kind of can't either," Olivia admitted. "I know it's not—it's not the best idea. And it wasn't like I planned it. But holy shit we're having so much fun."

"How did it even happen?"

She hitched a bemused shoulder. "I went over there to apologize. I wanted to make sure he didn't think I'd said anything or done anything to make people think there was something going on."

"And, what, you fell on his dick?"

She started to elbow her, but then stopped short and tilted her head. "Maybe sort of. A little." She gave Tara a recap of their weird conversation, and then the move she'd done with her dress and his lap.

Tara blinked. "Olivia, I love you, but that is maybe the craziest fucking thing I've ever heard."

"No shit. I still—like, I think back on it and I'm amazed. I've never done anything even remotely like that in my life. I always wait for them to come to me, for them to make the move, but it's like I looked at my life and I looked at all this fucking bullshit and I was so goddamn mad. And I was sick of letting everyone else make moves around me while I just stood still and reacted."

"So you decided to switch from goalie to forward."

Tara played soccer up through eighth grade, and she still thought in sports metaphors about forty-five percent of the time. "Something like that, yeah."

"I guess I get that." She pursed her lips. "I just worry about you, Ollie. It's a pretty extreme reaction to TJ's bullshit."

"You told me I should find someone to fuck until I got over TJ."

"I meant Juice! Someone our age! A college freshman at the oldest. Not your former teacher who's nine years older than you!"

"Will you keep your voice down? Someone could hear you! You think I haven't thought every single thing you're saying? It's not a relationship. I'm not hung up on him, and I have no intention of getting hung up."

"You can't say that, Ollie. Sometimes shit just happens."

"Not to me, Tara. Not anymore. I'm doing this to take control of my life. It's my decision. My choice. All those people out there who want to call me a slut and a whore and talk about me behind my back can fuck themselves. I'm done being afraid. I'm done being a victim. I'm done having sex used as a weapon against me. I'm having a good time with Ben, and that's what I want right now. Everything else is just noise."

Tara gave a weary shake of her head. "All right, Ollie. Girl power. I guess I kind of envy you. I mean, above and beyond the hot and cold running orgasms."

"Talk to Jax. Seriously. You won't regret it."

"Maybe you're right."

"I am right. Is this the glowing skin and relaxed countenance of a woman who would lie to you?"

"Smug bitch," she said with a twisted smile.

Olivia shrugged and flashed a mischievous grin. "Guilty as charged."

Tara had been thinking about her conversation with Ollie all day. She was worried about her, like she'd said, but at the same time she really did envy her. She was confident and happy and more like herself than Tara had seen her in months. It didn't sound like Mr. Collins was being a creep, and if he was—at least it included a whole lot of orgasms. And for all that the whole thing was kinda weird, he was better than TJ Flanary.

Jax had to work at TM that afternoon, and while she should've been doing her homework Tara thought about what Olivia had said. She loved Jax, and their sex life was fine. Mostly. Sometimes Tara felt like it was something she wanted to get over with so she could finish up her math homework, and she definitely understood that wasn't the attitude you should have about sex with the guy you loved.

She drummed her fingers on the desk. Gemma had given Tara the sex talk, too, and one thing she'd said stuck out in her mind now: if you can't talk about it, you shouldn't be doing it.

If she were afraid to talk to Jax about making things better, then why was she sleeping with him at all? She threw down her pencil with a frustrated huff and picked up the phone.

It rang four times before Ollie answered. She sounded out of breath.

"Not interrupting something, am I?" Tara said with a smirk.

"Umm…I'm sort of on the other line but let me go get rid of him."

She let out a shocked laugh. "Olivia!"

"Shut up. Be right back."

Tara doodled a little while she waited. Maybe she should hang up and call back later. Let her finish…whatever she was doing. She debated it until abruptly Olivia was back.

"Hey, babe. What's up?"

"Was he mad?" Tara said.

"Ha. No. I told him it was you, and best friend always trumps guy. Every time."

Tara muffled a giggle. "Were you seriously having phone sex with Mr. Collins?"

"Ben. And. Well, yeah."

"Jesus, Ollie."

"You and Jax should try it sometime. It's fun."

Tara hesitated. "Um, you know, it's funny you should say that."

"Ooo. I'm intrigued."

She scribbled through the doodle she'd made and started another one. Dropped her pencil again and sighed. "Okay, time to get personal."

"Please. I think we threw off limits out the window right about the time we got drunk and made out."

"True," she said with a laugh. "I've actually been thinking a lot about our conversation earlier. About how you said I should talk to Jax?"

"Um hum. You're wondering where to start?"

"Yeah. And what to say."

"Maybe don't say much at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, like, instead of starting the conversation with hey, Jackson, you need to quit thinking about your wiener and pay proper worship to my glorious femininity—"

"Christ, Ollie."

"You could ask him if he'd like to watch you."

"Watch me…?"

"Tara. If he sees what you do when you're alone, it can give him an idea of what he should do when you're together. Right?"

Tara's mouth fell open. "Huh" was all she managed.

"And make sure he understands that's why you're doing it. Tell him after if you want, but he might not pay as much attention if he doesn't get it. Or you could tell him after and be like so you need me to show you again, chief? Or now you try, but that time you talk him through it if he gets stuck or too hasty or whatever. And make it like his penis isn't even an option until you're ready for it to be."

She rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Do you think—I mean, do you think he'd like that?"

"Trust me, Tara. He'll like it. Maybe not with a casual hookup, but with you? He'll like it. Is he coming over tonight?"

"Yeah. He should be here pretty soon, actually."

"Perfect. Put on that thong you bought the other week and rock his world."

"You did not just say that."

"I did. But let's pretend I didn't."

"Ollie, you—oh shit I think I hear his bike."

"Good luck. Tell me how it goes, okay?"

"Uh huh. You calling him back?"

"Duh."

She laughed. "Have fun, tramp."

"You too, bitch."

"Love you."

"I know." Olivia cackled and hung up before Tara could respond, and she was left staring at the phone and rolling her eyes.

Olivia picked Tara up the next morning—they'd started switching off to save gas—and she slid in the car with a smug grin and a sigh.

"Good morning, best friend forever Olivia Jameson."

"And to you, Tara Grace." She grinned. "I'm guessing it went well."

She fell back against the seat and giggled. Her eyes were bright, and she had the loopy smile of a drunkard. "You could say that."

"I told you he'd like it."

"You were right. And you were right about him thinking everything was hunky-dory. He was clueless."

Olivia smirked. "You offered to educate him, I hope."

"Oh yeah. For once in his life I think he's actually gonna pay attention to class."

"It's a brave new world, chica, and life's too short for bad sex."

"Fuck yeah," Tara said.

"Fuck yeah," Olivia echoed as they bumped the backs of their hands together.

She cranked the radio and they sang along to "My Sharona" until Olivia turned into the school parking lot. The climbed out of the car and Tara poked her arm as they came around the hood.

"We should do a movie marathon this weekend. Reality Bites."

"Clueless."

"Empire Records."

"Damn the man," Olivia said.

"Save the Empire. Unless, of course, you have plans with you-know-who."

"Lord Voldemort?"

Tara rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Nah, I just babysit. You-know-who can take care of himself, I'm sure. He's a grownup."

"Who is?" a voice said from behind them. "Lord Voldemort?"

Tara gasped out a laugh. "Hey, Juice," she said and lifted her brows at Olivia.

"Yeah, Ortiz," Olivia said and rolled her eyes. "Lord Voldemort."

"There's Jax," Tara said. "I wonder if I can talk him into skipping homeroom."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Olivia said. Then, "Oh wait I'm the one who blew the entire football team and fucked my teacher out of a job."

Juice choked, but Tara just shot a grin over her shoulder as she sprinted across the parking lot. "What was that about?" he said when she was out of earshot.

Olivia cast him a cold look. "Don't you usually park over there with Ope and Jax?"

"I did. I just saw you guys pull in, so I thought I'd come over to say hi. Make sure you got in okay."

"Thanks, but I don't really need the type of help you're offering."

He blinked at her. "What does that mean?"

"Please," she said. "As if you don't know."

He scrubbed a hand through his short hair. "I really don't, Liv."

"Get in the car," she said.

"Huh?"

"Get in the car."

He held up a hand and slid into the passenger seat. She slammed the driver's door and turned the radio up. "You went to Presbo about Mr. Collins."

"What…about Mr. Collins?"

"Ortiz! Quit playing dumb. I know you're the one who told Presbo that Mr. Collins and I were fucking."

He spluttered and coughed, and when he finally had enough breath to speak he couldn't think of anything to say.

"We weren't, by the way," she said. "So thanks for that."

"Olivia, shit, I never—"

"No? Even after that conversation we had about how you were interrupting something and Mr. C was giving me a look?"

He barely even remembered that conversation. "You said—you said it was nothing. That I was imagining things."

"Of course I did. Because you were!"

"Okay, so…? You said that, I believed you, and that was it. And even if you'd stood there and said you'd just—um." He rubbed a hand down his face. "If you'd told me I was right and there was somethin' going on, I wouldn't have ratted, Olivia. It's your life, for fuck's sake. You want to sleep with your teacher, fine. You wanna blow the whole goddamn football team, fine. You wanna let that asshole TJ Flanary get away with trying to rape you, fine!"

"What the fuck, Ortiz? You don't have any right—"

"You're right. I don't. You've made that real fucking clear."

"Why are you so mad at me? You are the one who—"

"Who what, Olivia? Who picked you up off the side of the road and let you cry all over me and never said a single word to anyone about it? Even when TJ started that fucking rumor, I kept my mouth shut. Now you're accusing me of ratting out you and Mr. Collins like I'd even fucking care!"

"I never said you cared! And, what? You were nice to me so now I should be sucking your dick, too? That isn't how life works, Ortiz!"

"Jesus Christ, Olivia, what is your problem? Did I say that? All I said was I don't appreciate you accusing me when I'm the one keeping your fucking secret!"

"Well let me get you a goddamn medal!"

They were both full-on yelling, and despite the volume of the radio she was sure people could hear them. Luckily the lot was mostly empty by now, but that meant they were both going to be late to class. It didn't occur to either of them to care.

"I don't get you, Olivia. I really don't. We had that—moment or whatever—the night you broke up with TJ—"

"There was no moment."

"Whatever. Then at Christmas—"

"Don't even mention that. We already decided what that was."

"Yeah," he said, his eyes furious and his voice a challenge. "What it was was fucking incredible and you know it."

That took the wind out of her sails. Her mouth fell open and she stared at him. Color rode high on her cheeks, and her eyes were as green as he'd ever seen. She was a panting, pint-size storm of rage, and he suddenly wanted her so bad it hurt.

"Don't look at me like that, Ortiz," she said on a hard breath.

"Like what?" he said, his mouth curving up just a little.

"However it is you're looking at me now," she whispered.

"That's just the way my face looks when I look at you," he murmured.

Her lips quirked. "Smooth motherfucker."

They were both leaning over the center console, and somehow their faces were so close she could feel his breath on her skin, a warm tingle across her lips. If either of them turned their head just a fraction they'd be kissing again, and they'd both be lying if they said that wasn't the number one thing on their minds just then.

She blinked but didn't move. "We should get out of the car now."

"Not sure we're done here."

"I think we are."

"I didn't rat you out, Olivia."

"I'm fucking Mr. Collins."

His eyes went round—like perfectly round, which was amazing considering their shape—and he reeled backwards like she'd punched him.

"What the fuck?" he said in a croak.

"I just thought you should know what a slut I am, since you seem to have me up on some sort of pedestal." Her eyes were bright and steady on his as she smiled. "Do you want to fuck me, Juice?" she said, quietly.

"Wh—what?" Who. The fuck. Was this girl?

"It's a simple question. Yes or no."

"I don't think you're a slut, Olivia. I don't care if you are or not. I mean—I don't care—who you have sex with."

"Right. Because you don't care."

He made a frustrated gesture. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant it doesn't make a difference to…to how I feel about you. I mean, to whether or not I want to—"

"Fuck me."

"Hang out with you."

"Mmm," she said, a low, skeptical noise. "So your answer is no?"

"I—you can't just—Jesus, Liv, what kinda question is that?"

"An attempt at transparency. I think it's a refreshing change from rumors and lies."

He threw up his hands. "I'm a sixteen-year-old guy. You're cute and have a great rack. Of course I want to have sex with you!"

Her brow furrowed and she sat back. "So it's just physical attraction?"

"Sure, yeah, I guess."

"Did you think I'd have sex with you after you picked me up that night?"

He made a face. "Of course not. That's gross, Olivia. Are you seriously with Mr. Collins?"

"I'm not with him," she said with a dismissive flick of her fingers. "We're just having sex. Everyone thought we were before, so why not?"

"You weren't before?"

She let out an exasperated huff. "No, of course not. I told you that."

"You're a very confusing person, Olivia."

She slumped a little and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. "You should be inside my head."

He took a deep breath. "Look, I get that you don't think about me that way. What happened at Christmas really was just a fluke for you, but—"

Her face twisted. "Don't be an idiot, Ortiz. Of course I think about you that way. Of course that kiss wasn't a fluke." She rolled her eyes and her mouth moved in a grimace. "I think about you all the time. Why do you think I work so hard to keep you away?"

The air left his lungs in a short, hard whoosh. She thought about him all the time? Like all the time? In class? Eating dinner? In the shower? He thought about her in the shower sometimes—her in the shower, but also while he was in the shower. Sometimes both at the same time.

He shook his head to clear away the images.

"I'm even more confused now," he said when he could speak again.

She lifted a hand in a slow shrug. "This thing with Ben—Mr. Collins—is just a…thing. I mean, I like him, and we're having fun, but it's just killing time. He's twenty-six. I'm seventeen. Obviously it's not going anywhere." She worried her lip with her teeth. "That's all I have the head space for right now. I can't handle anything…important."

She lifted her eyes to meet his, and her expression was…he didn't know. Imploring, a little? That didn't seem like her.

Of course, he never would've thought she would fuck her teacher, either.

She poked him. "Are you listening?"

"Um. Yeah. And, c'mon, I get it. You think I'm with Dana Riley because of our deep spiritual connection?"

"Damn, Ortiz," she said with a laugh. "That's not very nice."

"I don't mean anything bad. She's not lookin' for a deep spiritual connection, either. We just—we understand each other. It's easy." When she wasn't getting pissed at him about Olivia, that is.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I get that."

"I guess that's how things are with you and…" He waved a hand. He couldn't actually say it out loud; it was too weird.

"Basically, yeah."

A silence fell. The car felt too warm, too close, but neither of them moved to roll down a window. The radio went quiet as the soft, haunting bars of that Mazzy Star song filtered through the speakers. She reached for the knob with a frown, but Juice stopped her.

"Don't. I kinda dig this song."

She eyed him. "Really?"

"I don't know. It's kinda nice."

She fell back, her head against the rest, and rubbed her thumb across a smooth spot on the steering wheel. They listened for a time, and finally Olivia nodded. "Yeah," she murmured. "I guess it is."

Juice cleared his throat. Shifted his weight and looked out the window. "You in love with him?" he said, so fast she wasn't sure she understood.

"In love? With—? God no. Weren't you listening? That's the point. No danger of that."

He turned back to her with a frown between his brows. "You ever been in love?"

She looked like he'd asked if she'd undergone Chinese water torture. "No," she said. "Thankfully."

His lips twisted. "If you've never done it, how do you know it's so awful? Jax and Tara seem pretty damn happy."

"No offense, but you haven't known Jax and Tara that long. They're happy now. Give them six months."

"Okay, so, what about your parents? They were in love, right?"

"Yeah," she said, a smile brushing her mouth. "They were."

Her face hardened. "And then she died."

"I never met my dad," he said after a moment.

She snorted. "We gonna swap sob stories, Ortiz?"

"You know, you get mean when you think someone's getting too close," he said, a mild rebuke that was mostly just an observation.

She swiveled her head to look at him without lifting it. "I guess that's been our problem all along: you get too fucking close."

"Yep," he said, bitterly, "my mistake. Ope and Jax warned me, but I'm an idiot—as you're so fond of pointing out."

She twisted toward him, her lips parted and her cheeks pink. "I never meant—"

"I know, Liv. It's okay."

"No it's not. Jesus, you must think I'm such a bitch."

He hitched a shoulder. "I think you're a lot of things. Confusing as fuck. Stubborn. Funny. Smart. Cool. Mean, sometimes. Generous, all the time. A little bit crazy. A lot self-destructive."

She blinked, nonplussed. He hadn't said cute or stacked, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. "All of that in only two months?"

"I sort of think about you all the time, too," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

She tilted her head. "Like, all the time, or just when you're not occupied with other things?"

"Um." His eyes darted away and he flushed. "You know. Often. Three or four times a week. Sometimes."

"Holy shit, Ortiz, get a fucking hobby! Don't you have a girlfriend to help you with that sort of thing?"

He scowled at her. "She does, but I still—I'm sorry, okay? You think I want…I got a good thing goin' with Dana. Easy, like I said. Then you come along and just fuck everything up. Cry on me and beg me to keep your secret and kiss me—"

"Your lips were equally involved in that kiss, Juice!"

"You don't want me close anymore, fine. You got it. You're not worth all this fucking trouble." He winced as soon as he said it. Fuckin' A, talk about foot in the mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"No." She sat up and forced a tight smile. "No, you're right. And even more than that, I never asked you to take the trouble. I don't need your pity. Poor little Ollie Gable, the school slut who can't tell anyone how she almost got raped that one time. Fuck that, and fuck you."

The muscles in his jaw danced as his eyes darkened. "I never once pitied you, Olivia. I never would. But if that's how you wanna see it, fine." He shoved the door open. "I really gotta get to class."

She gave her cheek a furious swipe and wouldn't look at him.

"Maybe I'll see you around," he said. "If you're not too busy fucking half the school because you think you got somethin' to prove."

She rounded on him, mouth open, but he slammed the door and stormed away before she could say anything. She watched him cross the parking lot: his long, angry strides. The furious set of his shoulders. His fists were clenched and his head was bowed and she felt her heart sink to her stomach.

"Well," she murmured to the empty air, "I guess that takes care of that."

Things are gonna get a bit worse between these two before they get better. :/

In other news, I knew I was in trouble with the Olivia/Ben storyline when I decided he looked like a young Michiel Huisman (Cal from Orphan Black and this season's Daario Naharis from Game of Thrones).

Oh, and as for the Harry Potter reference and Tara's reaction to it: remember that this is the 90s. The first two books were out (eh, depending on my mood), but it wasn't like now when you can't toss a cat without hitting like 10 HP references.

I love hearing from you guys! Got quite a few follows/favs yesterday, so if you'd like to drop a word or two... :)