DarkWriterXX94: Thank you! And no, you're not being biased. Alex needs to make up her mind or maybe she should just be with Casey AND Olivia. haha.
litafan82: I'm still waiting for your Liv/Connie smut.
Jessica: I'm totally with you on being an Alex/Casey fan, but perhaps I will go to the dark side just this once. haha.
AnywhereElse: That's awesome that you actually looked it up though. I STILL don't know how to get over a hangover. I just lie there in misery saying I'll never drink again. ;)
It had been nearly three weeks since she was in the hospital and Abbie had spent most of that time crying in her room. Her teachers had been informed of what happened and they had prepared lesson plans just for Abbie so she wouldn't fall behind. She kept up with all of her homework and she was grateful that she had something to keep her busy, but homework only lasted so long. Winter break had started almost a week ago and Abbie had done nothing but cry and write in the journal she had started to document her pregnancy.
She hadn't seen or talked to Alex and Olivia since she was in the hospital. She missed them, but she wasn't in the mood to see them. They would try to cheer her up and that was the last thing she had wanted. She felt comforted by her own misery. Over the past few days, she had been thinking about what Alex had said about planning for the future. She hadn't seriously thought about going to college while she was pregnant, but just for kicks, she had applied to the University of Texas at Austin, her dream school. That was now her only hope for getting out of their depressing suburb. She knew Alex and Olivia were leaving and she didn't want to be left behind.
The only person she had allowed in her room was Serena. Abbie hadn't made love to her since her birthday, but Serena was being surprisingly patient. Abbie sought refuge in Serena's arms and Serena wanted to be there for her whenever she could. There were plenty of kisses, gentle caresses, and nights spent talking about their future together. Abbie didn't think it was possible, but she was even more in love with Serena than she had ever been before. Serena was her safe haven and she didn't want to think about what life would be like next year if they lived in different states.
On Christmas Eve, Abbie decided it was finally time to pull herself together and go outside. She put on some jeans and a sweater, grabbed Olivia's gift and walked over to her house. As soon as Olivia saw Abbie at the door, she pulled her in and hugged her for as long as she could.
"I missed you so much," Olivia told her as she was still hugging Abbie.
"I missed you, too," Abbie responded.
"My Eddie Haskell is back," Ms. Benson said as she saw Abbie in the living room. Abbie hurried over to hug her.
"Mom! I missed you!" Abbie told her. "When are you going to adopt me?"
"Just move in whenever you're ready," Ms. Benson told her and it was something that Abbie had been seriously considering. It would only be for the rest of the school year and Abbie knew her parents wouldn't miss her. They were too busy with Libby and Addie's winter pageants to even care about Abbie. Her mom had paid attention to her when she miscarried, but ever since she had been released from the hospital, she went back to treating her the same way she always had, maybe even worse.
"You need to move in here," Olivia urged her and Abbie started smiling.
"I love you both so much," Abbie said and hugged Olivia's mom again.
"I know you girls haven't seen each other in awhile, so I'll give you your privacy," Ms. Benson told them. "Eddie, there's hot chocolate in the kitchen and, even though I don't see why you do it, I bought you some licorice straws for dunking."
"Thanks, Mom," Abbie responded and she led Olivia to the kitchen.
Once Abbie had her hot chocolate and licorice and Olivia had her hot chocolate and marshmallows, the two of them sat down at the kitchen table and tried to prepare themselves for everything they wanted to talk about. They had never gone this long without talking, especially when so many major things had happened in their lives.
"How are you feeling?" Olivia asked.
"I think I've finally come to terms with what happened," Abbie told her. "Serena's been a big help. I don't know what I'd do without her."
"I'm glad you two have each other," Olivia said and then placed her hands on top of Abbie's. "And I'm glad you came to your senses and made your relationship official."
"Shut up," Abbie said jokingly. "When it comes to relationships, I have to do things at my own pace. Speaking of, I hear your girlfriend is ditching you on New Year's Eve."
"She's not ditching me," Olivia said defensively. "She's taking Casey to California with her and they're going to spend New Year's Eve at Disneyland. She invited Serena, but she said she wanted to spend that day with you."
"Yeah, 'cause my girlfriend actually loves me," Abbie teased. "The four of us will just have a sleepover that night and you know what they say, Liv."
"No," Olivia said, confused.
"Whoever you kiss on New Year's Eve is the person you're going to spend that year with," Abbie informed her. "We both know I'll be kissing Serena. That leaves you and Alex to be each other's New Year's Eve kiss."
"I'm not going to kiss Alex like that," Olivia told her and Abbie rolled her eyes.
"Liv, I know you want to."
"I'm with Connie," Olivia reminded her. "Connie is my girlfriend. Does any of that ring a bell?"
Abbie started to smirk after hearing Olivia's response. "You said you weren't going to kiss Alex because you're with Connie, not because you don't want to kiss Alex. Do you want to kiss Alex?"
"I'm not going to answer that," Olivia told her as she tried to focus on dipping marshmallows into her hot chocolate.
"Olivia!" Abbie said sternly.
"If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it between us?" Olivia asked and Abbie nodded. "Last night, I had a dream about her and I enjoyed it a little too much."
"You always have dreams about her, Liv. Remember that one where you two were trying to fight Freddy Krueger?"
"Oh, this wasn't a Freddy Krueger dream," Olivia reassured her. "This was different."
"Different how?" Abbie asked, intrigued.
Olivia started blushing. "Different as in I don't even feel comfortable describing it."
"Oh, I get it," Abbie said and started smiling. "You had a wet dream about Alex."
"More like a soaking wet dream," Olivia admitted. "And that's why I feel horrible about it."
"I'm sure Alex would want to make that dream come true," Abbie teased.
"I don't even want to think about it."
"But Alex is in love with you," Abbie told her. "It's obvious. She loves Case, but you're the one she's in love with. She always has been, but she thinks you're out of her league. You date nothing but these gorgeous cheerleaders and, even though I think Alex is beautiful, not many people do. She's not just going to bare her heart and soul to you, Olivia. She's afraid of rejection."
"I can't be in love with Alex," Olivia informed her.
"But are you?"
"I can't be, Abbie," Olivia said. She was starting to become frustrated, but Abbie wouldn't back down.
"But are you?" Abbie repeated.
"Yes!" Olivia said angrily. "I'm in love with her, I know it's wrong, and I'm not going to act on my feelings."
"You're making a big mistake," Abbie told her.
"If I act on this, I'm hurting Connie and losing my best friend," Olivia pointed out.
"And if you don't act on it, you could be missing out on finding true love and being with your soulmate."
"Alex and I have known each other since preschool," Olivia reminded her. "I've fantasized about her, but I can't see myself actually having a sexual relationship with her. It'd be too awkward. Alex is the girl I play video games with and the one who knows about Mr. Cuddles. I can't see myself going down on her or being inside her."
"But you can sure be graphic and say exactly what you can't think of yourself doing to her," Abbie said and started laughing. "This tells me you do think of her and, Olivia, just because you act on your feelings for her doesn't mean you have to jump into bed with her. You could work your way towards that. Besides, I know you'd never just hook up with someone. You'd take your time with Alex and make everything special for her just like she'd make everything special for you. You two are my best friends and I want nothing more than to see you happy together."
"But what about when we go away to college next year? We'll be in different states and we'll start to drift apart."
"She'll be at Harvard, Liv. That's not that far. It's not like she can't take the train to see you. And you know she'd do that any time you wanted to see her, especially if you're her girlfriend."
"I don't know what to do," Olivia said as she laid her head down on the table.
"Let's just see what happens on New Year's Eve," Abbie suggested. "The sleepover is going to be at Serena's house. She has a heated pool, so you know we're going to be swimming. You'll get to see Alex in a bikini."
"I'm not a pervert," Olivia pointed out. "I'm not fantasizing about Alex in a bikini."
"No, you just fantasize about her naked," Abbie teased and Olivia finally started laughing.
"But what about our Cabenmichael family? Wouldn't you feel left out, Abbie? Or feel like the third wheel? Alex and I would be dating and we'd have our own little inside jokes as a couple that you wouldn't be a part of."
"Liv, I'm not like the two of you," Abbie pointed out. "I don't experience that same petty jealousy that you and Alex do. I have my girlfriend and I'm happy with her. Plus, I know you two aren't going to be making out in front of me. If you do, though, I'll just join you. But, like I said, just wait until New Year's Eve to make your move."
One of the things Olivia loved most about Abbie was that she always knew how to put things in perspective. She still didn't know if she should act on her feelings for Alex and she still didn't want to hurt Connie, but she no longer felt guilty for being in love with her best friend.
"I need to take my mind off of this," Olivia told her. "Let's open presents!"
She rushed over to the Christmas tree so she could get Abbie's present.
"I notice my present is the same size as yours," Abbie pointed out as she started to tear open the wrapping paper. "A Nerf blaster? No fucking way! You know me so well."
When Olivia opened hers, she saw that Abbie had gotten her a Nerf blaster as well. "You do know this means hour after hour of Nerf wars?" Olivia said excitedly. "I got Alex one too."
Abbie and Olivia quickly opened the boxes and started preparing their new toys.
"There's something not right about us," Olivia pointed out. "Most 17 and 18-year-olds buy their friends clothes or make-up for Christmas, we buy each other Nerf blasters."
"And that's why we're better than everyone else," Abbie reminded her. "Speaking of being better than everyone else, I've been in my room for three weeks and while I was in there I was on my best behavior. That needs to stop. Let's go attack Addie with these!"
Abbie grabbed Olivia by the arm and led her outside. As they were walking to Abbie's house, Abbie had one final question for Olivia. "So, I know that you got Alex a Nerf blaster for Christmas, but what did she get you?"
"This birthstone pendant," Olivia told her as she pulled the necklace out from underneath her sweater.
"She got you jewelry? Oh, she definitely isn't in love with you," Abbie said sarcastically. "And the rule is, when someone buys you jewelry, you have to put out."
For lack of anything better to say, Olivia aimed her Nerf blaster and shot Abbie in the arm with a foam dart.
Abbie started laughing hysterically. "You slut!" she told Olivia. "These things are great! We're going to make Addie's Christmas Eve a complete and total Hell."
Olivia was glad that Abbie was back to normal. When Abbie shot Addie in the back of the head with a foam dart, Olivia realized Abbie was completely back to normal. Addie shouted out every obscenity possible as Abbie chased her throughout the house. It didn't matter if she was already 18, Abbie wasn't quite ready to grow up and, in that moment, she didn't care if she ever would be.