Sorry for the long wait guys! Not sure how this chapter actually got relatively long while not much really happens … I hope you'll enjoy anyway!

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16.

They ran into each other regularly in school the next week, and Elliot found himself looking for Olivia between classes every time, even when he knew she'd be elsewhere in the building. It was such a familiar feeling. He'd felt exactly the same way about Kathy. Big difference was that Kathy was in most of his classes and he only caught glimpses of Olivia. They couldn't even sit together at lunch. Olivia was too afraid her mother would see them or hear about it.

On Thursday, they met up behind the school for the first time since their date. There were a few other kids around but the teachers hardly ever came there after school so they were relatively safe from prying eyes. Brian had relayed a message to Pamela, who had asked Olivia to meet Elliot there after school. His heart jumped up when he saw her round the corner only a minute late, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning widely.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Glad you could make it."

Olivia shrugged but smiled shyly, and he hoped she had missed him a little, like he had missed her.

"So how have you been? Your mom leave you alone after you came home?"

"She was already sleeping."

Elliot noticed how Olivia looked away briefly. He wondered if there was more to it that she was telling him, but Olivia quickly changed the subject, asking about his father.

"Same," he told her.

It was true, in a way. His father had been passed out drunk on the couch when he'd gotten home so technically, he had been sleeping. He could tell that Olivia was about to make a comment but then reconsidered, and the feeling grew that she was leaving something out. He stared at her just a few seconds too long, and Olivia huffed softly and turned away from him.

"Hey," Elliot said gently. "Is something wrong? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Olivia looked down at her feet. He was right. She did know that she could talk to him, but still … she had almost told him her mother had a drinking problem. That was just too much! It was their best-kept secret. But Elliot didn't know that so he must be wondering what had gotten into her.

"I'm sorry," she said meekly and when she looked up at Elliot again, he had one eyebrow raised.

She felt like he could look right through her and it was a scary and an exciting feeling all at the same time.

"For what?" Elliot asked her, and she felt stupid now. She was apologizing for not telling him something that he was completely unaware of. She quickly waved it off.

"Ah, nothing. Forget about it. So how have you been? I wish we could talk more often."

A warm smile spread across Elliot's face.

"So, you missed me?" he asked, and he knew he sounded corny right now but he didn't care. When he saw the look in Olivia's eyes change to one of glee, he finally reached for her to touch her, and rubbed her upper arms gently with his hands.

"Did ya?" he asked again, and Olivia finally admitted that she had, in fact missed him.

"A little."

When Elliot pulled her a little closer to him, she placed her hands on his hips and looked up at him.

"Just a little?" Elliot pushed and Olivia felt herself become a little giddy.

She hadn't missed him just a little. In fact, he'd been on her mind every day since their first date. She actually thought more of Elliot now than of Michael. And that had to mean something. And it felt nice to be this close to him; to actually touch him. She found herself wondering about that torso of his. He clearly worked out and she wondered what it would feel like to run her hands over his pecs.

"Well, I missed you too," she heard Elliot say, and when she looked up, his face was even closer to hers than before. She wondered if he was thinking about kissing her right here, in plain view. And she wondered if she would really mind if he did.

"You think we can go on that second date soon? Like next weekend?" Elliot asked, and Olivia realized that she felt a little disappointed that he wasn't planning to kiss her after all. But a second date sounded great too.

"I'll float the idea of going out at home, alright? See what the dragon lady says. Maybe we can go with the whole gang again?"

"Cool."

Olivia smiled up at her friend. He really wasn't going to try and kiss her?

Elliot looked down at the girl he was kind of holding but-not-really. She was so pretty. And she was strong and vulnerable at the same time. He wanted to protect her but he also knew he would be safe with her. He felt like he could tell her anything. She knew how to keep a secret, that was obvious. He wondered if she had more bruises that he hadn't seen yet. He had never been fond of Ms. B. but he hated the woman for hurting Olivia. She didn't deserve it, he was sure of it.

"What are you thinking?" Olivia asked him, when he stayed silent just a little longer than was comfortable for her. "Will you need to ask permission to go out too?"

Elliot scoffed. Define permission.

"My dad doesn't really care what I do these days," he told her. "He isn't home that much anyway."

Olivia saw something flash across Elliot's face and she thought it was pain.

"Do you miss him?" she asked, but the moment the words left her mouth, she knew that wasn't it.

"Hell no," Elliot said, confirming her thoughts. "It's just so unfair to mom, that's all."

Olivia bit her lip. Somehow she knew he wasn't just talking about his father not being home. It was about where he did go. Was the guy cheating on his wife? She was afraid to ask. She had always wanted to have a father, but having one didn't automatically mean everything was right and good. She lifted her hand to touch the now fading bruise on Elliot's jaw, and she was surprised when he closed his eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched. He almost looked like he was about to cry, and she felt concern and compassion rise up in her chest for this amazing boy, who was hurting so badly. She didn't want that for him. She wanted him to have a happy life. Before she could change her mind or even think about what she was doing, she stood on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on Elliot's lips.

Elliot's eyes snapped open and went a little wide when he realized what Olivia had just done. Her cheeks were turning a cute shade of pink and she was looking anywhere but at him, and it made him smile. He hadn't meant to go all depressed on her but sometimes it made him so mad what his father was doing. He was hurting everyone around him and he didn't seem to care. And here was Olivia, who had problems enough of her own, pulling him right out of his gloomy thoughts and making him see the good things in life again. She had kissed him!

He had wondered if it would be too soon to kiss her for real, but she was definitely opening that door. Could they both really be ready for something new already, after coming out of such a disaster of a relationship? He shook his head. Who was he kidding? She'd been on his mind constantly. He was definitely falling in love again. And he wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to do something about it.

"Liv," he said softly, making her look up at him again.

"Yeah."

She was so shy now and he felt proud that he had such an effect on her.

"That was nice," he told her and she finally smiled.

She tried to seem casual when she shrugged and told him she hadn't had complaints yet about her kissing. He knew she was putting on a brave face to hide her insecurity and he thought it was adorable. But he also knew he wanted to know more about her kissing. He most definitely wanted to know more so he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist until they were chest to chest.

"I'm gonna need to verify that myself, of course," he told her bravely, although his heart was hammering in his chest now.

"Of course," Olivia replied, relieved that her voice still sounded kind of normal despite the nervousness that was suddenly coursing through her body.

Elliot leaned in and she closed her eyes when his lips touched hers, tentatively at first but more firmly when she didn't move away and wrapped an arm around his neck to hold him close. Elliot hummed en kissed her again, nipping her bottom lip until she parted her lips slightly. He tested the waters by touching her upper lip with the tip of his tongue and her response shot straight to his groin. She kissed him back passionately, meeting his tongue with her own and letting out a soft moan.

They kissed for at least ten seconds but it was over way too soon and they both seemed a little dazed when they looked at each other. Elliot quickly created a little bit of distance between their lower halves, but Olivia had already felt it. He was aroused and that thought aroused her too. He dropped his forehead against hers and they stood together in silence for a few long moments before the sounds of the people around them began filtering into their consciousness again. Olivia was the first to glance around, suddenly dreading seeing her mother's angry eyes staring at her. Elliot released her, understanding her concern and there was a moment of awkwardness before they both grinned.

"You still wanna go out with the whole gang?" Elliot asked her and he bit his lip when Olivia licked her lips slowly before answering him.

He couldn't believe how quickly he had gone from a feeling of caring and wanting to protect Olivia to basically just wanting her. His hormones were all over the place.

"Maybe we can start out together and split up in couples later," she suggested and he swore her voice sounded a little hoarse. Was she excited too? But she was only sixteen. How were they going to do this?

"Sounds good," he told her quickly. He didn't want her to think he was having second thoughts, but they would need to address how far they were willing to go for now. And after that steamy kiss, he knew they would need to address it sooner rather than later.

He saw Brian walk in their direction over Olivia's shoulder and nodded at her, indicating someone was coming.

"Everything alright over here?" Brian inquired.

Elliot wrapped an arm around Olivia's shoulders and told his friend,

"Everything's perfect, Bri."

Olivia knew he was marking his territory and she almost wanted to roll her eyes, but part of her really liked it that she was now officially with Elliot. The sooner Brian could accept that, the better it would be for all of them. And for the boys' friendship, which was important as well. Olivia would never want to come between Elliot and his friends.

She wrapped her arm around Elliot's waist and smiled at Brian.

"Yeah. Everything's perfect," she told the boy, who nodded in understanding.

She let go of Elliot then, and he released her when she stepped forward. She quickly gave a very surprised Brian a peck on the cheek, making him blush furiously.

"You're a good friend, Bri," she told him and Brian nodded again.

"Yeah. Friends are forever."

Elliot gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder and Brian clapped him on the shoulder, and that was that. The three of them walked off then, rounding the school to take Olivia to her bus stop.

Elliot spotted a familiar blonde watching him from a distance. Had she seen him and Olivia kissing? He kind of hoped she had. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt her but she needed to know that he was moving on, and so should she.

Kathy was keeping her distance, but once Olivia got on the bus, Kathy headed their way. She reached the two boys just before the bus pulled away, and put a hand on Elliot's arm. She clearly wanted Olivia to see the gesture and Elliot glared at her before turning away from the blonde to wave at Olivia. He knew she'd seen Kathy and he hated that he couldn't tell her that he was going to send her packing within a minute. He couldn't believe she was still hanging around him. Sure, the sex had been great and he could imagine her missing that, but it had been a lot more for him. She should have known that. He would never want to be with a girl just for sex. Not now, anyway. Kathy had been his first and it had really meant something to him. He hadn't gotten a chance to sleep around before meeting a girl he really loved. And now, he had Olivia; another girl he really cared about. He didn't think he could ever 'just get laid' now, like so many other boys in school did. It had come to mean too much.

"What do you want, Kathy?" he asked his ex gruffly.

"Are you with her now?" Kathy asked him, gesturing in the direction of where the bus had been.

"I sure am."

He felt proud, being able to say that now. Because he was, right? They had kissed and they had told Brian. Sort of. If they weren't official yet, he was going to make sure they were the very next time he saw Olivia, so he nodded and repeated,

"I sure am."

"That was quick," Kathy said and Elliot instantly felt himself getting angry with her again.

"Look who's talking Kath. Seriously? You were the one who fucked another guy while we were dating, remember? You. Not me!" he yelled. "But I'm moving on from you. I don't need that crap in my life. I don't wanna have to wonder what my girlfriend is up to when we're not together."

Kathy shrank back a little. She knew he was right. She was the guilty one here and he had every right to move on. Still, she hadn't given up completely.

"How do you know what she's up to, far away in Manhattan," she asked him.

"I know enough about you to never fall for you again," Elliot hissed, doing his best not to start yelling at Kathy again. He looked at Brian, who beckoned him to just walk away, and he nodded.

As the boys left, he wondered what Olivia was thinking. The last thing she saw was Kathy putting her hand on his arm. He didn't want her to worry but there was no way to talk to her until morning now.

…

A/N: Yes, the eighties. No cell phones. But they kissed!
Your reviews would be appreciated.