Sorry for the long wait. I'm trying to get back into writing and this one was long overdue for an update, so here it is!

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18.

Olivia was smiling more these days. She and Elliot were getting closer and closer and she felt butterflies in her stomach from time to time. She knew why Elliot had asked her when she'd turn 17. After a few weeks of dating in secret, it was getting more and more difficult to keep their hands on the outside of their clothes.
She felt safe with Elliot and she felt safe with their group of friends. And it made her happy that she was wanted by someone again. She usually felt so unwanted at home and it was healing for her that Elliot wanted her. She really was getting over Michael fast and she could no longer imagine her life without Elliot in it.

She would be turning 17 early in July, just a few weeks after Elliot's graduation, and she already knew what she wanted to give him as a present. Her mother would explode if she even knew her daughter was considering sex again, let alone with Stabler. They had asked their friends to keep their newfound relationship under wraps for now, and Olivia trusted their friends not to tell other people behind their backs. She couldn't suppress a grin whenever Elliot winked at her from afar but they managed to stay away from each other in school.

After school was another thing altogether and Elliot had taken a few trips to Manhattan already, just so they could sit together on the bus or subway. They took detours too and Olivia was getting more and more creative in explaining why she was home late. Missing a bus; a subway train delayed because some petty thief was arrested on the train; running a quick errand after school. Serena seemed to accept her excuses for now.

And then one day, she didn't.

Olivia knew something was off the second she stepped into the apartment. She knew her mother had gotten home before her, but she didn't figure the woman would have had enough time to get drunk yet. Maybe she wasn't even drunk this time, just mad. It was a school night after all. Serena was standing in the middle of the living room when Olivia came in, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her dark eyes boring holes in her daughter. A 'hello' died on Olivia's tongue and after closing the door, she just stood there, waiting for all hell to break loose. She had no idea why, but that wasn't new. Her mother's moods often came out of nowhere.

When Serena finally spoke, she spoke slowly in a low voice. Olivia dreaded that tone. When her mother was like this, it was much more dangerous than when she was screeching in a drunken haze. Much more dangerous.

"I have been told that you have been seeing a boy behind my back."

Olivia's stomach dropped. This could not be happening. Nobody was supposed to know yet. She quickly recomposed herself, an art she had perfected over time when it came to her mother's outbursts, and asked her mother,

"Now who on earth told you that, mom?"

"I also happen to know which boy!" Serena spat in response.

Olivia swallowed but managed to keep her face neutral.

"Well, then it looks like you know more than me," she replied quietly.

"Don't you lie to me young lady!" Serena yelled. "I know you're seeing Stabler and it ends right now or there will be serious consequences! For starters, you're grounded again!"

Olivia's mind was in overdrive. She had to defuse the situation fast or there would be very real trouble, both for her and for Elliot. Elliot had just started his final exams and she wanted to do whatever it took to protect him.

"Mom, no! You gotta believe me. When did you ever see me with that boy? Or hear me talk about him? Who told you this anyway?"

"That doesn't matter," Serena said matter-of-factly.

Olivia was still standing at the door but she took a few steps into the room boldly to underline her next words.

"Oh, but it does, mom. Clearly someone is trying to get us in trouble. So I need to know who's been spreading these lies."

"Lies? They're not lies, Olivia. She says she's seen you together and not just to talk about the weather."

"She?"

"Yes. If you must know, Kathy Malone told me."

Olivia felt the blood drain from her face, but she managed to stand tall under her mother's scrutiny. It had been Kathy … It had been Kathy! The only person who knew about them outside their group of friends. Olivia had an idea why Kathy was doing this and she could work with that. She knew that green-eyed monster called jealousy only too well. And so she took a deep breath and sighed dramatically, meanwhile willing her body to relax so she could deliver her plea to her mother.

"Mother, do you know who Kathy is?"

"Of course. She's in one of my classes."

"Yes, but do you know what she is to this boy, to Stabler?"

Serena frowned and had to think for a few moments before Olivia saw the realization dawn in her eyes.

"That's right, mom. She's the girl he got into a fight over a couple of months ago. She's his ex. It's pretty clear to me that she's trying to get him in trouble just when the final exams are starting. She's bad news, mom. She's trying to ruin his life because he dumped her. But she cheated on him first. She's just trying to get back at him for not falling for her charms again, and she's using you to do it!"

Serena stared at her daughter, her eyes flicking back and forth between Olivia's eyes, trying to assess whether she was telling the truth. Olivia didn't like to lie, but it was the only way to survive in their little household. She returned her mother's stare, unblinking, until Serena finally turned away from her. For a moment, Olivia thought she was going to grab a bottle from the kitchen and start drinking anyway, but for now, her mother seemed to be listening.

"I'm going to be watching you," Serena mumbled. "And if I find out you've been lying to my face …"

The older woman shook her head, almost as if she couldn't believe Olivia would do such a thing, and Olivia breathed in and out slowly a few times. She was perfectly capable of lying to her mother's face but if all went according to plan, her mother wouldn't find out any time soon; at least not before her 17th birthday.

Only 2.5 months to go. They could do this. They would have to, and she would have to let Elliot know as soon as possible what Kathy had been up to.

…

Elliot grinned when he saw Olivia walk to her next class as he was on his way to his big History test. She gave him a quick smile and then ducked behind a class mate. He tried to catch her eyes again before she'd round the corner, but Olivia didn't look back and he sighed.

When was this going to get any easier? After the finals, he would be out of school. How would they even meet after that? They hadn't really discussed it and he wondered now if Olivia had given it any thought at all. He decided he would wait for her after school so they could discuss it.

When he got out of his test, he went to the cafeteria with John, Gwen and Brian to get something to drink and wait for the girls to come in for their lunch break.

Elliot sat up when he finally saw kids from Olivia and Pamela's class walk through the cafeteria but when he saw Beth, the girl simply looked at him and then shook her head. Elliot frowned and then Pamela came walking towards them.

"Sorry Elliot, she can't talk to you here. Meet us down the block after our last period."

Pamela quickly dashed back to her classmates, leaving the boys with more questions than answers.

"I'll go find out what's up," Gwen told them.

John's girlfriend got up to go to the bathroom, and when she came back, she quietly sat down at the table where the other girls were eating their lunch.

Elliot waited impatiently to find out what was going on. When the other kids left to go to their next classes, they all stood up and left the school. Gwen joined the boys outside to tell them what she'd learned.

"I'm sorry, but it's not good, Elliot," she started right away. "It's Kathy."

"What about Kathy!" Elliot asked, instantly on guard.

"She told Olivia's mom that you and Olivia are dating behind her back."

"What?"

Elliot let out a string of curse words and felt like hitting a wall. This couldn't be happening!

"El, wait. She denied everything," Gwen said, putting a hand on his arm and making him turn to face her again. "She told her mom that Kathy must be looking for revenge against you, and that she's just trying to get you in trouble."

"Did that bitch believe her?" Elliot asked.

"I think she believes her, for now. Olivia isn't grounded yet, but you can imagine that she can't risk being seen anywhere with you now. You're in your finals. You don't need this distraction."

"Did she say that? About my finals?"

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "She's mostly worried about you, not about herself."

Elliot tried to take a deep breath but he was too wired to calm down.

"Well, I'm worried about her!"

"Her mom hasn't grounded her yet," Gwen repeated, trying to reassure him.

But Gwen didn't know the whole story. She didn't know how the bitch would hurt Olivia when she got mad, just like his dad would hurt him.

"Well, you can talk to her after their last period. They'll walk in the direction of Olivia's bus stop and then keep walking down the block and turn left. I told Olivia you'd be there."

Elliot nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be there alright. She knows I will be. But first, I'm gonna go and find Kathy."

...