Chapter 2: The Boy Next Door

July 20th, 1967

Olivia woke up the morning of her 12th birthday and rushed downstairs, ready for her surprises and presents. Because she was not having a party this year since things were so hectic with their move, she figured her mom and Cyrus would be compensating with over-the-top gifts galore and a ton a spoiling. She was already pretty excited.

She entered the kitchen, ready for whatever special birthday breakfast her mom prepared only to find it empty.

"Mom?" Olivia called out. There were dishes set on the table, so clearly her mom was about to start cooking.

"Mom? Cyrus?" Olivia called once more going into the living room and continuing her search. She heard faint talking on the other side of the exterior wall, and knew there were people outside on the side of the house. She slipped on her shoes and scurried out the door to the side of the house that faced the Grants.

"Mom?" she called out loud, turning the corner, seeing four shadows on the other side.

Maya, Cyrus, Big Gerry, and Maggie's eyes all shot away from the vandalized wall of the house toward Olivia as she turned the corner.

"Olivia, honey!" Maya quickly ran and stopped her daughter before she could see the racial slurs that were written in black paint on the side of their new house. Maya found the damage and saw the vandals early in the morning while she went to go get the morning newspaper. The three teenage boys ran in the opposite direction with their paint cans when they saw her coming. But it didn't matter. The damage was done. She immediately went inside and woke up Cyrus, who then got Big Gerry and Maggie to assess the property damage and ask about reporting a hate crime.

"Olivia, go back inside sweetie," Maya commanded, grabbing hold of Olivia's arm to turn her around. She would not let Olivia see what happened to their house. She wasn't surprised by the hatred some carried with them, but as a mother it was her duty to protect her daughter from it as best as she could.

"Mom, what's going on? Why are the Grants here?" Olivia tried to nuzzle out of her mother's grip to see what they were hiding.

"We'll talk about this later. Go back inside, honey."

It was already too late. Olivia had managed to see just beyond the corner and read the disgraceful writing on the wall, calling her and her mother the worst of words.

"Mom?" Olivia whimpered, and Maya knew that she had seen it. Olivia was no stranger to racism, but this was her first time where she was deliberately targeted like that, and she was only a kid.

Maya hung her head down ashamed that she could not protect her daughter on her birthday morning nonetheless, "I'm sorry Olivia. Just please go inside."

Olivia wiped her eyes to hide her own tears and ran back inside like her mother instructed.

ooo

Her birthday breakfast was silent. No one dared tried to start a conversation. The mood was too low. Olivia sat, pushing her eggs back and forth on the plate, making it look like she had eaten more than she actually had. She had no appetite this morning. She had no appetite for food, let alone an appetite to celebrate. Finally Olivia spoke up to break the silence.

"Mom, are we safe here?"

"Yes, Liv," Cyrus answered, "there is nothing to fear."

"I was asking my mom," Olivia restated. As much as she appreciated his concern, he was a white man. He had nothing to be concerned about. Yes, he may have married a black woman, and he experienced a number of comments and judgments, but he wasn't in the same kind of danger that Olivia and her mother were in.

His heart broke that she felt the need to ask that. His plan of moving his new family to the suburbs had backfired and hurt his wife and stepdaughter. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was suppose to be different, a new start, a new chapter in their lives. Cyrus miscalculated the rate of change however, and his family was now paying the price, which sunk him.

"We'll be fine, sweetie," Maya reassured her. "It is going to take some time for the people in this old neighborhood to get used to this new world, but they will."

Olivia sighed slightly. It wasn't really the answer she was looking for, but also she didn't know what kind of answer she was looking for.

"Can I be excused?" she asked.

"You didn't finish your breakfast," Maya pointed out.

"I'm not very hungry," Olivia replied, pushing her plate back. Maya just nodded and Olivia took that as the verification she needed to up and leave and go back to her room. The rest of the family just sat at their seats.

"It's not your fault, mom. Between moving away from her friends last week and what happened this morning, you can't blame her," Mellie said. "I'll go check on her if you want?"

Maya nodded, "that would be great, Mellie. Thank you!"

Mellie left, following her younger stepsister to make sure she was okay.

Cyrus let out a defeated a sigh, "I'm failing as her father aren't I?"

"Hey, this isn't your fault, Cyrus," Maya assured him.

"This was supposed to be a new start for all of us. It wasn't supposed to be this messy…at least not on her birthday…" Cyrus shook his head, "I understand if she hates me."

Maya clasped Cyrus' hands in her own and looked him in the eye, "First of all, she does not hate you. Second of all, there's still time to make this birthday up for her."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I'm sure you can think of something big that will bring you two closer."

Cyrus smiled at his wife, "I've actually got one pretty big idea if you don't mind."

Cyrus told Maya his idea that he had been thinking about for quite some time, and Maya was completely on board to help. They quickly cleaned up breakfast and grabbed the car keys.

"Girls, your mother and I are going shopping! We'll be back in a few hours!" Cyrus yelled from the foyer before he and Maya slipped out the door.

Meanwhile upstairs, Mellie knocked on the closed bedroom door.

"Liv, are you okay?" she was met with silence. "Liv, please talk to me."

"You can come in," Mellie heard a soft voice say, and she walked into the room.

"How are you doing, really?" Mellie asked, seeing Olivia laying on her bed with her head over the edge of the bed upside down.

"It's fine, Mellie. I don't expect you to understand…"

Mellie took a deep breath, trying to think of how best to respond to Olivia.

"I know that I can't fully understand your experiences, Liv. But that doesn't meant that it doesn't hurt me either," she took a seat beside Olivia on her bed. "You're my sister, Liv, and you and Maya are my family – so it hurts me when others hurt you. I know I can't fully understand, but I can support you if you let me."

Olivia looked at Mellie's heartfelt smile. She knew that she meant well. Mellie was the closest thing to a sister she had, and though it was the result of a blended family, she knew Mellie meant her words and would always stick up for her.

"How about we listen to some music?" Mellie suggested, she went into her room next door and pulled her record player out, blasting "You Can't Hurry Love" throughout the upper floor. Olivia laughed. This was one of her favorite songs, and eventually Olivia got up off of her bed to join her older stepsister dancing in the hallway.

Halfway through the song Olivia paused, convinced she heard something. She heard it again.

"Mellie, wait! I think someone is knocking at the door."

Mellie went into her room and turned off the music, hearing the knock once again. She looked at Olivia who gave her a frightened look. After the events of this morning, and with their parents gone, it seemed pretty reasonable to be afraid. Mellie couldn't blame her. As the older sister, it was her job to lead. But in all honesty, she was pretty nervous herself and didn't want to open the door by herself. Mellie instructed Olivia to follow her and stay behind her.

Together they crept down the steps, and peaked through the window, seeing a tall, handsome teenage boy standing outside. Olivia and Mellie glanced at each other puzzled. They went to the front door just as he was turning around to leave and opened it.

"Oh! Hi," he responded, quickly whipping around after hearing the door open, making his dark curls fall onto his face. "Are you parents, uh home?"

Olivia quickly glanced at Mellie to answer for them.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe we know you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sorry," he mumbled scratching his arm before holding his hand out to shake.

"My name is Fitz. I live next door," he explained, nodding his head to his house.

"You're Big Gerry and Maggie's son?" Mellie asked while she and Olivia locked with his ocean blue eyes that instantly blew each of them away. He looked handsome through the window, but now in person, only feet apart, he seemed like a model out of Cosmopolitan.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I would have come by earlier to introduce myself when you guys moved in, but I just recently got back…and…and…" Fitz lost his train of thought looking at Mellie and stammered slightly.

Mellie looked down at the can of paint that was by Fitz's foot questioningly. Fitz caught her gazing down and noticed.

"Right! That!" he remembered before stating his purpose.

"My dad told me about what happened, and I am so sorry – believe me most people in this town are friendly and nice I promise you that. Don't let a few bad apples make you judge the whole place…but uh he asked if I could go out and re-paint your house to uh…help…I mean, I want to help - I want to," he reiterated nervously, looking at Mellie. Olivia felt as though she might gag from the sappiness pouring out of this scene as she looked at Mellie's lovestruck face.

"Well thank you, Fitz. That's a very kind offer. I just think it might be best to wait for our parents to get back," Mellie explained.

"Yes, of course…I don't think I caught either of your names."

"I'm Mellie."

"And I'm Olivia," she finally spoke up.

"Well, nice to meet you both, Mellie and Olivia. Mellie, my mother told me you'll be going to high school in McLean this fall?"

"Yep, and this one will be in junior high, going into eighth grade," Mellie said, giving Olivia a nudge that made her laugh slightly.

"Cool," Fitz said, dragging out the word in a fashion he thought made him seem cooler than it actually was. "I've uh got my own car, maybe I can drive you to and from or something…"

"That would be nice," Mellie blushed.

Olivia just shook her head and cleared her throat. Fitz looked back down at her.

"I also heard from a little bird it was your birthday!" Fitz spoke enthusiastically.

"Mhmm."

"How old are you?"

"Twelve," Olivia replied simply. Fitz stood there perplexed for a moment, trying to process what she just said.

"How is a twelve-year-old in eighth-"

"She skipped a grade," Mellie answered before he had a chance to finish his question. Olivia was already small for her age, and skipping a grade certainly didn't help. Anytime she told anyone about what grade she was in school she was met with the same reaction.

"Ah," Fitz replied, understanding. "So you're a bit of a genius?"

"I prefer 'academically inclined,'" she laughed at herself, making Fitz laugh also, which she found to be the most beautiful sound she'd heard.

"So Liv, are you having a good birthday?" Fitz immediately shut up, and internally chastised himself for asking such a dumb question. Of course it wasn't good. How could it have been when their house was vandalized in a hate crime? Fitz was mad at himself. He was just looking for a question so he could stick around and talk to them some more, and instead here he was, making an idiot out of himself. "I'm sorry. That was a dumb question…I didn't mean to offend…"

"It's okay, it's been fine otherwise, really," Liv told Fitz with one of the saddest smiles he'd ever seen that it almost broke his heart.

Fitz shot straight up with a big idea in his head.

"I know something that will make it better. Follow me," he ordered walking behind the house. He purposely walked on the other side of the house that had the dead end, so they would not be met with the wall that had the vandalism. Mellie and Olivia followed him as he curved around the house and then crossed into the backyard to the large tree house that rested right between the Grants' and Beenes' house that Olivia and Mellie stared at their first day here.

"Pretty nice, right?" Fitz exclaimed gesturing up to the tree house.

"We were wondering about this," Mellie said, standing much closer to Fitz.

"Is it yours? We couldn't tell," Olivia chimed in.

"Yes, my dad and I built it the summer before I turned twelve. Technically it's on our property, but it's so close to the edge that I don't see why we can't just share it," Fitz explained.

"Really?" Olivia asked in disbelief. A tree house was something she never imagined she would get living in the city back in DC, but in all the books she read taking place in the suburbs, it seemed as though all the kids had one in their backyard.

Fitz nodded, "for sure."

"Wow, thank you Fitz…I…I don't know what else I can say," Olivia responded blushing and flustered by his kind gesture.

"Why don't you try it out," he suggested, and Olivia ran toward the ladder that led to the house in the branches.

Mellie inched closer to Fitz, "that was very nice of you. And thank you for offering to drive me to school."

"Don't mention it," Fitz said, lightly touching his hand against Mellie's. Being the only child, Fitz didn't really have much experience talking to people his age, including girls. He spoke to them occasionally at school, but he never truly got close to any in the prospect of a relationship. His neighbors used to be elderly couples on both sides of his house, so when he heard from his parents that a family moved in next door with two daughters, and one who was around Fitz's age, he became instantly ecstatic.

Olivia, Mellie, and Fitz looked forward toward the front of the house, hearing the sound of a car coming up the driveway.

"Oh that would be our parents," Mellie told him. "Come on, you have to meet them, and you can talk to them about repainting."

Fitz, Mellie, and Olivia all rushed inside to greet Maya and Cyrus. Fitz stood up from the living room as they walked in with Cyrus carrying an unusually large present. Cyrus placed the present gently on the floor and walked toward him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the Third, as I live and breathe," he said, shaking his hand. "I don't think I've seen you at all since you were this big," Cyrus said, laying out his hand flat around the level at his hip.

"It's good to see you again Mr. Beene, and it's lovely to meet you as well, Mrs. Beene." Fitz said in reference to Maya.

"It's nice to meet you too Fitzgerald, your parents have said wonderful things about you."

Fitz caught up with Cyrus and told him about his plans to help them repaint the side of his house. Cyrus and Maya were beyond grateful for his offer. Finally curiosity got the better of Fitz, as well as Mellie and Olivia who were eagerly waiting on the couch when they heard a small yap coming from inside the box.

"Uhhh what's in the box?" Fitz asked, certain the whole room had heard.

Cyrus and Maya gave each other a look and a nod, before picking up the box and placing it on Olivia's lap. Liv felt the box moving and knew instant what it was. Her face glowed and her smile grew wider than it had in days, probably even years.

"Oh my goodness!" she squealed, lifting off the present's top to reveal a newborn beagle puppy. "A puppy!"

Mellie and Fitz smiled at each other too at the site of the adorable fur-ball.

"You two shouldn't have!" Olivia exclaimed, hugging the dog close to her.

"It was Cyrus' idea," Maya stated clearly for him to get credit.

"Thank you so much Cyrus, I love it!...or him…or her…"

"It's a him," Cyrus corrected. "And you're welcome Olivia. I'm sorry your birthday didn't go as planned."

"Are you kidding? This is one of the best birthday gifts I have ever gotten."

"What are you gonna name him?" Fitz asked.

Olivia sat for a minute, pondering.

"I'm going to call him 'Louie.'"

"Like the Kingsman song?" Fitz observed, but was met with a confused look from Olivia. "Never mind…"

The pup immediately responded, reaching up to lick Olivia's face.

"Right, well I better get started outside," Fitz said, getting up from the couch and giving the dog a quick scratch on the head before heading outside to begin his painting job. Both Olivia and Mellie watched his every step as he walked out the door.

"He seems like a nice boy," Maya spoke, catching on to both of her daughters' infatuation with him.

"He is," Mellie gleamed, and scooted closer to Olivia so she could play with the puppy.

Later that night as Olivia was getting ready for bed she looked out the window of her bedroom that faced the Grant house. For the first time she noticed some sort of movement, and stayed focused staring at it. After a few minutes, she saw the curtain open, and Fitz standing in the window looking back at her, smiling. As it turned out their windows faced each other, which brought a whole new smile onto Olivia's face. She waved hi to him, and he waved back, blowing her a kiss before going off to bed. When she was certain he was out of sight and not looking, Olivia quickly reached out and grabbed his kiss, putting it in her pocket.

ooo

Fitz kept to his word and repainted the Beene's household as he said he would, taking his time so he could hang out with Mellie, Olivia, and Louie. A couple days past her birthday, and the house's wall looked spotless. Olivia and Mellie sat in the living room of their house, Mellie reading while Olivia trained, or tried to train, Louie.

"Sit!" Olivia spoke firmly. The dog followed suit, and she smiled to herself over the small victory. She slowly started to back up. "Now, stay!"

The dog followed and ran to her feet, licking her ankles.

"No, stay!" she repeated to no avail.

Mellie laughed, "you're making progress, Liv."

Mellie and Olivia's conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Olivia cheered and pranced toward the door. She stood on her tiptoes to look through the peephole and her mouth fell agape.

"Fitz!" she cried, opening the door.

"Hi," he said simply standing outside on the porch with a bruised and swollen cheek.

"Hi," Olivia said confused, she stepped aside so he could come in. She saw his hand that was behind his back as he walked in and saw that his knuckles were bruised. "What happened?"

"Oh my god, Fitz!" Mellie got up and ran to him, framing his face in her hands, delicately touching his cheek.

"I'm fine, I just need some ice, and I saw from outside that my parents are home right now with your parents," Fitz said, explaining why he couldn't return home while fashioning his bruise.

"I'll go grab some ice," Olivia offered and went into the kitchen.

Fitz smiled at Mellie who smiled back at him and took a seat together. Olivia waltzed in with ice in her hands as promised.

"Here you go," Olivia said, handing the two icepacks off to Fitz. He put one on his hand and held the other to his cheek.

"What is this from?" Mellie asked, taking hold of the icepack against his cheek, so he could rest his other hand.

"I have good news. I found the dicks that vandalized your house last week. It was Jed Ischler and his goons, Robbie Hunt and Vince Tenner. They were talking about it outside the theater where I saw them, bragging about it. Don't worry, I had a word with them about it."

"They did this to you?" Mellie asked concerned.

Fitz scoffed, "please, you should see what I did to them."

"You didn't have to do that," Olivia told him. She was happy to know that these idiots that ruined her birthday had finally received some consequences for their actions, but she couldn't help but feel bad about the drama that stirred up, and having Fitz fight on her behalf.

"Yeah I did. They deserved it," Fitz shifted. "I'm really fine. I just can't have my mom or pop see me like this or they'll go mad."

The kids heard chattering coming toward their house, and looked at each other startled.

"I think they're coming back," Mellie said worried.

"Here, Mellie, take Fitz and hide upstairs. I'll go distract them for a bit." Olivia ordered. She ran toward the door to greet her mother, Cyrus, and the Grants at the doorway while Fitz and Mellie quickly ran upstairs. She managed to keep them distracted long enough for them to quickly hideaway.

"Liv dear, how are you?" Maggie asked gleefully as they walked inside.

"Really good, Mrs. Grant," she answered.

Louie ran to the Grants to greet them, jumping on them as excited as he was to have visitors at the house.

"Down boy," Cyrus commanded, and he ceased his jumping, which gave Olivia the perfect idea.

"I've actually been working a lot on teaching him tricks. Do you want to see?"

"Well, of course!" Big Gerry said enthusiastically, nodding in agreement with all the other parents.

"Ok. It's probably best if I show you in the kitchen. We keep his treats in there," Olivia spoke loudly, ensuring that Mellie could hear her from the top of the stairs and got the message. She led the parents out of the foyer and into the secluded kitchen that was far from the front doorway's site. Olivia would just have to buy some time. She showed off a couple of tricks that she'd been teaching him. It was really only "sit" and "lie down," although the adults got a laugh watching her struggle with "stay" and "rollover." Maya suddenly cleared her throat.

"Liv honey, that is amazing. You don't mind if you take Louie upstairs though, we have some grown up things that we need to discuss."

"Mhmm," Olivia nodded in agreement and picked Louie up in her arms, taking him to her room. She went upstairs and searched around only to find that Fitz was nowhere in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief that her little plan had worked, but she also noticed that Mellie was nowhere in sight either.

Olivia assumed she had left with Fitz, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. She peeked out her bedroom window once again just to see into the Grant's house and make sure.

She held the curtain almost shut, only letting herself see through a small opening, so she couldn't be seen. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Fitz and Mellie in his room, sitting on Fitz's bed. Her hands were still icing his cheek, and she could tell they flirting from the way they were smiling and laughing at each other. Then Olivia watched from her window as they both finally leaned in and kissed.

Olivia gasped and shut the curtain, falling onto her bed. She leaned down to pick Louie up into her lap. She knew it was ridiculous of her to be jealous, but she couldn't help but feel a small pang in her chest. She laid down, cuddling with her puppy, trying to let her mind come to terms with the fact that the boy next door was in love with her sister.