"Ouch!"
"Shit, sorry, I'm looking for the emergency phone."
"Fitz, it's the 21st century, use your cellphone light."
"…oh."
Fitz took out his iPhone, putting on the flashlight. The look on Olivia's face gave away everything he needed to know. "You're afraid of elevators, aren't you?"
She didn't reply. Instead, she said down on the floor. Fitz reached for the emergency phone. "Hello? Hi, yes, my name is Fitzgerald Grant, another student as well as myself are trapped in the elevator in the Westfield Tower. Yes, okay. Thank you very much. Bye." He hung up the phone, sitting himself down next to Olivia.
"Jesus, it's hot in here." He said with a huff, pulling off his white t-shirt. He folded it up as well as he could to make it cushioned, then placed it on the ground. "Here, lay down on that. It'll help with your anxiety."
Olivia looked at him in wonder. "And how would you know that?"
"I used to have panic attacks as a kid. Come on, just trust me. Lay down."
She rolled her eyes, laying down on the tshirt, next to his lap. She put her legs up on the elevator wall, doing deep breathing exercises.
"So," she began, trying to take her mind off of being trapped in the elevator. "Where are you from?"
"Santa Barbara, what about you?"
Olivia sat up, looking straight at him. "Do you think you're funny, Grant? How'd you find out where I was from? Are you a stalker or something?"
"Olivia, my father is the Senator of California. I couldn't make this up if I tried."
And just like that, it hit her.
"Oh my god…I know you." She said.
"I'm sure you know of me because of the papers and such, but you don't know me personally."
"Yes, I do! My father used to be friends with yours. We used to always come over your house, on Wilshire, I think it was. We must have been about, eight or nine years old."
Fitz shook his head in disbelief. "No, that's not right. The only Pope's I remember had a really chubby daughter with a gap right between her two front tee-"
"Oh god, you remember that!" Olivia said, outraged. "Jesus, that's so embarrassing, I destroyed all proof of that evidence."
Fitz laughed loudly, amazed at the fact that the girl he thought he had met for the first time, was none other than his family friend, Eli Pope's, little girl. Someone he had known almost all of his life.
"Wait Liv, if that's the case, I would have definitely remembered seeing you in high school."
Olivia's smile faded, and the look in her eyes told him that there were deep levels of pain within her. "Oh, well, I was homeschooled for high school."
"How come, too afraid to show off those chubby cheeks?" he teased as he pinched her now slim cheeks. She smacked his hand away, chuckling. "Actually, asshole, I lost all of that baby weight in 8th grade. I just had a lot of family things going on, so I stayed home."
"So how are Maya & Eli? God, I haven't seen them in forever. I swear your mom was so adamant on us getting married." Fitz said with a laugh. Olivia smiled, being polite, wishing this wasn't about to take the turn that it was.
"Yeah, she was. Um, unfortunately she died four years ago. That's a little bit of the reason as to why I was homeschooled." She left out the fact that she had to take care of her father. She didn't want Fitz knowing that kind of information yet. She didn't want him to pity her. One thing about Olivia, is that she accepts pity from no one.
Fitz smile disappeared, and he leaned over to place his hand over hers. There was an electric current that passed through them once their hands touched, but they both tried to ignore it. "I'm really sorry, Liv. Your mom was an incredible woman."
She nodded; the tone in his voice was incredibly genuine. He instantly made her feel better; she assumed it was due to his charm.
Another 20 minutes went by, as they began to discuss any and everything they've missed in each other's lives over the last decade.
"God!" Fitz groaned, "I can't believe your first kiss was with Steve Nichols! He's a complete asshole!"
"Well, when we were eleven, he was nice and he gave me his dunkaroo snacks! I lived for that funfetti frosting. Besides, your first kiss was with Bethany Stefano? The one who, to this day, sleeps with everything that walks?"
"She does not, take that back!" Fitz warned playfully.
"Fitz, the girl has more play than Hugh Hefner!" Olivia cackled. And then, Fitz sprang up. He tickled Olivia's sides, causing her to squeal in laughter.
"FITZGERALD! STOP IT!" she screamed in between laughs.
"Only if you take it back!" Fitz said, laughing along with her.
What they both didn't notice, was that the lights had came on. Olivia had her eyes shut tight, and Fitz was too busy staring at the beauty of her face. The elevator door opened, and they both looked up to find at least ten pairs of eyes looking at them.
Fitz got up, putting his tshirt back on, before helping Olivia up. They gathered their things, and walked out of the elevator, snickering at they walked outside.
"That was fun, despite being stuck in the elevator." Olivia said. "Do you want to come down to the dining hall with me, maybe catch up some more over shitty college food?"
Fitz smiled widely, nodding his head. "Yeah, sure. There's no one else I'd rather eat barely edible food with."
Olivia and Fitz made their way over to Abby's table, where she sat with Mellie & Quinn. The girls all fell silent when Fitz approached. Their reactions were something out of a movie: all jaws dropped, while Mellie literally dropped her fork.
"Ahem!" Olivia cleared her throat. "Guys, this is my friend Fitz. Fitz, this is Abby, Quinn, and Mellie."
Fitz, being the gentlemen that he is, individually introduced himself to the girls. He sat down next to Mellie and Olivia.
"So Liv," Mellie said, "is this why you were so late?"
"Oh my god, I totally forgot to tell you guys!" And with that, Olivia explained to the group how she and Fitz had been trapped in the elevator for the last 35 minutes. Everyone was in shock as Olivia told the story.
Abby was quick to cut in. "Wait, you're terrified of elevators. How did you not have a panic attack?"
"Well, right when I was about to, Fitz distracted me by talking. And Abby, this isn't a stranger to us. This is Fitzgerald Grant! Like, Big Jerry is his dad!" Olivia exclaimed.
"No shit! This is the little boy who every girl wanted to be their first kiss when we were like eight? Ha, this is golden!" Abby laughed.
Fitz felt his cheeks turn crimson, taking a sip of water. "Wait a second. Abby…Abigail? Pigtail Abigail?" Fitz said, looking at Abby.
Olivia spit her water out, laughing at the fact that Fitz still remembered the name all of the neighborhood kids used to call Abby.
"Oh Jesus Christ, Fitzgerald. Mention that again and I'll make sure to wrap my pigtails around that pretty little throat of yours."
Fitz held up his hands in surrender, chuckling a little. "So, why didn't I see you in high school?"
"I ended up going to Rosemont Academy."
"Well, honestly it's nice to have a little piece of home here with me." Fitz said, "It makes me feel more at ease." Fitz said, earning nods from both Abby and Olivia.
The next two hours were filled with the five of them wandering around the campus, buying university clothing and getting to know one another.
"So Fitz, where are your roommates?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, surely you don't want to spend all day with us?" Mellie chipped in.
"I don't know, actually. When I dropped off my stuff, no one was there. And then the whole elevator thing happened, and yeah. I haven't met them yet. I should probably go do that since it's 6 o'clock. Are you guys gonna go out tonight?" Fitz asked.
"Well, that depends." Abby said.
"On?"
"On if you tell Liv you want her to come out tonight. She won't go otherwise." Abby said, but not before Liv slapped her arm.
Fitz chuckled, shaking his head at Abby's boldness. Of course, he didn't mind it. Because she would say everything that he and Liv wouldn't. "Well Olivia, looks like I'll be texting you later."
He handed her his phone, so she could put her number in. She handed it back to him, and he saved it with a smile. "It was lovely to meet all of you. I'll see you guys later."
He walked away, looking back at Olivia, before he got too far away. She smiled to herself, as she felt her roommates eyes on her. They all started laughing, going back to their room to prepare for their first night out as college freshmen.
Okay, so there's chapter 3! How are you guys liking the story so far? As always, reviews are loved and appreciated!