Olivia got absolutely no peace on the ride to Abby's house; she and Quinn tortured her with the song 'Jesse's Girl'. They replaced the name Jesse with Fitz, screaming so loudly that Olivia retreated into a permanent state of annoyance. Usually, Olivia preferred to go home on Mondays and get a start on the homework she had been assigned, however Abby and Quinn insisted that she log some friendship hours.

Olivia laid on Abby's bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to tune out her silly friends. They hadn't done as well as Olivia had hoped on the Cabeza De Vaca presentation; Abby fumbled with the pronunciation, and Olivia had wanted to emphasize the fact that Hispanic people's roots in America went further than most present-day American's knew, but she was flustered because she hadn't read the books from the library as well as she'd wanted to. Olivia was kicking herself mentally, she couldn't believe that she had let Fitzgerald distract her. She corrected herself, Fitz. Fitz had distracted her, and as a result she'd gotten a B on a major presentation.

"What are you wearing when you go out with him? A leather skirt and thigh high boots?"

Quinn asked jokingly, jerking Olivia out of her thoughts. Quinn sat Indian style on Abby's thick carpet and was rocking back and forth, clearly getting a lot of enjoyment from Olivia's annoyance.

Olivia rolled her eyes and rolled onto her stomach, launching her stockinged feet into the air. Abby twirled around in her desk chair, not saying anything. She had been quiet for long enough.

Olivia craned her neck.

"What? Nothing else to throw in the Fitz pot?" Olivia questioned, shooting an accusatory glance at Quinn.

Abby crossed her leg and tapped her finger against her lip in consideration.

"What do we really know about Fitz? I mean aside from the fact that he has a nice face?"

Olivia made a growling sound. The discussion of his face had seemed to go on for hours.

"He tricked me into a date, Abs. I'm not looking to write a biography on the guy, I just want to get through it and move on with my life."

Abby raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

She opened her mouth to reply as Mrs. Whelan appeared in the doorway, one of the Whelan's housekeepers, Alice was at her heels.

"Hi Quinn, Olivia. How are you two?" Mrs. Whelan greeted, "I brought you girls some cookies and milk. Anything fun happening tonight?" Abby cast a glance at Olivia, who shot Abby a look that said 'be nice.'

"No Mom. It's Monday." Mrs. Whelan reluctantly smiled as Alice set the tray of cookies on Abby's bedside table and acknowledged each of the girls with a friendly nod.

"Thanks Alice," Mrs. Whelan called as Alice lingered a moment longer. Alice quickly left the room as Mrs. Whelan took a step forward.

"Are you girls staying for dinner?" She asked.

Quinn quickly shook her head and Olivia started to shake hers too, but remembered Abby's previous pleas about having dinner alone with her parents.

"If you're eating early I can stay, my Dad usually gets home around six on Mondays." Mrs. Whelan clapped.

"Great! I'll have Alice fetch you girls at five, we'll eat then." Mrs. Whelan breezed out of Abby's room without further ado, closing the door behind her.

Abby smiled her thanks at Olivia and spun around again in her desk chair.

"We should gather some evidence. Maybe we can call someone that would know him. Where does he live?"

"He's so rich he probably lives in Kent." Quinn asserted cuttingly. Abby crossed her arms.

"I live in Kent, Quinn." Quinn fell back dramatically at Abby's words.

"Oh my God, I had absolutely no idea." Quinn roared sarcastically.

"If you two are done talking about Fitz, we can talk about things that matter… like how we're going to make up for the B we got on that presentation." Quinn and Abby glanced at each other and burst out laughing.

Olivia rolled her eyes once again and turned, once again, over onto her back.

"He probably does live in Kent. In a huge house with a maid and a butler, and parents that don't understand him so he got tattoos to cope. We don't belong together. We don't even make good friends." Olivia declared, her thoughts flowing freely.

"You just described me perfectly, minus the tattoos." Abby groaned; she's really sensitive today. Olivia thought to herself.

"Oh be quiet," Olivia replied, titling her head deeper into the bed to look back at Abby. "You know that I don't think of you that way and you don't act that way."

Abby tried to move on, but Olivia knew she was still bothered by her once-over of Fitz.

"You need to talk to him tomorrow. Talk to him about his family and stuff; gather Intel." Abby declared.

Olivia smirked.

"Yeah sure, I'm so anxious to pump Fitz for info."

Quinn propped her head up, her smile wide and suggestive as she winked.

"I bet you're absolutely anxious to pump Fitz, alright."

Olivia squealed and launched a pillow at Quinn, giggling wildly.

"Fitzgerald, come to dinner."

Fitz sat up, dropping one of the books about the Côte d'Azur he'd gotten at the library earlier.

"I'm not hungry right now, Lucy. Maybe I'll have a sandwich or something later."

Lucy, his housekeeper since he was six, crossed her arms and cleared her throat, as Fitz had laid back down, starting to read again.

"Fitzgerald, your parents are downstairs. They specifically requested you and your sibling's attendance at dinner tonight."

Fitz sighed loudly as Lucy had begun to retreat. Lucy turned on her heel at Fitz's sound.

"They're barely here, Fitzgerald. The least you can do is show up when they are."

"I think the least I can do is ignore them, and stay in my room until they leave, again." Lucy crossed her arms disapprovingly.

"Cecilia and Kennedy rearranged their schedules to be at dinner, yet you're sitting here by yourself reading a book and you can't bear to pull yourself away for an hour? Fitzgerald, even I can't sell that."

Fitz laughed despite himself and marked his page.

"Is it black tie? Do I have to put on one of my suits to sit at my dining room table?"

Lucy smirked.

"No, Fitzgerald, I think your smart mouth will be enough."

Ten minutes later, Fitz sat across the dining room table from his little sister, Cecilia and next to his older brother, Kennedy. Kennedy had stiffly greeted him, which wasn't out of the ordinary; Kennedy had moved out of the family home when Fitz was thirteen, and the person he was now, Kennedy had no idea.

Since their move from their main home in California to their recently purchased home in Washington D.C., Kennedy had tried to be around more. He'd even invited Fitz to his apartment in Georgetown where he and his fiancée, Julie lived. Fitz stayed there for a long weekend, trying to get a feel for who his big brother was now, but found himself mostly becoming bored, mentally comparing it to what it would be like to hang out with his father. Like he knew how that felt.

Cecilia looked thoroughly annoyed, Fitz knew she had cheer team practice, and even though she was absolutely above it, she clearly preferred it over having dinner with their parents. His father's seat at the head of the table was empty, and his mother's seat- next to Cecilia was also empty. Fitz didn't want to be there anymore than either of his siblings did; Kennedy was better at hiding his disdain for his parents; he and Cecilia weren't quite so skilled.

Cecilia locked eyes with Fitz and tapped her finger on the top of her wrist, rolling her eyes. Fitz shrugged; the only time their parents had a regard for was their own. Cecilia should have known better. Fitz had learned a long time ago not to rely on his parents for anything more than a charge card and a lofty bank account. Anything else, they simply had no capacity for. His mother had stopped trying to shop for his Christmas gifts three years ago; with Fitz, a book often sufficed. His mother never got the memo, and the amount of horribly expensive and careless gifts he received still made him uncomfortable. Had she ever known him at all?

Fitz's father, Jerry, was different story. From an early age, Fitz had always been the disappointment. Maybe it was because he didn't particularly want to become a doctor, lawyer or architect, like the rest of the men in his family. Fitz had never had any real patience for the technical aspects of life, he was a good talker, but he had ambivalent feelings about the law, and he couldn't draw worth a damn. His father was the Head of Neurology and Neurosurgery at John Hopkins Medicine. That should have made Fitz feel good that, even if his father couldn't (or wouldn't) be with him, at least he was helping other people. It didn't though. Jerry, had the arrogance of someone who had never known struggle, he was haughty and unable to be comprehended, and he had neglected Fitz and his siblings since they'd been old enough to realize.

Cecilia was trying to get Fitz's attention again as their parents entered, arm in arm. Almost in a reflex, Fitz rolled his eyes as he stood, the customary way to greet their parents. Fitz noticed Cecilia smoothing invisible wrinkles from her uniform skirt; even if she pretended she didn't care about her parents, she still was intent on pleasing them.

"Children! How are you?" Fitz's mother, Caroline cooed, as she took her seat, nodding approvingly at each of her children. Jerry kissed Cecilia dutifully on her cheek as he took his seat, nodding as Caroline had at Kennedy and Fitz.

Fitz sat again as the staff began bringing out individual dishes and jugs of wine.

"I got all A's last term, Mommy." Cecilia offered, answering Caroline's question. Caroline clapped excitedly.

"Ah! Puppet, that's so wonderful, why didn't you send word?"

They'd been in Washington D.C. for less than a month, and even though their change of scenery wasn't much different in school (a prep school was a prep school), Cecilia clearly wanted their parents to know how well she was adjusting.

"I did, I sent it to Japan, weren't you there in December? I checked the schedule twice I thought." Cecilia explained. Caroline squinted her eyes at the ceiling as she thought.

"Hm. We weren't here for the move, your father had to do some things with the hospital, so he was there for a week, and I was in Denmark for some of that time… I'm not sure, poppykins. I'll have to check. Perhaps the schedule needs to be revised."

Cecilia nodded, trying to hide her disappointment.

"What's new with you two?" Jerry inquired next, eyeing Kennedy and Fitz.

Fitz turned to look at Kennedy, who set his fork down to answer their father.

"Julie is thinking May for the wedding. She's at odds with our wedding planner at the moment, though. We may have to hire someone new. We're talking about venues now, so I'll let you two know as soon as I can so you can put that in the schedule."

Caroline's eyes widened, again in excitement.

"Please do, darling. I would hate to miss it, our May is filling up quickly, and what with your father's adjustment at Johns Hopkins and my duties to my international clientele- I think I'm expected to be in Nigeria one of those weeks."

Kennedy smiled quickly at Caroline and returned to his spinach salad as Fitz felt his parent's eyes on him next. He tried to focus on his own salad, but their stares were unrelenting.

Fine. Fitz thought to himself.

"I have a date Friday," Fitz revealed, glancing at each of his parents.

"That's fabulous, Fitzgerald. Who is the girl? Do we know her parents?"

Fitz raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm sure you don't. Her name is Olivia Pope."

Jerry snapped his fingers, trying to jog his memory.

"Pope, Pope, Pope. Hm. I'm not sure I know the family. What does her father do?" Fitz shrugged. It was impossible for his parents to know every family in D.C.

"She's in your grade, Fitzgerald?"

"Yes, mother. She's in my grade. She's really smart, loves to read."

"Well, son she sounds like a catch." Jerry commented shortly, clearly uninterested now that he had no inclination of Olivia's pedigree.

"She is," Fitz replied firmly, turning back to his salad, trying to ignore his father's eyes, as they'd once again fallen on him.

"What does your father do?" Olivia turned, crossing her arms at Fitz who had snuck up behind her the next morning.

"He's a historian, why?" Olivia wondered, glancing at Fitz up and down. He looked just as he had the previous day, the only difference being that he wore his navy blazer over his rolled up uniform shirt.

Fitz leaned against her neighboring locker, his schoolbag shrugged over a shoulder.

"Just wondering, we didn't get to talk much about other stuff yesterday."

Olivia shut her locker and took her books in her arms, walking off toward her first period class; she knew Fitz would follow. He kept up with her easily.

"We didn't," Olivia agreed. "But that's because you were more focused on tricking me into a date."

Fitz walked alongside her, grinning at her pronouncement.

"I didn't trick you. I won." Fitz countered, as if he was explaining a fact of life to Olivia.

"Besides, it'll be good for you to try new things. Have new experiences with different people." Fitz went on, as Olivia stopped outside of her classroom.

"You're not very new," Olivia accused, Fitz seemed excited about the verbal sparring they were having, while Olivia was just plain annoyed.

Who did this rich prep boy with a Daddy complex think he was? She was no prize, she wouldn't allow herself to be conquered. Sure, she'd go on the date with him, so he would leave her alone. He thought it was a game, she would show him that it was anything but.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fitz asked, still amused.

"You really want to know?" Olivia replied; this was a warning- she may have looked quiet and helpless, but she knew how to handle herself. Fitz was more than twice her size, but she could take him.

Fitz nodded, apparently unsure what to expect.

"I don't see much difference from you and the other guys around here. Yes you did get me to agree to a date, but the way I see it, you're out to fulfil a challenge, a checklist, you want me because you can't have me. You don't really want me- you don't want Olivia Pope. I'm complicated, I'm a person- not a two-dimensional high school bombshell. I'm not a prize you win at a county fair, Fitz. You can't win me, you can't own me and you definitely cannot treat me like I'm some item on a scavenger hunt. Who I am, who I really am isn't easy. I require work and a lot of other things that you're not ready for. So I will go on the damn date with you Friday. We can go somewhere nice, whatever you want. But do not lead yourself into believing that you've won me. You and these other boys are the same. You want what you can't have- what you're told is unattainable. You want torture and pain and agony. Well. Get in line."

Fitz twisted his mouth, clearly at a loss for words as Olivia stared him down. Her lower lip quivered only slightly as she lingered a moment longer, her words hung in the air heavily. Fitz narrowed his eyes.

Touché.

He thought,

You win this time, Olivia.

"Have a good class," Fitz offered, backing away from Olivia and walking down the hallway from her.

Olivia watched him go. Maybe she had been a little hard on him, but she had been wanting to say that for a while, not only to him but to every other guy who had objectified her. It wasn't Fitz's fault, not entirely, and for the most part he hadn't offended her, but his attitude, this confidence he seemed to ooze from his pores, had started to irritate her.

Olivia went into her first period English Literature class, dropping into her seat next to Huck, the quiet but sweet guy who listened far more often than he talked. When Huck did speak, his words were clearly well thought out and topic centric.

"Hey Huck," Olivia greeted, crossing her leg and trying not to think about Fitz and how she'd just essentially decimated him.

"How do you apologize to someone?" Olivia questioned suddenly, looking at Huck. Huck chuckled shortly, he leaned over.

"You've never apologized before?"

Olivia shrugged. Usually she said what she meant and meant what she said; she had no real need to apologize to someone. Even if her delivery was questionable, Olivia often stood by what she said, because she usually felt as if the person needed to hear it. This time, she felt different. Fitz hadn't objectified her like the rest of the guys had, and he didn't deserve the lengthy speech she'd given him; the rough edges of her words and the cutting nature of her voice were far too aggressive for the minor offenses Fitz had committed.

"Not really. Never needed to. So you were saying?" Olivia replied. Huck eyed Olivia with interest, but with no hint of judgment.

"Well, first you should say that you want to apologize, then say what you apologize for. That's basically it. If you're sincere, that method should work."

Olivia raised her brow.

"That's it? There's no… frills? No bull? I just say I want to apologize, say why and I'm done?" Huck smirked.

"Yes, that's what I usually do. And it works. Give it a try."

Olivia twirled her pen in her hand as she thought. She was going to be in the library the same time as Fitz that afternoon for her block of Study Hall. She could apologize then. She felt her stomach tightening in anxiousness as she thought about walking up to Fitz and saying she was sorry.

Fitz sat in his Economics class, watching the clock tick by painfully slow. He'd endured American Government, slouched through Latin, had a break for lunch, and now he was being subjected to a double block of Economics. Thankfully, only ten minutes remained in the block. His acquaintance- Andrew was staring only semi intently at their teacher- Mr. Bradley, who insisted on filling eighty minutes of the ninety minute block with his lecture. Fitz looked over at Andrew, who had broken away from his only halfhearted attention to Mr. Bradley. Andrew made a suggestive face at Fitz, who raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Hurriedly, Andrew scribbled something on a piece of paper and floated it onto Fitz's desk.

Fitz grabbed it and made out the words in Andrew's horrible scrawl.

'You and Olivia Pope are dating?"

Fitz turned back to Andrew, who had the same stupid look on his face and shook his head hard.

Andrew made another face of disbelief as the bell rang.

Fitz made quick work of gathering his book bag and uniform jacket and hurried from the classroom, hoping that Andrew didn't follow him.

Fitz knew that Liv was going to be in the library for her Study Hall, and his Media class met in the library every class. He was eager to see her again, even if it was only for her to scowl at him and call him names. Strangely he enjoyed how much she yelled at him, there seemed to be a spark between them when she was angry, and she looked up at him with her big eyes. He'd had to distance himself from her earlier when she tore him apart, he needed to regroup. She wasn't entirely right- he didn't want to conquer her, but he did find her interesting because of how much she was seen as a mystery. He wanted to get to know her, he wanted to hold her hand and go on walks and cuddle on winter days. Getting her to want those things too would be a challenge, he realized.

Fitz arrived in the library with time to spare, his spirits sinking as he noticed that Liv hadn't arrived yet. He walked to the back of the library where his class met and deposited his book bag and coat on a chair.

Fitz pushed his hands into his pockets and turned back around as Olivia appeared, her head held high. Fitz felt his neck reddening, his face heating up.

She's perfect.

Before he could stop himself, he'd thought it. He'd let himself say it, and there was no way he'd ever forget it.

Olivia had an effortless beauty, she didn't even try to be as alluring as she was. Her large eyes were focused on Fitz as she clutched her satchel's straps.

She's wearing thigh highs today.

Fitz realized, her bare thigh was exposed only a fraction, and her skirt picked up the slack, her uniform shirt was rolled once, and she wore a worn-out uniform sweater. Her curly hair was piled onto her head in a messy bun, escapee curls framed her face.

She's biting her lip.

Fitz blinked as he realized Olivia must have been slightly nervous.

"Hi." Olivia began, her voice was less confident than it had been earlier.

"Hi," Fitz replied, completely surprised. He'd been expecting a lion and instead a lamb stood before him.

"Fitz." Olivia breathed his name, her eyes reluctantly met his.

Instantly, Fitz wanted her to say his name again, he stepped closer to her.

Olivia blinked slowly, dazed.

"Fitz. I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I-I was wrong earlier. I shouldn't have said those things to you. I'm just tired of being looked at like I'm a prize or something. You didn't do anything wrong. Not really. I apologize."

Fitz grinned.

"Can I hug you?"

Olivia smiled oddly; she wasn't sure what to say, his question was random.

"Um. Sure?"

Fitz stepped closer to Olivia and pulled her into himself, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She seemed unsure of how to respond, but slowly, she relaxed in his arms, allowing him to hold her. She inhaled his scent, he smelled clean and warm and familiar. She sunk into him deeper as she felt his head coming down to rest on hers.

"Thank you."

Fitz whispered. Olivia closed her eyes.

"For what?"

Fitz hugged her tighter,

Would this be the first and last time she let him hold her?

"For letting me in. Thank you."

Olivia had no real response. Maybe she didn't need one. Somehow, she felt as if Fitz got her response loud and clear.