I know it's been a while since I've posted but between school which just started this month and my current obsession with Grey's Anatomy (an AWESOME show that I should've started watching much earlier) and just life in general, it's been hard for me to find time to write, but I'm hoping to make the chapters in this story pretty short so that I can post faster. If you're wondering about my other story "Perfectly Aligned", trust me, I'm working on it and should have a new chapter out this week. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! (P.S. How excited are you all for S4 premiere this Thursday?!)

Chapter 2: Too Close

"Hey, handsome!" Fitz looks in the direction of the call and sees two dudes and a girl standing by a volleyball net, staring at him. The girl, a brunette with a funky tie-dye bikini, winks at him and says, "We need an extra player on our side. You want in on one game?"

The two guys don't seem very happy about her asking but they keep quiet. After pondering it for a few seconds, Fitz agrees, "Okay."

He was already feeling pretty bored just hanging out on the beach and besides, maybe he could hook up with the brunette and forget about the Girl who was constantly weaving her way in and out of his thoughts. The Girl with a capital g, was what he was calling her now since he had somehow missed getting her name.

He puts his stuff down and goes over to them, ignoring the guys who look less than impressed with him as he positions himself next to the brunette in front of the net. She grins brightly at him, flirtatiously saying, "Hey."

He flashes her a charming smile. "Hey."

He looks on the other side of the net and only sees two people. He wonders why the teams are unevenly distributed but his question is answered when he sees a perky blonde making her way over to them with none other than the Girl from the bar.

His mouth falls open at the sight of her in a turquoise bikini suit that illuminates her skin and shows off her beautiful body in all the right places. She not only has the beach-perfect body but he can also tell from her petite frame that she's very athletic from the little definition on her arms and the slight six-pack on her stomach. Her skin looks so soft and smooth and as he stands there gawking at her, he can't fight the image of him running his fingers and laying soft, sweet kisses all over that beautiful skin.

Quit it, Fitz, he scolds himself, you can't be thinking these things about her. She's just a kid. An immature, snotty, rebellious kid who almost got him in some big trouble the day before. But even as he kept trying to tell himself this, he still can't tear his eyes away from her. It wasn't until she glanced over to the other side of the net and saw him staring back at her that he realized his eyes were still glued to her. She seems just as perplexed as him, her confident and loose demeanor now thrown off by his intense gaze. She's the first one to break eye contact when one of the girls on her team nudges her and whispers something to her with a mischievous smirk while side-eyeing Fitz. The Girl looks back at him with an uneasy smile and nodx in agreement with whatever the girl was saying. They finally look away from each other for good as they all get into position and one of the guys serves the ball, starting the game.

It was a pretty intense game with both sides giving it their all. He could tell that everyone playing probably played the game on a regular basis since they went almost a minute and a half without letting the ball touch the ground. The Girl was fairly impressive, putting in her share of work on her team, never slipping up, making Fitz wonder if she played, too. Fitz was actually playing pretty well also, doing his part on the team but the other guys were still giving him a hard time nonetheless if he would get in their way or let the ball slip. Fitz was starting to get fed up at their constant taunting but his anger only worsened when one of the guys nearly tripped him and said it was an accident. The only reasoning he could come up with as to why they were acting like such assholes was because of the tie-dye chick who they probably had a thing for and saw that he was getting in the way. Or maybe they were just flat-out assholes. Whatever the case, they were pissing Fitz off and his anger was starting to come out in his playing, but he immediately regrets his aggressiveness when he jumps up, delivering what he feels is the greatest spike ever, except the ball didn't hit the ground, it hit a face—her face.

He hears the Girl cry out as the ball makes a loud slapping noise when it collides with her skin and he curses himself as he catches a glimpse of blood. "Nice going," one of the douchebags on his side mutters. Fitz glares at him but doesn't waste any more time as he bends down under the net and rushes towards her, along with her teammates who are repeatedly asking her if she's okay. She takes a seat on the sand, holding her hand to the cheek that made contact with the ball as she nods back to everyone in response.

Fitz stops about three feet in front of her, saying, "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to do that."

She looks up at him but when she doesn't respond, he gets critical stares from everyone else.

"You do know you're supposed to spike the sand, not a face. Have you even played this game before?" Says a girl kneeling at the Girl's side in one of the most annoyingly shrill voices Fitz has ever heard.

"It was an accident, and like I said I'm sorry." He turns back to the Girl who removes her hand from her cheek and scowls at the blood on her palm.

Fitz kneels down right in front of her and sighs. "I really am. I guess I just got carried away. That looks kind of bad but I can help you fix it up." She flinches away from him when he reaches towards her.

"Maybe you should just go. You've already done enough damage," the chick with the shrill voice says smartly, crossing her arms over her chest, not withholding any of her bitchiness.

Fitz shakes head, disregarding her and turns back to the Girl. "Please, just let me help you. Like I said earlier, you never have to see me again afterwards if you don't want to. Hawaii is a big island," he tells her, quoting what he said a few days earlier.

She continues to look up at him, frowning, but after several seconds more Fitz swears he sees a slight smirk cross her face and she subtly nods. He holds out his hand for her and she tentatively takes it. He relishes in the feeling of this small touch, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb across the top of her soft, tiny hand that fit in his like a glove. It was as if they're hands were made for each other.

As soon as he stands her up, she takes her hand out of his grasp, much to his discontent and after gathering their things, they leave the beach together.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

"I honestly don't know how you draw blood with a volleyball," the Girl says as she and Fitz sit at a table in the hotel's cafe. He had gotten a mini First Aid Kit from the guy currently manning the restaurant and since it was mostly empty at the moment, he decided to fix her up there.

"Here, turn your face a little more to the right," Fitz tells her as he dabs a little more antiseptic and then reaches for a Band-Aid.

She frowns at it and sighs as he peels the paper. "And now I'm going to have to wear that on my face. Great…"

"I'm sorry. You'll probably only have to wear it for a few days."

"Thanks for the prognosis, doc."

He grins, laying the Band-Aid across her cheek. "There's that snarky attitude."

She rolls her eyes but he manages to get a smile out of her. Damn, she looks so beautiful when she smiles.

He shakes himself out of his thoughts when she raises a quizzical eyebrow at him. He clears his throat and says, "See, it's not too bad. That flawless face of yours should be back to perfection by the end of the week. I know that crap is important to teenage girls."

She feigns being offended as she tells him, "First of all, it's not crap. And secondly, I won't be a teenager for long. I'm turning 18 in a few months."

Fitz ponders this, just for a second getting his hopes up about actually having a shot with her, but then he remembers their age difference and knows that she probably wants someone around her own age. He nods. "Well, good for you. Anything else you need?"

"Mmm…I could use a drink, maybe a Blue Hawaiian?" She says with the utmost somberness.

Fitz shakes his head at her, giving her a look that says 'are you serious?' "Uhn uhn, we're not playing that again. You're too young to be drinking, remember?"

"Oh, please, like you're such a saint. I can totally imagine you passed out drunk off your ass at some frat party back when you were just a silly freshman in college. Am I right?" She asks, smirking because she knows the answer.

Fitz shakes his head regardless and then asks coyly, "Speaking of parties, I've been invited to one tonight so I was wondering if you wanted to come along. It's at the beach and I think tiki-themed. These two guys I met a few days ago told me about it, I thought I'd check it out so…do you wanna come?"

"I don't want to go to some stupid party, especially like this," she says, pointing to the Band-Aid on her cheek.

He sighs. "I'm really trying to be nice but right now you're being impossibly hard to please."

"What would really please me right now is a drink."

Fitz looks back at her, level-headed and decides to stand his ground, saying firmly, "No."

She raises her eyebrows at him. "No?"

"No. I am not going to keep feeding your bad drinking habits because you may think that it's innocent or makes you cool now but things will only get worse, believe me. So, I am going to go back to the bar and order you something age-appropriate whether you like it or not. Just stay right here."

He comes back a minute later with two bottles of Coca-Cola in his hands and gives her one, which she reluctantly takes, mumbling, "Thanks."

He smiles as she takes a sip. "You're welcome."

She suddenly looks away as if she's embarrassed, making Fitz feel like he did something wrong but then she says, "So…I thought about it and I think I'll take you up on your offer to go to that party—not because I really want to go but because I have nothing else to do tonight but hang out in my hotel room with my brothers and listen to them engage in some stupid burping contest."

He smirks. "It's really that bad, huh?"

She nods. "You have no idea."

"Well, the party is at Kauna 'oa Beach, starts as soon as the sun goes down. I can text you the exact location or pick you up—you know what? Never mind that sounds a little creepy," he says, inwardly chastising himself for saying that.

She chuckles at him. "Uh, it's okay. I'll just meet you there around at 8. You don't need to text me, if it's a party I'll find it."

"Oh. Well, okay…I guess I'll see you there. You sure you don't want me to get your number or have me give you mine? I don't know how big this thing will be and I want to be able to find you. Are you sure it's even okay with your parents?"

She rolls her eyes. "My parents could care less about what I do. And even if you gave me your number, if I called you you would have mine and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that since I'm still deciding on whether or not to peg you as a creeper or just a really nice guy." She gives him another one of her trademark smiles. "Besides, in the 30 minutes that we've known each other, that is if you add the time up from yesterday and today, you've managed to buy me drinks, split my cheek open with a volleyball, clean up the wound, and you still don't even know what my name is."

Fitz fumbles with his words, wondering how he's letting some young girl baffle him, but whether he liked it or not, this cool, witty side of her utterly turned him on and as he stared back at her, trying to come up with something to say, he couldn't help but imagine the feeling of those incredibly soft-looking lips of hers on his with their bodies tightly pressed up against each other as he ran his hands all over her beautiful mocha skin, exploring every inch of her. Man, this is so wrong…Maybe it was a bad idea to invite her to this thing.

He focuses his gaze down towards the ground, forcing himself to look away from those gorgeous brown doe eyes and says uneasily, "Well, I don't know, I guess it just didn't occur to me to ask."

Of course it had. He had spent hours the night before thinking of various names that he thought fit her but he hadn't really gotten much of a chance to ask her. Though, now that the topic was on the table, he thought this was the perfect opportunity to ask. "So, what is your name?"

She takes another sip of her drink, getting up from her seat. "Why don't I keep you guessing? I'll see you around 8—oh, and thanks for bandaging up my face. It was very noble of you," she tells him, with what Fitz deems the sexiest of smiles as she walks out the door, her hips swaying from side to side. This girl is going to be the death of me.

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Fitz shows up to the party about 20 minutes to eight, to do some socializing and get a layout of the party so that he knew different places to look for the Girl at, but it was already half an hour after 8 and he still hadn't even gotten a glimpse of her. And his searching wasn't made any easier by the dark and the crowd of dancing party people. He wishes he had gotten her number but just as he starts to worry that his searching efforts are all for nothing and that she skipped out on him, he spots her not too far away from the shore, talking to Tie-Dye Chick, who he had socialized with earlier and asked to look out for the Girl.

She looks absolutely stunning in casual, red maxi dress and her hair pinned up in a messy bun with a few curly strands running down her face. Fitz releases a sigh of gratitude as he makes his way over to them. He watches as the two of them continue to chat but is taken aback when the saddest look flashes across the Girl's face for a moment and then she quickly covers it up. He gets within hearing distance as she shrugs and says, "Oh. That's okay. I didn't even want to show up to this thing but…whatever, it's fine."

She whips around to come face-to-face with Fitz, who smiles her uneasily, still wondering what made her look so upset just a moment ago, but her expression changes from sad to outright confused as she stares back at him. She looks as if she's about to ask him something but instead she just shakes her head dismissively and walks off in a different direction.

"Wait, where are you going?" Fitz calls after her but she doesn't even turn around as her pace picks up.

Fitz gives Tie-Dye Chick a questioning glance and in response she just shrugs and says, "Maybe you should just leave her. Let's go dance."

But Fitz ignores her, not wasting any more time before he's following the Girl through the crowd. He maneuvers through, accidentally and purposely nudging people aside until there's more room. He jogs to catch up to her as they reach the edge of the beach, stopping in front of her when he finally reaches her.

"What happened back there?" he asks. She tries to side-step him but he just steps right in front of her each time.

"Move out of my way," she says irritably.

"First just tell me what's going on."

"No, I wouldn't want to keep you from your date," she tells him, not holding back any malice.

"My date? You mean Tie-Dye Chick—I mean, the girl you were just talking to?" Fitz asks, remembering that he's the only one who calls her that. "She's not my date. I'm not with her."

"No, not her, but I saw you earlier with some other girl and Tie-Dye Chick or whatever you call her told me that you were with that girl and that you guys were all over each other, so excuse me, I don't want to keep you any longer."

Fitz doesn't quite understand what he hears in her voice—she was either just upset that he didn't find her earlier or...was she possibly jealous? He steps in front of her again as she tries to get away. "And you believed her?"

"Well, I saw you with the other girl when I first got here but then I lost you, so then I run into Tie-Dye Chick and she tells me that you guys went off together." Fitz ponders what she's saying for a second and puts two and two together.

"I wasn't with that other girl earlier, I was just being polite and social but Tie-Dye Chick is the one who blew it out of proportion…I have a feeling she did it on purpose," Fitz says, thinking about how flirty she had been with him. At first he had flirted back because he wanted to get laid but since seeing this Girl earlier that day, Tie-Dye Chick was the last thing on him mind.

"On purpose? She thought…she lied because she thought that I had a thing for you," she says, coming to the realization. Fitz searches for something in her eyes but he can't read her expression. She scoffs, looking away from him and mumbles, "Bitch."

"Yeah, I know," Fitz agrees.

"We were just coming to this thing as friends—well, sort of, I still don't really know you well enough to call you a friend but you're pretty alright, I guess." Fitz smirks at this and she returns the gesture, making Fitz glad that she's not pissed at him anymore.

"Well, thanks. Um, do you wanna go back or…we could do something else or I could just take you back to your hotel maybe."

She cringes at the last suggestion. "Mmm, let's do something else. Do you know any cool spots?"

He shrugs. "There's this nice restaurant with music and dancing not too far away. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually I kind of am."

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

They take his car and within fifteen minutes they're at the restaurant, which is only a few minutes from the hotel. The two of them order burgers and fries though Fitz notices that she's eaten almost all of her fries but hasn't touched her burger yet. "I thought you said you were hungry."

"I am, I'm just not hungry for this. I'm a vegetarian."

He raises his eyebrows at her. "Ah, so you're one of those people."

She crosses her arms over her chest, smiling. "'One of those people'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a meat-hater. I bet you show up in forests around hunting season and take a bullet for the animals, am I right?"

She glares at him. "Shut up. You're such an ass, you know that?" she tries to say as firmly as possible, but in the end they both end up cracking up. Fitz takes notice of her genuine laugh and thinks of it as quite possibly the best sound he's ever heard in his life. He loved how care-free she sounded and looked and that perfect gleam of joy that glossed her eyes. She was making it so difficult not to want her.

"I am not an extremist—I mean, yeah, I love animals and I don't like hearing about them being shot up but I went the veggie way more for myself than the animals—that's all I'm going to say."

"Alright, whatever you say. I'll try not to offend you with my meat-loving tendencies, though," he says, popping the last bit of his burger in his mouth. She rolls her eyes at him, stealing a fry off his plate.

They sit quietly and comfortably for about ten minutes, listening to the music playing throughout the room and watching the people dance, occasionally stealing nervous glances at each other. He watches her as she drifts off into her thoughts with a small fixed smile on her face and sways to some 80's song that he sort of recognizes.

Before he knows what he's doing, he asks, "Do you wanna dance?"

She looks back at him, truly shocked and he immediately regrets what he said. "You know what, forget it. Sorry…"

"No, it's okay." She shrugs. "Sure, let's dance."

He nods, wondering how one girl he just met had the power to make him feel so awkward. He knew he was a stud and he's been charming his way through life since he was a toddler. Other women became awkward around him, not the other way around, but that seemed to be the case here and he didn't know what it meant. He felt in his gut that there was something wrong with what he was doing but at the same time it just felt so right.

The song she was into ends as Journey's "Faithfully" begins to play.

"I love this song," she murmurs as they stand on the dance floor cumbersomely, not knowing how to position themselves. After a few more uncomfortable seconds, she sighs with a smile and says, "Are you really this awkward with every girl you dance with."

She comes closer to him and quickly links her hands around his neck, causing Fitz's heart to beat out of his chest. He takes in her sweet vanilla flower scent as his skin becomes electrified with every second he feels her touch. He gently settles his hands on her waist and they begin to sway to the music, first rigidly but as he gradually starts to calm down and gain confidence, he tightens his hold on her waist and pulls her closer to him, feeling the need to have her nearer. He senses her relaxing as well and they finally make eye contact as he gazes up.

There it was again—that connection he felt the day they met. It was in those eyes that he felt belonging and identity and uttermost peace. He never knew that such a wonderful feeling could exist. It felt better than all the sex he had had in his life combined. It made him feel infinite.

He goes on auto-pilot again as he wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her even closer and takes his other hand to her good cheek, grazing her incredibly soft skin with his thumb. He glances down at her full, luscious lips and takes the plunge.

Their lips barely brush when she forcefully pulls back, disconnecting them both physically and emotionally. She stares back at him with an utterly terrified look and then glances back at their table to see her phone flashing and closes her eyes momentarily, letting out a sigh of relief. Saved by the ring.

She goes back towards the table, picking up her phone, and walking to a quieter space in the room. Fitz looks away from her, chastising himself for what he did. She comes back over to him, avoiding eye contact and says, "I have to go. That was my dad."

He nods slowly. "Do you need me to—?"

"No, it's fine. Back to the hotel is just a ten-minute walk. I'll be fine."

He nods again and after another uncomfortable moment, she whips around and walks out of the door into the night. Fitz exhales as some of the tension leaves his body but he knows he'll need a little more help to get rid of it all.

He walks over to the bar and says to the guy behind the counter. "Something with tequila in it, please."

IiIiIiIiIiIiI

Present—2026

Olivia releases the book, letting it drop to the floor as if it's poison. How is this possible? How was this story—how could the person who wrote this story know all these details? The things being said in this novel were memories that she had locked up in the darkest holes of her mind for years and now they were being evoked in just a matter of minutes by...She sighs and tentatively picks up the book, flipping it around to front. She scans the cover and her eyes widen at what she sees.

Well, I hope that you liked this chapter. Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger like that. How do you feel about Olitz's progression? Do you think Fitz is making a mistake by continuing to chase after Olivia? What do you think Olivia sees on the front cover? Other thoughts? Please tell and thanks for reading!