Somewhere Only We Know- Chapter 7: Olivia's POV

"Hey, are you okay? You don't normally miss school two days in a row, and I guess I was just... Did something happen? I tried talking to the others, but they don't know and Wen isn't being very responsive. Did you guys fight over something? If you two did, you don't have to skip. I'm definitely taking your side."

"Wen told me what happened. I told Scott? He didn't look like he was going to do anything, but I know he will. Please call back. I just need to be sure that you're okay and not somewhere dying in a dumpster. I'll tell the teachers you're sick, and I'll try to bring your homework after school. Call me back when you can, okay?"

"So, what is this? Like my third voice mail? It's Mo, by the way. Just in case you forgot. Wen was thinking that we should turn in the song anyway. I spoke to Ms. Reznik about what would happen if two bands brought in the same song and she was very cryptic about it but I think it should be okay. I mean, the way each band performs the song is going to be a dead giveaway as to the 'mystery' of who wrote it."

"Scott will talk to Ray, he's just caught up in something right now. School is really boring without you! I mean, during this time I'd probably be teasing you about Wen- Oh, nothing, Wen. I'm not talking about you, promise! Yup! You just keep on... Just keep on walking, oh, okay, so I'll just go walking. Olivia, please call me back."

"Ahh! No! Charlie! Give it back! I'm trying to-"

That last voice mail causes me laugh, and even if it sounded quiet and pathetic, at least it was a laugh.

Yesterday, after I heard about Nancy's passing, I nodded blankly at my grandmother and walked up the stairs, emotionless.

Gran tried coming in and talking to me several times, but after a while, she just gave up. A plate of uneaten food lies on my bedside table, and despite my rumbling stomach, I didn't have the energy to move. Nancy was the one thing left of my parents, and she was gone.

I sigh, hugging my knees to my chest.

She's really gone.

My concept of time was nonexistent. I'd take a nap, and five minutes later, I'd wake up. I'd take another, and when I woke up, two hours had passed. I finally look away from the same spot on my wall when somebody walks through the door.

"I made some soup," Gran says, smiling softly, "I mean, I know you still have your lunch on your bedside table, but it's your favorite. Made just the way you like."

I stare at her blankly, blinking once in a while because my eyes were tired and sore and red-rimmed and disgusting. When I speak, my voice is quiet. "I didn't go to school today."

She laughs, "I know, honey. It's alright. I talked to the school and it's all sorted out."

"Thank you," I say shakily, and it's when she places the soup on my bedside table and sits on the foot of my bed that I break. A small tear escapes my eye, and before I know it, millions of them start falling down. "When does this stop?" I ask, "Does it ever stop hurting?"

She smiles sadly, "Everyone gets their happy ending eventually, it just takes a little time for others." After a pause, she stands up and takes the plate of my uneaten lunch. She looks at me sternly, "I'm going to let lunch go because you're hurting, but that soup better be finished by the time I get back."

I nod, a small smile forming on my face as I saluted her jokingly. She looks at me once again, "You're friends are downstairs waiting for you. They said they weren't leaving without seeing you." A beat, "I'll send Mo up."

"Okay," I say, staring blankly at the wall once again.

I know it's Mo when the door opens and a voice complains that it's hot in here. "No wonder your Grandma's got the AC turned up so high!" Suddenly, a cold hand is pressed on my forehead and Mo draws back quickly, "I think you have a fever." She walks to my windows and opens them.

Mo sits across from me and frowns, "What happened? I know that Wen didn't tell me everything... Or maybe he did and this is because of something else. Do you want to talk about it?" She smiles, "You shouldn't do this to yourself."

"He took our song," I say weakly.

She gives me a look, "I have a feeling that it's more than just because of that. Is it Wen? Did he do something? He's just downstairs and I won't hesitate to-"

I shake my head, "No, Wen... He didn't do anything."

Her lips purse, and she whispers something to herself under her breath before nodding, "Alright, I know you probably don't want to talk about it now, so I won't push."

"Thanks," I mumble.

"The song was really good," She starts, "And I don't know if you heard my voicemail, but we talked to Ms. Reznik about the possibility of two bands performing the same song, and she didn't really give an answer, but I have a feeling she'll do something about it. I mean, in the end, it's going to be obvious who wrote the song. Scott's going to try to reason with Ray, I know it."

I didn't want to tell her that Scott was one of the people who actually took the song from me. She looked so sure that Scott was going to be the good guy in this equation, and I didn't want to take that away from her.

"Yeah," I nod, "I'm sure he will."

She stares at me sadly, "Do you want to go downstairs? The air is better there, and Wen's down there as well." She gives me a look, "Would you like to explain why he knew about this whole situation before me?"

"He found me because I didn't go home right away," I say, "I dunno, I guess after Ray took the song, something inside of me snapped and I just couldn't do it anymore," I look away from her, staring at the wall once again, "It just sucks, you know? It's hard to put together the broken pieces when you have no more strength to do so."

"You don't have to think like that, Olivia. I'm here for you, your Gran's here for you, the band is here for you, Wen is here for you," She says, "He was actually sitting downstairs waiting for you with me." She puts a hand on my shoulder, "We all don't like seeing you like this."

I reply with a look of disbelief.

She flashes me a look, "Or, you know, I could just call Wen up, since all your worries seem to disappear whenever he's with you." She smirks.

I shake my head vigorously, "No, no, no, no, no, please don't. He can't see me like this! I look horrible!"

"Oh, psh," She waves her hand absently and calls out, "Wen! Do you-" I put my hand over her mouth, but she quickly dodges my weak attempt, "Want to come up here-" I throw my blanket over her face, "Wen!" She cries.

I hit her with my pillow lightly just as Wen comes in, face tilted and eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "Hi?"

"I think she's fine now," Mo says, voice muffled through my blanket.

I blush and pull the blanket off of her, suddenly uncomfortable in my own space. I couldn't look at him, so I just looked everywhere else. When my eyes accidentally meet Mo's, she's staring at me with a smirk.

"So, um," Cough. This was awkward.

The silence is thankfully broken by Wen, who takes something out of his pocket. "Uh, this is just, um, when we were working, well, um, actually, uh, after we worked on the song together, I was really excited and just, uh, I got the band together, and we, uh."

"Wow, nice sentence, Wen," Mo jokes, smirking, "Just give her CD."

"CD?" I ask.

"Yeah, uh, it's the song. Determinate," He says, handing me the tape. He scratches the back of his head, "It's just the instrumental."

I smile, "Thanks, Wen."

"No problem," He mumbles, looking away.

I look away too.

Mo sighs, "Honestly, how did the two of you work on this song? You can barely talk to each other!"

I not-so-subtly elbow Mo's shoulder as I flash a smile at Wen. Maybe Gran was right. Maybe my happy ending was coming. Maybe all it took for me to realize that was my friends.

"Thanks," I say, biting my lip, "You guys are the best."

Mo plops down on my bed and smacks a pillow over her face, "Seriously, you two. Just kiss already."

"You came!" Charlie exclaims, running to give me a massive bear hug, "Are you alright? What happened yesterday? I'll kill Wen! Well, not really kill him. We need his musical skills. I'll kick him! No, he may not be able to stand up and play. Wait, that's based on how hard I actually kick him. Oh! I can kick him lightly! Well, that's not really going to do anything... I know! I'll-"

I shake my head, laughing, "No, it's not Wen. Why does everybody think that?"

"You just hang out a lot with him is all," Charlie shrugs. He looks at me skeptically, "Are you sure it's not because of him?"

"I'm sure," I smile.

"And you're okay?" He asks.

I nod.

He nods back, hair bouncing, "Good."

"Well, I could always beat up Ray for you," Stella offers, "I mean, just tell me when and I won't hesitate to punch him."

I smile but shake my head, "It's alright, Stella. Thanks, though. It means a lot that you guys are here for me."

"Duh," She says, "We're not just a band. We're friends now. Well, at least I am. Friends with all of you. I dunno about you and Wen." She stares at me with a smirk and waggles her eyebrows.

I look away with a blush.

"So tell us," Stella starts, leaning her head on both her arms, staring at me with wide eyes, "Do you like like him?"

"Oh, so we're back in elementary school," I joke, "Such a mature question, Stella. I think I need some time to think it over."

Her eyebrow raises, "Oh, so is that a yes?"

"A yes to what?" Mo asks, sitting down next to me. Scott sits next to her.

The smile falls off my lips, "A yes to nothing."

Scott looks away from me and drums his fingers on the table anxiously.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go now," I sigh and stand up, "I forgot that I had an appointment with a teacher, uh, I mean the library. I'm going to the library," I grab my backpack from the floor, "See you guys later."

I turn around quickly and almost crash into someone. One hand flies to my heart and another flies up to hold my beanie in place. "Sorry," I mutter, "Sorry."

I quickly walk to my locker and grab my next period's binder and textbook.

"What's up?" Wen asks, coming out of nowhere, scaring the poop out of me.

I jump, "Oh my goodness."

"You okay?" He takes my things out of my hands and holds them for me, "You ran out of there pretty quick."

"No, I'm fine," I spout off random words, "Just, I just have to catch up on everything that I've missed."

He scratches the back of his neck, "You're, uh," He sighs, "The reason that you're," He pinches the bridge of his nose, "It's not because of me, right? Because I don't know why but everyone seems to think so and when I came in and we bumped into each other and you ran away. Did I do something?"

"No!" I reach out to pull him into an awkward hug, "It's not you, I promise."

He smiles, hugging me tighter, "Okay."

"Can we talk?"

I look up from my book and scoff, "No."

"Olivia, please," Scott sits down across from me, eyes shining with guilt, "I just want to explain."

I stand up and gather all of my things, "There is honestly nothing that you could say to me right now, and there is nothing that I want to hear from you. The only reason I didn't tell Mo is because she has so much faith in you, and I'm not going to break her heart. So you're either going to give the song back and choose Mo, or keep the song and live with knowing that winning this competition is more important than your girlfriend."

He looks away.

"This is just a competition, Scott. So what if you don't win?" I ask, "Do you want to know why I'm acting like this? If it was any other person I wouldn't care. Heck, someone could steal every song I've written and I'd just write another one! The only reason this hurts so much is because Ray was the one who took the song."

I put my chair back into position and shake my head, "I get that you want to keep up with your appearance and friends, but you need to remember who you are individually. Don't you want to stand up for yourself? I can't believe you had the nerve to look her in the eye after all of this. She keeps saying that you're going to talk to Ray. She has so much faith in you," I take a deep breath, "I hope it isn't misplaced."

"Hey," Mo says.

I look up at her, and something on my face causes her expression to fall. She turns to Scott, "What are you doing here?"

He coughs, eyes never breaking contact with mine, "Saying sorry for Ray."

Hello there! Thanks so much for sticking with this story! There's been a crazy long waiting time, and I am a horrible author. Hopefully this six-page-long update sort-of makes up for it... haha... haha... ha. Anyways, the next chapter is coming sometime soon, after I've edited it out and such. Hope you liked it!