Disclaimer: As you all know, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.
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Day 22: Lorde – "A World Alone", Taylor Swift – "I'm Only Me When I'm With You"
Universe: Present Day – High School
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The Friday night after they graduate high school finds Alex and Olivia camped out in the field behind Alex's house, trying to pretend nothing is going to change and everything is going to be okay.
Hand tangled with Olivia's, Alex stares up into the sky, watching the stars glitter in the dark. "Does it ever scare you?"
Olivia turns her head to look over at Alex, her brow furrowed. "Does what ever scare me?"
"How big the universe is."
Olivia swallows hard; it is, in fact, something that scares her – frightens her even. "Sure," she says, attempting to sound nonchalant. "Why?"
Alex sits up, pushing her hand through her hair. "Sometimes I think about how big space is and how that compares to how much time we have to do everything we want to do with our lives…and I just worry I won't be able to do everything I want to do."
Olivia sits up, squeezing Alex's hand gently. "What brought this on?"
"Time's moving so quickly, Liv, and I'm just so scared."
"Hey," Olivia says, reaching out to rest her hand on Alex's face. She lightly rubs her thumb over Alex's cheek, smiling softly. "Relax, Al. We just turned eighteen; we have plenty of time."
"What if we don't?"
Olivia shrugs. "Then we make the most of what we have."
Alex sighs, lying back with her head rested in Olivia's lap. "Yeah," she says, looking back up at the stars, "I suppose you're right."
Olivia grins, looking down at Alex's face, seeing the stars there. She runs her fingers through Alex's hair. "I usually am."
Alex laughs, swatting blindly at Olivia.
Maybe time is finite and there's nothing they can do about that, but right now in this field under the stars just wrapped up in each other, that's enough for now.
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