Secrets in the Hall

Before we go any further, a step back a bit in the storyline...

April 2032 - Pine Hollow, North Carolina

"Happy birthday!" James Gates-Watson says to his cousin Olivia Gates when he arrives at her eighteenth birthday party. 

"Thanks," Olivia says as he pulls her into a crushing hug. Olivia and James will both be leaving for their college years in just a few months and have gotten their acceptance letters--Olivia to Foxbury Institute and James to University of Britechester. 

"Happy birthday," Atticus says from across the room. Olivia didn't really want to invite him to her party, but she had invited his twin sister Alisha and so her mom told her that it would be rude not to invite Atticus too.

So now he stands there, wearing something other than the boyish shirt and shorts with a checkered scarf that he is usually seen in. What makes him think tight green pants are the right style for him? He just looks...not like himself, Olivia decides. Not that he looks terrible. And not that she really wants to look closely at how he appears.

"Uh, thanks," Olivia says as she sits down and turns her focus away from him.

It isn't a big party--just a few of her friends and her parents and Bianca. Caleb hasn't come home from school yet and Kat has just moved and started a new job in Evergreen Harbor, Mississippi, so she can't yet use vacation time. But it's okay, Olivia isn't the type to have a lot of attention even on her birthday and so this small group works just fine for her.

"So," James says when he sits down with Olivia to eat some of the cake, "are you sending out any messages to Atticus by inviting him tonight?"

Olivia coughs as the bit of cake she tries to swallow gets caught in her throat. "What does that mean? What kind of message would I be sending?"

James eats the rest of his cake in one bite while Olivia cleans her plate a little slower. "I heard he likes you. And you two have spent a lot of time together this year, so..."

Olivia squeezes her eyes shut. "We're partners in class, remember? That's it."

"That's not what he says," James tells her with a smirk.

Olivia finds Atticus and corners him in the hall. "What have you been saying about us?" she demands.

"That you can't resist and that's why we've been seen together," Atticus says. "Admit it, you can't resist everything I am, can you?"

Olivia glares at him. "Of course I can. I don't want to be anywhere near you and yet I always am."

"So why did you invite me to your party?" he asks.

And that's a question she has asked herself ever since she gave her invite. She didn't really have to listen to her mom's input. It was her party and she could invite only those who she really wanted around her.

And yet she did invite him. And she's not entirely sure what she thinks about him or why she thinks about him.

"I only invited you because..." Olivia tries to think of a reason to say. Because I invited your sister. Because I feel sorry for you. Because...because...

She doesn't know why nothing comes. And she doesn't know why she does what she does next.

She doesn't know why, except that she wants to see what it might bring and what it might mean. And at the moment, she's not sure what that is, except that she finds she doesn't mind his lips on hers as much as she thought she might.