IT STARTED WITH A WHISPER, Elizabeth Olsen

Nothing

A few weeks went by and things at home were going rather smoothly. I wouldn't go as far as saying they were getting friendly, but Lizzie and Caity were definitely getting along. It was less complicated than I had expected. Lizzie was starting to feel a bit better, she'd been looking for an apartment or a small house to live in but she couldn't find anything that fitted all her needs. I was trying to help her, even though part of me didn't want her to leave. I liked it when she was around, when she was near me, it made me feel better.

"What are you thinking about?" Caity asked, standing in the doorframe. The sound of her voice snapped me back to reality.

"Nothing" I lied poorly. She walked in and sat right next to me on my bed, a worried look on her face.

"Why is it so hard for you to say, darling? You still love her, don't you?" she asked, placing a comforting hand on my knee.

"It's just that since she got here I... I started feeling like me again" I admitted hesitantly.

"Yeah, you've got that look in your eyes, every time she walks into the room... I wish someone would look at me like this" Caity smiled at me, although she looked like she was daydreaming.

"Jes does" I teased, playfully nudging her side.

"Does not" she sighed. "Don't start with this whole thing again" she nudged me back. Jes was one of Caity's coworkers, they'd been playing a couple on a show for several seasons and I knew Caity had a not-so-secret crush on her. I noticed the way they looked at each other off screen and it seemed very obvious to me that the feelings were reciprocal.

After that conversation, Caity called Brie who then called Scarlett. They both came over brining snacks and, of course, alcohol. Brie seemed excited at the idea of spending time with me outside of work, which was something we hadn't been doing since I'd started working on set. Lizzie quickly joined us in the living room and we started our evening with a couple drinks and simple conversations about our lives. Although we saw each other all the time, we somehow still found new topics to discuss.

"We should go out" I stated out of nowhere. "Like... somewhere where we can dance and sing" I suggested. Brie knew exactly where I wanted to go and she instantly matched my energy. We took our cars, Brie and Scarlett drove in the same one while I drove Caity and Lizzie. We went to a beach bar which also turned out to be a karaoke bar, exactly what I wanted.

A few minutes after we arrived, Jes joined us. Caity gave me a knowing look and I confessed, "I texted her and told her to join us. The more the merrier, isn't that what they say?" I teased, earning a thankful smile from my friend who quickly disappeared out of my sigh. I did see her a bit later, standing near the bar with Jes by her side. Scarlett and Brie were singing at the top of their lungs like two drunk idiots although they'd barely drank anything. Which made them just idiots. That being said, I was left alone with Lizzie and after a few seconds, she broke the silence.

"I found a house" she said, worryingly waiting for my reaction.

"Oh" I let out before getting a hold of myself. "Oh, that's great! Where is it?" I faked a cheerful tone, but I knew it wasn't convincing.

"A few blocks away from Brie's" she simply responded without giving any other details about the place itself.

"That sounds great, but you know you can take your time to move and get settle there. I mean, there's no rush" I spoke hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't catch the hidden message.

"That's sweet, but I think Caity's getting tired of having me around" she chuckled, not catching the fact that I just wanted to keep her around.

"Caity's moving out soon anyway..." I mumbled, looking at some sign behind the bar. I wasn't actually reading it, or paying attention to it, I just needed to focus on something other than the fact that I was going to be living alone.