Just for a Moment

105 | Honest

After numerous rounds of truth or dare, they went back to Spicy Uno; cards were flying all over the auditorium in fits of laughter and rage, everyone's competitive sides coming out.

Once the second Uno session had finished, the rest of the cast and crew showed up. The auditorium was filled with people talking, dancing, singing, and crying. The whole place was so full that a few people lost sight of each other.

Joshua had to fight his way through a part of the crowd until he saw the group he was looking for. Dara, Joe, Julia, and Sofia were standing in a bunch. He tapped on Dara's shoulder since she was the closest and asked, "Hey, have you seen Liv?"

"She went to the bathroom a while ago. I haven't seen her come back yet though." He nodded and left.

He searched through the whole auditorium yet couldn't find her, and everybody else didn't have a clue either. Joshua left the party and began traveling through the hallways, trying to figure out where she could be.

After scouring the whole school and not finding a trace, his mind automatically resorted to the worst scenario. No, you're being ridiculous. There's no one here but the cast and crew. She's more than likely fine. After walking through the entire school a second time, he was exhausted. What the hell?

He couldn't understand where she would be. Feeling defeated, he went back into the auditorium. Matt saw him enter and quickly approached him. "Hey, where have you been?!" he shouted over the music.

"Have you seen Liv?" he responded instead.

Matt shrugged. "Nope."

As Matt was pulling him back into the chaotic mess that was this party, a lightbulb went off in his head. "Um, I'll be back in a minute, dude," he said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Come on," he whined, "this might be our last time together all in one room. Where are you going anyway?"

"Uh... there's this, um... thing... I need to take care of."

Something clicked in Matt's head, and he suddenly understood. "Finally! It took you long enough to realize!"

"I, um... I don't know about that, but-"

"You should do it though," he encouraged, stepping away from him.

Joshua just stood there for a moment before darting out of the auditorium and sprinting up the stairs. He reached the double doors and took a deep breath, wiping his hands on his jeans too. He gently pushed open the doors to not scare her if she was up there and looked around.

He did eventually spot her; she was standing on the side that was the front of the school with a drink in her hand too. She was looking out over the area into the pitch-black darkness.

Joshua stood there, not knowing how to begin. Olivia must have sensed his eyes on her because she turned around and made him jump on the inside. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey." She relaxed and leaned back against the wall.

"H- Hi." He finally got his feet to work and began walking toward her. "I've been looking for you."

She giggled a little. "Yeah?"

"Mhm." English was no longer a language he remembered how to speak. "What, um... what are you doing out here?"

She shrugged and sighed. "I don't know. I'm not very, uh, good at goodbyes, and I've cried a lot this night already, so I just... decided to get some air. It's peaceful." She turned back around and waved him over. He joined her by the wall and looked out at all the houses. She could feel his presence, and he had stepped very close to her.