maroon | olivia rodrigo

10.

December 31, 2023

Olivia was sitting on her couch across from Conan who was attempting, but slightly failing, to calm the girl down. It had been a few days since she had decided to go through with a plan that felt bigger than the release of her first album to her.

She had sent Ariella a Christmas present with a small stuffed animal of a strawberry, her favorite fruit, along with instructions as to where to meet Olivia later tonight. To say the least, Olivia was terrified of what Ella's reaction could be. She wanted nothing more than to be able to call the girl hers, to be able to hold her and give her everything she deserved but she wasn't sure that the other girl felt the same. Olivia's head was filled with doubt and a small voice kept telling her she wasn't good enough for anyone, much less Ariella.

It wasn't something new but it was something that Liv was trying her absolute hardest to learn how to deal with. She had began a new form of therapy and while it was incredibly difficult, it gave her a small glimpse as to what her life could be without the constant whirlwind of emotions she experienced on a daily basis as a result of her trauma. For once, things had started to make life feel worth it and Ella was only a small part of that.

"what if she doesn't show up" Liv asked in a slightly small voice. "what if she doesn't feel the same and she feels bad rejecting me so she just doesn't go" she continued adding on to her previous statement.

Conan sighed before responding, "Olivia she told you she loved you that's not going to happen I promise"

Olivia simply looked at him with a slightly scared look on her face while saying, "I need to set everything up"

. . .

Ariella was standing outside in the cold and dark while waiting for an Uber. She was about to be on the way to the mystery location Olivia had told her to go to and she was slightly terrified. Her heart was racing while she climbed into the vehicle and it didn't slow down throughout the duration of the car ride. She took one more deep breath before opening the car door, revealing a path lit up with small lights adorned in flowers.

Her heart skipped a beat as the walked up and saw a table with drinks and pancakes with strawberries on top, her favorite meal. There was a small box that she could see sitting in Olivia's hand.

"hi" she said a little breathless as she gently touched Liv on the back, forcing her to turn around from where was viewing the sky.

"you came" Olivia responded, a small look of shock on her face, as if she couldn't believe Ariella was actually standing in front of her.

Ariella smiled softly before responding, "of course I did Ollie, why would I not love"

"can we sit down" Liv said, earning a nod from the other girl. She grabbed Ella's hand and lead her away from the table and towards a bench that sat facing the direction where the sun was almost finished setting.

"I know I owe you an apology" Liv began, her voice cracking a little before she continued. "I'm really sorry I freaked out on you after realizing who you were. I had a lot of things I hadn't dealt with but none of it was your fault"

Ariella reached out and intertwined her hand with Ollie's. "coming out even to people you know are supportive is incredibly difficult, and I don't blame you for not wanting to-" Ella said before getting cutoff by Liv.