Forever

IX

It was a sunny morning the next day, everything felt lively and vibrant because of the sun shining and the calming breeze of the wind whistling in the surrounding.

Yet it was the opposite of it in Olivia's room.

All of her curtains were down, casting darkness in her whole space, as if reflecting what she had been feeling for the past few days. There was a faint knock on her door, and after a few seconds it cracked open, revealing her mother carrying a tray containing several things. Olivia smiled lazily at her mum, yet she gave the girl lying in bed a worried expression.

"Honey, how are you feeling?" her mother asked, concern flooding her voice. Olivia shifted in her position a little, pulling down a bit the blanket covering her body, reaching for the hand of her mother.

"Mum, don't give me that look," she said, noticing her mother's expression, squeezing her hand in a reassuring manner. "I'm fine."

"Olivia, you don't look like it," her mother disagreed, and she just gave out a faint shrug. "Tell me the truth, honey; how are you really feeling right now?"

Olivia closed her eyes for a second, heaving a deep sigh. "Well..." she started off. "Of course, I'm weaker than usual. I feel like I'm losing energy. But other than that, everything's okay," she said, but her mum seemed to be not agreeing. Playfully rolling her eyes, she said, "Mum, gosh, I'm fine, really."

Her mother just stared at her, still holding her hand, and Olivia noticed that her eyes were starting to well up. "Mum, don't cry."

"I'm not," her mum joked, letting go of her hand. "It's just that... I'm so proud of you, darling. You're staying strong despite all of these," she said, blinking away the tears that were forming. Olivia tried to get up from her bed as her mother aided her, putting a pillow on the headboard for her to lean on.

"Okay," she said, clearing her throat. "Give me those things so I can get by my life okay," she joked, gesturing to the white bottles of medicines on the tray. Her mother laughed slightly, getting the bottles and popping the pills out, handing it to her.

"By the way Via," asked her mum as she drinks water. "Did you tell Austin?"

Olivia stopped halfway through drinking the water, looking at her mum with an unread expression. She brought the glass down, putting it on top of her bedside table. Her mum raised her brows in a questioning manner. She looked down, biting her bottom lip as she fidgeted her fingers.

"You still didn't?" her mum asked, interpreting her actions. She just nodded slowly. "Why, honey?"

Olivia stared up to her mum, it was when it had been seen that she was about to cry. "I don't know," she said, her voice cracking up and on the verge of crying. "I-I don't know how I am going to say to him. I don't know how he will react. I don't know what h-he will do," she stammered out, tears running down her cheeks. The bed shifted a little as her mum moved towards her, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around her mum, hugging her tight. "I don't know what to do, Mum."

*

The lively atmosphere of the day seemingly reflected on Austin's mood, on the other hand, as he entered the studio where his band had been practicing. Removing his sunglasses, he beamed at Marcus who was strumming some random chords on his electric guitar.

"What's up with the bouncy energy, Mr. McIntyre?" Marcus asked as Austin removed his leather jacket, leaving his regular black jumper that says 'Vinyl is Forever.'

"Nothing," he answered, removing the acoustic guitar placed on the couch as he sat on it. Marcus narrowed his eyes inquisitively at him as Martin entered the room, greeting everyone.

"Hey guys," he addressed, sitting beside Austin.

"Hey Martin," Austin greeted him in a cheery tone, taking him aback.

"Woah, what's with you today, dude?" Martin inquired as he leaned his back on the couch, noticing his mood. Answering the same thing as he said to Marcus, Martin did not believe him. "No, I don't buy your 'nothing,'" he said, hands quoting in the air. "Let me guess..." he trailed off, and then an idea came to his head. "Ah! You hit on someone last night!" Martin exclaimed, earning an infuriated expression and a hard punch on the arm from the whitish blond lad. Martin winced in pain, distancing himself from him. "I'm just joking!"

Marcus laughed at them, "I don't think so, Martin," he disagreed, making both lads looked at him. "Our friend here is so loyal to Ms. Olivia Anderson," he said in a matter-of-fact tone, to which Martin agreed in defeat, massaging his arms. "So... what happened with Olivia?" he asked, returning his attention to Austin.

Austin smiled a bit, leaning on the couch. "Nothing much... although I think it's getting way, way better," he said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"So are you guys like, you know, together?" Martin intruded, but then Marcus suddenly butted in.

"Aren't they together since middle school?" he asked curiously, earning a weird look from Martin as he pondered the statement. In the end, he agreed with what Marcus had said.

Furrowing his brows, Austin answered his mates. "Do we look like that? 'Cos no; there are no labels," he said.

Shrugging, Martin commented. "You guys have the weirdest relationship ever," he said as he grabbed the guitar from Austin's lap.

Marcus nodded in agreement, placing a chord on the fret of his guitar, gesturing Martin to join him. "Tell me about it," he said, supplementing Martin's words. Both lads played the melody of the song for their NY competition as Austin contemplated on what they had said.

They're right; everything between Olivia and him was quite confusing—especially with what had happened last night.

Austin stood up from his seat, making the two guys looked at him curiously. "Guys, I need your help on something," he said with determination, plotting out something in his head.

*

"Hey, Olivia!" Lauren called out as she walked briskly on the hallway, trying to catch up with the brown-eyed girl. "Woman, wait for me!"

Olivia turned her head just to see Lauren approaching her, panting, as she carried herself almost gauntly with the high heels she was wearing. She chuckled to herself seeing her friend like that. "Jesus, finally!" Lauren exclaimed when she reached her, making Olivia furrow her brows.

"Don't use the Lord's name in vain, Lauren," she warned, to which Lauren huffed at.

"Okay, sorry," she said, raising her hands in a surrendering manner. "I hope the Lord also forgives you for making me run with these heels," she complained, pointing to her shoes as her other hand rested on Olivia's shoulder for support.

"What do you need?" Olivia asked as they walked down the hallway towards their next class.

"Wait, let me just sit so I can remove these shoes," she sighed as they entered the room. Lauren slumped down herself on the first seat she saw, Olivia sitting on the next one beside it. Lauren shrugged off the shoes just to see her reddening toes, making her groan.

"What now?" Olivia asked, referring to her hanging question awhile ago. Lauren faced her as she massaged her aching heel.

"You need to come to my house after class," she started off, making Olivia raise an eyebrow. "Please! I need you," she pleaded.

"Why?" She asked, not following her thought.

"Remember that aside from being a student, I also have a work as a hairdresser downtown?" She said, to which Olivia nodded at. "I need to practice this hairdo and makeup I'm thinking so I can present it to my boss. Who knows she might approve it and use it in her shop, right? I might get a bonus. Please, Olivia, please," she pleaded once more, clasping her hands together and placing it below her chin.

Rolling her eyes, she finally gave in to her friend's request. "Fine," she said, making Lauren squeal in delight. Just in time, the professor barged in the room, signalising the start of the class. Both girls faced the front room, although Lauren did another thing.

She agreed! Be there at 7 pm x

She typed in her phone, sending the text to Martin.