Songs from my Bewilderment

Chapter Eighteen

Olivia and Dee finally get to her house in San Francisco and convince Chloe to go out with them. The three of them get ready by putting on make-up, fancy outfits and decide not to go too far and hang out in the NoPa District at a club called Madrone.

As Dee is fetching the three of them drinks, Chloe and Olivia are dancing away on the dance floor. A pop song is playing in the background, and Olivia's flowy top is twirling as she sways side to side. Chloe's dancing along to the rhythm of the beat. The two of them are having a great time, and Dee waves them over to the bar to down the four shots of tequila and her shot glasses filled with juice, since she still had to be sober for soccer season.

"To friendship!" Dee yells as she puts her shot glass up and then gives them both a "cheers." The three of them yell, "To friendship!" and take two shots each.

As the alcohol gets to Olivia's body, she starts shaking and dancing and moving as flowy as ever. Olivia, Dee, and Chloe are dancing together and bounce up and down to several different songs. The three of them rarely hung out together, but when they did, they were always bound to have a great time. Dee was introduced to Chloe by Olivia in their freshman year of college. Even though they didn't go to the same school Dee and Chloe had several double dates and even took a trip to Portland together over the summer. Dee knows that Chloe was deeply hurting from everything that went down with Ryder, but the only thing that mattered was that she was finally done with him. Throughout the past few months, Chloe and Ryder's relationship was already kind of rocky, especially with Ryder being gone in Portland for the summer. That's why Dee and Cole tagged along on a trip to visit him. 

As moments pass by, Olivia heads back to the bar and takes another shot. She takes out her phone and starts to text Max...

"Yo, that's not a good idea!" the bartender yells at her. She looks up and says, "It's just my best friend!"

*Heyyyyyy you should commmeee Madronnneee* the text says, and then it's sent to Max.

She then goes back to the dance floor and starts back up again with Dee and Chloe, who all of a sudden has a guy dancing behind her now. They're all having a great time, and the next few moments go on. Chloe is seen making out with the guy who was dancing with her while Dee asks her to go to the bathroom. Olivia follows her, and they are both looking in the mirror, applying lipstick.

"I knew Chloe needed this," Dee says with a smirk. "Ohh you have nooooo ideaaa how fun this iss!" Olivia squeals.

Dee looks at her phone and reads a text from Cole: *See you guys in a bit*

What? Dee says to herself. She tries to call him, but he doesn't pick up. Why is he on his way here? Does he even know where we are? She continues to think to herself.

As Olivia says, "I'm gonna get another drink!" She walks out of the bathroom before Dee can even say anything about Cole.

Olivia grabs Dee's hand, and they both head towards the bar. Olivia yells "Whiskey Sour! Two!" to the bartender, the same guy who told her texting her friend wasn't a good idea. Dee is next to her, and she mouths, "Not me" to him, referencing her want to be sober. "I know," he mouths back as he laughs.

The night continues as Dee and Olivia spot Chloe still dancing with the same guy. They keep dancing, and then a guy gets behind Dee and starts dancing with her. It's Cole. And right behind him, is Max.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dee asks Cole as she kisses him. "Max wanted to come," Cole whispers in Dee's ear. And her expression livens up as she gets wide-eyed and says, "Ohhhhh...."

Without greeting each other, Max and Olivia start to dance. They start getting a little frisky, and Cole and Dee go to the bar to fetch them drinks. Moments later, Dee hands Max a shot glass and says, "I won't tell if you won't tell." Max looks at her with a skeptical impression and grabs the shot glass. They both take it together and end up breaking the dry rule in the student-athlete handbook. Cole comes over with three more shots, and they all take them together. At this point, the group was pretty tipsy and the night was still young.

Max continues dancing with Olivia and whispers, "You look like you're having a great time" into her ear. "I am," Olivia replies and smiles. Meanwhile, Chloe and that other guy are still dancing together next to Cole and Dee. The night continues, and Olivia decides she wants to leave and get some fresh air, taking Max's hand to follow her.

"Where are we going?" Max says as they walk out of the club together. "My favorite spot!" Olivia yells as she drags him down Divisadero Street. They continue walking together on the streets of the city where they pass by many bars and many people smoking outside of them. "You look so fancy tonight," Max says while he looks at her outfit. Her heels compliment her flowy top, and she has her dark brown hair flowing down past her shoulders. "Why, thank you," Olivia laughs with sarcastic flirty voice. They head up the street which is a large hill and then turn around to look at the lit-up San Francisco skyline, a famous spot right at the top of Alamo Square.

"This is your favorite spot?" Max asks as she gazes out in front of her. "Yes, I come here to write poems in my sketchbook sometimes," Olivia admits.

"I swear, this is one of my favorite cities," Max says as he smiles. The two sit down on a bench and continue to stare out at the beautiful view in front of them.

"You know, when I was little, my parents used to drive out here all the time to visit my family," Olivia says, "I'd sit in the backseat and stare out the window, listening to music, all the way from Sacramento to San Francisco. It'd be like 2 hours."

"Just you and your parents?" Max asks, "Was it ever lonely being an only child?"

"Oh, yeah. You know, there were times when I'd always try to picture myself having a little brother or sister, but I can't blame my parents," Olivia responds, "It's not like they didn't try." She references the fact that her parents tried several times to have another kid, but her mother ended up having multiple miscarriages, with her resulting in being an only child. She felt sad a little inside and says, "But you know, then I met you..."

"I'm so glad our moms are such good friends," Max smiles.

"Oh, could you imagine if they weren't? I'd be all alone. I wouldn't have met you and Alex. No friends..." Olivia laughs, and Max laughs along with her.

"Live, I'm so happy you're in my life," Max says, smiling at her. Olivia looks back and feels like she's about to blush. Deep inside, Max wants to hold her hand. He also wants to tell her how he feels about her. His internal dialogue with himself keeps going back and forth, and instead, he decides to kiss her. Olivia accepts his kiss, and they continue making out on the bench with the city skyline glittering in front of them.

"You have no idea how much I care about you," Max says, as he breaks away from the kiss. "Max, I had no idea," Olivia breaths, as she continues kissing him. The two of them break away from the kiss until Olivia takes Max's hand. "Have you like me this whole time?" Olivia asks. "No, I've loved you this whole time." And the two of them laugh as if it were a joke, but both of them know that it's actually true. They loved each other. As best friends. They just weren't sure what it meant for the two of them at this moment.