Just for a Moment

39 | Detour

3rd POV
"Joshy, where are we going?" Oliva asks for the tenth time.

"You'll see."

They turn another corner, and she finally realizes where they're heading. "Why are we going on the roof?"

"Because it's away from everyone, there's no noise, and it's peaceful." Joshua had remembered where to go from the time he ran away up here during episode one.

"But what about filming? Shouldn't we have told Tim about where we were going?"

"C'mon, we'll be fine." She had a quizzical look, still not convinced. "Live a little, Livvy. And I'll take the blame if Tim gets mad."

"Ugh, fiiine." She caves into his antics once again, and he opens the double doors that lead to the roof of East High. He brings her over to a bench, and they sit down for a second. "What now?" she asks.

"Anything. We can talk about everything that's happened and put all our thoughts on the table. Or we can just enjoy this little break we're taking."

Olivia decides on the latter option. They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes until she speaks up. "Um, now can we talk about this whole... situation?"

"Yeah, what's on your mind?"

"It's just... I feel like there's always this pair of eyes on us, watching and waiting for the right time to try and pull something. You've almost died too many times, and someone nearly drowned Matt, so I guess I just can't take the anticipation of waiting for the next thing. And I-" She stops talking when she realizes he's hugging her.

"I get it; I do. I was scared out of my mind after the hike and lake. Not to mention Yellowfinn and the falling bag. But the thing is that we can't do anything about it. Until we know who AJ is, we can't do much. Also, you don't have to tell anyone else about Ethan until you're ready. Don't feel pressured to; just let it come out naturally." He's said that last part a few times in the past, but he just wants to make sure she knows.

She nods her head against his shoulder and whispers, "Thanks for making me feel better about this whole... thing."

"Anytime."

They pull away, and he still has an arm around her; she doesn't seem to mind though. Olivia closes her eyes for a second and takes in what's around her. Amazing friends, an even better best friend, the job she loves more than anything, and just an excellent overall family. She couldn't be happier with where she is now. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me. We still have to work," Joshua says, nudging her head with his shoulder.

"I wasn't. I was just thinking of all the good things in my life."

"That's a better mindset. Ready to head back downstairs?"

"Do we have to? I was enjoying it up here."

"Says the one who didn't want to come up here in the first place. C'mon." She reluctantly gets up and follows him to the door.

As they begin walking down the stairs, Olivia says, "That was actually a very good idea. I'm glad we did it."

"It's always good to have a break from everything. Even if it's only for a short while."

They turn the next corner and crash into Sofia. "There you guys are. We still have multiple scenes to do," she says, pushing them to the room they're shooting in.

"Ok, ok, calm down. We're coming," Joshua says, getting deja vu from the last time they went 'missing' from set.

They do that same scene a few more times for the different angles, and it didn't go as bad as last time. Yeah, it still triggered some things, but nothing unbearable.