Who We Once Were - A Jolivia Story

Chapter 2

Quarantine.

To say the very least, it sucked. Of course she understood why it was necessary and while she'd never do anything to put other's lives at risk, it still didn't change the fact that it did in fact suck. She missed working, going out with her friends, getting coffee in between takes but most of all she missed her sense of normalcy. Josh and her still facetimed all the time but it wasn't quite the same as seeing him everyday. Somewhere closer to the beginning they'd made a deal with each other. He'd challenged her to write a new song every day of quarantine and she'd challenged him back. They'd made their pact and if nothing else, she hoped that it helped keep them connected in a way, during their time apart.

They stopped working in March, now it was November and they were finally heading back to work. For the first four months or so, Olivia kept her promise, writing a new song everyday even if some were definitely not her best work. The highlight of many of her day's had been sharing them with Josh. In the beginning she'd call him almost everyday while they played each other their newest creations over FaceTime. Some of the better songs she'd post to her instagram and some of the more personal ones she kept to herself. Josh had always been a huge supporter, cheering her on and encouraging her music and she'd always been his biggest fan while he played her his newest pieces. At least that's how it had been for the first little while.

It started off small. She'd call and he'd text back saying how he couldn't talk but would call her back later in the day. Of course he always did call her back, until he didn't. Needless to say, she knew he was busy working on his new singles and all, she completely understood. So then she'd text him more than call, leaving that to him if he had some spare time to talk although those days it didn't happen very often. Usually he'd text back almost right away whether it was some silly joke or even an opinion on a new song lyric but as the days added up, his repose's grew fewer in number and more clipped. It had gone on like that for a while before she just stopped making the effort all together. He made it clear he was too busy to be bothered to keep in touch and as much as it pained her, in a way she understood. She was happy that he was happy, focusing on his music and his own career.

Then came the pictures, the videos and the rumours. It was a warm and sunny August day the first time her twitter blew up with pictures of him at lunch with Sabrina Carpenter. She thought it was a little weird at first because she couldn't recall Josh ever mentioning her but she just brushed it off. He could be friends with whoever he wanted and he didn't owe her anything especially considering the only time they even saw each other anymore were on the weekly cast zooms. The next time it happened was halloween, videos of Josh and Sabrina had been all over her twitter feed for days after that and that time it hurt a little bit more. She thought Josh had stopped talking to her because he was too busy with his music but clearly that wasn't the problem. He'd made it painfully obvious that he just didn't want her in his life anymore and she knew she'd just have to accept that. Not that it would be easy, but what choice did she have. 

She felt stupid mostly. Stupid that she let herself fall for him and stupid that she let herself believe he cared about her. It was stupid that she'd poured her heart out to him in song after song all over her social media while he was out releasing songs about his love for Sabrina. She didn't blame him for not returning her feelings, or for falling for Sabrina but cutting her out of his life completely, that she couldn't understand. As much as she wanted to be angry, after everything they'd been through together she just couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him. All she could feel was hurt and dread at the prospect of returning back to work soon, something she never wanted to feel. She loved her job and she loved her life so she wasn't about to let Josh ruin that for her. She was a professional and she could separate work from life. Olivia was not Nini and Josh was not Ricky, she knew that but she just had to keep reminding herself not to let the lines blur this time around.

That became her mantra as she finished packing the last of her things into her carry-on, as she piled her bags into the trunk of the car, as she waited for her boarding group to be called, as the plane landed, as she piled into the Uber and as she reached her apartment. She was determined to make sure she didn't forget it this time around. 

Her dad was back in LA because his job didn't allow him to travel but her mom and her had rented their old Salt Lake City apartment once again for the duration of filming season two. Tomorrow was their first day back, the episode two table read and the first time she'd get to see her friends since before Covid hit. Unlike Josh, she was able to keep in touch with the girls quite well and tried to talk to the other boys at least once a week and yet, she still missed them all terribly. So yes, she'd go to sleep and in the morning she'd get to see her friends again but she'd also see Josh again. She wouldn't lie and say she didn't miss him just as much as the others, if not more,  but he made it clear where they stood and she'd have to be okay with that one way or another. After saying a quick goodnight to her mom, she headed over to her bed and let the exhaustion overtake her body.

A/N - Hi guys so here's chapter 2 hope you enjoy! Sorry for the slowburn but I promise chapter 3 will have actual character interactions and dialogue in it not just inner thoughts lol. Please let me know what you think in the comments!!! :)