Gold, Guns, Girls

Topher skipped up the driveway and the cobblestone pathway that lead to her front door. Instead of knocking, like he usually would have if the rest of the Stewart family was home, he opted to just let himself in, in case Olivia was napping or comfortable in another room. He left his mud-caked, grass-stained sneakers on the mat, his socked feet sliding against the hardwood floor.

"Olivia, I'm back!" He called, his brow slightly furrowing when he realized there wasn't a single light on in the main floor. Turning on the lamp sitting on the small table to his left, he made his way toward the stairs, climbing them quickly. He called for her again, but received no reply. He was starting to believe she wasn't home, but really, where would she go?

He was relieved when he saw the lump beneath her bedspread, just about the size of Olivia's small body. He could hear her soft breathing if he listened very carefully, and he turned on the light by her bed, kneeling down beside her. He shook her very gently, pushing a stray piece of hair that had fallen out of her loose bun behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered open, more bloodshot than usual. He pursed his lips slightly and Olivia just stared.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked softly, lightly stroking her cheek with his rough fingertips. She blinked and her forehead creased, her teeth gnawing away on her bottom lip. From what he could see, she had already peeled away a layer of skin and now her lip looked sore and inflamed. She let out a soft sigh and shook her head, trying her best to smile. It was weak and Topher could see right through it, but he believed that when she was ready to talk about it, she would come to him. So, rather than pushing the subject, he nodded his head and kissed her forehead.

"How was practice?" Her voice was raspy from crying herself to sleep, but he couldn't help but to find the gravelly tone rather sexy on Olivia. It was different from her usual soft, airy tone. It just made him want to kiss her even more.

"It was long." He rolled his eyes, running his fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. "Coach was being such a dick. Whenever I made a mistake, he would make some snide comment about how my priorities weren't in the right place and how I should spend more time practicing and less time kissing my girlfriend. He doesn't get that I'm so exhausted because he has us working our asses off with all of these practices lately. I don't even have time to kiss my girlfriend anymore!"

Olivia giggled, and Topher's frustrations melted at the sight of her real smile. He was afraid that he wouldn't see it for the rest of the night.

"You'll have plenty of time to kiss me tonight." She told him, putting her hand over his hand that was resting on her cheek. "Get into bed with me."

"I should shower first." He laughed, starting to stand up. "I'm all sweaty and I probably smell awful."

Olivia's hand tightened around his and her large, celery eyes looked up at him sadly. "I don't care." She said softly. "I just want you to hold me."

Topher's brow furrowed and he slowly lowered onto the bed beside her. She shifted her body closer to his and draped her arm over his waist. Topher wrapped his arms tightly around her, wanting so badly for her to tell him what happened to make her so sad. All he wanted to do was kiss her every problem away, but he couldn't do that if he didn't know what was wrong. However, going back to his original decision, he wasn't going to prod. He would wait for her to tell him. If she trusted him like he knew she did, she would tell him when she was ready.

"You're really warm." Olivia said, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.

Topher chuckled, running his fingers through the hair at the back of her head. "I ran like, seven kilometers before I got here."

"I'm so glad I never played any sports." Olivia mumbled, looking up at him. "It seems like so much work! How is that even fun? I can't run for five minutes, let alone seven kilometers."

"It starts out fun when you're a kid, but it gets serious as you get older." He explained, sighing. "Especially if you're like me and trying to get a sports scholarship."

"Do you want to play professionally?" She asked curiously, nibbling her bottom lip.

"I don't think so." He shrugged his shoulders, looking thoughtful. "I mean, I'll always love sports, but I don't think I want to invest my entire life into playing them. A sports scholarship is really my only way of getting into a big university. My marks aren't exactly up to par..."

"But why do you need to get into a big university?" She asked curiously. "I mean, you'll have to work harder with sports and school work than you already do now. That sounds like torture."

Topher was quiet for a moment and Olivia looked up, watching his face. It always amazed her how she could almost see the thoughts racing through his mind as he tried to process an answer. His eyes locked with hers and the corners of his mouth pulled upwards in a small smile. "Honestly?" He asked and Olivia nodded, chewing on her thumb nail. "Because my dad wants me to."

"This is your life, though, Toph." She tilted her head to the side, frowning. "Don't you want to do what makes you happy?"

"Yeah." He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "But maybe I will after I've made my dad happy. I at least want to give it a shot, you know?"

Olivia nodded, though she wasn't thrilled with his choice. She had been brought up in a home with two very open-minded parents. They were only happy if their children were doing what makes them happy, and anything different seemed wrong to Olivia. She couldn't relate to what Topher was feeling, but she thought it was kind of sweet that he would put his father's happiness before his own. It made her realize how selfless Topher could be.

"I just want you to be happy." Olivia said softly.

Topher smiled, looking up at her with his deep, blue eyes. "If you stick around, I can guarantee that I'll be happy with whatever I end up doing."

---

Olivia sighed, unraveling Topher's heavy arm from around her waist. Gently, so to not wake up Topher, she pulled the sheet away from her body and climbed out of her bed. She stepped carefully, for the only light was the natural light from the moon that was dimly shining through the window. Her mouth was dry from crying and every single breath she took caught in her throat. A glass of water sounded amazing to her right now.

She walked blindly through the darkness, careful to feel for the railing and the top step when she knew she was getting close to it. She was careful not to make too much noise, knowing Topher was occasionally a very light sleeper, as she made her way to the kitchen. The tiled floor felt cold against her bare feet, sending a slight shiver up her spine. She grabbed a glass from the drying wrack by the sink and gripped the handle of the refrigerator door, yanking it open. Having developed her mother's distaste for tap water, she grabbed the jug of filtered water from the back of the fridge, filling her cup nearly to the rim. Balancing the cup carefully to avoid spilling, she slid the jug back into the fridge and shut the door. Her face paled as she could see movement out of the corner of her eye and she turned very slowly, the glass slipping from her fingers as she stares up at the approaching figure in horror. The glass smashed against the tile, feeling the cold water and tiny shards of glass on her feet. Her lips parted and she filled her chest with air, ready to scream, but she felt a clammy, rough hand clamp over her mouth. Her eyes widened and her entire body tensed up, because this was all happening to fast for her to handle. She starts shrieking against their palm and their grip tightens as they move closer to her.

"Livy, shhh." Instantly, she stops at the familiarity of their voice. "Sweetie, shh. It's okay. It's just me. It's Cameron. I'm going to move my hand. Stop screaming, okay?"

Olivia nods slightly and he slowly releases his hand, moving back and pulling the string to turn on the lamp on the counter. She watches him in the dim yellow glow as he reaches for the dish towel, sopping up the water. She stood completely still as he collected the large pieces of glass in the towel, then swept up the smaller shards with the broom and dust pan, dumping the remnants of the cup into the garbage can.

"I didn't mean to scare you..." He mumbled, looking up at her shamefully.

"You have to stop barging in like this." She said, showing her annoyance. "What do you need, Cameron?"

"I know you're probably mad at me..." Olivia scoffed and Cameron sighed. "Okay, you are very mad at me. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am." It wasn't often that Olivia heard sincerity in Cameron's voice and she was taken aback by just how sincere he sounded. She bit her bottom lip, her eyes meeting his. "I don't know what the fuck was going through my head. Seriously. I had been sitting there thinking about you all day and I just couldn't take it. It was like I had to do that, you know? But it was wrong. So, so wrong. I didn't just hurt Heather if she was ever to find out, but I'm pretty sure I hurt you too." He stared intently into her eyes, gnawing on his own lip. "And for that, Olivia-" He didn't call her by her nickname, which she knew meant that he was being completely serious with her. "I am so, so sorry. You know I'd never hurt you intentionally, right?" Olivia nodded her head slowly, her bottom lip trembling. " Good. Come here." He extended his arms to her and she obediently stepped into the embrace, resting her head on his chest.

They were quiet for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of being really close to one another for the first time in a long time. Then she looked up at him, her light brow furrowed as she thought. "Cameron, y-you uhm, touched me." She said, her lip still trembling. Cameron looked at her, confused and she swallowed dryly before elaborating. "At the dinner with Heather and Cameron... You put your hand, you uhm, touched me o-on my..." Cameron coughed awkwardly, having forgotten about what he had done that night. He looked at her, his eyes wide and apologetic. "I just want to know, Cameron, why are you doing all this, you know, all of a sudden?"

Cameron was quiet, staring down into Olivia's eyes. She looked confused--No, beyond confused by his actions. He could see it so clearly. He'd always been able to read her so well, as if she were an open book. "I guess, Livy, for the first time I see you as a woman. Not just my best friend."

She nodded, though she still fully didn't understand, and they left their conversation at that. After a while, Cameron wished her a good night, slipping out of the house through the front door. She locked the door behind him, to ensure there would be no more surprise guests in her house without her consent, and she got herself her the glass of water she so desired. Then she returned to her bedroom, gently crawling in beside Topher.

"Baby?" His voice was groggy from sleep and she rolled over to face him.

"Yeah?" She whispered, wondering if he was aware of the exchange that went on downstairs.

"Are you alright?" He murmured. "I heard something shatter after you went downstairs."

She nodded her head and even though he couldn't see the motion, he could feel the movement. "I'm fine. I was just getting a glass of water and it slipped out of my hands."

"Alright." He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers gently. "Well, get some sleep. I was hoping you'd wake up early with me and come watch my practice."

Olivia smiled to herself, letting her head fall to rest on the pillow. "Okay, I will." She mumbled, now realizing how tired she really was. "Goodnight, Topher. I love you."

"I love you too, Olivia." His heart swelled, for she had never been the one to say it first before this moment, and he leaned forward, kissing somewhere between her nose and cheek. "So much."

Her heart swelled and wrenched at the statement, for she felt completely elated and horribly guilty at the same time. However, she tried not to think much of it and let herself fall asleep. She'd have time to think about it tomorrow while she watched his practice.