A Twist in My Story

“Let me guess, Nick?”

“Hmm?” Olivia hummed, looking up from her phone and at Carrie.

“You have that giddy school-girl-crush-blush thing going, so I’m assuming your texting Nick and not Carter,” Carrie elaborated, her tone showing her displeasure.

And she was right. Olivia was texting Nick. She just couldn’t help herself. Ever since that weekend of Christina’s birthday where she and Nick had spent the entire night talking and then he had proceeded to sleep in her bed, he was paying more attention to her than he ever had their entire lives. Time and time again Olivia vowed to herself she would avoid him to get over the silly crush that never went anywhere but time and time again she found herself responding to his text messages.

It was only natural though. When the guy you’ve been crushing on for years gives you the time of day, you can’t help but be ecstatic about it. And ecstatic she was. At first she figured it was all a fluke, but after two weeks, if anything, he was reaching out to her more and more each day. He even requested they have dinner together on multiple occasions. She was sure to only accept the invitation twice so far.

None of her quadmates were happy with her, especially not Carrie. They didn’t believe that Nick was suddenly interested in her when he had, on multiple occasions, done something to hurt her. They were all on Team Carter. And it’s not like Olivia was totally blowing Carter off. They still hung out all the time. Olivia had been honest with him and told him that she and Nick were better friends now than they were before. She still wasn’t too sure how Carter felt about it though—he hadn’t said anything when she told him and he was difficult to read.

“Carrie, I’ve told you a million times that you don’t have to worry about me. I’m being careful with this friendship with Nick. It’s different than before,” Olivia assured.

“Whatever,” Carrie mumbled.

Olivia’s phone vibrated again. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed.

“What?”

“Nick just asked me if I wanted to go to the homecoming game with him,” Olivia responded.

Carrie nearly tackled Olivia in her haste to jump off her bed and onto hers. “What?!”

“Yea. He said ‘my parents have a spot and will be here to tailgate before the game, you should totally go with me,’” Olivia stated, reading word for word the text message Nick had just sent her.

“Oh my God. Homecoming? That’s huge!” Carrie stated in disbelief.

“I know!” Olivia agreed. She stared at her phone for another moment before shaking her head. “I can’t go.”

“What? Why not? I thought you were all about Nick Jonas again,” Carrie stated, the disapproval still evident in her tone, even if she had been acting excited a few seconds ago at the prospect.

“I wasn’t planning on going to the game. There’s no way I’d be able to get tickets this close to Saturday,” she explained.

Carrie’s lips twitched in a semi-sympathetic frown. “Well, perhaps you can’t go to the game, but you can still go to the tailgate. That’ll give you plenty of time to hang out with him if that’s what you wanted.”

“True. Ok, I’ll tell him that.” Olivia typed out a message, letting him know that she’d love to join him and his parents for the tailgate but that she didn’t have tickets for the game. He responded that he had a spare ticket with her name on it—it was for the student’s section however.

Olivia looked at Carrie, who had read his response over her shoulder. “That’s all you girl.”

Butterflies swarmed in her stomach as she bashfully accepted his invitation. She, Olivia Chadwicke, had a date with Nick Jonas.

Saturday morning brought the excitement that could be found on any game day. By the time Olivia and her quadmates were all up and ready for breakfast, the entire campus was buzzing with people. Not only were the students excited for the game, but parents, alums, and their families all filled up the large campus, eager to watch the Nittany Lions play. Today was no different.

“So, we hear you’re going to the game with Nick,” Jamie stated as the four sat down at a table, their trays laden with food. “When are you meeting him?”

“Well, he told me he’d text me when his parents got here, that way I could just meet them at their tailgate spot. I think they were trying to get here by one at the latest but who knows with the traffic,” Olivia responded, digging into her waffles.

“Were your parents going to come up with them too?” Christina asked, half of her cinnamon bun already demolished.

Olivia shook her head. “No, but my dad did mention them sending me something with the Jonas’,” she responded.

“Now I sort of wish we were going,” Jamie pouted. “But getting tickets for any of these games is impossible, even as a student.”

“Next time,” Carrie assured. Talk of the game ended there. Olivia tried to get some work done after breakfast but it was impossible to focus when all she could think about was going to the homecoming game—maybe one of the biggest games of the season. By the time Nick texted telling her his parents had arrived, Olivia was a bundle of nerves. As she walked down Curtin Ave. on her way to Beaver Stadium, a crowd of navy blue and white joined her, everyone eager for the game. It took her a while to find the Jonas’ spot in the large parking lot, but when she did she found that they had a canopy set up, and they were all unloading a ton of food to put on the tables.

“Liv! Hey!” Nick greeted, a genuine smile crossing his features when he saw her round the corner.

“Hey,” Olivia stated, returning the hug he embraced her in. She was sure her cheeks were visibly pink—that was the first time Nick had greeted her that affectionately.

“Were you able to find us okay?” Nick questioned.

“Well, I walked around for a bit but eventually I saw where I had to go,” she responded with a shrug. Just then Mrs. Jonas caught her eye. “Hi Denise,” Olivia greeted, going over to embrace her as well.

“Olivia, sweetie, it’s so great to see you,” Denise beamed, passing her on to her husband. Olivia greeted Mr. Jonas in a similar fashion.

“Where’s Frankie?” she asked, eager to see the little ball of energy.

“Oh Kevin took him to the port-a-potties. They should be here any minute now,” Kevin Sr. responded.

“Kev came?” Nick asked, surprised. He had talked to his brother on occasion this semester and knew that he was having problems with Dani. He didn’t think coming out to the game would be something he would do.

“Is Dani here too?” Olivia asked eagerly. She always liked her, even though they didn’t really talk often. But it would be nice to have another girl here to talk to. Olivia frowned when she saw everyone tense up before Nick just shook his head at her.

“Well, we have plenty of food and drinks. Olivia, what would you like honey?” Denise broke the silence. The remainder of the afternoon was spent eating, talking to other game goers, and just having a plain old good time. Olivia took the opportunity to sit and talk with Kevin when some of Nick’s friends showed up to the tailgate and started consuming mass amounts of food.

“Hey Kev, you ok?” Olivia asked.

Kevin seemed to break out of deep thought. “Oh, hey Olivia, yea, yea I’m fine,” he responded, taking a long swig of his beer.

“I’m a good listener…if you wanted to talk about it,” Olivia offered after another moment of silence.

“I’m sort of all talked out when it comes to this topic,” he responded.

Olivia decided not to push it. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk to her about it. She had a feeling it had to do with Dani so before standing and leaving him alone she stated, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out and things will get better for you.”

When it was time to go into the stadium for the game, Olivia, Nick, and his friends separated from his family. His family had seats separate from theirs while they were all sitting in the student’s section. Olivia had never been to a football game here so far, but it was absolute pandemonium when she entered the stadium. She allowed Nick to hold her hand as he led her through the throng of people until they eventually got to their seats. Before long the game started and Olivia was wrapped up in the hype of it all like the rest of her peers around her, even though she had no idea what was going on. Nick tried leaning in and explaining the plays to her, but it was impossible to hear anything over the clatter of feet pounding on the bleachers. But she didn’t mind—Olivia was having a great time.

Until the second quarter started, that is.

Nick had invited Serena to join him at his family’s tailgate and she had gladly accepted. However, she had signed up to usher at today’s game, which meant she had to be in the stadium by 2:00 to get her assigned section. Unfortunately, Nick’s parents had not arrived on time, so she hadn’t been able to stop by. Fortunately for her, she had been assigned to usher in the student section. She was allowed to stay and watch the game without a ticket as an usher, so once everyone had been seated by the end of the first quarter, she had hunted Nick down and joined him for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately for her, he was already looking very cozy with Olivia.

Serena fumed when she saw Nick leaning in to whisper something into her ear. She made her way through the row, a determined look on her face, until she was behind Nick. He looked surprised to see her when she tapped him on the shoulder. “Rena! Hey, you made it!” he exclaimed, leaning in to hug her. She was sure Olivia was looking when she planted a kiss on his cheek, right at the edge of his lips.

“Of course I did. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your family’s tailgate though. But I’m all yours for the rest of the night,” she assured with a seductive smile.

Nick felt uncomfortable with Serena being so physical with him while Olivia was around, but when he turned to look at her, he noticed that she wasn’t even looking at them but rather intently looking out at the field, her eyes following the players. Nick found himself having a hard time deciding which girl to give his attention to. Serena seemed to be demanding it while Olivia seemed enthralled with the game. Her eyes seemed to stay glued on the field until half-time.

“Nick, can you come with me to the concession stand?” Serena asked sweetly.

Nick looked over at Olivia and saw that she was looking at her phone. She hadn’t said a word to him since Serena arrived. He felt so horrible—she was probably so uncomfortable. “You know what, I think I’ll stay with Liv,” he responded, turning to look back at Serena.

“Oh, no, please don’t stay on my account,” Olivia insisted. Nick missed the bitterness in her tone.

“Great! Come on Nick,” Serena instructed, pulling on his forearm.

“Uhm, okay. Do you at least want something?” Nick asked, turning back to Olivia once again.

“I’m good.”

With a frown, Nick got up and allowed Serena to drag him away. Olivia stayed behind and watched the half-time performances by the cheerleaders, then the marching band, chatting occasionally with the group of Nick’s friends they had been sitting with. By the time the third quarter started, Nick and Serena still weren’t back. It was a few minutes into the third quarter when she began to feel stupid for sitting there all by herself. Feeling discouraged, she gathered her things and maneuvered her way out of the row and towards the section exit. It was so obvious that Nick preferred to be with Serena than with her. He had even invited her to his family’s tailgate! She had probably been a pity invite, or maybe his mom had suggested he invite her. Either way, she had kidded herself into thinking that Nick could possibly be interested in her.

She was descending the stairs and just as the thought crossed her mind, she rounded the steps only to find Nick and Serena in the middle of an intense make-out session in the deserted stairwell. Olivia felt like someone had punched her in the gut, the breath whooshing out of her. She felt tears quickly rise to her lids. Why? Why did she always have to be caught by surprise when Nick said or did something that proved just how not interested he was in her. Biting her lip and trying to make as little noise as possible as not to disrupt them, she sidestepped them and continued to descend the steps.

Then he called her name.

She was stupid enough to look up at him. He looked like a kid who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Olivia couldn’t stand that guilty look on his face because it made her think that maybe he hadn’t wanted her to see him with Serena like that. So with a shake of her head she continued descending the stairs, her feet carrying her faster than before.

Nick took one last look at Serena before following after Olivia. “Liv! Liv wait!” he called, but she ignored him. By the time he had made it outside the stadium, Olivia had been swallowed into the darkness of the night, shielded by all the bodies mingling around.

It wasn't a far distance between Beaver Stadium and her dorm, but by the time Olivia entered her room, the tears were already in full force. Carrie, Jamie, and Christina all looked up at her as the door slammed behind her.

"You're back early," Jamie commented, glancing back at the TV screen where they were watching the game on ESPN.

"What happened?" Christina asked, the first to notice her tears.

Olivia bit her lower lip and shook her head. "I'm done guys. I really mean it this time," she responded in a small voice.

All three of them made room for her on Carrie's bed where they sat. "What do you mean? What happened?" Carrie asked.

"I don't know why I keep allowing him to hurt me like this."

"What did he do?!" Carrie demanded, instantly knowing Olivia could only be referring to one person.

"He invited Serena to the tailgate too. She didn't show up because she had to usher but then during the second quarter she showed up and...God I'm so stupid for thinking that this time he'd be interested!" Olivia continued, more tears staining her face. "He basically ignored me after she showed up, spent all of half time at the concession stand so I decided to leave and as I'm doing so I walk right in to them in the middle of a heavy make out session!" she concluded.

All three of them let out gasps and similar remarks of sympathy. "I cannot believe him," Christina stated, shaking her head.

"I don't know what he wants with me! First he's completely rude to me, then calls me when he needs help, goes back to ignoring me, then acts really nice to me asking me out and stuff, but now he's all over Serena? I just--I just can't keep thinking that things are going to change between us. This stupid school girl crush has to go. I can't handle it anymore," Olivia sobbed.

Christina rubbed her back sympathetically. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this," Jamie remarked.

"Me too. But you know what, I'm glad that you've decided to give up on him,"
Carrie added.

"Yea! You don't need Nick Jonas. Especially not when you have another guy that's crazy about you," Christina winked, nudging her gently.

"What?" Olivia sniffled.

"Hello, Carter! That boy has been pining for you all semester and you friend-zoned him this whole time because part of you was holding out for Nick. But now..."

"Now you should give Carter a chance. He's super nice, extremely good looking, and absolutely nuts about you," Carrie emphasized.

"I don't know guys," Olivia stated as she wiped her tears away, "I feel like I should just avoid guys at all costs. High school was so simple not having to deal with boys."

"Aww, come on Liv don't be like that. I think you should give Carter a shot. A real shot," Jamie insisted.

"Better yet, ask him out on a real date," Carrie suggested.

"What?! No way!"

"No, she's right," Christina interceded. "You guys hang out all the time as just friends. If you ask him out on a date then he'll know that you're ready to be more than just friends."

"I don't know that I am though."

Her quadmates all stared her down, clearly thinking she was nuts. Olivia shied away from their glances. "Can we not talk about this anymore?" she requested.

They conceded, but the idea of dating Carter had been planted in her head and it sounded more and more appealing the more she thought about it. She was determined to get over Nick Jonas somehow.