Sequel: Meant to Be
Status: Complete <3 Go check out the sequel!

What Once Was, Is No More

Heartbroken Lies

Brendon couldn’t take his eyes off Olivia; the way her hair bounced with each step she took, the way she bit her bottom lip because she was nervous about something, and the way her eyes wouldn’t leave his. He showed off a slight smile as she and Jason neared their table. He felt an immense pain radiate up his leg as Courtney kicked him in his shin making him avert his eyes towards her.

“Hey what was that for?” he whispered as he bent down to rub his leg, wincing at the pain.

“You can’t be looking at her all lovey-dovey without tipping off Jason,” she answered back.

He realized she had a valid point and quickly looked down at his menu, pretending to decide what he wanted to order.

“Sorry we’re late. Hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long,” Jason apologized as he pulled out a chair for Olivia.

Courtney smiled and waved off his apology. “No not at all, we just got here a few minutes before you two.”

“Oh good. Um…so you must be Courtney? I’m Jason,” he said offering his hand for her to shake.

She grabbed it softly and winced at his firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said sucking in air.

“Whoops. Sorry, it’s the business handshake,” Jason laughed as he sat down, settling his arm behind Olivia on the top of her chair.

She peered down at her menu for a bit and then stole a quick glance at Brendon, who was sitting diagonal of her and surreptitiously doing the same thing. She felt her cheeks flush as his eyes burned into hers and a slight smirk formed on her lips. Soon she thought hoping he could read her mind.

“So have you and Brendon known each other long?” Jason asked Courtney after they put in their orders.

She looked at Brendon before answering. “Umm, well for about three years, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Actually if he hadn’t been at Pike Place Market that one day, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Oh so you got to go there? Did you like it?” Jason asked looking at Brendon.

It took Brendon a second to realize the question was directed to him and cleared his throat to answer. “Yeah, Li-Olivia took me there. It was nice,” he replied with a weak smile.

“Getting chauffeured around by your biggest fan,” Jason said pointing his thumb at Olivia, “sounds like you’ve had a nice visit,” Jason continued chuckling a little.

Brendon looked at Olivia confusingly. “My biggest fan?” Olivia let out a small laugh as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Jason nodded his head and wrapped his arm around Olivia’s shoulders, pulling her closer to him. “Yeah, I’d say she was. One year, she had an eight AM exam and the night before she went to one of your concerts in a town that was two hours away.”

“Hey,” Olivia said nudging Jason in the ribs. “I may have been sleep deprived that morning, but I still aced that exam and got to see Panic! At The Disco live,” she stated directing a smile at Brendon.

“Speaking of Panic!, I was watching that movie, Jennifer’s Body, and I heard your new song. It sounds amazing, but I’m curious…,” Courtney led on.

Brendon couldn’t help but grin widely, for he had an idea of what she was talking about or at least which part of the song she was about to refer to, but allowed her to finish her question.

“…exactly what is the song about? Especially that one line and I think you know the one I’m talking about.”

Brendon smiled wider, leaning on the back of his chair, and scratching the back of his head. Jason looked around at all three faces and seeing he was the only one out of the loop, asked “What line?”

“Okay, well basically, the song is about a dream I had about moving to Los Angeles and the one line is ‘Can we fast-forward to go down on me,’ which was also part of the dream; my favorite part actually,” he explained with a devilish grin.

“Damn, cous. So who was the girl in your dream?” Jason asked.

Brendon sighed heavily and answered, “It was actually my first girlfriend.” He subtly looked at Olivia, whom appeared shocked and immediately blushed and looked away. “I guess I just wish she would’ve been there with me. That we were still together.”

Me too Olivia thought to herself.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, with casual conversation, light drinking, and subtle staring. Surprisingly for Brendon and Olivia, it wasn’t as awkward as they thought it would be.

“Thanks again for dinner,” Courtney gratefully told Jason.

“It’s not a problem. Glad you were able to join us,” he replied, placing his wallet in the back pocket of his pants.

As they exited the restaurant, Olivia instinctively reached for Jason’s hand and intertwined their fingers, while Brendon, trying not to let it bother him, and Courtney followed behind. The Seattle night air was crisp and cool, making each couple cuddle close to one another.

“Well, I’ll be back at the apartment later,” Brendon said as the two couples parted ways.

Olivia and Jason turned around to look at him. “Where you going?,” Olivia asked slightly confused.

“Oh, I invited him to this promotional party for a band at one of the venues my brother runs. I didn’t wanna go alone,” Courtney answered, placing a hand on Brendon bicep.

“Well have fun you guys and you have a key right?,” Jason asked Brendon, who nodded yes.

Courtney looked up at Brendon. “What?” he asked with a small laugh.

“You did tell her that there’s nothing between us right? That we’re just friends?”

Brendon took one look behind them, watching as Olivia laid her head on Jason’s shoulder and walked away arm in arm. For some reason, all he could do was smile. “Yeah, she knows.”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Tomorrow at eleven, don’t forget,” Jason shouted from the bathroom.

It was the third time he reminded her of the spa appointment for tomorrow, which in turn reminded her never mention to him about a day when she was running late. She sat in bed, pulling the covers closer up her waist, her mind fixated on the next day. She suddenly felt herself sink into the mattress as Jason crawled into bed with her.

“You’re gonna have such a wonderful day tomorrow. A spa day with your friends and then a nice dinner with your boyfriend of four years,” he said pulling her close to him and kissing her forehead.

She couldn’t help but smile, wrapping her arms around his torso and laying her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep to it.

April 23, 2010

Olivia woke up to the sound of a noisy alarm that escalated with each passing second she didn’t turn it off. She groggily opened her eyes and felt her hand towards her phone. Once it was finally turned off, she brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing them, attempting to wake herself up.

Time to decide Liv she told herself.

“Hello?” she heard from the other end of the phone.

“Hey Charlotte,” she greeted.

She heard her sigh from the other end. “Oh God, what happened now?” Charlotte asked.

Olivia chuckled a little. “Why do you say that?”

“Liv, seriously? Every time you call me there’s always something wrong or something major you have to tell me about. So what is it this time?” Charlotte asked.

“Jason’s back…,” she whispered.

Silence.

Brendon smiled as he opened his eyes; today was the day they’d leave for California, but first he had to talk to her before she left for the spa. He hurriedly made his way down the short hall and stood in front of her bedroom door. From where he was, he could hear her, a muffled voice talking to someone else.

He leaned his ear closer to the wooden door. “I don’t know. I realized after Jason came home early, how much I missed him and love him. We’ve been through four years together and to throw it all away because someone from my past, that I loved, came back would seem so…so stupid. So I’ve decided to stay here and not go with Brendon.”

He pulled away and took a couple of steps back. He couldn’t and didn’t want to believe what he just heard, but there was no other way around to what she confessed. He felt heartbroken and embarrassed. How could she make him think that she was in love with him and wanted to be with him; to leave Seattle and move on with him and live the life they had planned to years ago?

Brendon walked back to his bedroom and slowly crawled back into bed, facing his back towards the door. After a couple of minutes passed, he heard the door open slightly. On the wall, the light from the hallway appeared along with a shadow silhouette, of whom he knew belonged to Olivia.

She hesitated, seeing him asleep or appeared to be, and quietly closed the door. After her conversation with Charlotte, she really needed to talk to Brendon, but figured it could wait until she came back.

Brendon heard the front door close and lock. He waited for a few minutes to pass to get up and grab his phone.

“Hey Brendon, what’s up?”

“Hey Spence, just wanted to let you know I’ll be coming back home today,” Brendon stated rather sadly.

“Really? Great, did you want me and Hayley to pick you guys up from the airport or…wait, did you say ‘I’ll’?” Spencer asked baffled by his use of pronoun.

‘Yeah,” he bluntly said.

“What happened? I thought you and Olivia were coming together?”

Brendon paused before he answered, figuring out something to say to Spencer. He couldn’t tell him the truth. “I decided to let her go. Jason came back early and he plans on proposing to her tonight. If I really love her, I’ll let her go and let her have a better life. The one she always deserved,” was the best thing he could come up with on the spot.

4 hours later

“Bye Olivia! Thanks again!” Krystal yelled from across the parking lot.

“And good luck tonight,” Cheryl said pointing to her left ring finger.

Olivia laughed and waved at her three friends. “Thanks and no problem. Thanks for coming.”

She had to admit, a spa day was just what she needed from all the stress that had accumulated these past couple of days. She felt rejuvenated and tranquil as she drove home; the only thing she needed to do was talk to Brendon.

“Ma’am,” a cab driver nodded as she passed by him.

She smiled back at him and continued to walk into her apartment building. She unlocked the door and walked inside, seeing Brendon come into the living room, with his suitcase and guitar in hand.

She looked at him strangely, trying to puzzle the pieces together and only came up with one explanation; he was leaving. “Hey…I wanted to talk to you,” she said looking between him and his luggage.

He let out an enormous sigh, placing his belongings on the floor. “I need to tell you something first,” he said scratching the back of his head, settling his other on his hip.

The tone of voice made her worried a little, but calmly nodded her head and waited for him to speak.

“I have to go back to L.A.,” he said, as if she didn’t already know.

She nodded again. “Yeah I know. You have to go back to record, but I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”

He gulped back to the truth. “Kayla’s pregnant,” he announced.

Olivia was shocked and silent for a while. “What? Are you sure? Are you sure it’s even yours?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. She’s four months and four months ago we were on vacation, so I know it’s mine,” he tried his best to sound convincing.

Now she knew, she understood. He was leaving her again, but this time she had to let him go. Just as he tried to sound convincing, she tried her best not to look bothered by it. A fake smile was all she could muster up.

He felt her cold hands grab his and saw her smiling a little. “I don’t know if you’re happy about all this, but congratulations. I know…I know you’re gonna make a great dad,” she said holding back tears.

“Thanks,” he didn’t know what else to say, but then blurted out the one thing that came to mind, “Friends?”

Friends? No, Brendon, I don’t wanna be just your friend she thought as she nodded in agreement.

He brought his hand to the back of her head and softly kissed her forehead. “Bye Liv,” he whispered.

As he walked towards the elevator and as she stood in the middle of the living room, they both hoped the other would burst through the door and come after them, but no one ever came.

Brendon stared out the cab’s window and watched the raindrops trickle down the glossy glass. He’d miss Seattle, but more than anything he’d miss the girl who lived here, the one who reminded him what love was. As long as she was happy, he would be.

Olivia fell to the ground, clutching onto the rug, letting her tears fall from her cheeks. The love of her life, as fast as she had him, walked out of it just like that. She tried not to let the feelings of anger and jealousy towards Kayla creep into her mind, but at the moment, she truly despised her and she hated herself for thinking it.

From her purse she could hear her phone ring, Jason’s ringtone. Jason…She thought it could all be just one big sign, that this was how it was supposed to be. That maybe with Brendon, what once was, is no more.
♠ ♠ ♠
First off, Happy Halloween!
Second, super sorry for the 3 week hiatus!
Thirdly, THANK YOU ALL for reading, subscribing, & commenting on this story =] Seriously appreciate it.
I hope you enjoy this final chapter, though I'll admit it's not my best & not as epic as I wanted it to be.
Sequel? Yes here it is: Meant To Be