1.1 | daunting medleys

thirty-seven | nice going, Tabitha

Oliver was very aware of the furious blush on Tabitha's face.

Her hands fell from his cheeks, and her eyes widened a little. His heart doubled in speed, he felt like he would combust. But Oliver couldn't help but notice how the entire cafe must have been built for Tabitha, because the windows enhanced the sunlight in gentle, warm rays. It seemed like a photoshoot, just for her, just so everyone else knew that they paled in appearance to Tabitha. At least to Oliver, but she looked nervous and wouldn't look him in the eye.

"What about me?"

Oliver shrugged. She didn't speak anymore. Perhaps she had caught on to the fact that his fingers were trembling as his thoughts raged in silent anger in his head. She pushed her hands into her purse and brought out a set of headphones, then covered her ears. He couldn't help but feel even more terrible than he did before. It wasn't her fault. It was never her fault. It was his fault. He was too insecure. Too weak. Too unworthy. Unworthy. Of Tabitha. Of a father. Of everything.

Axel came back, and sat quietly, and in true Axel fashion couldn't be quiet for more than five seconds. He tapped on her headphones, and she pulled them off. "Isn't the owner of the cafe gonna come?"

Tabitha shook her head, her hair shaking slightly with the action, and Oliver turned to her. Look at me. "I'll text her and see." His heart bled, and the toxicity in which he used to push her away pushed from his pores. A call blared from her phone, and she excused herself. He fiddled with his rings, and avoided Axel's probing eyes by looking at Tabitha's silhouette as she scurried out of the restaurant.

"Are you going to talk or are you going to keep watching her walk away from you?" His choice of words couldn't be more obvious, Axel was baiting him but he didn't understand. Axel didn't understand how much the demons in his head had made his head their home, after months of quiet. Oliver barely got any sleep last night, and his tears soaked the pillow he used.

Oliver butted in with a strained smile, and he lowered his head to avoid the sunlight against his sensitive eyes. "Stop talking. She went out to make a call. Tabitha isn't leaving. She isn't leaving me." If only she heard how much Oliver's tone held begging, but he'd been distant and pushed her away. Oliver hoped she knew how much he wanted to shout out that he was falling in love with her, she'd stayed after hearing everything that was wrong with him, saw his pain and still stayed yet he pushed her away because he had problems he couldn't dissect.

Axel pulled out a cigarette, and handed it to Oliver. He stared, and stared but didn't take it. "I'm trying to quit. Promised mum I wouldn't anymore. Sorry."

The blonde boy shrugged, and pushed it back into the cigarette pack. "What's wrong?"

"One of my father's sons came over last night, apparently he recruited his children to come convince me to go back to him, but I got mad and he started cussing me out. Then he said something that caught my attention, that I am undeserving of everything I have. That I didn't deserve mum, or my father, or Tabitha." Oliver took a breath, to clear his head, and rid his eyes of the burning. "They have been watching us, and I didn't know it."

Axel's face contorted into silent rage. "That's beyond fucked up. I'm really sorry, did you talk to your mum about it?"

Oliver nodded, and the rings on his fingers almost burnt on his skin from how he twisted it. "Yep, she called him and yelled at him for a very long time. I think he's gonna stop for now, the election's still a couple weeks away."

He was about to speak, but Tabitha walked behind him and Oliver shook his head subtly. Her eyes were rimmed red, and the tip of her nose was moist. She sat beside Oliver, and avoided touching him. She hung at the end of the chair, and it was very obvious that she'd been crying. Would it have been presumptuous to admit she was crying because of him? Or had something else happened to her while she was outside? His heart clenched in pain, and he closed it briefly before opening again. Tabitha's floral scent warmed his chest, and it was both exhilarating and painful.

"My friend's dad is the owner of the hall down the street. She has really important family obligations so she couldn't make it here today, but she said we can use it whenever. Considering we don't have a date yet. I... My parents just called and they need me home, but I'll be free later today for a call so we can start preparing for it."

Axel nodded when Oliver didn't speak, the guilt eating him. "Of course, I'll get your number from Ollie and we could do a three-way call."

Tabitha finally turned to Oliver when she heard his name, and she cracked a strained smile. The look in her eyes as despondent as what he'd imagined was in his. "Of course, I'll talk to you guys later." Then she scurried out, after awkwardly brushing her fingers against his forearm. He avoided her eyes, and she seemed to have run out even faster.

Oliver buried his head in his hands, and groaned. "I've fucked up, haven't I?"

Axel's chuckle was empty, yet his words were coated in humored truth. "Yes, yes you have."

**********

Tabitha shut her laptop with a groan. She'd been watching movies since she got back from the cafe, and her eyes burnt from the amount of time her eyes had been plastered on the screen. Most of the movies didn't make sense, because all she thought about was Oliver. During each scene where she'd feel sad for the state of her love life, his grey eyes would flash in her mind and she'd blush, then she would remember that he was upset with her.

Unable to think straight, she pulled out her phone and called Wren, sincerely hoping he wasn't home.

"Tabitha?" The older woman called out suprised.

She blew out a harsh breath, and started playing with the threads on her blanket. "Hi, I hope I'm not bothering you."

"No. I'm just getting started on dinner. Is everything alright?" She asked, the unmistakable sound of pots clattering in the background.

Tabitha smiled, and stood up to pace around her room. "No- I mean, yes. I just wanted to know if Oliver was okay..." She murmured, her voice trailing off at the end. Tabitha puffed her cheeks indignantly, at the sheer embarrassment of what she was doing.

She could practically feel Wren's smile. "Why don't you just call him to ask? Why are you calling me?"

"He seemed mad at me. I don't know what I did, but I didn't want to call and annoy him even more." There was shuffling, and Wren breathing deeply before she replied.

"He isn't upset with you, sweetheart. I don't think he can be. I'm assuming you know about his father." Tabitha replied affirmatively, through her blush.

"One of his half-brothers came over yesterday, very, very drunk. And he started saying really horrible things about Ollie. He took it pretty hard, and he's always been so fragile about issues with his father, so he spent the entire night crying. I didn't hear most of what they said, but I heard your name, that must have been really hard for him because he cares about you a lot, Tabitha."

Tabitha was about to reply, teary-eyed when she heard Oliver's voice, then she quickly hung up on her, putting it at the back of her mind to apologise to Wren. He must have been having a horrible day and you ruined it with your intrusive questions.

Nice going, Tabitha.