Always Us

crisis control

My post 4x11 one shot. A week late, but better late than never. Pretend we get dorms.

__________

Out of breath, Spencer hustled down the hall of Olivia's floor. The hoards of women slowing him down temporarily distracted him from the two words that had been replaying in his head.

It's over.

Just fifteen minutes ago, he had walked out of his last team meeting of the day, ready to call his girlfriend, when he unlocked his phone and found that message instead. Immediately, he started spamming her with calls and texts. But after receiving no signs of life, he was left with no option but to sprint across campus.

Now, he was dodging her dorm mates, desperately trying to make it to her room at the end the hall.

"Hey Mariah, is Liv in there?" he huffed as her roommate slipped out of their shared space.

She shot him an unimpressed look. It was no secret that she wasn't a big fan of Olivia, her boyfriend, or their colorful door scarf.

"Right, thanks," he mumbled, catching the door before it slammed shut.

"Liv - "

"Oh, good. You're here," Olivia caught him off guard with her warm welcome. "I need to run a few things by you."

Surveying the state of her room, he spotted a large cardboard box in the middle of the mess with his name written on it in all caps. A collection of his hoodies and t-shirts spilled over the edges, and the teddy bear he had won her on a date over the summer sat on top.

Catching his breath, he dropped his backpack and moved quickly towards her. "What are you doing?!"

"Breaking up with you. You want this?" She held up a BIC pen from the dresser. He had handed it to her a few weeks ago at the Student Affairs Office when she didn't have anything to fill out a form with.

"Really?" he raised his eyebrows, staring her down until he realized she was serious. "No," he took the ballpoint pen and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Hey," she scurried around him. "I like that one."

"Olivia." He turned to grab her, but she was already on the move.

Like a tornado, she rummaged through the piles of stuff, looking for anything that had even the slightest chance of being his.

"Olivia."

"I've separated everything that's yours," she explained, throwing a pair of his boxers at the already full box. "If anything's missing, just let me know, and I can get Jordan to give -"

"Olivia," he barked, catching her arms as she whipped around.

The scowl dropped from her face as her eyes shot down to his hands wrapped tightly around her wrists. "Oh."

Holding her gaze, he spoke slowly. "Listen. I don't know how you got here, but you and I are very much together, you hear me?"

"What didn't you understand from my text," she spat. "Let go of me."

Twisting her wrists, she tugged down hard to free herself. A move he had taught her years ago for self defense.

"You need to calm down. You're acting real crazy," he stepped back, trying to keep his cool amidst the chaos.

"What I need to do is get ready," she lifted her shirt, which just happened to be his, over her head before she paused and tugged it back down. "Turn around."

"Liv, are you serious," he stared blankly at her.

"Turn around," she repeated curtly. No ex-boyfriend of hers was going to get the privilege of watching her change.