you belong with me - Olivia Rodrigo

I don't want to go home yet

The evening arrives quickly, and I find myself standing outside Olivia's house, waiting for her to finish getting ready. I decided to dress nicely, opting for one of the few dresses I own—the one my mom bought me when she insisted I stop dressing like a boy all the time.

Well, I just prefer comfort over beauty. What's wrong with that?

I also put on light makeup, which is really just mascara and blush borrowed from my mom. I don't really know how to do makeup.

I take a deep breath, reminding myself of Isa's advice earlier: have fun. Even if it's not romantic for Olivia, I'm going to treat this as a real date.

Olivia opens the door, and my breath catches in my throat. She's wearing a stunning dress that complements her features perfectly. The colour brings out the warmth in her eyes, and for a moment, I'm speechless.

"You look... wow," I manage to say, my cheeks heating up. I resist the urge to facepalm myself.

Good going, Y/N.

Olivia grins, a hint of blush on her cheeks. "Thanks, neighbour."

She eyes me up and down, her eyebrows raising. She lightly bites her lip.

"Sheesh, Y/N. Didn't know you had that body under all those baggy clothes." I blush even harder, not knowing how to respond. "Not that I don't like your style," she reassures me with a playful smile.

We make it to the restaurant, Josh and Maya already sitting inside. As we approach the table, Olivia grabs my hand, a subtle gesture that sends a shiver down my spine. We greet Josh and Maya with friendly smiles.

The dinner starts off smoothly with small talk, mostly about school and assignments. The waitress walks by our table and asks for our orders.

"I'll have the carbonara," Josh says to the waitress and then looks at Maya, "and what did you want, babe?"

No please or thank you? Small-dick energy.

"Oh, I'll have the spaghetti bolognese, please," Maya says.

At least Maya has manners.

The waitress writes down their orders, then turns to me and Olivia.

"I'll have the fettuccine Alfredo, please," Olivia says, placing her hand on mine on the table, her other hand gesturing to me "And she'll have the lasagna."

The waitress writes down our orders and walks away.

"You know me so well," I joke, and Olivia and I look at each other, giggling like it's our little inside joke. I catch Josh observing us, slightly annoyed.

I want to rub it in Josh's face. Haha. My fake girlfriend knows my favourite pasta order, but you don't know your girlfriend's.

Maya takes a sip of water before asking, "So, Olivia, what's the story with you and Y/N?"

Olivia and I exchange a glance, silently conversing with our eyes. We've rehearsed this before, knowing that this question would come up eventually.

Olivia smiles confidently as she narrates the story we practiced together. To make it more believable, we tried to make the story as close to the truth as possible.

"When Y/N and her mom first moved in next door, my mom invited them over for dinner. At first, we didn't like each other."

I grab her hand on the table and start playing with her fingers. I notice Josh eyeing our hands.

"She would constantly annoy me and steal my seat in class. But then, one night when Y/N and her mom had dinner over at my house again, we ended up talking in my room. Since that night, we got super close, and then a few days later, she asked me out." She looks over at me, her eyes showing a loving expression.