Tennis Court (SVU Fanfic)

4 { In Her Secret Life }

It was 10 o'clock and Olivia was sitting in the office of the gym with all the coaches she had grown up being trained by. Lucas was her gymnastics coach, Tim was her workout coach, and Cam was there too. He didn't do much training with her, since he did weight training, but he still adored her.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" Tim asked her.

"I mean, probably. I don't feel like it." She laughed, trying to keep the conversation light. Lucas knew Olivia and her mother didn't get along, but that was all he knew. If anything, he'd figure they got in a fight.

"How are things, 'Livia?" Lucas asked, probing the situation to see what had brought her to the gym that day.

"Not bad. I'm looking to get the Valedictorian title. I'm still working at the diner."

"What about your mom?"

"She's...my mom. Nothing new to report. Not much has changed, believe it or not." It was true, but what they knew was where the lie was. Olivia and her mother had always fought in they way they did that night. Olivia found out what rape was right after she found out what sex was. And then she grew to learn was rape meant to her family. After that, Serena and Olivia's fights escalated, but then they plateaued. They've fought the way they fought ever since.

Lucas didn't like the sound of what she had told him. He and Olivia were really close, and some days, he really didn't trust that her life was as good as she said.

He sat next to her and put his arm around her. "I have to tell you I'm proud of you. You quit what you loved in order to do something to help your future. And you still do amazing in school. Know that you can text me or call me anytime, okay?"

She leaned into him, craving the affectionate gesture and reveling in the feel of what could only be described as comfort. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay at the gym because she knew she was welcomed and loved there. She nodded her head in response to Lucas, then smiled. "Okay."

Olivia left the gym a couple minutes later and drove home in the longest way possible. She got home to see all of the lights were off, so she knew her mother had gone to bed. She went inside slowly and then changed and headed off to bed as well.

~•~

"Alright, partner up."

Whenever having to do what the teacher had requested just then was always either a hit or miss for Olivia. Sometimes everyone ran to her since she was smart and knew what she was doing. Or sometimes nobody wanted to partner with her since she was the only popular girl in class and all the lower class students hated her.

Today, it seemed the latter had taken place, and she couldn't have said she was surprised. She waited to see who the last kid standing was, but before that could happen, she felt the presence of another student behind her. She turned to see Elliot.

"Wanna be partners?"

She looked at him and knew saying no wasn't a good idea, so she agreed. They moved to the lab tables and grabbed their goggles and aprons.

They were to test different chemicals to see how they reacted with other chemicals, but it wasn't that much fun. They sat side by side and started working silently. They wordlessly agreed that Olivia would do the first half of the chemicals and Elliot would do the last half. Whilst every other student was being loud and annoying, the other two sat and did their work. They didn't make a sound unless it was to ask for a specific tool needed or something. Once done, they quickly and quietly discussed their findings and wrote up their report. As for usual, Olivia's group was the first done.