Never Have I Ever (One Last Time # 1) (Wattys2017)

But Don't We All

"I absolutely hate it."

Lena grumbled, stuffing the other college brochures into her purse and staring down at her Standford packet.

"It's like they don't know when to stop. It's always about what college they think I should go to, not where I want to go." She went on, pushing her black air off of her face, "Enough about me. How are you and Abel doing?" I looked down at the glass of water below me, feeling my lips tug up into a smile.

"Oh, God. You two had sex, didn't you?" Lena gasped, "Why didn't you tell me, Liv?" I shrugged, coughing to cover up how uncomfortable I was talking about this in public.

"I didn't think it was that important. It's just sex." I mumbled. She sighed, smiling as she reached over and squeezed my hand.

"Yeah, but it was sex with the guy that's been in love with you for like, ever. How was it?" I buried my face in my hands, ignoring my best friend's stare.

"It was fine. Can we please not talk about this right now? I'm still half asleep. The boys kept me up all night." She was still smiling as she leaned back and sent a quick text to who I was guessing her family or Adrian.

"How's he doing? Adrian." I whispered. The smile fell from her face when she heard the worried tone in my voice.

He had refused to talk to me for the few weeks, he had even refused to answer a simple text when I sent it to him.

"He's good. Just has a lot going on at home." She propped her face up on her hand and stared down at the plate of fries in between us, "But don't we all?"

*

After Lena had dropped me back off at my house, I immediately felt my happiness from spending the day with my best friend disappear.

I could see Oliver fighting with my parents in the middle of the kitchen through the open blinds, Jeremy cowering in the corner of it with his hands over his ears.

I didn't move, I didn't want to go in and hear it. Part of me just wanted to turn away and go see if Abel was okay back at home. The other part of me, the one that always won in the end, forced me up the stairs and into the house.

"You're being inconsiderate, Oliver! You need to think about how your choice will effect everyone else. How it'll effect your sister and brother!" I saw Oliver's jaw clench, his blue eyes lit with fury as he glared at our parents.

"It's my life! I can decide how the fuck I want to live it!" He shouted. I moved toward Jeremy, kneeling down and touching his arm gently as I looked up at Oliver.

"What's going on? Oli?" I whispered. My parents blinked in shock, as if they had just now realized I was home. Oliver didn't look at me as he responded.

"It's nothing, Liv. It's not-"

"Your brother thinks it's okay to move to Japan." My head snapped up from where it was beside my brother, my mouth hanging open.

"Japan? Oliver, why the hell do you want to move to Japan?" He kept his eyes in front of him, his lips pursed.

"I got a job over for helping with a Manga publishing company there. I sent them a few of my drawings a few months ago and. . . and they just got back to me." I could see my parents shaking their head in dissaproval, but my lips had curled up into a smile.

"That's great! How the hell did you manage that? I bet tons of people have tried to do it and didn't even come close." I saw the right side of Oliver's mouth pull up into a smile as he snuck a glance in my direction.

I didn't want him to move, not at all. But he had loved drawing, Anime, Manga's his entire life. He even studied Japanese for a few years when we were younger. If anyone was dedicated enough to be part of a publishing company, then it would be him. And I wasn't going to be selfish and hold him back from that.

"I don't know. But he needs to know if I can get down there before the middle of this month." I swallowed at the response, my eyes dropping down to the floor. Maybe that's why my parents had freaked out, because it was so last minute, because Oliver would be gone in the blink of an eye.

"Can you?" I whispered, sitting down beside my little brother and trying to pry his hands from his ears.

"I think I can. I just. . . are you okay with me going?" I forced myself to smile despite the sinking feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach, my eyes meeting his familiar blue ones.

"Of course. It's your dream, Oli. Persue it."

*

"I just. . . I don't want him to go, Abel. He's. . . I know I'm being selfish and I don't want to-"

"Hey, you aren't being selfish." Abel whispered, reaching across the swing he was in and smiling, "I'm going to miss the fucking idiot too. But we can't let our emotions get the better of us, Liv. He needs us to be there to support him." I glanced down at the dirt beneath me, shaking my head as tears began to spring to my eyes.

"I know." I reached up and wiped my nose, "I'm just afraid once he's there he'll never want to come back."

*

I had just turned into my pajamas when the sound of music shook my out of my daze. I frowned, following the music until I reached the window. I felt a giggle leave my mouth as I pushed my window open.

"A little cheesy, isn't it?" I called down to Abel, trying my best not to turn around and laugh my ass off.

He was standing in the middle of my lawn in a tank top and basketball shorts, a huge, probably extraordinarily heavy, boombox over his head blasting Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars.

"Hurry up and get down here before I drop this on my foot." I shook my head, amused as I turned around and darted toward the door, jogging down the steps two at a time.

My parents and Jeremy looked up from where they were watching some Tv Show on Netflix, frowning as I reached for the door knob in nothing but my shorts and a fairly see through sheer pajama top.

"It's Abel." I said before slipping out the door and meeting him in the middle of my front yard. He had set the boombox down and was sitting on top of it, yawning.

"How do you expect me to be able to lift one of those things and serenade you?" I asked, sitting beside him and kissing his cheek. He shrugged, taking my hand.

"Let's just say that I didn't put that as something for you to do on the list." He kissed my knuckle, before turning and coughing into his arm.

"I think that penguin water made me sick." He laughed, brushing his other hand against my cheek.

"I think you being an idiot made you sick." I joked, poking his side. He smiled, shaking his head.

"As I was saying, the serenading with a boombox was always meant for me to do. If I hadn't gotten you to at least want to kiss me by now, I hoped you'd do it after I blasted the cheesiest song possible." He explained, then started to pat the boombox beneath us, "This baby is a lot heavier then it looks." He leaned forward and kissed me once he had finished talking, his eyes still shut when I pulled away.

As I laid my head against Abel's shoulder and hummed along to the song on replay below us, I found my eyes meeting Oliver's upstairs. He was leaning against his window, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at us. It was then, in the midst of the late July night, that my brother finally nodded, smiling so I'd understand.

It was, in his own way, him finally giving us his blessing.

***AN***

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~ChasingMadness24