Olivia // Jake Kiszka

12. Sam

I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! Things were a bit crazy this past month, but chapter 12 is finally here and I really hope it's worth the wait.

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Sam turns his body on the couch for what seems like the sixth time in less than five minutes; it's like the piece of furniture grew uncomfortable without warning. The last fifteen minutes of the movie is a blur and he lets out a sigh before glancing at the clock hanging on the wall to his right. 7 pm. Time wasn't supposed to move this slow. Another sigh and the TV is turned off.

Being alone is one of the things Sam hates the most; it's definitely something he's not used to. On a day to day basis, Daniel is always around. The boys share an apartment and go to the same school. They eat together, they go to college together, they go to band rehearsals together, there are certain TV shows they only watch together and they are constantly running to each other's room to show some new music or funny video. It's the domesticity that fills his heart.

And there's obviously Joy. Sam is always eager to see her; he takes every possible excuse to be with her, to touch her soft skin, breath in her sweet scent. He would go to her apartment or bring her to his whenever he could, always craving for their free time to match so they can be together.

But he won't be sleeping with her tonight, he's on his own and what makes it even worse is the fact it's Saturday night. Saturday nights are a sacred day, it is reserved for the squad - as he like to call it - to be united. It doesn't matter if it's a gig night or not, they always hang out on Saturday nights, at pubs, the twins', it doesn't matter. The important thing is they're always together.

Not tonight though. Joy is out of town, photo shooting for her first serious job as a model; Josh went to a film festival in Los Angeles, to which he dragged Jake along; and Danny left their place not long ago for his first date with Olivia's friend, Carmen.

Olivia!

Sam's face lights up at the thought of her. On a normal moment of her life, Olivia would be probably getting dressed right now to go to a pub or something, get a drink and maybe find a guy to bring back home. Sam doesn't know exactly what's going on, but considering how last weekend, at their camping trip, Jake and her sneaked out at night to sleep together and then spent the next day acting like a couple, Sam doesn't think she's going anywhere.

He texts her, asking if she's at home, and the "yes, wanna come over?" comes so fast he can't help thinking she is feeling as lonely as he is. Sam looks down at himself; he's wearing a t-shirt that once belonged to Danny and of which he cut the sleeves off, and a very short, green pair of shorts. For a second, he thinks about changing, but it's just Olivia, so he puts on a pair of birkenstocks and leave.

It's a hot summer night, Sam's favorite. The sky is bright and the warm breeze envelops him in a tight, comfort hug, making him decide to walk the few blocks that stand between his place and his girlfriend's.

Three steps into the street and his phone buzzes inside his pocket, Sam's eyes sparks at the text shining bright in front of him. Olivia is making spaghetti carbonara. His stomach growls and he speeds up, his hair jumping off his shoulders at each hurried step.

"It's open," Liv's voice announces from the other side of the door once he rings the bell. The nearly thirty minutes walk it takes to get to the girl's was somehow reduced to twenty, and the smell that invades his nostrils when he opens the door tells him it was worthy the ache in his legs and the sweaty hair.

The apartment is impeccable, there's no sign of dust anywhere, everything lay down in it's right place and the smell of clean house gets mixed with the marvelous scent of the food being cooked.