Who We Once Were - A Jolivia Story

Chapter 1

How would one even begin to define their relationship. Some would say they had a sincere off-camera friendship. Other's would argue that they were romantic. Some would even claim that their whole relationship had been for the sake of the show, publicity and what not. Then again, none of these people would have been correct in their assumptions. As much as Olivia absolutely adored her fans, none of them truly knew her. Sure, maybe they knew her favourite flavour of ice cream that she spoke about in an interview or her mom's name because they searched it up on google but at the end of the day, the only two people who understood the complexity of their relationship were Josh and Olivia themselves. Sometimes she felt like she herself barely knew what this connection between them was, feeling like a spectator to her own thoughts and feelings.

She'd met Josh a handful of times in passing before the auditions. It was almost inevitable to be fair, she'd been a Disney kid for many years and he'd been featured in many Disney shows in the past. Being around the same age, their paths had briefly crossed before at various events and parties. The first time she truly met him though, that was a special memory for her. As far as she knew, he'd already booked the role solid and she would be one of the many "Nini's" to audition that day. Nerves had been flooding her body all day especially at the prospect of being apart of a restoration of one of the most iconic Disney film series in all of her childhood. The audition had gone smoothly, everything just seemed to work between them. There was just something about Josh, something warm and homely that made her feel comfortable. Then they asked them to sing together.

Josh had pulled out his guitar while the producers and casting agents spoke amongst themselves, giving the two some time to find their rhythm. He'd started playing some simple tunes, a couple that she recognized and some that were less familiar. 

Count on me 

That was the song they ended up singing together. Olivia liked to think that that song set the tone of her relationship, of course she'd never admit that aloud but that was besides the point. Ever since that day Josh had always been someone she could count on, like family to her. That day though, their voices melted together beautifully like sticky sweet honey. She didn't remember the moment so much as she did the way it made her feel. A warmness in her heart and a seemingly lifelong familiarity with the boy she just met. Josh made her laugh that day, making her feel less like she was auditioning and more like just having a fun afternoon with a close friend. She'd been so happy to get the call about a week later that she booked the part, not only to be starting a new adventure and the amazing opportunity itself but to get to know Josh a bit better. She felt a connection to him that day they were singing together and she wanted to get to know him more.

Her hunch had been right. She didn't know how or why it happened but through the endless table reads, rehearsals, performances, shoot dates and promo events somehow their relationship had grown deep and personal. She'd never been one to believe in fate and yet, she found herself growing more convinced everyday Josh was in her life. He'd quickly become a major part in her life, from 1 am FaceTime calls to grabbing coffee together between shoot breaks. After just a month of knowing him, she could say with dead certainty he made her a better person. She couldn't remember how she even functioned before she had him. Then of course, she didn't really have him. 

Objectively speaking, Olivia knew Josh cared about her, that's just who he was. He cared about all his friends deeply and she was lucky enough to call herself one of them. By the time filming had wrapped up in June of 2019 their connection had grown incredibly intimate. They'd kissed multiple times for the show of course, but they were actors and they were doing their jobs. At least that's what she'd tried to remind herself every time she felt her feelings for Josh bubbling slightly over the line of just close friendship. She couldn't really define their relationship at that point mostly due to the fact that she had fallen for him even if she couldn't admit that, and he saw her as a close friend and nothing more. That was okay for her though, she'd never tell him about her feelings because she wouldn't risk loosing him. Having Josh in her life the way she did was more than she could ever ask for already. 

So that was the way things stayed, for the next couple months they went from interview to interview promoting the soon to premiere show. It was exciting to say the least, they'd spoken endlessly about their co-written song and both were anxious and excited for the world to finally hear it. Writing Just For a Moment had definitely been a highlight for her. It wasn't hard of course, Josh had been pulling inspiration from "Ricky" and his feelings but Olivia hadn't had to do that. The world seemed to have a funny sense of humour sometimes. She pulled from the feelings she had for Josh while working on the show with him, feelings that hadn't since faded.

When the show finally premiered, the media circus seemed to double. It wasn't that she was ungrateful at all because she was anything but. It was more that it was getting harder to hide her ever-growing feelings for Josh in interviews where he'd go on and on about how great it was to work with her and compliment her endlessly. Then a couple more months had gone by and March was just around the corner. They'd started filming for season two in the beginning of February and nothing had changed for her and her feelings as much as she wished they had. The painful silent pining on her part and the complex relationship between Josh and her had only bloomed. One day in early March, she was coming in to film scenes and the next day work was canceled. They'd gone into quarantine. 

If one was to ask Olivia to go and look back now and pinpoint the exact moment everything started to change between them. That's the day she would pick, whether she knew at the time or not.    

A/N - Hi guys here's my intro chapter! I was looking for a Josh and Olivia story like this and couldn't find what I was looking for so I decided to write one myself. Prepare for major angst with a happy ending cause that's my vibe. Please let me know what you think in the comments, it means so much!!! :)

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Also quick disclaimer, although the characters are based on real people and real scenarios, this is a purely FICTIONAL story!!!