Chapter Text
In hindsight, going for a run probably hadn’t been the best idea, especially since she had warned Malcolm earlier that there was supposed to be a pretty bad storm coming and that it would probably be smartest to stay inside. Unfortunately, the storm had arrived sooner than she’d hoped, and now, with another half hour to go before she got home, the rain was coming down so hard that she could barely see where she was going, let alone keep running.
When she’d left, the sky had still been clear, so she hadn’t thought anything of it. She’d managed to ignore the first rumble of thunder, too, until the third one was followed by a sudden downpour, leaving her standing under a tree, completely soaked.
She glared up at the rain clouds, only for lightning to light up the sky, much to her annoyance. Great. A shiver ran through her, and she pulled her shoulders up. She was wearing nothing but leggings, a tank top, and a short running jacket, so if she didn’t figure something out soon, she was probably going to freeze.
This was going to be a problem.
Olive looked around. She could run back home. That would take about twenty minutes. Maybe twenty-five. And that was in the pouring rain, when she was already completely soaked. She could ask Malcolm to come pick her up. Unfortunately, she remembered that he was at Holden’s today, and she really didn’t want to interrupt the two of them.
She looked around again until she realized where she was. She knew the area, and she was pretty sure Adam lived somewhere around here. Pretty close, actually. Of course, she knew his address by now. After all, she’d had her interview with Tom at his place. And he was her boyfriend, after all.
—Fake boyfriend. Which, under normal circumstances, meant it was perfectly reasonable for her to show up at his place. Right?
She wasn’t entirely sure what he’d think of a spontaneous visit in the middle of a thunderstorm, though. Especially if she was interrupting his night off.
Another rumble of thunder made her flinch.
“Okay.” She started walking. “Fake boyfriend. Sounds perfect.”
Less than three minutes later, Olive reached Adam’s house. She rang the doorbell twice.
The first time—nothing.
Olive shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
By now, she was so wet that she was leaving a small puddle on his doormat.
When she rang the bell a second time, the door swung open.
“Holden, this can’t—”
Adam stopped when he saw her.
“Olive?”
“Um, hey? Am I interrupting something or—?” She gave him an uncertain smile.
He stood there with damp hair, a dark Henley, and that expression she could never quite read.
She suddenly felt a little self-conscious, realizing he’d apparently just gotten out of the shower.
His eyes stayed on her for a moment before briefly moving over her wet hair, her running clothes, and then back to her face.
“What are you doing here?”
“And why are you even outside in this weather?” he asked, concern creeping into his voice.
“I was out running.”
Adam raised an eyebrow slightly.
“In this weather?”
“When I left, it was still fine,” she said through chattering teeth.
Another crack of thunder made her flinch.
Adam immediately stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Inside, Adam’s house was warm and cozy.
Adam closed the door behind her.
“How long have you been outside?”
“Oh, not that long.”
He looked at her.
Olive sighed.
“Maybe twenty minutes?”
“In a thunderstorm?”
She made a slight face.
“Well, it only started raining this hard about ten minutes ago.”
Adam stared at her for a moment. Then he disappeared, muttering something about her getting sick.
When he came back a moment later, he held out a towel.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
She took it, and for a moment, her freezing fingers brushed against his warm skin.
Adam frowned.
“You need dry clothes.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just warm up for a bit. I didn’t bring anything.”
“Wait.”
He disappeared down the hall for a moment. Olive heard a closet door open, and then he came back with a soft black hoodie, a pair of sweatpants, and socks.
“Here. You can wear these.”
“Oh, thanks.”
He nodded toward the bathroom.
“Go change first. Then we’ll talk.”
Olive smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.
Less than five minutes later, she was standing in Adam’s living room, wrapped in one of his oversized hoodies. She’d left the sweatpants behind since they kept slipping down her hips. It wasn’t really a problem, though. The hoodie came almost to her knees anyway, making it look more like a short dress.
She probably looked a little ridiculous, practically swallowed by it, but she didn’t mind. Especially because it smelled wonderfully like Adam. Like home, somehow.
Adam didn’t seem to mind either. He looked up when she walked in, his gaze lingering on her for a moment.
Then he gave a small, satisfied nod.
“Better.”
“A little too big, don’t you think?” Olive grinned.
“No,” he said, disagreeing immediately.
His eyes flicked briefly over the oversized hoodie.
“Besides, I was only trying to keep you from getting sick.”
“Of course.”
Still smiling, she walked over and sat down beside him on the couch, leaving a little space between them just to be safe.
“So,” Adam said, clearing his throat slightly. “How long are you planning to stay?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on staying for very long. Or, actually, I didn’t want to bother you at all. You know, I was out jogging when it started raining, as I already mentioned, and then it started raining really hard, so I couldn’t exactly keep jogging, and I thought that since you happened to live so close by, and you are technically my boyfriend—fake boyfriend—you probably wouldn’t mind if I stopped by for a little while and waited for the storm to pass. Right?”
Adam said nothing.
Somehow, that made it worse.
“But don’t worry,” Olive added quickly. “I didn’t mean to ruin your whole evening. It’ll probably stop raining again soon, and then you’ll be rid of me and—”
“No. Stop, Olive. It’s fine,” Adam interrupted.
She looked at him.
“I’m glad you came here. You could never bother me.”
He said it so simply, so matter-of-factly, that Olive didn’t have an answer for a moment.
Something warm settled in her chest.
She smiled faintly. “Oh. That’s good, I suppose.”
The corner of Adam’s mouth lifted slightly.
“But,” he continued, his expression turning more serious, “next time, just call me. I would’ve picked you up.”
“It’s fine. I was already nearby.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
His brow furrowed.
“I don’t like you being out there alone in weather like this.”
Olive was about to say something, but then she caught the seriousness in his expression and thought better of it.
“Okay. If I ever get caught in a thunderstorm again, I’ll call you,” she promised with a smile.
“No.”
Olive blinked.
Adam looked at her calmly.
“Next time, don’t go jogging in the first place if you know a storm is coming.”
She smiled despite herself.
“Okay.”
For a moment, she simply looked at him.
“Speaking of the storm,” she said eventually, glancing toward the window. “Do you think it’s stopped?”
Adam frowned and looked outside as well.
Unfortunately, the weather seemed to have gotten worse rather than better.
“Olive, I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon. And, more importantly, you shouldn’t be driving in weather like this. Let alone running,” he continued.
“Oh.”
She turned back to him.
“But how am I supposed to—”
“You’re not,” Adam interrupted.
“What?” Her head snapped toward him.
“I mean, you should stay here tonight. Somewhere safe.”
Olive stared at him, surprised.
Adam quickly added, as though he needed to make the suggestion sound a little less definite, “I’ll drive you home in the morning.”
She hesitated for a moment. She hadn’t expected that.
But it was Adam.
And how bad could it really be?
So she smiled.
“Okay.”
A small grin spread across her face.
“But you better not complain about my taste in movies. If I’m staying, I want a movie marathon.”
Adam let out a quiet groan.
“Well, if your taste in movies is anything like your taste in drinks, I can’t make any promises.”
Which made Olive giggle.
As it turned out, Adam was actually a very good host.
Even though Olive insisted that she had already eaten something—one chocolate muffin, which absolutely counted—Adam had still insisted on cooking for her. Which was, honestly… she had no idea. She wasn't quite sure why he was going to all this trouble.
Now she was sitting beside him in his living room, wrapped up in a soft, fluffy blanket, while one of her all-time favorite movies played on the TV.
Unfortunately, Adam did not seem to share her enthusiasm.
“Olive, this is terrible,” he said for what felt like the hundredth time, interrupting the movie. “None of this is remotely realistic.”
Olive giggled. “It’s a movie, Adam. Besides, it’s cute.”
“Still,” he muttered, turning his attention back to the screen with a thoroughly grumpy expression.
Which, unfortunately, looked kind of cute.
Olive had to suppress another smile.
They watched in silence for a while, Olive occasionally sneaking glances at him and studying his profile. Which was probably not nearly as subtle as she thought it was.
“What?”
Olive blinked.
“Nothing.”
“Olive.”
She just giggled and reached for the tea Adam had made for her earlier. He had insisted on it so she wouldn’t actually end up getting sick by the end of the night. The blanket had apparently been part of the same plan.
But she couldn't complain.
Eventually, she started getting tired.
Outside, the rain was still coming down heavily, and the storm was still going, but at least the thunder had moved farther away. Now there was only the occasional low rumble in the distance.
Olive pulled the blanket a little higher and yawned.
It was really nice being here with Adam.
“Tired?”
She startled slightly and only then realized that Adam had been watching her.
“No,” she said immediately.
A moment later, however, she yawned again, and the corner of Adam’s mouth lifted, much to her annoyance.
“Not at all.”
“Of course.”
Olive sank a little deeper into the corner of the couch.
In the process, she ended up shifting a little closer to Adam without really meaning to. He didn't seem to mind.
He didn't say anything. Instead, he simply pulled the blanket a little farther over her shoulder.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
Adam didn't reply, other than a quiet, “Mhm.”
Olive blinked sleepily.
For a moment, she had no idea where she was.
Then she realized that her head was no longer resting against the back of the couch.
It was resting on Adam.
More specifically, on his chest.
Her arm was wrapped around him.
Startled, she pushed herself upright, and the blanket that had been covering her slipped from her shoulders.
“Sorry, Olive. Did I wake you?” Adam asked, a hint of regret in his voice.
“What? No,” Olive said quickly.
“Sorry, I—”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” she complained, only then noticing that the credits were already rolling on the screen.
She had missed half the movie.
“You were tired.” Adam shrugged.
“But now I missed the ending.”
“I thought you’d seen the movie before.”
“Still.”
She turned around and started looking for the remote.
“Okay. Then let’s just watch the next movie.”
“Are you sure you don't want to go to bed instead?”
“You wish.” Olive grinned. “I know, Adam. You’re old and you have a bedtime. But unfortunately, I still have two more movies on my list.”
Adam rolled his eyes.
“Who was the one who fell asleep halfway through the first movie of our supposed movie marathon?”
“I didn’t actually fall asleep,” she protested immediately. “I was just resting.”
Adam gave her a pointed look.
“Of course.”
Still, he let her open the movie list again.
While Olive focused completely on finding the right movie, Adam waited patiently.
“Okay. This one.”
Adam immediately made a face.
“Olive, there are so many better things we could watch.”
Olive giggled at his expression.
“Come on. You get a second chance to reconsider your taste in movies.”
“That’s not an argument,” he protested.
But he didn't stop her from picking the movie.
And he didn't stop her from curling back up under the blanket and leaning against his shoulder again.