xxxxxLibbey was slowly waking up as she continued drinking her coffee, the flavors bursting over her tongue. Though she was quite picky, there were a multitude of morning drinks she enjoyed. Barring perhaps orange juice, she couldn’t think of any other breakfast refreshment she disliked. It was actually rather ironic since she’d likely name orange as her favorite flavor for most candies and popsicles. Her gaze swept the kitchen, not entirely wanting to land upon the boy beside her just yet, and briefly lit on the kettle on the stove. No one in her family used it; they only had one because she’d grown accustomed to hot tea while away at school, which meant it had to be Oliver’s doing.
xxxxxWith that thought the strawberry blonde turned her attention to the dark-haired male beside her just as he spoke. She opened her mouth to answer in kind when she heard the telltale creak of one of the stairs, which indicated that Nicole was still in the house and somehow the younger teen had actually emerged from her room prior to her sister. Libbey could probably count the amount of times that had ever happened on one hand; it was that rare. But that wasn’t the strawberry blonde’s concern at that moment. She had no clue if Nicole had heard Oliver’s comment and query, so it wasn’t as if she could just launch into the true explanation of why. She would have to make it sound like a couples’ banter. Dear heavens, she should have asked her friends to meet up a little later in the afternoon. Then she could have avoided both her mother and her sister that morning and dealt with Oliver as she’d pleased.
xxxxxLibbey forced herself to laugh, a quiet but bright-sounding pitch. She hadn’t had much practice in other areas, but that was one thing she’d had to learn to adapt to the social norms at their academy. "Of course I’m excited to spend time with you, Oliver," she bickered gently, her voice soft and teasing. "It has been about six weeks since we saw each other." Knowing Nicole should have entered the kitchen already but was likely standing in the living room listening in and potentially even watching, she lifted a hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes. "Speaking of, it seems it’s been at least that long since you cut your hair. I like it this length." She honestly wasn’t sure if he actually had let his hair grow out any longer, to be frank; she had never paid that much attention to it. She wasn’t entirely lying about liking it though. It suited him well.
xxxxxThat was the last straw for Nicole, who came practically barreling into the kitchen. Libbey pretended to be surprised, her hand quickly retreating and she willed herself to blush should the brunette actually look her way, satisfied when her cheeks turned warm. ”Oh! Good morning, Nikki,” she greeted her sister pleasantly.
xxxxxNicole’s flat response of, ”Morning,” as she opened the fridge had Libbey biting down on her lower lip to stifle a laugh, and the strawberry blonde couldn’t fight the smile off her face as she turned to address Oliver again.
xxxxx”A few of my friends are actually going to the dog park we talked about yesterday, and I wanted you to meet them,” she answered his original question as honestly as she could with Nicole in the room. It wasn’t entirely a lie, though. She valued her friends’ opinions, and she’d like to see their reactions to him. They wouldn’t be as inclined to be blinded by his charms and would judge him more fairly, mostly ignorant of his “fame.”
io3121
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:22 am
Oliver Copperfield Marsh
Oliver saw the defiant look in Libbey’s eyes as she opened her mouth to respond to his tease, expecting to hear a remark as sharp as his was, but sudden panic crossed her face for a split second and she quickly changed her tune. Oliver was very confused at first, dumbfounded as she leaned closer and gave him a more pleasant answer, playing with his hair. His eyes caught movement behind Libbey and he spotted her older sister. Ah. That’s what had spurred this charade. He was able to keep the disappointment out of his face and slipped into character quite seamlessly, “You like it? I was trying something new over the break.” He answered without missing a beat. When Nicole entered the kitchen, he straightened just as suddenly as Libbey did, looking the part of getting caught being tender to one another.
The blush on Oliver’s face was genuine. It had started when Libbey first leaned in, before he had figured out the reason behind the gesture, but it only increased from the embarrassment of thinking, even momentarily, that Libbey had softened the slightest bit on her own. He ran a slender index finger along the rim of his mug of tea, focusing on anything other than Libbey at the moment. Even as she began to explain their plans for the day, Ollie watched steam drift gently up from the mug, looking to all the world like a boy embarrassed at being almost caught by the older sister. He looked up from his mug when she finished, smiling, “Sounds good to me. I’d love to meet your friends.”
That was also a lie. He was not looking forward to it at all. Not after finding out that she had complained about him to her parents. She very likely had done the same in greater excess to her friends. He was thinking it would be much harder to convince them that they were actually dating. He could hear the arguments already.Why hadn’t Libbey mentioned it to them earlier? But she said he was absolutely detestable. There was no way they had actually hooked up.He forced the rising feeling of dread back down, reminding himself that he had been raised on being able to fool just about anyone if he really wanted to. However, these were Libbey’s friends. They would know her better than anyone else, even her parents. Could she fool them? What was the strategy here? “We’d better get on our way to the market then, shouldn’t we?”
xxxxxThe strawberry blonde had never thought she'd be appreciative of Oliver's acting capabilities, but she was definitely thankful for them in their current situation. He played his part very well, and she had to admit it was nice that he didn't question her actions or express confusion about them. If she had been in this sort of situation with anyone else, they likely would have slipped up already. She wasn't sure why he was willing to play along given he technically had a lot more to lose at the end of their six weeks, but perhaps he was just that stubborn and confident.
xxxxxLibbey found it slightly odd that he didn't look at her when she was speaking to him and was instead staring at his mug, one finger tracing the lip of it. She didn't contemplate on it long, however, and she smiled brightly at his reply, playing the excited girlfriend. "Great!" she chirped, clapping her hands together. She was genuinely excited at the prospect of seeing her friends since she'd only seen them briefly at the start of the summer. Most of them had gone on vacations, and it'd been months since they had all gotten together as a group. Oliver's question pulled her out of her thoughts, and she noticed Nicole was in the process of sitting down at the table with her coffee and some yogurt, momentarily distracting her. "Nikki, there's a grocery list on the counter over there if you wanted to add anything specific," she told the brunette with a smile.
xxxxxWhen Nicole simply scoffed but otherwise ignored her, the strawberry blonde frowned slightly, hurt sparking in her chest. Fine; if her sister wanted to be that way, then she would give her something to truly scoff about. She stood up, pushing her chair back, and before she could truly think through what she was about to do, she ducked down and kissed the raven-haired male on the cheek. "I'll be back down in about five or ten minutes, hun," she sweetly answered his question from before, the disgruntled noise coming from Nicole only slightly soothing the pain in her chest as she turned away, picking up her empty mug and taking quick strides to set it in the sink before heading upstairs to get ready. She wasn't sure if Oliver would stay in the kitchen with her sister or if he'd be going back to his room, but even she didn't want to subject him to her sister's behavior for too long if he did stay there.
io3121
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 6:20 pm
Oliver Copperfield Marsh
Oliver gave a soft hum of a laugh at Libbey’s excitement, watching as the older brunette came to sit at the table with them, grumpier than Libbey had been. Oliver raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing. It was not his place, nor did he know or care to know about her usual morning routine and attitude. Libbey’s sleep laden grumpiness was enough for him to handle. It seemed neither one of Kelsey’s daughters had inherited her graceful morning disposition. What a shame, he thought with a frown as the elder sister scoffed at Libbey’s rather friendly attempt to include her in the shopping list. Was this level of rudeness normal for siblings?
Movement next to him drew his steely gaze away from Nicole and back to Libbey just in time to see her face in alarming proximity to his. The soft coolness of her lips on his cheek was a sensation he had not imagined he would have been receiving any time soon, and it took him completely by surprise. Even with his years of practiced composure could not keep the stunned, somewhat goofy and uncertain grin off his face as she pulled away. He nearly missed what the strawberry blonde was saying, the sound of his own heartbeat elevated in his ears, but managed to focus long enough to hear her give a time frame. “Uh, uh-huh.” the least articulate noise he had ever uttered just sort of fell out of his slack jawed, grinning mouth as he watched her turn and disappear upstairs.
With a blink, Oliver realized he still had an audience. He closed his mouth with a snap and took up his tea, hoping to cover his face with the mug. His already rosy cheeks increased in redness and he looked sidelong at Nicole through the steam of his tea, thinking. The day before, it had been Nicole who had answered the door when he first came knocking. When he had asked for Libbey, the look of confused shock had been dismissed. He hadn’t thought much of it then, but now he recalled the encounter. When Libbey had come downstairs and saw him, deciding seemingly on a whim to announce to her family that he was her boyfriend, he had thought it odd indeed, but chalked it up to some strange American custom or family dynamic. He knew it had something to do with pride, but now he understood. It was pride against Nicole. There was animosity between them, over what Oliver could only guess. Clearly Nicole couldn’t believe Libbey was going out with him, but why not? They were both beautiful women in their own right and Libbey was going to a school where many wealthy families sent their children. The fact that he was rich should not have been surprising. Was it that Nicole was jealous that Libbey had been accepted to the school and she had not? Or was Nicole really that vain to think Libbey wouldn’t be able to catch someone like him.
Whatever the case, Ollie’s opinion of Nicole was quickly falling. He gracefully excused himself, mirroring Libbey as he placed his mug in the sink and ascended the stairs to grab his own things for the trip. He had gotten dressed before coming downstairs the first time, but he wanted to grab his sunglasses, wallet and phone. His wallet and phone went into their respective pockets and his sunglasses he folded and hung on the collar of his shirt. All set and ready to go, he went back downstairs to wait by the door, casually peeking into the kitchen to see if Nicole was still about.
xxxxxThe younger Cox sister briefly mulled over her older sister's behavior as she brushed her teeth. Although she and Nicole definitely had a rocky relationship, it wasn't usually that bad. They were still family after all, and she did love her sister. The brunette's behavior in the kitchen had been very odd, actually. Was Nicole truly that upset about Oliver's arrival?
xxxxxDwelling on it too long would do Libbey no favors, and she didn't want to keep Oliver waiting. She quickly finished up, washed her face, and then applied a minimal amount of makeup (powder, blush, mascara) before she returned to her bedroom to get dressed. After donning a pair of shorts and a baby blue short-sleeve tee-shirt, she brushed her hair and then grabbed her sunglasses, phone, and purse off her dresser. Checking her reflection in the mirror, she decided she looked presentable enough and proceeded to return downstairs.
xxxxxThe strawberry blonde found Oliver lingering near the front door, and she felt her lips twitch into a smile. "We'll be leaving through the garage door," she commented, nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. She was slightly wary of Nicole still being in there, but at some point the brunette had left, and it prompted a relieved sigh to pass through her lips. She picked up the keys and grocery list off the counter before heading out the door that led to the garage. "Close the door behind you," she ordered reflexively, her mind obviously elsewhere as she walked to the black Nissan Altima her dad owned.
io3121
Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2022 2:07 pm
Oliver Copperfield Marsh
Oliver didn’t want to be caught peeking at Nicole, for many reasons, so he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check on the movements on the other side of the pond. He had various apps and sites he frequented to keep track of trends and gossip in his family’s social circle. He wondered if his father had returned home yet from whatever trip he was on this time to find Ollie’s note or not. He figured not, otherwise his father surely would have called or sent for him. Six weeks. Six week Libbey had said and he had agreed to, but if he was being honest with himself, he would be lucky to have two before his father called him home.
Cool blue eyes surfed the walls of texts and pictures that scrolled along the screen and when he found no evidence of anyone questioning where he was, he nodded and locked his phone again. Oliver was sliding the device back into his pocket as Libbey came back downstairs and redirected him to the garage door. “Oh, alright.” the raven-haired boy followed the strawberry blonde through the kitchen, noticing Nicole had disappeared. He didn’t think anything more of her for the moment.
Once in the garage, Oliver closed the door behind him as bidden and followed Libbey to the car. She seemed rather subdued and Ollie wondered with a frown what was bothering her. He instinctively went to the passenger side rear door, pulling the handle open and sitting himself in the backseat. It didn’t occur to him that anything was out of the ordinary about his decision until he heard Libbey speak from the driver’s seat. “Ummm… Already had enough of me this morning that you want to sit back there instead?”
Olliver looked up, catching her eye through the rearview mirror, confusion in his face for a second before he realized what the issue was. “Oh. No no!” He hastily went for the door handle again, exiting the back seat and moving to the front. His face warmed with blush for the second time that morning as she slipped into the front seat, fussing with the seatbelt as he explained, “Habit I suppose. I’m not tired of you…” He felt so off balance at that moment and he hated it. He glanced over at her, feeling the urge to add ‘yet’ to the end of that sentence, but he held his tongue. He was capable of change! He had to be! Part of that change was not biting back sarcasm with more sarcasm every single time.
Ollie realized he was staring at her now, eyes flicking from her to the steering wheel, to her feet at the pedals. “Huh… I never knew you drove.” he stated bluntly, as if it were an odd sight.
