More than Anyone

Over the next week, Olivia willingly dove herself into work in an effort to forget about the unsettling matters that had come to pass on her birthday. Part of her still couldn’t believe that any of it had happened. Not only had Ben taken care of her knee but he had returned not a half hour later, donning cupcakes and candles for an impromptu birthday celebration. She couldn’t even get the words out to tell him that she couldn’t believe it. From his smirk though, she could tell that he knew. How she hated that smirk of his.

She was to go out to lunch with Harry that afternoon and she wanted to get the article she was editing done and out of the way. Both her and Harry worked at the same magazine, having obtained the jobs after college graduation. She was a copy editor, making changes to the articles before they were passed onto the head editor and often times, checking up on facts so there would be no accusations of fraudulent writing. Harry worked in the photo department, being the assistant in charge and having an important say in which photographs were used for each story and for the cover of the magazine each month.

But she found herself having difficulty concentrating. Instead, her mind kept wandering back to a certain Scottish ass. She hated to admit it but she and Ben had something in common though she would choose death before telling anyone that she and Ben Norfolk were alike in one aspect. But both of their best friends were now gone and they were alone. If it was anyone else, she would have called and suggested that they go and get a beer or something of that nature but this wasn’t anyone. This was Ben Norfolk and as far as he was concerned, she was perfectly content to spend all of her days alone instead of bearing his company.

“Liv?”

Olivia looked up and smiled upon seeing Harry standing in the doorway of her office. He grinned at her then plopped down in the chair in front of her desk and rubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to make him more alert. He had sleep marks on the side of his face and it was obvious that he had fallen asleep on his desk. Again.

She smiled. “Baby still keeping you up?”

He groaned at the mere mention of his two-month-old son, Chris. He and his wife, Anne, already a three-year-old son, Danny, and when he had been a baby, all had commented on how he was such a quiet baby. Chris seemed to already be the complete opposite of his older brother. “That kid has got a set of lungs on him.”

Olivia smiled before leaning back in her chair, holding the article. “I’m almost done.”

He shook his head, yawning. “Take your time.” He watched her for a moment or two, studying her. She shifted underneath his scrutinizing stare and he smiled. “Sorry. Just looking.”

“For what?”

He grinned. “Answers to my questions.”

She rolled her eyes. “I told you, Harry. I didn’t do anything last week. I stayed home, ate cupcakes, and watched movies. Which is exactly what I wanted to do in the first place.”

Harry nodded his head though he seemed reluctant to believe such a thing. He had known Olivia since their freshmen year of college and now looked upon her as if she was his sister. And since he cared so deeply for her, he hated to see the way she was living her life. Those on the outside looking in saw Olivia as strong-willed and bitchy and sharp. But those who knew her and were closest to her knew that she was not happy in the least. And he knew exactly why. It had been years and yet, Olivia still wanted no one but Toby. And though she would deny it, Harry knew that the fact that Toby was not emotionally available to her was the sole reason why Olivia was alone. It drove him crazy that Olivia was too blind to see that Toby was not going to want her and it made him furious that Toby couldn’t see how wonderful a girl like Olivia would be for him. He couldn’t intervene though. They both may have been his best friends but it was not his business to run their love lives. All he could do was drop subtle hints to Toby from time to time while they were all at Humpy’s, commenting that Olivia looked particularly hot that night or say that there were other guys checking her out, hoping to invoke some anger or better yet, jealousy. But Toby would merely agree and turn to his girl of the moment. When he was out with Olivia, he would sometimes point at guys they passed, hoping to invoke some interest of better yet, just a mere half of the courage she only pretended to have.

He had had his crazy moments while trying to guide his friends in, what he thought to be, the right direction though he knew that it would only be confusing. Olivia and Toby both wanted different things. Olivia wanted Toby and Toby wanted to forever be unattached. And, well, honestly Harry wanted different things for them. He wanted Toby to finally take notice of their attractive and constant companion and he wanted Olivia to meet someone else. He had had the notion for some time that perhaps Ben Norfolk would be the perfect candidate. He was thrust suddenly into their lives by way of Jamie Cross and almost immediately, actually, it had been instantaneously, that Ben and Olivia were at one another’s throats. Harry firmly believed that some people hated the ones they loved and it was for this belief that he began to picture what it would be like if they were to be together. He had decided to find out as much as he could about Ben, which, actually had turned out to be not that much. The man was damn good at keeping his life very private. Still, there was something between the two whenever they fought, which was whenever they were together, that could not be denied. There was a certain fire that Olivia never got whenever she argued with Toby. When she fought with Ben however, she was practically on fire. Ben certainly brought something out from her.

He shook his head slightly to break him from his reverie. “Where do you want to eat?”

Olivia shrugged, her brow furrowed slightly as she read the article, occasionally marking at something with her ever-intimidating red pen. “Wherever you want to eat is fine. Since this is probably the only meal of the day you get to have without a baby spitting up on you,” she said, teasing lightly with a warm smile.

Harry grinned then shrugged. “Still,” he paused as he thought of his family. After the birth of Chris, Anne had decided to take a break from her job as a nurse and stay at home with their two sons. She had been too tired most of the time, constantly being pulled back and forth between the hospital and their home so finally, she decided that she needed a bit of a rest. Though, Harry was certain she wasn’t getting too much rest from having Chris. But still. He was glad that Anne had decided to stop working for a while. He wasn’t the type of guy that thought a woman should stay at home but for a while, she had worked nights and he had worked days so naturally, it felt as if they only saw one another in passing. He would be lying if he didn’t like her being there when he got home or she being the first thing he saw when he woke up.

“Oh, God!” Olivia exclaimed, practically groaning. “I hate when you get that look whenever you’re talking about them. You look drunk.”

Harry laughed. “You’ll understand one day.”

Not liking where he was steering the conversation, Olivia capped her red pen and stood up, taking the article and slipping it into the plastic bin hanging on the outside of her door. One was labeled ‘out’ and the other ‘in’. An intern would be around to collect her work.

“You look nice today,” he commented, standing up, and she turned to her best friend, quirking an eyebrow up at him and smiling to bite back her laughter. “What? You do. Just because I’m married doesn’t mean I’m dead. I’m allowed to notice when a woman looks nice.”

Olivia couldn’t help it and at that, she laughed. She went to him and putting her hands on his shoulders, kissed his cheek. “Thank you. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving.” Before she could step away however, Harry wrapped his arms around her and captured her in a hug. She froze for just a moment before she hugged him in return, her arms circling around his shoulders and squeezing him. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his shoulder.

She hated to admit it but it had been a long time since someone had hugged her. The last time someone had been so close to her, it had been Ben when he had carried her upstairs to her apartment and then proceeded to take care of her knee. She never thought that he of all people would have done such a thing for her. She hated that he had, too, because now, she felt just a little bit guilty in constantly thinking ill thoughts of him. She couldn’t understand for the life of her of why he had done what he had. Taking care of her then only returning to deliver birthday cupcakes was not what one did to a person he supposedly was not very fond of. And the way he had looked at her had what probably unsettled her the most. He looked at her as not of an enemy or even a friend. He looked at her as if she was, or could be, something much more and that had terrified her. Ben Norfolk was never supposed to look at her in such a manner. It only confused her and if she was certain about anything, it was how she felt towards Ben, it being she felt nothing.

“Come on,” Olivia said, finally pulling away. She did not need Harry to know how much she had enjoyed his embrace. He already thought that she was lonely. She did not need giving him proof. “I’m hungry.” She slipped on the blue jean jacket she wore over her simple black dress. “I was trying this new grapefruit diet and...”

“Why are you on those stupid diets?” Harry interrupted in almost a demanding tone. “Sophia?”

Olivia shrugged, once again, not liking where the conversation was going. It was no secret that Harry did not like her sister and never had. He never cared for the way that Sophia wanted whatever Olivia had or wanted herself and usually got. She was spoiled and Harry didn’t understand why Olivia loved her so. “Can we please go eat, Harry? Or do I have to stand here and watch you beat the dead horse?” She met it to be a joke but he gave her a hard stare before turning on his heel and went from her office. She sighed softly, rubbing her forehead. She knew that Harry had the mentality of a big brother and always had been rather protective of her. But she certainly could handle her own sister.

“Are you coming?” Harry shouted from the bank of elevators and she sighed again. She didn’t know how Anne put up with him all of the time. She nodded her head and exiting her office, closing the door behind her, she walked towards him. She knew Harry meant well. He was, after all, one of her dearest and closest friends. It was only natural for him to be constantly on the lookout for her. But still, she wished that sometimes, he would let her worry about things herself. She after all was more than capable of living her own life.

-~-~-~-

It was Sunday afternoon and Olivia was so bored, she subjected herself to cleaning out her closet. Though she was pleased that she still fit into jeans from her college days, her so-called “skinny jeans”, it didn’t help ease the absolute cabin fever she was suffering from. Looking through the newspaper, she noticed that “King Kong” was playing within the hour. She had been meaning to see that before it left the theater entirely and since she had obviously nothing else to do, she figured she could spare three hours of her life to see it. Growing up, her father had shown her and Sophia all of the classic monster movies and “King Kong” had always been near the top of her list. Finally deciding that she would go, she hurried in the bathroom to get ready. She would have called someone to go with her but she was quite anal during movies and none of her friends could obey the rules she set up. Toby talked excessively, whispering questions of things he had missed. And Harry had the worst case of ADD while sitting in a theater seat for more than an hour. No. It was best to go by herself and actually watch the movie.

The theater was just a few blocks from her apartment and she enjoyed the early spring day as she walked. The fresh air coursed through her lungs and she smiled to herself. She was glad she had decided to get out. Sitting in her apartment alone was almost too depressing for her to deal with for much longer. Her good mood vanished immediately though upon seeing him standing ahead, looking over the movie posters, deciding on what he wanted to see, if he wanted to see anything at all. She stopped so suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk, the woman behind her nearly walked right into her but Olivia didn’t notice. She groaned. Why? Why the hell was he there? Did he have some sort of mind device that let him know where she was and he would show up to just piss her off?

Hearing the groan, Ben lifted his head and grinned widely upon seeing her. She narrowed her eyes at him and stalked up to him with purpose.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She demanded of him, poking him in the chest.

Ben couldn’t help but laugh, taking hold of her finger and when she tried to jerk it back, he only tightened his grip on it. “Well, firecracker, what do most people do when they’re at a movie theater?”

“Do NOT call me firecracker,” she practically snarled and his smile faded ever so slightly.

“Damn. You’re in a mood today,” he observed, letting go of her finger. She wiped at it as if it was contaminated. “So, what are you here to see?”

“Oh, no,” Olivia shook her head. “I tell you what I’m seeing and then you immediately decide that that’s the movie you want to see.”

He laughed. “You know me too well, Olivia.” He jerked his head towards one of the posters. “I was thinking about seeing “King Kong” but I’m not sure. It’s either that or “Underworld” since I love the first one. So it really comes down to Naomi Watts or Kate Beckinsale.”

Olivia rolled her eyes and he grinned. “You are unbelievable,” she muttered.

“Thanks.”

Her glare managed to harden even more when directed towards him. “That wasn’t a compliment.” She brushed past him and stalked up to the box office, praying that he went to go drool over vampires and leave her alone. If he saw the same movie as her, he would insist on sitting next to her simply to annoy her and three hours of Ben Norfolk wasn’t nearly as appealing as suicide. But as expected, he got in line behind her and heard her perfectly as she asked for one ticket to “King Kong”. Naturally, he bought one for the same and she grated her teeth, storming through the doors in the theater lobby. Her stomach immediately grumbled upon smelling the popcorn. She only ever got popcorn at the movies and she wished that she had enough money left over now to get her a bucket.

“Do you want anything?” Ben asked, coming up beside her and noticed her looks of longing towards the popcorn machine.

“Like what?” She practically bit his head off.

He held up his hands as if in surrender. “Well, I’m partial to Raisenets and the pretzel bites with the cheese.”

“Oh,” she said, hating the current look in his eye. It was the same he had had in her apartment almost two weeks earlier when he had presented her with the cupcakes. He had looked at her as he did now. He looked at her as if they were friends or something more.

Ben didn’t seem to notice anything though. “So do you want anything? My treat?”

“I can pay,” Olivia immediately said defensively though it was a lie. She didn’t have enough for popcorn, not even a small one. She hated outrageous concession stand prices.

A smile tugged at his lips. “I’m sure you can. But saying that it’s my treat pretty much explains who’s paying. So. Do you want anything?” He asked again. “You can get anything.” The smile almost turned into one of triumph when her stomach let out a growl.

“Popcorn,” she nearly whispered, hating the fact that he was there. She had gone to the movies to be alone, not to spend her afternoon with him and have him buy her food as if they were on anything resembling a date or something that could be confused as friends.

“Butter?” He asked, already moving towards the end of the line.

“Yes, please,” she responded, almost miserably. She cursed her stomach for its betrayal and was so preoccupied wondering why she was letting him buy, or why he had even offered, she almost didn’t realize that he was speaking to her again.

“Something to drink?”

“Cherry coke,” she said before she could stop herself. Ben smiled and she wished that she had chosen to go the movie showing later that evening. “But I can pay.”

His smile didn’t falter and seemed to grow a bit wider. “Believe me. I know.”

Though she was tempted to run into the theater and disappear in the darkness, her feet refused to move. She was waiting for him patiently when he came back to her, his arms bogged down with all sorts of food and drinks and she instantly reached out to help him.

“Thanks,” he said gratefully then smiled at her, seeming to be quite pleased with himself for giving her something else. She stared at him, cursing both herself for not dumping the popcorn over his head and at him for having such unbelievable blue eyes. “Well, I suppose this is where I tell you to enjoy the movie and be on my way...” he paused when he saw her eyes light up with the prospect and he chuckled. “But then I’d miss out on annoying you for three hours.” With a sound of annoyance rising from her throat, she spun and stomped to their theater, his laugh following her. “Where do you want to sit?” He asked, catching up with her easily. Most of the seats were still empty and they had pick of the lot. “Besides away from me.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you know me too well, Ben,” she informed him before looking over the selection of open seats. “I like up top.”

He nodded his head, taking a sip from his drink. “Up top it is.” He followed her dutifully up the flight of stairs and she stopped at the second to highest row.

She stopped and turned towards him. “Can we sit on the end?” She asked, not knowing why she cared in the least whether or not he wanted to sit on the end. “I’ll probably need to pee during the movie,” she explained hastily and he smiled, nodding his head. She sat down in the second seat in and he sat down next to her on the end.

“This movie is gonna be awesome,” Ben informed her as he placed his cup in the holder than situated the boxes of candies in his hands, already opening the Raisenets and popping a few into his mouth.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself,” Olivia pointed out, wishing that she had grabbed napkins. The butter was going to soak her fingers. Her mouth fell open in surprise when Ben reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and handed her the napkins he had grabbed for her. She was speechless by the gesture. He had done it as natural as if he had been doing it for her hundreds of times before.

“Of course I’m sure. I’m always sure.”

She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe I’m seeing this with you.” It was true. Her mind was still trying to catch up with the sudden events of the afternoon.

“What’s wrong with me?” He asked.

“What’s right with you?” She shot back with an actual smile. There was no snark or sarcasm behind it. It was her actual smile and the impact of it hit him square in the stomach as if he had just been punched.

“Touché,” he chuckled. “Let me have some popcorn.”

“Fine,” she sighed as if she was giving him her most prized possession. “But I’m taking a pretzel bite.”

“I suppose that I can spare you one,” he decided and she smiled that genuine smile again. It looked as if she was near actually laughing as well. He needed to try harder to hear such a sound arise from her.

“You’re such an ass,” she decided, elbowing him in the side before popping a pretzel bite into her mouth.

“An ass who bought you popcorn,” he reminded her, grabbing a handful from the bucket in her lap.

She leaned back in her seat as the lights went down and the pre-show commercials, which she hated almost as much as concession prices, began to play. “I hope you choke on it,” she whispered and she couldn’t help but smile to herself when he burst out laughing.