Olivia Jensen is on her way to ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ғᴀsᴛ (sprinted) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-06-25 15:16:00 |
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Maizie and Olivia: 12:40PM. "Hey." Olivia set her phone down and looked over at Maizie, biting her lip. It was hard to figure out what to say while her mind was simultaneously working through all that she'd just read. Still, if it was for real… The idea of finally having more space was almost enough of a consolation prize to make up for the previous day's hard realizations about the lack of a future offered to her by scouting. Setting her book down too, Maizie turned in Olivia’s direction, shifting to face her better. "So like, apparently they're clearing stuff out of the neighborhoods?" Olivia said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Like, west of campus and stuff." The neighborhood she'd been in when she'd had her last run in with Los Nahuales, specifically. "And next month, they're opening space there so people can start, you know. Not living in the LBJ." All right, that was a pretty good start towards explaining it, even if she still couldn't define how she actually felt at the thought of possibly leaving the place she'd called home for so long. "Is that like…. I mean, Savannah has to know about this already. Is that something she'd want to do? I guess I should ask her, but like." Another beat, then, "Is that something you'd want to do?" A frown spread had slowly across Maizie’s features as Liv spoke. The idea of leaving the LBJ, and specifically the Oval Office, sent a flurry of mixed emotions through her. Logically the library, even though it was home, wasn’t really meant to be housing anyone, let alone this many people. But this was the last place she was ever going to live where her dad had lived too, and it broke her heart a little bit to think about going away. “I mean, I guess I do?” she said finally, glancing down. Her shoulders raised in a half shrug. “I’m not gonna, like, stay here if everyone else is relocating. And I’m pretty sure Savannah is going to want to. Do you? Can you even imagine having a real bedroom again? Or a bathroom you don’t have to share with a thousand other people?” "Oh my god." Olivia took a deep breath, unable to hide the look of excitement that appeared on her face despite the worry and tension that was so clearly written on Maizie's. The only thing that she hated about living with her and Savannah -- and admittedly, Nathan, too -- was the complete lack of privacy and personal space. Hell, that'd been the only real reason she'd tried to move out last fall, even though she'd technically had an even smaller amount of privacy back in the social justice wing. "I don't even know how to like… It all seems so long ago, having that. But like…" she paused once more, watching Maizie carefully. "If you don't want to, you don't have to. Not if it's something you don't want." Maizie rallied. She couldn't bear to rain on Liv’s parade -- the way her face had lit up like it was Christmas and her birthday on the same day was too good to smash with her own uncertainty. Besides, maybe it would be good, in the long run, to live somewhere more normal. Somewhere less associated with so much misery. “Please,” Maizie said, tilting her face to smirk over at Liv. “I've spent so much time arguing that I should be let out of this joint! There’s no way I'm gonna stay here any longer than I have to, if I have a choice. It'll be an adventure, and you know I'm always totally up for one of those. You want me to talk to Savannah?” "Yeah. I mean, if that's okay with you." Olivia still couldn't tamp down the excitement she truly did feel at the prospect of moving, but Maizie's mood swings on the subject did seem awfully suspicious. Even if all Olivia could think about now was what it would be like to live in a place that was really, truly hers. Carefully, she added: "We may as well see what she thinks." Maizie and Savannah: 1:30PM. “Hey.” Maizie leaned in through the door to Savannah’s office, and quickly glanced around the room. It hadn’t sounded from outside like anyone was in here with Savannah, and once she made absolutely sure she wasn’t interrupting anything, Maizie stepped inside. It hit her, suddenly, that there might be a limit to the number of times she came looking for Savannah this way. In fact, all the bits and pieces of daily life inside the LBJ suddenly had an expiration date. “Um, do you have a minute?” In an attempt to keep from fidgeting, she laced her hands together in front of herself. “It’s just that Liv and I were talking about the rumor that homes are being cleared out for people to move into, and I was wondering what your thoughts were about that kind of thing. If leaving the LBJ is something you want to do, I mean.” “Oh,” Savannah said, surprise clearly in her voice. She’d been planning on talking to Maizie and Liv about this soon but apparently she’d been beaten to the punch. “Why don’t you sit down, honey?” She said after a moment, and once Maizie had settled into one of the chairs, continued, “Well I was thinkin’ that we’d all want to move at some point. You and Liv could even get your own place if you wanted. I know datin’ someone while your parents live on the other side of a barely-there wall ain’t exactly ideal,” she said with a slightly uncomfortable laugh. It was strange to think of Maizie as an adult and in a real relationship, but it was the truth. They deserved privacy for that. And if Savannah was being honest with herself, she wanted some privacy, too. “Me and Liv?” Maizie echoed. Her brows drew down into a frown, a small furrow forming between them. So, basically, Savannah meant that she didn’t want them all to live together anymore. Funny how a year ago she would have been jumping up and down at the idea of any little freedom and now, when a huge opportunity was being handed right to her, she kind of didn't want it all that much. Liv definitely wanted out, though, and so Maizie drew up a smile from somewhere. It felt really, really fake, but hopefully Savannah wouldn't notice. Unfortunately for Maizie, Savannah did notice how off the younger girl seemed, though of course didn’t know the real reason for it. With how much everything was changing, Savannah just assumed that any scenario of this would be overwhelming and Maizie must be trying to play brave. She’d grown up so much in the past year. “Wow, I totally didn't expect you to be okay with the idea of the two of us on our own.” God, was Liv okay with that, or did her idea of moving out of the LBJ also include living separately? Was Maizie going to find herself all alone in some apartment somewhere? She ducked her head and forced an awkward laugh. “Um, I guess it'll be kind of a relief for you to have some peace and quiet again after all this time, huh?” “Does it mean nothin’ that I’ve been lettin’ her live in the Oval Office for the past how many months now?” Savannah asked, giving Maizie a pointed look, before continuing, “But I think all of us here at the library are lookin’ forward to having our own space, don’t you think?” It was one thing for Savannah to let Liv and Maizie share a space under her watchful eye, and another to have the two of them living alone, without any other kind of supervision -- but Maizie wasn’t about to argue the point. “I know Liv’s really looking forward to it,” she agreed instead. “You shoulda seen her face when I mentioned having a private bathroom again.” For a moment she hesitated, internally debating whether to broach the subject of her mixed up feelings about leaving, but in the end Maizie stayed silent. Savannah might not be as over the moon about moving out of the LBJ as Olivia, but she’d made her feelings on the matter pretty clear. If everyone else was ready to move on, Maizie would just have to get with the program. Somehow. “I should tell her it’s for real, actually. She’s dying to know.” A swift look around the office to commit it all to memory -- funny how you could never really prepare yourself for change -- and Maizie stood. She smiled at Savannah, slightly less fake this time. “Thanks for letting me interrupt you.” Though Maizie was still acting strange, Savannah still didn’t read into any more than not knowing how to take all these changes. Taking a few steps over to her, Savannah pulled Maizie into a hug. “I’m glad you came to see me. And let me know what Liv says, okay sweetie?” Savannah and Olivia: 4:15PM. "Hi." Olivia knocked on the door twice, then stepped into Savannah's office without waiting for a formal invitation. After Maizie's visit to this exact same room, just a few hours earlier, the two of them had discussed the fact that Savannah would give her blessing for the two of them to live in their own apartment or whatever. Together. By themselves. Without any adults around. It was awesome -- more than awesome -- but Olivia couldn't help but be skeptical of just how comfortable Maizie was with all of this. She'd acted awfully weird earlier, and she was curious how Savannah had read her. "I was wondering. Like, you know how you and Maizie were talking?" She took a seat in front of her desk, then added, "Oh, you're not busy right now, are you?" Savannah bit her lip, holding back a laugh, then shook her head and gestured for Liv to sit down across from her desk, earning an eye roll and a smirk in response. She’d really have to learn to lock the door if she actually wanted to get work done. “Yes, I do recall that happenin’ since it was just a couple hours ago. What’s goin’ on?” "Fair point." Olivia leaned forward slightly, resting her hands on her knees. Maybe this was like some kind of girlfriend betrayal, going behind her back to the closest thing she had for a mother figure, but she didn't want to run the risk of Maizie ending up in a situation she didn't want. "Did you feel like she was… behaving weirdly at all? When you guys were talking? Because when we were talking about it earlier, before she was here, she seemed kind of..." Olivia waved a hand vaguely. "Conflicted. Or like, stressed out." “She did seem a bit off,” Savannah agreed, her mouth pulling into a frown. “She must be overwhelmed with everythin’ right now. Changes are comin’ so fast but I think she’s more resilient than just about anyone in this place.” Pausing a moment, she asked, “What do you think she’s stressed out about?” "I mean, when I asked her if she'd be interested, she was like, 'I guess, if I have to,' which doesn't really sound like she's excited. And then all of a sudden she was like, 'I'm stoked to move out' and whatever. It felt forced." Olivia made a face, knowing this kind of candid real talk was a necessary evil. "It's not like she can ever really hide what she's thinking, you know? Even if she doesn't come out and say it. So maybe she's not necessarily stressed out, but it really didn't seem like she was super into it." Savannah pursed her lips and nodded slowly as she listened to Olivia. Though it made sense that Maizie’s girlfriend might be more in tune with how she was feeling than her parental figure, Savannah still hated that she hadn’t been able to pick up on that. “Super into what though?” She asked, then proceeded more carefully, considering her words, “Movin’ out of the Oval or movin’ in with you? I don’t understand why she wouldn’t want that. It always seems like she’s tryin’ to prove she ain’t a kid and I’m tryin’ to treat her that way.” "Out of the Oval in general. I mean, we didn't even think living by ourselves was an option until she talked to you." Olivia paused, trying to apply a little more care to her words now that she knew living with just Maizie was on the table. The last thing she wanted was for Savannah to rescind the potential offer right after she'd extended it. "Maybe she's weirded out by it, because of the change or whatever. Freaked out." She wasn't very good at reading people and couldn't pinpoint further than that, but she was sure something was up either way. Savannah still felt confused, but at least Olivia seemed to be there with her. “I think it’s best if we just talk to her and figure out what she’s thinkin’ about everything. Think you can get her to come up a little bit before dinner?” Savannah, Maizie, and Olivia: 6:00PM. Dinner was at 6:30, Savannah had told Nathan, and Olivia had let Maizie know that they needed to be up in the Oval Office at 6. This was by design, of course, even if Olivia felt guilty the whole time she led Maizie up to the top floor. Savannah was already there once she pushed the door open, too, which Olivia hadn't expected. For some reason, she'd thought the two of them would get there first. She thought she covered her surprise well, though; at the very least, she managed to not blurt out anything too obvious like, 'Oh, look who we have here!' or 'This is a real surprise, don'tcha know.' "Guess I got the time wrong," Olivia said off-handedly, once she knew Maizie had noticed there wasn't any food on the table yet. “So we’re not eating now after all?” Then why was Savannah here? Maizie looked from her girlfriend to her mom with some confusion. Not that it was that weird or anything for Savannah to be in the Oval Office, it was just a lot more common for her to work right up until the last minute before dinner. There had to be a reason why -- oh. She went pale as the realization hit her. They’d been talking about moving off and on all day. Everyone had been talking about it, in fact, and maybe that was why it suddenly clicked in Maizie’s head. This was the ‘change is good’ conversation, the ‘and we should all have our own space’ conversation. Maizie swallowed hard, suddenly aware of how her stomach had been aching all day, probably in anticipation of this very moment. It was fine. She could do this. Deep breath, Maizie Lou. “What’s going on?” By some miracle her voice stayed steady, but Maizie dropped her gaze to the empty table, fixating on that instead of either woman’s face. Savannah felt like her heart gave a physical twinge at Maizie’s fallen demeanor. How had she missed that earlier? Her voice was gentle as she said, “Honey, we just wanted to talk about all this movin’ business before Nathan got here for dinner. You wanna start by tellin’ us how you really feel about it? Not what you think we want to hear?” “No, I really --” Maizie turned her head just enough to glance at Liv, and faltered. Everyone in the room knew she was hiding her real feelings, so why on earth did she feel compelled to keep doing it? “It’s just a lot.” The words came out all at once, like a dam breaking open. Olivia reached for her hand, hoping the contact would be less stifling and more reassuring. “It feels like leaving more than just a place to me. So much happened here. We became a family, and Dad -- but everybody is super excited to have their own place and I don’t want to be a drag so.” She blinked hard against the sudden moisture in her eyes and gave a helpless shrug. “I’ll be alright. I just have to get used to the idea.” Savannah nodded as she listened, understanding where Maizie was coming from. The Oval Office and the Library held a lot of memories and feeling like you were moving away from the last place that still held a piece of someone you cared for so much was difficult. Quietly, Savannah responded, “Just because we move out of this building doesn’t mean we’re leavin’ behind your dad. Even if I wanted to forget what’s happened while we’ve been here, I can’t. I know it must be the same for you. I want us to have a life, though. Livin’ in this place has kept us safe, but now we have the chance of more. I know it’s not the life we thought we’d have or even with the people we thought we’d have,” she said, glancing between Maizie and Liv, “But I think we need to keep movin’ forward.” “I know that,” Maizie said, her voice soft as well. “I do. Just like I know that you wanting to have your own place, or Liv wanting the same thing, doesn’t mean we’re not a family any more.” Knowing something and really being able to be secure in it were kind of different, though, and it was that jump from one to the other that seemed to be the problem for her. Maizie wished there was an easier way to connect the two pieces. Then again, maybe there was. She took a deep breath before running with a new suggestion. “But I wondered if, maybe, we could do it one step at a time. Start out somewhere else together first, and then split up later on. I mean, unless you guys hate that idea.” "I don't," Olivia said quickly, before backtracking a tiny bit for clarification. "Hate the idea, I mean." As cool as it would be to have her own place and have Maizie there too, there was still some kind of vague, undefined part of her that did feel weird about moving away from Savannah after just finally feeling like they were all a real family. She squeezed Maizie's hand again, then looked over at Savannah. "I'm totally down if you guys are." “I’m not gonna push you out of the nest before you’re ready,” Savannah said, giving Maizie a smile then looked over at Liv. “We’ll find a place for all of us. But for now, dinner should be here soon. Let’s get the table ready.” |