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Eva’s supposed to be good at puzzles.
A year ago, she had to fight for her life, finding clue after clue and solving puzzle after puzzle. That was her thing. She was good at puzzles.
But this one she can’t quite crack.
Eva knows her mood swings have insanely increased in the past year. One minute, she’s smiling and laughing, and the next, she’s a broken mess, sobbing on the floor.
But that’s not what’s puzzling.
Every time she needed him, her survival partner Oli had been right next to her. When she was sad, he would hug her and let Eva cry into his shoulder. When she was angry, he would listen to her endless ranting, never once complaining.
And she has no idea why.
Eva doesn’t deserve it. She’s a broken mess, and Oli’s never
once
ranted to her about his problems. Eva’s never even said thank you. It makes no sense, really.
Eva’s apartment isn’t the greatest either. Once upon a time it had been picturesque, estituquely pleasing, just… nice. Now, it kind of represented Eva as a person- things thrown everywhere, the floor barely visible.
Everything these days reminds Eva of that horror game she suffered through a year ago. Of Shane, of Andrea, of Justine, of GloZell and Sierra and Matt and Tim, of Lele. She has no idea how Oli’s coping with it. She’s a sobbing mess on her bed.
Tears blur Eva’s vision, but she can hear the front door open. Footsteps come closer to her room, but her eyes eyes are too flooded to know who it is.
Someone sits on the bed, the mattress sinking down. She can tell just by his presence that it’s Oli. He wraps his arm around her and hands her a tissue. She takes it, giving a watery smile of gratitude to him. Oli smiles back.
The two of them stay that way for a while. Oli with his arm around Eva, while she cried into his coat. There was nothing needed to say.
“Why- why are you always here?” Eva manages to choke out, breaking the silence. “Why are you so nice to me?”
Oli’s eyes look down, a flash of pain dancing across his face. “You’re the only living thing left in my world,” he whispers. “You’re all I have.”
.=+=.
It wasn’t a lie. Not at all.
Oli visits Eva’s apartment so often, it kind of feels like a second home to him. He doesn’t mind the mess- with everything that’s happened, neither him nor Eva has time to worry about cleaning.
Oli doesn’t visit because he needs to- he wants to. Eva is all he has- Oli hasn’t seen Joey in ages, and ever since Oli moved to LA, well- ever since that night, really, he’s just felt- connected to Eva, in some way he couldn’t explain. Every time he looked into her eyes, teary, angry, happy, anything- his world stops.
“Why- why are you always here?” Eva whispers through tears. “Why are you so nice to me?”
Oli doesn’t know what to say. There so much he wants to tell her- but he can’t choke out those words.
“You’re the only living thing left in my world,” he whispers. “You’re all I have.”
It’s true. All his family is in England, and he barely ever calls them. Eva is his only companion.
Oli couldn’t imagine living without her.
He can see Eva’s eyes widen a tiny bit, and she wraps her arms around him. Oli hugs her back, and the two of them sit there for a long while, just hugging each other.
.=+=.
“Hey,” Eva speaks up after a while. “Do you want to stay over?”
“What do you mean?” Oli asks.
“I mean, like,” Eva sits up. “We haven’t just, hung out as friends in a really long time. Usually one of us is crying.”
It was true. Everytime Oli met up with Eva, it was always sad and grief-stricken, because of the whole 1920s thing.
“Okay,” Oli smiles. “That sounds fun.”
.=+=.
It’s two hours later. Oli had gotten his stuff from his apartment, and he and Eva had just finished watching a movie on the couch.
“What should we do now?” Oli asks.
“Let’s have a dance party!” Eva smiles.
This ought to be fun.
She runs and grabs her phone and speakers, and sets them down in the living room. She knows dancing isn’t really Oli’s thing, but he can try it. It’ll be fun.
Eva scrolls through a couple radios before settling on one labeled “Retro Dance Playlist”. Now, that could mean anything, but she presses play.
She and Oli dance around for a while, listening to songs including ABBA’s
Dancing Queen
and David Bowie’s
Under Pressure.
.=+=.
A new song starts up, and it seems much slower than the rest. After a minute, Eva can tell what it is.
I can’t help falling in love with you.
Wow. Great atmosphere for “Yay, friendship sleepover”.
Oli’s cheeks are bright red. He’s looking down. Eva tries to look for her phone, but she can’t find it anywhere.
“Do you wanna…” Oli stammers. “Do you want to dance with me?”
Oli immediately regrets it.
Holy hell, that was way too much, what did I just do? And then she’ll think it’s weird and she’ll know that-
“Sure, I guess,” Eva smiles. Oli wishes that smile could stay there forever. “Do you know how?”
“Uh, no…” Oli admits.
“It’s fine,” Eva takes his hand. “I’ll show you.”
♩Wise man say, only fools rush in
But I can’t help falling in love with you♩
She puts her arms around his neck, and shows him to wrap his arms around Eva’s waist.
“Like this?” Oli asks, swaying back and forth.
Eva nods.
♩Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I can’t help falling in love with you♩
Their eyes lock. It’s only a second, but to Oli, that moment could’ve lasted forever. Eva’s eyes sparkle with a sort of ethereal light. A breeze comes into the room. Oli tucks a strand of Eva’s hair behind her ear. She doesn’t stop him.
♩Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be♩
Oli and Eva continue to sway back and forth. Without thinking, Eva pulls him in to a grateful hug. Oli hugs her back, the two of them thanking each other beyond words.
♩Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can’t help falling in love with you…
No I can’t help falling in love with you♩