Wednesday came before Alex knew it. Alex wore her uniform to school since it was a game day, and Olivia wore her jersey. After Monday, Olivia had begun picking her up and taking her home from school.
At the beginning of 7th period, an announcement was made for all the cheerleaders and basketball players to be released. Alex went to meet the other cheerleaders for a pre-game meeting with Donnelly. Donnelly made the girls go through some of their routines for her before explaining other procedures. Alex kept glancing at her watch, growing impatient in the hopes of seeing Olivia before the game. When Donnelly finally finished and left the room, Alex got up and headed for the locker room. She peeked her head in to listen and swore under her breath when she heard Cragen still lecturing the girls. Come on, come on! Hurry up, she thought, getting annoyed by the minute.
When the meeting finally broke up, the girls filed out of the locker room. Seeing Alex, Olivia walked over to her. “Hey, what’s up?”
Smiling shyly, Alex said, “Nothing. Just waiting for you to kick some ass today!”
Draping her arm around Alex’s shoulders, Olivia replied, “How can I not when I have the hottest cheerleader on the squad cheering for me?”
“Yeah…and if you win, you’ll get a special treat,” Alex said, grinning.
“Oh yeah? What do I get?” Olivia asked, grinning back.
“I’m not telling,” Alex said, turning to walk away. “Hey, I have to run now. Donnelly is probably back by now and will shit a brick if I don’t turn up soon.”
Waving bye to her, Olivia walked to meet the rest of her teammates. Turning back, she watched Alex running off. Wow, she has great legs, she thought.
In a little over an hour and a half, the game started. Madison got the ball first. Before long, Madison was in the lead, 22-12. Olivia had scored 10 points, which caused Alex to be extra spirited in her cheering each time. I should make up my own impromptu cheer just for her, she thought, grinning.
By the third quarter, Olivia had scored 5 more points. As she was dribbling the ball down the court, a player from Scottsdale unsuccessfully tried to steal the ball. Quickly turning back and forth to get the ball out of the girl’s reach, Olivia looked for a teammate to pass the ball to. Seeing that Monique was open, she raised her hands to throw the ball when the other girl deliberately barreled into her, forcing her to the ground hard. Alex sucked in a sharp breath, hoping Olivia was ok. The referee called a foul on the other player, but Olivia was quickly on her feet, shoving the girl hard. The girl swung at her and missed as Olivia dodged her blow. Lunging at her legs, Olivia had them both on the ground again in no time. Quickly gaining the upper hand, she began punching the girl repeatedly in the face until Cragen, the other coach, and a few players successfully broke them up.
“Get off of me!” Olivia yelled angrily, yanking her arm out of Cragen’s grasp.
Infuriated with Olivia’s behavior, Cragen yelled back, “You’re out of the game, Olivia! Hit the showers! Now!”
Olivia angrily stalked off to the locker room. Alex stood watching the entire scene in disbelief, her mouth open in horror. Initially, seeing Olivia scuffle with the girl had been arousing, but those thoughts were quickly pushed down by fear for Olivia’s safety. Gathering her wits, Alex immediately ran off after her.
When Alex came in the locker room, Olivia was running cold water over her torn knuckles. “Liv? Are you ok?” Alex asked, cautiously touching her shoulder.
Olivia snatched her shoulder away from Alex and turned to face her with fury in her eyes. “What are you doing here? I’m the one who got kicked off the court, not you! Go back and cheer!” she snarled.
Shocked at Olivia’s tone with her, Alex said, “If you aren’t out there, then there isn’t anyone worth cheering for! The team is nothing without you! You scored more points out there than anyone today!”
“Yeah, well tell that to Cragen. I’ll probably be suspended for the rest of the season,” Olivia said dejectedly.
“No, you won’t, Liv! Everyone knows that girl started the fight when she pushed you down! You were just defending yourself!” Alex exclaimed, trying to reason with her.
“I punched the shit out of her face, Alex,” Olivia argued.
“And she deserved it!” Alex yelled exasperatedly. “She swung at you first!”
Sighing, Olivia said, “Please, Alex. Just go. I won’t be responsible for you getting in trouble, too.”
“I’m not gonna get in trouble, Liv! And I’m not gonna leave my girlfriend to go through this alone, either,” Alex said sincerely. She gently took Olivia’s hand, surveying the damage. “You need to go to the nurse, Liv. Come on, I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll be fine, Alex. It’s just a few cuts,” Olivia insisted. “Seriously, Alex. You need to go back out there before someone comes looking for you.”
“No!” Alex yelled angrily. “I’m not leaving until I know you’re ok!”
“I’ll be fine,” Olivia repeated herself. “I just need to be alone sometimes, Alex.”
“Not now you don’t!” Alex insisted. “You’re angry and you’re hurt and—”
“Alex…” Olivia warned, her tone menacing.
“Why won’t you let me take care of you, Liv?” Alex asked, almost to the point of tears.
“Because I don’t need a fucking babysitter, Alex. I’m a big girl,” Olivia snapped angrily.
“I’m just trying to help…” Alex pleaded, the tears freely streaming down her face now.
Stepping closer to her, Olivia snarled, “You wanna know how you can help me, Alex? By leaving me the fuck alone.”
“Stop it, Olivia!” Alex reached out, gently stroking her face.
Olivia slapped her hand away, screaming, “For the last time, Alex, leave me the fuck alone!”
Crying harder, Alex ran out of the locker room. Feeling horrified for her behavior to Alex, Olivia angrily picked up her water bottle and threw it across the room. The plastic shattered open, spilling water everywhere. Great, now I’ve lost my season and my girl. Alex will probably never want to speak to me again, she thought, feeling sick. Disgusted with herself for her treatment of Alex, she ran into a bathroom stall and heaved up the contents of her stomach.
When there was nothing left to throw up, Olivia stripped off her sweaty clothes and stepped into the shower. She let the scalding hot water run over her until it turned cold. After dressing and getting her stuff, she stalked out the back door and made her way to the nurse’s station.
**************
Meanwhile, Elliot saw Alex run out of the locker room. Wondering what the hell was going on, he made his way down the bleachers and ran after her.
“Alex!” he called out. Alex turned around, letting Elliot catch up with her. Noticing the girl’s tear-streaked face, he asked, “What’s going on?”
Alex just shook her head, crying harder. Gently grabbing her by the arm, he led her around the corner. “Is Olivia ok?”
At the mention of Olivia’s name, Alex slumped down to the ground, her slender frame wracking with sobs. Bending down so that he was level with Alex and wrapping his arms around her shaking shoulders, Elliot continued, “Alex, it’ll be ok. Don’t cry. Shh.”
Wiping her hands across her eyes, Alex stammered, “She…she…”
“It’s ok, Alex. Take your time. Tell me what happened,” Elliot coaxed.
Sadly, Alex recounted what happened to Elliot. With a look of understanding, he said, “Alex…Liv gets like that sometimes. She gets angry and she flies off the handle at you because she thinks letting you comfort her is a sign of her weakness. Just give her some time to calm down. She’ll come around.”
“No, she won’t,” Alex said, shaking her head slowly. “Elliot, you don’t understand. She was yelling and screaming at me…and that look. You should’ve seen the look in her eyes. It was like she hated me. Hated me because I was trying to help her.”
“She doesn’t hate you, Alex. When she called me before dinner Sunday night, she was talking about you and she said there was something special between you—something she’s never felt before,” Elliot told her.
Looking up with a glimmer of hope in her eyes, Alex asked shyly, “Really? She said that?”
“Yeah,” Elliot said, smiling at her. “I can tell she really cares about you, Alex. I’ve never heard her say that about anyone before.”
Smiling despite herself, Alex asked, “So do you think she’ll be around later tonight?”
“I dunno. Usually when she’s really pissed off she goes and takes it out on the punching bag at the gym,” Elliot replied, shrugging.
Nodding, Alex gave him a hug. “Thanks for everything, Elliot. Liv’s really lucky to have you as her best friend.”
“No prob, Alex. And she’s really lucky to have you as her girlfriend,” he said, smiling.
After Elliot left, Alex showered and changed, then called her parents’ driver to pick her up. Once at home, she ran upstairs and left her things in her room. After that, she instructed Sam to drive to McDonald’s to pick up some food and then drop her off at Gold’s.
Inside the gym, she looked around for Olivia. Not seeing her, she began walking around. Finally coming to a room with punching bags, she peeked in the door window and saw Olivia pummeling away in a gray wife beater and navy shorts, her back turned to her. Slowly opening the door, she went in and said, “Wow…I’m glad I’m not that bag.”
Olivia turned around, her eyes revealing a mixture of shock, sadness, hope, and shame. “Alex…how…how did you know I was here?”
“Elliot told me,” she said, walking over to Olivia and handing her the bag of McDonald’s. “Here, I brought you some food. I thought you might have worked up an appetite by now. I know this isn’t the healthiest thing to bring to a gym, but I figured you deserved a break.”
Setting the food down on a nearby bench, Olivia looked back at Alex, her face full of remorse. “Alex…you shouldn’t have done this. Not after the way I treated you. I used you as a verbal punching bag and…and…” Olivia’s voice broke and tears started streaming down her face. Looking Alex in the eye, she continued, “Alex, I’m so sorry. When I saw you burst into tears, I…I felt so sick. Knowing I was the one who put the pain on that beautiful face, I’d never felt so horrible in my life.” Olivia reached up to stroke Alex’s cheek with the back of her hand.
Alex pulled Olivia to her and hugged her. “Shh, it’s ok. It’s ok,” Alex said, rubbing her back.
Sobbing into Alex’s neck, Olivia exclaimed, “It’s not ok! I thought you’d never speak to me again!”
Pulling herself back from Olivia, Alex planted her hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “But I’m here now, Liv. And I’m not going anywhere.”
Shaking her head, Olivia replied in a small voice, “But I don’t deserve you, Alex. We’ve only been official two days and look at what I’ve done!”
“Liv, you deserve to be happy. But you’re not perfect, Liv. Everyone makes mistakes,” Alex said calmly.
“You’re so good to me, Alex,” Olivia said, wrapping her in a warm embrace.
Alex returned the embrace and wiped Olivia’s tears away. Olivia took the hand she’d earlier slapped away and kissed her wrist gently. Alex lifted Olivia’s now bandaged hand and kissed it in response. “Thanks for going to the nurse for me,” she said.
Olivia smiled, her eyes glistening with happiness and the remnants of her tears. She leaned in to kiss Alex, a kiss filled with longing, gratitude, and warmth. Slipping her hand under Alex’s shirt, she began rubbing circles on her stomach. Moaning into Olivia’s mouth, Alex slipped her own hand under Olivia’s shirt, slowly easing it up to the curve of her bare breast.
“Well, well. Someone decided to wing it,” she teased.
Reluctantly, Olivia broke away from the kiss and looked down. Smiling, she replied, “Couldn’t you already tell by the way my ‘pokies’ are making their presence known?”
Removing her hand from under Olivia’s shirt, she dodged the question. “You should eat before the food gets cold.”
“Wait a minute. Come back here,” Olivia protested. Pulling on Alex’s arm and turning her back around, she once again consumed her mouth hungrily. Tangling her hands in her hair, Olivia pressed her breasts up hard against Alex’s.
Reveling in the flood of sensations she was feeling at the gesture, Alex ran her hands up and down Olivia’s back, deepening their kiss. Olivia pulled back to gasp for breath. Alex looked down at Olivia’s chest and swallowed hard. Following her gaze, Olivia took Alex’s hands and gently placed them on her breasts. Alex looked back up at Olivia and gasped sharply.
“Go ahead, Alex. It’s ok,” she encouraged softly.
Slowly, Alex started to move her hands in circular motions over Olivia’s breasts. She let her fingertips travel downward slightly. As Alex fingered her nipples, they hardened painfully, straining against the fabric of Olivia’s shirt. Olivia bit her lip and sighed.
“They’re so…they’re so…” Alex stammered, at a loss for words.
“Hard?” Olivia asked, smirking. However, Olivia’s smirk didn’t last for long. Alex took Olivia’s nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and squeezed gently through the fabric. Olivia closed her eyes and moaned loudly, shivering at the contact. “Oh god, Alex…ohhh god.”
Olivia grabbed her and devoured her mouth. She lifted the ends of Alex’s shirt and started to pull it up. Alex broke the kiss and gently pushed Olivia’s hands away. “Not here, Olivia. Someone might walk in.”
Nodding, Olivia sighed. Grabbing the food and her keys, she said, “Come on. Let’s get outta here.”
Following her out, Alex said, “We can go back to my house. My parents won’t be home until late.”
Once at Alex’s house, Olivia practically dragged her upstairs. Closing the door and kicking off her shoes, Olivia backed Alex up against her bed and settled down on top of her. Lifting up Alex’s shirt, she began placing several kisses on her stomach. Alex tugged at the ends of Olivia’s shirt; Olivia got the hint and sat up, pulling it off in one swift motion. Alex gasped loudly at her first sight of Olivia’s bare breasts.
“They’re…beautiful,” Alex admired in awe. Reaching out to cup them in her hands, she tentatively weighed them and then rubbed her thumbs over the nipples. Olivia shuddered at the motion as Alex watched them grow in size. She began rubbing her fingers in circular motions over Olivia’s nipples, then tugged gently, eliciting a gasp of pleasure from Olivia.
“Oh god, Alex! That feels so good…” Olivia murmured as the sensations shot straight down to her sex.
Alex was well aware of the throbbing in her own center. She lifted up her shirt cautiously, feeling inadequate next to Olivia. Olivia sensed her reservation and gave her an encouraging smile. “You’re beautiful, Alex,” she breathed.
Alex pulled off her shirt, revealing a white bra underneath. Blushing at Olivia’s admiring gaze, Alex mumbled, “Mine aren’t as big as yours.”
Olivia reached around behind her back and rested her fingers on Alex’s clasp. Looking into her eyes, she asked, “Is this ok?”
Alex nodded. Olivia undid her clasp and slowly pulled Alex’s bra down her arms. Her heart began racing at the sight of her breasts. Alex blushed furiously, feeling shy underneath Olivia’s intent gaze. Olivia reached up to touch her face and breathlessly said, “Sweetie, they’re beautiful.”
She gingerly ran her fingers over the girl’s smaller breasts, stopping to play with her nipples. Looking up at Alex, she smiled and said softly, “Pokies.” Alex giggled. Olivia pressed her breasts up against Alex’s, both girls shivering at the sensations running through them at their nipples touching. She enveloped her mouth in a passionate kiss, getting more aroused by the moment. Moaning, she attacked Alex’s neck, slowly running her tongue up the side. Alex gasped in pleasure. Kneading Alex’s breasts, she began nipping at an earlobe. Just then, Olivia’s cell phone rang.
“Shit!” Olivia yelled, clearly agitated at the interruption.
“Don’t answer it,” Alex moaned, kneading Olivia’s breasts.
Olivia moaned in pleasure, complying with Alex’s request. Soon enough the phone stopped ringing and the girls continued their kissing and exploration of each other’s torsos. Alex had just let her hand slide down to caress her hip when Olivia’s cell phone rang again.
“Damn it!” Olivia yelled angrily. She rolled off Alex to pick up her cell. Looking back at Alex, she explained, “Shit! It’s my mom!” Flipping it open, she said breathlessly, “Yes?”
“Olivia, I was called about your little fight at school today,” her mother said on the other line.
Rolling her eyes, Olivia responded, “Some girl on the other team pushed me down and we ended up fighting. It’s not a big deal.”
“Well, it’s a very big deal to Coach Cragen and Principal Munch. You’re being suspended for the next three games,” her mother said dryly.
Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “What, Mom?! That’s complete bullshit! They can’t do that!”
“Well, they can and they have,” her mother said angrily. “You’re lucky you didn’t get suspended from school, too.”
“What a perfect ending to a perfect day,” Olivia muttered sarcastically.
“I will not tolerate this kind of behavior, Olivia. I want you home now so we can discuss your punishment,” her mother replied.
“Punishment?” Olivia asked incredulously. “Haven’t I already been punished enough, Mom?”
“This is not up for debate. Get home now,” Serena Benson said, hanging up the phone.
Swearing, Olivia reached for her shirt. Giving Alex an apologetic look, she said, “Sweetie, I gotta go. My mom’s being a complete bitch and is making me come home.”
Nodding, Alex leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Call me if you need anything at all, ok?”
Olivia smiled and captured Alex’s lips momentarily. Reluctantly pulling away, she kissed her forehead and replied, “Thanks.” Getting dressed, she made her way down the stairs with Alex following close behind. She kissed Alex one last time before getting in and driving off.
When she walked in the door, she found her mom on the couch, swirling a dark liquid in a glass with ice cubes. Her mother turned to face her, her eyes bloodshot. “Olivia Benson,” she slurred. “You’re grounded.”
Olivia went over to her. Wrinkling her nose at the smell of whiskey, she tried to take the glass from her. Her mother snatched her hand away, spilling some of the liquid on the floor. Olivia reached for the glass again, prying it out of her mother’s hands. Her mother backhanded her across the mouth.
“You little bitch!” she snarled. “You’ve been nothing but a problem to me since the day you were born! Now you’re getting in fights at school! You worthless piece of trash!”
Olivia glared at her mother before taking the glass and dumping it out in the sink. Grabbing her keys, she started to walk out the back door.
Her mother stumbled into the kitchen. “Where are you going? I told you you were grounded!”
Turning back, Olivia glared at her again. “Fuck you, Mom!” she said as she slammed the door.
Getting in her car, she drove to Elliot’s. Elliot opened the door, surprised to see Olivia. “Liv…what happened?” he asked, eyeing her cut lip.
“My…my mom. She hit me,” Olivia mumbled, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
Pulling her into an embrace, Elliot said, “It’s ok, Liv. It’s gonna be ok. Come inside.”
After sitting Olivia down on the sofa, he asked, “Can I get you anything? A soda? Water?”
Shaking her head, Olivia replied, “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”
“Wanna talk about it?” Elliot asked gently.
“I’ve been suspended for three games,” Olivia said angrily.
“Liv, I’m sorry,” Elliot responded apologetically.
“Yeah, me too,” she replied dejectedly.
Changing the subject, Elliot asked, “So…did you talk to Alex yet?”
Smiling for the first time since she’d been there, Olivia answered, “Yeah. She stopped by the gym and brought me food. I apologized and she accepted. Now we’re good again.”
“Good,” Elliot said, patting her on the back.
“She’s so good to me, Elliot. I was so afraid I was going to lose her. She didn’t deserve what I said to her. She’s a great person,” Olivia sighed.
“Yeah, well, so are you.”
“I…I just am afraid that I’m gonna mess this up somehow. I care about her so much, El. I still feel like shit even though we’ve made up,” Olivia confessed.
“You can’t beat yourself up about it, Liv. You’re human. If Alex forgives you, then why can’t you forgive yourself?” he questioned.
“I dunno, Elliot. I dunno,” Olivia said, shrugging.
“Are you gonna call Alex?” he asked.
“About what?” Olivia questioned back.
“This. This whole thing with your mom,” Elliot explained.
“I dunno if I should, Elliot. She told me to call her if I needed anything, but I don’t wanna burden her with my problems,” Olivia confessed.
“Well, you do need something, Liv. Her,” he responded simply.
“I don’t want her feeling sorry for me, Elliot,” Olivia said sternly.
“She won’t, Liv. She’ll understand. Don’t you think she’d want you to open up with her? Just let her be there for you, Liv. If the same thing happened to her, wouldn’t you want her to tell you about it?” Elliot prodded.
“Yeah, I guess,” Olivia replied, looking down.
“So call her, Liv,” he encouraged.
Standing up, Olivia called Alex. She answered on the first ring. “Hey, Liv. What’s up?”
“Um, hi Alex. Are you busy?” she asked nervously.
“Busy thinking about the hot makeout session we had. But otherwise, no,” Alex said slyly.
Olivia smirked then continued. “Well, I was, uh, I was…just wondering if I could come over again.”
Getting excited, Alex replied, “Um, sure. Is everything ok?”
Pausing, Olivia ran her fingers through her hair. “Sorta. I’ll tell you when I get there. Give me 20 minutes, ok?”
“Ok,” Alex replied, getting worried. “See you soon.”
Closing her phone, Olivia turned to Elliot. “I’m going back over to her place. I’ll let you know how it goes,” she said, slapping him on the back.
“Ok, Liv. Everything will be all right,” he assured her.
“Thanks for everything, Elliot,” she said, giving him a tight hug. Elliot nodded. Olivia then went to her car and drove off, heading first to the grocery store and then to Alex’s house. Here goes, she thought.