Summertime & Butterflies

“Nooo…” Olivia groaned out as Harry stirred beside her, stretching his legs out and nudging her side with his elbow. “Leave me alone.” She draped her arm over her eyes, blocking out the sun streaming through the windows. She didn’t know what time it was, but she felt as though she could sleep for another eighty hours, have some breakfast, maybe a shower with her boy, and then curl up for a nice nap.

Harry rolled over, grinning as he faced Olivia. “You’re grumpy in London,” he commented lightheartedly, kissing her forehead. “It’s a lovely day, plus I gave you some sweet, sweet loving last night. You should wake up… overjoyed. Enraptured. Tickled pink, even,” he added thoughtfully, tickling Olivia’s side as he said the word.

Olivia groaned, swatting Harry’s hand away. She wasn’t really a morning person. “I would be if I didn’t have to waste the entire day with your sister,” she told him sullenly. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited about the prospect of purchasing a designer dress – she wasn’t usually much of a shopper, but even Olivia could be lured by Louis Vuitton – but she wished she didn’t have to try on dresses with Gemma and her snide comments waiting in the wings.

“It won’t be a waste,” Harry promised, pulling Olivia’s arm from her eyes. He leaned closer to her, pressing a lazy morning kiss against her lips. “You’ll be the best of friends after today. You’ll hold hands and skip through wildflowers, and braid each other’s hair… or whatever girls do…”

Olivia snickered, rolling her eyes at Harry. “You’re an idiot…” she mused softly before letting out a sigh. “I… will try, though,” she promised Harry, sighing again. She knew it would be nearly impossible to prove to Gemma that she was truly in love with Harry – what was she supposed to do, erect a billboard stating her feelings in the middle of Times Square? – but her effort would mean a lot to Harry, and she would do anything to make him happy.

“Thank you,” Harry replied, sounding relieved. He nuzzled his head against Olivia’s breasts, his eyes closing again. “I am sort of regretting forcing you to go with her, though…” he murmured against her skin. “This would be a way better way to spend the day...”

Olivia snickered, massaging her fingers through his unruly hair. “That’s what I’m saying,” she answered, wishing her was being serious. She had just closed her eyes again when Harry’s popped open, and he sat up straight, shaking Olivia’s shoulders.

“Go get your hot little ass into the shower,” he told her, his words almost inaudible over Olivia’s loud groan. “I’ll make you some coffee… God knows you need it,” he added cheekily.

Olivia reached out, swatting Harry’s bare bottom as he jumped from the bed, grabbing a pair of boxers as he bounded from the room. His laughter echoed down the stairs, and Olivia groaned again. She loathed how much energy he had in the morning.

She flipped the covers off her, trudging into the bathroom. She yawned as she stepped into the shower, smacking at the wall until the stream of water cascaded over her. She examined the bottles lined up on the shelf, searching for familiarity – Harry’s hair care products tended to have a lot of foreign words on them. Schampo was close enough to shampoo, so she played her odds and squeezed a dollop into her hands. It seemed to work.

She sat on the floor of the shower, resting her head against the wall as she let the conditioning cream take effect. She tried not to overthink about her impending day with Gemma, but it was taking over her mind. She never cared before if people liked her or not, but it bothered her to no end that Gemma disliked her so strongly, without warrant. If Olivia was what Gemma believed she was, her dislike would make sense. But she wasn’t, which made the abhorrence all the more annoying.

“What are you doing?”

Harry’s booming voice startled her and she looked up, meeting his eyes as he opened the shower door. “Better not be falling asleep in here, pretty girl,” he teased her, eyeing up her wet body.

Olivia scowled at Harry. “Why are you in here if you don’t have coffee for me?” she asked him, knowing how salty she sounded but also knowing Harry would know she was kidding… or at least half-kidding.

“Shut up and get downstairs,” Harry told her, bending down and grabbing a tit before flashing Olivia a grin and scampering out of the bathroom.

Olivia rolled her eyes but let out a short laugh at his antics. He might have been the most irritating person she’d ever laid eyes on first thing in the morning, but he sure was adorable. Dutifully, she stood up and rinsed out her hair, enjoying how soft Harry’s overpriced cosmetics made her hair feel. After forcing herself to get out of the shower, she quickly pleated a side braid before shrugging on her robe and venturing down the stairs.

Harry met Olivia at the bottom of the stairs, a cup of coffee in his hand. He made the motion of buttoning his mouth shut as he grinned, handing her the steaming mug.

Olivia smiled at Harry, taking a sip from the mug before pressing a kiss against his buttoned lips. “You sure are sweet for the most annoying guy in the world,” she told him teasingly. Her free arm snaked around his naked waist, tugging his barely-covered southern bits towards her.

“I do my best,” Harry countered playfully, reciprocating Olivia’s kiss. “Now, come and eat, love,” he instructed, taking her by the hand. “I know you girls get all weird about eating before shopping, but you have to,” he reminded her, sounding like a grandma.

Olivia really didn’t want to fill her permanently-bloated stomach with anything but coffee before trying to find a dress that would somehow make her look like Kate Middleton, but Harry knew what a hangry person Olivia could be if she didn’t eat. It was already going to be a trying enough day; she didn’t need the added bonus of low blood sugar to make the day worse. She exhaled again, but nodded. “Yes, dear…”

~*~*~*~

“Gemma’s here,” Harry announced once breakfast was finished, looking at his phone. Olivia briefly rolled her eyes, though keeping her head down, focusing on her third cup of coffee instead. She’d already rolled her eyes enough regarding Gemma – at some point, she’d have to stop. Harry fiddled with the security app on his phone, remotely opening the gate for his sister. A moment later, Gemma’s car slowly pulled up the driveway. Through the dining room window, Olivia could see the scowl on Harry’s sister’s face. She was clearly looking forward to the trip as much as Olivia was.

“I’ll go brush my teeth,” Olivia announced, pushing back from the dining table. She darted up the stairs just as she heard Gemma open the front door. Surely the sister would assume Olivia was avoiding her until the last moment possible. Really, Olivia just cared greatly about oral hygiene.

She scrubbed her teeth quickly before standing in front of the full-length mirror, scrutinizing her appearance. She didn’t know how to dress for a shopping trip around the trendiest areas of London. She wanted to be comfortable, but dreaded the thought of having a Pretty Woman moment. It took her uncharacteristically long to settle on a printed sundress, ankle booties and a brown blazer. Harry had reassured her that her outfit was perfect, but Harry would compliment her outfit even if she was wearing a potato sack.

Crossing her fingers that they day would go better than she expected, Olivia descended the stairs, just in time to hear Harry tell Gemma, “Olivia has it.”

“What do I have?” she asked, meeting Gemma’s eyes. The scowl was still prominent on her freckled face, but the first thing Olivia noticed was how similarly they were dressed. Gemma’s dress had more black, and she wore a floral blazer rather than a brown one, but the idea behind their outfits was exactly the same. Wonderful, Olivia thought, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Normally she would laugh about it, but she didn’t think Gemma found the identicalness funny.

“My credit card,” Harry answered with a sigh, clearly the catalyst of an argument between the siblings.

“What if she ditches me?” Gemma snapped, frowning at Olivia. “And then I can’t buy anything for myself, and I’m going to have to go to this premiere wearing something ugly, and Instagram will mock the shit out of me!”

Olivia nearly laughed. No wonder Harry got on with her so well – he was clearly used to dramatic girls. “I don’t have a car…” she reminded Harry’s sister. “I’m not going anywhere,” she added pointedly. She almost suggested Gemma could keep the card in her possession – Olivia didn’t care – but who was to say Gemma wouldn’t ditch her? Olivia was nearly certain she would. She kept her mouth shut, intending on keeping Harry’s card safely in her own wallet.

“No one is ditching anyone,” Harry interjected, sounding very much like a mother refereeing her two children. “Liv keeps the card because… I like her more than you,” he told Gemma matter-of-factly.

Oh, don’t say that, Olivia internally moaned, shooting Harry a stern look. He shrugged sheepishly.

Gemma glared at her brother. “Whatever,” she retorted, turning on her heel and flouncing out the front door.

Olivia watched her for a moment before turning back to Harry. “Don’t say stuff like that,” she moaned, pushing her hand against his shoulder exasperatedly. “She already hates me!”

Harry winced, taking Olivia’s hand and pulling her closer to him, pressing a kiss against her cheek. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured into her ear. “Go on… go convince her of your undying love for me,” he told Olivia, his cheekbone rising against hers as he smirked.

“Gonna be kind of tough to do that now,” Olivia teased back, planting a quick kiss on Harry’s lips. “Don’t enjoy your day without me too much,” she added, offering him a wink as she stepped out the door.

“Girl-on-girl porn all day!” Harry called out after her, his voice loud enough to be heard even as she shut the door.

Olivia shook her head at Harry’s words as she opened the passenger door to Gemma’s car. The girl didn’t even look at Olivia, keeping her attention focused on her phone instead. Olivia repressed a sigh, looking down at the seat and wondering what she was supposed to do with the several sweaters, bags and water bottles piled next to Gemma. There was no way she was sitting in the backseat.

Staring at Gemma’s profile, silently challenging her, Olivia scooped up the mess and dumped it into the back. Startled by the gesture, Gemma shot an astonished look in Olivia’s direction. Olivia met her eyes, her brow slightly rising as she sat in the cleared passenger seat.

“Typical,” Gemma muttered under her breath as she sped out of the driveway. Olivia didn’t bite. She wasn’t going to get into a pissing contest with her boyfriend’s sister. If Gemma wanted to make the day as miserable as she could, that was on her. Even if it would nearly kill her, Olivia would do her best to be kind. Or at least, not unkind.

The silence in the car was deafening. Olivia didn’t know why Gemma didn’t have the radio on to cut though the tension – even talk radio in Spanish would have been better than nothing. Maybe it was a game Gemma was playing, or maybe the silence didn’t bother her as much as it did Olivia, but it only took approximately five minutes before Olivia couldn’t handle it anymore.

“So… where are we going?”

Gemma glanced sideways at Olivia but didn’t respond. She looked in the rear view mirror, switching lanes before answering. “Harrods. You’ve probably never heard of it,” she added arrogantly.

It’s your brother who’s an A-Lister, not you, Olivia wanted to remind Gemma. Instead, she shrugged. “Actually, I have,” she told Gemma, her voice coated with the same arrogance. Being a massive history buff, she knew the store was home to England’s first escalator. She wasn’t about to tell the fact to Gemma, however, and let her comment hang in the air.

“Mmm…” Gemma hummed simply, rolling her eyes.

Olivia matched her eye roll. This was going to be harder than she ever expected. “So… what are you looking for today?” she asked, forcing the question though fictional steel bars.

“Something ridiculously expensive. My brother owes me,” Gemma answered in a tight voice. “I’m sure you’ll be looking for the same,” she added, uttering a humourless laugh.

Olivia steadied her breathing, silently counting to ten. She couldn’t let this petty little girl get her to snap. “I’m just looking for something nice…” she answered cautiously. “I don’t care what the price tag says,” she added, which was far from a lie. Harry had told her to buy something she loved, and not to worry about what it cost, because he didn’t, but she knew that wasn’t in her repertoire. She didn’t know if a store like Harrods had a clearance section, but if it did, she would be buying from there.

“Sure,” Gemma answered, unconvinced. “Let’s just not talk, okay?” she said, scowling in Olivia’s direction. “I don’t like you, and you don’t like me, so let’s just buy some fucking shit and get this day over with, okay?”

Olivia was about to counter and tell Gemma she liked her before she met her, because Harry had so many wonderful things to say about his sister, but she bit her tongue, appeasing Gemma. “Fine,” she answered, crossing her arms across her chest as the countdown to the end of the day continued.

~*~*~*~

The store was massive, unlike anything Olivia had ever seen in her life. She was certain she would be turned away at the door and given directions to the Gap but she walked in a step behind Gemma and no one blinked.

“Going this way,” Gemma told her, the first words she’d spoken to Olivia since she suggested they not talk. She led the way with confidence, but Olivia wouldn’t have been surprised if she just had memorized the map on the store website beforehand.

Obediently, Olivia followed Gemma, wishing the girl would slow down and window shop a bit. Olivia didn’t want to extend the day any longer than necessary, but this store was incredibly opulent and luxurious, beating the hell out of Olivia’s local Hudson’s Bay department store. Her sisters would be green with envy.

“Oh, fuck…” Gemma suddenly muttered under her breath, stopping short. Olivia looked up from the price tag she was looking at – five thousand pounds for a shirt?! – to see what had caused Gemma to cuss. As the tall, leggy blonde from Harry’s past came into view, Olivia echoed Gemma’s words.

“Oh… fuck…” she cussed, louder than Gemma had. Gemma looked away from Taylor Swift for just a moment, curiously looking at Olivia. She opened her mouth as though to ask for an explanation when the two girls were spotted by Taylor.

“Gemma!” Taylor greeted, stepping around a clothing rack, the phoniness dripping from her voice. She took both of Gemma’s forearms in her hands and leaned forward, air-kissing beside her cheeks. Olivia rolled her eyes at Taylor’s attempt to be dignified, fighting the natural urge to punch the girl.

“Hello Taylor,” Gemma replied, her voice sounding prim and tight. “Nice to… see you…” she said before pursing her lips. It was obvious her words were a lie.

Taylor plastered an insincere smile across her face. “It’s been so long!” she chirped, taking one of Gemma’s hands and squeezing it. Gemma reacted quickly, pulling away from Taylor and clasping her hands behind her back.

Taylor didn’t appear to be affected and turned her fake smile in Olivia’s direction. “I’m Taylor!” she greeted, offering her hand to Olivia.

Olivia laughed incredulously. This girl was something else. Still, she accepted Taylor’s hand, feeling the girl’s pathetically weak handshake. “We’ve met,” she answered curtly. Taylor met her with a dumbfounded look, her eyes vacant as she shook Olivia’s hand.

“You drunkenly crashed a party at my boyfriend’s house,” Olivia began, her own voice finding a phony tone as she continued to shake Taylor’s hand, her grip getting tighter with each word. “You spent all night shamelessly flirting with him, after insinuating that I’m fat, of course, and after I went to bed, you decided it would be a good idea to try and kiss him. It wasn’t,” Olivia finished though clenched teeth, squeezing on Taylor’s hand as hard as she could.

Taylor let out a quiet whimper before Olivia dropped her hand while attempting to keep the smile on her face. “Wait… who’s your boyfriend?” she asked, the confused look remaining a constant on her face.

Olivia scoffed with disbelief as Gemma sighed exasperatedly. “She’s dating my brother, you half-wit!” Gemma exclaimed, shaking her head at Taylor.

Taylor alternated her gaze between Gemma and Olivia, her brow furrowed. Finally, as though a light bulb was turned on, her mouth formed a small circle. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Harry!”

“Jesus Christ…” Gemma and Olivia sighed in unison, turning away from Taylor for a brief moment to make eye contact at their overlapping voices. “Yes, Harry. My one and only brother,” Gemma retorted. “You fucked around with his life back then, and now you’re, what… trying to do it again?” She looked at Olivia, an unreadable look on her face.

“I never tried to do that!” Taylor protested, a wounded frown on her face.

“Just came naturally, eh?” Gemma sneered.

Taylor crossed her arms across her chest in a huff. “Gemma, you know I cared about your brother!”

“Cared about writing songs about him, anyway…” Olivia muttered. Gemma laughed loudly at Olivia’s comment, causing Olivia to look at her in surprise. Were they bonding over the wretchedness that was Taylor Swift?

“What do you know?” Taylor snapped, losing the innocent act she was trying so hard to portray. “Who even are you?”

Gemma took Taylor’s hand and rubbed the top of it with her thumb, as though Taylor was a child she was comforting. “This is Olivia…” Gemma said in a slow, high pitched voice. “She’s dating Harry. Harry is my brother. You dated Harry for one… two… three whole months!” She held up three fingers to emphasize. “And then you wrote a bunch of asshole songs about him, and then you wonder why his sister doesn’t like you…” Gemma trailed off, dropping Taylor’s hand forcefully.

Taylor scoffed. “Yeah, well… you…” She stammered, at a loss for words, before shaking her head. “Just ask Harry who Two Ghosts is about,” she snapped before pushing between the two girls and disappearing behind a wall of clothes.

“Not you!” Olivia called out, despite the words she’d said to Harry during their massive fight. She still wasn’t entirely convinced the song wasn’t somehow influenced by Taylor, but getting the last word in was more important than who the song was about.

She looked at Gemma, noticing a sheepish look on her face. “What a piece of work, eh?” Olivia commented, wondering if their encounter with Taylor would somehow bring the two of them closer together.

Gemma smiled slightly but didn’t meet Olivia’s eyes. “More like piece of shit,” she corrected, absent-mindedly thumbing through a rack of clothes. Olivia noticed her mouth moving in the same way Harry and Anne’s did when they wanted to say something. Genetics were funny. She knew she might regret asking, but she couldn’t help herself.

“You look like you want to say something…” she commented lightly, perusing through the clothes but not looking at anything.

Gemma’s head snapped up at Olivia’s remark, her brow furrowed. She met her eyes for a moment before looking down again.

“Did Taylor really try to kiss Harry?”

Olivia had been certain Harry told Gemma about the incident. They were so close, she assumed he told her everything. Her question threw Olivia off, and it took her a moment to answer. “Well... she actually succeeded…” Olivia admitted, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, but relieved Gemma was talking to her.

Gemma’s eyes widened, her jaw dropped. “She did?” she hissed. “He did?”

Olivia quickly shook her head. “No, no!” she assured Gemma. “He didn’t kiss her back…” The reminder of the evening, the kiss, the fight, left a massive knot in Olivia’s stomach. She didn’t want to relive it, least of all in the middle of one of the most ostentatious department stores in the world. She sighed, pressing a hand against her stomach in an attempt to settle it.

Gemma looked at Olivia, as though she was trying to get all of the answers from Olivia’s mind, without having to ask any questions. “So then… you guys had a fight? About her? And then… the accident?”

Olivia sat down on a bench, tucking her bag between her knees and lowering her head. “Yes,” she answered simply. She didn’t want to go into details about the fight, or how he’d fought with Jeff too and then crashed. She didn’t want to talk about the worst moment of her life at all, least of all with a girl who hated her.

Gemma breathed out a soft sigh before joining Olivia on the bench. “I… When I first heard about Harry’s accident, I…I blamed you…” she confessed quietly, looking down at her hands. “Now I guess… Not that I should blame Taylor instead. It’s nobody’s fault… But I…” she trailed off, glancing up at Olivia. “I was so angry and… terrified, I… I guess I needed to make someone at fault. I knew you and him had a fight so… it was easy to blame you…”

Olivia kept her head ducked, not wanting to see Gemma’s face. “I blame me, too…” she told her, attempting to swallow the lump in her throat. It made sense now, why Gemma hated her. Sometimes, when she saw Harry limping or struggling to do something he used to be able to do, she hated herself too.

“It’s not your fault…” Gemma repeated, reaching out a tentative hand and touching it against Olivia’s knee for just a moment before quickly recoiling. “Just… the thought of him driving around all pissed off and crashing because some girl broke his heart… ‘Some girl’ was easy to blame…” she said, limp air quotes around the words.

“I’ve been a real asshole to you…” she continued with a sigh. “He means everything to me, but I see… he means everything to you, too… And I’ve seen him deal with bitches like that,” she added, gesturing in the direction Taylor had stalked off in, “but I… I know you’re not like that,” she sighed, rolling her eyes at herself. She was quiet for a moment before looking up at Olivia, a small smile on her face.

“He really does love you…” she told Olivia. “And I know, I know you love him. I just, I… He’s my baby brother, and I know I’m grossly over-protective over him. I know it’s not an excuse for being such a salty bitch to you, but… I’m hoping you can forgive me, and believe me when I say I’m sorry. Really, truly sorry,” she added for good measure.

Olivia didn’t think an encounter with the most heinous bitch around would cause Gemma to apologise for being awful to her, but if that’s what it took, she would invite Taylor to Christmas dinner. She looked at Gemma, wanting so many more answers to her unanswered questions, but knowing she didn’t need them. Instead, she offered Harry’s sister a slight nod and a smile.

“Apology accepted.”

Gemma smiled back, touching Olivia’s knee again. Olivia hoped she wouldn’t go in for a hug – apologies were great, but they weren’t at the hugging stage yet. “Thank you,” Gemma replied sincerely, abstaining from hugging Olivia. She stood up, gesturing for Olivia to join her. “Now… let’s go find some dresses!”

Notes