Time Warp: Tangled Limbs (Oliver)

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

April 2016

Many of her free afternoons were spent this way, curled up with a good book, often with one she was reading for a literature course at the university. It was a great way to get her homework done and to spend time with her boyfriend.

AJ turned another page of Great Expectations and looked up at the guy whose limbs--arms and legs--were tangled with her own in a mess of two bodies as the sunlight poured in through the one window in her bedroom in the small apartment she shared with Adaryn Breslin, her twin with blue eyes as some referred to her.

It was the middle of spring and so AJ's window was cracked slightly, bringing in a breeze that made her have to tuck a loose curl behind her ear, but it was still slightly chilly enough to be wrapped up under some of her sheets.

"Oliver," she whispered, poking his cheek to tear his eyes away from his own book, which she was sure had to be equally as interesting. They did this often, read together and had to point out things they loved like quotes and actions of characters in the books they were reading at the time. But she really didn't have anything to tell him about the book this time, just wanted him to look at her, so she could tell him something else.

[Oliver Barnes]

There was nothing better than spending the afternoon reading, in Oliver's opinion. Then, it had gotten better adding in AJ. It was like the days of their youth, when the two would spend the cold, Minnesotan winters by the fire, drinking tea and quietly reading their books. Now, he lay with his girlfriend, the very same girl, his limbs intertwined with hers. With classes done for the rest of the day, there was nowhere Oliver would rather be except with AJ.

He let out a peaceful sigh, flipping the page of his own novel. It was one he had read many times before, but unlike his girlfriend, Oliver didn't need to do any readings right now. Except his history textbook, but that could wait.

Oliver was so absorbed in his own book that he didn't realize that AJ was trying to talk to him. He looked up from the page with a sheepish expression. "Hmm, yeah?" He asked, his eyes meeting hers, his smile widening in response. Patiently, Oliver waited for a quote to follow or for her to read a passage from the book. "I'm listening." He added, folding the corner of the page and shutting the book, for now.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

It took Oliver a little longer than AJ thought to look up at her, but when he did, she smiled at him. "How many times have you reread that book?" she asked, more making fun of him than actually looking for an answer. That wasn't what she was actually going to say when she'd prodded him. He was poised and looking at her, already having closed the book, dogearing a page. AJ thought that she and Oliver were probably the only two people who didn't mind the corners of their pages being folded over. AJ saw it as necessary wear to the book. It showed it was loved, like when your favorite cardigan got washed out and a hole in it from wearing it too much. That's how she saw it.

"I love you," she said softly. That was definitely not a quote from her book, but something she'd just felt the need to say in that moment.

[Oliver Barnes]

It took Oliver a minute to look up, since he was so absorbed in his book and he hated stopping in the middle of a paragraph. For most people, it was the middle of a sentence but it was a quirk of his that Oliver accepted and embraced. At AJ's next question, he simply grinned. "I know that's a rhetorical question, but a safe guess would be about twenty." He wasn't even exaggerating.

Running his fingertips over her blanketed arm, Oliver gazed down at his love, his grin softening up into a sweet smile. "I love you more." He declared, his fingers now delicately cupping her one cheek. "Forever and a day." It was a little cliche, but Oliver didn't care.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"It was, but I've come to learn that you like to answer every rhetorical question I ask anyway," AJ teased him with a smile. She didn't doubt that he'd read it twenty times. AJ had a book like that though. It was Jane Eyre. So she knew how that was.

She felt his finger tips gently graze over her arm, still covered by the blanket. They moved up to her face, now touching her cheek. I love you more. She grinned at him, resisting the urge to ruin the moment and punch him in the arm for the cliche comment. "You're so dorky," she settled on, laughing.

[Oliver Barnes]

Grinning, Oliver playfully nudged AJ's shoulder with his own. It didn't take much effort, since the two were already laying together, tangled as one. "Every question deserves an answer." He replied.

His fingers danced around, until they rested on her cheek. He made small, delicate circles, a lazy smile on his face. "You know, I don't understand how you're wearing a blanket right now." Oliver commented. Sure, his legs, wound with hers, were underneath the sheets, but otherwise, he felt comfortable in just a t-shirt.

"I know." He grinned. "But I'm your dork. Stuck with me." Oliver teased, tilting his head to kiss AJ on the forehead. The afternoons like these were what he lived for; the simple, physical contact with the girl he loved.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" she asked, making Oliver second guess what he'd said. "If I asked you the ending to a book I haven't read, would you spoil it for me?" She was just being playful of course.

She shrugged lightly. "I've always been cold. I think it's from living in Minnesota," she said with a laugh, pulling the blanket closer. It wasn't necessarily about the warmth of the blanket anyway, it was always about the protection it brought, but now she had Oliver and he was warm and protective. So she supposed she didn't need the blanket anymore.

She closed her eyes and smiled as his lips touched her forehead. "Yes you are."

[Oliver Barnes]

"Yes." Oliver answered before AJ even had the chance to finish the rest of her sentence. A grin appeared on his face, as it quickly fell when she completed her train of thought. "Well, you know how I feel about people spoiling the end of books." He said. It was something he was overly passionate about. Anyone who did that was automatically in his bad books. "That's different" He argued, also in a playful tone.

"But you'd think being from Minnesota would help." Oliver added, gesturing with a nod towards his t-shirted self. He was use to the cold, frigid winters.

Pulling AJ closer, Oliver let out a content sigh. He didn't even care about being called a dork; it was an affectionate nickname between the two. Was it weird? Possibly. He kissed her forehead again, using the hand near her face to cup her chin lightly. "And you're my dork."

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ grinned and hit him lightly when he answered before she'd even finished talking. "It's still a question that doesn't deserve an answer," she pointed out. "And you said that every question deserves one." She couldn't help but want to prove him wrong with that, just to joke around with him. She knew how much he hated having books spoiled for him and so she specifically chose that example.

"Guess it had the opposite effect on me. I feel like I could wear sweaters all year long." Well, she did like sundresses too.

And then he was cupping her chin and kissing her forehead and AJ just melted into him. This was perfect. And she never imagined it could get this good.

[Oliver Barnes]

Oliver feigned hurt when AJ lightly hit him. of course, it didn't hurt at all but he felt like goofing around with his love. "I guess it is a little contradicting." He admitted, pouting. He would defend his initial statement if it hadn't been torn apart by AJ's statement. "Do you always have to rain on my parade?" He asked, inquisitively raising an eyebrow.

"It's way too hot to do that." Especially in the summer. Oliver nearly died in the heat, even when wearing t-shirts. And no way was he going shirtless.

The two fell into comfortable silence, like usual. He looked down,a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. God, she was so perfect. Oliver lost his train of thought, content to just... be with AJ.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"It is," AJ said, glad he'd admitted it. "Glad you finally noticed. And I'm just messing with you." She stuck out her tongue at him. She barely remembered how the conversation had started, just that it had ended with her winning over her boyfriend, which made her lips twitch into a smile a bit.

"It doesn't get too unbearable here," AJ told him. It was Vermont after all. "I guess I'm just glad Hammel wasn't in Texas." Now that was unbearable. Oliver was always warm though, as far as AJ was concerned and she was always cold. It worked for them though.

The silence with Oliver was no longer awkward and filled with tension like it used to be, they were somehow back to their comfortable silence in which they just enjoyed each other's company. And she never truly believed that they would get back to that. So she was really just soaking in the moment.

[Oliver Barnes]

"But life is always contradicting anyway." Oliver defended himself, even though he'd already admitted defeat. "I know, cutie." He looked down at her, a soft smile on his face. His hand moved their way up her body, landing on her hair. And then he ruffled the mess of dark brown curls, a sly grin now his face. He knew she hated that.

"That's true." Sometimes, Oliver found himself dying in the heat regardless. He preferred the fall climate. Which was still t-shirt weather for him.

"I love you." He said, filling the air with words again. He didn't feel obliged to speak, to break the silence, but it was on his mind. Those three words. His gaze rested on her face. With the way things had been, Oliver would have never guessed that himself and AJ would be able to push past that and heal. Now, it was a long distant memory that rarely came up.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"True." AJ had to give that much to him. Life often contradicted itself. "And I'm capable of messing with you sometimes." Even if he was better at it, which he showed by moving his hand up into her hair and ruffling her curls around. "Oliver!" She reached her hand up to try to catch his in her own. "Like my hair isn't already messy."

But as much as AJ loved living somewhere that had all the seasons, she wished that fall lasted longer than all of the others. "I love you too," she replied after he'd broken the silence. She never imagined she'd say those words to him.

[Oliver Barnes]

"Only sometimes." Oliver repeated with a lighthearted chuckle. He didn't actually believe he was better at messing with AJ. He just thought it was funny, and her reactions were always so cute and adorable. Including when he messed with her hair. The grin on his face widened as Oliver stopped ruffling her hair, allowing her to catch his hand with her own. "It's cute, I promise." He assured her. AJ's wildly, messy curls were just... part of her. "More fun to play with." He pointed up to his hair, which was messy and unstyled, but short.

His grin softened. Who would've thought they would've seen the day, where they could spend the afternoon laying with each other? No fighting, no yelling, no avoiding each other... it was a blissful feeling. His fingers lingered underneath her chin, tilting her face up to his so their lips could meet.