Read Comic Relief: A Not So Romantic Romance :: Easy

Olivia had lost her favourite earring.

She sat at his table by the fireplace, thinking the little bow-shaped earring was probably forever trapped beneath a cushion, or lost under the feet of some forgotten closet.

He didn’t really seem to mind.

She should be happy?

Something of hers would forever stay in his house.

But she wasn't.

The earring had belonged to her grandmother.

Miller was busy showing her the elaborate sound system his mother had installed.

"What song do you want?" He laughed endleesly.

She recoilled slightly.

Even the thought of sharing her music with him made her uneasy.

It was not refined.

His was all class, and elegance.

Hers was colourful. Fast beats, sweet lyrics. Slow songs of undying love sang by POP singers.

Lately, she had been obsessed with Ariana Grande.

He would scoff.

Call her silly.

Never a word of encouragement.

Why did she still feel this way about him?

Out of habit. She had gone home, walked to the end of her street, and ended up at his house. She had helped him with an English assignment. Her PowerPoint skills, after all, were a natural gift. They had done group presentations together for as long as she could remember.

“Now that you've shown me the sound system,” she said softly, touching his arm,
“can we keep looking for it? It’s really, really important to me.”

“Sure,” he replied distractedly, bending to look under the sofa.

Then the doorbell rang.

“Miller!”
A familiar voice sang through the house.

“Oh, right!”
He hastily backed up, hitting his head as he did that.
“This was a group-of-three presentation.”

Olivia felt something tighten.

Why wasn't Sarah invited?

Serina walked in with her big smile. Beautiful even while homely.

Kind. Unaware.
Or maybe she knew.

"I brought my notebooks too," Serina said cheerfully.

“I can try to help as well!”

She didn't know.

She sat beside Olivia, pen already in hand.

“I lost my grandmother’s earring,” Olivia said quietly.
“One of them, I mean-”

"We'll find it another day!" Miller interrupted lightly.

"There’s time. We can search after we finish.” Serina added.

"Olivia will be back. Don’t worry.”

He said it like a fact. Like the sun rising. Like something that didn’t need to be questioned.

Easy to feel.
Easy to say.
For him.

Her undying loyalty to her oldest friend felt heavy.
And frozen.

He might have been her first love, but she certainly wasn’t his.
Olivia watched as his demeanour changed, subtle and natural, as if nothing important had shifted at all.

Then he turned to Serina and smiled, careful and bright.

“You’re only here for today.”

He laughed.

And Olivia's heart hurt.