A lot of people might have said it was creepy and dark and more than a little bit morbid but Enoch's picture would find pride of place on Olive's wall without question. There was a certain, Burton-esque charm to the bones and the literal heart they held in them that was unique and very Enoch that it was one of the truest gifts he could have given her. She loved him for that. He had the capacity to surprise her when she least expected it and, while he had looked incredibly embarrassed about it while she was looking at it, Olive could not have appreciated it more.

Enoch just shrugged it off after a minute as if it hadn't happened at all, after adamantly denying that it was not because it was Valentine's Day. Olive completely believed that and in a way was glad for it, it wasn't out of some sense of obligation that Enoch would never have given in to anyway.

She could feel awkwardness practically radiating from every fibre of Enoch's being when she hugged him and let him go but all the same, could have sworn there was a little smile on his face just a second before he kissed her back. He had been awkward and uncomfortable from the moment he'd stepped into the house, knowing that at least one of her parents was present and having only really met them on one other occasion. But then, she'd rarely seen him relaxed even in his own home. As the night went on though from that moment it was like a great weight had been lifted from both of them and Enoch seemed more comfortable being closer to her again. Or maybe it was just because it was dark and even if her mother walked past she wasn't likely to stop and keep an eye on them like her dad would certainly have done.

Olive didn't even remember the end of the movie after that, only that there had been footsteps on the stairs and down the hallway and they had both moved apart and pressed play on the remote so quickly anyone would have missed it in a blink. Enoch had definitely been smirking then, and Olive fondly refolding the sheet of paper easily into its folds. Olive must have fallen asleep. She didn't know exactly when, only that she began to miss seconds and minutes of plot in strange places and jerking awake again with any loud shot or slam supposed to jump scare the viewer. Then everything was a hazy mix of dream and reality where she couldn't quite tell if she was awake enough to tell whether the press of someone's lips on the side of her head was a dream or really happening. The next thing she was most aware of was waking up on her side on the couch, with the blanket thrown over her and Enoch gone. Of course he had. He wouldn't have thought about waking her up to say goodbye when he preferred to get away quietly anyway. She wished he had woken her up, then she could have at least said goodbye but as it had been her whole idea in the first place and Enoch hadn't been particularly comfortable with it, she couldn't entirely blame him for wanting to steal away. Even so...no. No she wasn't going to let that bother her by any means, not when otherwise she was extremely happy.

It couldn't have been long ago, her father still wasn't home as Olive pushed herself up to sit and stifled a yawn. How silly. She'd all but made Enoch agree to do something and gone and fallen asleep on him. Quite literally on him, she remembered putting her head on his shoulder and being glad he hadn't tensed up and moved over. She checked her phone and gave up on stifling the yawn that insisted on escaping. Enoch hadn't messaged her to say he'd gone and she wasn't surprised. It wasn't too late, and at any rate Enoch struck her as a night owl for sure. So she messaged him instead.

I'm sorry I fell asleep! I'm glad you came and thank you! J

Butterflies started to flutter around in her stomach again like they always did when she pressed send. After a while, she would have thought they would go away the more she got used to texting Enoch. After all, he only replied maybe forty percent of the time anyway, and almost never right away. But no, it still happened every time she hit send on a message to him, a pleasant sort of nervous feeling would flutter inside her and a little, happy smile would giddily creep across her face like she couldn't stop it. She liked that feeling sometimes. It felt right, and not just like a giddy school girl with a crush. She liked that Enoch had that effect on her, just talking to him put a smile on her face even if she knew there would be no answer in return.

xxxXxxx

"If anyone had tried to tell you six months ago that Enoch O'Connor was interested in you and you would end up actually dating him, you would never have believed it, Olive, and you know it."

"Six months ago he wasn't. He thought I was annoying...sometimes I still wonder why he doesn't still think that but I'm not complaining." Olive wrinkled her nose slightly and hid behind her latte instead. "And like you would have believed it, Emma."

"True, I still think he's part machine but you were in denial the longest. It was painfully obvious to everyone else when he started acting interested."

"Well you did know him for longer."

Emma and Fiona exchanged a look before the blonde just raised an eyebrow and scoffed at Olive as if to say, 'like that makes a difference with him', and she would have had a perfectly valid point in that.

"Why are we still talking about this?" Olive asked dismissively, fixing her eyes on the rain spotted window beside their table and trying to ignore the conversation until the subject was changed.

"Only because Emma was trying to work out how long it had been the other day." Fiona chimed in with a knowing look at Emma to stop her from getting in there with a quickly timed quip about it.

"I don't believe a word. What were you actually saying?"

"Just that it's weird to think that Enoch's told you he loves you. Or that he's capable of emotion beyond jealousy, really."

"That's not fair." Olive immediately defended him, though she still got chills every time she thought about it and hadn't heard it since that one time. "Okay well...still...it's a nice kind of weird."

"Of course it is...and I have to admit..." Emma seemed to concede a little bit, to Olive's relief, "He's not quite as unpleasant to be around as he used to be now."

Fiona stifled a laugh behind a mug and Olive could hardly disagree. She could feel the blood flowing to her cheeks as she bit her lip and looked away. "Yes but don't tell him that. Enoch would never listen to that. You could be happy for me you know, Emma? Or I could start talking about Jacob?"

"Believe me, if anyone's happy for you guys it's me. I'm impressed you haven't gotten sick of him yet, as long as he's not treating you like he-" and then it finally clicked and Emma shot her a look which Olive couldn't help grinning at "-okay fine, you've made your point. I'll stop."

Olive didn't really mind all that much. Teasing each other, if it was all in good fun, was exactly what friends were for and it was all in good fun. Enoch wasn't the kind of guy interested in a relationship and half the time he didn't seem very interested in theirs so Olive didn't blame them at all for being surprised. There were couples like Fiona and Hugh, the latter of whom had been so head over heels in love with her for months beforehand, that no one was surprised. Then like Emma and Jacob who had both obviously been immediately attracted to each other and taken all of one pre planned midnight kiss on New Year's Eve to set them up properly. Olive and Enoch however, had both gone through a little bit of denial, though admittedly one moreso than the other, she could still feel he was hesitant sometimes and then overly confident others when he let emotion get the better of him. It was a relationship that had to grow like any other and develop. Just so long as they kept the time to do that. And maybe one day, in the future that she hoped would keep him in it longer than high school relationships were supposed to last, he wouldn't quite be embarrassed to hold her hand in public. Baby steps. That was fine by Olive.

xxxXxxx

Enoch seemed to have already given up on his essay by the time Olive met him after school. She was a good twenty minutes late and almost breathless by the time she found him outside around the side of the school building in the little nook he sometimes escaped to when it wasn't otherwise occupied.

"I'm so sorry, I got held up. My Lit teacher wanted to talk to me..." Olive huffed, dropping down beside Enoch whose textbooks lay open next to him but who had his sketch book in his lap instead. Oblivious to the uninterested expression on his face, Olive continued, "She thinks I should consider doing a Literature major for university which is great, because I think that's pretty high on my list to do anyway and-" She finally caught Enoch's expression and blushed. "-I realise you hadn't asked to hear all that but...sorry I'm late, anyway."

"Calm down, ya ain't missin' parole or anyfin'.

"Right...well...why did you want to meet out here? Why not the library?"

"Because people are there an' I'm getting sick of it. Plus it ain't rainin' today for once."

"Uh huh...sure." Olive smiled and leaned over Enoch's shoulder a little to see what he was doing instead. He didn't hide his drawings from her all the time anymore. All the same he turned his head slightly to look at her and she could all but feel the irritation there. "You know...you've never told me what all these things are that you draw?"

On the page open to her view was another three and a half finished one, of the strange, patchworked designs Enoch seemed so fascinated with. Bits and pieces of creatures and funny shaped limbs all scribbled together in something completely, and weirdly, unique every time.

"Should I have?" Enoch said dryly, meaning very much that he wasn't about to explain himself.

"No, but I'm just curious. Is that so terrible?"

"They're nofin', okay? It's just...nofin' particularly. I just like it."

Olive shook her head and tapped Enoch's shoulder with a finger to try and tear his attention away from his drawing. Enoch obliged her with a sigh and a glare to which Olive just raised an eyebrow.

"You did ask me to meet you remember? What was it?"

He finally put it down and looked at her and she could have sworn there was a hint of redness to his cheeks as Enoch's blue eyes drifted past her so he wasn't looking directly at her.

"I swear, repeat it and...well, just don't but I..." His jaw locked up and he looked at the ground. Olive's eyes widened, whatever it was it was hard for him, something so far out of his comfort zone that he was acting very like he had when he told her he loved her.

"What? Whatever it is I'll help you..."

"Funny you say that."

And then it hit Olive like a ton of bricks while Enoch was still refusing to look at her. That's exactly what he was doing. He was trying, or thinking about, to ask her for help. Enoch had never done that before, even when she knew he was struggling.

"Enoch..."

"I just needa-wanna...want to...get my grades up a little before exams. If I even fail the practice one..." Enoch stopped and cut his eyes back to hers for a second. "I mean English, by the way."

Olive just stared at him, her mouth slightly ajar until Enoch apparently got frustrated and started to stand up.

"Ya know, forget it. I didn't say nofin'."

"No, no, no...of course I will." Olive spat out hurriedly and reached out to place a hand on his arm before he could stand up. "I just thought you didn't care what grades you're getting."

"I don't care really. I'm just...no nevermind the reason, ya don't needa know that. Just...I'm probably never, ever gonna ask that again so..." He'd lowered his voice to almost a whisper and now Olive was certain his cheeks were getting redder and redder. That must have been one hell of a blow to his pride to ask that and she didn't know whether to be flattered that he'd asked her, or sorry for him having to.

"Of course I will." She repeated with a smile. She wouldn't ask. Enoch might tell her in his own good time what was wrong, what was always behind his eyes whenever he let his guard down the tiniest bit. But pressing him would never do any good. She knew him better than that. "I'm always gonna be here if you need me to be."

"You're not asking..." Enoch sounded slightly suspicious, but he had relaxed a little bit and sat back down. Instead, his eyes went to her hand on his arm as it travelled down to touch his hand instead. Enoch for once did not flinch. "You always ask."

"Not this time. I'm just glad you trust me enough."

"Well I wasn't about to trust anyone else, was I?" Enoch sounded cynically sarcastic as ever but there was definitely a little relief there that she wasn't asking.

One day. But Olive loved him. Entirely and enduringly, and that was reason enough for her.