5. Phone Call

As Gary sauntered towards her, Sierra made a quick decision. She swiftly unlocked her front door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her. She locked the door and held her breath.

"You can't hide from me forever," Gary chuckled, standing on her front steps. "I know that deep down, you want to get back together with me."

Sierra stayed silent, furiously hoping that Gary would leave. She didn't want to talk to him, but at the same time, she needed to let him know that nothing would ever happen between them again. She contemplated her choices. He would keep bothering her if she didn't talk to him, but then again, he might continue to hassle her even if they did talk.

"What are you doing here?" demanded a familiar voice. Relief coursed through Sierra. It was her friend Olivia.

"Just trying to talk to Sierra, that's all," said Gary.

"Leave," commanded Olivia. Sierra could practically hear the scowl in her voice. "Stop trying to get back together with her. It's obviously never going to happen, so leave her alone, you twit."

Gary must have left, because moments later, Olivia knocked on the door. Sierra unlocked it and pulled it open. She yanked Olivia inside and gave her a big hug.

"You're so good at confronting people!" exclaimed Sierra. "I could never do what you just did."

Olivia pulled away and smiled.

"Well, I'm sure when eh gets on our nerves enough, you'll be able to," she said, walking towards the stairs. Sierra closed the front door and followed Olivia. They entered Sierra's bedroom, where Olivia sprawled onto the bed, kicking off her sandals. Sierra pulled out her homework, determined to finish it all before Oliver called. Speaking of Oliver...

"So, guess what?" Sierra said, holding back a smile.

"Hmm?" Olivia mumbled.

"You know James and Oliver Phelps?"

"Of course. You're like, in love with Oliver, right?"

"Oh you know me so well. Alright, well, today I met them."

Olivia shot up and tumbled off the bed. She sat up and stared at Sierra, who was grinning.

"Really?" she exclaimed, disbelief clear on her face. Sierra blushed at the memory of her time spent with Oliver.

"Yeah. And uhm... I got to spend some time alone with Oliver. And he... he asked me on a date..." Sierra trailed off, blushing furiously. Olivia's jaw dropped open. Sierra smiled and blushed even more.

"Oh! Almost forgot to mention that he's going to call me tonight!" Sierra said, inwardly laughing at Olivia's expression.

"...You are so lucky, Sierra," Olivia finally said. "Maybe I could have James if you get Oliver." Olivia was joking, but Sierra smiled and said she'd find a way to introduce the two to each other. Just then, Sierra's phone rang.

The two girls locked eyes for a moment. Then they both scrambled to reach Sierra's phone first, which happened to be on the other side of the room. Olivia reached it first and hit the "Answer" button. Sierra desperately tried to get her phone, but Olivia kept dancing out of reach.

"Hellooo," she drawled into the phone. "Sierra's friend Olivia here. Who is calling this weird girl's phone at this time of night?"

Sierra considered tackling Olivia. Olivia glanced at Sierra and mouthed, "It's Oliver!" Sierra resumed her attempts to retrieve her phone.

"Nope, sorry. Never heard of an 'Oliver Phelps' before," Olivia said into the phone as she fended off Sierra. "Unless you're the Oliver Phelps who played George Weasley. But I doubt tha--"

Sierra managed to tackle and pin Olivia onto the floor and snatch her phone away from Olivia's vice-like grip. She shifted so that she was now sitting on top of Olivia.

"Hello?" she asked breathlessly.

"...Sierra?" asked Oliver.

"Hey!" she said, fighting to keep Olivia down. "Uh, sorry about that. I've got this crazy friend who forgot to take her medication today..."

Oliver chuckled. Olivia made a sound of protest.

"It's alright. So listen, I've got our date all planned out, and all I need is the time. I was thinking tomorrow, since it's going to be Friday and I don't want to wait too long to see you again."

Sierra was about to answer when Olivia pushed her off. Sierra tumbled to the carpeted floor with an "Eep!" and a glare at Olivia.

"Uh, yeah, tomorrow sounds great," Sierra said, glaring daggers at her friend, who simply smiled and primly sat down on the bed, smoothing down her hair.

"So, what are we going to do?" Sierra asked, rolling her eyes and turning her back on her friend.

"Ah, well, you see, that's for me to know and for you to wait and find out!" Oliver said. "Text me your address tomorrow and I'll pick you up at 4."

The two exchanged sweet good-nights and hung up. Sierra whirled around to face Olivia.

"Why would you do that?" she demanded. "Oliver probably thinks you're a freak now! He'll think I associate with psychos!"

Sierra held her angry face for only a few moments more before bursting out laughing. Olivia laughed too, shaking her head in disbelief at the fact that she had talked to the Oliver Phelps. When they had laughed themselves out, they sat on Sierra's bed together.

"Hey, I don't feel like driving all the way home. Can I stay here?" asked Olivia. It was not unusual that Olivia slept over often.

"Yeah, sure. I guess we'll go to school together tomorrow," said Sierra. Olivia flashed her a grateful smile. The two friends quickly got ready for bed and set up a spot for Olivia to sleep on the comfortable couch. They exchanged good nights and then went to sleep.