•All of Oliver
•early July XX47
•Grace's POV
•Contains: cursing, brief mention of food and (melatonin) pills
•grace has never had a boyfriend before. actually, they've never had any sort of romantic partnership at all. it's a lot to learn, especially when your new boyfriend has more anxiety about dating people than you previously thought possible.

(also wow, look who's still writing. idk what im doing with this book anymore but stick around to the end to see me ramble about a few things to do with this series and the new one im trying to make based off it)

•~~~~•

"So... what are we gonna do?"

Grace smiled at Oliver.

If you would've asked Grace a year ago whether they thought they'd have a boyfriend about this time now, Grace would mostly be concerned with the fact that they didn't know who you were, but if you got them to answer the question, they would've said no. Definitely not. And yet... here they were. With a boyfriend.

"Whatever you want, Olive, I don't care."

Grace flopped onto her bed, and Oliver sat down carefully next to her. They hadn't been dating for too long yet- on their third date, they'd gone to see a movie and then before Oliver got out of Grace's car when she was dropping him off at his house, he'd asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend. Grace, who hadn't been expecting the question, had agreed, bought herself a box of Dunkin Donuts munchkins, and then screamed into the shoulder of the first family member she made eye contact with when she got home.

For their fourth date, they'd done an escape room and then had a picnic at a local park. It had been nice. They talked a lot, and then there was a while where they just laid next to each other on their picnic blanket in comfortable silence, which was somehow even better than the talking. Now, their fifth date (Grace was gonna track their number of dates for as long as they could, that was for certain) was gonna be the first time Oliver stayed the night at Grace's house.

"You can't just invite me over and then make me pick what we're doing, it's your house," Oliver sat criss-crossed, Grace staring up at him through the blonde curls that had fallen in front of her eyes. She pushed them aside.

"Not my house, my parent's."

"Y'know what I mean."

Grace really liked him. For a while they'd thought they were just gonna end up being single their whole life, maybe adopt a few cats when they got older, and maybe it was bad to hold that tightly to a relationship that isn't even a month old, but things were going well. So it was okay. It was great, actually.

She sat up, sitting on her knees next to Oliver, hands tapping gently on her thighs. "Uh... we could play something. I've got some multiplayer games on my computer, could load something up."

"Like what?"

Grace stood up and walked over to their desk, grabbing their laptop from its normal spot. Oliver seemed awkwardly unsure of whether or not to stand until Grace sat back down next to him. "I've been on a Stardew Valley kick lately."

"Shit, I've heard of that, what is it again?"

Grace grinned, turning their computer on. "Oh my god, it's awesome. It's a life simulator sort of thing, you play as this person who moves to their grandpa's old farm to escape capitalism and the city life, and then you can farm and fish and mine or whatever else, and then there's NPCs you can befriend or marry, and there's a lot more too, that's just the main bit."

"Huh. Is it like a split-screen thing? I didn't bring my computer."

"Oh, shoot, no, you need another device. It's ok, next time you come over you can bring it. I'll buy it for you."

"What? How much is it?"

"I dunno, $15? Give or take 5? Not much."

Oliver stared at her for a moment, before blinking to himself. "Why do you keep offering to buy me all this stuff when I can't even pay you back? I still don't have a job."

"You don't have to, that's the point of me buying it for you," Grace nudged his shoulder, smiling.

"I feel like I should."

"Well, I can probably sweet-talk my manager into getting you an interview at Dunkin if you really need extra cash."

Oliver sighed through his nose, looking away and shaking his head in a way that read why do you do the things that you do?, and so Grace laughed, covering her mouth with her hand for a moment.

"...Okay, well, we still need something to do," Grace then said, when Oliver didn't say anything more.

"We could watch YouTube."

"We always watch YouTube."

"You know the saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"...Yeah, that's true."

Grace pulled up YouTube and, after a brief discussion, found a video essay that would keep both of them occupied for a bit. They put the computer on their bed and then scooted towards the headboard, offering the spot next to them so they both could sit and watch in a more comfortable position. The blankets were pulled over both their legs, and the computer sat in Grace's lap once again.

Grace had offered her hand to Oliver pretty early on in the video, and so they held hands for a while, until around ten minutes in Oliver leaned his head on her shoulder, with a somewhat shaken sigh. Grace's focus drifted from the video to him, and after a moment of consideration, she started to maneuver her arm around him. He accepted the gesture, and Grace smiled to herself, goosebumps spreading through her arm. There's something she hadn't done before.

Time went on. They were both comfortable, for a while, but eventually Grace started to notice Oliver tensing up. He adjusted his position a bit with yet another shaken sigh, and then Grace frowned, not sure what to do from there.

That anxiety was normal for him, though- that was one of the biggest things Grace had noticed about him in the time they'd known each other, he was definitely prone to "random" bouts of anxiety. He'd even told them on their second date, that a lot of the anxiety came from romance-related stuff, so of course he was gonna be experiencing it a lot with his girlfriend. But on another date he'd told them to just let him ride it out, he'd be fine, but Grace hated that because all they wanted was for him to be comfortable, so it sucked to be with him when he was anxious and not have any way of making him feel better.

Grace was still pretty good at following what people told them. But they were also determined to find an actual solution to whatever the problem here was.

By now, Oliver had taken to glancing up at Grace every so often, not moving his head, just quick looks through the corner of his eye. Grace caught his gaze one of these times, and he blinked at them before looking back to the video that was still playing.

"...Hey," Grace then said quietly, tapping their fingers on Oliver's arm for a moment. He took a breath.

"Sorry," he then said. Grace panicked for a moment.

"Oh- no, you're not bothering me, I just- ...well, I guess it is bothering me that you're uncomfortable because I hate to see you feel like that."

Oliver gently raised his eyebrows at her, a soft look, before he shifted to sit up a bit more than he had been. A moment passed. He shrugged.

"You sure there's nothing I can do?"

"I just- maybe, it's weird though. I don't know how to phrase it without sounding like I've got a fragile masculinity or something."

He smiled briefly, so Grace let out a humorous breath through her nose, sitting up as well. "I'll just try not to think that, then."

"Right. Uhm. Can I put my arm behind you instead of vice versa?"

Grace blinked. "Yeah, sure, I don't care."

"Might be weird because of the height difference but, uh, yeah, thanks."

"We can make it comfortable," Grace moved to fold her hands in her lap, and sat up enough so Oliver could put an arm behind her. "How would that mean you have a fragile masculinity, though?" She smiled.

"I don't know," Oliver chuckled. He seemed to be feeling a bit better. "I think I just get anxious not being able to see you, or something. I wanna know you're the person I'm... y'know. Sitting with."

"Oh. Okay."

Grace laid down a bit next to him, laying their head on his shoulder. The laptop shifted more into Oliver's lap than Grace's in the process, but neither really cared. The last few minutes of the video had been lost on them, they needed to work on catching up.

Oliver relaxed. Grace smiled.

•~~~~•

A few hours later, a knock came at their door from Grace's brother, asking if Grace and Oliver wanted to eat dinner in their room or come and eat it with everyone else. Oliver said he didn't care, so they ended up going with option two.

Something amusing Grace noticed after they'd grabbed their food was that it didn't seem like Oliver had ever eaten dinner not at the dining table before. Grace's family usually sat in front of the TV while eating, it was a lot more comfortable and it let them watch stuff together. But he seemed generally confused at first, sitting on the couch between Grace and Void with a plate in his lap.

They watched The Good Place. Oliver and Void talked a bit. That was another fun thing, Void had warmed up to Oliver really quick since the two first met and was always pretty happy whenever she got to see him. Grace's parents seemed to like him too, which was always a plus.

Overall though, dinner went pretty smooth. Grace and Oliver went back to the former's room when they were done, and to no one's surprise, they started binging YouTube videos again. This went on until Grace was the one who noticed what time it was, hours later.

"Oh, shit, it's one in the morning."

Oliver looked at her, them being in a similar position that they'd been in before they ate dinner. "And?"

"We should probably go to bed."

"I've been staying up until like four or five the past few weeks, I'm not even tired yet."

Grace raised her eyebrows at him. "Jeez, really? I usually shut everything off at midnight. But your dad's picking you up kinda early tomorrow, right?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."

Grace shut their laptop and climbed out of bed, going to plug it in over at their desk. Oliver pulled a shirt and a few other things out of the bag he'd brought.

"Where's your bathroom, again?"

"It's like, directly across from my room. The door should be cracked a little bit, usually we leave it open if no one's in there."

"Got it, thanks."

Oliver left the room. Grace changed into a tank top and shorts, and then sat down on the edge of their bed, unsure what to do next.

Really, the main thing on their mind was how they hadn't shared a bed with someone since their ren painted Void's room a few years ago and Void had to sleep in Grace's room for a few nights. But also, what the hell were you supposed to do when you had a sleepover with your significant other and it came time to actually sleep? It was probably gonna be awkward at first, sure, but how long was that gonna last?

Grace laid back, sighing. Oliver came back not too long later, and so she sat back up again. As he closed the door behind him, her eyes skimmed over what he was holding.

"Is that your binder?"

Oliver raised his eyebrows at her, and then looked to the pile of clothing in his arms. "Uh, yeah, why?"

It looked pretty used, kinda old. "Can I see it?"

"Sure?"

Oliver stuffed his other clothes back into his bag and handed the binder to her. She flipped it over a few times, mentally comparing it to the ones she had.

"How long have you had this? It's pretty stretched out."

"Uhm... I don't know, some friends got it for me for my fifteenth, I've never had another one."

"And you're turning eighteen next month, right?"

"Yep."

Grace stared at him for a moment. Oliver sat expressionless, until his eyebrows fell, sarcastically glaring.

"I swear to god, Grace, if you try to buy me anything else-"

Grace started laughing and shoved the binder back in Oliver's arms, and he sighed, going to put it with the rest of his clothes.

"No, no, just let me, they're not even that expensive. What's that from, gc2b? I'll get you a better one."

Oliver sat back next to them. "...Guess it doesn't work that well anymore, anyways."

"Well yeah, if you've had it for three years, of course not. Tell you what- you find the one you want and just send the link to me."

"I thought birthday gifts were supposed to be a surprise?"

"Oh, okay, I'll get you something else along with it, then."

"Goddamnit, Grace."

Grace snickered. Oliver started scooting to the back of the bed, so Grace stood up to grab some melatonin and set everything else up so they could sleep.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, will it bother you if I sleep with my LEDs on and brown noise?"

"No, I don't care."

"Okay, cool."

Grace gulped down a melatonin pill, and then glanced over to her boyfriend.

"You still not tired?"

"Not really, no."

She held up the store-bought bottle.

"Oh, you don't have to- I'll be fine."

"You sure? It's not, like, under the counter or anything, it's just from CVS."

"Nah, it's fine."

"If you say so."

With their LEDs and noise machine on, Grace climbed into bed next to Oliver, who had now started to browse on his phone, which was hooked up to a charger. Grace glanced over at him and sighed.

"You sure you're gonna get sleep?"

"If I don't, it's fine, I'll just take a nap tomorrow and sleep in the day after."

"Well, really either way there you're gonna be tired, since usually your circadian rhythm depends on whatever your normal sleep schedule is."

Oliver blinked. "Well, I'll... be fine. Don't worry."

Grace smiled and then looked to the ceiling. Oliver turned off his phone.

"I'll try and get sleep if you really think I should," he then mumbled. Grace chuckled a bit, nodding. Oliver took his glasses off and put them on the nightstand next to Grace's bed, along with his phone. He faced the ceiling, and Grace stared at him for a moment.

"You sleep with your hair up?"

Oliver glanced at them, and then Grace blushed, partly because he looked cute without his glasses on, and also because they realized their proximity. "I take it out sometimes, just didn't feel like it."

"Can't be all that comfortable."

Oliver chuckled. "I'm fine, I swear."

"Okay, then."

He sighed, glancing back to the ceiling but keeping his head turned towards Grace.

"...You, uh," Grace blinked a few times, "you look cute without your glasses."

Oliver's eyebrows raised and he looked back at them immediately. A smile graced his face for a fraction of a second, before he let out a small breath and glanced away.

"Yeah. Thanks," he replied quietly.

Grace's hand was a few inches in front of their legs, and they felt Oliver's hand pat around a bit under the blankets before finding theirs, gently clasping it. Grace smiled.

"Could I kiss you?" They then whispered.

"Sure."

He turned towards them, and they placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning forward to give him a small peck on the lips. Both lingered after Grace pulled back, before coming together again, this time for just a bit longer, until both pulled back completely.

"How are you so good at that?" Grace asked without thinking. Oliver blinked at her a few times, and then she blinked at herself. "Shit- sorry, is that weird?"

"No, no, uh..." Oliver looked away for a moment. Though a tad bit flustered, he furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, and then looked back at her. "I mean... you're not bad either, I don't think either of us are that, like, spectacular, y'know?"

"Well, yeah, it just feels like I'm really bad at it and you're... not."

Another brief pause. "You're really not bad at it."

"Oh." Grace let out a small laugh. "Thank you."

Oliver took a deep breath, seemingly still deep in thought, before he sighed and turned to face the ceiling. "Uh, if you wanna know, you're not- I've, uhm, I had a boyfriend back when I lived in Florida, so I guess I'm more familiar with it."

"Oh, okay," Grace blinked. Was that the reason he had so much anxiety? They probably shouldn't pry. "That kinda makes sense, I think before our first kiss I told you I'd never done it and you said it wasn't that hard, or something, so that kinda implies you'd done it before."

"Yeah, right." He scrunched up his face for a moment, and then shook his head. "Sorry. Feel like I should've told you sooner."

"Huh? No, it's fine, I don't care."

Oliver nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

Grace smiled at him, yet again. "We should probably get some sleep, you know."

"True."

Grace faced the ceiling as well. They were still holding hands. Out of the corner of their eye, Grace saw Oliver's shoulders relax a bit, and he turned his head towards them.

"You wanna cuddle or something?"

Grace blushed. "If you're offering, then sure."

Oliver laughed a quiet, breathy laugh, scooting closer to Grace, head positioned a bit above her's. He put a hand at the side of her torso, and so Grace did the same to him. Grace let her head rest a bit underneath his chin, and then both of them sighed, though their hearts were naturally pounding a bit.

"Goodnight, Olive," Grace mumbled, closing their eyes.

"G'night, Grace."

•~~~~•

Grace woke up the next morning around 10, and Oliver followed about half an hour after them, though that didn't at all mean he'd gotten more sleep than his girlfriend. Neither of them thought to move from their semi-tangled position for a bit, until they realized they weren't sure when Oliver's dad was gonna pick him up, so they might as well just be ready for whenever he gets there.

Both threw on a hoodie and went to the kitchen, where Grace offered to make them both pancakes. Oliver said he wasn't hungry. Grace made him pancakes anyway. Oliver ate them, because he was hungry, he just hadn't wanted Grace to bother doing stuff for him.

They ate, and then they hung out in the living room for a while, until Oliver got a text that his dad was five minutes away, so both him and Grace walked up to the latter's room to grab his stuff.

Oliver threw his phone on Grace's bed when he walked in, making his way over to his backpack.

"Thank you for coming over," Grace then said, standing by the door. Oliver let the bag hang over one of his shoulders.

"Yeah, sure, thanks for having me."

"When are you free again?"

Oliver chuckled a bit and crossed his arms. Grace stepped a bit more into the room. "I literally don't do anything but hang out with you."

"Oh, right," Grace laughed a bit themselves, "uh, I'll send you my work schedule next week and we can figure out something, then?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

Outside Grace's window, a car pulled up in front of the house. Oliver sighed, and started walking out of the room and down the hall, towards the front door. Grace started to follow, but then remembered the visual of him throwing his phone on her bed, and she blinked a few times to herself before going to pick it up.

Oliver idled by the front door for a moment as Grace caught up to him. Grace's family, by now, had waved Oliver goodbye and were focused on their own things in the kitchen and living room.

"See you soon," Oliver said as Grace stood in front of him. Grace held Oliver's phone by their chest.

"Yeah- uh, before you go," Grace gestured down to Oliver's phone with their eyes, "you're forgetting something."

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, not looking at the phone, and Grace just smiled at him, waiting for him to remember.

"Oh." He let out a quick breath of laughter. "Yeah, okay."

He kissed them.

It surprised Grace, at first, the feeling of Oliver's hand on their cheek and his lips on theirs, because it was the first time Oliver had initiated. Grace let their eyes flutter shut after a moment, but the kiss didn't last long, though the bliss of the moment lingered between them as they parted, and as Oliver lowered his hand from their face.

Grace didn't know what to say at first. Oliver was still standing there.

"Uhm- hah, I actually, meant..."

Oliver's eyes finally glanced down to his phone, and then they went wide, his face becoming significantly redder in the process.

"...Shit, uh-"

He panicked and grabbed his phone, going to shove it in his pocket, but then Grace swooped down and gave him another quick kiss, unsure what else she could've done to reassure him he didn't need to be embarrassed. Oliver stared at her for a few moments afterwards, and she absolutely beamed at him, starting to gently shake her hands by her sides.

"Okay," Oliver finally said, "yeah. Thanks." He was still a bit flabbergasted, but clearly in a good way. "I'm, gonna... bye, Grace."

"Bye," Grace said, cheerfully.

He gave them one last look before walking out the door, shutting it quickly behind him.

Grace waited a few moments, and then they screamed out a laugh, and didn't stop talking about what had happened for the rest of the day.

•~~~~•
ok hi everyone it's been like 7-ish months since the last update to this but here I am

I've said this before but I am currently trying to make headway on turning this trilogy into a non-fanfic thing and I've actually made decent progress on that. All the characters from this (besides a few in book 3) have new names/looks and in most cases pronouns & stories which is fun. It's also a quadrilogy now lmao help

kinda now asking what you guys wanna see next though, idk when I'll write something else (im ab to be a camp counselor for two weeks :] ) but I've still yet to write "chapter 46", along with one idea I had of Remy using an ouija board in highschool and scaring the shit out of themselves (pretty self explanatory why), but I've also been considering taking a few things I've written for the new non-fanfic story and converting all the characters to be their OG counterparts (to avoid confusion) and putting them in here, so if anyone wants to see any of that let me know (also I have some art related to the rewrite so if anyone is like at all interested I might make another chapter just to show some of it)

ok that's all<3
See ya in the next one!