Chapter Five

Oliver felt his heart pounding in his chest as David sat down with them, looking more smug than ever. He watched Autumn as she talked to Nathalie. His insides swelled.

"Did you seriously just-" Silver started to say. David just grinned at him, "I did."

Oliver couldn't help saying, "Wow, teach me?" and then he cringed. It sounded alot more pathetic than he had intended. Thankfully, David seemed to understand.

"For your sake, let's hope they order dessert."

Well, sort of.

Oliver felt hopeless, "I can't exactly do the same thing..."

"I'm jealous, Nathalie, he's so gorgeous," Autumn said. Nathalie sighed happily, "I know! I actually saw him a few years ago when he played against my team, but damn, I never in a million years thought this would happen!" She couldn't stop smiling.

Autumn politely gave her a nod, pushing the food around her plate. Oliver still watched the back of her pretty head, wondering what they were talking about. He only felt just a little bit pathetic.

"Nathalie looks shocked, Dave," he said, "I still can't believe you just went over and did that, without even a second thought." Silver added, "And it worked."

Erik shook his head, "Classic Rundblad, though." His phone beeped and he groaned, "I'm sorry guys, I've gotta go."

Silver noted the name on the text message he had just received, and sighed, "Ok, well, guess we'll see you later." Erik waved and left the restaurant, leaving the three boys on their own. Oliver hoped they wouldn't notice him as much with Erik gone; he was the youngest, after all.

"You're not going to eat that?" Nathalie asked finally. Autumn looked up from her plate and bit her lip, "Guess I'm not as hungry as I thought I was." She felt a pang in her stomach. She was hungry...but she didn't want to eat.

"You're going to need it, though," Nathalie told her, "I mean, we do have our general stuff tonight. Basic routines." Autumn sighed, "Yeah, I know, I'll make sure I'll eat later. I'll have them package it up for me, I guess..."

Nathalie sensed her uneasiness, "I'm sorry, I've just played sports for a long time and the importance of having enough energy and food in you just comes naturally to me. Especially when I played soccer, it was super important."

"That's how I know her!" Silver exclaimed, making a few people glance at their table, "She was on the national team! God, I feel stupid now." David and Oliver just blinked at her. "Uh, are you guys from Sweden, or Serbia? She captained it two years ago, brought the team to a silver and a bronze. My brother dated the goalie on the team for some time."

David's eyebrows rose, "Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing her being interviewed once or twice..."

Silver laughed, "You need to watch something other than Paradise Hotel, retard."

David looked offended, "Hey, I watch other stuff...late night stuff..."

Oliver frowned at him, "You're shallow."

"Well, I'm seeing her now, aren't I?"

Oliver shrugged. David didn't have real relationships; at least none that had lasted longer than three months. He dated girls that spray-tanned and had bleachy hair. Girls that smelled like too much perfume and had high-pitched voices. Nathalie was different.

"She reminds me of Adele..." Oliver said quietly.

"Who?" David chirped. Oliver rolled his eyes, "Just nevermind."

"Soccer is big in Europe," Autumn said quietly, still pushing her food around, "I know that." Nathalie nodded, "Yeah, I played for the national team. I was pretty good until I collided with someone and took out my knee..." She looked sad all of a sudden, "Two surgeries and no results. So, I turned to yoga, then dance, to try and rehab it, and I guess you can say I found a new love. Not as strong as I felt for soccer, but close enough."

Autumn could hardly believe she was sharing this with her, "Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. If anything happened to me, I'd die, I wouldn't be able to handle it. I mean, I never played sports, but I danced." I danced until he told me I couldn't, she thought.

"Do you wanna check out the apartment?" Nathalie asked, changing the subject, "It's a two-bedroom, and I was actually going to put out an ad for a roommate since it was the only decent thing I could find online from home, but now that I've met you, I don't think I'll have to!" Autumn was surprised at how genuinely happy she was.

"Yeah, I'd love to, actually, let's just ask for the check, and I'll get this packaged up for me," she replied, quickly talking to the waiter. Oliver swallowed when she stood up to pick up her purse. She had an apple bottom, all right.

"They're leaving," David piped up, "This is the part where you walk over and ask her out." Oliver felt his cheeks flush, "I can't just do that!" What if she thinks I'm weird? Or a creep?

"Just say, 'Hi. Don't know if you're aware, but I'm your other half. Been looking for you for awhile.'" Silver burst out laughing and Oliver gave David the dirtiest look he could muster.

"Oh, ha ha," he rolled his eyes, but stood up, "Fine, I'll go talk to her."

David's eyes widened, "Go get 'em, Ollie Bear." Oliver cringed, but straightened himself, and turned to approach their table. Autumn was just putting her purse on her shoulder when he had reached her.

"Um, hi..." he said quietly, "I was, uh, just going to ask, would you like to go out sometime?" Please don't scream and run away, please don't think I'm weird, and please, if you're going to let me down, be gentle about it.

Oliver brought himself to look at her, face to face, just the two of them, for the first time. Her big eyes had grown wider at his inquisition; but beautiful none the less. He could feel his stomach erupting into a giant ball of butterflies, seeing how her long dark hair framed her soft face. Her mouth fell open, she paused.

"Oh."

What did 'Oh.' mean? Oliver braced himself for the bitter rejection.

"Do I...do I know you?" she asked. Oh fuck, I forgot to say my fucking name. Fuck.

"I'm sorry, I'm Oliver," Oliver outstretched his hand and shook hers, wanting to die when he felt her warm and soft hers was, "My friend David just asked your friend Nathalie out, actually."

"Oh, okay," she said, "I'm Autumn."

I know, and it's the prettiest name I've ever heard. "Nice to meet you. So, what do you say? We could get coffee or something sometime, if you want."

She looked down, "Um...I'm, well...I'm not actually, dating, right now..."

Oliver's tone changed, obviously hurt. Autumn felt her stomach lurch. She didn't want to say no, but she couldn't bring herself to say yes, either.

"..I'm sorry...."

"It's fine. I shouldn't have bothered you." Oliver nodded and walked away, dejected, back to the table. Of course. Why did he think he stood a chance?

David waited, "Well?"

"Of course she's not dating right now..." Oliver sulked. David rolled his eyes, "Chrissakes, Ollie." Silver gave him a look, and David softened, "Sorry..."

"He was so cute, why did you say that?" Nathalie asked. Autumn shrugged, "I just got out of a bad relationship." She didn't want to say it, but she did. Nathalie seemed to understand, "I see..."

"Should've at least dropped off your number, dipshit..." David mumbled. Oliver thought about it for a moment. Maybe she could take interest in him; maybe one night she'd be bored and think of him. Maybe he still had a shot.

Nathalie and Autumn were about to walk out of the restaurant when Oliver came bounding at them, a napkin and a pen in his hand.

"Wait!" he called out, causing Autumn to turn, "Hey, if you change your mind..." He jotted something down on the napkin, then handed it to her, "Here."

"What's this?" she asked.

Oliver blushed, "My number. See you." He turned around, his face red, and walked back to the table. Nathalie marveled at him, nudging Autumn, "That was possibly the most adorable thing I've ever seen any guy do." No, he wasn't suave like David, but he was certainly interested.

Autumn looked at the scrawl on the napkin. He'd written his full name.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

She shook her head in disbelief.

-

"Well, this is it," Nathalie exclaimed, opening the door. Autumn wandered in behind her and smiled in spite of herself. The apartment was red, her favourite colour, and as she had said, had two bedrooms. It was quaint, not too small, but perfect.

"I love it." Autumn breathed. Nathalie grinned, "So do I, now that I'm not alone. Not as nice when you're all by yourself. As you can see, I haven't even unpacked..."

"You sure you're ok with this?" Autumn asked.

Nathalie didn't hesitate, "Absolutely. I don't want to be here by myself, and I like you."

Autumn smiled. She'd made a friend.

-

Canada Post had called Autumn by mid-afternoon to inform her that her boxes had arrived. Before leaving Sweden, she had quickly boxed up her belongings and mailed them to the post office in Ottawa, since she had yet to give an address. Thankfully, her phone from years before was still working and had been re-activated when she arrived, and they were able to contact her.

Nathalie was kind enough to go with her and help load the six boxes into a taxi and bring them to the apartment. Autumn herself had stopped at her hotel to check out and brought her suitcase over. Now, she had everything at the apartment. The six boxes were around her, and she was about to cut the first one open.

"I am so out of shape..." Nathalie sighed, collapsing into a chair. Autumn laughed a little, "Don't worry, Veronica says we will be after training. Gonna be intense." She cut the tape across the top of the box and pulled it open.

A pile of t-shirts that were too big for her told Autumn this wasn't what she wanted to see. Her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped, catching Nathalie's attention.

"What?"

"This...this isn't mine..." Autumn quickly closed the box and sunk down to the floor, laying against the wall, "I can't believe it...I'm so stupid..."

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, I packed the wrong things...HIS things...oh god..."

Nathalie, seeing Autumn had started to cry, crouched down in front of her, "Hey, slow down, what's going on?" She reached over and grabbed some tissues from the coffee table, handing them to her. Autumn gratefully took them and wiped her eyes.

"My ex. These are his boxes. Which means I sent some of my belongings to Karlstad, and I...I have some of his things..."

"Hang out. One, are you sure all of these are his, and two, why did you have to send them?"

"It's a long, pathetic, stupid story..."

Nathalie sat down cross-legged in front of her, "I've got time."

Autumn sighed, "Please don't judge me. Please don't think I'm...a freak."

"I won't. I promise."

Nathalie seemed genuine. And there was no one else around them. Autumn decided that if she was going to be her friend, she had to be honest with her. Her eyes closed, and she opened her mouth.

"I had a boyfriend before I came her," she said quietly, "I was with him for two years. We met online, and after meeting a few times...he decided to come to Canada. But he didn't like it, and told me unless I went to Sweden with him...he'd leave me."

"Did you go?"

"I did, yes," Autumn continued, her voice shakey and throat tight, "He moved to Karlstad. And left me in Falun, where we were living. Promised he'd come back and get me when he found us a place." She paused to sob a little. "He started partying. And I kept finding these pictures and texts from other girls. If I confronted him...which I was too scared to do...he'd..."

Nathalie's voice was heavy with concern, "Autumn, what did he do to you?"

Autumn swallowed, "Just...just this. And only this." She leaned forward. "And it was an accident." She added.

Nathalie gingerly lifted the back of Autumn's shirt and gasped. A ghastly dark red hole about the size of her hand settled just on her lower back; pieces of it black and peeling. It was a burn. A gigantic, likely third-degree burn with scorched flesh and oozing mess.

"Autumn, this isn't 'just' or 'only'!" Nathalie exclaimed, "This is...this is horrible..."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not fine," Nathalie stood up, "Look. I understand you're embarrassed, but please let me clean it up before it gets any more infected than it already is."

Autumn said nothing, only seemed to gaze off somewhere else in sadness. Nathalie didn't wait for the ok, instead she dug through her belongings until she found Polysporin and Q-tips. A package of bandages and gauze would help to cover it. She returned to find Autumn unmoved.

"Just pull off your shirt," Nathalie instructed, "You should likely wash it, too." Thankfully the shirt was black, and had covered any of it.

"Easy..." she said when Autumn flinched at the contact, "God, this is bad. You should see a doctor."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean I'll have to tell them how I got it."

"And how exactly-"

"Doesn't matter."

Nathalie said nothing after that. She simply spread the Polysporin on her; trying to put her through as little pain as possible. The anger she had for this ex-boyfriend only seemed to increase, and yet the curiosity to find out more about this relationship and what had gone wrong still coursed through her.

"I still love him."

Nathalie tried her best to hold in her tears. She swallowed several times and avoided her gaze, continuing to clean up the wound. Autumn hugged her knees, "Maybe it's because I still hope, that somewhere deep down inside him, is the boy I fell for..."

"I'm sorry, honey, but looking at this," Nathalie said, "I think that boy died a long time ago." Her words hit like daggers, but they were the truth, and Autumn knew she had to accept it.

-

David and Silver were chatting in the front of the car as Oliver sifted through his Facebook newsfeed on his Android. He came across her page and sighed. No, he shouldn't look at it, but for some reason, he wanted to.

Her new photo album had her new boyfriend in it. Oliver felt a pang in his stomach as he scrolled through the many pictures of them kissing; of her holding his hand and making comments like 'best day ever! <3'. It shouldn't hurt after all this time, Oliver thought. But it did.

His stomach churned when he saw the older photos. The two of them together, happy. Or so he thought. She'd cheated from the start, Oliver knew that now, but for some reason he felt like everything had been ok. That he'd been enough, for her. She was going to go with him to Ottawa, to cheer him on and be everything.

Somewhere along the line she changed her mind, and Oliver had gone from number one to just another number on her bedpost. The money she'd taken was nothing compared to the years she'd robbed him of. Everyone had said she was bad news. Everyone, especially David and Silver. But Oliver just couldn't listen. He had loved her.

Now he was alone, in a city he didn't know and a language that felt strange on his tongue. Sure, he had two friends with him, but he felt soon that would change. They'd be competing for spots on the team; spots they'd have to earn and completely disregard each other to do so. Three weeks, and although he was surrounded by his friends and fans, he felt completely, and utterly alone.

Oliver didn't miss Trina. He missed the feeling of being wanted.