Seven – Oliver

I jolt back and forth as the train starts its journey to the Middle. The trains in the Middle are pretty dodgy. Not as bad as the ones in Lower-class, but definitely close. They still have a light scent of cigarette smoke and body odour and the same rickety back-to-back seats. Although, the overhead bag racks are intact so there's a difference.

The trains aren't any cleaner in the Middle either. A few seats ahead of me, some form of liquid is split floor and I'm really hoping it's from someone's drink, but considering last night was Saturday, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something more disgusting. The walls and windows have names, tags and well... dicks etched into them. And, in every possible place you can stash something, there's empty cigarette packets, food wrappers and a variety of gum.

But these trains are all I have. The Middle doesn't really have a bus or taxi system and I never have Dad's car to myself. And even if I could, I would probably send my family broke with the amount of fuel I would use going into the Middle whenever I wanted to. On top of that, Dad's car is nothing to Calvin's Mercedes and there's no way I would put the two in the same car park, it would be too embarrassing.

The worst thing about today is the fact that I have to force myself to make it home before 6pm. Usually I'll let myself get carried away with Calvin, sometimes to the point where I don't make it home until 8PM, but I'll be killed if that happens today. Mum is actually going to her shifts and Dad won't be home until late so that leaves dinner to either me or the freezer but considering the lack of frozen meals there was when I left, dinner is going to be up to me. And god knows if dinner isn't on the table by 7:30PM at the latest, I'm going to be the one to feel the wrath of my mum.

I pull out my phone and scroll straight to the alarms. My best tactic and only form of time management. I set a new one for 5PM, just in case. That will give me enough time to waste thirty minutes or so, make it to the station, wait out the train ride and walk home all before six.

I just hope Calvin doesn't pull out on me. I'm waiting on the day something goes wrong or for him to get bored. And I'll never know if he does. We can't communicate, and nothing I've looked into seems like it would help that situation unless we both buy that overrated plan that the government brags about so much. But we haven't even exchanged phone numbers so there isn't any possible way we could communicate. I just keep telling myself not to doubt it. It's hard to expect someone that feels too good to be true to stay though, I've learnt that lesson before.

I get off the train at five to one, so I'm not late. I always feel so guilty if I'm late to see Calvin because I know he goes out of his way to see me. But I'm on time today which is good since this is a date after all, I need to make a good impression at least once.

I have to push my way through a few crowds of people before I see the love of my life, a sleek, white Mercedes-AMG and, of course, Calvin. Calvin's leaning against the passenger door with his arms crossed across his chest, smiling at me. He's wearing a clean, loose button-up with a casual pair of jeans and white sneakers. Let's just hope I don't look too Lower-class standing next to that in my sweater, ripped jeans and very worn black and white sneakers, the only outfit I wear willingly anymore.

"I see you're early for once," Calvin says.

I stare directly at him, patting the roof of his car with a cheeky smile pulled across my lips, "I see you brought my date."

"Oh… well, okay then," he starts to back away with his hands in the air, "I'll leave you to your date then, but I'm taking the keys."

"Wait, no. Please come back." I laugh.

He comes back towards me and wraps me in a hug. It shocks me at first, mainly because I still have to remind myself that he likes me back, but I quickly relax into his embrace. But after a few seconds I get sick of holding myself up and collapse into Calvin.

He laughs, shifting himself to hold me up. "Really? Am I boring you already?"

He drops his hands to hold me around my lower back and I push myself up to look at him. "I'm not bored, I'm just relaxed," I pause, "and tired, but when does that ever change."

"Well, I hope you have enough energy for our date."

I smile, remembering that this is a date. That I am going on a date with Calvin Wood. Remembering how we shun every class law and regulation, just to spend time with one another. Because it makes me happy, he makes me happy. "Of course I do," I answered him.

We get into the car and he pulls out of the waiting bay.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Well first, someone clearly needs more caffeine, so I'll drop by a store to get you some. Then, you'll have to see. Have you eaten lunch, by chance?" he responds and I shake my head, "Okay good, that works out well."

Calvin drives us to the nearest corner store and slips into one of the parks along the curb. He puts the car in park, takes his phone and card and goes to open the door. "Which drink do you want?" I've been craving a Mother since this morning so that's my answer, then he slips out of his seat and makes his way into the shop. I stay in the car.

Everything is still so surreal. I never thought coming out could go well, not since my mum's reaction, but Calvin was amazingly calm about it. And that made me calm, which surprised me then and it still does now. I don't know how I could've been so calm after I was yelled at the last time. After things were thrown, both insults and any nearby object. After all that pain. Calvin brought me down to my knees, but not in the manipulative way, in the healthy, vulnerable way.

I see the door of the shop swing open and my attention is snapped back to the present. Calvin hops across the pavement and lets himself into the car, handing me my monster in the process. He catches my eye and looks over me for a second. I give him a gentle look to let him know I'm okay, then crack my Mother can open.

"You better not spill that," Calvin teases, pulling back onto the road.

I scoff. "Oh please, I would never dream of it," I pause, looking to him, "now that I have liquid energy, where to next?"

"Lunch, obviously."

"Okay, but where?" I say, rolling my eyes at his purposely vague answer.

"Well, there's this 90's diner looking fast food joint." he replies.

I know where he means. "The Red Grill?"

Calvin glances at me through the corner of his eye. "I take it you've been there before."

I shrug, "I don't go there much but I do when I can. They make a mean burger."

"I picked well then." he smiles at me and I nod confidently. If he hasn't been there, he's going to regret that he hasn't. They have the best reputation when it comes to restaurants in the Middle and Lower-class. I wouldn't know what sort of luxuries would be in Upper-class though.

Calvin pulls into the parking lot and gets out. He tells me to stay and walks around to my door before opening it for me and bowing. "After you," he gestures for me to get out.

I snicker and step out, letting him close the door behind me. Is this what it's like being Upper-class, I joke to myself.

Once we're inside, we scour the order boards. There's a lot to choose from, but I know what I want. Calvin looks at me and I suggest a few things but we both end up agreeing on the same thing.

I stroll up to the server. He seems ecstatic, despite working in fast food. He pushes a mop of bleach blond hair out of the way. "And what can i get you today?" he looks me up and down.

"Uh," I take a step back and repeat our order, "can we get two classic meals?"

"We? Just two. Regular or large?" The server seems less amused now.

I look back at Calvin and he mouths his answer. "Regular for both please."

What drinks would you like with those?"

"Lemonade for both."

"Okay. Is that all?" I nod my head and they continue, "How would you like to pay for that?"

This is where Calvin jumps in. He always insists on paying for everything, but I guess I shouldn't be complaining. Calvin gets a receipt shoved in his direction.

After paying for our food, we wait at the small pickup bar for our order. Then, Calvin drives us to Highland Park, the biggest, prettiest park in the whole of, well, Highland. Not even Upper-class has a more spectacular garden. I've never actually been to the park myself, but I've heard it has got a lot more than the regular park does. There's a waterfall, rows and rows of beautiful flowers and a ton of picnic spots. And, if you look hard enough, there's lots of secret hideaways, tunnels, tracks and features, both intentional and unintentional. Apparently, you can spend hours looking through this place and never get bored.

Calvin takes the food before climbing out of the car. He walks around to my side and holds his hand out, "Do you want me to take the drinks?"

I stand up. "No, I'm good… but I do want you to take this…" I swap the drinks over to my other hand then can intertwine my fingers with his.

A warm, red blush subtly crawls its way across his cheeks and he laughs, "Real smooth, Oliver." I wink at him.

We start our walk in search of a suitable place to eat. I find Calvin watching me as we walk, hand-in-hand.

I turn my head to him, "You look like you want to say something."

"Do people call you Ollie?" He asks.

"Is Oliver too hard to say?" I smile at him teasingly.

He rolls his eyes at me. "If it gets you to answer the question, then yes."

"Well, I only let my dad call me Ollie. To everyone else, no matter who they are, I'm Oliver."

He thinks my answer over for a second. "Can I ask why?" he asks genuinely

That catches me a little off guard. Most people just don't care. "I guess it's just sentimental. Something between my dad and I, probably because he was the first one to call me it. It's weird to hear 'Ollie' come from someone else's mouth." He just nods along and doesn't say much. "Do you have a nickname?" I ask.

Calvin gives me a dirty look and I honestly think I rolled my eyes hard enough to see my frontal lobe. He laughs, "Pretty much everyone calls me Calvin. Unless of course you're my friends, then you call me cruel nicknames that change on a daily basis."

"And that's why I don't have friends," I say jokingly and move in closer.

We wander the masses of flowers for a few more minutes before we find a secluded corner of the garden where we can sit and eat. The area is cast in a soft shade, dappled by the small specks of light that escape through the dense canopy of leaves above us. There's a humble little garden bench in the small clearing encircled by low-lying bushes that decorate the ground with soft blue flowers. We move over to the bench and sit down.

I pass Calvin his drink and he passes me my burger and fries. I let him take the first bite of food and watch his expression change from his regular resting expression, to surprised, to amazed.

"Wow, they are good!" He exclaims through a mouthful of food.

I laugh at him, "I told you."

He continues to discuss the food with me, while we enjoy our burgers and chips, washing it all down with sweet lemonade.

I eat my food relatively quickly and end up just taking in the scene around me. Light floods through the leaves and hits Calvin's face and bounces off his skin at perfect angles. The blue accents of his jeans and the flowers nicely compliment the sunlit scene and his white shirt and shoes perfectly contrast against his soft, tan skin. It's like looking at him through a filter, and it makes me so happy yet so sad. Sad because I feel like I might lose him, like I do everyone else. But I can't think about that now.

When we finish, I ditch our scraps in a nearby bin before coming back to sit with Calvin. We talk about anything we can, from the weather and how I can manage to wear a sweater on a day like today, to discussing whether the flowers are blue or purple (I'm pretty sure Calvin's colour-blind), and after a while, I notice Calvin's eyes flicking between my eyes and my lips.

We lose conversation and end up just looking out upon the park.

I know what I want to ask is a dumb question with a completely obvious answer, but that doesn't stop me. "Have you ever kissed anyone?" I ask, still staring out into the park.

"Yeah. Some were good, others I could probably say that I regret them. Well... recently, I've regretted most of them."

I turn myself slightly so I'm facing him and watch his lips, internally cringing about how forward I'm about to be.

"Can I… change that?" I question, voice low.

He smiles shamelessly, "What if I say no?" Calvin watches every inch of me, looking me up and down.

I try the same brazen act, "I guess you'd be the one missing out."

His hand cups my face. I watch Calvin's lips curve into a smile, then before we know, the space between us is closed and our lips are touching. The kiss is short but that doesn't change the fact that it's a kiss. That I'm kissing Calvin.

We pull apart but our faces linger only centimetres away.

"Had you ever kissed anyone?" He asks quietly.

"Hmmm, kind of."

He leans in and we kiss again. Although it's much longer this time. We lean into each other. I start to worry, I'm not sure what about but it makes me tense up slightly. Calvin notices and smiles into my lips. He trails his hand up the outside of my leg, bringing it to rest at my hip. His touch distracts me completely and melts away anything and everything that made me tense. And it's the best feeling ever. I bring my hand up to cup his face and lean further into his embrace. I don't know what I am doing, thinking or what I should do or think, but there's one thing I know, that Calvin's lips are very soft.

Once again, we pull apart. Shy smiles pull at the corners of our mouths. I readjust myself, take my hand away from his face and run it through my hair, trying to keep my composure, but I'm way too pleased with myself.

Calvin takes his time to watch me, probably enjoying the fact that I'm easily flustered. Then, he looks around before getting up from the bench. "Shall we go for a walk?" he asks, his voice teasing me.

"Sure," I say. I basically have to peel myself from the spot where I melted, reluctant to leave that moment behind.

I hold my hand out for him to take it but instead he pulls me close to him and puts his hand in my back pocket. So, I put my hand in his and we walked around admiring all the beauty with blush stained cheeks.

After some time chatting amongst ourselves and passing many features of the park, I remember there's meant to be a waterfall somewhere here. I saw it on a map.

"Where's the waterfall?" I ask out of curiosity.

"It's just up ahead," Calvin says as I fall silent to see if I can hear running water.

"Wanna race?" I tease, taking my hand from his pocket.

"To the waterfall?" He slips his hand out of my pocket and I nod, "You're going down Oliver Night."

He sprints off and I sprint after him. I catch up to him before quickly taking the lead. When I take a chance to look back at him, he looks shocked. I don't blame him. I thought he would outrun me because of how much fitter he is, but apparently, I can run.

Towards the end of our sprint, Calvin closes in on me until we are almost racing side to side. He's not about to let me win though, I can see it in his eyes. With the waterfall right in front of us, Calvin takes his chance. He sprints up to me, grabbing my waist and pulling me back as he sprints forward. He uses the fence around the waterfall to stop himself and I stop behind him milliseconds later.

He stares at me wide eyed while we try and regain our breath, "Nobody told me you could run."

"Not really, you're just slow," I say smugly, "and play dirty."

"Mhmm sure," He shoves me lightly and I laugh, "What else don't I know about this uncovered side of you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Really? How do I find out?" He asks. I choose to leave that part unexplained. He doesn't give up, "Tell me. Come on." He grabs my waist from behind, picking me up. I laugh and try to push against him, but he tightens his grip and holds me tighter. Too bad I'm not secretly hiding self-defensive technique. "Come on, you baby," he teases.

"I don't think you could handle the real me!" I flaunt, giving up on getting out of his persistent grip.

"Bullshit," he puts me down but still holds me tight against him, "I'm sure I've seen worse. Would harassing it out of you work?"

I could make him regret that choice of words.

"You're definitely trying to," I scoff, "but I can think of a handful of other ways to persuade me."

He narrows his eyes at me and smiles, "You truly are something. Our first kiss and you're already full steam ahead."

I blush and slap him away. Someone walks within earshot and he drops it. I was more thinking bribery, but he doesn't need to know that.

We stand there and watch the waterfall as it streaks down the rockface, making small curtains and pools of glistening water. Crowds of people walk past us, but for once, I don't care what they think. I don't care if they question our classes. And I definitely don't care if they think we're being gay… because, well, we are.

We spent hours exploring the gardens. Occasionally, we actually visited the park's popular attractions. But most of the time, we were just goofing off and looking for those elusive secrets. Until we got tired and stumbled across a nice, quiet little patch of grass and sat down.

I lean against Calvin and he plays with my hand. "You know, you're a pretty good kisser for someone who won't answer if they've kissed someone before," he says as he looks down at my shape that's slumped into his shoulder.

I shrug and sit up, "And you're just a good kisser in general," I tell him.

"Mm?" He mumbles as he watches my lips.

"Yeah."

I start to close the space between us. Calvin runs his hand through my hair and I lean in and kiss his top lip.

"Who taught you how to kiss Oliver?" He asks, mock-accusing me.

I smile and shrug.

"Well, if you won't tell me, I'll just imagine you spend your time watching sappy romance movies or kissing tutorials."

"I'm not that desperate."

"Yet here we are," he says with a slight smirk, gesturing to the very minimal space between us. I push him backwards and he laughs. I watch him try to recover by casually laying in the grass like that was his plan all along, propping himself up on his elbows. He looks amazing. The soft hues of the late afternoon sun draping across his skin. A part of my heart hurts just looking at him. It's a good hurt.

With the crowds gone and the park silent, I loosen up a little. I crawl over, leaning down to kiss him. He runs his hand down my back pulling me in beside him so we're both lying in the grass. Our bodies pressed together perfectly.

My heartbeat grows quicker. I'm sure we've both hoped we'd get this far, now here we are. I don't think I've ever felt like this.

"Oliver," Calvin whispers moving his face to meet mine. He kisses me, running his hand along my lower back. I cup his face to pull him in, deepening our kiss. I missed this even though I know I've never had it.

We eventually stop kissing but stay pressed against each other. I can feel Calvin's breath on my neck as the light above us fades and the sun starts to set over the Lower-class wall, leaving us under an orange and purple sky.

With our legs intertwined, we lie in the grass. We watch each other in silence, taking everything in. The purple edges of the sky grow as darkness continues to corrupt the sky. I close my eyes and drag in a long breath of cold evening air.

But then my alarm goes off and the peace is ruined.

I pull it out of my pocket and turn off the alarm before I slowly untangle my legs from Calvin's and sit up. He sits up too.

"Sorry," I apologise, "I set an alarm to remind me I need to get home early enough so I can cook dinner." Calvin smiles at me softly. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't have to, neither of us want to leave. I threw my phone to the side, I gave myself time to waste, so I may as well waste it. "Sorry if this is desperate but..." I place myself on his lap, facing him, "I don't want to leave."

He looks me in the eyes, "I don't want you too either."

There's something genuine about his voice. It's obvious he isn't just saying that because he likes the position he's in or because he's only thinking about his own selfish desires. He genuinely wants this.

I kissed him again. It's warm and gentle, with our lips moving slowly. It's passionate too, but not in the rough or sloppy sense, more in the longing and softness of the kiss. His hands slide up to carefully cup my face, running his thumb along my flushed cheeks. Our bodies relax, our eyes are closed, our breath is slow and our hearts beat rhythmically in our chests.

No word could better describe this moment than perfect.

Calvin gradually separates our lips and my eyes slide open. He doesn't want me to be late, even if it means leaving this moment behind. I take a deep breath and get up, helping him to his feet while I'm at it.

"Shall we head back to the station then?" he asks.

I look back at our imprints in the grass, wanting to lay back down with him and never leave, but I don't.

"Yeah... we may as well," I smile back.

Sluggishly, we make our way back to Calvin's car and start our drive to the station. We weave through the streets under dim streetlights and an indigo sky. I watch the world pass by my window. I can't put into words how much I don't want to leave Calvin's side. I don't want to spend a second without him. I don't want to have to get back on that dodgy train to my goddamned zone. I want to stay with him. But before I know it, we're at the station.

I reluctantly pull myself from the passenger side of the car. Calvin gets out and walks around to me so I lean into him sleepily. He kisses my head and pats my hair down.

"You're pretty short huh?" He says, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, yeah Mister Six-Foot-Something," I mumble into his shirt.

He corrects me, "Six foot two."

"See, I'm not short, you're just tall," I argue.

"How tall are you?"

I mumble my answer, "Five foot eight."

He nods and I step back from him. "I had fun today," I say.

"Was this your first date?" Calvin questions me.

I have to think my answer over. Let's just say it's complicated. "Technically."

"You're so ominous," he comments and I shrug, "so, for all I know, I could be your first date and first kiss?"

I roll my eyes, not bothering to contain my smile, "Mhmm, and if you were I would be one lucky guy."

He narrows his eyes at me, "I can't tell if that was sarcastic or not."

"Me neither," I laugh and he pushes me playfully.

There's a moment of quiet between us that not even the busy noise of the station could fill. Neither of us say anything, we just watch each other. I briefly glance at the time, it's just barely hit 5:30PM. I'm glad I gave myself that time to waste. Mum would've killed me otherwise.

"When can we meet next?" Calvin ask, breaking our silence.

"Tuesday at the library. I've got an assessment that I have to work on Monday."

"So, you actually do your homework?" He jokes.

"I wouldn't get straight A's if I didn't." He laughs and I stand there proudly with my arms crossed across my chest.

"Goodbye Calvin Wood," I say and curtsy. That earns a snicker from Calvin.

"Goodbye Oliver Night," he says and kisses me again.

Then, we go our separate ways.

- - -

I push through our front door and make my way to my room.

"Is that your sweater, Oliver?" My mum calls out.

Dammit. I didn't even see her. I was so caught up in my own world. I mean, who wouldn't be... I just had a date, a real date, with Calvin Wood. "Uh, yeah." I say as I frantically pull it off and shove it under my bed, putting one of my other sweaters on.

My mum appears in my doorway then and startles me. She sways and grabs the doorframe to keep herself up. She's drunk… again. "I swear you were wearing a white one."

"Nope," I lied.

"Well hurry up with dinner already." She snaps, scowling at me as she swings around and walks back down the hall.

Thank god.

I sigh in relief, then make my way to the kitchen. I noticed dad's home. "Dad? You're back earlier than usual," I say sleepily.

"Yeah, my boss changed my shift. He's been lining me up for some special two-week training course a few hours away from here so I can finally get that promotion."

I grab some ingredients out of the fridge, "Oh crap, that's awesome! You've been waiting a long time for that promotion." I look at the open alcohol bottles on the bench. "It will hopefully do us good. When is that?"

"About a month from now."

"I bet you're looking forward to it."

He nods enthusiastically and gets up to help me with dinner. He seems to notice the faint smiles I try to keep to myself as I remember my date with Calvin and nudges my side trying to figure me out. But I just shrug him off and he doesn't say anything.