Oliver’s Car

Olivia wasn't ignorant enough to never have ridden a car. It goes without saying that she was a frequent passenger of buses. Her dad, whenever he was in the country, would rent a motor to drive her to her middle school.

But this was the first time she had ever tried riding a luxury car. 

The moment she saw the car parked in front of them, her jaw dropped. 

It was a black (specifically called 'diamond black' according to its manufacturer) car that looked so regal and expensive that Olivia knew she could never afford to repaint it if she accidentally scratched its surface.

"Close your mouth," Oliver smirked at her as their chauffeur, an old man with a well-trimmed white mustache named 'Joe,' opened the door for them.

Oliver entered the car without glancing at Joe or saying a simple 'thank you.' Olivia lowered her head as she muttered a thank you.

Joe seemed genuinely surprised that Oliver's guest acknowledged him, and he smiled at her in response. 

As the engine revved to life and began to move, Olivia couldn't help but admire the car's interior. The upholstery was made out of white leather, and the car veneers were made out of brown wood. She was completely in awe of everything surrounding her, and this was just Oliver's car!

It kind of made sense why JaNyx decided to forgo joining them from going to Oliver's place. 

"I don't want to feel small," JaNyx said, though there was no hint of jealousy in his voice.

He just genuinely didn't feel like exposing himself to the reality that his childhood friend was part of the elite class that literally had too much money in their hands. 

It made sense to Olivia because that was what she used to feel whenever the JaNyx in her universe would brandish her extreme wealth in front of her.

Olivia was absolutely sure that it wasn't jealousy that she felt.

It was more of the realization that in normal circumstances, people like her wouldn't be able to meet people like JaNyx. Well, come to think of it, Olivia wouldn't even have access to Huxley if it weren't for the scholarship she applied for back in middle school.

Just thinking about her financial status made Olivia sigh.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, his elbow leaning on the armrest while his legs were crossed.

"Just thinking how different your world is from mine," Olivia answered honestly. 

Oliver frowned at her, and it made her feel uncomfortable to be the receiver of such a look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She laughed wearily, looking away from him. "Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Are you really..." He trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his sentence without sounding offensive.

"Poor?" Olivia finished for him.

Reluctantly, Oliver nodded.

Olivia looked outside the window, watching as they passed by numerous cars and streetlights.

"I am," She admitted.

"Judging from your reaction, you've never ridden a car?"

Olivia's head spun to face him, gasping in disbelief.

"I have!" She insisted. "Of course I have!"

"Just not like this one?" Oliver cocked an eyebrow.

Olivia froze for a second, not sure if she should admit it or not. But after a couple of seconds, she nodded shyly.

"And you wanted to go back to your universe? Where you've never ridden a car like this before?" Oliver looked at her incredulously. "You're purposely depriving yourself of luxury?"

Olivia scowled.

"I have a sister back at home."

"What else?" Oliver pressed mockingly. "What else do you have?"

Olivia swallowed the imaginary lump in her throat, not knowing how to answer his question.

Oliver laughed arrogantly, shaking his head in amusement. She knitted her eyebrows together, crossing her arms defiantly.

"What are you laughing at?" She snarled.

"You, obviously."

"Wha--"

"You know," Oliver interrupted. "I don't know how worse your life is and how much you suffer back in your universe. But for the Maestro to say that sending you here is a gift must mean your life back home sucks big time."

"What's your point?" 

"My point is," Oliver exhaled deeply, noting her impatience. "How you could exchange this life where everything is better just so you could go back to your sister, who is probably a POS just like my brother, is absolutely beyond me."

Olivia would've scowled deeper if she knew what the hell that acronym even meant, but it took her a mere second before she realized what Oliver meant.

"Oh, piece of sh*t. Where'd you learn that?" Olivia sounded extremely amused. "I thought you weren't creative with your words?"

"I'm not," Oliver shrugged. "I learned it from Nyx. I mean, who else would I learn that from?"

"That's true," Olivia chuckled, but she stopped mid-cackle. "You just called my sister a piece of sh*t..."

"Yes," He hummed absentmindedly. "Yes, I did."

Now, Olivia scowled deeper.

"I don't know anything about your relationship with your Azure, but you shouldn't call him names."

"It's because you don't know anything about my relationship with Azure that's why you're policing me right now." Oliver pointed out.

"That's true..." Olivia conceded. "But regardless of alternate dimensions and whatnot, isn't there such thing as sibling affection in this one?"

"Sibling affection," He repeated mockingly. "I don't even have affection toward my parents!"

"Oh," Olivia exclaimed. "So, in this universe, I have family issues."

"What do you mean?" It must've been quite intriguing because he removed his gaze from outside the window. 

"I might not own a car, but my Dad loves us. My Mom, even though I only spent a fraction of my life with her, most definitely loved our family a lot. While my relationship with Azure--"

"So you're telling me you'd rather be poor but have a happy family?"

Olivia nodded determinedly.

"You're just saying that because you haven't seen my house yet. Ah, right." Oliver exclaimed smugly. "My 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, as what JaNyx called it."

Slowly, the car came to a halt.

"Speaking of, we're already here."