It's been real guys. Presenting to you the final chapter of Best Fiends (BUT TOMORROW I WILL BE UPLOADING THE EPILOGUE)!! Enjoy xoxo
"Oh yay! Oliver's here!" Madeline cheered as soon as they entered her room.
The room was littered with gifts of various shades of pink including one huge teddy bear that reminded Oliver of someone he used to know. After tearing his eyes off the wacky life-size teddy bear, he looked at Madeline. She looked exhausted but the baby in her arms almost casted a sort of glow onto her.
"Hey Mads."
Spencer went to her side and kissed her forehead before scooping up the baby from her arms. "Guys, meet Elizabeth Valentina Kingshart."
Oliver's lips curled up at the familiar names. Elizabeth for Spencer and Charlie's late sister and Valentina for Madeline's late mother. And the portmanteau of 'Kingsley' and 'Lockhart' was the cherry on top.
"She's so beautiful!" Charlie exclaimed, poking her chin with his finger. "And her name is perfect."
Oliver glanced at Madeline who was smiling at him.
"You came!"
"Yeah, I kind of had to..."
Spencer smirked and faced Madeline. "Um, guess what I just found out."
Madeline furrowed her brows in confusion. "Am I missing something?"
"Big time," Spencer began. "Who wants to tell her?"
Charlie laughed and interlocked his fingers with Oliver's. "So, we're sort of dating now..."
Madeline clapped her hands over her mouth and gasped. "What?!"
"My reaction exactly!" Spencer exclaimed.
"When? How? What?!"
"We'll fill you in later but for now can we just focus on this cutie," Charlie cooed at the little baby in Spencer's hands.
"I'm so confused," She said.
Oliver laughed and threw his arm around Charlie's shoulders. "It's not confusing! We're dating and we're in love!"
"What?" A small voice said behind them.
They all turned around to meet the eyes of a very heartbroken girl standing at the door. Any trace of humour quickly vanished as they realised Nora had heard them. Her shoulders slumped down and her lips pouted heartbreakingly.
His heart instantly dropped as he wished he had realised Nora would be there. It was stupid not to expect to see her. Oh god... she heard him announce he was dating Charlie.
"You didn't tell them Nora was here?" Madeline hissed at Spencer.
"Sorry, I was a little distracted trying to process the Charlie and Oliver bombshell!"
Nora's shook her head in disbelief before leaving the room. Oliver cursed and let go of Charlie before chasing her.
"Nora! Please! Wait!"
"Leave me alone Oliver!"
Oliver continued to run after her. "Let me explain! Please!"
Nora slowed down to a halt before turning around to him. "You're such an asshole! You have no regard for anyone's feelings but your own!"
"I know-"
"You're so sadistic! You just love to hurt me! How could you be so cruel!?"
"I'm so sorry, Nora. Look, I have so much I want to say to you and I wish you didn't have to find out this way. Can l... can we sit down for a minute? Please."
Nora hesitantly looked at the plastic seats behind them. "I... I don't have time to listen to you play the victim like you always do."
"I'm not going to do that."
Nora sighed and pointed at the seats. "Sit down. But I swear if I hear even a hint of blame on me or anyone else I'm walking away."
Oliver nodded.
"Okay. Talk."
"To be honest I don't really know where to start. I've spent the past few months imagining how this conversation was going to go. I don't think there's anything I can say to reverse all the pain and damage I've caused."
"I'm not... Don't say that. I'm not damaged."
"I didn't..." He began, ready to divert blame. But instead he sighed and cut himself short. "I'm sorry. I know you're not damaged but I did hurt you. It's not that I was sadistic and enjoyed it but I just thought the world revolved around me. I never payed any regard to how you felt. After you left me my life spiralled downwards. Again, no one's fault but my own. Things got so bad that I went to rehab. And I'm in therapy now. And all of that made me realise that I didn't deserve you. I'm sorry for being an entitled douchebag. I'm sorry for ever making you doubt your worth. I'm sorry for dragging you down and turning you into my caretaker. I'm sorry for the sleepless nights I caused. I'm sorry for not treating you like the royalty you are."
Nora's face remained still and emotionless and her eyes were blank. "Okay."
"I should have apologised sooner but I didn't know if you wanted to see me."
"What about Charlie?"
"Charlie and I are dating now-"
"Why did you change for him and not for me? You went to rehab and therapy after we broke up even though you were an addict all throughout our relationship."
Oliver looked down at his feet. "I didn't change for him. After our divorce I reached rock bottom. I didn't know my addictions could get worse but they did. I was alone. Everyone was done with me. It was my father who suggested rehab and eventually I agreed that I needed it."
"Did you cheat on me with Charlie?"
"There was the night of Ivan's party. Charlie says we made out but I genuinely can't remember. I was very drunk. Then we sort of had a fling after you and I broke up the first time but after our wedding he didn't want anything to do with me. We only got back together yesterday."
"Do you love him?"
"Yes."
"Did you really love me?"
"I'll always love you, Nor. No past tense. You'll always hold a special place in my heart. The way I love Charlie is different. It's new and blossoming. I'm so in love with him. And I'm happy. But I love you too. Not in a romantic way. I... I can't describe it. I love you the way 'best friends who dated then broke up' love each other. It's not platonic, it's not romantic. It's... reminiscent."
Nora's façade fell for a split second, revealing a painful sadness but she quickly covered it up.
"So, are you gay?"
"No. I don't think so. I'm not sure. I might be bisexual."
She nodded solemnly and eyed the elevator. "Just because you've suddenly fallen in love with a guy doesn't make everything okay."
"Of course. I know-"
"No, I don't think you do. If I don't forgive you I'll seem like a homophobic, vindictive bitch who doesn't want her ex to be happy and liberated. But the fact is you hurt me and I had to build myself back up again. You wasted seven years of my life. And, to be honest, I feel bad for Charlie because I'm worried he'll go through what I went through. And no one deserves that. Oliver, you're toxic and I don't trust that you've changed."
Oliver nodded, knowing it wasn't his time to speak. He had spoken for the entirety of their relationship. It was her turn.
"I appreciate your apology. I hope it's sincere. I'm not going to actively hate you or publicly blast you. But we can't be friends. I can't forgive you."
"I understand."
Nora bit her lip and shut her eyes for a few seconds. "I think it's best if I go. Gives you a chance to stay with Maddie and Spence without things being awkward and uncomfortable."
"You don't have to do that. I can just come back later..."
Nora shook her head and stood up. "I have a shoot to get to anyway. Tell Maddie and Spence I'll be back later."
Oliver got up as well and looked at her awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. She crossed her arms and sighed.
"Goodbye, Oliver."
Without waiting for a response from him, she walked away. Oliver watched her as she got into the elevator and their eyes met briefly as the doors were closing. He raised his hand slightly to wave at her but the doors slid shut before she could respond.
He didn't know how to feel. With his other apologies he felt relief afterwards but this time wasn't nearly as pretty. Instead he felt disgust at what he put her through. He wished he could travel back in time. But he just had to live with the memories of his dark past and hope they stopped him from repeating the same mistakes.
He returned to Madeline's hospital room and as soon as he entered, they stopped their chattering and looked at him nervously. Sensing how upset he was, Charlie walked over to him and placed his hand on the back of his shoulder.
"You okay?"
Oliver gently shook his head and sniffed, blinking away his tears. "Um, no. But I will be. Nora told me to tell you she'll be back later."
Madeline watched him in concern. "I'm sorry, Oli."
Oliver shook his head. "It's okay. Let's just forget all that. It's a happy day!"
Spencer smiled sadly at him before nodding. "We were just talking about the birth announcement Maddie's going to do in Wild Magazine."
"I'm thinking Beyoncé style. Flowers everywhere."
"Meanwhile I wanted an old-timey film theme."
"How about you just stick her on the roof of your new Porsche?!" Charlie quipped.
"You got a new Porsche?!" Maddie exclaimed. "This day could not get any better."
As Madeline and Spencer discussed his new car, Charlie pulled Oliver towards him and hugged him tightly.
"If you're upset we can go home."
Oliver shook his head. "No, no, I'll be fine. Shit, I'm sorry for killing the mood."
"You didn't. And at least you got to talk to Nora. It was a long time coming."
"Yeah... I just hope she'll be okay."
Charlie nodded. "She's Nora freaking Lawrence. She'll definitely be okay."
Oliver looped his arms around Charlie's waist, pretending not to notice Madeline and Spencer watching them.
"Kiss me."
Charlie obliged and dipped his head to kiss him. It was quick but clearly not quick enough as yet another person entered the room.
"OH MY GOD!" Helena Kingsley clutched her chest. "OLIVER?! AND CHARLIE?!"
Charlie rolled his eyes. "We need to start closing the damn doors!
Oliver laughed and pushed him off of him. "Um... surprise!"
Madeline and Spencer bursted into laughter as Helena stared in shock at the new couple.
"I don't think there's anyone left in the world that doesn't know about us," Charlie laughed before going to hug his mother.
"I-you-he-"
"I know, Mom. I know. We're dating. Let's not make it a big deal!"
"Hey Ms Kingsley!" Oliver chirped trying to act normal.
She rubbed her head. "You boys keep surprising me. No more surprises!" She said before hugging Oliver.
Just then, Oliver's phone buzzed and he excused himself, leaving the room to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Good evening Mr Scott. I'm from Dr Rami's therapy clinic. I'm just calling to confirm your appointment with him tomorrow at six."
"Um..." Oliver looked straight ahead to where Charlie was standing with his mom. He met his eyes and Charlie winked at him, immediately stirring up those butterflies.
He loved him so much.
"Actually, I think I'd like to cancel my session."
"Oh, would you like to postpone it to a different date?"
Oliver didn't have anything left to talk about with his therapist. He apologised to everyone he had hurt and was ready to move on. He knew that Dr Rami would always be there for him but for the time being he was finished needing him. He had gotten what he wanted out of therapy and was grateful. But he really didn't need him anymore.
"No, thank you. Just... tell him I'm doing good- really good- and that I'm happy-the happiest I've ever been."
THE END
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AND THAT IS A WRAP! STICK AROUND FOR THE EPILOGUE WHICH WILL BE PUBLISHED TOMORROW (along with the final author's note of the series)!!