"Don't Tell Me Twice": Chapter Twelve

Buck walked into the studio, juggling her hot coffee between sips. It had been a long night, and though she was tired, she knew that time recording was just what she needed. Seeing Olive last night had devastated her and left her with many unanswered questions. Olive was not the same woman that she once knew, and at this point, she realized that there was no way to turn back time to the way that things were before the other woman had left. Olive had changed, and the part of her heart that had once bonded with the other woman was broken.

Ziggy’s words from the night before replayed in her head. People made their own choices. But why would Olive choose to do things that would hurt her and possibly ruin her life? That was a question that Buck didn’t get. Olive had never been interested in drugs or heavy partying. For the most part, she was somewhat conservative. So, this new behavior of hers confused Buck.

Last night, the other woman had seemed like a completely different person. It was devastating to see this change, and it left Buck an emotional wreck. Buck still loved the other woman or at least who she used to be, and now that Olive had changed, she felt as if the Olive that she knew was gone forever.

“Are you ready for this?” Ziggy asked, approaching her as she entered the sound booth with the others.

“I am,” Buck said, taking her place at the mic.

“I want you and Ziggy to sing together today,” Dave called into the booth. “We’re going to start with Home at Heart.”

“Sounds good,” Buck replied without any argument.

“Good,” Dave smiled, adjusting a couple of knobs on the sound board. “Everybody ready?” he called after Spike and Ziggy had tuned their guitars.

“All set,” a chorus of voices exclaimed, and the room was immediately filled with music.

Buck closed her eyes and sang the lyrics of the song, releasing all her emotions in the process. She heard Ziggy’s voice intermingle with hers, and though the two styles of singing were very different, by the end of the songs, the two sang in perfect harmony. It was an intimate experience as it felt like they were communicating their thoughts and feelings through song. Buck heard the ending notes, and the music stopped. She opened her eyes and saw Ziggy standing there staring at her.

“You are very passionate,” the other woman said, brushing a stray red hair from her shoulder.

Buck looked into the other woman’s sultry green eyes and instantly looked away. She blushed, knowing that Ziggy could understand the emotions that she put into the music. Buck felt vulnerable at that moment and called for a break, heading out of the sound booth for a bottled water.

“So, you two seem to be getting along,” Jemma said, signaling over to Ziggy who was in deep conversation with Dave. “Yeah, we’re good,” Buck said. “I figured it would be easier to get along if we were going to work together. Besides, she’s not all that bad.

“Told you,” Jemma smiled, and Buck rolled her eyes.

“No, she’s pretty great,” Spike commented, walking over. She grabbed a cinnamon roll from a nearby platter and attempted to continue the conversation as she ate it. “Dib ya she da abloids?”

“Just finish the roll first please,” Jemma told her, shaking her head and smiling at her lover.

Spike gulped the roll down and repeated herself. “I said did you see the tabloids? There was a story about you two today.”

“What?” Buck exclaimed. “What kind of story?”

“It was about the party last night,” Spike replied. “I have it in my backpack. Hold on.” Spike rushed over to her belongings and pulled a magazine out.

Buck held her hand out and took the publication from her friend, dreading what was to come. She had read the tabloids several times in the past just to find stories that jeopardized her character and put her in a negative light. “As Buck heads into her next relationship, Olive dives into drugs,” Buck read aloud.

“Read it,” Spike insisted. “It’s not good.”

Buck flipped through the pages, reading a story that stated that her and Ziggy were lovers. It also went into detail as to how Olive was dealing with Buck’s newfound love by experimenting with drugs. “This is bull!” Buck yelled, slamming the magazine shut.

“What happened?” Ziggy asked, rushing over.

“Read this,” Buck said, pushing the magazine into her hands. She was fuming at this point. Someone at the party had to have talked to a reporter. The article had a picture of her and Ziggy sitting by the pond together, and somehow, she felt as if she had gotten set up.

As Ziggy read the magazine article, Buck watched the other woman’s face. She wanted to see what her reaction was. The only other person that knew about her bonding moment with Ziggy was Ziggy, and even though it hurt her to think that the other woman could be behind this nonsense, it was the only thing that made sense. Ziggy’s eyes skimmed through the article, and as they did, her calm expression became one of disdain. “Seriously?” Ziggy replied as she finished the article. “Who writes this stuff?”

“Get used to it,” Spike stated. “These people don’t have lives.”

“So, what is true and what did they make up?” Jemma inquired, looking at Buck and Ziggy.

“Well, for one, Ziggy isn’t my lover,” Buck replied, irritated.

“Yeah, I don’t know where they got that,” Ziggy replied.

“What about Olive?” Jemma asked. “She is going to be pissed when she sees this.”

“Yeah, she is,” Buck sighed. “And it doesn’t help that we got into a fight last night.”

“At the party?” Spike inquired. “Was she there? I didn’t see her.”

“She was there,” Buck told her. “I ran into her by one of the kegs, and she did look a little roughed up.”

“But come on,” Jemma retorted. “Olive would never get into drugs. The reporters are just trying to stir things up.”

“People change,” Spike said. “And I have heard her name mentioned a couple of times by some shady characters that I used to hang out with.”

“Like who?” Jemma asked, looking at her partner in disbelief.

“Well, for one, when we were back home, I saw Bill Thompson at the grocery store, and he said that his dealer had both Olive and Viola over at his house.”

“I thought that you didn’t talk to Bill anymore,” Jemma said, giving Spike a look.

“I don’t,” Spike replied simply. “Like I said, he came up to me, and it was when we were back home. It’s not like I call him or anything.”

“Better not,” Jemma warned.

“I don’t,” Spike said. “I don’t live that way anymore,” she replied, referring to her troubled past. “I just wanted to tell you what I heard about Olive.”

Speaking of…” Buck trailed as her ringtone went off, interrupting the conversation, and Olive’s picture popped up on her screen. “Excuse me a moment,” she said, walking to a more private area to take the call.

“Hello,” Buck said, talking into the receiver.

“Hi,” Olive’s voice said. She was clearly angry. “I just saw the tabloids. Why did you tell them that I did drugs?”

“I didn’t,” Buck replied. “In fact, I just saw the article before you called.”

“Well, if it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Olive inquired. “You’re the only one that would have something to gain. Are you trying to make me look bad because I’m with Viola now? Or was it your little girlfriend?”

“I told you. I didn’t do it, and neither did Ziggy,” Buck told the hostile woman. “Trust me, I watched her read the article in the magazine right after I read it, and she was just as surprised as we were.”

“Why should I trust anything you say?” Olive continued. “You just admitted that Ziggy was your girlfriend. I’ll bet you two have been together for quite some time, waiting for me to leave the band so that she could take my place. That’s why I left you, because I can’t trust you.”

“I don’t know where you are getting any of this,” Buck replied, irritated at the amount of assumptions that the other woman was making. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Then, why did you instantly know who I was talking about when I said that your girlfriend must have talked to the reporters?” Olive questioned.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Buck repeated. She hadn’t realized until the words hit her lips that she hadn’t negated the accusation the first time it was made. She hadn’t even thought it significant at the time. “I didn’t even think to correct you. I just knew who you were talking about, so I answered your questions, but really, we are just friends.”

“I don’t believe you,” Olive replied. “I saw the photo in the magazine of you two together. You two looked pretty cozy to me. It didn’t look like you were just friends.”

“Well, we are,” Buck said. “I’m still in love with you.”

“Bull shit,” Olive retorted. “I gave you several chances to show it, but you never did. Besides, you’ve already moved on.”

“No, I did…” Buck started, but Olive had already hung up.

“What happened?” Spike asked as Buck stuffed her phone in her pocket and walked back over to her group of friends.

“Olive thinks that I’m with Ziggy,” Buck replied.

“Why does she care if she’s not in love with you anymore?” Jemma questioned with a look. “It sounds like she still has feeling for you.”

“Yeah, I guess old Viola just isn’t cutting it anymore,” Spike laughed.

“I don’t know about that,” Buck said.

“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Ziggy commented.

“What’s that?” Buck questioned, and everyone turned to look at the other woman.

“Do something romantic for her,” Ziggy said. “If she’s still in love with you, then maybe, you just need to do something to show that you still care. Maybe, if you do the right thing, you can win her back.”

“Why are you trying to help me?” Buck asked, eyebrow raised. “You were mentioned in the tabloid as well, so I would think that you would stay as far away from this situation as you could.”

“I told you, Buck,” Ziggy replied. “I want to be your friend. I want to see you happy, and if getting Olive back will make you happy, I want to help.”

Buck thought about her answer for a moment before eventually complying. “Okay,” Buck said. “What should I do?”

“Meet me after the recording session, and we will come up with something,” Ziggy replied. “Right now, we need to get back to business and finish recording. Dave’s waving his arms around like an airplane traffic controller, trying to get our attention.”