Archive of Our Own ^beta

“So, uh… What, we should just forget about it?”

“I think so.”

Whatever Otis thought he was going to reply was interrupted by the PA system calling them to the assembly hall.

If Otis had thought Maeve' supposed rejection after sending the voicemail hurt, that was nothing compared to how much it hurt having her say that she liked Isaac.

At least the first time Otis had only lost whatever he could have imagined being with Maeve would be. But now? He had lost so much more. Now he knew how her lips tasted, how holding her close felt, how sharing intimate moments worked. This time the pain was worse since he knew how the things he had lost really felt.

But no matter what, the most important thing for him was her happiness, no matter where she found it. And, if she found it elsewhere, he would just take a step aside just to not be a bother in her life.

Otis was cycling as quickly as he could towards Anna’s place. Maeve had briefed him about the possibility that Erin had kidnapped Elsie and after that all the cells of his body had focused on helping Maeve in any way he could. His own sibling hadn’t even been born and they already meant everything to Otis, he didn’t even want to imagine what Maeve was going through.

Luckily, being him a usual cyclist, it didn’t take Otis long to bring a Maeve, who had been grabbing him as if her life depended on it, to Anna’s place.

As they arrived, Otis quickly saw three figures there.

The police officer, whom Otis guessed was in charge of the whole search operation.

A woman he didn’t know but that had to be Anna.

And lastly, Maeve’s neighbour, the guy that had beaten him to Maeve’s heart, someone who Otis already despised even after having exchanged just a handful of words.

Maeve quickly rushed to talk with Anna and the police officer as Otis put his feet on the ground, not dismounting his bike.

“What’s he doing here?” Isaac asked with disdain in his voice.

“She needed a lift.” Otis replied in the politest way he could muster.

“That’s convenient.” Isaac replied.

“Can I help in anything else, Maeve?” Otis asked, deciding to ignore the guy in front of him.

Maeve stopped and turned around. “It’s ok, I think we can handle from now on. Thanks for bringing me here.”

“Sure, no problem. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Maeve briefly said before carrying on her way inside the house next to Anna and the police officer.

“Well, I’m better go inside and help, but thank you for dropping Maeve off.” Isaac said with a big superiority demeanour.

Otis decided not to dignify his banter with a reply, just opting to stay silent as he watched everybody go into the house. He wanted to scream at Isaac, to tell him to fuck off, but he knew it was not the place nor the time, that his concerns paled in comparison to the fact that Elsie was missing.

As the door closed, Otis sighed.

He didn’t want to go away, especially not in a moment like that one, but if Maeve didn't need him, he wasn't going to be a bother in her life against her wishes.

His mind couldn’t stop thinking about Isaac too. He just hoped he understood how special Maeve was and that treated her as well as she deserved.

He slowly cycled back home, not exactly feeling in the best mood, doing his best not to cry, not being completely successful at it.

As Otis entered his home, Jean saw his son’s red eyes.

“Are you ok, darling?”

“Yeah.” Otis meekly replied.

“Have you been crying?”

“I'm just a teenager with a broken heart, not a big deal.” He tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Is this about Maeve?”

“I’ve never told you about Maeve.” He sounded whinier than he would have liked.

“Aimee mentioned, just briefly, in her session with me that you’d had a romantic tension with someone called Maeve, and something happened at the party that you had here, and you fell out over something you said. Do you want to talk about it?”

He sighed. “Yes, it's about Maeve, but I would rather not talk about it if you don't mind. Everything is too recent.”

“Can I offer you a hug? It may help to cheer you up.” Jean offered in her utmost motherly tone.

“That always helps.” Otis said, needing the comfort from his mum so much at that moment.

Jean engulfed him in a big motherly hug.

Otis gladly stayed there for a while, letting his mum’s tender hug make him a tiny bit better.

Eventually, he went to his room. Not in the mood for everything, he sat on his bed.

It was then, in the middle of a peaceful sadness, when the full realisation hit him, Maeve and he were never going to be anything more than friends. And while he loved that, his broken heart found no comfort in the idea.

All the tears he had been holding all day long broke free.

He has gotten his closure, and it was a no. Now he could finally move on with his life. He didn't know in which direction, but a new direction, nonetheless. He was going to study hard for his A-Levels, to be able to get a place in some university of his choice if he decided to take that route in his life.

But no matter what, a life without Maeve love didn’t feel as right as the world in which he hadn’t been an arsehole with her one too many times.

Three days had passed since Elsie had disappeared and Maeve was getting more worried by the second.

“Hello?” Maeve asked after answering her phone to an unknown number.

“Yeah. Hey.” Maeve heard say to who she was guessing was Erin.

“Mum?”

“Um…”

“Where are you? Mum, you need to bring Elise ba…” Maeve was saying before the call ended.

“Have they found Elsie yet?” Isaac asked.

“No.” Maeve replied.

“I think I know where my mum is though.”

“That’s great. And you could do it without that Otis guy. I told you that you don’t need him for anything.” Isaac triumphally argued.

“Isaac, not this again, ok?” She had been hearing how bad Otis was for the last three days and she was tired of it.

“I’m just saying that he’s not the right person to trust.”

“Look, Isaac, he’s just a friend that helped me go to Anna’s. What’s the big deal? Why can’t you stop talking about him for a second?” Maeve exasperatedly asked.

“I want you to realise who you can truly trust.”

“Thanks for worrying, but trust me, I got this.”

“I’m just saying that Otis…”

“Isaac, stop! I have had enough of you talking about Otis. You seem more worried about him than about finding Elsie.”

“I care about Elise, I do, but I…”

“But what?” Maeve interrupted. “What’s more important than Elsie? You being jealous of Otis? Because that’s what it truly is, right? You and your stupid jealousy.”

“That’s not true.” Isaac tried to deny the obvious.

“You pushed me away from Otis once, and you’re trying to do it again. Am I wrong?”

“Maeve, I…”

“I don’t have time for the jealousy of a stupid boy when everything that matters to me right now is Elsie.” Maeve took a deep breath. “You know what? I forgave you once, but now? Having to deal with your bullshit while Elsie is lost? Fuck it! Don’t wait tomorrow for breakfast.”

“Maeve, wait!” Isaac tried to unsuccessfully call her.

Maybe she was being irrational and acting without giving it a proper thought, but Maeve couldn’t keep listening to whichever bullshit Isaac had been parroting for the last few days. She started to wonder if choosing him over Otis hadn’t been a big mistake.

Unsurprisingly for Maeve, she was able to find the person she was looking for next to his locker room, chatting with his best friend.

“Hey! Sorry. Hi. Sorry to interrupt, but I need your help.”

“What? I mean, yeah, of course.” Otis asked, too surprised to properly process Maeve asked for his help again.

“I think I found my mum.”

“How can I help?”

“I need to get to Lockwood-on-Sea.”

“Ok, that’s… too far to go with my bike.”

“Yeah.” Maeve sadly said, she had asked Otis for help without thinking about the logistics of their plan.

“But maybe we can go to the bus station and get a bus from there?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Let’s go!”

“Otis?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for helping me. You know, after everything.”

“Always.” He truthfully replied. Being close to Maeve was both the best and the worst thing ever and that moment, but he knew that if she needed him, it would be impossible for him not to be there for her.

A while later, Maeve and Otis were on the bus in direction to Lockwood-on-Sea.

“Are you ok?” Otis asked to break the silence, seeing how worried Maeve looked, hoping to make her relax a bit.

“I’m worried about Elsie.”

“Do you think you mum would hurt her?”

“Not intentionally, but she never hurt us Sean or I intentionally, and yet…” Maeve voice stopped as memories of her own childhood came to her mind, all those times in which Erin not being the responsible mum she should have been ended with Sean or herself hurt. If something remotely similar was to happen to Elsie, she didn’t know how she was going to deal with that.

“Maeve…” Otis softly whispered seeing how tears were starting to fill Maeve’s eyes.

“We need to find her.” Maeve said as she was sobbing.

“We did it once, we can do it twice.” Otis reassured her, hoping he was right.

Instinctively, Maeve hugged Otis, who quickly returned the hug. Between his arms Maeve found some of the comfort she desperately needed. Eventually, as she stopped crying, she had a moment to think about Otis, starting to think that maybe he hadn’t changed, that he was still the same boy that cared.

After a short walk, they arrive to the harbour from the bus station. They started to search for Elsie and Erin, hoping it would be quick.

At Otis’ proposal, Maeve had been asking the people there, while Otis walked down the harbour to see if he could catch any glimpse of Elsie and Erin.

After a matter of minutes, Otis finally saw Maeve’s little sister. She had grown since the last time he had seen her, but he had no problems recognising her. And while he had never met Erin before, he guessed the blonde woman that was taking care of Elsie had to be Maeve’s mum.

“Elsie!” Otis exclaimed to get the attention of Maeve's little sister.

“Who are you?” Erin rudely asked.

“I'm Otis, and you must be Erin.”

“Should I know you?”

“We have never met before, so no.”

“What do you want from Elsie?”

“To take her home, with Anna. And Maeve.”

“Do you know Maeve?” Erin asked with surprise.

“Maeve and I are friends, or at least I hope she considers me a friend again even after all my wrongdoings. I would totally understand if she didn’t, but…”

Otis caught Erin looking at him with a frown, making him realise he was starting to derail the conversation.

“Maeve has asked me to help.” Otis finally said, focusing on what was important to him.

“Why should I trust you? How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“Do you recognise me, Elsie?”

The little girl nodded.

“What did Maeve want your help for?”

“To find Elsie.”

“As you can see it, she’s fine. You can go away now.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. Really, I don’t want to take Elsie away from you, but she needs to go home, to a place where someone can properly take care of her.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because Maeve cares.” And that was all he needed.

“She's my daughter, and I don’t want her to be taken off from me again.” Otis could hear the pain in Erin’s voice.

“Look, I'm not going to pretend I understand how painful it must be for you to have to be away from your daughter, but Elsie deserves a good life.”

“I will give Elsie the best life.”

“I don't doubt your intentions, but it's easier said than done.”

“And why do you think you know better than me?”

“I don't. But Maeve thinks it’s the best for Elsie, and I trust her.”

“Why?”

“She's the smartest person I know. If she thinks the best for Elsie is to stay at Anna’s, that's the best option.”

“Why do you even care about what she says if you're not even sure she considers you a friend?”

“That's what you do for the people you love, right? You just do your best to make them happy.”

“You love my daughter?”

“I do. With all my heart.”

“But I thought that her and Isaac were getting along.” It was probably not the best moment to get nosy about the love life of her older daughter, but she wanted to, at least, understand.

“Oh, no! She likes him and she has chosen him. But that changes nothing. I want Maeve to be happy, and I know that Elsie living with Anna will make her happy.”

“Is that true, frog face?”

Otis turned around seeing Maeve there.

“Yes, mum.”

“I didn’t know you were here, Maeve.” Otis said with great surprise.

“Sorry, I was just listening.”

“I know I wasn’t there for you, okay? But it’s different with Elsie. I’m gonna give her a better life.” Erin told to her older daughter.

“Do you love Elsie?” Otis asked to Erin.

“I do.”

“Then think about her, about what’s the best for her. Because that’s what love is, isn’t it? Caring about the other above everything else, right? Even if it hurts you.”

“Otis was your name, right?” Erin asked.

Otis nodded.

“That’s why you’re here? Because you care about Maeve?”

“I do. And trust me, knowing she doesn’t love me back hurts, a lot. But all this pain seems a good deal if it means doing things that make her happy.” Otis said with so much emotion in his voice that Maeve was taken aback by it.

“Do you think Elsie is happy with Anna?”

“Yes.” Maeve replied with no doubts.

“Did you get onto that thing for smart kinds in America?”

“How’d you know about that?”

“That boy Isaac told me about it.” Maeve could see Otis wincing at Isaac’s mention.

“Yeah, I did, but I can’t afford it.”

“Mummy, I want to see Anna.”

“Do you think Anna loves her?”

“Yeah, I do.”

It was then when Erin, still with Otis’ words in her mind, accepted that Maeve was right, that Elsie deserved better than the life she could give her at that moment. She kneeled before softly speaking to her younger daughter. “Hey. You’re gonna stay with Maeve.”

“I wanna stay with you, Mummy.”

“It’s not very nice where I’m going. It rains all the time, and there’s no chips!”

“I love you.”

“Oh, I love you too, darling. You go back to Anna’s with Maeve, and I will visit. Okay?” Erin said trying to not completely break down, hugging Elsie.

“Okay.”

“Oh, I’m a lucky mummy. Bye-bye, darling. Bye-bye.”

Maeve had to do her best to not start crying, all while Otis stood a few steps back, letting the three Wiley some much needed space at that moment.

“Please just take her before I change my mind.” Erin asked Maeve as tears started to fall.

“Elsie, come here. Come give me a hug.” Maeve told to her sister, before grabbing her into her arms, taking Elsie’s suitcase with her.

Otis offered to take the suitcase so Maeve could just focus on Elsie, offer that the older Wiley gladly accepted.

Maeve, Elsie, and Otis were sitting on a bench in the bus station waiting for their bus.

Elsie was sitting on Maeve’s lap, who was tightly hugging her.

“Thank you.” Maeve said, turning her head to look directly at Otis, who was sitting next to her.

“What for?”

“For helping me. For convincing my mum to let Elsie stay with Anna.”

“No problem. Happy to help.”

“It really means a lot to me that you’re here with me, especially now that I need you so much.”

“You can always count on me if you need me.”

“Thanks.” She said before smiling at Otis, focusing her attention back to her little sister.

On their bus trip back to Moordale, Maeve and Elsie sat next to each other, as Otis sat in the seat across the aisle, not being able to take his eyes away from the two sisters. Seeing them play was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen.

He could see how happy Maeve was, her smile gave it away, and that made his heart ache in the best way possible. He wanted nothing more than for Maeve to be happy, and that moment he was very proud of himself for having something to do with that happiness.

As they arrived at the bus station, Maeve carried a sleeping Elsie in her arms, as Otis walked his bike to Anna’s.

Eventually, they reached Anna’s house.

As Maeve walked to the door, Otis stood behind.

“Thank you so much, Maeve.” Anna said, grabbing the sleeping Elsie from Maeve’s arms. “Will you stay again tonight? You’ve had a really shitty day.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

“Okay.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Can Otis stay for a bit? I want to speak with him.”

“Is him the guy that was with you? The one with the bike?”

“Yes.”

“He can stay if he wants, but he had just gone away.”

“What?” Maeve asked, turning around to check that Otis wasn’t there anymore.

“He had just gone away; you should be able to catch him.”

Without further ado, Maeve started to run the way she supposed Otis had taken.

Although Otis would have loved to celebrate the moment with Maeve, it was just too painful. He was happy for Maeve, seeing her and Elsie play was one of the cutest things he has ever seen, but that didn't mean that his broken heart was not hurting.

Being close to Maeve was something he could still handle, but being next to Maeve and Elsie? That was too much for him, it felt too familiar, too intimate even, it was something he felt he didn’t belong to. Maeve had made very clear which parts of her life she was ready to share with him, and her family wasn’t one, that belonged just to the people closest to her. And that wasn’t him and he accepted it.

Otis hadn’t managed to go very far when Maeve saw him.

“Otis!” She yelled, catching his attention, and making him halt.

“What do you want, Maeve?” He asked once Maeve was in front of him, his voice as neutrally as his voice let him, breaking down in front of Maeve was the last thing he needed.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Without even saying goodbye?”

“It doesn't matter. You needed my help, I helped you, and that's it.”

“I thought we could talk.”

“It’s ok, really. Don’t worry about me. I know where we stand.”

“And where do we stand?”

“We’re friends.” He said with a tinge of sadness in his voice that Maeve caught.

“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”

“You know what I want, Maeve. And I accepted I can’t have it.”

“What you said to my mum, was that true?”

“Yes.”

“You still love me?”

“I will always love you.”

“Then why does it feel like you lied?”

“What? I didn't lie.” Otis defensively replied.

“Why are you going away then? Why are you leaving me if you love me so much?”

“I love you, Maeve. Trust me, I really love you. But as much as I like being your friend, I can’t stop feeling that I have lost you because of my own mistakes, and that hurts. And sometimes I won’t be able to handle it. I need time.”

“What if you hadn’t lost me?”

“You have chosen someone else.”

“What if I that was a big mistake? What if I was just lying to myself?”

“Maeve?” He asked, not wanting to get too excited with the potential that Maeve words carried, not wanting to be disappointed once again.

Without saying anything else, Maeve took his right hand and put it on her chest, over her quickly beating heart, making Otis very flustered.

“Maeve, that's your...”

“I know. Shut up.” She said with a smirk so typical on her.

“Ok.” He sheepishly murmured.

Maeve gulped. “Otis… I have never felt more alive than when I’m with you. You let me be myself while dreaming for more, you help me be the best version of myself, I wouldn’t have achieved so much in my life if it hadn’t been for you. You make me want to feel, because no one has ever made me feel as good as you do. Having you close makes me happy. I want… I need you in my life.” She passionately confessed.

After a few seconds, once he had properly processed her words, Otis smiled. “Maeve, you're going to end me one day with all these ups and downs between us.”

“And you wouldn't have it any other way.”

“Dickhead.” He murmured, making her chuckle.

“Just kiss me, you fool.”

“With pleasure.”

And he kissed her so damn well.

As the kiss ended, they stood there, their foreheads against the other, smiling brightly, with Maeve’s hand looking for Otis, interlacing her fingers once she found his hand.

“Come with me!” Maeve cheerfully exclaimed.

“Where?”

“Show me if you still are a shitty babysitter.” Maeve said as she started to drag Otis towards Anna's house, wanting to enjoy some time with her small family.

And if Maeve was so incredibly happy seeing how good Otis was with Elsie and with how much her little sister seemed to like him, she was also immensely proud of him when Otis told her that he needed to go to see Lily, that he never wanted to stop caring, and he wanted to make things right. He truly had a gift, and she was so happy that he was willing to share it with the world again.

And as he was going to do that, she knew she was going to keep him close.