The play was finally over. 

Oliver couldn't believe it was finally over. He was so relieved it was all done, but he had to admit even though the play gave him a lot of anxiety he had a blast. And in his opinion, he thought he did pretty good as the Beast. Playing the lead role of this play honestly made him realize how great it is to play a lead role and he decided he will try out for the lead role for the next play. Maybe if he kept being lead roles or at least minor roles then he will get more confident. Thanks to the play and the drama club he has gotten much better with that. He would have never even considered being the lead role for a play a year ago and plus he only had a couple of friends. Now he had been the lead role of the play and he has friends that are like a second family.

"Y'all, Oliver's transformation." Kourtney gushed as she walked into the bomb shelter with Oliver where some of the cast members were at. Most of them had gotten out of their costumes and into their regular clothes and some were in the process of doing that. Oliver had his normal clothes on (which was a relief because the costume he wore for the last scene wasn't that comfortable), but he still had some Beast makeup on and he was holding the Beast mask. 

"Wait, how'd it look?" Steph, one of the dancers, asked excitedly.

"Honestly?" Kourtney shares a glance with Oliver before looking at everyone else with a grin. "Passable!"

Oliver scoffs, rolling his eyes even though he had a small smile on his face. "Wow, thanks for the great compliment." Kourtney chuckles, elbowing his side. Oliver shrugs, smiling at everyone. "I don't know about her, but I thought the transformation was great." 

Everyone cheered and clapped. Oliver and Kourtney walked further into the bomb shelter to join the others just as Ashlyn walked in. Nini was the first one to notice her appearance.

"Hey!" While grinning, Nini stands up and gestures to Ashlyn. "Give it up for our star." Ashlyn smiled shyly at everyone when they all cheered and clapped for her.

"Oh, you guys!" Ashlyn giggles. She tilts her head to the side. "Um, has anyone seen my boyfriend? It feels like I've been missing him all night."

Oliver smiles slightly, remembering the surprise Big Red had planned for Ashlyn. The others knew about it too, but they kept it a secret from Ashlyn. "Yeah, sorry, Ash, haven't seen him yet." Oliver apologized. 

"I think he pushed himself a little hard." Carlos commented.

"But I'm pretty sure he left a letter at your locker." Ricky told Ashlyn and Oliver pointed at him in a sign of agreement as he nodded.

"Uh, couple letters, actually." EJ corrected Ricky.

Ashlyn looks surprised at first but then smiles. "Oh, okay, wow, that's sweet." Even though Ashlyn did a good job at hiding it, Oliver could tell that she was upset no one knew where Big Red was. But he knew she would love what Big Red did for her. "Um, maybe I'll read them on the way to Slices." She not so enthuastically says, "Good show, everyone."

 After she walked out to the hallway, everyone shared a knowing smile and some of them all quickly ran to the door. Some of the main cast members including Carlos, EJ, Kourtney, Oliver, Ricky, Seb, Natalie, and even one of the dancers named Lauryn peaked out the door to watch the cute scene between the red-haired couple.

The reason why Big Red had been kind of MIA during his breaks in the show is because he had made a lit up sign for Ashlyn that had her name on it and he had wanted to tell her how proud of her he was. It was very sweet, Ashlyn ended up crying tears of joy and happiness, and she and Big Red shared a kiss at the end.

****

Oliver managed to get the rest of the Beast makeup off and after grabbing his backpack and saying goodbye to the other students that were in the show he left the bomb shelter. He didn't make it two steps out of the bomb shelter before he was bombarded with his family.

"Oliver!" 

His younger sister, Dahlia, ran over to him and nearly knocked him over with a hug. He laughs, hugging her back. He glances at the rest of his family with a smile as he hugged Dahlia. "Hey, you guys."

"Honey, we are so proud of you!" Harley, his mom, compliments, pulling her youngest son into a hug after he and Dahlia pulled away.

"Thanks, mom." Oliver smiled, hugging his mom back.

"I'm joining the hug!" Flynn announced, stepping forward to wrap his arms around his wife and son.

Oliver did enjoy the group hug, but he was finding it harder to breathe. "Yeah, this is nice, but it would also be nice to breathe."

From his place by his sister, Noah laughs, watching the scene with an amused smile. "Mom, dad, let go of the poor boy before you squeeze him to death."

"Sorry, can't help it." Harley sheepishly smiles, stepping away from her son along with her husband. She smiles at Oliver, pinching both his cheeks. "I'm just so proud of my sweet O."

"Mom." Oliver whined, slapping her hands away as his face grew red out of embarrassment. He was just glad no one else was in the hallway at the moment or otherwise this would've been a lot more embarrassing. Sweet O was a nickname his mom only used and it started when he was little and then she just kept using it no matter how old he got. 

"We really are proud of you, lil bro." Noah smiles at his brother, pulling his brother in for a side hug. "You were really good out there. I was surprised you didn't faint once or mess up any of your lines."

"Yeah, honestly, me too." Oliver chuckled.

"So what's the plan for you and your drama gang tonight?" Dahlia asked, crossing her arms while looking at Oliver with a teasing smile.

"It's a club, not a gang." Oliver rolls his eyes. "And I was going to go on a date with Gina, but-"

"Woah, hold the phone," Noah interrupts him. He points at Oliver, looking at him with wide eyes. "You're going on a date with Gina, the girl you were talking to me about?" He smiles proudly at him and then grins at his family, throwing his arm around Oliver's shoulders. "My little brother is all grown up!"

Oliver smiles weakly, shoving Noah's arm off his shoulders. He steps to the side, bringing his gaze to the floor and fiddles with his rings he wore. "Yeah, as I was saying, I don't think I'm gonna go on a date with Gina anymore."

"Why not?" Harley frowns. "I was rooting for you two!"

"Yeah, we're team Olina!" Flynn chimed in with a grin on his face, earning different looks from his family. Dahlia looked embarrassed by him, Harley and Noah looked at him with amusement, and Oliver looked at him with a sad expression.

Flynn sheepishly smiles. "It's Oliver's and Gina's names put together. What, you don't like it?" He shrugs when his family, crossing his arms and mumbles. "I like it."

"Yes," Harley pats his shoulder to comfort him. "We like it, sweetie." She glances at her youngest son. "Really, Oliver, why are you not going on a date with Gina? She seemed like a sweet girl when we met her on Thanksgiving."

"I know, she's really sweet." Oliver agrees, smiling slightly at the thought of her. He shakes his head, his smile quickly falling and a frown replacing it. "But I found out she doesn't think of me the same way I think of her."

Dahlia furrows her eyebrows. "What do you mean? She doesn't like-like you?" She nods in realization when he nodded in response. "Wow, that sucks."

Noah hits her shoulder in a way of scolding her. "What?" Dahlia asks, glancing at him with offense as she outstretches her arms to show her confusion. "I was just saying what everyone was thinking."

"She's right." Oliver sighs. He crosses his arms. "It sucks Gina doesn't feel the same way. I thought all this time she was the one, but thanks to her brother telling me the truth I have a broken heart and now I don't know how to act around Gina."

"What did Gina's brother say?" Noah questioned.

"Apparently I'm like a big brother figure to Gina." Oliver scoffed. 

"No, that can't be right." Dahlia shakes her head. "I saw you two at the skate park that one time when I was there with my best friend. You two acted nothing like siblings."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I can do anything to change how she feels." Oliver frowned.

"Ollie!" 

And that was the voice of the person Oliver least wanted to see right now. Why did her voice have to sound so angelic and make his heart still skip a beat? Oliver dared to spare a glance in the direction he heard Gina, his breath taken away at seeing her all dressed up. 

Oliver's family share a look with each other, each of them knowing Oliver and Gina needed to talk. They all look back at Oliver. "We'll see you later, honey." Harley smiled softy at her youngest son, turning around and walking away with her husband. Noah patted Oliver's shoulder to comfort him when he walked by Oliver and Dahlia sympathetically smiled at Oliver as she walked down the hallway.

"I am starving so it's a good thing we're going to go eat now." Gina said with a bright smile on her face while walking over to Oliver. "And also," She points at him. "I have questions about a lot of stuff that went down tonight." She grins. "So, I am ready to head out when you are."

As much as it hurt Oliver to say this, he knew it was probably for the best. "Maybe we should just go to Slices tonight instead with the rest of the group."

He didn't miss the way the grin immediately went away on Gina's face when he said that. "Oh. Yeah?" Gina asked.

"Yeah, I-I mean," Oliver shrugs. "This is a big night for me and Ashlyn so it would be kinda weird if we didn't spend this night with the rest of the drama club." 

"Oh, man. Does this mean we gotta reschedule one more time?" Gina joked.

Oliver swallows the lump that formed in his throat and he glances at the floor when he could feel the tears beginning to form in his eyes. He shakes his head, looking back at Gina with a heavy heart. "Maybe we should just see what happens."

For a few seconds it was hard to read Gina's facial expressions, but then she shakes her head and Oliver swore he thought he saw tears in her eyes which made his heart break. "Cool. Okay." Gina nodded, beginning to walk backwards.

"O-Of course we would have had a blast," Oliver quickly adds and manages to form the smallest of smiles in an attempt to cheer her up, "But you know-"

"No, yeah, this is perfect. I'm just gonna grab my..." Gina's voice trails off, pointing at her backpack. She points at him, continuing to walk backwards. "I'll see you there, then."

When Gina was gone, Oliver let the tears fall as he turned around and walked down the hallway. 

****

Oliver had wanted to stop by Miss Jenn's office in hopes that she was still there so he could give her a thank you card. He smiles upon seeing she was still in her office, but it looked like she was getting ready to leave.

"Glad you're still here." Oliver said, gaining her attention and she smiled at him. "I thought you would be at the pizza place by now."

"I'm waiting for the Menkies judge." Miss Jenn explains. "He is going to deliver the verdict and let me know what we got nominated for," She pauses and smiles nervously. "Or didn't." Oliver raises his eyebrows, smiling at her with amusement. "I'm in a great place mentally."

"Yeah, sure. Totally believe you." Oliver agreed and chuckled lightly. 

Miss Jenn frowns. "I told you to jump off something high, Oliver."

"I know." Oliver nods, sending her a small smile. He shrugs. "But I landed on my feet so that's a good thing."

"You always do." Miss Jenn smiles, still looking upset. "But, uh," She folds her notebook on her desk to distract herself with an upset expression on her face. "I'm not sure I didn't push you kids too hard this semester." She walks around her desk, smiling at Oliver again. She chuckles. "Did you want something?"

"I wanted to give this to you." Oliver hands her the card he held. Miss Jenn looks at him with surprise. Oliver shrugs, smiling sheepishly. "It's just a thank you card for believing in me and giving me a chance." He sighs, shaking his head. "I never once thought I would be able to say I played the lead role in a play and have way too many friends to count and thanks to my friends in the drama club supporting me I got the courage to post my music online." He smiles. "You're a great teacher, Miss Jenn."

Miss Jenn sniffles, her eyes had gotten teary with Oliver's explanation, and she smiles softly at him. "Thank you, Oliver. That means a lot to me." After the two hugged, Oliver left her office with a smile. 

A/N ah i love oliver & his family so much! so glad i found a way to add a cute family moment in this chapter. also loved that moment with oliver & miss jenn, i felt like i needed to add that with them so miss jenn could feel better about what she said to oliver & it was good for oliver bc miss jenn really does play a big part in his life since she was one of the first few people (adults) who believed in his musical talents. only one chapter left so sad   :( gonna miss olina very much until the third season !