Chapter Text
St. Augustine’s Academy looked more like a cathedral than a school. Its towering stone walls, arched windows, and manicured courtyards radiated prestige. Students moved through the halls with tailored blazers, shining shoes, and last names that meant something in New York’s social circles.
To most, Alexandra Cabot and Olivia Benson were the crown jewels of St. Augustine’s.
Olivia, tall and athletic, her long brown hair tied neatly back, walked with the easy confidence of a leader. Captain of both the soccer and swim teams, her name echoed across the loudspeakers after every game. Coaches called her unstoppable, her mother called her an investment. Olivia called herself tired.
Alex was different—polished, sharp, untouchable. Her blonde hair gleamed under the academy lights, her blue eyes cold and commanding as she passed through the halls with a leather-bound notebook in hand. Editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. President of the student council. A Cabot by blood, and every bit the daughter her parents demanded she be. Perfect grades, perfect posture, perfect silence.
Together, they were the girls everyone envied. Together, they were the girls no one really knew.
Their classmates saw golden futures laid out before them—prestigious universities, powerful husbands, lives dripping with wealth and influence. What no one saw was how heavy those futures felt on their shoulders.
At home, Olivia sat across from her mother at a long mahogany dining table, listening to the clatter of silverware against porcelain. “Professor Mason’s son is applying to Princeton,” her mother said casually, though her sharp hazel eyes lingered. “You two would make a handsome pair.”
Olivia forced a smile and stabbed at her salad.
Across the city, Alex’s parents spoke in similar tones. “The Whitman boy is a fine young man,” her father said, his voice cool and commanding. “You’d do well to keep his interest.”
Alex nodded, lips pressed tight, though the thought of his hand on hers made her stomach turn.
Neither girl protested out loud. They’d been trained too well. But in the quiet moments—late at night in Olivia’s car, parked beneath the city lights—they unraveled.
That night, Alex pressed her head against Olivia’s shoulder, her voice low. “I feel like I’m suffocating, Liv. Like I’m living someone else’s life.”
Olivia threaded her fingers through Alex’s, her jaw tight. “You’re not alone. I feel it too.”
Silence settled heavy between them. The city glowed in the distance, but inside the car, the only world that mattered was the one they made for themselves.
Alex turned to her then, blue eyes burning. “So what if we stopped playing their game? What if we just… ran?”
Olivia’s breath caught, her heart pounding as she looked at the girl she loved more than anything. For a moment, the future didn’t feel like a prison.
For a moment, it felt like freedom.