LAVENDER HAZE | j. champion

six

november 11, 2022

"If you don't stop fidgeting I might consider slapping you."

My eyes darted to Caleigh's, was it that obvious how nervous I was? Or was I excited?

I don't know.

We'd landed in Orlando and were currently waiting our turn to exit the plane and people were just slow. It was obviously bothering me. When I turned airplane mode off I had a text from Bailey telling me where she was waiting and I guess it just dialed everything in me up to an 11.

It had been years since i'd seen her. Or anyone really.

Ok, that's a lie. I saw Jamie every time I went to London to visit Kit and Trinity and I saw each other basically once a month since we both live in LA. It's just Bailey and Jack I haven't seen.

One was by choice.

"Bailey's waiting."

Caleigh nodded, resting her chin on my shoulder. "You've said that 7 times already, H."

At some point, I stopped wincing every time Caleigh called me "H". It was progress for sure. It was a nickname that only Jack had used on me. But almost instantly after meeting me, Caleigh called me it and it stuck.

So, now it's Caleigh's nickname for me and not Jack's and it doesn't feel weird. I actually kind of like it.

The line in front of us began to move and I yanked Caleigh along with me. We rushed through the airport together.

Ok, I rushed. Caleigh followed.

Caleigh acted like she was annoyed with me, but she was happy that I was happy. She'd listened to countless rants where I explained how much I wanted to go back and do the filming process again and since we'd already filmed Avatar 2 AND 3 that it would probably be a while before we come back together for 4. The girl had also sat in on countless facetimes with my cast mates. She went through a lot with me.

So, Caleigh was more like a best friend instead of an assistant. But we labeled it as such so she could get into different events.

"Bai." I breathed out, seeing the girl standing against a wall.

She must've heard me, because Bailey let go of her suitcase and came running toward me. We collided in a hug and literally fell to the ground. Caleigh burst into laughter.

We were laughing too, but also crying. And we stayed there on the floor of the airport to soak in the moment. I hadn't filmed with Bailey since sometime in the end of 2018. And she only visited set a couple of times after that, so for the most part, it had been nearly 3 years since i've seen her in person.

She was 16 and I was 15. Now we're 19 and (almost) 18.

"We should probably get up." she mumbled into my hair.

I agreed with her, allowing Caleigh to help us both up to our feet. The two greeted each other and were excited to finally meet in-person. I was glad Caleigh was so talkative, it made introducing her to people far less nerve wracking since she'd immediately be able to talk their ear off.

The process of collecting our bags, getting an uber, and making it to the hotel took nearly 2 hours. So, we were starving by the time we reached the "lodge" we were staying at in Animal Kingdom.

Thankfully, Bailey had convinced Jamie to get the 3 of us dinner and had it waiting at the hotel. Truthfully, it was just takeout from the restaurant he had gone to with Trinity and Jack. But I wasn't complaining. It was sustenance.

"Hols! Bai! Cai!" Trinity's voice could be heard screeching as we hopped out of our uber.

The young girl was bounding out of the hotel toward us, the biggest smile on her face. I remember meeting her when she was only 8 and now she's 13. It's crazy.

She made it to me first, and I wrapped my arms around her so tightly in a hug. Trinity was like a little sister to me. On the set, she was always attached to me and Jack. It was like we claimed her as ours since she was the only one younger than us.

"I missed you." Trinity mumbled into my shoulder.

A laugh fell from my mouth, "It's been 2 weeks, Trin."

"Too long."

I let her go so she could greet the other two. And, before I could think about anything else, my face met a chest. The familiar scent coupled with the greeting in a familiar accent clued me into just who was hugging me.

"Jamie." His voice came out of my mouth like he was a breath of fresh air. I missed the guy. Last time I went to London was this summer, so it had been a few months since I was able to enjoy his presence.

He ruffled my already messy hair. "Hols! How was the flight?"

"Decent, Caleigh snored the whole time."

A shriek came from behind me. "You can not tell him that I snore!" Caleigh showed up beside me, her brown eyes locking with Jamie's blues. "I do not snore."

"Okay, noted." he awkwardly chuckled, sending her a smile before walking over to Bailey.

Caleigh slapped my arm, muttering curses at me.

I guess I deserved that. I did tell her "future husband" one of her flaws.

Then I saw him.

Jack stood a few feet away, his eyes locked on mine. I suddenly felt very vulnerable. I hadn't seen him since our last day of shooting in 2020. The day I walked out of the restaurant on him.

Ya know, the day our friendship ended.

So, why was he staring at me? His expression totally unreadable. I wish I could read him how I once could. But now all I see are the brown eyes i'd gotten so used to staring into every day.

"If you want me to hate him, I'll hate him. Just say the word, H." Caleigh's chin was on my shoulder again, both of us staring at the curly headed boy.

His hair was never this curly when we were kids.

I swear I saw Jack's facial expression change when Caleigh spoke. But i'm not sure why. Her talking about us hating him? Or maybe her use of the nickname that previously belonged to him? I don't know.

"Stand down for now." I mumbled, my eyes never leaving the boy.

Caleigh squeezed my arms before skipping off, probably to go get our luggage. But I just seemed to be glued to my spot. And so did he.

Well, that was until Bailey caught his attention by running into him for a hug. A smile lit up his face and I winced. I remember when he smiled at me like that. He looked so happy to see her.

And when he looked at me? He couldn't even frown, it was just neutral. Like he didn't know what to feel.

•

big sad stuff with jack and holland
but cute jamie, trin, and bailey
and iconic caleigh

sooooo yeah!!

what do y'all think will happen
with jack and holland?
(probably not what you think lol)