THIS LOVE | shayne topp

1.13

   THE PODCAST WENT GREAT. Eleanore had some really good conversation with two people she really liked, and it went amazing. Their topic was mostly about their jobs, but they did dabble into the topic of family and friends a lot.

   Surprisingly, the topic of Eleanore's disappearance from her friends and family didn't bother her too much. Maybe it was the way that everyone had been so forgiving and no one ever blamed her for what had happened. She was extremely lucky to have these close people in her life again. And now some new people too.

   During the podcast, the idea of Eleanore's vlog channel got brought up by Shayne, and she absolutely just loved hearing people talk about it. Finally she made the final decision and announced it to everyone in the room.

   Eleanore was going to wait until this episode aired to announce it, just so the shock reaction could still be there for everyone. And it gave her the time to get everything figured out. Like just starting up the channel, creating an aesthetic, and of course having to get a camera.

   About halfway through filming, Laurie had left the room and had yet to come back. Eleanore was a little nervous about it, but obviously the beginning of pregnancy is difficult for a lot of people.

   Eleanore and Amanda took a few minutes to talk after the podcast, while Shayne went to do something, they had no idea. But he did come back in with a look of worry. "El, Laurie left. Apparently she got really sick and went home."

   "Oh... okay. We drove together, so I guess I'll just Uber home." Eleanore sighed, resting her head in her hand for a moment. "It'll be pretty cheap, I only live like ten minutes away, so."

   Shayne laughed. "No, you're not Ubering. If you don't mind waiting a a little bit, I can take you home on my lunch break."

   "No, it's fine. Don't waste the gas. I don't mind getting an Uber." Eleanore took her phone out of her back pocket, opening up the Uber app.

   But before she could do anything, Shayne grabbed her phone. "It's not a problem."

   Amanda sat there, glancing between the two of them. It almost looked like she was trying to hold in a laugh the way she had her elbow resting on the table with a hand covering her mouth as Shayne stood in front of Eleanore.

   Neither of them seemed to notice though, as they were too busy looking at each other and arguing about how the girl was going to get home.

   It was nearing the hour for them to take their lunch, and Eleanore was sitting on the green couch, scrolling through Instagram. Laurie did end up texting her and apologizing, which Eleanore calmly responded, understanding the situation.

   Aaliyah walked over and plopped herself down onto the couch next to Eleanore, sighing out. "I'm so tired. I don't wanna work anymore today." She groaned, leaning her head on her friends shoulder.

   Eleanore laughed, "Is today a long shoot day? Maybe we can grab dinner tonight if you're not too dead."

   "I wish I could, but me and my girlfriend are going out. We promised ourselves we would try to do a date night at least once a month, and if not that, more." Aaliyah lifted her head and turned to face Eleanore who looked confused.

   "Girlfriend?"

   Aaliyah perked up with a look of shock on her face. "Oh my god! I cannot believe I forgot to tell you. Yeah, me and Angela. I thought it was pretty obvious."

   Eleanore took a second, thinking back on it. It really did make a lot of sense, as almost every time the two of them are in the same room, they're huddled together, sometimes holding hands, or having a head on a shoulder.

   And now she wondered if that was the reason why Angela and her have gotten along so well and even with the few times they've met, gotten close. Angela always made it a point to have a brief conversation with Eleanore whenever they saw each other.

   "You know what, they makes sense." Eleanore smiles at her. "Well I'm happy for you two! And Angela is actually perfect for you."

   When the girls were seventeen, thats when Aaliyah came out to Eleanore as bisexual. She was extremely nervous and had started crying, but Eleanore just hugged her and reassured her everything was going to be fine.

   This current moment reminded Eleanore of how they were sitting in Eleanore's living room as teenagers, with Aaliyah resting her head back on Eleanore's shoulder, just sitting calmly in each others presence.

   This is one of the big things Eleanore missed during her time away from everyone. Just the calm feeling of being with her friends and the love and warmth that radiated within a room as they were together.

   Tears started to form in her eyes thinking back on the memories. She just wished that for once, she could forgive herself and stop thinking about it. It's not her fault and it never was.

   Eleanore sniffled right as Shayne walked over who sat down on the other side of the couch, Eleanore scooting over so he had more room. Aaliyah lifted her head and looked at her friend.

   "Oh my god, are you crying? What's wrong?" Aaliyah put a hand on Eleanore's knee.

   She shrugged. "I don't know. I just missed this. It's really hitting me now." Eleanore laughed as a tear escaped from her eye and ran down her cheek. Aaliyah laughed with her and pulled her into a hug. "I don't know why I'm crying."

   Shayne rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to give some form of comfort while his sister and friend hugged. The pulled apart, but his hand lingered as Aaliyah wiped Eleanore's tears.

   "There's been a lot of change for you recently, and you're handling it really well. I don't think you realize just how well you're doing. But we all see it." Eleanore turned to look at Shayne. He had a small and comforting smile resting on his face.

   "Yeah, he's right." Aaliyah added.

   "How did we get from talking about you and Angela to now me crying? Oh my god." Eleanore laughed again, trying to stop herself from crying. It wasn't a lot of tears, but just enough to make it noticeable that she was crying.

   "I don't know." Shayne pulled her into a side hug, and she rested her head on his shoulder. 

   The clock on the wall read 1PM, meaning it was time for everyone to take their lunch. Luckily, everyone was gathered in the large common room, away from where everyone else was. Eleanore didn't want them all to see her crying yet again.

   "We should probably go." Eleanore said, but still kept her head on Shayne's shoulder. "I don't want you to be late when you get back."

   Shayne chuckled, "Yeah, we probably should."

   After a few minutes of wiping tears that were already pretty much gone and a quick goodbye to whoever they passed, Eleanore and Shayne were out the door and on their way to Eleanore's apartment.

   The car ride was quiet, but not awkward. Shayne gave Eleanore aux and she just played her liked songs not too loud. There was a comfortable silence in the air between them, it was simple.

   "Alright, I'll see you later. Text me when you get back." Eleanore said once they pulled up to her building. She rested a hand on his arm, before grabbing her bag and opening up the door.

   Shayne nodded, almost letting his arm follow the movement of her hand. "I will. See you later, El."