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Sorry I haven't responded in a couple days. Here's something to make up for it.
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Scream queen daydream lost in a nightmare / wish you were here or I was right there / Do you think we have a chance? / Were we destined to be Derek and Sidney? / Phone calls about movies, lost in a trance / Tied up heartstrings but you undid me. It hadn't taken Everleigh long to read his writing that time, when she finally got to sit down with the song.
sorry, things were go, go, go from the start with school this semester. i know it's been a while. i like the new lyrics. are all your songs about scream, lol?
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Once again: all my new songs are about you, you bozo. <3
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wow, you're pulling out all the pet names lately, dumbass. <3
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Everleigh didn't expect a reply, but she hadn't not expected a reply either. Her and Maverick were equally guilty at taking too long to respond and letting the conversation drop. There wasn't anything either of them could do about it with life the way it was at that moment, but it still made Everleigh feel a little disconnected from that part of her life. It didn't help that school had started and Everleigh forgot how much she hated lower level classes. Second years thought they were hot shit because they weren't first years. Turned out they were one smack upside the head with second year homework away from being dropouts. Fuck second years.
Everleigh was one more unnecessary question from them away from stabbing her pencil into their eye and asking them to diagnose it themselves. She wanted to be out. Graduated. But two more semesters of bullshit meant that she still had to put up with it until she was gone for good. (That was a scary thought, too.)
With her class done, Everleigh practically sprinted to her car. It wasn't that she wanted double duty, but her scheduled flight was close enough to the end of her class that panic built in her chest. Should she have given it away? Probably. But Everleigh did need to pay rent. Which, unfortunately, meant she needed a paycheck. And that all circled back to the fact that Heathrow was far enough away she wasn't sure she'd have time to change into her uniform at the airport.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, hurry up." Ah, rush hour. Everleigh didn't even work a nine to five and it was still impacting her. Molasses speeds of traffic were not going to get her to her flight on time. She was turning into Maverick.
Too many roundabouts and far too many curses later, Everleigh was in uniform—wrinkled, having been thrown on in the backseat of her car because she didn't have time to go to the employee changeroom—and hustling passengers onto a plane. She tried to ignore the fact she hadn't had time for a swipe of deodorant before a ten hour flight. Good grief. The ascot around her neck felt suffocating that day—Everleigh yanked at it like a restless bachelor three whiskies in at a wedding.
"Welcome, passengers..." the captain started as Everleigh and a co-worker closed the door together.
Everleigh had heard the speech enough times that it went in one ear and out the other. A melody that had once been a siren song and now it was like the magic was lost and she was never to be the same. A call from the deep didn't intrigue her anymore—she was immune.
"Leigh," a co-worker said.
"Yes?"
They leaned a little closer to her, voice lowered. "Do you have a tampon?"
"I probably do, yeah." Everleigh said that as if she was ever without period supplies. Some days it felt like she'd forget her head, but she'd never not have a pad or a tampon. "They're in my bag, help yourself."
"Can you... grab it for me?" they asked. "I gotta serve the last little bit of my aisle."
Everleigh waved her hand dismissively. "I'll do it."
Sometimes it was just easier to do work for other people than to wait for them to do it themselves. And serving drinks wasn't the worst. It was better than cleaning up vomit, or the washrooms.
"No, can you please go grab it?" the co-worker asked. "I'm just going to crank these drinks out and then it's waiting."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Fine. But come back right away."
"Thank you."
Everleigh nodded and walked to the back of the plane. Only to be met with every other co-worker they had ready for her. A cabin crew of eight and six of them were waiting for Everleigh while she grabbed a tampon.
"Um. Hi?"
"Juno told us you were thinking about leaving."
"Oh, fuck, no, come on," Everleigh said, already trying to leave the back of the plane. "Eventually. Maybe. I still don't know."
"And it's okay," another co-worker said, grabbing Everleigh's wrist to trap her there.
"But we wanted to do what we could to help you," the co-worker who asked her for a tampon walked back with them, grinning. Needed a tampon her ass.
"You guys don't have to—"
"But we do," another chimed in. "So, we did our best to help out."
A binder was handed to Everleigh, who took it and looked up at them. Her name was written in gorgeous calligraphy—maybe it was mediocre calligraphy and Everleigh was too used to Maverick's chicken scratch.
"You seemed like a binder kind of bitch," one of them said, and shrugged.
Everleigh laughed. "I am a binder bitch. What is this?"
"Well, open it. Duh."
Everleigh flipped the front cover and stared up at her co-workers. Her friends. She took a handful of pages and flipped them like a stop-motion animation. "Are these schedules?"
"Everyone's schedule for the next year."
"Everyone's bucket list destinations." A laugh. Everleigh was ready to cry. "If you need shifts covered for school or exams or anything, we've got you. Even if it's not in the bucket list."
"Everyone's contact information is at the back, in case you were missing any phone numbers."
"And it's colour-coded."
"There are some flights in the next year that you might want to get a jump seat for. Because you need a break, too. They're in the very back."
"We know how shitty it was trying to cover shifts earlier in the year. We want to help. Thought this might—"
"I need you to shut up before I cry this shitty makeup off."
Laughter. God, Everleigh was going to miss them. Even if it was months from now, she was going to miss them. It could be days or decades and she would still miss them.
Everleigh closed the binder and pushed it under her bag, careful to not scratch it. "Thank you."
"We're also here even after you've left."
"Even if it's not soon."
Everleigh could've melted. Truly. She, instead, opted for hugging the entire cabin crew for longer than she ever would've let herself before then. Each squeeze was tighter than the last.
She remembered the first time she'd been to Edinburgh. When a drunk woman in the pub loo had cried to Everleigh about some stupid man and how Everleigh deserved the world and that she was going to do great things—classic pub talk. Everleigh had assured her of the same things, that men were trash, and that she would thrive without him. She'd, also, had a few too many pints that day. That woman, and every other Scot Everleigh had met since, called hugs cuddles. Everleigh had never really understood why.
Cuddles were something soft and comforting and hugs had always made Everleigh worry that people could feel the bones protruding from her skin and panic because what if they couldn't wrap their arms around her entirely. Cuddles were allowed by people like Donny if they asked first and didn't talk about it the morning after that were kind of enjoyable if the activities beforehand had also been. Hugs were never something she enjoyed.
The hugs from her friends were definitely cuddles. Everleigh finally understood the Scots. They brought warmth and comfort and everything Everleigh didn't know she needed. Those hugs felt like a home away from home that would always be there. And they assured her they would be. Everleigh could've cried. Was surprised she hadn't, given the red sea she'd been greeted with that morning. (Another reason that day was utter and complete shit.) (Woohoo, no fertilized egg; Everleigh would've known that without shedding the lining of her uterus, thank you very much.)
"Whatever you need from us, we've got you, okay?"
"Thank you."
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Are you in London right now?
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just landed in vancouver. :(
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Shit. I forgot. I'm sorry.
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sorry, i fell asleep doing homework.
are you in london?
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Only for, like, a couple days.
I forgot you were in Vancouver, had to come here for some music stuff. Was going to surprise you. Roman said you weren't around, I just couldn't tell if he was still mad at me.
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we need a shared calendar, haha. (Everleigh hoped humour came through and not the awkwardness she was feeling.)
and he's not mad at you. anymore.
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There are things I legally can't have you see. I know you're joking but I need you to know I would if I thought I was allowed.
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do you think this was a mistake?
Everleigh forced herself to erase the message. Nothing about anything Maverick said should have made her feel like it was. Her brain was being an ass to her again.
it's okay. i get it.
Maverick's reply came quicker than any other reply he'd given Everleigh in the last little while. Everleigh didn't blame him—they were both busy. It was okay to be busy. Movie soon? Isn't there like 17 Screams? I'll watch them all with you.
there's five. i'd love to if we can find a moment. :)
Which one has like 20? Or am I making that up?
you're probably thinking halloween or friday the 13th, babes.
Right. I'm sorry.
no, it's okay. Everleigh typed quickly. She didn't want to lose him again. we could watch something you actually enjoy next time. if you wanted.
I enjoy watching movies you enjoy.
are you sure?
Positive. Don't worry. Scream 3 soon?
sounds good.
I'll try not to jump this time.
we'll have to up the ante if you keep getting scared.
I've been wanting a tattoo on the back of my hand. You can choose the Scream character.
obviously i'm picking billy. specifically when he's licking corn syrup off his finger.
You came up with that way too fast, Meadowlark.
what can i say? baby skeet is the one.
Should I be writing a Billy Loomis song instead of Dewey?
you're the one who admitted he was hot. i still love dewey.
Happy to hear it. It might end up on the album.
so really you're watching scream 3 for research? it's work?
I still don't know who the hell Hayden Panettiere plays. Call it a third work, two thirds play.
i'll take it.
Are any other killers more attractive than Billy Loomis?
you're going to have to wait and see.
That's a no, huh?
my lips are sealed.
i miss you, she didn't send.
Everleigh tried to ignore the small typing bubble from Maverick's side that also disappeared. She hoped that meant they were on the same page, even when she could feel every kilometre they were apart.