Because Estelle was so shocked that everything they said that probably wouldn't happen, happened, she didn't notice when the door to her room flung open. She didn't notice the noise the footsteps of the person entering her room made. She didn't notice the person standing in front of her until they moved her head so she was looking up at them. She also didn't hear that Bradley turned his etracker back on or that Jake had taken off to help him.
"Estelle." Nat said, forcing her friend up off the floor.
"I- they're both- are they- oh my gosh." She said, collapsing into her friend's arms.
Holding Estelle in her arms, Nat brushed through Estelle's hair with her fingers muttering, "I know. It's okay."
"I can't think. This shouldn't have happened."
"I know." Nat said, still holding her friend.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, please put your tray tables in the full upright positions as we begin our final descent."
"Tower, this is Ghostrider, we have no landing gear and will need to use the net."
Estelle gasped and pulled away from her friend, "They're-"
Nat shook her head, a small smile present on her face.
"Oh my gosh- I have a job to do." Estelle said, suddenly remembering the reason she was on the carrier in the first place.
"I know, that's partly why I came in here. But also because I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Okay okay yeah. Are you okay?" Estelle asked, springing into action, "Did you hit your head?" She questioned, quirking her head to the side.
"No, I'm fine. Everything went smoothly- for the most part at least." Nat said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Okay good," Estelle said exhaling, "Come here though," she pointed to the bed behind her.
"Why? I said I was fine."
"I know, but protocol. I have to make sure you don't have a concussion."
"I didn't hit my head."
"You don't know that. You were in an extremely stressful situation and were focused on getting out alive. You could've cut your hand and didn't know it."
"I'm pretty sure I would've felt it." Nat said, shaking her head at her friend.
"You might've, but you also might not have. Adrenaline does crazy things to us."
"Fine." Nat said, letting out a huff and sitting on the bed.
Estelle did a standard check up procedure, checking for cuts and a concussion. Nat ended up being fine, like she said, but it was a safety precaution. As soon as Nat jumped off the bed, the door slammed open; revealing a disheveled looking Maverick.
Estelle saw him and immediately ran over to him, wrapping him in a giant hug, "Hey kiddo."
"Don't. Do. That. Again." She said, looking up at him and putting her finger in his face for added effect.
"I don't plan on it," He said, flashing one of his signature smiles.
Estelle finally let Maverick go and took a few steps back, turning around to tell Nat that she was all good but she had left. A few moments earlier, Nat had snuck out of the room while the two were hugging.
"I've got to go get my check up done," Maverick said, backing out of Estelle's room, "Probably have to get a few things stitched up too. I'll see you in a few, kid."
Estelle nodded her head and watched Maverick leave her room. She sat down at her desk, propped her elbows on the desk, and placed her head in her hands trying to wrap her head around the events of the past hour.
A light knock on the door caused Estelle to pick her head up. In her doorway stood the one and only Bradley Bradshaw with a couple cuts and a few bruises already beginning to form. He waited for her to move before entering the room.
Estelle stood up and motioned for him to sit on the bed that Nat was just sitting on a few minutes earlier. He put his helmet on the desk Estelle was just at before getting on the bed. He then proceeded to unzip his flight suit, so it sat just above his waist, giving Estelle room to work.
She began to clean up the tiny cuts on his arms. Sanitizing them and then bandaging them.
The air was thick with tension. Neither of them speaking to the other, for no words needed to be said. One seeing how long the other could last in such an awkward predicament.
Bradley was the first to break, "I see you and Mav made up?" He asked, trying to ease the tension in the room.
"Yeah. I guess you two did too?" She asked.
"Yeah." He said, slightly pursing his lips.
Silence fell over the two; an awkward one at that. Both of them avoided making eye contact with the other.
Estelle cleared her throat and Bradley looked up at her, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Saving Mav. Even though you're an idiot."
"It's... it's what my dad would've done. Did you just call me an idiot?"
"Yeah." She deadpanned, shrugging her shoulders.
"What-"
"You're an idiot. You should've just gone back with the others. You could've gotten killed. What was your plan for afterwards?"
"There wasn't one. I wasn't thinking, just doing."
"See? Idiot."
"But, if I'm not mistaken, it sounded like you were concerned about me?" He asked, slightly smirking.
"Of course. It's perfectly normal to be concerned about your friends." Estelle said, grabbing Bradley's hand.
She started cleaning up his hand while he sat there, thinking; "You know we're not friends, Estelle."
"That's news to me then, Bradley." She said, sighing as she did, "You said so yourself."
The pair were quiet again. Estelle started bandaging Bradley's hand and he sat there looking at her. He looked up at her, his eyes flickering from her eyes to her lips.
"Estelle."
"Bradley," she said, not looking away from his hand.
"I have wanted to be more than friends with you from the moment I first set my eyes on you."
She stopped what she was doing but didn't look up at him; a million thoughts going through her head.
"Essie," he said, using his free hand to move her head to force her to look at him, "please. I don't want to see us crash and burn before we even have a chance to take off."
Estelle stared at him for a minute, choosing her words carefully, "Bradley, I-"
She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because he cut her off by placing his lips on hers. She was shocked at first but quickly returned the kiss.
Maybe Nat talked to him. Maybe he figured it out on his own. Whatever the case was, Estelle didn't care; she just knew that this, whatever they were, felt right and whenever she was with him, it was just them and the rest of the world didn't matter.
AN:
The Estelle and Bradley era has officially come to an end :(
If you guys want an epilogue please lmk! I thought about doing one but I wasn't sure on how I felt about it and would like some input!!
It'll probably just take a few cause I'm moving into my dorm and stuff! WHOO!! Finally! (T- 3 days)!!!
POV: me shamelessly reading a 50+ chapter Cedric Diggory fanfic all day instead of packing 😋
On a more serious note, thank you all for all the love and support on this book. I love and appreciate each and every one of you. It means more to me than you guys would think!
Also- what a way to close this book out! It just hit 6k reads! You guys are absolutely insane and I can't even put into words how grateful I am that people actually wanted to read my work!
So so so much love,
KJ 🫶🫶