Secret Love Song // A Paul McCartney Fanfiction

oʍʇ ɹǝʇdɐɥɔ

It wasn't long before Sienna was handing in her resignation letter for her cafe and sending emails explaining her departure to the parents of her piano students. On Riley's final lesson he was upset beyond prediction.

"I can't believe you're leaving. Who's going to teach me now?" He whimpered into their goodbye hug.

"I know buddy. But you're going to have an awesome replacement. And to be fair, you were the one that told me to go to Hollywood." Sienna smirked and Riley poked his tongue out at her.

"Well when you come back you have to promise me you'll tell me about all the famous people you taught piano." He looked up at Sienna with the biggest shimmering doe eyes she had ever seen. She was truly going to miss her little friend.

"I will."

"And you promise when you come back you'll teach me piano again?"

Sienna chuckled.

"Of course, Riley. I'll teach you until you're better than me."

"Impossible." He responded with a smile that warmed Sienna's heart.

The Malbrooks were scheduled to leave at the beginning of January and all three of them couldn't be more thrilled. There were countless days where Sienna's mum kept herself firmly on the fence, repeating "I think we're making a mistake", but when departing day approached, she seemed the most excited out of the three.

When they arrived in Heathrow airport, it was frosty and bitter which they were slightly unprepared for. They knew it would be winter but unlike New Zealand weathers, the degrees were in the negatives so light coats and jeans weren't cutting it. They made it to their hotel without getting frostbite or lost, and checked in as quickly as their chattering teeth would allow them. It didn't matter one bit to Sienna. She had just taken her one way trip to a new and better start. New friends, new home, new job, what did she have to complain about? Besides, the weather was much more comforting than the cold people that used to surround her at school.

"Wow this place is different to home... I love it!" Sienna exclaimed.

"I told you it would be." Stated her dad, already sorting through the complimentary biscuit box that was perched on their dresser.

It was only 7pm but the two twelve hour flights had exhausted them to the point where blinking too long posed a risk of dropping off to sleep. Feeling groggy from the plane, Sienna took a well anticipated shower. As she immersed herself beneath the steaming droplets, her fears and negative thoughts slipped down the drain. This was where she was meant to be and despite her drowsiness, she had never felt so exhilarated to be in a new country with new opportunities just waiting to jump out at her. There were several doubts before she left home about whether or not this was actually a sustainable idea but under the rain of hot water... in a sleepy haze... in the safety of the hotel room... they vanished nearly as quickly as those complimentary biscuits.

Her reddening skin told Sienna it was time to get out and the cold latched onto her body the moment she left. Nevertheless, she felt a relief like she had never experienced. Whether it was the excitement for her future or the sleep on the verge of striking, she could not tell, but for the first time in years she felt wholly positive and satisfied.

After swapping her plane attire for some comfortable blue pajama trousers with miniature yellow ducks and a plain creme sweatshirt, she crawled under the duvet of her bed while her parents each took a shower of their own. Sienna fell into a sweet dream before her head even hit the pillow and didn't wake up until early morning.

Due to the jetlag, Sienna and her parents both awoke around five but it was just as refreshing as waking up at ten. The sun hadn't broken through the sky just yet so although with it was freezing, without it was twenty times more.

Sienna cuddled up to her several blankets while checking her phone as her dad got up to make coffees. They had no food for breakfast so coffee was going to have to keep them going until the shops opened.

The family chatted and discussed plans for the day until they caught sight of the luminous sun piercing her rays across the British buildings. It seemed like it would be a beautiful day and as the morning rolled slowly on, they began to get ready. They wanted to go out early to beat the heavy human traffic and also because they were beginning to feel the grumble of their stomachs grow progressively worse.

Sienna dressed herself in pale blue wide legged jeans, a white knitted turtleneck, and a woollen beanie and didn't bother to wear any makeup. She felt underdressed exiting the hotel reception as the sharp air stung her cheeks and fingers. Shoving her hands into her pockets, her mum held up her glove encased hands as a nod to their argument earlier about whether or not they would need gloves or if a hat would be enough. Sienna chose the mature approach by poking her tongue out in rebuttal.

They walked along the uneven cobble pavement for ten minutes before finding a Tesco. After buying enough British food to last them centuries, they headed back to the hotel.

"Now, Angela told me about this website with forums that people can post roommate ads on so we should start applying for some of those as soon as possible." Sienna's mum said as they propped their almost bursting shopping bags on the counter.

"Shouldn't we wait until she has a reliable source of income before we find an apartment? She has to be sure she can afford the rent before she signs up to live somewhere." Her dad objected in his typical matter-of-fact tone.

"It can take months for people to find flats here, we need to start as soon as possible because I sure as hell can't stay here for months."

Sienna gave an affirmative nod.

"We can go around handing in my C.V. tomorrow too so I can hopefully get a job and a place to live around the same time instead of one after the other." She added earning the agreement of her father. Her mother's face expressed a certain tenseness which confused Sienna.

"Mum? Is that a good idea?"

Her head snapped towards her daughter and a sincere but glum smile crossed her face.

"Yeah. And that's what freaks me out. You've grown up so fast and I don't know how to keep up. I just didn't think my baby could be so mature!"

It was a bittersweet moment for them all. They were such a close-knit family and Sienna had a stronger bond with her parents than anyone else in her life. This shift was going to be hard on all three parties from the feelings of leaving the nest too early. Even Sienna was fearing her parents having to travel back home since the longest she had ever spent without them was two weeks when they went to Dunedin for her great Aunty's funeral. Although even then she had her grandmother looking after her so she knew this would be a completely new sense of loneliness.

After a week of applying for roommate and job positions and getting a multitude of rejections, Sienna finally received a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" She answered briskly, anticipation coursing through her body.

"Hi! Is this Sienna Malbrook?" A chirpy female voice spoke.

"Yes, yes it is."

"Oh hello! Claudia Wells speaking, I'm just ringing about your application to be my flatmate, you sound like we'd get along quite well." They both giggled and Sienna's heart began to race. Her parents were staring at her, barely daring to breathe in case they missed something that gave away whether or not their daughter was accepted. "I would love to have an interview with you. Well, not an interview as such, more like a hangout so I can see what you're like. Unless you've found another place to live in by now-"

"No no I haven't found anywhere else I'd love nothing more than to meet up!" She exclaimed and immediately felt a little embarrassed by her over-enthusiasm. The girl on the other end of the line didn't take any notice though.

"Perfect! Shall we meet for coffee sometime? I'm free tomorrow if you are too."

"Yes, that sounds great."

After confirming a cafe and time, they bid each other goodbye and hung up.

"I'VE GOT AN INTERVIEW!!" Sienna yelled in delight as her parents started dancing in celebration.