one of them - j.flatters

i. return to pandora

NOVEMBER 2022 - FLORIDA
An old and bright pink suitcase rolled through the room, the sound of its wheel bouncing and echoing on the walls of the airport as Eliana struggled to find the exit. After a few attempts, most of them resulting in dead ends, the twenty one year old girl took her phone out of her sweatpants' pocket and composed the only number she knew by heart.

"Hey, it's me. I'm lost... Don't laugh... Yes, I'm close to gate sixteen... Okay, see you."

When Eliana hung up the phone, she felt her shoulders dropped at the same time she exhaled a weighty relieved breath, impatiently waiting for her old friend to come find her lost self. A few moments later, familiar curly hair appeared through the crowd, both hands excitedly waving at the Martin girl.

"Bailey!" The young woman shrieked while running to her childhood friend, immediately wrapping her arms around her neck as they both reunited after quite a long time. "Can you get any prettier!" Eliana exclaimed, her hands now lifted to cup the younger girl's cheeks, realizing how much she had grown into a beautiful woman, more mature than the time they had last saw each other.

"Shut it." Bailey chuckled while taking the duffel bag that casually hung in the crook of Eliana's arm, strapping it on hers and directing them to the nearest doors as they exited Orlando's airport. Once they packed the Martin girl's luggage into the car's trunk, the two friends sat at the back of it, catching up on their lives. "What are you up to? How's life? I want to know everything. You don't understand how much I've missed you."

"Life's good. I'm almost finished with my certificate at UTO. I've finally moved out of Moonbeam and my parents' home." Eliana smiled.

"So, no acting?" Bailey asked, her thick and perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed to her friend's reveal, truly wondering the reasons of why such a talented actress wouldn't pursue her dream.

"I've tried but classes were taking up so much of my time, I had to choose." Eliana felt her heartbeat picked up, a guilty feeling submerging her body when she noticed Bailey's traits softened to her answer, convinced of the girl's honesty. But the Martin girl hadn't been fully opened about her reasons, indeed school had played a part in her acting hiatus but it wasn't the main one. "Enough about me. What about you? I've seen your new show, and let me tell you how good of a performance you delivered."

"I had such a great time filming, the guys were so nice and I got to be this badass bloodsucker vampire. I didn't realized how much I had missed being on set but you know, it's not the same as it were with you guys." Bailey said, her elbow nudging her friend's arm as they both giggly remembered the memories of their young days on set, feeling like only yesterday they were all playing in the tank. The chuckles slowly dying down as Bailey stared at Eliana, wishing the girl had kept touch over the last years by more than a few texts and birthday messages. "Are you excited to see the others?"

"Yeah," Eliana's grin slowly faded away, realizing how long it had been since the last time she had seen them all or even call one of them and feeling responsible for distancing herself from what she had always considered her best friendships. "but also nervous. God, how long has it been?"

"2 years and half. Almost three." Eliana snorted to Bailey's precise and quick response but soon understood her departure had affected her friend more than she thought it had and she hated herself for it. When filming ended, the pandemic had began and without a working visa, Eliana couldn't stay in the United States so she had no choice but return to Canada. Well, she had deliberately chosen to return, declining Bailey's offer of moving with her and her mother. Moonbeam was her home, her parents was her home and after almost two years of living in Los Angeles, Annie and Victor needed their daughter close. That was the answer Eliana had prepared if anyone decided to brought the subject, a cleaner version of the facts. She wasn't ready just yet to tell her friends what had truly happened. "You're not going to believe how grown Trinity is. She is a literal woman." Bailey exclaimed, changing the subject and turning the atmosphere lighter in the car. Eliana's eyes lit up to the name of the young Trinity, the one who had scribbled flowers around the letters of her name on the first day, instantly making a connection. The chauffeur knocks on the tinted window that separated the front and back of the car, instructing the two girls that they had arrived to destination. Eliana took a deep and sharp breath, placing her hand on top of Bailey's as she searched for the familiar comfort she always used to brought her.