one of them - j.flatters

xviii. breaking news

SEPTEMBER 2018 - LOS ANGELES
Since her birthday, Eliana and Jamie could barely keep their hands off each other but still decided to not tell their friends as they didn't want to complicate everyone's relationship. But keeping their relationship a secret was getting harder with each passing days as the teenagers felt dishonest toward their friends and even family. For Eliana, it was an obvious decision to hide it to her mother. If Annie knew, everything Eliana had built with Jamie over the last month would be ruined in a matter of seconds. And right now, Jamie was the only one keeping the brunette grounded as she felt overwhelmed by everything in her life lately. Every morning, it became harder for the girl to get out of bed, constantly feeling exhausted as if parts of her were starting to fade away except when she was around him. Jamie always bringing back the colors to her face and the stars in her eyes and never noticing how good Eliana masked her exhaustion. None of them would realize it until too late. As her call on set had been delayed to later in the morning, Eliana had barely move from her couch. Instead of hanging with her friends back in the break room, she had wished to sleep a couple more hours but her mind had decided otherwise, her thoughts keeping her awaken. Eliana had always been an overthinker but now, with the movie, her career, her parents' financial problems, her relationship with Jamie or really anything that was going on in her life, the headaches became more frequent. Her forehead almost constantly throbbing as her mind worried about every single thing. To distract herself, Eliana opened her laptop on her laps, typing the link from Jack's old message and clicking on the video as a meditation video started. The brunette straightened herself, sitting on her sofa, she put the laptop on the coffee table in front of her while following the voice's instructions. Now, her eyes closed, she inhaled and exhaled in a very slow motion to calm her heartbeat but also her head, to empty her mind from every thought that exhausted her. For a few minutes, she swore she felt her body float like the thoughts that weighted her down had flew away but the second she heard the FaceTime ringing sound, she collapsed right back in her couch. Eliana took a big breath before clicking on the green button, answering the weekly call from her mother.

"Hey M-" She stopped herself when seeing the figure appearing on her screen, frowning at it in utter confusion. "Dad?"

"Hey, chérie." He smiled which, after a few seconds, Eliana replicated. The brunette was surprised to see her father before her, he rarely participated in her mother's call, balancing Annie's over implication and protectiveness by not calling her as often. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good." Eliana simply said, not wanting to share everything she had been feeling for the past weeks and by the same token, worrying her father. "You?"

"Everything's been great." He slightly smiled as if he wanted to convince himself more than Eliana of the truthness of what had just came out of his mouth. He cleared his throat, his eyes looking everywhere but the screen, as he searched for the right words to say.

"What's going on?" Eliana frowned to the obvious tension that her father's expression projected. "You never call." She commented which made Vincent's heart pinch, hurt to hear the truth from his daughter's mouth, he never thought that it was something she could resent him for.

"I didn't want to tell you like this but your mother insisted." He paused, taking a heavy breath before continuing. "We're getting a divorce." He revealed, his gaze still fleeing his daughter's as a silent moment passed.

Eliana pressed her lips together before hastily closing her laptop, causing the call to end. If anything, the thought of her parents divorcing never crossed her mind. Despite their differences, Eliana always knew that her parents were deeply in love, they balanced each other out and that was why they were always happy. But Eliana had been wrong. Their financial problems had created a tension back in Moonbeam, Annie and Vincent's daily routine now consisted of fighting and arguing over the smallest thing in life, making them both miserable. Right now, when pacing around her apartment, heartbroken by the news, Eliana didn't understood why suddenly two people decided to separate despite loving each other. Maybe, eventually, she would. But not right now, she couldn't imagine a life where her parents weren't together. Yet their parents had made the ultimate choice because sometimes, fighting is too hard, too exhausting and that was why they had given up on repairing what was already been broken. But what was the most depressive for Eliana was that it was her parents' decision and she could do nothing about it. In desperate need of comfort, Eliana hastily walked out of her apartment and searched for him. She ran across the street and repeatedly knocked on his trailer's door. No answer. Eliana kept looking, inside and outside of the studio until she met with a familiar figure in the changing rooms. Jamie stood in front of the counter, adjusting the sleeves of his suit in front of the mirror which Eliana couldn't help but finally notice how good he looked in it. The brunette wrapped her arms around him, her head colliding with his back and instantly filling the void in her heart. Her eyes slowly closing to finally let herself calm down to his proximity.

"Hey, you." Jamie chuckled, his body gently turning so she could rest her head on his chest instead of his back, his lips placing a gentle kiss on her head. When Eliana didn't respond with her usual bright smile, that was when he understood that something was wrong. Jamie quickly glanced around and since he didn't want to risk their secret to be revealed, he motioned them into one of the changing cabins before locking it. When Jamie returned to face his girlfriend, he was met with a glossy gaze, the blue of her eyes contrasting with the redness of her face. She had been crying. "Hey, hey. What's going on?" Jamie approached, his hands cupping her cheeks as he wiped the tears from under her eyes, his eyebrows scrunched together as he ached for Eliana.

"My parents." She sniffled while gulping the lump in her throat that had stopped her from saying any more words. Jamie nodded, telling her with his eyes that he was listening, that no matter what she was about to reveal, he would be there for her. "They're getting a divorce."

Jamie sighed before pulling the brunette in his arms, resting his cheek on top of her head as he caressed her hair to help her calm down. The boy hated seeing her that way, it pained him, almost as if he felt what she was feeling, like they only shared one soul. When Jamie felt Eliana pull away from his chest, he understood she was now ready to talk. The girl wiped away the tears that still drenched her cheeks and chin before slightly smiling to the boy. "I'm sorry." She apologized which caused Jamie to shook his head and stepping closer to her, his hands finding hers. "It's just a shock that's all."

"It's okay, Lia. I understand. I'm always here for you, you know." He squeezed her hands in a reassuring way. "You never have to apologize for feeling your emotions."

Eliana slightly chuckled before propping herself up on her toes and kissing him. At first it was sweet and gentle but it quickly turned into a more fiery kiss. As Eliana's arms intuitively wrapped themselves around Jamie's neck, the boy gently pushed the girl against the wall, his hands lingering along the curve of her body. Both of their touch making the other one shiver underneath it.

"J?" A feminine voice echoed in the room, making the couple abruptly stop kissing and instead glaring at each other with widened eyes, stressed to be caught. Jamie cleared his throat before answering to the person who had called him. "Jim asked me to get you for the next scene." Bailey said.

"What do I do?" Eliana mouthed to the boy who gazed around the cabin, looking for a way to not reveal their secret. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." She repeatedly whispered to herself before Jamie pointed to the floor where a small space in between cabins was opened. Eliana nodded to the idea. To distract Bailey from looking toward that direction, Jamie unlocked the cabin and walked out of it while Eliana slid her body on the floor and crawled underneath the separating wall.

"Let's go." Eliana heard Jamie say to Bailey as she waited for their footfalls to become more distant to get out of the cabin, not wanting to raise suspicions from any of their friends. Eliana gently pulled the cabin's door, making sure it didn't creaked when she opened or closed it. The girl could feel her heart loudly beat in her chest as she made her way toward the changing room's exit.

"Oh my god!" Eliana jumped when she reached the door, coming face to face with her curly haired friend. Bailey's arms were crossed as a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "You scared me, Bails."

"Aren't you arriving on the dot." Bailey chuckled, scrutinizing her friend, her head tilted as her eyes slowly zigzagged on the brunette's face before walking back on set. Eliana frowned, replaying her friend's words in her mind as something felt off. Like Bailey's choice of words had meant something different than she had let on. The girl turned around, her eyes squinting as she tried to see her reflection before stepping closer and finally getting a good look. Her jaw dropped as realization struck her. Jamie's dots had messily stamped all over her face, probably during their kiss. The proof of their relationship and the only confirmation Bailey needed was painted on her face. How could they have been so careless? Now the single good thing in her life was at risk. Eliana sensed her phone buzzed in her pocket, quickly grabbing it to see her friend's text message, a smile forming on her lips when reading it.

BaiBai:

I knew it!

Don't worry your secret is safe with me but please, go wash your face.

I love you both <3