one of them - j.flatters

xviv. holiday secrets

DECEMBER 2018 - LOS ANGELES
It had almost been a year since Avatar's filming begun, causing Eliana to feel nostalgic with each passing day as the cast and crew started counting down the days that were left until the end. Jim had brought in a white board in the studio where the young girl was constantly reminded that in only a few months, she would have to go back to her life in Moonbeam, already hating the possibility of being separated from her friends, and out of their bubble. And as holidays started, Eliana would have a taste of this life she desperately wished wouldn't be hers as production had paused for the whole week, giving them time for their family to fly in Los Angeles for Christmas. Moonbeam had came to her and despite the recent news that had shattered her whole family, both of her parents had wished to stay with her in the apartment. Whenever in public or with the other kids' parents, Annie and Victor acted like they were getting along but behind closed doors or when they thought their daughter was sound asleep, they fought, screamed insults at the other one. But Eliana heard it all, her ear against the door of her bedroom, she listened to their muffled whispers, quickly realizing that her parent's relationship was unfixable. So, despite being on holidays, Eliana found herself even more stressed than when they were filming, her parents being the reason of it so when she woke up this morning, she almost felt relieved that it was their last day in Los Angeles, wishing deeply to regain a normal cycle of life. And since it was also most parents' last day with their children, the whole group had organized a day at the beach and decided to end it with one last supper at a fancy restaurant downtown.

"Can't you make an effort for our daughter, Annie?" Victor spat, his tone full of hatred toward the mother of his child as the trio walked toward the beach, all of their arms occupied by a towel and a bag. Annie had wished to stay back in the apartment, wanting to calmly pack for their return in Canada but Victor had convinced her otherwise, and Eliana was a tad glad that he had since she had hoped to pass one last day with her parents, all acting like the perfect happy family. Annie only scoffed to her ex-husband's words, not wanting to cause a scene as they approached the group who sat on the beach. Soon, the trio was greeted by the parents as Eliana almost instantly threw her towel on the sand and ran toward the water where all of her friends played in, escaping to pass any other infuriating moment with her parents. When the brunette reached the water, she only let it touch her feet, cooling down her body from the humid Californian heat that made her head throb. From afar, she waved at her friends, catching the eyes of a particular one who quickly join her by the shore.

"When did you get here?" Jamie blissfully grinned when he met his girlfriend's ocean like eyes as she smiled right back at him. Eliana couldn't stop her gaze from dropping to the boy's body, his wet hair sticking to the side of his face, the whole beach look making him even more attractive than he already was. Jamie's cheeks soon turned a shade darker as he noticed her staring, yet he didn't mind it but in that moment, he wished he could just pick her up and kiss her.

"A few minutes ago." She answered to his question, forcing a smile that curled her lips upwards, her eyes regaining the view before them but Jamie kept staring at her. His eyebrows knitted together, he tried to read the girl but her traits were numbed, even distant and the boy couldn't help but look back at the parents sitting farther down the beach. Annie and Victor must had do something with her attitude's change, she hadn't fully been herself ever since they had landed in Los Angeles. "Are you okay?" He asked, his tone concerned but very genuine. Eliana hummed before stepping deeper in the water to join their friends, completely shutting off any possibility to continue this conversation. That was the moment when Jamie knew that Eliana was in fact far from okay, her usual warmness had been shut off by herself and it broke the boy's heart to see the girl he loved drifting away, slipping through his fingers like the sand in between his toes. For a few hours the kids stayed in the water, all avoiding their parents' boring conversations or for some, simply avoiding their parents. All day long, Eliana tried her best to live in the present, to play with her friends, to be a teenager but all day long, she felt like she had sleepwalked, her mind barely alert as it realized that she was no longer at the beach but rather sitting in a fancy restaurant. The brunette's eyes widened as realization struck her traits, hastily dropping down to notice that her clothes had changed from her bikini to a green simple dress.

"Are you okay?" Jamie whispered, leaning closer to her ear as Eliana felt he had asked her that very same question only mere minutes ago. The girl nodded, her eyes repeatedly blinking as she felt suddenly dizzy. The brunette grabbed the glass of water in front of her and took a sip of the cold, refreshing liquid that seemed to bring her back from her trance, grounded. The boy's gaze flickered every seconds to the girl, worried to see her in this state and despite her want of keeping their relationship private, he couldn't stay still anymore. He couldn't continue watching her drown right in front of his eyes. So, in hope of comforting her, Jamie slid his hand under the table and reached for hers, he slipped his fingers in the palm of her hand and held tight, giving a reassuring yet electrical squeeze. Eliana bit her upper lip, trying her best to trap her smile as she kept her gaze focused before her but his touch was exactly what she needed to stop herself from getting too much in her head. With his thumb, Jamie caressed her skin, brushing off the leftover sand from the beach as he, too, tried to hide a grin. Instead, his cheeks got even warmer than they already were, growing a shade darker that soon took over all of his face.

But the teenagers were quickly reminded of the reality as Annie angrily whispered something to Victor, both of her parents' eyes glued to them, glaring at how close their bodies were. Eliana's face fell, her traits darkened as she had understood that they knew. They knew about Jamie and her and the timing couldn't be more wrong. The brunette quickly let go of his hand, abruptly getting up from her chair which scratched on the floor, causing a strident noise to brought everyone's attention to the girl. Eliana threw the white napkin on the table and said, "If you'll excuse me." Before she stormed out of the restaurant. Jamie went to follow her but was quickly stopped by Annie who blocked him the way, her arms crossed, she tried to intimidate the boy which made him sit back on his chair. As both Victor and Annie walked out of the restaurant to run after their daughter, Jamie was left to deal with his friends and parents' questioning stares.

"We're dating." He blurted out before exhaling out his relief, it truly felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest now that he had publicly announced his feelings toward Eliana to the people he was the most closest with. Eliana was wrong, keeping their relationship a secret was way more harder than simply being together. Jamie only hoped she would eventually get it, especially now that everyone knew.