Forever Misunderstood [Hailee Steinfeld]

IV

Today was an early start in the Chatteris Airfield near London. We arrived at the airfield as the sun rose in an attempt to get as many jumps as we possibly could. 

The first two hours on the airfield were spent checking gear, weather and planning the jump out. Tom had paired me with a stunt diver about Hailee's height and weight to prepare me best for the jump with her. Tom's idea was to meet mid-air, get behind her in a tandem skydive formation and clip her harness onto mine. 

In theory, the idea was elegant, but it is a difficult stunt to pull off when falling from 7000 metres in turbulent air with minimal manoeuvrability. Of the five jumps we got in today with a professional diver, I had only managed one successful attempt. Twice, I couldn't get close enough to clip the harness, and the other two times, I struggled to get the clip on well enough to trust us landing together. We had to disengage with the hook not securely attached before pulling our chutes and landing separately.

With our penultimate attempt of the day, I managed to get comfortable with the movement to get the hook on quickly and securely, allowing us to land together. The landing was a rough tumble, with the extra weight causing imbalance, but otherwise, it was a glorious success. 

"Holy! Y/N, you pulled it off." Tom said, pulling me in for a hug. "That was fucking wild! But I got the move figured out now. Let's give this a shot with Hailee now." I told Tom. His face was a mixture of shock and happiness. "Okay." he paused, taking time to think. "Okay. Let's get Hailee geared up. Let's do today's last jump with her." Tom shouted out to the crew.

Upon his instructions, the crew scattered, preparing for our final jump for the day with the sun setting on the horizon. 

Minutes later, Hailee walked out geared up, ready for the jump. "Great, Hailee. You are here. Ray, get here and give her one final run-through." Tom ordered Ray, the lead skydiving instructor. I sat around waiting for the plane to be fueled up and for Hailee to be prepared for my final jump for the day. 

Twenty minutes had passed since Ray took Hailee for the final brief, and I started to get impatient. While skydiving was enthralling and exciting, it was also extremely tiring, and I was starving. I got up and went to the office, where Ray and Tom were still talking to Hailee. Anyone present could immediately notice her uneasiness. 

I knocked, alerting everyone to my presence, when Tom turned to Hailee and dismissed her. Afterwards, Ray let me in, saying, "Hailee is having last-minute jitters. And I don't blame her. It's not exactly the safest stunt. Tom gave her time to think through and work through her fear." "Let's call it here for today. You and Hailee can jump first thing tomorrow." Tom added, but before he could continue, I butted in. "Let me talk to her. Give me fifteen minutes to convince her." "The sun sets in fifty, fifty-five minutes, which gives us about twenty-five, thirty minutes before we have to take off. That's all the time you have." Ray answered, but I had already run away by then. 

I was standing in the parking lot where all our trailers were parked. I walked up to Hailee's and stood at the front door, reevaluating my decision to talk to her. I did dislike her. But in the interest of the movie, I heaved a deep breath before knocking on her door.

"Who's it?" Her voice shouted out. "Y/N." I answered, definitely surprising her. "Oh. Okay. One second." She shouted back. That was followed by the sound of her boots thumping on the carpeted floor of her trailer before the door slowly opened.

Our eyes met, and I immediately regretted my decision, but I had committed to this. I didn't want to have anything to do with her, but I mustered the words. "Hey, Hailee." "Hey," she muttered back. "If it's about the jump, I am sorry. I am a little anxious." she continued. "It is. I was wondering if you needed an ear?" I replied. She looked at the ground, taken aback by my concern. "Yepp," she admitted shamefully.