⌞ long live ⌝

⌞ twenty-three : makeover ⌝

" Everything is going to be okay, I swear. "

___

Life was perfect in London. I thought I loved Monte Carlo, which I do because it's home, but London was coming up. The city was beautiful, and even though it wasn't sunny all the time, I found comfort in the light rain. And the city has a nice bustle to it. The constant sound made it easy for me to find peace just sitting in the window at Lewis's flat or watching the rain come down from my bed when I didn't want to get up just yet. 

"Lu, can we come in?" 

I sat up, giving myself a quick lookover. I fell asleep in my clothes from the day. Lewis and Nico said we needed a day in because the rain was going to ruin whatever they had planned. I was in a Mercedes jumper I had stolen from Lewis and a pair of gym shorts. Decent. 

"Yeah, come in." 

The door opened. Lewis and Nico came in, sitting on either side of me. Both of them pulled me into a hug as we all laid there. It was another rainy day and just two days away from Silverstone. I wondered if we were going to have another day in. I wouldn't complain, they were nice. Comforting. 

"How are you, sweets?" 

"Good, actually good." 

Nico smiled, resting his head on mine as I leaned against his shoulder. "We have an idea we want to run across you?" 

My heart stopped for a second. I didn't know what it was going to be. I was scared, nervous- fuck, I didn't know. My entire life was running past my eyes, focusing on anything I could have done wrong this week. They were going to send me home, they were going to tell me that they didn't want me here anymore, something. It was always something. 

"Lewis and I were wondering if you wanted to go shopping today. You need something for this weekend." 

"Wait- that's it?" 

"Yes?" 

I let out a sigh and relaxed. My body had habitually tensed at those words but now, there was no reason to worry. They weren't sending me away. Lewis let out a chuckle, realizing what had happened, and ruffled my hair. 

"We can also go get you a haircut." 

"Really?" 

"Oh, yes. I can tell you cut this yourself with a plan in mind that didn't exactly follow the image. You still have it?" 

I nodded. "It's on my phone." 

"Good, let's go get you that haircut, and then we can go shopping." 

___

I was shaking with excitement as we walked into the salon. A lady greeted Lewis as she walked over to us. I held a little tighter to Nico's hand as they talked. Nico gave my hand three squeezes. I did the same back. 

"Darla, this is my Lu. Lu, this is Darla." 

"Salut." 

"Oh, I knew you were French when you stepped in here. It's the air and those beautiful cheekbones. A beauty." 

"Merci..." 

Lewis chuckled. "Show Darla what you want, love." 

I nodded and let go of Nico's hand to grab my phone from the back pocket of my jeans. I scrolled for a second and found the picture, showing it to her. The lady took a second to look at it, then me, and back at the picture before smiling.