Wake Up - EDEN
Over the course of her three year world tour, Nicole had learned many things; how the American tipping system work, that Spanish came in handy more than she realised, that she loved Japanese cuisine, and arguably the most important lesson, how to efficiently live out of a suitcase.
Nicole had an extensive system when it came to packing her battered yellow hard-shelled suitcase that Adrien could never seem to wrap his head around. She always packed the day before leaving; Adrien would come round and sit on her bed, chatting about Nicole's destinations, watching as she rolled up items of clothing. It was bittersweet, watching her pack up again. It felt like she had only just returned. Adrien knew that, secretly, Nicole was happiest when she was on tour; when she had returned to London after years, Nicole went through a brief period of melancholy. Adrien knew Nicole missed the excitement of the road. Though the tour was only to be a month, the effects on Nicole were to last a lot longer.
'I'm done,' Nicole announced, grabbing the open suitcase from the bed and placing it on the floor. She had somehow packed within an hour, which was a new personal best; it was like she wasn't even thinking when she was packing, she acted like a robot. Adrien watched as Nicole stood in place for a moment, her hands on her hips, her head rotating. 'Where's my phone?'
'I haven't seen it all day.' Adrien said, searching around the bed. 'It's probably downstairs.'
'I'll find it eventually,' Nicole stretched, raising her arms upward. 'You peckish?'
The two headed downstairs to sort out dinner. Eva was sat on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, typing away furiously on her laptop. Final year university work was piling on faster than Eva had anticipated. She was trying to juggle numerous assignments alongside a part time job as a host at a burger joint in busy Westfield. She was also receiving freelance work from a newspaper that one of her professors had recommended her to, so Eva was in a frenzy. She was praying that the Christmas holidays would come around quickly.
'Hey, have you seen my phone?' Nicole asked, peering over the living room.
'Yeah,' Eva told her, her eyes still locked on the screen. 'Nath took it this morning to get it repaired.' Nicole shook her head, smiling to herself. She had been meaning to get her screen repaired since she smashed it, but never had time.
'Your boyfriend's running errands for you now, ay? When's he moving in then?' Adrien teased, poking Nicole's back as he walked toward the kitchen. He took a Coke can from the fridge and started sipping on it, leaning forward against the kitchen island.
Eva's concentration on her studies immediately shot out the window, he eyes wide. 'Boyfriend? Since when were you two exclusive?' Adrien smirked at Nicole, who was searching through the freezer for food.
'They've been together for weeks, Eva, how have you not realised? I see him more often around here than you.'
'I knew they were sleeping together but I didn't know it was like, a thing!' Nicole let out a snort as she read the instructions on the back of a packet of veggie burgers. 'I will battle him for my place here.'
'Don't you have a boyfriend? Creepy guy, reeks of every drug that has ever existed?' Eva rolled her eyes at Adrien. 'Why didn't you move in with him?'
'His...living situation, is, er, isn't...ideal.' Adrien raised his eyebrow as he watched Eva stare down at her laptop to avoid his gaze. Though a few seconds later, she cocked her head upward and looked right at him. 'How come you don't live next door anymore?'
'Parents sold it so they could move to New York.'
'I still can't believe they did that,' Nicole commented, shutting the freezer. She had a few bits and pieces in her hands that she thought she could prepare a decent meal out of.
'I've got a place in Lambeth now,' Adrien explained. He then shot Eva a smile. 'There's plenty room for you if Nic kicks you out.'
'Can you stop flirting and turn the oven on?'
Nicole was smirking widely; Adrien's cheeks flushed as he quickly stood up straight. Eva's attention diverted back to her laptop. Just after flicking the oven on, Adrien jokingly went to throw his hands around Nicole's neck, but Nicole was caught off guard, so she slammed back into the cabinets behind her. Eva glanced over as the two collapsed into a fit of hard laughter, pondering her roommate's words.
~
London felt a lot smaller to Nathan that night. He lay in bed besides Nicole, twirling her locks around his fingers. She had washed her hair before bed, so the smell of peppermint was fresh and in abundance. The talk of flight times and luggage allowance meant that it had finally dawned on Nathan that he wasn't to see his girlfriend for a solid month. The last time Nicole had set off on tour, she didn't come back to London for three straight years. That scared Nathan.
'Babe?' Nicole hummed in response, confirming that she was still awake; Nathan knew that she always slept deeply after washing her hair. 'Why were you gone for so long last time you left?'
Nicole opened her eyes after hearing his question. She peered up at him, but Nathan was staring at the ceiling. 'All I had to come back to was this empty house and the ghost of my mother. I knew that once I got back, I had to come to terms with her death. I was in denial for years.' Nicole sighed deeply, resting her face on Nathan's shoulder. 'I have someone to come back to now.'
Nathan shut his eyes for a moment, pondering whether the words should leave his lips. He hated how helpless he felt, like a liability, like a child. 'Would you ever take off again?'
'Hey,' Immediately Nicole reached for his face, turning him so he was facing her. 'I told you, Nath, I'm not going anywhere just yet, I'm coming back.'
'You don't know that, Nic, you've got the kind of job that could take you anywhere. Your London is my Brighton, Nic. I felt trapped there, so I left, and now I barely ever go back.'
Nathan's gaze went to Nicole as she sat up. Turning, she slipped her leg to the other side of Nathan so she was straddling him. She took his hands in hers, pulling him up, moving her hands up to his face as they gap between them closed in.
'Nathan, baby, I'm not trapped. I'm right here, right now, with you, because I want to be here. Sure, I don't know where my job is going to take me, I don't know what's going to happen after I come back, but Nathan, I am coming back, that's a promise.'
'Okay,' Nathan felt a weight lift as he placed his hands on Nicole's hips, though his curiosity was as alive as ever. 'I know you don't plan on staying in London forever.'
'I don't know, I don't stay put very long, but London's the closest thing I have to a home,' Nicole brushed her thumb across Nathan's cheek as she spoke. 'It's been nice, being constant, but I came back here for a break, to figure out what to do next. I guess I'll know when I figure that out.'
'Where have you thought of moving?'
'LA's crossed my mind a couple times, cause that's where the whole music industry is, and California is an absolute dream.'
The pair settled back into bed and Nathan lay there, listening to his girlfriend speak so highly of sunny California. In that moment, Nathan knew that it was only so long until he lost Nicole to the industry; the tour was only just the beginning.
That was why he was so bitter about letting Nicole go at the airport gate. The backup dancers were bidding their goodbyes to their loved ones; Beck was there for his sister, a tall girl with a pixie cut and a grin too wide for her face. Nicole's arms were resting around Nathan's neck, their faces close, but not touching. The pair had agreed on daily early morning FaceTime sessions and text messages to get them through the time apart. Nathan held her tight when she kissed him goodbye.
For a moment, as he watched her walk away, laughing with her friends, beaming with excitement, Nathan doubted how much he really meant to her.
