"I really want to get drunk and forget today happened."

That's what Everleigh said the moment they touched down in Winnipeg. And what she repeated the few days she spent there, hounded by paparazzi to the point she couldn't trust the room service waiter. When she'd finally decided fuck it, she found herself getting drunk at the hotel bar on bad shots and an empty stomach on her last day in the chilly Canadian city. (If she passed out, maybe she'd make the front page.) (Maverick's rumoured girlfriend gets absolutely shittered at Canadian hotel bar: EXCLUSIVE.)

If things weren't already bad, it might've brought her joy—well, maybe not joy, rather, a semblance of annoying normalcy—when her mother called her. Maybe Everleigh should not have answered the phone a little too sloshed for her own good, but Dawn Meadowlark was nothing if not persistent and would've continued to call had she not.

"Sup?"

"You did not just answer your phone with sup."

"Yup." Everleigh should've hung up. The P pop was enough to make her want to lose her last shot.

"Everleigh Jane, are you okay?" Dawn asked. "Your father's been worried sick about you the last couple days. Says it seems like something's happened. You didn't even call for New Year's."

That was code for Troy had seen the articles about her and Maverick and kept Dawn away from them. She appreciated that—she should call him more.

"'M fine," Everleigh said. "Is that what you called for?"

"I wanted to ask when your next time in London is."

"Potentially around Roman's birthday, but I haven't got the approval yet. Might have to fly to New York."

Born on Valentine's Day, of course. Ever the perfect man for her mother to fawn over. Giving her an excuse to give him little heart shaped marshmallows and chocolates along with the cardigans she bought him every year that Everleigh had never seen him wear. (She wasn't sure where her mother had gotten the idea he liked cardigans, it's not like he'd worn them before she started buying them for him.) (Troy loved having Roman around for Valentine's day so he didn't get gifted the cardigans from his wife—he lived with her, he had to wear them whether he liked them or not.) Everleigh and Roman usually snuck outside after everyone was asleep and did shots of whatever liquor Everleigh gifted him to make up for her mother's cardigans. Sometimes Troy joined them, too.

"Florence has had her baby a couple weeks early," Dawn said. "We're in the hospital right now."

Wonderful. That made Everleigh feel peachy fuckin' keen.

Hold your damn tongue for once in your life, Everleigh, you stupid bitch.

"Really?" Her voice was quieter, less headstrong.

"She really wants you to meet her."

"Did they name her?"

"Navi," Dawn said, "after Roman's mother."

"How do you feel about that?" Everleigh couldn't help but stir the pot. She raised her finger to the bartender for another shot.

"I think it's cute."

"It is cute." Everleigh never doubted her sister would give her kid the best name possible. Navi was perfectly them, probably a hyphenated last name. Navi Meadowlark-Sahota. (Sahota-Meadowlark?) Everleigh nodded a thank you to the bartender for giving her another shot, she downed it quickly. "I'll try to visit soon."

"Good."

"What should I get them?" Everleigh hadn't seen the registry. She wasn't sure she'd even gotten access to it.

"Would you like to ask Roman?"

"No, I don't want to ask Roman. He's got to take care of my niece while Flo sleeps. Don't distract him from that."

Something like a smile hinted at Dawn's voice. "Protective."

Everleigh rolled her eyes and made a mocking face. Wiped it off before she spoke again. "Doing my best."

"It suits you."

"Wait until Navi can't pronounce my name," Everleigh said. "I'll go back to normal when she starts speaking. Promise. Auntie Ev will not cut it."

"Cheeky."

Considering she'd started the phone call with the impulsive want to hang up, Everleigh almost liked the comfortable silence her and her mother fell into. Something was different. Dawn wasn't asking her about boys and Everleigh wasn't defying those questions by stuffing every ounce of bitch she possessed into each shitty answer. Maybe becoming a grandmother made Dawn realize there was someone else she could divert her unwanted attention to. Everleigh would appreciate that, but also do her best to save her niece from that.

"Your father is asking if he can talk with you," Dawn said, "that okay?"

Now her mother was asking for consent to be kept on the phone longer? Christ. Did her mother hit her head on the way to the hospital?

"Yeah, fine."

"Love you, Leigh."

"Love you, mum."

Everleigh wasn't sure the last time she'd said that. Shit.

"Hey, Leigh."

"Hiya."

"Jesus, are you smashed?"

"Little bit."

"Did your mother notice?" Troy's voice went lower. Before rising when Everleigh assumed he'd walked away from Dawn. "Never mind. She seems happy. Thank you."

"You wanted to talk?"

"I don't want to upset you further," Troy said, "so you can stop me at any time."

"Okay."

"I mean that, Everleigh."

Good lord, he was full naming her? What the fuck was he about to say?

"... Okay?"

"You know how I have that... newsfeed thing when I open the internet."

Everleigh swallowed hard. She shook her head at the bartender silently asking if she wanted another drink. She tucked her phone into her shoulder. "Water, please?" The bartender nodded. When she pressed the phone back to her ear, Everleigh hummed a soft, "Mhmm."

"I want you to know I'm not trying to pry on any relationship this might be," Troy said. Everleigh knew that. He never was one to pry, just be open with his curiosity—mostly respectful that she was her own person despite being his daughter. "I just wanted to ask if this was someone you're seeing. It's okay if that answer is a maybe or it's something you don't want to talk about."

"I'm not seeing Kingston romantically," Everleigh said, "if that's what you're asking."

"I thought the article said his name was—"

"He goes by his last name professionally," Everleigh said a little too quickly. "Probably what you're talking about."

"I didn't show your mum the photos," Troy said, "and from what I can tell, she hasn't seen them."

"That's good."

"But you looked really happy, Leigh," Troy said, "Happier than I've seen you in a long time."

"It was a birthday present from him. Um. Belated. Got me tickets to see MARS."

"Those tickets your sister forgot about?"

Everleigh laughed. It seemed silly now to hold her frustration with Florence for a year when it too Maverick a minute and a half to get her tickets. "Yeah. Those. Kingston's friends with the band."

"Sounds like a nice man."

"I think he is." Everleigh took a sip of the water the bartender placed in front of her. "But seeing him again means cameras. I hated seeing those photos of myself, Pa."

"You might've hated them," Troy said, "but you weren't paying attention to those cameras. You were paying attention to him."

"I don't—"

"When you used to video call us with that other boy..." Troy trailed off. "I can't be arsed to remember his name, sorry."

Everleigh snorted. "Donny."

"You never looked at him when you guys called. You always looked at us and never took your eyes off the screen."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I was looking to make sure you were happy. And it didn't seem like you were."

"And you're saying I look happy when I'm with Kingston. That could've just been—" Everleigh stopped herself. She really did want to try and not be such a shit. Especially if her parents were excited about their new granddaughter.

Troy laughed. "Argue all you want, Leigh. I know what I saw."

"Please don't tell mum."

"I won't," Troy said. "But I think she's got a valentine's cardigan hidden in our closet should you ever venture to bring a boy here who she likes. Who makes you happy."

"Well, then I'll definitely spare him from that. You'll never meet my friend Kingston."

"He looked like the type to actually wear it because your mother gave it to him."

"He would," Everleigh said, "and he'd look like a dorky primary school teacher. Not a look that most DJs go for, Pa."

"Looked like a Forbidden Planet employee in those photos." Oh, Troy and his comic books. A constant in Everleigh's life.

Everleigh laughed. "Yeah, he did."

"Almost worked on him."

"Definitely worked on him."

"You almost sound like you like his company and aren't using him to see your favourite band."

"I'm actually just a shite person and wanted to meet Stevie, it's true, Pa."

Troy laughed. "Dumbass."

"Born and raised."

"Don't be a stranger, Leigh," Troy said. "I'll always pick up."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

*

Everleigh didn't want to admit it out loud to a surely smug Maverick, but his album was good. Little pop, little rap, little sampled. Lyrics that kind of slapped her in the face, which she never would have expected from someone who got shy about saying sex in front of her. Some of his songs were a lot more honest and vulnerable than she thought they'd be. (Maybe she'd bought his other album while she cried to Lost In Translation the first time.) (That was a confession she wouldn't even verbalize on her death bed—she was taking that to the grave. Nothing would allow Maverick the satisfaction.) Everleigh folded clothes into her suitcase that she'd barely unpacked in the first place—she wasn't in Winnipeg long, after all. She was never anywhere long. She was on her way to Phoenix soon. She'd never been there.

Sometimes Everleigh missed home. Not often, as she was rarely there, but that day she did. Packing her things before her flight, she nodded her head to the music playing in her headphones. A carefully curated mix of MARS and Maverick put on shuffle before she continually skipped until she found the song she'd wanted to play in the first place. The acoustic version of Abstract Blue and Maverick's You Used to Like My Poetry were the perfect numbing songs while she tried her best to stay afloat in her thoughts.

It wasn't that she missed anything specific. But sleeping in her bed was nice. When they weren't pestering her about relationships or what her hair looked like, Everleigh enjoyed seeing her parents as well. Mostly. Even Florence was tolerable most times. She didn't miss them all that often, but when she did, her emotions played tug of war with her intestines. Soon enough, she'd have to get clinic hours in for her degree—she wasn't sure whether a worldly traveller was allowed to constantly change clinics, but she'd have to talk to an academic advisor on whether that was possible. Put that on her never ending list of things she had to do for her life.

There she was. Losing it again.

Thank God her phone rang.

(She'd never said that before.)

"Hello?" Everleigh said. She hadn't checked before asking her headphones to pick up.

"Why am I staring at your ceiling?"

Everleigh's eyes widened as she snuck a glance over at her phone. "Did you video call me?"

"Did you not accept the call?"

"Hold on one moment, please." Everleigh looked around the room for a shirt—cleaning up her hotel rooms was always nicer in a sports bra, tricked her brain into thinking she was actually working out—before realizing the one in her hands was going to have to work.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, I just—" Everleigh stuffed her arms through the sleeves of her shirt. "I wasn't expecting a call."

"Are you putting a shirt on? Am I interrupting—"

"No," Everleigh said as she popped her head through the collar and picked her phone up. Christ, Maverick looked confused. "Well. Yes, I was putting a shirt on, but no, you weren't interrupting anything."

Maverick waved his hand like he was casting a magic spell. "Hey, Everleigh Meadowlark. How are you? Thanks for picking up."

Ah. The memory erase spell. Everleigh knew it well and appreciated it. "Hi, Kingston. I'm well, how are you?"

"Great," Maverick said.

"What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Maverick said. His confusion had transitioned to concern. "I'm sorry an actual face to face call hasn't worked out until... point is, I'm here now if you want to say anything. You never called me back."

"This isn't face to face."

"You're avoiding the question."

"No, I'm not."

"Not answering it implies avoiding it."

Everleigh shook her head. "I'm not avoiding it."

Maverick pressed his lips together, almost like he was poorly attempting not to laugh at her. "Sure."

"We don't have to talk about this."

"I want to talk about it," Maverick said. "I feel bad about it."

"Where are you right now?"

"Salt Lake City."

"Yeesh," Everleigh said. "Look at you."

"I like it here. Gotta sightsee the High School Musical sets."

Everleigh raised her eyebrows at him. "Ring-a-ding-ding."

"Mock all you want," Maverick said, "Chad Danforth? Exquisite."

Everleigh snorted. "That's true."

"You're telling me you never wanted to visit East High?"

"I can't say that it has ever crossed my mind the few times I've been to Utah."

"Not living your life to the fullest, Meadowlark."

"I'm all right, actually."

"What would Everleigh Meadowlark rather do in Salt Lake City?"

"Everleigh Meadowlark's probably sitting in her hotel room studying or watching a film. Not gallivanting around high schools."

"Has your semester started?"

"Tomorrow."

"What are you taking?"

"Stats, mental health four, I think I have another tech course as well, and something about patient care. They all kind of blur together in upper levels."

"You have to learn how to be nice, don't you?"

"Yeah, course is called How To Fix Meadowlark's Bitchiness." Everleigh snorted as she looked for a place to prop her phone up so she could continue packing. She went with leaned against the screen of her open laptop.

Maverick laughed. "Harsh."

"Where's your stop after this one?" Everleigh folded a shirt and placed it in her suitcase.

"Think I'm going to Vegas straight after the concert tonight," Maverick said. "I'll have to sleep on the bus."

"I think we really need to work on your trip-planning skills."

"You mean you wouldn't recommend going to Vegas for a concert, then Reno, then Salt Lake City, then back to Vegas? You're sure?"

"I think there's a better way."

"I think Reno was an added show when they found out I was going for MARS. Wanted to squeeze out another one."

"You need a day off."

"It'll happen soon enough, Meadowlark."

"Not soon enough if they keep giving you shite schedules."

"Putting that mental health training to good use there, nurse."

"Shut up."

"And there's the patient care."

"I can stop talking to you if you'd like—"

"No," Maverick said, a little too quick.

Everleigh raised an eyebrow at him while she folded a pair of jeans.

"I mean, yeah, if you want. But not if you're doing it to spite me. I'll stop."

Everleigh breathed out a soft laugh. "Okay, Kingston. I won't hang up. No more free care, though."

"I'm Canadian. Free healthcare is my love language."

"That's, like, your second strike right there." Everleigh laughed. "One more and I'm hanging up."

"Are you really okay?" Maverick asked. Everleigh stayed quiet as she grabbed more clothes to stuff in her suitcase—why she packed that much was beyond her. Maverick sighed. "I'll buy you dinner for your thoughts next time I see you."

"Capitalism has ruined even a penny for my thoughts?"

"I owe you dinner."

"Please." Everleigh scoffed and shook her head.

"I'm being serious, Everleigh. For two minutes, can we be serious?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Anything."

"It's not your fault. I said that already and I stand by it."

"Doesn't mean you can't be upset."

"Are you going to psychiatrist college?" Everleigh asked. "And you're using me as a test subject?"

"Is that what it would take to get you to talk to me?"

Everleigh dropped her hands, a lone t-shirt in them. She looked at her phone. "You're genuinely concerned about this, aren't you?"

Maverick's jaw nearly fell off the hinges. "You're scaring the shit out me by treating this like it's normal. I'm afraid when I call you're not going to pick up and I'm terrified that you're going to decide that being in my life isn't worth it because of how fucking nosey those people are. So, yes, call me genuinely concerned. I am. Because I'm so fucking used to people being mad at me about this that I can't physically comprehend that you're not upset with me."

"I'm not."

"See? That." Maverick snapped his fingers and swung his hand at her wildly. "You bust my balls about everything but this you're treating normally? What the fuck?"

Everleigh shrugged.

"Don't shrug at me, Meadowlark."

Everleigh dropped her hands. "Don't tell me what to do, Maverick."

"Please yell at me."

"Do you have a fucking negativity kink or something?" Everleigh asked. "Why do you want me mad at you?"

"Because it's better than thinking you're internalizing something and hurting without telling me."

"God, yes! It fucking sucked and I wanted to crawl in a hole and fucking die because one of the best nights of my life was caught on cameras I didn't know were there and my face was plastered in every fucking place that I never wanted it to be, but that's fine, it's not your fault and I can't be mad at you about it for existing, Kingston. Is that what you wanted?"

"Yes."
Everleigh threw a hand in the air. "Great. You're welcome. Feels great doesn't it?"

"Everleigh."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I... I didn't think you would... cry."

Everleigh reached a hand up to her cheek. Jesus fuckin' Christ, that was perfect. She walked over to the box of tissues and grabbed one before sitting down on the bed and grabbing her phone. Dabbing at tears, Everleigh looked to her phone again. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. I'm not a crier."

"You can be a crier."

Everleigh shook her head. "Crying is stupid."

"Crying helps." Maverick ran the back of his nose. Pushed his glasses up with his knuckle as he wiped a finger under his eye. He swallowed hard, too. "It helps."

Everleigh laughed wetly. "Are you crying too?"

"Seeing people cry makes me cry." Maverick wiped his cheek with his thumb. "Sue me."

Everleigh sniffled. "Don't cry too hard. You'll ruin your voice."

"I have oil of oregano somewhere," Maverick said, "that'll work."

"Fancy man."

"I'm sorry, Everleigh. I really am."

"It's still not your fault."

"Was it seriously the best night of your life?"

Everleigh laughed. "Stop."

"Better than any night you've ever had with—"

Everleigh snorted. Loudly. Covered her mouth when she laughed harder and snorted louder.

"Oh my God." Maverick laughed, threw his head back. "I knew you snorted when you laughed, I didn't know you were a snort laugher—"

"Shut up, Kingston."

"That's wonderful."

"You're a dumbass."

"Oh, definitely," Maverick said through laughter. "But you're a snort laugher—"

"Oh my God."

"Thousand times more embarrassing than being a dumbass."

"Is that why you called? To make fun of my snorting?"

"That was just a bonus."

Everleigh laughed. "Lucky you."

"Feel better now that you've said it out loud?"

Everleigh smiled as her laughter died down. "Yeah. I do. Thank you."

"For whatever it may be worth," Maverick said, "I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to the tabloids. You're exactly the kind of person they would love to take photos of."

"You want me to be stalked?"

Maverick rolled his eyes. "Only you would take that that way. I'm trying to say you're not awful looking."

"Really rolling with the compliments, Kingston." Everleigh laughed.

"You're not easy to compliment. Feel like I'm going to get insulted."

"You are whether you compliment me or not."

"You... you know you're gorgeous, right?" Maverick said. Everleigh stopped laughing. She stopped laughing. "Like, that's not something I actually had to say for you to understand?"

Everleigh shrugged.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"We can't all be Kingston Maverick."

"Ever—" Maverick looked taken aback. "Wait. Was that almost a compliment?"

"Shut up. Maybe."

"I should be screen-recording this," Maverick said, "are you serious?"

Everleigh bit her bottom lip for a moment. Considering her words carefully. "I think you're objectively attractive. That awful to say?"

"Not awful." Maverick shook his head. "Just a lot more confident than I was trying to say it to you."

"Pathetic attempt, really." Everleigh couldn't fight the sarcasm that flew past her lips. "Everleigh Meadowlark, you're positively radiant should be the simplest sentence you've ever had to say."

"Everleigh Meadowlark, you're positively radiant."

"See?" Everleigh kept her cool. Tried to fight the brain monster gobbling at her self esteem and telling her he was never going to say it if she hadn't put words into his mouth. "Perfect."

"I mean it, Everleigh. Even if I couldn't quite figure out the words in quite the right way."

Everleigh smiled. "Even poets need rough drafts."

Maverick laughed. "One day I'll have the perfect song for what I want to say to you. I promise."

*

When Everleigh walked out of PHX, she took a photo of the sunset in Instagram and leaned against the façade of the airport as she put a small location tag on her photo and posted it to her story. As it posted, Everleigh saw she had a notification in her messages. Swiping to her messages, Everleigh's eyes widened.

No way.

She pressed the message as she stepped away from the building, waving her hand as a cab drove near. The woman pulled over and Everleigh got in the back, saying her hotel's address quickly before giving her attention to her direct messages. She was warned right away that it would take a little while to get there.

this is probably blasphemy to ask but what's your fav scary movie

Everleigh smiled. The answer came to her quickly: scream 2.

were you actually asking or did you just watch scream?

either way, well played.

also, hiya!

hi! Stevie didn't take long to reply, which felt like an honour in and of itself. Everleigh must've caught her at a good time.

jun and i have been slowly going through all of the movies you've posted about

still need to watch the 2nd

but i'm still recovering from having baby neve and skeet on my screen

Everleigh's heart swelled a little in her chest. There were few people who actually listened to her movie recommendations when she posted them on her Instagram, but it warmed her heart to know that Stevie and Jun did. a whole mood, they had no business being so distracting <3

Dewey has my whole heart. 😍😍😍

did Jun enjoy?

he was too busy also staring at neve and skeet but he enjoyed

ate all of my popcorn too

rude.

hope he's making you more.

popcorn is a must.

i actually just sent him out to get more.

... hope i'm not bothering you at like 4 in the morning or something...

LOL, no don't worry. just landed in phoenix. Everleigh was a little tired, but nothing that warranted a pause in conversation.

probably going to watch some other horror movie at the hotel. will let you know if it's good, haha.

are you just hanging out or did you have work today?

hopefully not werewolf in the catacombs

we had an interview for this magazine today

not to be so ~woe is me~ but talking about myself is the actual worst

if i ever watch that it's because i've been clockwork oranged and my eyeballs are being peeled open. (Clockwork Orange was also a movie Everleigh hated.) (She got the point of it, she just knew it was something she wouldn't watch again.)

that sounds awful, i'm sorry. were there at least any interesting questions? :(

you don't have to tell me if it's an NDA thing, it's cool, i'm being nosey, lol.

oh i love breaking nda's!!

honestly nothing... terrible, i guess. but it's kind of like... why would anyone find this remotely interesting lol

i'm not used to all this stuff yet tbh.

but i guess there's worst things to complain about lol

it sounds overwhelming, tbh. if that helps validate. you guys give good interviews but the amount there are blow my mind. seems like you're always being force to talk about something.

you guys need breaks, haha.

*blushes* thank u. i feel like a broken record sometimes

kinda wish i could be like "pls direct yourselves to the last interview we did thanks"

i would say we prob won't have any *real* breaks until after the album drops but then we have to do promo & stuff so

first world problems

you're allowed to be weirded out by the way your life plays out. first world problems or not. <3 Everleigh would always be an advocate that every person's normal was different and no one should be shamed for a struggle. That was important to her.

shame it feels so overwhelming, i'm sorry. :(

will send you daily movie recs when promo is happening. <3

pls do jun and i need something to do when we're bored out of our mind

my letterboxd has never been so active

(also thank you, you're a gem)

us & it follows are good!

Everleigh considered her recommendation for a moment and typed quickly. maybe don't watch it follows with someone else.

she's a horny one.

hornier than the average horror movie.

should've been the tagline 😂

(any time <3) Everleigh genuinely meant that. She'd never been the first person people thought of to rant to, but she was always there when they made their way over. It made her feel good that Stevie trusted her with something like that.

ooh yes, us has been on my watchlist foreverrr

this is embarrassing to say

and we've never admitted this to anyone before but

jun and i were scrolling one day and found this movie called zombie strippers????

-100/10 do not recommend

... i have unfortunately seen this one. Everleigh grimaced. Werewolf in the Catacombs, Giant Spider Invasion, and Zombie Strippers were all up there as a reason for people to hate the entire horror genre. Everleigh had sat through some truly heinous horror movies before she found her niche in the more social thrillers like the ones Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta made.

it's almost worse than the werewolf in the catacombs 🤮

i wanted to bleach my eyeballs aehtaklth

that was a bad day when i sat through that LOL. (It had been a truly awful Valentine's Day when Everleigh subjected herself to that film, two bottles of rosé, and an entire box of assorted chocolates where only half of them actually tasted good.) (Now, she stayed on flights for Valentine's Day as often as she could to scrub the memory of that from her brain.)

free prime movies deserve no rights, it's true.

can you imagine if m*ver was in that?? Everleigh laughed at the censor of Maver's name. It made sense.

literally would have had to burn my eyes

censoring his name feels right, thank you for that.

god, he would've made it even more unwatchable LOL.

deserves a razzie for every performance.

brb writing in to the razzies demanding they give awards to personalities

the only award he'd sweep every season <3

iconic of him honestly

still replaying mav's drink performance in my head

some of Kingston's best work, i think.

really grabbed some random person's beer, i thought he was about to drink it. planned it well in advance. it was impressive.

tbh i would've thought he was going to drink it too if i saw him

our bozo deserves that academy award

Everleigh laughed. Maverick really did, it was the performance of a lifetime. can't believe we know a razzie winner and an academy award winner, wow.

points for us, really.

we're so well connected

how was the rest of your new year's btw ❤️

lauren, jun, and i drank champagne on the floor and watched the fireworks from the top floor of some hotel i can't remember the name of anymore so

good stuff

that sounds phenomenal! Everleigh enjoyed her New Years, that was for certain. But the photos that had been taken still made her skin crawl. She didn't like the idea of witnesses to her happiness that weren't bringing that happiness to her night.

new years was... interesting?

i'm shocked you don't already know. feels like most of the world does.

headline is: i am *not* Kingston's girlfriend.

shocking, i know.

oh?

i try to avoid headlines. for obvious reasons.

did they take pics at the show? they're so sneaky with those cameras i swear

the show, after the show, the next morning.

Everleigh's eyes widened. Oh, God. She needed to work on her phrasing. that sounds bad.

And to make it perfectly clear, Everleigh wrote: NOTHING HAPPENED, IT JUST LOOKED LIKE IT DID.

new years day was a mess <3, she added. To put it in simplest terms. Because she was a mess too. Naturally.

ohhh :)

ofc, ofc.

if it makes you feel any better, i had a wicked hangover and paps got some REALLY unflattering pics at the airport <3

That made Everleigh smile a bit. think they got some of Kingston walking out of the hotel looking... oh, wonderful. not hungover at all. bright eyed and bushy tailed and all that stupid shit, lol.

followed me to the airport until my co-worker saved me, haha.

Everleigh found Stevie easy to talk to. Like the world turned and life went on and nothing she said would be judged too harshly by the court of Stevie. She felt comfortable sharing a small portion of what was bothering her. weird seeing my face everywhere, so i only sort of relate, but kind of relate to any struggle you might have with the paparazzi. bunch of asses.

yuck, they're such gremlins 😤

i guess just... avoid searching your name on any social media. best advice i can give.

"i do not see" and all that

makes it ~slightly~ easier to pretend they don't exist

definitely won't look myself up. thank you. <3

one comes near me i'll have to get Kingston his second oscar for a secondhand beer shower.

who needs a bodyguard when you have a maverick

we should just hire him at this point

since we're only listening to two songs and all

Everleigh felt her cheeks heat up. Part of her never wanted to say a word of this out loud, another part of her trusted Stevie wholeheartedly in spite of only meeting her once. never tell him but

Everleigh typed her next message slowly, like it was a confession that would land her on death row. Like Stevie was the pastor sitting on the other side of the confessional booth ready to pardon her from her sins. i was a little high on new years so he knows i downloaded one of his albums...

and it was good so i downloaded the other.

fucking embarrassing.

he must never know. i will deny it if it's ever mentioned to him.

LOL, Stevie wrote back. Everleigh laughed with her.

are you sure you're not his girlfriend :)

jk don't block me, Stevie wrote before Everleigh could type up a response to the question. Practically before she could think of something to say.

ok but what's your favourite song

not that i'm saying i listen to his music OBV

but what i never said to you is... like top ten all time songs for me for sure

lol, we only TOLERATE his music and that's okay, Everleigh joked.

what i never said to you is amazing, but i think my favourite is you used to like my poetry. something to say about how it feels like a punch in the gut. It was clear Maverick had put a lot of his relationship with Rhylan into You Used To Like My Poetry—along with his other songs. But that one specifically was sad, heartfelt, and the longing he had for her love was evident through every word of the melody. Everleigh felt closer to him listening to it; a sure sign of a good song. It was a lot hidden behind a beat, but she could picture it in a poetry collection next to a line drawing—Times New Roman, with something like a broken heart beside it.

kind of like the acoustic version of abstract blue? Everleigh added. A better way to explain it, she thought. Both of them had lyrics that made her want to cry about nothing and everything.

those two back to back are emotional damage in the best way.

i love getting emotionally wrecked by my own songs it's true

another great song from him, good choice.

... might be a shot in the dark but would you happen to be free on

when was it, Stevie stopped typing for a moment and Everleigh waited patiently for the next text. Dates were hard, Everleigh understood.

jan 20???

not to give him *too* much credit but seeing maverick in action is ~okay~

Everleigh thought about what her schedule looked like for the next little while when the cab stopped in front of her hotel. Tapping her debit card quickly, Everleigh exited the vehicle and grabbed her suitcase, thanking the driver. i'll have just landed in LA but that would be so fun!

She walked into the hotel and checked in quickly, logging into the Wi-Fi as she got into the elevator. seeing YOU in action would be better than him, i'm certain.

MARS can have me for the day.

as long as you're cool with me doing stats while you record. promise it'll be multitasking while i listen, lol. Her classes would be in full swing by then, she was certain to have loads of homework for when she wasn't in the air. Only a few more semesters of double duty, she could almost taste the freedom.

omg, yay! i'll text the bozo about it and he can send you the info

... or i guess i could just send you since he was texting me with your phone LOL

and yes pls, even tho i'm crying just thinking about stats. Everleigh laughed as the elevator dinged. She started walking to her room as another text from Stevie came in.

it'll be so much fun! :)

promise not to verbalize any math, Everleigh wrote as she stuck her room key into the door and kicked off her shoes when it closed behind her, no statistical nightmares for anyone except me.

thank you for inviting me, i'm excited!! and either of you texting works, as long as i know where to send the cab from the airport.

oh why don't you actually send me your flight info? marty can send a car to pick you up.

omg, really? Everleigh laid on the hotel bed, crossing one ankle over the other. you don't have to. i've almost mastered the art of the cab whistle in america, lol.

girl yeah the label will pay for it take advantage pls

or maybe i'll steal maverick's card while he's here and charge it to him

you know

cause men don't get into our recording sessions for free

even if they're featured on the song

Everleigh laughed at that. Rolled onto her side as she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. The flight to Phoenix hadn't been long, but she was bagged. snacks should be on Kingston too, just in case the cab doesn't charge enough. <3

sending mav a bill for this popcorn that should be here any minute

as you should. 😌

oh i think jun just walked thru the door

finally

i don't know why men take so long to find things at the grocery store???

anyway, thanks for keeping me company <3

i'll let u know what we think of scream 2! and don't forget to send me your flight info!

hope the rest of your night is good <3

men take SO LONG it's like they want us to tell them not to and go do it ourselves. Everleigh laughed tiredly. It was probably a good thing Stevie was signing off soon, she'd be asleep before the next batch of texts came in.

thanks for the invitation! have the best night. <3

flight info will come in hot as soon as my nap is done! :)

enjoy scream 2! <3

Dropping her phone somewhere that was meant to be the nightstand, Everleigh let her eyes close. Drifting into sleep was simple after a good conversation. Her excitement meant her dreams were nice to her, which was all Everleigh could ask for.

*

[a.n.] I BETTER SEE Y'ALL OVER ON ADRENALINE READING UP ON STEPH'S BABY STEVIE, OKAY?

we love girlfriends i'm very excited to have Stevie back in this book, everybody say thank you to Steph for lending her to us again. <3