It took a long time for Everleigh to come to terms with the fact that likely everyone around her was right and she was wrong. That she had fallen for Maverick and that she was the last person to see it. Well. Second to last. Maverick was the last. Late to the party as he usually was. (Everleigh didn't blame him for that one.) (They were past that.) What was hard was telling people they were right. Roman and Florence knew, that was nice. Her parents, on the other hand, were none the wiser spare a few extra trips to the loo to text Maverick back without Troy reading over her shoulder. Nosey.

What she hadn't expected to feel difficult: telling Juno. The friend she'd gone through school with who she trusted with the worst parts of her. Going to lunch to catch up shouldn't have been scary, besides the eating part. Even Juno would take it easy on her about the eating part too.

Everleigh walked into Greggs, almost immediately buried in a hug.

"Oh my God, I've missed you, gorgeous."

"Hiya!" Everleigh even managed a small hug before Juno pulled away. Go her.

"I have so much to tell you."

"Did you grab a coffee?"

Juno nodded. "Got you your raspberry lemonade as well. I didn't know what you wanted to eat, though."

"I'm okay without—"

Everleigh could've never seen the expression that Juno gave her again and it would've been too soon. It was the same look Maverick gave her when he walked out of her flat; the same knit eyebrows and soft eyes and pursed lips. A look that pitied her but didn't know the place to speak up.

Everleigh cleared her throat. "Chocolate croissants on me?"

"Perfect."

It didn't take long for Everleigh to order the two pastries and join Juno back at the table, sliding a plate toward her friend.

"Do you want to start?" Everleigh asked as she sat down, cracking open her sparkling lemonade. There wasn't much Everleigh loved in the world, but Greggs raspberry sparkling lemonade was one of them.

Juno brushed a finger under her eye, pointedly showing Everleigh her left hand. A ring stared back at her.

"Oh my God." Everleigh took Juno's hand and looked at the ring. "Fucking finally."

"Right?" Juno laughed.

"When did this happen?" Everleigh asked. (Tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach that if her mother ever found out about Juno's engagement and her relationship with Maverick, there would be nothing to stop the awkward.) (Dawn was an expert.)

"Last month. I got a connector from one of your flights I covered to go to Singapore. They had flowers down the path when I got home, music playing. Our song. I don't think the question was even asked before I said yes... It was nice being home again, Leigh." Juno sighed. Taking a long sip from her iced London Fog. "I almost wanted to stay."

"I get that." Everleigh smiled. "Picked a date yet?"

Juno shook her head. "We're waiting until work is less busy."

Everleigh nodded. Lowered her eyes. Tried not to guilt trip herself for making her coworkers double up on flights.

"For both of us." Juno moved her hand so she could hold Everleigh's, gave it a gentle squeeze. "Are you still going to be working soon?"

"I..." Everleigh shoved a bite of croissant into her mouth. "Dunno."

"You don't know or you don't want to admit it?"

Everleigh needed people to stop calling her out in her favourite coffee shop. For fuck's sake. "Everyone around me seems to think I shouldn't."

"What do you think you should do?"

"Sometimes I feel like I should listen," Everleigh said. "But... other times I want to make sure that ­I get the most from it while I can. I mean..." Everleigh scoffed. "I got a degree to do attendant work, too, you know. Nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy it."

"Nothing wrong with wanting to stay, either."

"I don't know what to do. Nothing feels like the right choice." Everleigh stared blankly at her bottle of lemonade. "Sometimes they both feel wrong."

"Leigh," Juno said. "One day you're going to spend all your time here. In London. Near your family. And that's great. But you're allowed to enjoy your time away from here while you're working. That's okay."

"I guess."

"Where's somewhere you still want to go?"

"Right now?" the answer came quickly. Embarrassingly quickly. "Windsor."

"Which Windsor?"

"Ontario."

"Weird." Juno bit into her croissant and pushed the bite to the side of her mouth. "Why?"

"I'm going to show you a photo and you're not going to laugh."

"I make no such promise," Juno said. "Why?"

Everleigh rolled her eyes. "There have been... developments. That you need, you know, filled in on."

Juno sat up straighter. "Can I ask who with?"

"You'll know if you agree not to laugh at the photo."

"Donny?"

"God, no," Everleigh said.

"Who the hell..."

Everleigh bit the bullet. Pulled her phone from her pocket. Smiled softly at the wallpaper. There was something to say that Maverick and her still couldn't tell their phones apart, spare the wallpapers. Maverick's was still Everleigh flipping him off in the mirror—he'd kept his promise that he would keep it that way. Everleigh's, on the other hand, had changed from her usual Jason Voorhees frowning at the calendar.

Instead, Everleigh had a picture that Maverick had taken one morning in his week spent at her flat. Heads rested in pillows that weren't used to bodies; Everleigh had spent too long away from home. Dorothy wandering Oz. Maverick stared at the camera, nose wrinkled as he winked. A hint of smile threatened to break through—and did, the moment after the shutter had clicked. Everleigh had her head on his shoulder, hand on his opposite cheek. Staring a little too enamoured at him, too wide a smile on her face. If Maverick had any patience at all with his trigger-happy photo finger, a millisecond later was when Everleigh had pulled him into another kiss that morning. Her hand an accomplice in what was only to be charged as a crime of passion.

"Earth to Leigh."

Everleigh looked up.

"You're smiling like a dork," Juno said.

"Am I?"

"Full dork. Just—" Juno waved her hand at Everleigh's general aura. "Everywhere. I'm even willing to not laugh only to find out who's got your googly eyes working overtime."

Everleigh held her phone out to Juno. "This is your answer. And I swear to God if you laugh—"

Juno snatched the phone from Everleigh before she could change her mind. Good choice. Everleigh's heart leapt in her chest at the thought of Juno's reaction—she was only seconds away from stealing her phone back when Juno pressed the power button. She slammed Everleigh's phone down on the table, face down. Eyes lit up with excitement as she stared up at Everleigh. "Are you kidding me?"

"I am not."

"That's—"

"Yup."

"Like really—"

"Mhmm."

"Holy shit, Everleigh."

"I told you not to laugh."

"I'm not laughing."

That... was true, Juno looked on the verge of falling out of her seat, but not from laughing. Everleigh tried to remember if she'd ever had a boyfriend in the time she'd known Juno. Odds were low. Very low.

"I've—" Juno looked at Everleigh's wallpaper again, covering her mouth. "I've never seen you look this happy. Like ever. I'm kind of in shock. You're adorable when you actually smile."

Everleigh grabbed her phone. "Shut up."

"You look at him like he's Geralt of Rivia."

Everleigh raised an eyebrow at Juno, also trying not to laugh. "I like the choice of character, but contrary to popular belief, Henry Cavill and Kingston Maverick look nothing alike."

"So... so For Her is about... you?" Juno tilted her iced London Fog at Everleigh, the lactose-free milk threatening to spill from the opening at the top.

"Yes."

"And the rest of the EP?"

"Yes."

"I've been singing along to romantic lyrics about my best friend?"

"I suppose."

Juno considered this, staring off into space. Her eyes widened as she looked at Everleigh again. "Mile high flier—"

"No," Everleigh said. Quickly. She waved her hand to clear the slate and nearly knocked her sparkling lemonade from the table she'd done it so haphazardly. "That was because he's a shit and a good rhymer."

Juno held her hands up in surrender. "I'm not judging if you did."

"I didn't. We haven't."

"Really?"

Everleigh shrugged. "It's not really top priority. Especially considering he stayed 10 days and that was after apologizing for kissing someone else."

Juno leaned forward in her seat, her iced London Fog midway between the table and her mouth. "Spill."

And so, Everleigh spilled. Everything. It was surprisingly easy, talking about Maverick. Then again, talking with Juno had always been like riding a bike or tying a shoe. No matter how long it had been since they'd seen each other, they fit together like a solved puzzle, the whole picture ready for ogling at. It could be a week or six months or a year and a half and Juno would fit right into Everleigh's life like it was the day after.

"You actually forgave someone with that lame apology?"

"I forgave him because I know he's a spoon and meant the apology."

"I'm impressed, Leigh. That was big of you," Juno said. "What kind of spell did he put you under? Can he write it into a song for me?"

"Says the woman who's engaged."

"To a marine biologist, not to a musician."

"I'm not engaged to Kingston."

"God, no wonder he let you call him that. You had him head over heels from the start."

"My mission in life." Everleigh teasingly rolled her eyes. "Impressing Kingston Maverick."

"Seemed to work whether it was your mission or not." Juno laughed.

Everleigh smiled and took a small bite of her croissant.

"Oh my God, you're lost," Juno said, smiling. "That 10 days was something else, huh?"

"It was... nice."

Juno snorted. "Uh huh. Jaw off the floor, Everleigh."

"He's nice." Everleigh brushed a hand through her shaggy bangs. She needed a haircut. Maybe she'd do that after lunch. Her dye job probably needed fixed, unless she wanted to go back to normal—it was probably about time before she bleached her hair to death.

"Which is something you from six months ago would've slapped yourself for saying." Juno laughed. "This is a whole new Meadowlark."

"Is the new Meadowlark invited to your wedding?"

"You will always be invited to my wedding," Juno said. "Whether you're grumpy or ogling over Maverick."

"You can call him Kingston."

Juno held her hands up in surrender. "I'm going to leave that for his girlfriend."

Everleigh slapped her hand to her forehead. "You're embarrassing."

"You're embarrassing, have you seen your phone wallpaper?" Juno asked. "Fucking googly eyed little shit."

"I will take your pastry away."

Juno laughed. "I'm happy you're happy, Leigh. I promise."

"I will not bring him to your wedding."

"You will bring him to my wedding purely because I'm going to make you wear a dress and I want to see his little brain explode when he sees you."

"Roman's already invited him to their wedding."

"Roman asked your sister to marry him?"

"I didn't tell you that?"

"I heard about the baby, not the engagement," Juno said. "Jesus Christ, Everleigh. What else have I missed?"

"My father conspired against me when I was mad at Kingston," Everleigh said. "That happened as well."

"Good old Troy. Picked him up at the airport?"

"That he did."

"Couple of shitheads."

"Pretty much." Everleigh drank from her sparkling lemonade bottle.

"Can I ask..." Juno trailed off. "Do you think you're going to move to Windsor?"

"I don't know."

"That's okay, that's okay." Juno waved her hand, clearing the conversation from the slate. "Forget I asked."

"Thank you."

"Can I say something else?"

Everleigh nodded.

"I know it might seem like your life revolves around work and school," Juno said. "But can I please also say that you also really deserve this happiness. Wherever in the world it means you're going to be happy."

"Thank you."

"If you think that you should stay, you should stay. Kingston Maverick should not be a reason to make that decision either way. Whether he's in Windsor or not."

"That's true."

"And Leigh?"

"Yes?"

"There will always be another person who wants to be a flight attendant." Juno made sure that she caught Everleigh's eye while she spoke. "You're not Atlas. You do not have the weight of the world on your shoulders and you do not have to convince yourself you do."

Everleigh needed to hear that whether she wanted to admit to it or not. "Thank you."

Juno tapped her iced London Fog to the side of Everleigh's bottle of lemonade. "That's what I'm here for. Remember you have friends."

"I'll try."

"And bring Maverick to my wedding so I can watch him fall in love with you, please. I feel like I've missed his doe eyes toward you and I want to see his tiny little brain explode."

Everleigh snorted. "Shut up."

"Never."

The rest of lunch with Juno was met with laughter and tossing memories back and forth that resulted in more laughter. God, Everleigh missed this. The simplicity of enjoying a drink with her friend while they carried on about nothing that really mattered in the long run. This was nice. Heavenly.

Everleigh got to hear all about what Juno wanted with her wedding. Something with close friends and family, nothing too spectacular. Sounded phenomenal. There was nothing like a cozy wedding that Juno Song could plan to a tee without letting her partner know. That was something Everleigh looked forward to. She wasn't even looking forward to Florence and Roman's wedding and they were doing food tasting in a couple weeks. (Everleigh would rather have jumped off a moving plane, but Florence had begged her.)

Juno swooned over the photos Everleigh pulled up of Navi. And, sure, yeah, Florence and Roman had made a cute kid. Fine. But like hell Everleigh would admit it to them. Roman would never let her hear the end of it if she did—and having him so close to home when she stayed after graduation was more annoyance than Everleigh could take.

Juno and Everleigh could sit for hours like a couple of little old ladies with no news from either except retirement was going well. Everleigh was going to miss her when she left again. Everleigh would always miss her when she left again.

Standing outside the Greggs, Everleigh tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. Neither wanting to say it was time to go.

"Where's your next flight headed?" Everleigh asked.

"Baltimore." Juno ran a hand through her hair, sighing. "Overnight flight."

"Gross."

"When's your next flight?"

"Couple days. Going to Rio de Janeiro. But I come back here for a bit. Gotta help Flo wedding plan when Roman goes back to work."

"That'll be fun."

"Don't take this the wrong way—"

"Oh boy."

"But if I ever get married, consider it against my will."

"I'll tell Maverick."

Everleigh laughed. "At your own wedding? He'll be so thankful to have been invited."

Juno looked at Everleigh like she was psychoanalyzing her. What Everleigh wouldn't give to know what she was thinking. "Will you text me if you make it to Windsor?"

"I'll text you if he makes it to London."

Juno smiled. Stepped forward and hugged Everleigh; hands around her waist. "I know that things feel like they're changing too fast and that you hate change—"

"I don't hate change."

"And you're stubborn as fuck—"

"You know, people keep telling me that."

"And you don't let people talk—"

"Sorry."

"But I love you no matter where you are in the world, no matter where I am in the world, no matter if we work together or not," Juno said. "Please don't think you can't talk to me about anything, Leigh. Especially if you're happy, but of course if you're sad."

Everleigh hugged Juno back. "Love you, June. Please update me about all the wedding bullshit."

"You're a jackass." Juno laughed. "But I will."

"Good."

"All the food."

"God."

"All the frills."

"Barf."

"All the lace."

"I will retract my consent for wedding bullshit."

Juno squeezed Everleigh a little tighter. "I'm going to miss you when you stay here."

"Any time you're in London, lunch is on me." Everleigh didn't like hugs, but this one was okay. It had been too long since she'd seen Juno. "Text me no matter the time you land."

"Save some lives, Leigh," Juno said. "Then we can worry about lunch."