Reckless Serenade, Elijah Hewson

037 always a natural

real life ━━ january 10th 2023
(dublin, ireland)

Bundled up in coats and hats Lennon walked alongside Sadie and Freya (Nancy's two daughters and her new step sisters) as her dad and Nancy walked hand in hand in front of them - allowing their children to get to know each other with privacy.

"My dad says you like to sing too." Lennon mentioned to Sadie - the two girls were 12 and 14 and so Lennon was responsible for carrying the conversation (not that she minded since she was sociable).

Initially, they were very shy but Lennon's ability to talk continuously came in very useful when meeting new people. She always tried her best to be as friendly as possible and to make everyone feel comfortable around her.

Especially, now that she was well known and realised that she could be perceived as intimidating by people who didn't know her. (Which was still very strange to her.)

The older of the two brunettes, Sadie, nodded but then shrugged and admitted, looking to the ground bashfully, "I'm not nearly as good as you, though."

Noticing that the young girl's checks had turned red with embarrassment, Lennon immediately said, "I'm like double your age, I've had far more time to practise. When I was 14 I was singing songs about the muppets, so I'd argue that you're actually better than me."

Then, whilst in middle of talking to the two girls (intently listening as they talked about school) Lennon heard her name being called and she could feel the sudden mix of dread and excitement as she instantly recognised the collection of voices.

Of course she was aware of how likely it was to run into them but the last she had checked, because of course she had checked, they were in LA. She had felt more relaxed knowing that they were in a different country but clearly that had changed.

Seeing them was bound to happen at some point - both being musicians and in similar circles - she just hadn't expected it to be now or when she felt severely unprepared.

A part of her wanted to act oblivious and as if she hadn't heard and the other part of her wanted to run and hug them. Obviously her dad (who had also heard) was more than willing to stop in his tracks forcing everyone else to do the same.

She was apprehensive to turn around, panic washing over her, but she had no where to escape. However, along with dread she also felt, strangely, thankful. She had been secretly hoping that she would bump into them whilst she was in Ireland. She had missed talking to them everyday.

More specifically, not that she would admit it, she missed Elijah.

If anyone asked her - and they did - she would instantly say how she had "moved on", and it was "all in the past", but she often wondered about if things had been different. She didn't blame him for how things ended up, she knows that she was at fault too. Allowing each other to slip away because it was easy.

What was worse was that he was one of her closest friends and it was painful how she felt like she fell down his list of priorities.

Turning around with a polite smile (trying to hide the mixture of emotions she was experiencing) she was met with a strange wave of nostalgia as she saw the four boys for the first time in years.

The situation was completely unfamiliar to her. She used to not hesitate before hugging them but now she debated wether something as simple as a handshake would be weird. They had kept in contact but it was very different talking to someone over the phone than in person.