THIS LOVE | shayne topp

1.11

   (y'all im SO HAPPY for shayne and courtney holy shit they're married!! this is making me kinda feel weird writing this but.. im gonna continue anyway lmao)

   FINALLY THE RARE, GLOOMY weather in Los Angeles cleared up. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky this morning, and the air was surprisingly fresh for the city she was in. Eleanore decided to take Sadie for a walk, finally the nauseous feeling leaving.

   Her realization from the previous days were lingering in the back of her mind, but she managed to ignore it enough to where it wasn't going to constantly bother her like it was.

   Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Eleanore grabbed it, seeing that Laurie had just texted her, reading 'Hey, can you come over later to talk?'.

   This worried Eleanore big time. Things have been kind of rocky for the friends recently, as they've only talked about the podcast unlike their usual conversations about literally anything else but their work.

   She responded with a brief 'Yeah! Ofc" and left it at that.

   Laurie never responded, but instead left her on read. Eleanore wasn't going to overthink it though, and just went to the new local coffee shop.

   Luckily they had a walk up order window outside which was great for her since she had Sadie by her side. Mauve wasn't working today, she could tell when the manager walked up and the first thing she said was "Mauve isn't here today."

   Her manager caught the two talking a lot while she was working within their opening, so Mauve did end up getting in trouble and laughed about it that night with Eleanore and Alyssa.

   She ordered her usual while Sadie sat calmly by her side, before walking back to her apartment. Alyssa was at work for majority of the day, so it was just Eleanore home alone. While waiting to go over to Laurie's apartment, she scrolled through Netflix trying to find something to watch.

   The announcement for season 5 of Love is Blind was up big on the screen, and she felt although this was her sign to finish season 4. She was only two episodes in, so she clicked play and watched some of it.

   During this, Eleanore decided it was a good idea to get started on some of her house chores. She put away the dishes that were in the dishwasher before reloading it with the ones in the sink. She cleaned the counters and vacuumed the kitchen tile.

   She got some laundry done, wiped down any surface in the main space, and vacuumed the carpet, and before she knew it, two hours had gone by while deep cleaning. She checked her watch for the time which read '3:27' and she knew she should probably head over to Laurie's house now.

   Eleanore stayed in her workout clothes, just freshening up a little in her bathroom since she was running around the apartment for a while. Before leaving, she noticed the green Nike sweatshirt that didn't belong to her laying on her bed. She texted Shayne, 'Remind me I have your sweatshirt. I need to bring it back to you'.

   And almost immediately he responded, 'Don't worry about it :)'.

   Eleanore smiled while a blush rose to her cheeks. She turned her phone off and tucked it into her legging pocket before grabbing her purse and locking up the apartment.

   During the drive her heart wouldn't stop racing. The lingering thoughts in the back of her mind kept creeping up on her. Is she dropping her as a friend? That was the main thought running through her mind.

   After coming up with many different scenarios in her head, she was knocking on her friends door before she knew it. Hunter opened the door with a smile, warmly inviting Eleanore inside.

   He seemed to be in a really good mood, having a smile on his face that just wasn't going away. Laurie walked out of their podcast room, also smiling, but a lot softer than her boyfriend.

   "Hey, El! Come sit." Laurie sat down on the couch, waiting for her friend to sit as well.

   Eleanore was a little freaked out. She was hesitant, but sat down across from her on the couch while Hunter just stayed in the kitchen. The couple's demeanor was off today, and the overthinking continued.

   Laurie chuckled, "So, I have good news, more good news, and then bad news. What do you want first?"

   Eleanore sighed out. "Uh, good news, bad news, then good news again. That sounds like the best option I think." She smiled, resting her hands in her lap, but then started fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt again.

   "Okay, so, good news I'll start with. My brother, Milo, is renting out an AirBNB in Orlando and it sleeps eight people. He works at Universal and is able to get us in for free for the weekend, Friday through Sunday, and we can go." Laurie starts.

   "If you wanna go, it would be me, Hunter, you, and whoever else you wanna bring. Maybe anyone from Smosh? Last minute all expenses paid work trip? We'd leave next Thursday and fly back Monday morning."

   Eleanore nodded her head slowly, thinking about it. It would be nice to spend her weekend at a theme park, especially if it was all paid. But she only knew like three people from Smosh, and she wasn't even sure if the people she did know personally would be able to go so last minute.

   "Um, yeah that would be fun! I'm supposed to go back at the end of this week anyway and I'll see if you can go with me just so you're introduced? I'll text Aaliyah and Shayne sometime this weekend and let you know." Eleanore said with a smile.

   Laurie's smiled grew. "Yeah, definitely! That'll be fun. I just have to let Milo know as soon as possible too. But that bad news... Oh my god I'm so nervous for this. But, I have to leave the podcast."

   Eleanore paused for a moment. Her breath got stuck in the back of her throat as Laurie sat across from her, studying her expression. Tears welded in her eyes. Eleanore definitely felt blindsided by this.

   "Um, why?"

   She was able to tell that Laurie was expecting this question. Her eyebrows slightly raised as her gaze shifted down to her hands in her lap. Hunter came over, and sat on the arm of the couch behind his girlfriend, resting a hand on her back.

   "Well, I'm pregnant." Laurie said. Eleanore let out a small scream, leaning forward and hugging her best friend before even letting herself truly process the words. Laurie laughed. "We just need a break from it, and we have to turn out studio into a nursery. I'm sorry."

   "You do not need to apologize! This is amazing! Congratulations." Eleanore smiled, pulling away from the hug and wiping her tears. "I'm so happy for you guys. Oh my god."

   Eleanore got up and hugged Hunter. She knew this was something that the couple have been wanting for a while now. Laurie has talked about it with Eleanore before, and now its clicked in her mind why she's been so distant and hesitant with talking to her.

   "Thank you for being so cool about all of this. I know ending the podcast is kind of upsetting and is just random, but I need this time to focus on myself and my relationship and especially now that we have a kid on the way." Laurie sniffled. "And if you want to, keep the podcast. Maybe someone would want to do it?"

   Eleanore nodded. "Maybe. I'll have to see. But this is so exciting for you guys. I love you both so much." She reached forward and hugged her friend again.

   This was definitely going to be another big change happening in Eleanore's life. As nervous as she was for it, it was needed and was excited for what the future holds.