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JULY 18TH, 2017 — ❝ JUST GET OVER HIM, ELOISE! ❞
A year had passed since Eloise had met Tom Hiddleston.
And she'd be one hundred percent lying if she said she was completely over him. That he'd become lower on her crush list, that someone else had filled the spot. But, alas, that was the biggest lie she'd ever said.
Tom Hiddleston would always be her number one crush, that was just . . . A fact. Something unchangeable. His dating Taylor Swift wouldn't change that . . . But the fact that she'd seen them the night before, and hadn't picked up on their behavior had definitely hurt her.
One chance. She'd been granted one chance to go on a date with him . . . But it would seem that fate had planned differently. So Eloise had stayed a bit unhappy, completely heartbroken, and had thrown herself into her work.
Was it concerning everyone around her? Yes, yes, plenty. Was she going to stop? Nope, not until she wrote this last book and finished her contract with Simon and Schuster. Two of the books had already come out, and the next was coming out in the coming months.
An international book tour, and one of her books was being looked at for an adaptation. Sighing, she tapped her pen against her forehead. Eloise bit her lip, suddenly feeling stuck as to how she was supposed to write this next scene.
"You look stuck," The voice of her father distracted Eloise from her troubles, and she looked over to the right of her, seeing her father's office doors roll open. He smiled at her, and said, "Here, come here. I want to show you something that came in this morning."
Eloise pushed the pull up table away from her, getting up from the couch and walking over to the office. In her father's office, where she had spent most of her childhood and teen years in, was cluttered with books everywhere. It was a miracle there was a window in the room, one that looked out onto the front yard and driveway.
Shelves were lined around the window, and on every other wall as well, containing books both she and her father had written, and of course ones that Ernest had written as well. In the center of the room, was a light brown desk, one that had been passed down to Nikolai when Ernest had died.
A computer sat on the desk, a big box sitting next to the computer. "Oh my god! Did your new book come in?" Eloise exclaimed, excitement rising in her. In four days, her father would be going off on his international tour to release his newest book, another sci-fi set in a very long series of his.
"You bet," He sang, grinning as he opened up the box, pulling out a copy. Proudly handing it to her, Eloise marveled over it. "Oh, I am going to inhale this today," She said, making her father laugh.
"And here I thought you were heavily dedicated to your work," Nikolai teased, and Eloise smiled up at him. She'd inherited her mother's accent, eyes, and nose. From her father, her natural hair had been the same brown as his. But, as of currently, it was white blonde, resting on her shoulders, and bangs spread across her forehead.
"Oh, I'm always dedicated to my work, unless my dad releases his new book," Eloise replied, holding the book closer to her. The book series had been hailed as an international phenomenon, being adapted into two different television shows (one BBC, another an American adaption), a six movie franchise, and had given her father more fame than the both of them had imagined.
"How many books now?" Eloise called as she left his office, going to put it with all of her other books.
"Thirteen!" Nikolai replied as she started to ascend the staircase. "And I have more coming!"
"You write like a madman!" Eloise exclaimed, stopping mid-step. "I don't know how you do it. I'm only on my, what, tenth book? And this is book number what for you?"
"Thirty-five, darling. Book number thirty-five. And plenty more a-coming!" Nikolai was very pleased with himself, and Eloise laughed.
When she reached the top of the staircase, she stood at the balcony, and said, "I'm taking you out for a celebratory lunch! No fussing about it!"
"I'm alright with that!" He replied, and Eloise smiled to herself as she went into her bedroom.
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As Eloise made her way down the staircase, she heard two very familiar voices in her kitchen.
"I should've known that you'd invite Robert and Karen." Eloise grinned at her father, who guiltily smiled back at her.
"There's my Ellie," Karen says, spreading her arms wide and grinning. Eloise grinned back at her best friend, coming over and hugging her. "God, I never get tired of your hugs," Karen continued, making Eloise laugh. "Now, I do have some stuff to talk to you about, if you must know."
"Oh, I'm sure I do," Eloise replied, making eye contact with her. "What's it about?"
"You know who it's about," Karen lowered her voice, and Eloise sighed, rolling her eyes and shifting from foot to foot. "But before we do that, I wanted to ask if I was able to get an early copy of your next book."
"Whatever they are, we want some!" Robert exclaimed, throwing his arm around Eloise's shoulder, and pulling her close. "We're just proud of you."
"Now, I do recall you offering to take us out to eat?" Nikolai asked, grinning slyly at his daughter. She rolled her eyes again, and said, "I hate how you twist my words for some free food. Any chance I can bribe you, Robert, to split the check with me?"
She smiled up at him adoringly, making him smile, and said, "We'll see, tiny one."
In their friend group of four, it had been agreed on years ago that Eloise would be called the "tiny one." Nikolai would always have War and Peace references thrown towards him, Karen would always have Doctor Who jokes thrown at her, and Robert always had Iron Man jokes coming towards him.
After the four of them were all situated comfortably in Nikolai's car, they set off to find some lunch. The four of them did carpool karaoke together to ABBA music, Karen and Nikolai singing the female parts, and Eloise and Robert singing all of the male parts.
Once they pulled into the parking lot, Robert and Karen on sunglasses and hats, going to scout for tables while Eloise ordered the food everyone, and Nikolai went to find a parking spot.
After all disbanding, Eloise stopped on the sidewalk when she saw someone already staring at her, paused at the door.
