ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ ʙᴇᴇ.

“It’s… fine.” Sadie didn’t linger too long on the differences between where she was now and where she had been- she considered it too unfair to her aunt’s memory to think badly at all on the time she had been with her. “How are things here?”

“Different.” Everly said in traditional Everly fashion, never being one to voice her more vulnerable feelings in front of the girls. How could she tell Sadie that everyone was feeling the absence of Monique; like they were all missing a part of themselves. “Chaotic more than anything. Gigi thinks she’s going to be the new Madame.” She rolled her eyes, unable to mask how much this had gotten under her skin. 

“Yes, it is real,” Eloise said, not turning to look at the person she could feel staring at the scars on her face. “No. They don’t hurt anymore.”

“Sorry.” Everly mustered, unable to peel her eyes away from the scars on the girls face. 

“Well, you shouldn’t worry about my judgment, then, I will hardly be a client.” He smiled softly, “You should ask–” Those were hard habits to die, how was he supposed to wrap his mind around the idea that he would never have neither of them around him? Gabe’s name got stuck on his throat, and he looked away, holding his breath. “Ask Smee.”

Everly rolled her eyes, playfully. “There’s no shame in paying for sex, Benjamin. It’s not going to make you any less of a pretty boy to my girls.” That was Monique used to call them — her girls. Everly went quiet for a second, her heart ached for Ben and the pain he must be feeling right now. It wasn’t just Monique he had lost, but his best-friend too. “I didn’t realise he was out of jail yet.”

JJ just smiled. “Down, fishy. I just want to talk to her, I’m not bring her to the dark side, you can keep your girl.”

“Since when do we talk to each other.” Everly motioned between the two of them with her index finger, the Fairies and the Mermaids didn’t hate each other as much as the Lost Boys and Jolly Rogers did but they weren't exactly on sleep over and braiding each others hair duties either.

“They have more important things to worry about than my appearance. Trust me, they can’t judge.”

“How is life with Thea and Derek treating you?”

JJ couldn’t help snorting. “Yeah, it’s probably good you’re in a profession where your body does most of the talking for you. Now, I’m here to see Renee Blackwell, is she in?”

Everly pursed her lips, twisting her lipstick down into its tube and dropping it back into her bag. “What do you want with Renee?” Everly would not have normally given his question a second thought, but if she was going to be the next Madame then she was going to have to start putting the girls best interest at heart.

Sadie’s eyes widened momentarily as she spotted the person who had previously been more sister to her than co-worker. Monique’s death had changed things for everyone, and Sadie could see in most of the girls’ eyes that she was a pesky reminder, not a long overdue visitor. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“That’s because you look like one without me to help you do your make-up. Honestly, Sadie. You’re supposed to be nursing people back to health, not scaring them half to death.” She teased in her usual tone, hoping it would trick Sadie into believing that she didn’t make the hole in Everly’s heart grow bigger every time she saw her.

“It will hardly happen.” He sighed deeply, rubbing his palms over his face – it was hard for him to find any excitement in anything lately. “But I can pretend if it’ll make you happy.” Even the wave of Everly’s hand made his stomach clench, reminding his that it was torture to try get back there.

“When I’m running this place the only people I want faking it are my girls, not my clients.” The clicking of heels against the stage echoed through the empty Lagoon; the girls left with their heads bowed and egos wounded. If Everly could not find any new talent for the Lagoon then how would she be able to run the place? Once again, Everly found herself needing to prove herself to a parental figure and this one was no longer even around to offer her praise and guidance.

He sighed deeply, trying to not get set off by Everly’s tone. “Noted.” He nodded, “Next time I’ll make sure to scream ‘fantasy’, then.”

“I’ll settle for a slack jaw or a crossing of your legs because you’re getting some kind of reaction down there.” Everly took a deep breath, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and dismissing the girls on stage with a wave of her hand like she had seen Monique do many times.

“Hey. You look great, stop fussing.”

“I know and I wasn’t.” Everly added the finishing touches to her lipstick in the mirror. “I don’t need a Fairy to tell me what I already know.”

Sadie rubbed at the eye makeup that she was sure already resembled a raccoon’s eyes before stopping at the door to the Grotto. Head inside, she told herself, unsure if the words actually came from her mouth or not as she stood frozen in place. 

Everly stepped outside of the Grotto, eyes widening and a yelp catching in her throat when she almost walked into the one person she had been actively avoiding since Monique had died. Working at the Lagoon was hard but being around Monique’s niece was even harder.