Welcome

Firstly, I don't think Abby and Haley were ever friends. Not in childhood, not in high school, and definitely not after that. They have nothing in common with each other, and they're complete opposites in every way.

Abby thinks Haley is shallow and materialistic, and Haley thinks Abby is rough and callous.

Which, yeah, they're certainly not flattering interpretations of each other, they're also not entirely wrong.

Haley is shallow and materialistic. She's never had to really look at the world for what it is, and no one's ever tried to get through to her like that. People assume there's no point, that there isn't anything deeper going on in her head, and there's nothing worth hunting or rooting around for because she only cares about her hair and shopping, right?

Also, Abby is absolutely rough and callous. she's quick to anger and overly defensive, and probably a little arrogant herself. She's stubborn, and has a black and white perception of the world, too, so if you're not like her, you must be an enemy.

But we also know that most of her aggression comes from insecurity. She's actively inhibited and judged by almost everyone around her, all the time. Her parents are always on her case, picking apart the things that she likes and whatever she wants to do with her life. She feels stuck, and stagnant, and probably really fucking lonely.

We see through her arc that she only really grows into herself and chills the hell out after someone (the farmer) readily accepts her for who she is, and doesn't spend every moment belittling her, her interests, or trying to impose their own expectations on her.

And Haley is super immature! She's the younger of two daughters, living in a huge house with no expectations beyond occasional house chores. No rent, no fear about where the next batch of groceries will come from, and she clearly has the means to purchase whatever she wants if she can throw out an entire wardrobe. Yeah, it's no wonder she's like that when we first meet her.

It takes a lot of work from someone more easy-going and down to earth to break her out of that worldview, to encourage her to do some introspection and reflect on the kind of person she is. She has a lot of privilege, and I don't think she's really aware of that until much later in her arc.

So yeah, I think a lot of growth would need to happen individually before they could fall into each other's orbit and make it work.

So how do we get them there?

Well, let's say that Abby wasn't doing her schooling online. What if she left for university, where she could be away from judgment, prying eyes, and stifling expectations? Somewhere she could explore her identity, and who she wanted to be? Somewhere she could find like-minded people who helped her grow, instead of shoving her into arbitrary boxes and slapping on poorly fitting labels?

I think it would be fun if Haley could leave Pelican town, too. The world is huge, there's so much out there to see, and for a woman with an eye for beauty and hands made to hold a camera, I think she deserves to do some exploring of her own. Plus, forcing her to be independent would boost her maturity by leaps and bounds, and I think she'd grow to really appreciate how much work Emily did in the house while they were living together.

But I'm getting off topic.

They're both in uni, right?

Abby would be a sociology student, maybe with a minor in geology, just to be silly (don't eat rocks, kids), and obviously Haley has to be a fine arts student, with a focus in photography, because who do you take me for?

They're both going to the same school, but running with different crowds. Always circling each other, always just out of range. They're unaware that they're going to the same school for a while, they don't have many classes that overlap, and they've both changed since stepping fully into their independence, so they don't recognize each other when they do.

Haley's blonder—bolder—focused and ambitious, with her feet now firmly planted on the ground. She still loves fashion, absolutely still takes fabulous care of herself and her image, but now she's motivated by her ridiculously demanding schedule, and the need to market herself in a professional world she hopes to break into after graduation. She has goals now, and she intends to achieve them.

Abby's a little crazier with her style, experimental and wacky and leaning fully into the punk/emo aesthetic she had going on back home. She carries herself with an easier confidence, now, and even though there's an energy brimming under the surface, it isn't powered by a need to run anymore, but a need to move. She has so much she wants to do, she has so many dreams, and she is vibrating with it, constantly.

She has to have somewhere to get out any excess energy, though. She probably does martial arts or something, because I think she'd like being able to whoop someone's ass, or at least look like she could, but I also think she'd still be a drummer for a band. Not for Sam's, obviously, but maybe she joined one shortly after starting school.

Maybe they snag a gig. Or perhaps, more conveniently, they're on the line-up for a school event.

Maybe Haley gets chosen to take the promotional pictures.

Look, I'll cut to the chase: it is awkward.

Seeing someone from your youth and having to reconcile this new person with the old version of them you have in your head is always going to be awkward and uncomfortable, I don't care who you are.

Haley sits in on band practice to take pictures, and it goes about as well as you'd expect. Haley gets along fine with the other members, but her and Abby don't talk much, and they both regress a bit into their old personas too. Haley is a little judgmental, Abby isn't much better, but they get through it without any noticeable hiccups.

Haley leaves, sends the raw photos for approval, and that's that.

It's only when Haley is back and editing the photos for printing that she really takes a good look at Abby. They've not seen each other for a long time, haven't spoken in even longer, and Abby is almost unrecognizable. She's dynamic and intriguing and has a confidence about her now that Haley didn't notice in the moment, but it looks good on her, and Haley can't quite grasp why that makes her so uneasy.

So she doesn't. She shoves those thoughts down, down, down, as far as they'll go, until it's out of her mind entirely, and turns her attention towards other things. She's a busy woman, after all. She can't afford to get distracted by things like this.

Day of the event comes, and Haley is tasked with taking pictures for the university again. These are for the school website, promotional crap, that sort of thing. The school has to look good for the alumni and for future students looking to apply, so Haley is taking it very seriously. She is going to deliver the best damn photos admin have ever seen, and no awkward interactions or confusing attraction towards some random from her hometown is going to stop her.

Only, Abby's band gets on stage, and what do you know, they sound good. They look good, too, which makes Haley's job easier, but also so much harder.

Abby is in her element, starting them off with heavy drum beats that thrum through the lawn and vibrate in Haley's bones, along with something else she's not eager to name. The crowd is alive with the music pouring out of the speakers, and Haley snaps a few pictures of willing participants in a daze.

She keeps glancing at the stage, at Abby, and once or twice she thinks she might be looking back, but that's insane. There's no way, certainly. There's so many people in the crowd, and they've always hated each other, right? She must be imagining it.

Haley looks again, just to check.

Abby is staring right at her.

Haley freezes. They don't break eye contact, not even for a second, and before Haley can get ahold of herself, the final song is ending to raucous applause. The people ahead of her jump and cheer, fully blocking her view of the stage, finally breaking their eye contact, and she can't get any decent pictures of the artists like this.

She moves to the edges of the crowd to get a better view, glancing at the stage as Abby's band starts walking off the stage, disappearing just before Haley can get one more look in—

She stops short as the realization of what that means drops heavy in her gut. She's there to do a job, not admire some girl she's never gotten along with in all their years of being within fifty yards of each other.

Haley shakes it off, squares her shoulders, and refocuses. The next act is already walking on, and she lifts her camera to her eyes.

By the end of the event, Haley is exhausted. It's hot, she's tired, her feet are sore, and she's probably dehydrated, too. She starts for the stage as the crowd begins to disperse. There are water bottles there, and the crew knows her. Everyone knows her.

She gets to the stage, yanks open a cooler, and… nothing. not a single water bottle in sight. Just pools of half-melted ice. She tries the next one, it's the same thing. A couple joja colas here or there, but otherwise, it is empty.

She groans and resigns herself to buying one from the overly expensive food vendors, or painstakingly walking all the way to a vending machine in one of the nearest buildings, which is never a given, but stops short at the feeling of something wet and ice cold against her hand.

She looks up to find Abigail, in all her punk, still-sweaty glory, holding out an ice cold water bottle as she drinks from one of her own. Abigail smiles, sharp incisors on display, and Haley swallows hard.

"Thirsty?"