Evelyn Buckley had always had dreams of being a star, she wanted to be a singer with a star on the walk of fame so she could parade in circles around it with sparklers and a microphone in hand and then send photos of herself doing that to all the people who never believed in her. Evelyn was also out here because their older sister Maddie was, Maddie had created a life out here and Evelyn was couchsurfing at the age of 21 because they’ve never kept a job in their whole life meanwhile Maddie was in a stable relationship with a firefighter. So without telling anyone they packed up their life and got out of their goddamn hometown so they could actually live for once.
Evelyn spent her first day in LA carrying around her whole life in two big suitcases and trying to navigate the city with buses to each and every apartment they had applied to a listing to but it was taking them forever, and now to make things worse her bus just crashed into a car and sent her flying to the floor as another car smashed into the side of the bus. Evelyn sat up slightly and took her phone out to call 9-1-1, feeling slightly dizzy from her fall but she managed to get the details to the 9-1-1 operator, a man named Josh, and he said help was on the way and that many others on the bus and around had called for help as well.
Soon the firefighters got to the scene and Evelyn hung up the phone with the dispatcher. The bus doors were forced open and Evelyn gathered her bags so she could just get out as fast as possible. Evelyn just wanted to find somewhere to sleep for the night or she would just have to find someplace random to crash for the night. She got out of the bus and sat down in a little area they had set up to see injured people, this is where a male paramedic attended to her.
“Does anything hurt?” The paramedic asked as he quickly examined Evelyn, she recognised his face.
“Just my knees, landed hard on them hard.” Evelyn let out a breathy laugh, she was trying to place this guy's face to a name. “Excuse me, is your name Chimney?”
“It’s a nickname.” He replied as he put a bandaid on a small cut on her right knee. “How’d you know?”
“You're with my sister! I’m Evelyn but some people call me Buck!” She smiled wide, gently tapping her fingers on her knees.
“Evelyn… Why are you out here?” Chimney questioned.
“I ran away… I mean is it running away if I didn’t live at home? I just lived in a basement with ten other people” Evelyn thought out loud.
“What’s taking so long, Chimney?” A group of 4 firefighters approached, the older woman speaking.
“It’s Maddie’s sister!” Chimney happily points at the young girl.
Evelyn was given introductions to the team who all looked as equally as shocked to see her in LA as Maddie had said she was travelling a lot then all of a sudden she’s in LA with all her stuff in two bags, after a quick explanation of what she was doing she had a couch to crash on and a ride to a fire station which sounded so fun since when she was little she wanted to be one but she gave up on that dream when she first joined choir and her teacher told her she could be a professional singer in the future so ever since then it became her one and only goal in life.
Evelyn and her bags were helped into the fire truck and off they went which excited her so much. The crew were so nice to her, Chimney was all smiles while talking about Maddie and their daughter, Hen was telling about some good spots to look for apartments, Bobby asked her about her hometown and friends, then there was Eddy who was just such a gorgeous woman who she would love to see going down that firefighter pole at the station.
When they got to the station Evelyn marveled at how it looked, it had such a modern look but the clear glass of the changing rooms made her so incredibly uncomfortable but she then thought that room was probably built before any woman worked here but she still wondered why they kept it. She instantly zoned in on the pole, the pole that firefighters went down each and every day and they she really wanted to try out so she went over the pole and looked up.
“So cool!” Evelyn put her hands on the pole, tapping her feet.
“You wanna head upstairs to try it?” Hen asked, looking up the pole like she did.
“No, I got this.”
Evelyn wrapped one leg around the pole and kept a firm grip on the pole, she pulled herself up and then climbed her way up the pole before going back down in a twirling motion. She jumped off the pole and squealed from excitement from what she just did.
“How’d you do that?” Hen asked her, looking the pole up and down.
“Oh! A gym in my town offered pole dancing lessons so, for fun of course, I took them because I had exactly the amount of money to pay for them.” Evelyn smiled at Hen, fixing her own outfit.
“Well, you’re very good Evelyn.” Eddy complimented her, making Evelyn’s cheeks go slightly red.
“Thank you, call me Buck by the way.”
Evelyn was given a tour of the station and got to talking to all of the members of the 118 before Maddie came rushing into the station with a small child on her arms with a look that was a mix of slight rage and confusion, it made sense for her to look like that since she had just learned her little sister just moved to LA without telling anyone she had left her hometown. Evelyn didn’t try to explain herself, she just got into the car with her bags and listened to the almost silent radio while Maddie mumbled to herself and her daughter slept in her seat. Evelyn looked and marveled at the place she had only seen in movies but now she was seeing it in person.
When Maddie pulled into her driveway, Evelyn loved that Maddie had her own house with her own front and backyard for her family that she worked so hard for. Evelyn had never even owned a bike, their last place was a basement with a bunch of strangers who she had to listen to have sex almost every night while she had never had a serious relationship and gained the nickname window jumper as she had the habit of after sleeping with people she didn’t like that much but said yes to while drunk she would climb out the window to avoid having to talk to those people ever again.
The three girls got into the house and Maddie’s daughter was put to bed. The two sisters sat at the kitchen Island, the sun was starting to go down and Maddie was making Evelyn a hot chocolate like she used to do when she was just a child. Maddie wanted answers and Evelyn had them and they were free for the taking.
“Why are you out here? Why’d you tell no one, Buck?” Maddie sat across from Evelyn.
Evelyn smiled when she heard her call her Buck. “I wanted something new and I wanted something bigger, I also didn’t tell anyone because if I told anyone the reason you all would try to stop me!”
“Why are you out here?” Maddie questioned, slightly spectacle of what she was saying.
“To pursue my singing career” Evelyn awkwardly smiled at her.
“Oh Buck…” Maddie was trying to find it in herself to be supportive but she looked doubtful. “And until your singing career gets big do you have job plans?”
“I cleaned houses for money back home so I’m just going to do that again, but!” She picked up one of her bags. “and thank god I kept my purse and phone in this bag since I did get robbed after five minutes of being in LA”
“You got robbed!”
“Yeah, they stole all my records! I had original prints in that bag!” Evelyn pouted, extremely upset but she brushed off the feel. “But I do have around one thousand and two hundred dollars in my bag, so this might get me nothing in LA but it will get a camera to film a music video!” She was so happy, in her eyes LA was the place of dreams.
“Don’t worry about getting a place just now Buck, we have an air mattress so stay here as long as you want to.” Maddie offered and Evelyn enthusiastically nodded back at her.
The next month for Evelyn was not so good, she was going between cleaning jobs and making outfits for her music video that was probably a year away from being made but she was going to get her album out and she was going to be famous. Her cleaning jobs were mostly creepy men trying to sleep with which made her leave early and get no money but next time she’s thinking of robbing people who do that to her. Evelyn has never been opposed to a little bit of petty theft to get her way out of a bad place, that’s how she paid for her trip from her hometown to LA and that’s how she managed to get over a thousand dollars.
Maddie and Chimney had been so helpful with trying to get Evelyn a place but every single place looked nice and would be perfect but there was always something very big wrong with them like a barely faded chalk outline of headless body, when Evelyn looked in the bathroom she found the outline of the head which made her turn on her heels and leave that place before the man giving her the tour could give her more excuses. She was having zero luck in the place she thought would be just like paradise, movies lied and she’s on her last hope.
Evelyn was just trying to get money so she was on her way to another job for a ‘Eddie Diaz’ so she took pepper spray and a taser with her just to be safe because she was not taking chances, but she did notice that the name was identical to Eddy’s from the 118 but just a male version. Evelyn did think it could be Eddy’s sibling but Evelyn just thought that Diaz was maybe just a common last name and she was just jumping to conclusions but also the possibility of getting to see Eddy again made her heart flutter and her mind fogged with images of the muscular woman.
She shook off those feelings and knocked on the door of the quaint little house, as soon as the knock echoed the sound of shoes running to the door followed and the door opened to Eddy Diaz not Eddie Diaz which left Evelyn in slight shock.
“Eddy? I thought you were a guy.” Evelyn stood on the front step of the house, looking very confused.
“What? why would you-” Eddy stopped herself, realising what happened to make this confusion happen. “Damn autocorrect, It always happens with my name.” Eddy gestured to let Evelyn in as she ran back into the house.
“What do I have to clean? because if it’s the whole house then you’ll need to give me extra money for more cleaning supplies.” Evelyn joked but she was serious.
“I promise!” Eddy walked back holding a toddler wearing glasses. “I gotta get this little guy to daycare, I’ve told my Tia that if you're still cleaning by the time she brings Chris home that she does not need to worry.”
“Cool, Thanks Eddy!” She smiles at Eddy and then at Chris who gives her a goofy smile and a little wave in return.
“No problem Buck” Eddy said as she picked up her duffle bag for work, she turned towards the door before slowly turning back to her. “Hey… you wanna go out to dinner or a movie this weekend? If only you're free.”
Evelyn smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears before answering. “Sure, dinner and a movie on saturday.” Evelyn put her cleaning supplies on the kitchen table. “You pick dinner, you’ve been here longer then I have”
“Sure thing, I’ll pick you up at six. Money is on the coffee table, Bye Buck!” Eddy gives Evelyn a polite nod before leaving her house and leaving Evelyn to clean the house.
Evelyn almost burst from the excitement she was feeling and that motivation pushed her through the cleaning job so she can go home and over plan her outfit for a date that was in five days but it’s what Evelyn always did before dates she actually wanted but that rarely ever happened to her since all the guys or girls she’s dated in the past were just meh to her but something about Eddy Diaz made her feel weak in the knees. Maybe it was the muscular look of her or it was the beautiful smile she always had or maybe it was just the fact she was so gorgeous that it was actually a bit shocking to see at first as you never thought beauty like that existed.
She kept that high energy and high hopes all the way back home, getting out of her uber and running into the Han house and practically screaming from the excitement she had bottled up in her throat as after one month of nothing but downs she had her first up in a major way so she was not going to mess it up. Her scream did get the attention of Maddie and Chimney who she had forgotten who were at home today so she did get some strange looks but she ignored them and picked her suitcases that were next to her airbed leaned against the wall and opened them to pick out her date outfit.
“What was all that about?” Maddie walked up to Evelyn as she made a pile of clothes next to her bags.
“I have a date with Eddy tonight!” Evelyn squeals out at an ear bleeding high pitch. “I’m picking out an outfit for my date on Saturday.” She keeps a big smile on her face as she starts to piece together an outfit.
“And this is integral to the outfit, is it Buck?” Maddie laughed as she picked up some bright pink underwear Evelyn had taken out of her bag.
Evelyn ripped them out of her sister's hands. “Oh god! You’re so embarrassing!” Evelyn dug her head into her bag while Maddie laughed.
“That’s what big sisters do.” Maddie simply said as she walked back into her kitchen to her husband.
Evelyn lifted her head and just softly smiled at her, saying in her mind that she loved her.
“You got robbed on your first day in LA?!” Eddy sounded more concerned than Maddie did about Evelyn getting robbed.
The two girls walked hand in hand down the movie theater hallway to find their screen room, Eddy holding a bag filled with snacks.
“Yeah, a bunch of my records were stolen. They were expensive!” Evelyn groaned as she spoke. “I used to sign my name on them in pink chalk pens, I would make the little curly bit on the ‘y’ end in a heart. Just to be cute” Evelyn gestured a lot when she talked, Eddy loved it.
“It sounds cute but it's natural for someone cute to act cute.” Eddy remarked as she led Evelyn into the movie theater.
The two girls sat in the seats and luckily they showed up just in time to miss all the ads and movie trailers that play before movies, they were here seeing one of those horror movies where it was obvious they were given a title and tried to build something off it but it was always laughable crap that Evelyn loved to sit through because she loved to complain about bad movies. Eddy wasn’t a huge horror fan but she was willing to sit through a bad one just to make her date happy.
About halfway through a movie a group of tween girls started to talk loudly in the row in front of them and it was annoying all of the people in the theater so much, a few people tried shushing them but all they did was laugh like it was the funniest thing they’ve ever heard which annoyed everyone even more as they were acting like this was a huge joke. Evelyn picked up her drink and then reached over for Eddy’s, she took a short sip of her drink before turning to Eddy.
“Get ready to leave” She loudly whispered to Eddy.
“Why-” Eddy looked confused but soon ended.
Evelyn ripped the plastic lids off the cups and poured both of their drinks over the tween girls, as girls screamed and fussed Evelyn and Eddy made their escape from the theater while Evelyn laughed like a banshee. This is the moment Eddy Diaz learned that Evelyn Buckley was just crazy, she was crazy but free as she would do things that pissed people off but the people she did it to completely deserved it for how annoying they were.
Evelyn Buckley was a free spirit that Eddy followed around, she went where Evelyn took her and Evelyn went where the wind took her. The two girls spent months doing whatever the hell they wanted, Eddy would help Evelyn when she was busking next to the beach in the hopes of gaining a fanbase before she “became big” which Eddy didn’t fully believe would happen but she let Evelyn believe since she needed that hope in life. Evelyn was so incredibly talented and people would gather around her and they looked like they’ve never heard music before, or maybe they had never heard actual good music.
Eddy loved how spontaneous Evelyn was, she loved that woman so damn much and would follow her to the end of the world just because. The girl would do stupid little things just to make memories, Eddy had never stepped foot in a photobooth in her life but Evelyn insisted they go into one.
“I promise Eddy!” Evelyn said as she handed Eddy her strip of pictures, putting her own in her bag to probably be forgotten. “These little moments will be everything in the future!”
Eddy just pocketed the pictures, giving Evelyn a slight smile. “Sure Buck, but I think any moment with you is memorable”
These two were inseparable, it only took a month of dating for Evelyn to pack up her things and move out of her sisters house which was much more emotional than the Buckley siblings had anticipated but Evelyn happily settled into Eddy’s house and loved Christopher like he was her own son.
Eddy remembers the first crazy thing Evelyn convinced them to do, which was hiking up the Hollywood sign and getting behind the ‘Y’ to sleep together, and in the literal sense. Evelyn said it was on her ‘LA’ bucket list and being she was happy Eddy was the one who she did it with. That became their spot, the two loved to go up there and just look over LA and see how small and bright everything was from up there. Evelyn said that this is where she wants to be, at the top of the world with the people she loved.
The 118 loved Evelyn as well, Bobby always joked about how she saw him as a father figure but he also saw her like another daughter, Hen and Chimney joked around with her like she was a sibling who they loved to annoy, and Eddy saw her as the love of her life. Evelyn was a ball of crazy energy that lifted up the mood of any room she walked into, she was like a golden retriever and Hen even joked that in another life she was one which everyone could 100% see. Evelyn said that being around firefighters all the time might make her want to become one but mostly to just go up and down the pole all day for fun and Eddy said she would love to see it.
Eddy and Evelyn were a perfect couple but things too perfect always have something terrible ruin it when it’s getting too good, it’s like a bullet train running through to ruin your life but to both of them it was multiple train crashes piling on top of them and ruining everything.
The 118 was throwing a celebration for Eddy ending her probation period, a whole bunch of firefighters had gathered together to celebrate Eddy and her achievement and she couldn’t have been more happy. Eddy had noticed Evelyn's absence from the party but she didn’t make a fuss, she knew she was definitely here and was most likely at the snack table or stuck in a long conversation with that old bum Gerard since he would stop people in their tracks to talk about fishing trips he’d been on. Eddy was working herself up over nothing and she knew Evelyn would round the corner soon enough with a slice of cake.
Eddy wished she saw that instead, she wishes she thought it instead. Eddy eventually saw Evelyn walk out of the bathroom while fixing her hair, Eddy was about to run over to her before she saw a man exit the bathroom not long after her fixing himself and zipping up his pants before giving Evelyn a nod and a wave. That made Eddy’s stomach churn and blood run cold, she must be seeing things but even after slapping herself that man was still very much at the party and definitely just walked out the bathroom right after Evelyn. Eddy made eye contact with Maddie from across the room and from the look in her eyes she knew that Maddie had also seen that and also thought, almost, the exact same thing.
That crushed Eddy, Evelyn had told her stories about her crazy past when she slept with whoever and partied till whenever in the morning. Eddy thought that those days were far behind her but from what she just saw it looked to be standing right next to her in Eddy’s eyes and it shattered it her heart, she wanted to throw up but instead she just avoided Evelyn for the rest of the party and planned on how to confront her but something inside her was seething and there was a rage bubbling inside of her.
The car ride home was a tense one, Evelyn was rambling on about fun facts and the first ever firefighters while Eddy was seeing and hearing her in a whole new light. Eddy can’t believe that a few months ago Evelyn was just a girl she met on a call but now she was the one who broke her heart for the first time and it was something she’s never experienced and It felt like being shot by a sniper but the sniper is the person you trusted your own life and your sons life in. It was like in a horror movie when the best friend or lover is revealed to be the killer, except Eddy being murdered right now sounded better.
“That party was so fun!” Evelyn said once Eddy returned to the kitchen once Christopher was in bed, they’d been home an hour and Eddy hadn’t said anything.
Evelyn was putting dishes away from that morning's breakfast, smiling so bright and that smile no longer warmed the soul but broke the heart.
“I’m breaking up with you!” That was surprisingly easy for her to say but it didn’t feel right for her to be saying that at all.
The shattering of that plate on the ground echoed through the house.
“What? Why are you breaking up with me?” Evelyn looked like she had just seen a ghost.
“You know why…” Eddy stepped out of the kitchen before bringing in Evelyn’s two big suitcases and throwing them at Evelyn’s feet. “I called an uber for you, good luck…”
Evelyn looked down at the two bags like it was a dead body. “I don’t know why, Why?” Evelyn still picked up the bags.
“You cheated on me and don’t try to deny it because Maddie saw it too, she may have actually seen more of it than me.” Eddy grabbed Evelyn by the arm and dragged her to the front door.
“What! I would never do that!” Evelyn still looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Yes you would! I know your past and from what I've heard this is something you would do.” Eddy pushed Evelyn out the door as the uber pulled up. “I don’t need you, LA is practically a factory of copy pasted bimbos like you! I can get a new one-”
Evelyn’s hand suddenly raised and hit Eddy across the face. “I was wrong about you and LA, I hate it here.”
Evelyn turned on her heels and stomped away from the house as she actually started to cry, Eddy could hear it through the ringing in her ears and the thoughts in her head. Eddy eventually closed the door once she couldn’t see the uber anymore and took out her phone, removing Evelyn from the 118 and friends group chat and telling them all they had broken up. Of course this came with questions but Eddy just gave them, what she believed to be, the stone cold truth. But once the text went through her head told her she was wrong.
Her head was telling her she saw it all wrong and when the text from Maddie came through which mirrored her thoughts, that made her stomach churn all over again.
By the time her next shift rolled around Evelyn had blocked everyone Eddy knew and had sent one final text saying ‘You know why I did this’ which just sealed their breakup, Eddy sat the table and just stared at her phone and waited for a ‘I love you’ or ‘How is your day?’ text from Evelyn. She was waiting for her actions to be a dream and Evelyn to still be her girlfriend, she was waiting for Bobby to say her girlfriend was here for a visit and for everyone to gather round her to hear all her fun facts.
It never happened and It made Eddy feel conflicted.
It’s been weeks since Evelyn was kicked out and now she’s finally met the true side of LA, it was a horrible dangerous town that didn’t treat her kindly. She was stuck in a crappy apartment that Evelyn knew was in a dangerous place as she regularly saw people getting arrested and police casing the place every time some drug case had come up on the news and it was an awkward few minutes when the officer who was doing the rounds one day was Athena. She looked so shocked to see her but there was a slight glint of distrust in her eyes that made Evelyn want to die, how can a group of people go to family to strangers.
Getting a job was impossible and busking for money isn’t that great for money, she either wasn’t qualified or the owner just thought she was just some bimbo who would do whatever for money. She was suffering but was too proud to unblock anyone and ask for her, she was too proud to unblock the woman she still loved and ask her for help. She still loved Eddy because she knew the truth and she knew Eddy didn’t know it, usually people in Evelyn’s situation would never forgive Eddy but she could never hate that woman or blame that woman as she loved her no matter what. She knew Eddy said all of that in the heat of the moment.
Evelyn spent most of her nights walking up and down Hollywood trying to find a job but by the end of the night she would be running home with mascara running down her face. It was another one of those nights where after being harassed at an interview she cried her way home while ignoring the world around her, the rain poured down heavily on her and her clothes soaked through to her skin that made her shiver so hard that it looked like something out of a cartoon. Evelyn crashed into a couple and dropped her bag onto the floor with a clatter. She fell down onto the wet concrete to gather her things but something in her bag made her cry even harder than before. It didn’t upset her but it wasn’t what she wanted to see right now.
It was the photobooth pictures with Eddy, the two of them laughing, posing and kissing with big goofy smiles on their faces. This isn’t what she wanted to see so in a moment of emotion she ripped up the photos in between wails of sadness, her wails distracted her from the fact that the run had suddenly stopped pouring down her and when she looked up an older black woman was holding an umbrella over her with a sympathetic smile on her face. She took Evelyn’s hand and led her into an establishment where the neon light sign was so bright that it was hard to read close up but once she got into the place she knew what it was, it was a strip club.
“Stephanie, Whiskey on the rocks.” The older woman said as she sat Evelyn down at the bar. “I’m Treasure.”
“Evelyn.” She simply responds before downing her drink. “But everyone just calls me Buck.”
“This is just a rest stop, Don’t expect more drinks from me.” Treasure turned her attention to the room, Evelyn could just tell from her attitude she was the boss.
“I need a Job”
“Can you dance?”
“I can sing”
“That isn’t what I asked…” She turns her full attention to Evelyn. “Can you dance?”
“Yes, I took lessons.” Evelyn replied, putting her empty glass down.
“And now you have a job, you start tomorrow and we provide all the outfits.” Treasure was handed her own drink. “But don’t worry, you can keep the ones you really love.”
“Thank you for this, I need the money for my-”
“For your singing career?” Treasure turned to Evelyn. “I’ve seen so many girls walk in with the same dreams and they always end up on that stage, maybe because they always give up once they get up on that stage.”
“Well I’m not giving up, I didn't come out here to do that.”
“I’m glad to hear that Buck.”
Evelyn left that place with a sheet filled with information on what to do tomorrow night, she was just as happy as she was when she first started dating Eddy. She told herself that if she can’t move forward she will never get Eddy back, staying in one miserable place will never change anything in her life and make it piece her life back together. She needs to be a person put together enough for her sister, ex girlfriend and friends to respect again since whenever she caught a glimpse of any of them in public they would all have a look of pity on their faces that made Evelyn feel bad.
She was going to harden her heart so she could open up again, she needed to be tough and ready before she went back to the people she loved before.
When she clocked in for her first shift she slinked into the back room and she felt like a black sheep, these woman looked so confident and it made her feel like this was a mistake but that faded once all the women in the room glided over to her and showered her with love and tips on how to look the best. Evelyn was pushed over to a rack of clothes and told to pick anything out, even pointing her to the best options.
“Do you know that the earliest concept of suggestive performance dates back to the late 1800s to early 1900s.” Evelyn said as she put on fluffy pink leg warmers, it matched her outfit. “It was places like the Moulin Rouge in France!”
“Oh god Buck, are you just walking wikipedia?” One of the girls in the room jokes.
“Basically!” She joked which made the woman laugh, she was bonding.
“Your a Buck-ipedia”
This became Evelyn’s routine for the next two months, she would sleep in till dawn then pack her dance bag before leaving her apartment and getting to work until the sun rose and she crashed on her bed until her next shift rolled around. For the first time since her breakup she was having fun and letting loose, she also finally had her life together for once which was a nice change of pace as she usually had zero goals or plans but now everything was falling into place for her.
Evelyn also had a routine for days off. It consisted of the same things but all day work was replaced by aimlessly walking around the good parts of LA and drinking coffee, she liked to watch people, or recording music for her music video she’s still determined to make. She was also trying to slowly replace her record collection, it didn't feel the same since when she looked at them or played them all she thought about was the fact they weren't her records and they didn't feel special to her. Also during her people watching times she has spotted Athena and the 118, it seemed the 118 had a new probie that everyone loved to push around and they all looked so happy.
She had done much to avoid them, she even did circles around a mall once just to avoid bumping into them as they were treating someone on the second floor. She missed them so much but she also made avoiding them her second job, and her tactics never usually failed her but sometimes they would see her and say an awkward hello or give a shy wave and she usually returned the gesture just to be civil but she still needed space and couldn't go bouncing over to them just yet.
All her tactics failed her one day at her favourite coffee shop, she was too distracted to notice the fire truck pull up outside and the 118 get out one at a time until that new probie stood next to her and she heard their goddamn house name brought up for the online coffee orders and when she counted the drinks and saw an extra one she knew Athena was dropping by for a coffee. These were the last people she wanted to see in this state, she was the last one out of work and was still in her stripper outfit but just with a long coat over top of it all and she looked like a fucking mess. She looked like a washed up stripper and even strippers don’t want to look like that.
Evelyn knew that she couldn’t avoid them until she was ready so she guessed today was the day for a sudden reunion so she waited until the probie left the coffee shop and trailed behind not long after, she could see in the corner of her eye Chimney pointing her out the the rest of the group as she left the store.
“Hey Buck!” Athena was the one to call out.
Evelyn froze to the floor before turning around to face the large group. “Hello again…” She could see everyone clock her current state.
“It’s, uhh…” Eddy stood up straight, obviously wanting to go up to Evelyn. “Nice to see you again, have you been up to anything?”
“I’ve been replacing my record collection and working” She took a long sip of her coffee.
“And what do you do for work? Most times I patrol your area you're just getting home or leaving” Athena approached Evelyn, she was just concerned for her wellbeing.
“I don’t do much for work, I’ve just been in a recording studio getting to work on my music.” She wasn’t completely lying so it didn’t feel that bad.
There was a long silence within the group, Evelyn could just disappear into almost empty streets but something was telling her to stay and she was going to stay to see what happens. She was glad she stayed as Eddy caught the courage to walk up to her.
“Buck, I’ve missed you so much…” Eddy sighed out, looking to be in pain. “You don’t know how hard it’s been.”
“Actually I do know.” Evelyn replies bluntly. “I’ve been having a horrible fucking time without any of you but shame I shouldn’t have eats at me everyday! Thinking about unblocking any of you makes me feel scared.”
“I’m sorry Buck, I mean it.” Eddy ran her hands through her hair. “I’m sorry, i lov-”
“No!” Evelyn cut her off, getting increasingly more upset. “It’s going to take more than words to get me to forgive you after all the things you said to me.”
“I didn’t mean any of it, It meant nothing.”
“Well it means something now that it came true.”
The silence that came about again was even more painful than before, from the look of the 118 and cos faces they had heard about the things Eddy had called. They had been told that Evelyn was called a ‘copy pasted bimbo’ and that just somehow made her feel less ashamed, there was not much to hide when your sadness was aired out to the 118 and all their families and friends. Evelyn put a hand in her bag and pulled out a business card for her job, there wasn’t much point of this being her secret shame anymore.
“I’m a stripper, Eddy.” She gives Eddy the card. “And you were right, LA is a factory of me’s, come and see it some time.” Evelyn began to walk away from the group.
“Evelyn…” Eddy stopped Evelyn in her tracks.”I lo-”
“Stop it!” Evelyn turned her head to her ex girlfriend. “Like I said, more than words.”
And just like that Eddy watched Evelyn walk again.
Eddy thought about Evelyn’s words as she walked and they were cutting deep, she turned to the 118 and saw their pitiful looks that made her feel weak. Eddy just got back into the truck and everyone else followed without word as no one knew what to say as they drove off to their next call which what Eddy needed right now, a distraction from what just happened but since Ravi had never heard of Evelyn he asked a lot of questions which he did get answers to as it did seem kind of rude to leave him in the dust.
The rest of the shift dragged on, it wasn’t even half way through the day and she was extremely bored as the day was going by at a snail's pace. Eddy couldn’t exactly wrap her head around Evelyn’s current situation as the guilt was making her incredibly nauseous, she had just messed up two people’s lives over something that was now nothing as a few weeks after their break up everyone had learned the truth.
Evelyn had never cheated on Eddy, if either Eddy or Maddie paid attention for a few more moments they would’ve seen a third person leave the bathroom. A woman leave the bathroom. The 118 ran into the man a few weeks after the breakup and after a mild confrontation told everyone the truth that Evelyn had just happened to walk in on him and his girlfriend being intimate in the bathroom and while the girlfriend hid from embarrassment after Evelyn had a small giggle fit, the two then struck up a conversation about Eddy before leaving the bathroom.
Why did Evelyn fix her hair? it got messed up after giggling. Why did the man wave at Evelyn after fixing himself? bad timing.
The entire basis for the breakup was made up of nothing. Everyone tried to get in contact with Evelyn to just sort things out but she had blocked them and it looked like she was never going to unblock them all which Eddy did not blame her for, while all this was just a big misunderstanding for Eddy it was a major heartbreak moment for Evelyn that wouldn’t take a few weeks for her to get over so they all just waited to run into her in LA. They all knew she was still in LA because of Athean and the fact the Buckley parents hadn’t called Maddie to say that she had just appeared on their front door step.
Hearing Evelyn’s voice and hearing her say all those things made Eddy want to fix things but she didn’t know how to do it in ‘more than words’ as she had never had to do that before, it was eating at her heart and brain for days. When the alarm sounded it broke her out of her panic and into action but she was suddenly stopped.
“No Eddy, you're the man behind.” Bobby stopped her from getting downstairs.
“What?” Eddy looked down at the rest of her crew getting into the truck. “Why?”
“More than words.” That was all that Bobby said before walking away to the rest of the crew.
‘More than words’
More than goddamn words!
That phrase haunted her and she needed an escape so once everyone left she snuck out of the station and took a walk, she needed fresh air and even though it was LA air but it was still fresh. The world must be looking out for her for once as her walk leads her to a record store that makes her think of Evelyn as they once went in there on a date to pick each other out records so she walks into the store and her ears are immediately filled with a song that quite literally says the lyrics ‘More than words’ which made this feel like a sign to her. This could be the place to be right now.
She starts to flick through records and remembers the long conversation she and Evelyn had about her singing career and how she wanted to get as big as some of these people in the store who had whole sections dedicated to them, when she looked up from the records she imagined Evelyn standing across from her like the day they were there but that imagination soon warped into the woman she saw a few days ago which broke her heart all over again. She was going to cry before hearing a conversation that changed everything.
“Dude! First print beatles!” The seemingly middle aged man said to his friend.
“Bro, some girl wrote on this! It’s worth nothing.” His friend responded as they both walked away.
Eddy rushed over the section that was full of second hand records and saw it, it was one of Evelyn’s first print records that she had signed in pink chalk pen with a heart on the curly part of the ‘y’. Once she picked it up she noticed another and another and another, all of her goddamn records were here as it seemed the robber found nothing of value and just handed them into this shop and by the luck of the God’s no one had bought any of them because of A) the obvious sentimental value and B) Evelyn wrote on them because she never intended to make a profit off of them and just wanted to enjoy them.
By the time she walked out of the store and back to the 118 the crew was back, she had a plan and a big stack of records she needed to get to Evelyn as soon as possible. She told Bobby she was leaving and Bobby told her she expected it and to go, Eddy left the station with the strip clubs business card gripped tight into her hands like it was a winning lottery ticket she couldn’t lose.
Once night rolled around Eddy made her way to the strip club, she took an uber to a bar first for some courage in the form of a shot of straight tequila and then went to the club. Walking through the doors it felt like stepping into another world, it was strippers and men with stacks of cash everywhere which looked to be out of a movie but it was very much real and she betted that if Evelyn was here she would give a short history on the fact of why money was thrown at strippers. Eddy bet it was cool as she approached a woman who looked to be the boss from her general vibe and style.
“Hello, are you the boss?” Eddy asked nervously.
“You Eddy?” She took a sip of her gin, her eyes barely meeting Eddy’s.
“Yes I am, I have a gift for Evelyn.” She held out the bag to Treasure who took it from her.
“I’ll get it to her, she’s on break in five minutes.” Treasure smiled at her before disappearing into the back room.
Eddy saw Evelyn before she left the strip club, she looked gorgeous.
Evelyn was drained as she sat down in the back room, she just needed a big cup of coffee before she went back out there. As she went to grab her lipgloss her hand landed on plastic and paper instead, she finally noticed the bag sat at the shared dressing table with a note taped to the front. It was for her and once she saw her name written in pink pen she knew who it was from and she let out a sob of joy which got others attention, looking over her shoulder at the note before all commenting about how cute it was but Evelyn hadn’t actually read the note yet.
To my dear Evelyn
you said to say “I love you” in more than words so here it is.
On our first date you said you got robbed on your first day in LA and lost all your records but I found them.
XOXO
Eddy
Evelyn burst into tears as she pulled back the bag to reveal her name in pink chalk pen, it was her records and not replacements which made it all so much better. Seeing all of them again was like falling in love with Eddy all over again which was what she needed, Eddy said it in more than words and proved her love to her. Evelyn found one record that wasn’t hers but it had a blue post it note.
“I also got you a single of a song called “More than words” because it fits the situation…” Evelyn let out another big sob.
“You know Evelyn…” Treasure stood next to her chair. “She only left not long ago, if you run…” Treasure trails off dramatically before walking away.
Evelyn had never taken her heels off faster than how she just did and she put on her tennis shoes, she doesn’t play tennis but the shoes are comfortable, and she ran out of that dressing like the flash to get the woman she loved back. She got strange stares from patrons but supporting cheers from her fellow strippers as she bolted out of the strip club with her eyes glued on Eddy not far down the street from her as she walked away with her head hung low but once Evelyn yelled out Eddy’s name she turned to look at the blonde bolting at her.
When the two girls met in the street their lips immediately locked and their arms wrapped around each other, they had both missed this so much and the feeling of each other being near each other again was just as magical as they both had expected it to be. Pulling away from the kiss seems wrong but they have to do it at some point.
“I love you Evelyn”
“I love you Eddy”