1x1 with bayleaf

[bing cherry]

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579 days. that was exactly how many days before elijah would return from chicago. when he comes back, ridgewood has
changed so much. he meets her at skyline diner, the place they first met so many years ago. her smile was the only thing
that was the same about her.

for reference
set in the 1950s-1960s, with diners and drive-ins and all that jazz

PLEASE do not post if you are not lana or bayleaf
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[bing cherry]

i. jamie rosalyn foster ii. female iii. heterosexual iv. 18 years old

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ｉ  ｗａｎｔ
ＡＤＶＥＮＴＵＲＥ
jamie's always had too
many dreams for her
own good. she was set
on becoming a singer,
but was not successful.
all her family wanted
for her to do was take
over skyline diner, the
diner they owned. she
wants adventure, to
explore the world, not
be caged up in their
tiny town.
- ｉｎ  ｔｈｅ  -
ｇｒｅａｔ  ｗｉｄｅ

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ＳＯＭＥＷＨＥＲＥ
+ outgoing
+ strong-willed
+ confident
+ determined
+ generous
+ sweetheart
+ loves animals
= shy sometimes
- blunt
- impulsive
- flirty
- sassy remarks
- trust issues
- sensitive
- lies easily
- source of gossip

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[alune]

xxxxxxx

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full name.
elijah thomas woods
gender.
male
age.
18 years
height.
6'0
sexuality.
heterosexual
family.
ellen white, david
white, chloe white
(13 year old sister)
birthday.
november 22nd

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history. he was born with adhd &
dyslexia. he comes from a family
of successful, intelligent people
(his father is a business owner
and his mother is a lawyer) and
has always had trouble with his
schoolwork. while his parents do
love him, elijah knows that they
clearly wish they had a son who
could one day be even more
successful than them. they sent
him to boarding school in europe,
where they hoped to "fix what
was wrong with him". before
leaving, elijah made them swear
to let him go back home after
the second year ended.

personality. elijah loves to have
fun and he is a cool and laid
back person. inside, he really
wants someone to understand
him instead of telling him he's
not good enough. he hates
fake people and stay as far
away from them as possible.
he is a troublemaker but he
knows his boundaries.

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[alune]

something wet dripped onto him and sent shivers down his spine.

elijah hated rain. okay, maybe romantic walks in the rain were okay. but this wasn't the case. within seconds, the fair weather had turned into pouring cold droplets that were currently pelting him the face. although, right now he didn't care as much. after so many days, he was finally home to ridgewood. he was admittedly a bit anxious. what had his friends done while he was away? and most importantly...jamie. he couldn't get her out of his mind for 579 straight days. he hadn't seen her face for almost two years, but he remembered it so clearly. especially her smile. her smile was the most beautiful thing in the world.

he gave up waiting on the bus. clearly, it wasn't showing up. it was more than an hour late and he wasn't standing around alone at the bus stop with his heart pounding nonstop. he was right outside the outskirts of ridgewood. it wouldn't be too bad to walk.

he wouldn't go home. no, he didn't want to see his parents. they didn't write to him through all two years. did they even miss him? they probably adopted a new perfect child they could raise to take over their businesses. yeah, they probably did. elijah was numb now, and he couldn't feel the rain, or now, the hail beating down. he thought about the school his parents had sent him to. they'd picked him up from school one day and brought him straight to the airport, not saying a word. elijah was excited at first. maybe they were bringing him to costa rica! he'd always wanted to go there. then it dawned on him.

something flickered in his peripheral vision, and elijah spun around. a bird. seriously? he kicked himself. okay. focus. you know this place better than you know yourself. in the background, he saw a faint neon light flickering in the midst of the downpour. he knew exactly where he was now. running, his footsteps matching his speeding heartbeat, elijah headed to the light. the neon sign came into view. it was a cheap, broken down sign, but it was as bright as ever to him. SKYLINE DINER, it read in big capital letters. he smiled. inside, he saw the bustling customers and staff. he stared a bit into the clear walls, then headed in. at this point, his breathing had become raspy and shaky. the tiny bell above the door tinkered as elijah walked in, dragging his soaked suitcase behind him. he began searching the crowd, stopping at every red waitress apron he saw. where was she?

[bing cherry]

"waitress! we need more water!" an impatient man called from table nine. he was big and buff, like the kind of man you really did not want to mess with, and honestly, jamie was a bit terrified. she picked up the water jug immediately. she poured the water and went to the back room. she slumped against a chair and burrowed her head into her hands. she really thought she would be famous by now. she thought she would have her name, jamie foster, in headlights at a concert. no. jamie was stuck in this stuffy diner serving milkshakes and burgers. what kind of life was this? it was so unfair.

jamie never cried. she prided herself on that. her mother always told her she was cold as ice but had a fiery personality. she supposed that was true. but now, she felt like crying. it was 10 pm, and tomorrow she would wake up at 5 am in the morning, as usual, put on her waitress dress, and start the day over again. school days didn't seem so dreary anymore. "jamie, can you go clear table four?" she heard her mom's voice from outside. she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked back out.

the tiny doorbell sounded, and she froze. time stopped, like in the movies. she'd forgotten...it was november 10th. 579 days after april 11th, almost two years ago. before she even thought about him, she thought about her guilt. she had kept a calendar, checking off day by day. but since a few months ago, she'd given up on everything and threw it away. her life now was just wake up, work, and then sleep. because if she did that, she couldn't get hurt. right?

could she really face him after so long? she was a sophomore back then. they were so naive. he was probably different now. after all, boarding school in europe sounded so...preppy. jamie didn't think she had any feelings left. for anything. even going the rare occasion of going to the drive-ins on friday nights weren't so exciting anymore. she was eighteen now. she was an adult, and she was still standing around doing nothing. stop making excuses, jamie, she told herself.

he'd definitely seen her now. "elijah," she nodded curtly, not knowing what to say. if she could, jamie would have slapped him. she wanted to scream and hurt him and throw a tantrum in the middle of the restaurant and leave him with nothing but what he had left her with. jamie had gone to his house on april 11th and then heard from his parents that he had gone to boarding school. "he didn't tell you?" they'd said. "he's in europe." jamie had cried for ten days straight.

she smoothed down her apron. was it possible for him to get even more attractive? STOP, she scolded herself. he was a typical teenage boy. he was just a distraction to all of the things jamie wanted for the future.

[alune]

he saw her.

she was standing there, frozen as if seeing a ghost. elijah wondered what he had been expecting. for her to welcome him with open arms? of course, elijah was just a ghost from her past now. she gave him a dirty look and a slight nod of acknowledgment. she had definitely changed. she seemed stronger yet more fragile, if that made sense. at least she didn't walk away. her blue eyes swam with so many emotions that elijah couldn't keep track. they weren't even friends now. they were back where they started.

school was going to be awkward on monday. elijah was excited to see all of his friends at last. going from sophomore to senior was a huge jump. he wasn't really sure what everyone would think, or if they would even remember him. "can we meet on monday? i need to sort things out back at home, but we need to talk. i just need to explain some things," he said.

he didn't mind if she said no. but he wanted to get things back to where they were. where he was a cool kid at school, having fun with no care in the world, with a perfect supportive girlfriend and cuddling at home with his golden retriever. parents truly suck. they had taken everything that mattered to him in the world. at boarding school, everyone was the same. they were boring, to say it simply. they wore the same uniforms, talked the same way, walked the same way, and snobbishly put down others in the same way. that just left elijah. the weird american kid.

[bing cherry]

jamie raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "yeah, sure. i'm really busy though," she replied. she glanced over at the counter, where her little sister blair was watching with wide eyes. before elijah had left, blair was only twelve years old and she was his number one fan. she constantly invited him over to "hangout" but mostly they just gossiped about jamie. elijah, being the absolute perfect jerk he was, pampered and spoiled her endlessly.

jamie's phone chimed her ringtone and she snatched up her phone. "maisie!" her best friend's voice replied on the other end, "hey, j. are you free? i was going to head over to the diner. my mom is being annoying, per usual." jamie glanced up at elijah, then turned around, cupping the phone and whispering, "elijah's back. please save me." a loud, gasp sounded on the line and then her phone beeped. maisie had hung up. no doubt running as fast as she could to the diner.

she pretended to be washing the dishes, knowing that elijah was sitting at a booth studying her every move. within five minutes, the short brunette appeared in the doorway. she lived halfway across town; jamie had no idea how in the world she managed to get to the diner so quickly. "hey girl!" maisie chirped. she plopped down on a stool at the counter, shooting glances at elijah repeatedly. "he's even more smokin than i remember! nice score, jamie! we should keep a notebook of how many guys you've played now by now." jamie froze and hissed, "stop!" so maybe jamie had speed dated more than just a few guys out of heartbreak after elijah left. no big deal. right? maisie got out of her stool and walked right over to elijah. she sat down and they chatted up a storm. oh god. what were they talking about? jamie knew maisie's little games. she was trying to get jamie to become jealous and go over. well, two could play at that game. jamie walked to the other side of the diner, taking orders and passing out bills.

(want to time skip to monday morning?)