WHAT ONCE WAS MINE → BENLIE F2F
[As Bennett stood outside of JFK Airport, waiting for his turn to climb into one of the taxis waiting for passengers just like him, his stomach twisted into knots. This was crazy -- him being here, him hopping on a plane and chasing down Charlie when their last conversation had made it pretty clear she never planned on seeing him ever again -- but she was all he’d been able to think about since she left. He’d searched online every day for some kind of wedding announcement, some kind of sign that she’d finally moved on once and for all, slamming the door on what they’d had in the past, but it never came. And then when his parents had run into hers at Publix, and come back to report the news that she’d called off her engagement...
Well, now here he was. In a city he’d only been to once before, probably about to get the same results that he’d gotten then.
He didn’t even have an address this time, just the name of the dance company that she was a part of, and it was probably crazy unprofessional for him to just show up to a closed rehearsal the way he was planning to. But he handed the taxi driver her studio’s address anyway, and cursed what a bitch New York traffic was under his breath the whole time. He might have been too late to even see her, he thought to himself as he clambered out of the car and shoved a wad of cash at the driver, but he’d come back everyday until he found her. He wasn’t letting go without a fight this time -- Bennett had made that mistake after their kiss, thinking she didn’t care about him after all, but this time, he’d get answers. This time, he’d try.
It was surprisingly easy to get inside (especially when he dropped the name Charlotte Crawford -- quickly corrected to Nichols -- to the security guard), but the place was near empty, despite his assurances that he hadn’t sen Charlotte leave yet. He looked at the faces trickling out, but none were hers, and Bennett was about to give up when he heard the sound of music playing softly from the stage. He stepped into the wings, resting against a curtain rod and watching the shape dance across the open space until he definitely recognized her as his wife... Or probably ex-wife, by now.]
@twirlingcharlotte