Five years after signing his contract, it was finally over. Hayden Christensen could go home and not have to worry about waking up the next morning to do CG work, or memorize lines. He could now just go home and sleep. In his own bed. Which, he thought, was probably collecting dust. He thought of his mom and dad, and how he was really looking forward to fishing with his dad on the weekends, and having some quality breakfasts with his mom. Hesja, she had a family now, and he’d never even met his little niece yet. Tove was taming the production company he started, and Kaylen was in college. College. His little sister. In college.
And he wondered about his next door neighbor, who was his confidant, according to her plan, a 9th grade English teacher. He was in Vancouver three years ago, with enough time to visit the old crowd, and see how miss Emily McLean did after surviving college.
He just wanted to be home. He reclined his seat and hoped he would wake up just as the plane landed.
Hayden woke up with ten minutes to spare before landing. Donning sunglasses and a baseball cap, he did his best to slip into anonymity. The plane landed with a slight lurch and soon Hayden found himself walking out of the airplane and into the gate. Picked up his suitcase, hailed a cab, and headed home.
It was five o’clock when Hayden got home. His mom was on the lawn, holding a sandy haired baby girl, and chatting with a familiar woman. The other woman, instead of staying, scooped up, who he presumed was her daughter, and went back towards the McLean house.
“Mom!” Hayden beamed, happy to see a familiar face. “I missed you!” He hugged her tightly as his luggage was being unloaded, and feeling a family hug was enough to erase any questions he had as to who she was talking to.
“Hayden, oh, we’re so proud of you!” She smiled broadly and picked up his backpack and they walked towards the house. “There was so much anguish in your portrayal of Anakin, it was…”
“Mom…please.” Hayden grinned. As he entered the house, he was greeted by an explosion of noise from every family member he knew existed, as well as those that didn’t. After three hours, he was in dire need of a smoke. Cursing at himself for not fully kicking his habit, he snuck outside to his front lawn.
He was in the middle of taking a very long drag when a familiar voice said “Those kill you, you know.” Hayden looked at the wavy haired brunette in front of him, her gray eyes twinkling. “And I’m getting secondhand.”
“You never called.” He said, looking at her.
“You don’t have a cell phone.” She said, plucking the cigarette from his lips and stamping it out.
“I liked the Christmas and birthday gifts, though.” Hayden smiled.
“Thanks.” She replied. Before she knew it, she was being fully embraced. “Hayden…Hayden…DEN!”
“Emily.” He said, surveying her after releasing their hug. “You look good.”
“Thanks.” She grinned, demurely. She was a lot more reserved than he remembered. He would normally let her be the gregarious one. “Well, I have an early start tomorrow. How long are you home for?”
“A while, I don’t want to find work yet.” Hayden sighed toying with another cigarette. Emily nodded and smiled at him and walked to her house. “Wait, Emily…” She turned around, wordlessly, and he could tell her face was masking something. “Is anything wrong? You don’t seem yourself…does it have to do with ---“
“No.” She replied quickly, slapping herself mentally. “We can talk later, I just…I have a paper to finish.” She gave him a quick hug and went back to her house, Hayden just watching her curiously. He looked at the unused cigarette in his hand, and tucked it in his pocket.
Later that evening, he was sitting at the kitchen counter as his mother and father were finishing the cleaning. “So, did you see Emily? She left you a gift before you came. She was busy this evening.”
“Yeah, mom, we talked outside.” Hayden said, sipping his cup.
“Just her?” His mom pressed, Hayden saw his father give her a look.
“Why, is there some mystery man in her life that you don’t want me to know about?” Hayden asked, half grinning, half telling the truth.
“Oh, nothing, Hayden, your mom’s just being nosy.” His father grinned. “Holy cow, it’s two a.m., we need to be in the office by nine!”
And with that Hayden sat in the kitchen by himself, soaking in the fact that he was home.