Chapter Text
2004
“Come alive, come alive. Go and ride your light let it burn so bright; reaching up
to the sky, and it's open wide, you're electrified. When the world becomes a fantasy and you're more than you could ever be, 'cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open. And you know you can't go back again to the world that you were living in, 'cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open. So, come alive!” -Come Alive,
The Greatest Showman
Graduation day. Not from college, no, but she was graduating from secondary school. Starting college in September…
Maeve would be lying if she said she wasn’t scared shitless. But she was the daughter of Freddie and Jim Hutton: she held her head high and walked with a smile.
Right now she was walking in circles in her room, still trying to get used to her high-heels. They were higher than what she usually went for, adding an extra six (and a bit) inches to her height. Loathe as she was to admit it, Jim may have had a point when he said they were too high. She was suddenly terrified she’d fall flat on her face in front of everyone, but she was also pretty sure she had no others shoes that went with her dress and-
She didn’t realise she was picking up speed until her ankle twisted and she landed flat on her face.
“Fuck!” she growled, pushing herself up to her knees.
“Take it you're nervous then?”
Freddie was in the doorway, Lily purring in his arms. Far from laughing at her, or angry about the swearing, he just looked concerned.
“I’m going to look like an idiot, Papa,” Maeve groaned, still kneeling on her fluffy carpet.
“No you won’t,” Freddie said calmly, clearly certain he was right. He deposited Lily on the bed then leaned over to help her up. “And if you keep focusing on falling then you will. Don’t psych yourself out, darling. Just focus on getting that diploma then going out with your friends later.”
Her school had rented a hall for a graduation party later, but Maeve, Meg, Shauna and Carrie, as well as a few others would be heading into London for a night out by themselves. She couldn’t wait for this all to be over, so she could just relax and celebrate.
“Were you this nervous when you graduated?” she asked.
“I was,” Freddie admitted. He looked down and raised an eyebrow at her shoes. “Though I wasn’t wearing platforms high enough to break my neck, love.”
“Yeah, I uh...I think Dad was right,” Maeve admitted with a sheepish smile. She sat on her bed, kicking her feet out and sighing. “My feet already hurt, but damn it, I don’t have any other shoes that go with the dress!”
He raised an eyebrow at her full-to-bursting wardrobe: it took up half a wall. Her graduation dress was placed reverently outside it, to keep it from getting creased jammed in with everything else. It was a relatively short dress, a soft rose pink with gold trimmings and flowing lace sleeves. It was, beyond a doubt, one of the prettiest things she’d ever bought.
And her golden high-heels, much as they were paining her, went perfectly with it.
Damn it, she should have gone for something smaller.
“Well,” Freddie said. “I’m calling bullshit.”
He marched right over to her wardrobe and started rooting through it. Baffled, Maeve pulled Lily onto her lap, watching as her Papa went through every pair of shoes she owned in record time. Huh. Maybe she should have remembered what a diva he could be when it came to looking perfect.
It only took him five minutes, if that, to find another pair of shoes; strappy pale-gold sandals, the heels were only about three inches at most. She’d forgotten she even owned them.
“How in the world did you-?”
“Don’t question perfection, Maevie,” Freddie laughed, tossing the shoes to her. She tried them on and, thank God, they still fit perfectly. What’s more they didn’t hurt and she could walk in them with ease. They were open-toed, so she’d definitely have to paint her toe-nails too, but as she already had her nail varnish picked out that wasn’t a problem.
“You’re a genius,” she told him seriously.
“I know,” Freddie smiled, giving her forehead a quick kiss. “Now come on, your dad wants to get a start on your hair.”
Between Jim doing her hair and Freddie’s own stylist, Diana, doing her makeup, she looked like a princess. Her hair was partially braided back; the rest flowed loose and Jim had, by some miracle, managed to tame her hair into neat waves rather than the usual chaotic mess of waves, curls and fly-away hairs. Diana had gone for a simple-enough look, minimum really, though the light touch of gold eyeliner made Maeve grin.
Hell if this was what they went for just for graduation she couldn’t wait to see how they made her up for prom.
“You like it?” Jim asked, squeezing her shoulder. Maeve beamed at her reflection.
“I love it.”
The surge of confidence she felt after her makeover died once they reached the school.
“You okay, darling?” Freddie asked. “You look petrified.”
“I don’t want to fall,” she said. She hated how croaky her voice sounded but it was the truth; she was utterly terrified of falling and making an ass of herself.
“You won’t,” Jim said and he sounded so confident in her. “You’ll be alright, sweetheart.”
She looked up at him and couldn’t help but believe him. Her Dad, always so certain, so unflappable. He hardly ever lost his cool. He reminded her of a teddy bear sometimes; sure he looked intimidating, but he was a total softie at heart. He’d do anything for her- and he wouldn’t lie to her, she knew that.
Then she looked at Freddie, who in all honesty, wasn’t that much bigger than her when she really stopped to think of it. Yet he always seemed larger than life. Unbreakable. Always smiling, no matter what. He was, hand on heart, the bravest person she knew.
Uncaring of who saw for once, she took hold of both their hands.
“Don’t let go,” she pleaded.
Jim squeezed her hand and, smiling, Freddie brushed a stray strand of her hair back.
“Never,” he promised.
Unlike a college graduation, which would be strict and formal, this was more relaxed. For one, they didn’t have to sit in alphabetical order, so she and her girlfriend and their friends all stuck close together, their families further towards the back. Knowing Meg's mother she'd be showing off baby pictures to the other parents in seconds.
“Anyone else want to throw up?” Meg asked with a grin.
“Don’t tempt me,” Carrie mumbled. She was looking pale. Maeve took her hand, squeezing tightly.
“So...Are we ready?” Shauna asked as their headmaster approached the stage.
Maeve looked around the assembly hall; even Archie looked nervous. It felt so weird to be leaving. This was the school where she and Shauna met Meg and Carrie. This was where she asked Carrie out. This was where Blake, with increasing dramatics asked Leanne out or laughingly proposed again and again- and she gleefully turned him down with increasing dramatics. This was where Maeve had landed herself in detention for kneeing Archie’s best friend in the crotch so hard he nearly vomited- served him right for groping Shauna’s ass.
This was where she made friends and even outright enemies.
Was she ready for what came next?
She caught sight of Jim and Freddie in the crowd; Freddie shot her a thumbs up, grinning without covering his teeth, because he never did when he smiled at her. And Jim, usually so shy and awkward in public made a heart shape with his hands, grinning at her.
Grinning, she turned back to her friends.
“Yeah,” Maeve said. Her anxiety started to melt away, replaced with a growing confidence. “Yeah,” she said again. “I think we’re ready.”
Then their headmaster called for attention and it was time to face the future.