1.
LONDON
"Do it." She commands. Her eyes collide again with those of Vanellope, her long-time hairdresser. The woman is a wizard with color and scissors and always knows the best products for her curls. They've been arguing in the chair for twenty minutes and the only thing she's done at this point is pick up her shears. They're tucked against her palm like she's not actually planning on using them.
"Cutting it would be a crime." Vanellope states.
"It's my hair, my decision."
"You haven't thought this through." Vanellope protests.
She saved the haircut for last, because she knew she would 100% change her mind if she didn't. She said goodbye to the pack, she boxed up all of her shit and had it moved to a storage unit. All that's left is her new haircut and one last day with her best friends before her plane leaves in the evening. "I'm tired of thinking. I miss my husband, Vanellope. I need to do this to show him that I've changed, that I'm ready to fight for us. Cut it off."
With one heavy sigh, she lifts her scissors to a few inches beneath her collarbone. "Last chance." She warns, glancing at her in the mirror.
She smiles. "Do it." The first chunk of hair hits the floor.
An hour later, she walks out of the salon feeling a few pounds lighter. Her head feels so free, her big curly hair bouncing with every step. She drives her car to the nearest dealership and trades it in for cash. A lot less cash than it was originally worth, but it's not like she needs the money. With a plain blue backpack full of cash slung over her shoulder, she walks outside onto the busy sidewalk and lifts her phone to her ear.
"Hi, London." Her accountant, Edgar, answers the call. He's also her financial advisor, asset manager and part of the New York Pack. She moved to the Wolfsbane Pack when her best friend became Alpha of All, but the groups are still on good terms.
"Hey, Edgar. Pull the trigger. Make sure the money doesn't go through until right as my plane lands. Gunner and I use the same bank, so it should be immediate and I land at...." she tugs her phone from her ear and scrolls to her emails, finding the exact time. "8:55 PM." She found a direct flight from NYC to Sacramento, which is three hours behind, so it works out nicely. She'll have time to drive the hour to the California pack's land and make a grand entrance before making herself at home in Gunner's bed. Her plan is slightly dramatic, but he knows she likes drama. He's known that since the day they met when she threw a shoe at him for scaring her.
Edgar hesitates. "Are you sure?"
What's up with everyone questioning her? Sure, maybe her decisions seem a bit crazy in most situations, but it's not like she's decided anything spur-of-the-moment. She's spent a year getting ready to merge her life with Gunner's, so obviously she's not about to change her mind.
"I'm positive." She says.
He sighs, the sound almost identical to the one Vanellope also made before cutting her hair. "Alright. It'll go through at 8:55 on the dot. Are you really sure about this, London?"
"Edgar, I am one hundred and fifty percent sure that I'm ready to be with my mate. Thank you for everything though." She hangs up and slips into her Uber as it arrives right on time. She texts the girls as the driver takes her to Ross. She boxed up everything she owns except the old sweatshirt and Daisy Dukes she's currently wearing. When she walks back into Gunner's life, she's going to do so looking like a blast from his past, the old London, whom he loved more than life itself. Ross has always been where she's shopped before modeling, so it's where she meets her girls.
"Oh my gosh." Jamie's jaw drops at her new hair. "I love it."
"Can I touch it?" Arla reaches her fingers in the direction of her hair.
"No can do. All of this is the property of Gunner." She lifts her sweatshirt, showing them the t-shirt she had made with the exact words on it, just for the sake of a dramatic reunion. The girls burst out laughing and hug her. "Alright, enough hysterics." She pulls away from them, noticing Arla and Jamie wiping at their eyes. Hers are dry, because she knows she'll be visiting her girls and they'll be visiting her. Henley claims not to have tear ducts, so hers are dry too. "I need a duffel bag and enough clothes to last me a week and a half."
The girls all know her plan... or at least bits and pieces of it. She's saved the entirety of it for after the fact, so she can reveal it all to them in one awesome story.
They spend the next few hours making her a new wardrobe, complete with knockoff converse and mismatching socks. After stuffing all of the clothes into a flimsy duffel bag, they drive to the airport. And after a final round of hugs, she boards for Sacramento.
