| Adrienne stared at the two girls as if they had some kind of weird fungus growing out of their noses. �You want me to take a ticket to� a Harry Potter movie?�
The other women exchanged glances and then looked back at Adrienne. �Only if you want them, Dree.� Adrienne suppressed a laugh, sitting back, staring at the tickets on the table. It was obvious that she was seriously considering going. If she didn�t want to go, she would have made it known right away. �So� a week in London?� �Yes, and we�re staying in a very nice hotel.� �A very stuffy hotel, just your style, Dree,� Teri laughed. Adrienne shot her a Look and resumed concentrating. �A week in London� a nice hotel� Do I have to see the movie?� Anya looked at her incredulously. �I�m not giving you that ticket just for a free weekend in London. You see the movie or there�s no trip.� �This is blackmail you know,� Adrienne proclaimed. �You both know that I�ve always wanted to see London and you just want me to watch your childish movie.� The girls exchanged satisfied looks. �It�s your call,� Anya mentioned, leaning forward and slyly pulling a ticket away. Teri watched in amusement as Adrienne bit her nails in anxiety and then finally gave in. �Okay! All right! If I get a free week in London, I might as well see your dumb movie.� The girls squealed with excitement. �You have two days to pack for a week,� Anya reminded her. She turned to Teri. �Are you packed?� �Tscha! Are you kidding? I�ve been packed since the moment I stepped into the house yesterday,� she said, throwing her hair over her shoulders. �You would be,� Adrienne commented playfully. Within the next forty-eight hours, the girls had exchanged many ecstatic phone calls and Anya gave many reminders that the week was not only for the premiere, but also for the research of her next book. She needed to get a thorough representation from the movie to do her next book. They arrived at the airport early on the twenty-ninth of October, clad in warm clothing with their many bags and suitcases. �I still think it�s cool that you know some of the actors in the movie,� Terren was commenting to Anya. �It�s just too bad that you haven�t introduced me to Daniel Radcliffe yet,� she sighed exasperatedly. Anya laughed. �You�ll get your chance, believe me. Don�t you want to meet Rupert and Emma and Bonnie?� Terren laughed. �Don�t forget Tom!� Her friend visibly shuddered. �Let�s not go there. I do not wish for you to meet him.� Adrienne was listening to the conversation with rapt attention. �You never told me about that.� Anya looked back at Adrienne. �Yeah, I told Teri because I figured you would think it was� well�� �Juvenile.� �Yes.� �Well, I�m suddenly becoming a little less conservative, knowing I�ll be in London soon. Tell me about it,� she encouraged, brushing her black hair off of the shoulders of her expensive beige suede jacket. Terren laughed. �This is a great story.� Anya looked away. �Well� it all happened two years ago at The Order of the Phoenix premiere. That was the year Defense Against the Dark Hearts � my first Draco Malfoy love story � had been published. Rowling had told me it was about time that I did something for him. �Anyway, it was a pretty racy story as far as most of my fiction goes. I was at the premiere and being congratulated left and right on the book, when whom do I come face to face with but Tom Felton. �You know how at the beginning of every book I put that long list of dedications? I always give you two a shout, my mom, dad, brothers, and Jo, of course. I most often give the actors shouts too because of my inspiration from them. Well, somehow in the midst of my many dedications, I had overlooked Mr. Felton. �He didn�t greet me all too happily. He sneered at me and said, �Oh you�re that writer that trashed JK�s idea and got the profits from it.� I said, �Well, yes and I happen to be making a good profit. You can only go off of your good looks for two more years, then where will you be?� He didn�t like that at all. I didn�t find out what he was really mad at me for until after the premiere, though.� The girls took their seats on the plane and Anya continued her story. �Well, I was doing my interviews with Daniel, Emma, Rupert, and Bonnie when who should be walking out but Felton, right? He was carrying a copy of Defense, and he walked up to me and Dan, waved the book in my face and said, �Care to sign this?� �Well. I wasn�t about to have him embarrass me so I told him that I would rather shove it down his throat, and then made a comment about how it was a bunch of crap that he always talked about how the character he played was not like him. I didn�t say it in so many words�� At this point, Adrienne�s mouth was hanging open and Teri was laughing so hard she was turning red. �You should have seen how dark his face got!� Anya laughed. �He was completely embarrassed. Dan was even laughing. He opened the book, shoved it under my nose and screamed, �Next time you decide to dedicate this book to the people who don�t play these parts, remember to indent on the margin� and then he went off into this tirade about how I don�t use typing skills right. �I just said �Next time you decide to throw a tantrum about something so petty and small, why don�t you leave me a voice mail? If I wanted to listen to two-year-old tantrums, I�d have kids.� I finished with Daniel, and left.� �And that�s it?� Adrienne asked. Anya nodded. �So you completely embarrassed a hot shot actor because he was pissed off about your book?� Anya again, nodded, this time, laughing as she did so. �That�s why I love ya, babe,� Adrienne laughed. The girls settled into their seats as they took directions from the captain. They buckled, prepared for takeoff, and enjoyed it while it came. The three of them all grew excited for different reasons as they set into the air. The captain informed the crowd that it was now okay to take off their seatbelts and move about the cabin. Terren excitedly unlocked herself and looked at her two friends. �I�m going to go snoop around first class. Talk to you later!� and she scurried out of coach quicker than a spider from a snake. Anya only chuckled. �Ten bucks says that every time she�s thrown out, it takes her three minutes to heal her ego and try again.� �I�m definitely not betting that ten bucks because you know it will happen,� Adrienne laughed. She looked around as Anya hauled out her massive laptop and began to set up shop. �Hey, would you mind pulling that thing back so I can get out of here and give you some privacy?� Anya shook her amused head. �No problem. Where you going?� Adrienne raised herself up and smiled. �I think I�ll just grab an empty seat in the back of coach and work on some stuff for work.� �You and work,� Anya laughed. �I should say the same for you!� Adrienne waggled a finger at her friend and then walked away, briefcase in tow. She continued her haul down the aisle and found that indeed, there were at least four rows of open seats in the very back of the cabin. Sighing happily to herself, she settled into a window seat in the very last row, opening her briefcase and pulling out a mound of papers as well as a pen to start work on all of them. Closing the lid of her briefcase, she started to work on a report that was very crucial to her work at the agency. Biting her lip as she always did when thinking hard, she scratched away on the documents. Within ten minutes of uninterrupted silence, she had finished most of her work and was ready to order something off the drink cart when she saw someone heading toward her, someone she didn�t recognize. He was a tall, broad man, with short dark hair, donning a dark leather coat, dark brown khaki pants, and carrying a black book bag of some kind. The strangest thing about him was that he was wearing large, black sunglasses that completely covered any sign of his eyes and almost took from the magic of his face. Adrienne watched him approach and bit her lip. She prayed that he didn�t sit next to her. She didn�t need any disturbances while she was trying to work, and she certainly didn�t need a handsome stranger to sit there and distract her. Yet much to her dismay, he settled right next to her and asked, �You don�t mind if I take a seat here do you? Things are getting quite chaotic in first class.� Adrienne didn�t miss the fact that the man she was talking to had a deep booming English accent that seemed to reverberate in her ears and linger there. She couldn�t resist as she watched him make himself comfortable in the seat next to her and muttered a, �Go ahead.� �What was that?� he asked, leaning in a little. Adrienne also didn�t miss how her heart jumped when he leaned in close to her and visibly shook her head to ward off the sudden urge to grab the seat for dear life. �Nothing,� she said again, and then dipped into her briefcase to hide her burning cheeks. �I really hope you don�t mind. It looked like you were really busy and didn�t want to be disturbed,� he said sheepishly, glancing at her and then setting his bag on the floor by his feet. �Well�� Adrienne shrugged her shoulders and then looked back up at him. He was staring at her expectantly, as if hanging on whatever she had to say. �I guess I�� she frowned and then looked away. �I� forgot what I was going to say. Isn�t that strange?� The man frowned. �Why should that be strange?� �I�ve never done it before,� she laughed. He laughed as well, and she instantly felt at ease with this man. As he laughed, he offered his hand. �I�m Dan.� �Adrienne,� she whispered as she took it, shaking it lightly, not taking her eyes from his face. �Nice to meet you, Adrienne.� After a few seconds of an unfamiliar silence, they both looked down and realized that they were still holding hands. This didn�t stop them somehow. They slowly let their hands drop to the seat, still touching. �Does it make sense to you�� Dan began. �To feel some kind of bond with a person you�ve never met before?� Adrienne laughed. �No. No sense at all. I want to be able to explain it, but I can�t.� Dan stared at her and then pulled his hand from hers and sat back. �I don�t know a whole lot about things. That�s why I can�t explain most of it.� She stared at the young man, as if analyzing and taking in every part of his face. �I have spent my whole life trying to find a logical solution to everything, so it kind of freaks me out to face an unexplored question with no answer.� He pulled his head off the seat and lowered his glasses enough that Adrienne could see his eyebrows. �Are you in business?� She was taken aback by the question. �Why do you ask?� �I can tell by the tone of your voice,� he began, looking her up and down, which surprisingly was not disgusting to Adrienne as it normally would have been. �The clothes you�re wearing� black dress pants, white button up shirt, gray coat� And then we have an open briefcase. Come on now don�t lie! You�re in business.� �I�m an agent,� she corrected him, taking out a few documents and closing her briefcase again. �Well, I was close,� he said, turning toward the front. Adrienne now decided it was her turn. �Okay,� she said, turning toward him. �My turn.� He tipped his head and gazed at her out of the corner of her eye. �Try me.� �You�� she said, gazing from his pants on up. �Are obviously not from America. You get paid well for whatever you do, hence the Donna Karin shoes that are on your feet. You are not outdoorsy, you tend to stay at home a lot, but you also have an eye for shopping, hence the brown khakis. This means you do not have a desk job and are not a teacher. The leather jacket signifies some kind of independence, and that makes you an artist.� He stared at her for a second. �Now how do you figure that?� �It�s obvious,� she said, dipping her head back into her work. �What about the glasses?� �What about them?� �What do they say about me as an artist?� She looked up and in a mocking hushed tone, said, �The glasses either mean A: You�ve just come back from a very posh party where you got drunk off of your ass and now in some brilliant attempt to conceal it are using very large sunglasses. B: You�re trying to be more dramatic as an artist, so you�re wearing those to give you mystery. Or C: You�re a celebrity.� Dan laughed at her. �You�re insane.� �Well, which one is it?� �Maybe it�s all three.� �It can�t be all three.� �Why not?� �It just can�t!� �Says who?� �Says me.� �And what does it matter what you say?� �Because I�m smart, and I like to have an answer for everything.� �That�s obvious.� Adrienne laughed. �Listen to us. We barely know each other and we�re fighting like we�ve been friends for years.� Dan chuckled as well. �You noticed that too?� They stopped and stared at each other in silence for a long period of time before Adrienne whispered, �So which is it?� Dan whispered, �What if I said it was C?� �I�d ask what the rest of your name is.� �You should guess.� Adrienne bit her lip again and began her thought process. �Well, you�re definitely not Danny DeVito� and too young to be Dan Akroyd� so I�m almost at a loss.� Dan said nothing. �Well, I can�t give it away.� �Why not?� He shrugged. �I�d rather not.� She looked at him skeptically. �I don�t believe you�re a celebrity.� �Why not?� he asked this time. �You�re too humble.� He laughed and turned back to the front of the seat. �I�m glad you say that.� �Why?� she asked, looking down to her work. �Because I�ve gotten complaints from certain people that I�m not,� he muttered, his tone somehow weighing down. Adrienne was now intrigued, as Dan had wanted all along. She set down her pen and looked at him. �Certain people?� He sighed, the smile and wonderful look about his face falling. He suddenly looked sullen and sad. �My girlfriend�� For some reason, the word coming out of his mouth deflated Adrienne and she mumbled. �Oh. Girlfriend.� �Well,� Dan recovered quickly. �Ex-girlfriend. It�s a long story.� Adrienne looked at her watch. �I wouldn�t mind hearing it,� she whispered, smiling. Dan sighed once more, running his fingers through his strangely dark hair. �Oh, it was such a long time ago that we met, but it was at the premiere of� well, it was at an event we both happened to be at. She happened to be a worker at this certain venue where the event was taking place. The moment I saw her, BOOM�� Adrienne jumped at the loud noise, ��I fell in love. The real reason I was there I kind of forgot, because all I could think about all night was seeing her again.� Adrienne smiled. �That�s sweet.� �You�d think so,� Dan scoffed. �After the whole event was over that night, I managed to catch her off guard, ask her number, and within a few weeks, we were a serious couple. I was totally in love with her though, and I couldn�t help but fall more in love with her every day I knew her.� Adrienne watched in wonder as the man she was sitting next to her that she had known for a matter of only a few minutes and couldn�t help but feel somehow connected to him. She didn�t know what driving force it was inside of her that made her feel the way she did and not being able to explain it made it that much harder to deal with. �She and I were so in love that in a matter of time, we were living together and in what was a few days later, we were engaged to be married. I mean� it seems so fast since we had only been dating for three months, but I was convinced. She was the one, we were going to be together forever,� he sighed, his head titled upward toward the ceiling of the plane. It looked as though he were recapturing a memory he had tried so hard to forget. �And then I just sort of woke up one day, and it really scared me. It was as if I had been living in a dream world and all of a sudden, I found that there were certain things that I couldn�t stand about her, things that I wanted her to stop doing� things that I just couldn�t be around anymore. I started to become very short with her, and she in turn with me. It got to a point where we were screaming and after a while, I got lost in my work. She started to accuse me of being too pompous, that I was using my status for things that I had no control over. She wanted nothing to do with me and even though I thought that was what I wanted, when I came home from work one day and saw the empty apartment� it crushed me.� Adrienne had no idea what to say. She had just met the man sitting next to her, and for some reason that neither of them knew; he had spilled out his entire heart. He looked up at her, silently thanking whatever force inside of him had possessed him to wear sunglasses that day so that the beautiful woman sitting next to him couldn�t see the tears in his eyes. �Wow,� she sighed, not daring to take her eyes off of Dan for one second. He sniffled and smiled at her then, breaking the dark tension that had suddenly become. �I�m so sorry about that. Here I haven�t even known you five minutes and I�m already giving you the dark deep secrets of my past. I�ll just be quiet until we get to London.� She smiled back at him as he turned away and then said in a voice so unlike her own it shocked her, �That was all right with me.� He turned to her and stared at her with a very neutral look, one she couldn�t fit for a long time. �May I ask you why you�re going to London?� It was now Adrienne�s turn to blush a little as she looked away from Dan. �Well, it�s a long story, but I�ll tell mine since you told yours.� �What�s going on? Mystery date?� he said, giving her a flirty nudge. She laughed out loud at this. �Not a chance. Do I look like the type to go on a mystery date with a man I�ve never met that lives in a different country?� Neither of them answered the question but became silent once again. �The thing is, is my friend writes books and she happens to write books for well� another series of books, which happened to be turned into a movie,� she hurriedly explained. �Interesting,� Dan said with a smirk. �She got four tickets to this movie premiere in London for a few nights from now, so three of us girls are going to stay in London for a week to see the movie.� �Why is this so embarrassing?� he asked, still smirking. �Well� I am not particularly interested in the movie as much as seeing England.� Daniel frowned. �What movie?� Adrienne blushed once again. �Oh it sounds so ridiculous for a twenty-two year old woman to say!� she huffed. �It�s the sixth Harry Potter movie, The Half Blood Prince.� Dan said nothing for a few minutes and Adrienne worried that she had scared him into a stupor. However, much to her relief after a while he began to laugh. �What�s so wrong with seeing a Harry Potter movie?� he asked, almost completely curious to know why. She shrugged, all of a sudden not being able to find a good reason to fight her argument as she always had so easily with Terren. �It just seems more like a younger children�s movie than an adult�s.� �I�m an adult,� he commented, lifting up his backpack, opening it, and thrusting a book toward her. �I read Harry Potter.� She stared at the book that was in his hand and saw that it was indeed, a Harry Potter book. Not only was it that, but it was the very first of the series, battered and worn as if years of wear had been done to it. She looked back up at him slowly and smiled. �I guess it just doesn�t suit me,� she commented. He looked at her for a few seconds and then shoved the book into his bag, shrugging. �Whatever suits you then. Who am I to tell you what to read and what not to read?� They sat together on the plane a little while longer and finally, Adrienne turned to Dan and asked, �May I ask why you�re going back to England?� Dan didn�t miss the way she had managed to tack �back� in the statement. �I myself have a movie to go see in London, and besides that, I�m going to visit my family at home. I normally live in New York now. I saw the place once when I was a lad and never got over how big it was.� Adrienne smiled at the young man sitting in the seat next to her. He couldn�t have been over twenty-two. She analyzed him as unknowingly to her, analyzed who he was staring at as well. �What is it?� they finally broke the silence by asking together, and then began to laugh, almost maniacally at their fortune. �This is amazing,� Dan breathed, a smile not leaving his youthful face. �I�ve never connected with anyone like this in the course of a couple hours.� �I know what you mean.� And it seemed to both of them that neither of them ever would do such a thing again. Adrienne was never one to go with a question unanswered, and to her, it was frustrating not to know the exact feelings she had for the man sitting next to her. Dan wasn�t as hard on himself, however. His biggest fear was getting off of that plane and never seeing Adrienne again. Dan opened his mouth to say something when the captain came over the intercom and told them to buckle up and they would be landing soon. They became silent again as they buckled up and waited in a tense silent for the plane to land. There was a sort of awkwardness between the two as the plane slowly dipped down for a smooth and safe landing. Dan�s mouth was so dry it was stuck tight. There was no way he was going to let this girl get away and not ever see her again. Then again� there was always November 1st. Adrienne put the loose documents back in her briefcase, threw her pen in, and closed it. She looked out the window anxiously, as if any sign of London would do her great good. �What do you see down there?� Dan asked, penetrating her thoughts. Adrienne sighed. �I see wonderful visions of everything English.� He laughed whole-heartedly. �You�re going to love it. I really miss my home. I come often but I always feel like it�s never enough.� She smiled widely, continuing to stare out the window. �I can�t wait to set my feet on English soil.� �I don�t blame you,� he said in a struggle voice, heaving his backpack onto the seat with him. �I�m famished. I need real English food.� She only laughed at him. �You men. All you ever think about is food.� �Well I�m a growing boy. I need my nutrition!� he retorted. �Growing boy?� she said skeptically. �That�s right,� he said, smiling evilly as he dug into his bag. �I�m only nineteen.� �Nineteen?� she gasped. Stupid me, she said to herself. I thought he was twenty-two! Adrienne then peered over the aisles of seats on the plane and saw that Terren had once again resumed her lace next to Anya. Anya had put away her laptop and was now loading up. Terren was talking to her friend as though she had seen the Seven Wonders of the World in the first class cabin. Adrienne laughed out loud as she heard an excited screech escape Terren�s mouth. �Only Teri,� she whispered, gathering her things. Dan leaned close to her and Adrienne felt an automatic jolt go through her system. She forced herself to calm as Dan peered over his glasses. �What�s funny? The flight attendants� uniforms? I always thought they were rather dismal.� She shook her head and said, �I was laughing at my friends. I moved back here to get some work done, but I was originally sitting up there with the two of them. We�re all going to this �movie premiere� together,� she said, making air quotes on the words �movie premiere.� �Oh I see,� he said, smiling slyly at her. �Your friends wouldn�t happen to be as enthusiastic as you about this movie, would they?� Adrienne rolled her eyes at the sarcasm laced in the comment. �Ha, ha. For your information, they are dripping with excitement. Especially my friend Terren.� Adrienne leaned forward in unison with Dan. She felt his body heat next to hers and almost crumpled in a heap, but again, caught herself. �She�s the one with the long dark hair, wearing a blue shirt and gesturing wildly with her hands.� Dan laughed as Adrienne continued. �She�s been into this book and movie series ever since she was a sophomore in high school. She is still as passionate about it now as she was then, which I considered to be kind of odd.� Dan frowned. �Odd? Why?� �Because� you see my other friend? The one Terren is talking to? With the wavy strawberry hair, nodding like she cares what Terren is saying? That�s Anya. Anya was as bad as Teri at one point, but she grew out of it somewhat.� He squinted next to her, leaning forward farther to get a better view of the girls. �Anya� Anya� I only know one Anya that looks like that and there�s only one reason she�d be going to that premiere. Is that Anya Bisbee?� Adrienne sighed. �None other than. Familiar with her work?� �I�m more than familiar with her work, we�ve met before,� he said, continuing to stare at her. �I absolutely love her books! The way she went about a great idea and somehow made the romance essence of the story come out� really touches me. I truly think she�s got great potential.� �You�ve met Anya?� Adrienne asked, still stuck on his one comment. �Where?� Dan opened his mouth once again to speak but was interrupted when the plane stopped and the flight attendants moved to the front of the cabin, guiding them off. Adrienne leaned down, grabbed the briefcase she had set at her feet before, and waited for Dan to move into the aisle. Adrienne was desperate to say something� anything to keep him around her for a few more minutes. She didn�t want him to get off the plane and walk out of her life forever, especially since they had had such a unique bond. It was something she�d never felt with anyone before. It was odd that it had to happen with a person she maybe spent ten minutes talking to. They walked off of the plane and stepped down into the terminal. Adrienne sighed dramatically and in front of her, Dan laughed. He slowed his pace so she could catch up with him and in the dim light of the terminal corridor, Terren could see his face even less. �Sounds like you are happy to be here. Do you get out much?� he joked. �No,� she answered honestly. �I do not get out at all. Work keeps me locked up in an office every day. It�s a good thing my skin is naturally dark because if it wasn�t, I�d be as pale as a spirit.� Again Dan laughed. He then became serious, looked at her, and said in a tone she hadn�t heard him use before. �I�ve really enjoyed being with you.� Being with you? Adrienne shook off the sudden tingling sensation that coursed throughout her body at just the thought of the many meanings of that comment. �Yes, uh, well� I�ve enjoyed our time together as well.� They walked in silence a few more steps and then Dan stopped her suddenly. �You�re going to that movie premiere� for sure?� She smiled shyly at him, something that Adrienne Ann Sims was not well known for doing. �Yes. Why?� �I might be there, and I might like to see you again.� She stared into the place where she should have been looking at Dan�s eyes. �You would?� �I might,� he said, shrugging and smirking at the same time. �Well then I might see you there,� she said, and with a turn of her head, she pulled up all of the strength and will to leave him hanging. Hanging was exactly what happened. Dan stared at her confident strut as she walked away from him and knew with everything inside him that it was his mission to find her again. |
 |
 |
 |