593AU: WELCOME TO THE SEQUEL OF MY INTERNATIONAL SLIP UP.
... YAY.
:) so glad that this is finally out of my system. first chapters are always hectic, eh?
Music:
Tune the Rainbow - Maaya Sakamoto
TV Family - The Rocket Summer
Face Down - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
I Don't Care - Fall Out Boy
I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At the disco
We Are Broken - Paramore
Thinking About You - Norah Jones
Please do...
ENJOY!
Just For A Thrill
or the epilogue of MISU.
Chapter 1
(or, Epilogue)
I am glad to say that Ariella and Eric were married approximately three years later, when they were twenty-six and twenty-seven. Their wedding was small and quite private, but exquisite and awesome anyway.
Oh, and of course, hilarious, considering the fact that Ariella had requested that every single guest went to circus school, and insisted that each of us definitely needed to learn how to ride a unicycle. Of course, this tied in to her environmental-bike(-with-pizazz-)-to-work-and-or-school idea, but it was fun nonetheless.
One year after their marriage, Ariella got was pregnant (which scared the shit out of her the first time she found out, no joke), and right after she had found out, she did two things. Beat the sense out of Eric, and then went online to check for baby names.
And then, we found out that she was not only pregnant, but also having twins! Yay!
"This is a set-up, right?" she had said simply to the lady. That lady began to blanch, not because she was nervous, but because she was intimidated by Ariella's blank face. "Oprah, Allah, Buddha, Jesus and that sweet Mary would never do that to me. Right?"
Eric, always one to provoke his wife, clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll get through this." He said, through giggles.
She promptly punched him in the nose.
And yes, he did go to the emergency room.
"When they finally popped out of me, both of them," Ariella said, "I wanted to both hug them and kill myself at the same time."
She was always a pleasant woman.
She's still alive though, and she had a boy and a girl, whom she named Draco and Ariana.
Oh, and yes, if you're wondering how she got those names, they were from the Harry Potter books. (Draco Malfoy and Ariana Dumbledore.)
Later on, I could imagine Eric telling his kids the fact that if it hadn't been for him, she would've chosen names from 'Green Eggs and Ham'.
(Which she did almost end up doing. Almost.)
Anyway, the way we are now, their little kids are both seven years old (and terrorizing all of us like crazy, I'm serious!) and Ariella is thirty-four (she has started calling herself an old hag) and Eric is thirty-five (and still says he's in his prime).
Audrey and Ariella are still the best of friends, and about a year after their stay in Greece, lo and behold, they (literally) ran into Bram. (Ariella and Audrey had been walking in New York, and Ariella had… err… playfully shoved Audrey a little too hard, and she ended up falling (not so gracefully) into Bram's arms. Fun.)
After that fire ignited, it still burns to this date. In fact, they got married too. (Clichéd, much?)
I couldn't be prouder of my older brother, really.
As for the other one, well, he had his own little thing too. Darien did eventually get over Ariella, and also debuted internationally with his music. He also found his muse, a woman named Tenebrae, who was also in the entertainment biz, and whom he married three years later.
And me… well. There's not really anything to say, really.
I'm seventeen now, and it's been 10 years since that summer. I'd like to say that I've grown up, but I guess prolonged time with Ariella and Audrey has made their… habits rub off on me. Oh, and I think too much. Apparently.
I have already started a career in designing clothing, and thanks to my connections, am already doing mini runway shows and getting tips from some pretty awesome designers. Though I would probably prefer working my way up, I am still just as hardworking as I would be if I didn't have these connections, if not more.
I have graduated high school, and received many scholarships, and I am (well, I'd like to think that I am) a persevering person, who succeeds at most things.
Except… relationships.
I guess I was just so focused on studying and drawing and stuff that all the little things involved with being a teen flashed by me. Sure, I was asked out, but I always rejected them, giving some lame excuse about how I wanted to… yeah. Study. Or how I was very busy. Something like that.
And so, here I was. Sitting on the ground in a beautifully furnished room in Eric's house, which had plenty of comfortable sofas and a plush carpet. On the ground, sitting around a hastily arranged picnic blanket. I took up one side of the square, Ariella and Eric on another side, Audrey and Bram on another one, and Darien and Tenebrae on another one.
And I'm perfectly fine with admitting this. It felt incredibly strange being a third (or seventh?) wheel. But it was okay, since they weren't focusing on it.
"So, Melly!" Ariella turned to me. "Got a booooyfriend yet?!" she squealed.
Damn. Spoke—or thought?—too soon.
"N—"
"You do?!" Darien began screaming. "Who is he?! When'd you meet? HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?!"
"Amélie! You have a boyfriend? You're too young. Out of the question. We need to meet him." Bram said, his booming voice creating an odd harmony with Darien's screaming.
"Guys! I do NOT have a boyfriend, okay?!" My shrill voice was louder than I had expected it to be, and it was surprising for both me and the rest of the crowd.
Tenebrae was barely able to hold in a crazy laugh.
"Oh. Well, that sucks." Audrey added simply.
A few hours later, it was around midnight, and Eric whispered into Ariella's ear.
"I don't know where he is. He said he'd be here." I heard her whisper back.
"Hmm." Eric bit his lip.
"Let's play Truth or Dare!" Audrey suddenly said, excited.
"Yeah!" Ariella added.
You'd think that age would make them a tad more mature, eh?
"Guys, you're in your thirties, not seventeen." I added sardonically.
"True. But you're seventeen. So let's just ask you!"
… I was just set-up, wasn't I?
I prepared myself for a long battle.
"Current crush?"
"None."
"First kiss?"
"Haven't had it yet."
"First time."
"… I haven't even had my first kiss yet!"
"So?"
"She's too young anyway." Darien said protectively.
"Ugh, fine. Embarrassing moment?"
"I… fell into a fountain once?"
"That sucks. I should know. Hmm. Hottest celebrity?"
"… me, of course!"
"No one asked for your opinion, Eric."
"That's nice of you, Ari."
"I know, isn't it? Anyway, I dare you to… strip!"
"What?! No way! Ariella, she's seventeen!"
"God, Eric, just shut up!"
"It's okay, I'm not going to do it anyway."
"Fine, then… Hmm. Prank call someone and pretend they put an ad on eHarmony."
"…"
"… or something."
"No!"
"You're no fun!"
"No, your dares just suck!"
"That's cruel, Melly. Cruel."
"Boo hoo. Get over it."
"Audrey! You're on their side?!"
"I'm on justice's side."
"That was cheesy."
"I'm perfectly aware of that."
After a few moments of deep though, Ariella finally perked up again.
"I got it! You have to sneak into the first bedroom on the right when you go up the stairs, and steal something that is possibly embarrassing to that person." Ariella said.
Hm. Possibly embarrassing, eh?
"Possibly embarrassing, eh?"
I was always one to think before I spoke.
But in my head, a few quick what-are-the-chances scenarios ran through my head, and I decided that since I had rejected many of the suggestions that Ariella had made for my dare, I assumed that she had partially given up on making extremely hard or eventually-going-to-regret dares.
So, according to my calculations (isn't that such a dorky line?), this dare should be pretty lame, for her.
Yay for me.
"Fine. I'll do it." I said readily, getting up from my seat.
I paid no heed to Eric's panicked look, or the other inquiring stares in Ariella's direction. I later learned that she had been pinching Eric extremely hard on his thigh, but though the warning and desperate look in his eyes should've deterred me from my goal, I didn't.
Plus, how hard could it be?
Oh Buddha, this is hard.
Not only is this room stripped down to its bare necessities, even this boy's (at least, I assume it's a boy) clothes are absolutely un-embarrassing too.
And here I thought that every boy had at least one pair of heart patterned boxers, or that embarrassing green jumpsuit from their childhood that they threw in the depths of their drawers, hoping to never even catch a glimpse at it ever again, because they were forced to wear it to appease their parents on a birthday, and it resulted in family pictures that he's yet to burn.
Yet.
I know, my imagination gets the best of me sometime, but I like to think that it's entertainment for people in the future, when they crack my skull open, take out my brain and see my whole life.
(We don't have that sort of technology yet. Sorry folks. Just gotta wait another five or so light years though.)
Anyway, back to this room. His bookshelves are filled with an interesting collection. There are classics, like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, works by Charles Dickens and even some C.S. Lewis, but though I considered taking his copy of Pride and Prejudice as the embarrassing object, I decided that Jane Austen was something to be considered and appreciated by both sexes, and that he was a smart guy for reading it.
However, as I continued my search inside the depths of his desk-drawers (not the clothing ones, that I had already previously raided), I heard a sound at the window.
Burglar? Thief? Uh oh.
The window opened, and I watched it, every sense in my body perking up and adrenaline beginning to rush. Let's just say I have a horrible past involving the keywords 'getting caught', a trait that has rubbed off on me from none other than Ariella Danes.
The window began to open, and I frantically hid under the desk, hoping that the darkness would cloak me just enough for the person to not see me hiding. Under the desk.
Looking slightly foolish, really.
But anyway.
A figure climbed into the room, and I heard a high pitched giggle as that person fell. Followed by that woman, was somebody else, who had a lower voice.
"Oh my gyawd, I am so. Effin'. Drunk!" Another high pitched giggle.
I could sense a headache later one.
I bumped my head slightly on the desk, and bit back whines. That would cause headaches too.
One of the figures got up, and climbed onto the bed, flopping down on it.
Oprah, please do not open the light…
But they didn't. They did something worse. The other figure, which I assumed to be the male, climbed onto the bed as well, and I began to hear… erm, sounds that were suggesting sexual themes.
This is the part in movies where Darien and Bram would throw pillows at me and make me close my eyes and hold pillows over my ears. Even though I'm seventeen, and already know about that type of thing.
I heard moaning (ew.) and clothing hitting the floor (eww.), I heard giggles and random 'whispers of loooove'. (Ewwwwww!)
The bed creaked, and I heard the girl speak. "Baby, I want you."
More shuffling, more clothes hitting the ground.
I convulsed forward slightly. I swear, I just threw up a little in my mouth.
"Oh, baby."
Have I ever mentioned the fact that I hate when people call each other 'baby'? I don't know. It just annoys me. Especially right now.
"Oh, by the way, baby." See? Again. "I think I left my underwear here the other day."
As if on cue, I felt something underneath me. I took out what felt kind of like cloth, and found it to be lacy red bright underwear.
"Yeah, it's somewhere over there." A sexed voice said, and I imagined him gesturing towards the desk. "Now shut up."
More moaning. Get me out of here.
What am I doing? I should be trying to get out of here.
I began crawling on the floor quite slowly, praying to Allah that the floor didn't creak, or that the couple would become so loud that they wouldn't even hear me opening the door or anything.
I saw the door in the corner, and suddenly, it seemed so far away.
They were indeed getting louder, and more clothes were falling. I think one landed beside me, and I suddenly felt like I was fighting a war, or that I was on enemy lines.
Intense.
But as I crawled feebly across, I was stupid, and stopped looking forward, and looked towards them to check my safety.
I tried to get on my feet at a low level, but as my foot came up, it took a step on something weird. Something that felt kinda like paper.
Suddenly, I began to slide, and falling forward, I took the paper – or book, maybe? – with me, as I fell forward onto the floor, right in front of the door.
"FUCK!" I whisper-screamed.
Oh… shit.
"Who's there?" a sudden voice said, and all creaking stopped.
I'm really in for it now.
(But it still really hurt.)
I picked up the paper, and got up as quickly as I could, throwing open the door and running down the stairs like a cheetah on Redbull (I used that phrase on a project once in English, and got an A+!).
But as I ran down the hall and stairs, I became more and more aware of the heavy steps behind me too.
"Stop! Thief!"
Thief? What? He seriously couldn't think of something better. And then, I heard wailing. But not the wailing of an alarm or anything, although it was similar. I later determined it to be that girl, since its shrillness was not even consistent.
Yeah. I'm critical when I shouldn't be. Deal.
"Stop right there!"
I didn't even dare look back.
I flew, literally, down the stairs, landing somewhat-gracefully onto the floor and sliding across the wood into the room where the rest of the gang was situated, diving behind a sofa and putting my back flat against it.
Ahh, the things you can do when you're scared for your life.
I heard more yelling, that I decided to ignore. It finally registered in my head that whoever was chasing me had an English accent, and that his voice was pretty gorgeous. (Probably because it wasn't grunting or sexed up.)
"You know what I find funny?" I could hear Ariella interrupting the yelling session. "That you have a blanket around your waist."
I couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Oh, Amélie-mellow," Ariella said good-naturedly. "Do come out from behind the couch. It's quite unbecoming, as we cannot see you."
There were times when Ariella seemed to take on completely different characters, and this was one of them. Apparently, or according to Audrey, she did this many times, including when she was feeling motherly or something of the sort.
Almost shyly, I came out from behind the sofa, and glanced at the people who stared.
"Hah-low." I said, acting innocent.
"What were you doing in my room?" the boy—wait… man?—said with a low and se—no, no dirty thoughts. They made enough to last them and me a lifetime.
Unfortunately for me, my eyes connected with his, and I could feel the hate transfer into me like electrons through a conductor. (Yeah, I make nerd statements like that. Deal.)
"Uh, Amélie, this is Rhys. He's Eric's little brother."
Rhys' head seemed to tilt upwards, as if he was sneering at me or being a little haughty bastard.
I could sense my own intense dislike for him build as well.
This will not bode well. Not at all.
R&R and I will love you forever and ever and ever and ever...
SHAMALAMABOOM.
-chewyyyyyyyyyy.