Playing The Player

Chapter 3

Yay I'm back! Had two milkshakes. What about you guys? Enjoy!

~*Chapter 3*~

If someone before had told her that she would be going on a fantasy with Julian Casanova, Adelaide would have laughed in their face. Now, she's not so sure.

Julian led them to the school parking lot, in the direction of a limousine, with its black glimmering paint color.

How rich is this guy? Adelaide thought to herself. Unfortunately, she was a bit hasty in making conclusions.
Julian led them instead to a worn car, with a lousy paint job and a bit rusty. It looked like it could have been twenty years ago.

"I call her, Georgina!" Julian mused proudly. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Adelaide stared at him with utter confusion. "If you mean the rusty car that looks dead, then no. I don't find it beautiful."

"Hey!" Julian looked offended. "You're rude."

"I know. I take pride in my actions," Adelaide retorted.

"Look, Delle. You don't have to grovel on my feet, because yes, I'll be kind enough to let you tag along to work with me." He started to walk over to the driver's side door of the car but stopped when he noticed that Adelaide hadn't moved an inch. She was too busy convincing herself that killing him is not exactly a good idea (which was pretty difficult to do). "What are you waiting for?"

"Are you serious about this?" She asked him. "We could barely stand each other."

"If you want me to ditch you here, that's fine with me too," he said with a confident smile.

Adelaide snorted. "If this is your way of continuing to ask me for help, you're not doing a very good job."

"I'm asking you for help?" He placed an arm over the top of the car, resting his chin without once looking away from me. "I'm not the one with the dying mom here."

Adelaide was furious now. How dare he insult my mom?! She has nothing to do with this! "Well, I'm not the one who needs someone to go up to the cave with me."

"Just get in the car."

"Shouldn't I be driving? I know this neighborhood better than you do." It wasn't exactly true. They both lived in the same area, except Julian lived a mile or two farther from the school.

A sarcastic smile crossed his face. "Nice try, Dell Pepper. Get in the car."

"Oh, so we're using names now? I can come up with one, too,' Adelaide huffed, pausing, before a wicked grin spread across her face. "Dick."

If Julian was taken back by her nickname for him, he didn't show it. Instead, he repeated the phrase he had said one too many times. "Get in the car, Dell."

Adelaide scowled, knowing she didn't exactly have any other options but to tag along with him, but he fact that he got the last word kind of irked her, so she picked up a nearby rock from off of the ground and pretended to throw it in his direction. He let out a surprisingly high-pitched yelp and jumped back to avoid it, only to curse out loud when he realized Adelaide hadn't thrown it in the first place.

She smiled in triumph.

Julian glared at her and started muttering darkly under his breath. She tried to fix an innocent expression on her face, dropping her smirk and widening her eyes the slightest bit. He didn't appreciate it. Grunting, he looked away and opened the car door, getting in without so much as another look at me.

Adelaide reached for the car door, feeling the curve of the smooth handle. She took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Somehow, Adelaide couldn't shake off the feeling that opening the door and getting in the car with Julian was like opening endless possibilities for the day. Or in her case, week, as Julian had mentioned.

And as if dealing with him for six hours a day at school wasn't difficult enough, she just had to go on a week-long trip with a hemophobic guy who annoyed the shit out of her.

The things she does for him.

Adelaide resigned herself to the unfortunate circumstances of the night and opened the car door, considering the ideas of writing down a list of reasons not to kill Casanova when he return while she was completely sane. God knows she will need a physical reminder when the trip to hell was over.

Climbing into the passenger seat, Adelaide expected the car to smell of reeking gym socks or whatever, but it actually smelled quite nice. She shut the door and looked over at Julian.

"So, Dick, what's the plan?"

He frowned at the mention of her fabulous nickname for him but didn't comment on it. "I thought we addressed this already?"

Silently cursing Julian for his foolishness, Adelaide snarked a comment of her own. "You couldn't be serious about that right? Are we really going to go to a gas station to buy food, drive for an hour or two, and then wander aimlessly around a nearby ghost town? It could be enchanted for all we know!"

Enchanted? Adelaide groaned once she realized that Julan's mumbo-jumbo was getting to her, and that she was starting to believe this whole prank. Did she really think there was a flower that can bring back the dead and cure the incurable? Impossible.

Julian's silence only added to her temper. "What now?"

"I thought I said the whole town consisted of magical healing flowers?" He teased. "I think enchanted is the best description for a town like that."

"No shit, Sherlock," Adelaide mumbled. "Let's just stick with your crazy and completely irrational plan and improvise on the way."

"Glad to see you're finally coming to your senses, Delle." His brows furrowed as he inserted the key into ignition. When he turned the key, it seemed like the engine was literally crying, before spluttering off into a series of whines.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Adelaide asked him, her eyes carefully trained on the dashboard, as if the engine would explode any second now.

"Don't worry, that's normal," he said, and turned it again. It took three more tries before the engine finally turned on. Julian turned to Adelaide and raised his eyebrows as if to prove his point. "See?"

Adelaide shifted back into a proper sitting position. She hadn't realized she unconsciously inched away from the (possibly explosive) dashboard until she relaxed with the familiar sound of the engine running (not-so-) smoothly.

"This car's a dump,' she pointed out.

"Do not insult Georgina." He gave her a warning look that was bordering on mocking. "She can hear you. She's very sensitive."

"Georgina?" She repeated, trying not to start laughing.

"Yes, Georgina. Trust me, that was my exact same reaction when my cousin said those exact words to me," he shrugged.

"Georgina," Adelaide repeated.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks it's ridiculous."

Adelaide smiled. "Careful, there. Georgina can hear you." She reached for the dashboard with her left hand and soothingly patted it, as if offering it comfort.

Julian sent Adelaide a sideways glance and shook his head, but it was obvious that he was suppressing a smile.

Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would be, Adelaide contemplated silently in her head.

Julian sniffed, before turning to her with a frown. "Dell," he said. Adelaide looked at him. "What did you do, bathe yourself in perfume? It smells like freaking marshmallows and rainbows and it stinks."

Okay, maybe it will be as bad as she thought. Even worse!

"For your information, Sherlock, rainbows don't have a significant smell. So get your facts straight. Second, I'm a girl, and a girl's gotta' live. It's too bad you're not a girl. I imagine you would bathe yourself in an even stronger perfume. That's saying something, isn't it?" Adelaide shot back. Julian scowled, but once again, didn't comment, as he drove into the long afternoon.

Please remember to vote and comment guys! ^~^ Until next time...

M&Ms and Skittles,
~R. W. Shadowfax