Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
“Wow, did I interrupt something?” Joe said.
Ariel felt a smile lift the corners of her lips. Joe. He had been her friend for a very long time, one of the golden boys of the showbiz and Ariel’s best friend.
“Yes, you did.” Ariel replied primly.
“And what exactly did I interrupt? A passionate embrace between you and…?”
“My pillow.” Ariel burst out laughing.
“Lin Yi Chen…” Joe sounded so disgusted that Ariel couldn’t stop laughing.
“What’s up, Joe?”
“Oh, do you wanna come out with me for some coffee?”
“At 2 am in the morning?”
“I thought you liked drinking coffee in the morning…”
“Yeah, but not this early, stinker.”
“Come on! I haven’t seen you since yesterday, I’m dying!”
“Haha. Fine. I’ll meet you at our usual place?”
“Yep, I give you ten minutes. I’m already there.”
“TEN MINUTES? No way! I have to change!”
“Aw, are you wearing your adorable pink bunny jammies?”
“No. They are in the wash, I’m wearing the green turtle one.”
“Hahaha. You have nine minutes, Yi Chen.”
And he hung up. Ariel grumbled at the phone and then rushed around like an energizer bunny.
Twenty minutes later found her at the picnic table that Joe and her had christened as their own the summer before. It was by the beach and there was a chilly breeze. Ariel shivered and pulled her jacket closer to her.
“You are late.” Joe said without turning from where he was sitting on the picnic table, face towards the ocean.
“Hmph. You should be glad I came at all.” Ariel replied huffily.
“You love me. Admit it.”
“In your dreams.” Ariel smirked.
“All the time, baby!” Joe grinned at her.
“Ewwww!” Ariel shrieked.
She clambered up to sit beside him on the table. They sat in a companionable silence. Ariel never knew how to explain her relationship with Joe. Fortunately, the media did not seem to want to focus too much on them despite the intimacy with which they interacted. Ariel was glad for that because after the fiasco of Love Contract, she doubted she could have handled it with the same coolness.
What were she and Joe? Very, very close friends. Yeah, her friends always snickered at the “friends” tag that she put on her relationship with him. Even Ariel herself didn’t know how to categorize it and she almost preferred not to. She just knew that having Joe in her life was very integral to her existence and for the moment, she was content for it to be just that.
“So I need your help.” Ariel pinched Joe to get his attention.
“I’m glad you finally realized you need help, darling.” Joe grinned, throwing his arm around Ariel and bringing her closer to him.
“Shut up. I’m serious!” Ariel punched his arm playfully.
“What’s up?” He said seriously.
“I was offered a very different role today.”
“Oh yeah? By who?”
“Angela Cai and Stefan Chou.”
Joe whistled.
“You are being courted by some of the most happening people, Ariels. Congratulations. And let me guess, you want me to help you decide whether to accept the role or not?”
“Yeah.”
“Who wrote the script?”
“ I haven’t heard of her before but her name is Blanche Wong.”
“I’ve heard of her.” Joe said, excitedly.
“Really? Where?”
“She wrote a book called “Tuesday.” It’s amazing. I am in love with the protagonist. It’s awesome, you have to read it!”
“Omg, Joe!”
“What?”
“Guess what role I’ve been offered!”
“No way!”
“Yes way!”
“You have to do it.”
“You think so?”
“Ariel! I KNOW so! Besides, this way you can get me an autograph from the author.” Joe beamed at Ariel and Ariel helplessly laughed at his antics.
“But didn’t you say you were in love with the protagonist?”
“Yeah, so?”
“It’ll mean you are in love with me.”
“Psht, that’s old news.”
“Not to me!”
“Well, you are kinda slow…”
Ariel gasped, infuriated and chased Joe down to the beach.
Joe, being way taller than Ariel ran ahead and stuck his tongue out at her from a distance.
“Show off!” Ariel yelled at him.
“If you’ve got it, flaunt it, baby!” Joe laughed his deep belly laugh again.
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Joe asked a few minutes later as they sat the waters edge.
“It could flop miserably.”
“And you are afraid of that?”
“Not really. I’ve already fallen for Tuesday.”
“Then do it. If it’s a hit, then wonderful. If it’s not, it’s a learning experience.”
“You think so?” Ariel asked.
“Of course. I know so. I’m the great Zheng Yuan Chang!”
Ariel rolled her eyes and threw some sand at him.