Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
“Psht. I thought fame meant I wouldn’t have to do this anymore.” Ethan grumbled.
Rainie stomped on his foot. “It’s for a good cause.”
“Jiro! Did our plan work?” Ariel asked Rainie, hugging Arron and Calvin, the other two members of Fahrenheit. She referred to the plan she and Rainie had concocted about getting Jiro’s foreign girlfriend to reconcile with him.
Jiro smiled happily. “Hey Ariel, meet Lisa. My…friend.” Jiro said smiling. And he introduced a leggy, blonde who was twirling her hair and looking around curiously.
Lisa was smiling happily. “Hi!” She chirruped.
Ariel smiled back. “Hello.”
Suddenly Lisa saw Wu Chun who had just walked over to join their group. “Oh Jiro, here’s your friend again!” She squealed. Jiro’s grin wilted on his lips.
“You are talking to his girlfriend.” He told Lisa. Lisa turned to look Ariel and Jiro made begging gestures behind her back to Ariel to go along with the charade.
Ariel had started choking at Jiro’s words and she turned helplessly to Wu Chun who reached over and patted her on the back.
Wu Chun threw his arm around Ariel and grinned. “Yep, this is my… er… gf.”
Rainie who had been whispering fiercely with Ethan looked up at Wu Chun’s words and her eyes widened as she saw Mike and Joe’s thunderous faces. Meanwhile Lisa noticed Joe.
“Oh gosh! He’s hot!” She gushed.
Rainie narrowed her eyes. “He’s taken.” She called out folding her arms and glaring at Jiro.
“And him?” Lisa nodded appreciatively at Ethan, who was stretching in the morning sun, totally unaware of the seductive picture he painted.
“Him too.” Rainie looked positively dangerous now. Ariel hid a smile.
“OMG! Who’s that!” Lisa noticed Mike, her tongue flopping out like a red carpet at movie premieres.
Ariel felt her smile go stiff and she said curtly, “He’s practically married.”
“To who?” Lisa pouted. Ariel felt hers eyes narrow.
“Me.” She said very succinctly.
“But…but you just said that you were going out with him…” Lisa stuttered.
Ariel shrugged. “I am.” She said smiling.
Lisa gave her a strange look. “What about that guy?” She said motioning to Joe who was arguing with Ethan over a muffin.
“He’s mine. And the other one too.” Rainie, who had walked over said.
“Oh… Um, I have Jiro!” Lisa turned to Jiro.
“Actually, no you don’t. He’s not a consolation prize.” Ariel said coldly.
Ariel made a motion with her head and one of the assistants stepped forward and engaged Lisa’s attention. Soon she’d be escorted politely out of the gathered space.
“Honestly Jiro, you have the worst taste in women.” Rainie grumbled. Then noticing Jiro’s devastated expression, her face softened. “Tell you what; we’ll introduce you to someone who has been nursing the hugest crush on you.”
“Really?” Jiro perked up. “Who is it?”
“You’ll find out.”
“Where’d the guys go?” Ariel asked Wu Chun. “Oh they went to put on overalls so they don’t ruin their clothes. You should too.”
“Please tell me they are not orange.” Rainie begged.
Wu Chun grinned. “Here, have a muffin and cheer up.”
Soon, the gates were opened and cars started lining up. “Yi Chen, you owe me two dinners, no three dinners, a dozen cookies and four tonnes of pineapple for this.” Mike muttered looking at the never-ending stretch of cars. Joe stood beside him and for a second, they were both quiet.
Then suddenly, cameras started clicking. And public personalities were put on. Ariel scrubbed the windshield of a car, trying to ignore the entire family inside who were ogling at her, as though she was water and they were stranded in a desert.
Mike and Joe were washing a car together when suddenly the woman driving it jumped out.
“I LOVE you!” She gushed.
“Which one of us?” Joe asked.
The woman looked from Joe to Mike and then from Mike to Joe. Finally she cried out, “I don’t know! Can’t I love you both?!”
Ethan flicked some water at Rainie, who growled at him, “You are not scrubbing properly, Ethan.”
“Slave driver.” Ethan muttered.
Jiro was grinning as he washed a car with three teeny boppers and an adult. They were blowing him kisses and fluttering their eyelashes.
Wu Chun was trying to get a smudge off one of the windshields and Ariel walked over to help him. He looked down at her and said something and Ariel laughed.
Mike disengaged himself from another ardent fan’s hands. “No ma’am. I can’t accept your number but you are welcome to donate to the charity.” He said politely distancing himself.
“I have five more cars.” The auntie said getting back in her car. “I’ll come back for you.”
“Xiao Mei, I might get jealous.” Joe teased.
Mike made a face at him and they changed working partners. Ariel went to work with Ethan. Joe with Rainie and Mike with Wu Chun.
“Joe!” Rainie gasped as Joe squirted some water on her. Joe turned to her with a “butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth” look on his face.
“You did that on purpose!” She hissed while smiling at the driver.
“This is revenge for the kick.” Joe said smiling cherubically.
“What’s going on between you and Rainie?” Ariel asked Ethan who immediately turned red and started scrubbing harder so he wouldn’t have to answer. Aware of the presence of others, Ariel didn’t press but instead scrunched up her face and looked thoughtful.
Mike and Wu Chun worked in silence until Mike couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you and Ariel really going out?” He asked.
“What? No, no. I love her to death but we are just friends.” Wu Chun said good naturedly. Mike stared at him suspiciously.
There was another unconscious change in partners and Joe and Ariel found themselves cleaning the same car. Ariel beamed at Joe from the other side of the car and he smiled back.
“Catch this.” Ariel threw a sponge at Joe but Joe moved at the moement and the wet sponge caught Mike firmly on the chest, making a loud wet splotching sound.
Ariel looked horrified.
“Yi Chen, I knew you hated this shirt but come on!” Mike grumbled looking at his shirt which had gotten drenched because he hadn’t buttoned up the overall due to the heat.
“I’m SO sorry!” Ariel ran over to Mike and started brushing at his chest but ended up getting him even wetter. Joe started laughing. Soon the others joined in and Mike looking at Ariel’s increasingly horrified expression felt a reluctant smile tug at his lips.
“It’s okay. But you owe me a new shirt.” He said.
“Yeah, and since my taste is better than yours…” Ariel replied smirking.
“Hey, hey, don’t diss my fashion sense.” Mike retorted.
“What, the non-existent one?” Rainie called and Joe laughed harder.
Three hours passed in that manner, other members of the acting community joining them to wash cars, sign autographs and get donations for their charity. Leaving the carwash in the hands of other actors, Ariel, Ethan, Mike, Rainie and Joe made their way to Rainie’s house where they flopped exhaustedly in the living room.
“Get your stinky foot off my couch.” Rainie said to Ethan who raised his head, grunted and then ignored her.
“I think the media got enough pictures of me and Chun.” Ariel said smiling in satisfaction. Mike lay on the floor and closed his eyes, content to just breathe for a while.
“Pah.” Joe said. “Oh I had something to tell you guys.” And Joe found himself cornered by four curious pairs of eyes.
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