Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
“Everyone’s in the backyard, Miss.” The gardener motioned to her. Ariel smiled her thanks and continued on to the backyard from where she could hear shrieks of laughter coming.
As she entered the backyard, she saw Rainie and Ethan discussing something earnestly, heads close together. Ethan grabbed at Rainie’s hand and she pushed him away laughing. Ethan made a sad face and Rainie repented, kissing him on the cheek. Ethan beamed like a little boy on Christmas.
Ariel felt a twinge in her heart, a wistful longing that made her pause. She loved seeing Rainie and Ethan so happy but a tiny part of her envied them their happiness, wanting the same abandon of love, the same careless affection.
She cleared her throat and Rainie jumped up when she noticed her.
“Ariel, tell Ethan pink is a dignified colour.” She demanded, slipping her hand into Ariel’s and leading her to the chairs.
“Um. Ethan, pink is a dignified colour.” Ariel said laughing.
“Whatever. You think I’m going to fall for your words?” He peered behind her.
“What are you looking for?” Ariel asked.
“Joe didn’t come with you?” Ethan asked. Ariel felt her smiled start to slip and then she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.
“Nah. He had something to do.” She replied.
“What? He said he was gonna have lunch with you and then come over with you.” Ethan looked confused.
Ariel shrugged. “Maybe he got busy or something.”
“Oh yeah, how’s Mike?” Ethan asked. “I haven’t seen him since the filming began.”
Ariel nodded. “He’s away. He had to fly over to Japan for two weeks for some meetings he has with this director who wants him to star in one of the Japanese dramas.”
“Oh…” Rainie looked sharply at Ariel, trying to figure out what was wrong. Ariel smiled back, she wasn’t an actress for nothing.
Rainie started to say something but Allie, Ethan’s sister came out at the same time.
“Hi Ariel, Hi Rainie!” She chirruped. She was a pretty 17 year old, with inexhaustible good cheer and energy. She bounced around, twirling her skirt and asking them what they thought of her outfit.
“Where are you going dressed like that?” Ethan asked sternly.
“Out with Hiro.” Allie said.
“Absolutely not.” Ethan said standing up and crossing his arms.
Allie rolled her eyes and appealed to Ariel and Rainie.
“Can you talk some sense into him?”
“Go put on a skirt.” Ethan said eyeing his little sister up and down.
“I AM wearing a skirt. See?”
“That’s too short. Go wear something longer.”
“Whatever, Ethan.”
“And make sure you are back home by 7.”
“7?!! Are you crazy?”
“And make sure he doesn’t kiss you.” Ethan continued in a forbidding tone.
“Of course. *I* will kiss HIM.” Allie giggled. Ethan lunged at her and Rainie laughingly slipped her arms around Ethan’s waist.
“Run Allie, run. I’ll hold him while you make your escape.” Allie ran away laughing and Ethan looked down at Rainie with a mixture of tenderness and exasperation.
Ariel abruptly stood up.
“Guys, I don’t feel good all of a sudden. I’m going to go home.” She said.
“Arie, is everything okay?” Rainie asked looking concerned.
“Yeah. Everything’s fine, I guess I’m just a bit under the weather. Don’t worry,” She added picking up her bag. “I’ll be fine.”
And she left, walking out the same way she had come, through the door in the hedge and down the driveway where her car was parked.
As she was unlocking the car door, a car pulled up and Joe got out. Ariel breathed carefully and fixed a very polite smile on her face.
“Hey.” Joe said stopping behind her.
Ariel took another deep breath and then turned. “Hi. I was just leaving. They are in the backyard.” She said, perfectly normally.
“Ariel listen-” Joe said.
“I’m sorry, I really have to go.” Ariel cut him off and then got into her car and drove off with a roar.
Joe stood looking after her a long time, sorrow sitting heavily in his eyes.
Ariel didn’t know how she managed to get home before the reservoir burst and her tears dampened her cheeks.
She got into bed, still dressed and curled up in a fetal position. She took out her cell phone and stared at it with tears still streaming down her flushed cheeks.
Meanwhile…
Mike lay back on the bed in his hotel suite. He loosened his tie and kicked off his shoes. He wondered what Ariel was doing.
“Probably holding hands with Joe and looking off into the sunset.” He told the kettle as he sat it to boil on the tiny kitchen stove in the corner of his suite. “And here I am, talking to inanimate objects. But at you least you won’t break my heart, will you, Kettle?”
The kettle gurgled happily. Mike laughed at himself.
Suddenly his cell phone rang.
“Should I get or should I not?” He asked the kettle. “Maybe it’s the woman of my dreams, the one who won’t break my heart, not the one who does it as easily as she smiles.”
He picked up the phone and his eyes widened at the caller id. He answered it immediately.
“Yi Chen?”
“Mike…”
“Are you crying?”
“No.” Ariel replied in a wobbly voice. “Maybe. Yes.”
“What’s the matter, Arieletta?” Mike sat down on one of chairs in the living room, his forehead furrowing in concern.
“I asked Joe if he liked me.” Ariel said between sobs.
“And?” A feeling of dread snaked its away around Mike’s tummy and into his heart, cold and clammy.
“He said he could never love me.” Ariel finally said after a silence punctuated with sobs.
“WHAT?” Mike could hardly believe his ears. “Are you sure he wasn’t joking, Yi Chen?”
“Very. He said that I have too many iss- issues I need to deal with and he can’t spend his life waiting for me to get over them.”
Mike took a sharp breath in surprise. How could he have been so wrong?
“Mike?” Ariel said after a little silence.
“Yeah?”
“When are you coming home?”