Chapter 7

WEDNESDAY

“Are you serious right now?” Jessica huffed. “We’re talking about the Vince Givondi, and you couldn’t figure out a way to sneak me in or something so I can meet him or get an autograph or… or…”

Adeline closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose in a futile effort to relieve the pressure building up in her skull.

“I’ll get you an autograph,” she promised. Hopefully, Ivy would have some Ibuprofen or Aspirin, or even just something to drink.

“Fine—it’s a deal!” A toothy smile split Jessica’s face as she shoved open the door marked Entrance. Despite the harsh punishments for using the wrong doors (due to it being one of the principal’s biggest pet peeves), she had continued to do so.

As her friend jogged across the parking lot, Adeline breathed a sigh of relief. The girl never ran out of energy and basically radiated sunshine; today it made her head ache more than it already did.

Wearily, she pushed open the Exit door. A rush of sneeze-inducing summer air blasted her in the face, causing her eyes to water so much she had to close them for a moment. The swoosh swoosh of cars speeding by formed a rhythmic background for the flock of crows insulting one another from their rooftop perches.

“I don’t have all day!” Sebastian called from the SUV parked at the fringe of the school parking lot.

Adeline couldn’t help but grin. She opened her eyes and started walking, grit and bits of asphalt crunching under her shoes. A familiar tingling spread from her fingers down through her legs, and she swallowed, nervous excitement racing through her veins.

I’m going to be doing an interview again. Her smile widened despite the twisting of her gut.

“ ’Sup?” Sebastian drawled when she drew closer. Sprawled across the back seat on his stomach, his head was propped up on his folded arms, eyes half-closed due to the glaring sun.

Adeline eyed him as she slid her backpack off her shoulder and swung it into the open vehicle. It landed on Sebastian’s back with a heavy thump, a pink mechanical pencil flying from one of its mesh pockets.

“Ouch!” Sebastian winced, drawing back as Adeline slammed the car door shut.

She stalked around the back of the car to the other rear door, pulling it open and sliding inside. Skin prickly at the wash of cold air over her, she tilted her head back, relishing the feeling.

“Do you have anything for a headache?” Adeline asked hopefully, grabbing one of the half-full water bottles from the cup holder.

Ivy’s slender eyebrows pulled together as she frowned. “I’m sorry, no. But your change of clothes is in the back, along with some makeup.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled before taking a gulp of water.

“It’s going to take a lot more than makeup and a change of clothes to fix all of that,” Sebastian spat, gesturing in her direction.

Adeline rolled her eyes again, something she found she couldn’t help but do when he was around. “And which one of us was a supermodel?”

He started coughing, then choking, banging his hands against the headrest of the seat in front of him, face turning red. Gasping for breath between each hoarse word, he forced out, “Key word, Addy: was.”

Adeline had the sudden urge to chuck something at him. But since that was probably the reaction he was looking for, she just huffed and glared at him.

“You were cute as a little kid, but now… Sorry, that’s just so hilarious.”

“Only you,” she remarked dryly, arching an eyebrow.

A police siren wailed in the distance, gradually growing louder. She searched for the flashing lights, but couldn’t see any in the flood of vehicles.

“Ivy, did you hear that?” Sebastian gasped, causing Adeline to return her attention to him.

Confused, Ivy nodded.

“I meant ‘Only you’ as in, ‘only you could be so stupid’, not ‘you’re the only one in my heart,’ or anything stupid like that,” Adeline interrupted. The throbbing in her temples was a full out symphony of drums, and the too-bright sun and Sebastian’s infantile behavior certainly didn’t help.

“When we get there, you’ll have thirty minutes to get prepared,” Ivy said. “And I assume you already have the list of questions?”

Adeline’s face twisted as she nodded.

“Were they that bad?” Sebastian asked.

“No, no, the first couple are just general ones about my childhood—like when I started playing the piano, what got me into modeling, why I quit ballet, what family life was like.”

Sebastian moved her backpack to the floor, glancing at her sideways. “You can’t make an interesting episode off the answers to those.”

“The other half of the questions are the…” She paused. “…personal ones—how did I feel about being framed? Did I ever consider taking drugs? Do I feel betrayed by the fact that the Craybons didn’t believe my testimony? Where was I when I received news of my parents’ accident?” she rattled them off. “Then they ask me questions about how I dealt with everything that happened to me. Like what my coping mechanisms were, how I feel about it all looking back, what my plans for the future are.”

He blinked and leaned towards her, lips pressed into a thin line. “Did you spend all night preparing?”

Adeline considered for a moment. “No, not really.”

If you don’t count reliving your traumatic experiences via nightmares despite the fact that you should be able to deal with that stuff, then no, I did not.

“But you feel prepared?” His soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah. Of course.” Clearing her throat, she looked at the floor, forming patterns from the Twinkie crumbs. It wasn’t a total lie, at least. She bit her lip, wanting to ask Sebastian how he’d answer those questions if it were him. Even though he goofed his way through a lot of situations, he always seemed to know what to say when it mattered most.

But… shouldn’t she know how to handle it? She couldn’t always depend on him to solve all of her problems and this wasn’t even that big a deal. She could manage.

Sebastian’s gaze remained trained on her face, boring into her aching brain. No, she wouldn’t ask him anything.

His eyes narrowed and, for a moment, Adeline feared he’d inquire further.

Instead, he grinned, putting his hands behind his head. “Well, okay; just as long as you don’t mess this up.”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes and chucked the water bottle at him with more force than she’d intended. “I’m not going to.”

Sebastian deftly caught it and lobbed it back. “Would you please stop your feeble attempts at maiming this beautiful face? Thanks.”

She snatched the bottle from where it had landed beside her. Wrinkling her nose, she took a swig.

Now they were in the business district of the Cerulle, the part of the city Adeline could see best from her lounge’s windows. The Killingsworth Tech skyscraper loomed above the others, gray-blue sides glimmering against the clear sky. Her lips curled into a small smile at its majesty.

The car came to a stop at a light and people flooded across the crosswalk, jostling against one another and avoiding eye contact. Their near-expressionless faces held the determination of people with too many places to go, too much to do, and not enough time. Adeline chewed her fingernail, eyes narrowing.

Work, sleep, work, sleep—do everything in your power to get to the top.

It was everyone’s end goal, wasn’t it? No, that couldn’t be right.

There had to be more to this--to life, to people--than that. Her mother would say that God had a greater purpose for everyone, but...

She frowned and gave her head a little shake. Pinkie nail reduced to a stub, she shoved those thoughts away and buried her hand in the folds of her skirt.

“Feeling nervous?” Sebastian asked as the car glided forward.

“No, just thinking.”

“I wish you’d do more of that,” he said, glancing out the window.

Adeline opened her mouth to retort, but the words stuck in her throat. The sunlight flickering through the portals of crisscrossing overpasses played across his face. Since when had his jawline been that strong and his eyes so sharp? And a calculating look was etched into his striking features that she’d never noticed.

There was a sharp pang in her side, a wave of horror washing over her. How was it possible to know someone so well and yet perceive so little of them?

He turned, gaze meeting hers. What had she been thinking? The young man vanished—an illusion of lighting and her sleep-deprived brain—and Sebastian was back.

“Didn’t anybody ever tell you staring was rude?”

He smirked.

“You’re really going to need to up your insult game,” she snorted, crossing her arms and wrinkling her nose.

“I’d advise you to do the same, but you don’t even have one.”

“Alright, you two. Get out, and don’t forget the things in the back,” Ivy instructed, pulling up to the curb. “I’ll be in shortly.”

“Thanks, Ivy.” Adeline squirmed out of her seatbelt and opened the door.

Sebastian exited the vehicle and made his way to the trunk, where he retrieved the garment bag and makeup case. Adeline shut the trunk and the two walked side by side toward the building. Even though it only had forty-five floors to be compared to the Killingsworth’s seventy-nine, its curving glass and concrete sides were still impressive. Five wide steps led up to the double doors, over which Michael’s Celebrity Insider News had been engraved in golden lettering.

Sebastian opened the door for her and she nodded her thanks, noting his “Serious Sebastian face” (as he’d so dubbed it). She stifled a giggle, knowing he’d get upset if he heard it. For a moment, she almost forgot her headache, but her stomach churned as she stepped inside.

Directly to the right was the sleek metal front desk. In the middle of the lobby was a cylindrical aquarium filled with colorful plants and tropical fish, but Adeline couldn't take the time to fully appreciate its beauty.

“M-miss Killingsworth!” One of the women behind it leaped up. “The dressing rooms you’re looking for are on the third floor. I can show you to them, if you would like.”

“Thank you, I’d appreciate that.” She glanced around, trying to descreetly wipe her sweaty palms. No amount of modeling gigs, concerts, or interviews could completely erease the nervousness that always took over.

The woman smoothed her black hair, skirting around the edge of the desk and hurrying over. “I’m Eliza Dober, and let me tell you what a pleasure it is to meet you!”

Adeline shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Eliza smiled, her round eyes crinkling at the corners. “I still listen to your music; you’re amazing on the piano!”

“Oh, thank you.” She smiled, dipping her head, wondering if the woman could tell how pale she was under the warm lights.

"This way, please."

Eliza led them around the aquarium to the elevators and stairway on the opposite side. There was no music in the elevator, much to Adeline’s relief—just a quiet hum as they ascended to the proper floor.

Before the doors were fully open, Eliza had squeezed out and rushed down the hallway, her heels clacking on the spotless floor like a metronome. Even with her long legs, Adeline struggled to catch up. Not that she had to worry about getting lost—she could just follow the sound of various people calling out greetings to Eliza.

Adeline turned a corner, Sebastian close on her heels.

Eliza halted before a room with the label Adeline affixed on the door. “We have a stylist ready if you need one,” she offered as she opened the door.

“That’s okay—I can manage,” Adeline said. She bit her lip as Sebastian plowed into her, trampling the back of her shoes. No doubt he had been scanning for security cameras again, a behavior he had a harder time curbing than she.

“Awesome! Just let us know if you need anything. Someone will come and get you when it’s time to start filming.” Eliza scanned the interior before giving a little shrug. “Well, I’ll let you get ready!”

Adeline smiled and gave a little wave as the woman walked away. The moment her back was turned, Adeline knocked Sebastian away with her shoulder.

“Clutz,” she hissed.

Unmoved, he brushed past her into the room.

“I’ll be outside,” he said, placing the garment bag and makeup case on the vanity.

“Okay. Grab me something for my headache, please.”

With a nod, he shut the door behind him with a click.

Finally some peace.

<><><><>

Adeline checked her reflection one last time, taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Her hair tumbled in gentle waves over her shoulders, loose tendrils framing her face. And the cherry blossom pink of her skirt complimented her skin and glowing cheeks.

Frowning, she pulled a strand of hair off the white bodice and smoothed the skirt one last time, adjusting the delicate gold choker.

All ready.

Inhaling deeply, she crossed the room and opened the door. Sebastian was leaning against the wall, studying the ceiling with such concentration that Adeline couldn't help but look up, too.

There was nothing there.

“It took you all that time and you still look like that?” Sebastian yawned.

Adeline smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

“Please don’t,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes. “There’s nothing more cringe-worthy than below-average amateur flirts.”

Adeline lifted her chin. “Why do you think I try to stay as far away from you as possible?”

One of Sebastian's eyebrows rose. “Because you can’t control yourself around me?”

Her arm shot out, fist catching him in the shoulder, even though he could have easily avoided it.

With a gasp faker than the flat-earth, she covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t help it.”

“I’d say you hit like a girl, but I don’t want to be sexist and insult all the other able-bodied females,” he said, eyes fixed on a spot on the wall behind her.

“You and Jacob are too much alike.”

“Hardly.”

“You’re both annoying and stupid,” she snorted, dissatisfied with his lack of reaction.

“But the ladies love us—”

Adeline jabbed his chest with her finger. “Don’t you dare wink or touch your hair.”

His blue eyes met hers, full of amusement. “Or what?”

“They’re ready for us,” Ivy announced, striding around the corner, heels clicking a rapid tempo on the smooth floor. “You look stunning, Adeline.”

“Thanks, Ivy,” Adeline said, smiling sweetly. She scowled at Sebastian, eyes narrowing before she turned away.

“I’m watching you,” she hissed.

“Who isn’t?” he called after her, laughing, as she marched down the hallway.