Breathing Life into a Statue
By Eleine Kruez
2ND Epilogue
Life can't possibly get any sweeter than this, Adrienne thought, sighing dreamily as she snuggled closer to Dylan. Life suddenly seemed beautiful whereas only few hours ago she would've happily wished humanity to perdition. Her vision was filled with roses and sparkles. Could anyone be any happier than Adrienne Blanco Clarke right now?
The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT. She mentally ticked a List of Why. Throat clearing. A brief recap of Why Adrienne's Life is Perfect:
(a) First Amendment—no one can sue her even if she thinks, writes and speaks without proper regard to Capitalization,
(b) she's rich (okay, her dad is, but someday it will all be hers),
(c) she's pretty (alright, maybe that's a stretch, but nobody's calling her Quasimodo),
(d) she's smart (while she's not in AP classes, she's not flunking any subjects, which is more than what her father had initially hoped for anyway)
(e) her family's well-connected (rich and famous), plus
(f) she actually loves her family (and they love her)
(g) she's got great friends (well, maybe just one, but having Monique back her in a bar fight is infinitely better than having either Melissa or Shanna throw her under the bus)
(h) she's dating Dylan Chadwick—top 3 reasons why Dylan is the Best Boyfriend (Evah!): he's smart, talented and he can barely breathe without her (eat your non-existent heart out, Shanna!) She would perhaps prefer to do without the traumatic childhood bullying and having her heart (briefly) broken. Especially skip the horrible past few days since The Picnic from Hell.
She pulled away from Dylan and stared at him. He tried to pull her back, but she shrugged his arm off and sat on her heels. The roses and sparkles faded.
"Adrienne?"
"You put me through hell," she said plainly. She watched as he seemed to deflate right before her eyes.
"I know," he replied, woebegone expression taking over his gorgeous face. "I know it'll take time, but if you just let me make it up to you, I'll definitely try my damnedest."
"You're absolutely right. It will take time and lots and LOTS of effort on your part. Your forehead will bleed words like asshole and turdface before I'm through you." She stood up and motioned for him to do the same, which he did.
"You are so lucky I have a very big heart with an infinite capacity to forgive." She placed her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. "It also helps that I love you." She kissed him on the lips and grinned. "So I have an idea where you can begin making it up to me." She pushed him down to his knees and smirked.
The small group they started out with had ballooned to fifteen. Fifteen was her last count anyway. It was hard to keep track since whenever anyone moved on, another took their place. Sinjun smiled and handled the autograph-signing and picture-taking well. It was obvious she was used to this. Monique wasn't.
But maybe being besieged by fans would be easier than being stuck in a conversation with Jonathan Kline—oh, sorry, Nathan. Apparently the name his mother gave him at birth wasn't cool enough now that he was dating Hollywood's Darling. Oh, yeah, since his music career's picking up, too.
"…and so I told Legs there her high school tricks ain't no match for a mature man like me," the older brunette confided to David with a showy wink. "Gave her an autograph to soften the blow though. No doubt that napkin'll hit eBay tomorrow latest."
She was contemplating another bathroom break, her third in half an hour, when Sinjun finally finished with the latest batch of fans, and turned to Monique. "I swear to you, if I didn't know Barbie would think we're BFFS, I'd hunt her down and skewer her. I was blending in just fine until she came along!"
And she was, which had surprised Monique. Until Melissa had squealed her utter delight at finally meeting Hollywood's Sinjun Blanco, nobody had paid the brunette more than cursory glances. One couldn't help but notice her, true, she was very pretty, but her presence didn't scream superstar. She seemed to fit right in dressed in Adrienne's yellow ballgown. Now that she was no longer blending, she stood out like a rose in a field of daisies and it was hard to imagine her simply being one of many.
"Nice of you to field the fans, babe," Nathan said, putting an arm around Sinjun and pulling her close to him. "You know I don't like dealing with them."
Monique rolled her eyes and David nudged her since she had been standing in front of the couple and hadn't bothered covering her reaction. How Sinjun could date a total tool like Jonathan was beyond her. She was wondering if she'd overstep too much if she held an intervention for the older girl when Nathan drew her attention to the other side of the room.
"More fans on the way, babe," Nathan announced, lips twisting unattractively. "Can't they just leave us alone? We're just normal people like them, enjoying a…high school ball." His nose twitched. He took out the pocket watch attached to his costume. "Your cousin back yet? How long do we have to stay? It's kinda lame for someone like me to be seen here—no offense," he said, flashing them what he must've thought was a charming smile. And it was; if one overlooked the person, the shell was quite attractive.
Sinjun blushed and murmured an apology while her boyfriend continued to fiddle with the watch.
"Uh, I don't think those are fans here for an autograph," David spoke up, tugging on Monique's dress and pointing as the crowd parted.
As people moved out of the way, they saw Adrienne wave at them. Monique frowned since her friend's head was way lower than everyone else's. What was she doing walking on her knees?
"I don't see Chadwick. Maybe she buried him somewhere," Sinjun commented. She turned to David. "Looks like your baseball team's gonna be one man short."
"Or maybe not."
Everyone fell silent as Adrienne neared. Monique was wrong. She wasn't walking on her knees. But someone definitely was. Both hands and knees.
"Halt," Adrienne commanded, smiling up from where she sat on Dylan's back. She regarded the dumbfounded public and sighed. "Have you ever heard of transformation magic? It's the stuff of fairy tales. Let me demonstrate." She knelt beside Dylan, who was still on all fours. "With a kiss," she kissed him on the lips then grabbed his arms, taking him with her as she stood up, "an ass is transformed into a prince!"
Silence. She sighed. "This production is totally wasted on you people." Still nothing. Then…
"You broke him!" Melissa was staring at them in horror.
"No," Dylan replied, taking Adrienne's hand in his and pulling her to him. "She fixed me. Showed me statues and dolls are nothing compared to real human beings." He squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek. The crowd 'awwed' then moved on after that. There was Sinjun Blanco's autograph to be had, after all.
"I guess this means I won't have to neuter you," Monique offered, making David wince. The band was starting a new song and she pulled him toward the dance floor.
"Fixed you huh?"
"So tell me, what comes after transformation magic? How am I doing as far as making it up to you is concerned?"
She shrugged. "You're good for the night." He watched her move her head to the music and despite the band's synthesizer he'd swear he heard violins. Familiar words filled the air and he grinned.
"Your eyes, tell me how you want me… I can feel it in your heart beat… I know you like what you see…"
"Hold me, I'll give you all that you need,"he whispered into her ear, "wrap your love around me…"
"You know what? There's still one thing you can do tonight," she said, her grin widening.
"Jump?"
"Yep, definitely."
FIN (it really is true this time around =D)
PLEASE READ A BIT OF PIXIE DUST for those who're wondering how Adrienne got the pixie. Phew. Had to get that out.
I know it's been years since I finished Statue, but this bit wouldn't let go until I put it to writing so here it is. I feel a bit like Julia Quinn with the 2nd Epilogue thing, but since I love JQ I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Hehe. And of course I absolutely liked this ending. If you'll remember in Part 14 Dylan caught Adrienne singing, the song (which is now officially their song XD) makes a comeback. If you have the time (and inclination) check out the full lyrics at azlyricsDOTcom/lyrics/girlsaloud/jumpDOThtml . Listen to the song as well. I still like The Pointer Sisters' version better, but the Girls Aloud ver. is pretty good too, and it's what best fits the mood of the story.
Again, THANK YOU to everyone who's read, liked and reviewed this story. Feel free to read the others on my page. Please. C:
Then, Jump!
For my love
Jump in!
And feel my touch
Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,
Jump for my love
I know my heart can make you happy
Jump in!
You know these arms can feel you up
Jump, if you want to taste my kisses in the night then,
Jump! For my love
- Jump (For My Love), Pointer Sisters