Prince Charming and James Bond
Adrienne was busy chatting with her best friend on instant messenger when the annoying little box that signaled another message popped up on her screen. Telling Dina to hang on for a second, she clicked over to the blinking orange box at the bottom of her computer screen. The screenname wasn't one that she recognized, and the message was…odd.
PrinceCharming007: Your voice brightens my day.
Her brows shot up. What the hell?
PrincessA: Who are you?
PrinceCharming007: My lady's man.
If possible, her dark brows rose even higher as green eyes focused on the screen. Was this guy for real?
PrincessA: Do I know you?
PrinceCharming007: Alas, my lady, if only you knew.
Okay, seriously, this wasn't funny, Adrienne thought. Who was this creep, and why did she have a feeling that she knew who it was? Familiar or not, she was not going to waste her time on this ridiculous conversation.
PrincessA: Well, you weirdo, it was not nice chatting to you, and I hope we never talk again. Goodbye.
So saying, she shut the dialogue box and turned back over to Dina's waiting message and told her best friend about her instant messenger whacko. A part of her was secretly surprised that PrinceCharming007 hadn't messaged her back—he hadn't struck her as a pushover—she didn't think on it much more. Nor did she remember to block him.
After all, there were more important things on her seventeen year old mind. Not the least of which was the upcoming senior prom.
The next time her oddball admirer messaged her, Adrienne had just returned home from a shopping trip to the mall where she'd spent far too much money on matching jewelry for prom. Currently without a boyfriend, she was going with her very gay other best friend, Zeke. She knew he wouldn't care what she wore, but she was determined to make her senior prom memorable, and the perfect look was essential.
The ivory and green gown she'd found in a small boutique accented her olive-hued Italian skin and was a pretty contrast with her shoulder-length, dark curls. Prom may have been nearly three weeks away, but Adrienne had tried on her dress every other day just to make sure that she hadn't gained a single pound as her body often liked to do.
After making sure that the jewelry she'd bought matched her dress, she plopped herself down in front of her computer and clicked open the instant messenger. She frowned when most of the people on her buddy list were offline, and she started to change her status to Away, when a dialogue box popped up on her screen.
PrinceCharming007: Hello, my darling.
PrincessA: …
PrinceCharming007: Now, now, that's not very nice.
PrincessA: Oh and stalking people online is?
PrinceCharming007: But I'm not stalking you, darling.
PrincessA: Then what do you call sending me random messages without telling me who you are? And stop with the darlings.
PrinceCharming007: You wound me so, my love.
Adrienne rolled her eyes, but she secretly had to admit this whole thing was kind of fun. As bizarre as this whole thing was, she liked the mystery and wanted to figure out who this weirdo was. So, fingers poised over her keyboard, she typed away.
PrincessA: I might not if you give me a hint about who you are. Have I met you?
PrinceCharming007: But of course, cherie.
PrincessA: Where? At school? A party? Through friends?
PrinceCharming007: A gentleman doesn't reveal his sources.
PrincessA: Gimme a break. Is there some reason you keep bugging me?
PrinceCharming007: Of course! You're my princess and I am your prince.
PrincessA: That's so not clever. And what's up with your screenname? Sounds like you're overcompensating for something. Prince Charming and James Bond in one? Pfft.
PrinceCharming007: You jest, my heart, but I promise you won't be disappointed.
PrincessA: Right. That's if I meet you. And I don't want to. Bye creep.
The next day, she told Dina and Zeke about her Internet stalker.
"I can't believe he messaged you again!" Dina spun the dial on her locker and talked simultaneously. "What kind of creep is he? What if he's one of those predators?"
"Seriously, what kind of psycho does that? You should be careful, Ri," Zeke warned, hooking an arm with Adrienne's. "Maybe he's a hacker, and he'll trace you to where you live. Before you know it, you'll be kidnapped or something."
Adrienne rolled her eyes. "I don't know, guys. He sounds pretty harmless. It's like he's flirting the way one of those old-fashioned, uh, courtiers would in like royal courts or something. It's kind of funny—when it's not pissing me off."
"Why don't you just block him?" Dina wondered as the trio pushed through the crowded hallways to their homerooms. "That way, you don't have to worry about him. He sounds a little deranged just from his screenname."
"Yeah, I told him what I thought about his screenname, and he laughed it off…or however you laugh something off online," Adrienne replied and frowned over the memory. She pushed open the door to their homeroom. "Anyway, I don't think it's going to make a difference if I block him because he'll probably get a new name and try to talk to me some more."
Zeke slid into his desk, which was in front of Adrienne's and next to Dina's. "Just be careful, Adrienne. Let's not have a remake of some slasher flick, okay?"
"You worry too much, Zeke." She patted his cheek. "It's going to be fine."
Before either he or Dina could reply, the bell rang, and the students settled down to listen to morning announcements. Their homeroom teacher took attendance, and only Brody Ryder, who sat behind Adrienne, was absent. She barely paid attention as she skimmed over her English paper one more time to do one, last check for mistakes. So intent was she on proofreading that she nearly missed the disruptive noises coming from the speaker system.
She glanced up, confused, at the sizzle of static before the voices of the two female announcers were replaced by another.
"To my darling princess, you know who you are. With eyes green as Ireland, hair as lovely as a goddess', and a voice that is music to my heart, you are perfection to me. I await our time together with bated breath," a smooth male voice spoke, a hint of humor apparent in his tone. "Alas, this is a reversal of the fairytales, so please, come find me. I promise you won't regret it."
Adrienne nearly fell out of her seat as the room buzzed with excitement over the interruption and what it could possibly mean. She tried to focus on the voice and tried to match it up to who she knew.
Zeke turned around in his seat, his face shocked. "That was your stalker," he hissed. "It had to be."
She nodded, still not quite digesting the fact that PrinceCharming007 had hijacked the PA system to do such a thing. "Oh yeah. The way he talked is the way he is online. God, this is so weird. It has to be someone we know. Did either of you recognize the voice?"
"I think his voice was disguised," Dina leaned over and whispered. "It wasn't totally clear, like he covered the mic with cloth or something, you know the way you do for a prank call?"
Adrienne bit her lip nervously as Mrs. Beckett, the homeroom teacher, tried to bring the room to order. "Maybe this is all just a prank. I mean, really, why pick me of all the people in this school? Maybe it's the senior prank, and my name was picked as the person to harass."
"Oh, give me a break." Zeke rolled his eyes. "The senior prank is going to be filling the gym with bubbles, shaving cream, and whipped cream. I heard Dan Turner and Jared Fleming recruiting people at Jared's last party."
"Oh. But-"
But whatever she was going to say was cut off when the bell rang, and the three friends hurried off to their separate classes, minds abuzz as they tried to figure out who Adrienne's Prince Charming could possibly be.
There were no messages or random announcements from PrinceCharming007 over the next few days. Adrienne found herself half wishing that he would pop up somewhere, but then she'd scold herself for being stupid. She didn't really want anything to do with some stranger who had decided to stalk her…did she?
"Psst. Adrienne."
Rolling her eyes when she recognized the person who'd whispered to her, she turned around and met Alex Evans' amused green eyes. "What?"
"What'd you get for number fifteen?"
She glanced down at the calculus problems they were supposed to be quietly working on and found fifteen. "X equals 7.3," she whispered back. "Now, can you leave me alone?"
"That's a pointless question to ask," Brody Ryder muttered from his seat across from Alex. "You're our favorite torture subject." Even as she hissed in annoyance, his bright blue eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Both of you are such jerks."
"Miss Giambelli, is there a problem?" Their calculus teacher lifted a brow.
She shook her head. "Nope. Nothing."
"Then perhaps you could keep it down so your classmates can work without distractions," he suggested and, once she'd nodded, turned back to grading papers.
Adrienne glared over her shoulder at the two boys, who simply smirked at her. Cheeks flaming with irritation, she turned back to her work. Alex and Brody may have been two of the most popular boys in the senior class, but they'd always been nothing more than thorns in her side. Ever since first grade, they'd gone out of their way to make her life harder than necessary. Of course, she'd wreaked revenge on them over the years, but, somehow, they managed to out-do her every time.
When she heard them start whispering to each other, she tried to ignore it, but it didn't take too much effort on her part to hear what they were talking about.
"…special announcement…janitor's closet…no idea…hilarious…roses aren't her style…"
Finally, her curiosity got the best of her, and she turned around again. "What are you two talking about?" She remembered to whisper and double-checked to make sure the teacher wasn't looking.
Alex raised a brow as he leaned forward, his face mere inches from hers. His breath fluttered over her face, and she tried to ignore the butterflies in her belly. "Curiosity killed the cat, princess."
"Don't call me-" Adrienne broke off, sucking in a surprised breath as realization struck her. "Oh my god. Y-you…you're not…no…are you?"
Brody chuckled softly. "First time I've seen you so speechless, Adrienne," he murmured. "What's wrong?"
She looked from one boy to the other and wondered if she was wrong. "Neither of you have PrinceCharming007 as a screenname…do you?"
The two boys exchanged glances before looking back at her. "No," Alex replied quietly. "Why do you want to know?"
When she shook her head, called herself stupid to think that either of them were behind this stupid prank—it went above and beyond their usual pranks, after all—and turned back to her work, Brody spoke up softly. "Are you the 'princess' that guy was talking about?"
Her head whipped around to see him watching her solemnly. For once, there was no mocking expression on his face. Adrienne bit her lip, wondering if she should tell them, knowing that they'd probably laugh at her. "Yes, I think so," she said finally.
Instead of bursting out laughing, Alex and Brody looked at each again before Alex gently rested his hand on her shoulder. The butterflies doubled up and bounced around more frantically. "Then I guess you'd better work on finding your prince," he murmured, the look in his eyes shooting sparks through her.
AN: Please, don't hold back ) Tell me exactly what you think because I'm curious as to what you think about this story so far. It's only going to be 3 chapters long, so there's not a lot to this story. This actually popped out of my brain as a random idea, and I decided to go for it and write it. The next chapters will be up soon, but be sure to review. Oh, and let me know if you've figured out who PrinceCharming007 is.