”Butler, roll the window down.” Alyssa cheerfully ordered, and the large man in the front seat did as he was told, pressing the button to roll the tinted back windows down so that Alyssa could face Anna.
”Anna, darling! Come along now, we’re going shopping. And possibly sleeping depending on how I feel once we’re doing.” The blonde snapped her fingers and Butler got out of the front seat and went around the car to the door, rolling it down for Anna, and making a gesture toward the door. While she had a chance, Alyssa reached into the tiny, cooled, custom fridge-like compartment she’d had added to all of her cars, and pulled out a fresh strawberry, already washed and cored, which she popped into her mouth.
”I am aware you will complain about your car being left here, unfortunately, I refuse to accept that excuse. I’ll send a lesser being that I give money to to fetch it and park it in my castle’s driveway, where it will patiently await its driver.” She made another gesture at Butler, and before Anna had much of a chance to protest, Butler gently (or as gently as a man his size and strength can) pushed her into the car and shut the door behind her.
'Lesser beings?' The thought ran through Anna's mind before she frowned at her close friend. She didn't even mind the fact that she was basically
kidnapped by the blondey beside her, but it just wasn't right to call employees
lesser beings.
"Lyssa," Anna tsked,
"a queen shouldn't call her employees lesser beings, it's rude." Anna explained. It felt like Anna was explaining basic manners to a child, an
overgrown child, but Alyssa was close enough.
”Add kidnapping to my list of sins for the day, I suppose,” Alyssa mused, snatching another strawberry and crunching on it thoughtfully. She held one out to Anna briefly,
”Want a strawberry? Too bad. These are the only thing I look forward to in life.” She smiled softly at Analise and popped the fruit into her mouth before shutting and locking the fridge, clasping her hands together.
”Okay, lovely. Here’s the deal: it is incredibly unfortunate that you were stuck in the crossfire, if you will, of my psychological assault on Audrey Huntsberg. As a result, I feel… uncharacteristically guilty. You, of all people in that godforsaken school, deserve peace and happiness, even if you find it with Jackson Aurum. Audrey Huntsberg, given that she hurt my precious Bianca—Viola’s younger sister, if you didn’t know—and additionally stole Troy away from me, does not. So, seeing the chance for a low blow, I swung, and I knocked it out of the damn park, like I always do. Now, I will be making it up to you, via lunch, drinks, and cute clothes, all on my tab of course.” Alyssa smiled again and patted Anna on the knee.
That was... sweet...
Alyssa felt guilty?
Anna pinched her right arm, wincing slightly in pain as her pale skin grew red in irritation. Yep, definitely not a dream. She looked at Alyssa again,
"I- You feel guilty?" Anna repeated, dumbly.
"But why? I was the one t-that lied- it's not y-your fault."Anna was the one that sent the message, if she hadn't sent it then Alyssa wouldn't have been under the impression that Anna was sleeping with Jackson. It had to be
her fault, not Lyssa's. It was unfair to blame it on her friend, even if it was wrong for Alyssa to use Anna's lie to bring Audrey down — especially when Audrey was one of her best friends.
”If you could ever forgive me for this, I would be eternally grateful.” Alyssa smiled and lift Anna’s hand to her lips, kissing the top of it, before quickly dropping it.
”Too much? Probably too much.”And there was the other surprise.
Really, this day was turning out to be beautiful, sad and
weird. Was Alyssa trying to charm her? Anna looked down at her hand blankly.
"N-no, it's fine. There's nothing to forgive you for, Lyss. I don't blame you for anything — it's my fault." Anna insisted, still staring down at her hand.
Alyssa nodded,
“Aw, well good.” She knocked against the back of the driver’s side chair, snapping her fingers. “Butler, the mall, please.” Butler pushed the ignition button, adjusting the mirror slightly and looking back at Alyssa through his dark sunglasses.
“Miss Green, we have an appointment. At the airport, remember? I tried to tell you earlier, but you INSISTED we pick up Anna.” He explained in his calm voice and Alyssa frowned, puffing out her bottom lip in a pout.
“But I hate Los Angeles international! I don't wanna go LAX, Butler! I don't want to see airport people, blasted civilians! I want to buy cute clothes!”Butler adjusted the mirror again, looking back at Alyssa as he started to drive off.
“Miss Green. You own a private hangar.”“....I do?”“Yes, it was your sixteenth birthday present from your mother.”“Ah, well. Onward then. To the airport!””Wait, what?” Anna looked between Alyssa and Butler, both surprised and shocked. This day was seriously turning out to be filled with surprised — at least from Alyssa anyway.
”At least let me get off here? What business do I have at the airport?” This time, she directly questioned Butler, knowing that Alyssa wasn’t going to be of any help.
”We can do this some other time, right? I don’t want to intrude.”“You're dreaming. Alyssa gets what she wants and what she wants is you. You try telling her no,” Butler said flatly.
Alyssa buckled her seat belt and pulled the center down, accessing the safe behind it and withdrawing a bottle of whiskey, which she cracked open.
“Who are we picking up?”“A cousin or something.”“Please, don't toy with me, I know you've looked further into it.”“Bartimaeus Locke. He prefers Ty. In and out of the school for wayward boys, known drug dealer, playboy, probably a druggie.” Alyssa nodded, taking a sip of her glass,
“Half Brother, more likely than cousin. Presumably a product of your father's infidelity; given my math during the background check, he was born while his mother's a husband was overseas. Military man. Military family, really, he's wanted to put Ty in military schools for years, but your father has been paying for private academies since day one—"“Naturally,” Alyssa chimed in.
“Naturally. Besides, your parents aren't charitable people, so they wouldn't just take a cousin in. Anyway, we're meant to make sure he stops acting up and cleans up.”“In Beverly Hills? Unlikely.”“I'd tell your father no if he didn't sign my massive paychecks.”Anna leaned against the car seat, sighing. She was definitely kidnapped, and possibly the only sane one in the car to greet the guest… Ty? She pulled out her phone, her finger hovering over Jackson’s name for a second before she pressed down and began typing.
Jackson
Alyssa and I are going to be hanging out for the afternoon, seems like we’re going to be meeting with her cousin or half-brother or something?
Jackson
I’ll call you when Lyss decides to let me go >.<
Two texts sent, Anna’s playful nature kicked in. Jackson sounded too… formal in her contacts, especially after everything that happened over the past few hours. Penguin sounded much more fun, something that a girlfriend would do. Smiling to herself, she changed Jackson’s name in her contacts and let out a giggle.
Penguin
Also, your name is now penguin in my contacts :p
Alyssa’s head immediately snapped over to Anna as she giggled.
“What? What's funny? I hate missing jokes.” She took another sip from the glass, pouring another after smacking her lips.
“Analise, you're in charge of making sure she doesn't overdrink.”“I AM A GROWN WOMAN I'LL DRINK AS MUCH AS I WANT.”Anna nodded at Butler, looking back over to Alyssa.
”It’s nothing, I just… uh… changed Jackson’s name into Penguin in my contacts.” No point lying to the queen now, especially after the disaster that happened that morning. Anyway, it wasn’t like this was anything bad or wrong, just her giggling at an inside joke.
”I’ve still got enough battery on my phone if we need the games. I can handle her from here.” She assured the older man with a smile.
“I don't need to be handled. Hmph,” Alyssa downed the shot in her hand and put the bottle and glass down, retrieving a strawberry from the safe spot.
“I can stop anytime I want to. I'm not an alcoholic.” She pouted and Butler shrugged.
“Thank you, Anna.”Anna raised an eyebrow.
”Really?” She asked.
”Okay, fine, prove it and stop now.” Anna challenged her friend, a triumphant smile on her face as she nodded at Butler’s direction.
Alyssa stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry.
“Fine. I will.” She hissed, folding her arms and stuffing the bottle back into its compartment.
“What's my prize if I do? Because I can and I will.”Up front, Butler made an audible noise. This was going to be a long trip….
”Uhh…” Okay, Anna hadn’t thought out her plan all the way through. She looked down at her phone before unlocking the device and handing it over to Alyssa.
”All you can play Angry Birds.” Anna offered, hesitantly.
If Jackson sent her a message, there was no way for Anna to check it now…
But at least it would keep Alyssa from drinking too much.
Alyssa scowled, glowering at Anna before she snatched the phone.
”I am like a child with this stupid game. A slut for Angry Birds. Fucking shit, what has my life come to?” She grumbled as she tossed her thumb across the screen to pull up the game. Dragging her finger back to launch the appropriately named Angry Bird at the evil pigs, Alyssa spoke up again.
”How long is this going to take? I wanted to model lingerie for Anna and vice versa.”Butler shrugged his shoulders as he drove along the highway.
”The airport is only five minutes away--plus, she’d never agree to that.” Alyssa clicked her tongue and sighed woefully.
”I am aware. My chances of seeing Anna in sexy clothes dwindle further with every day.”Fighting off the embarrassment that filled Anna, she grumbled under her breath almost childishly.
”There was never a chance in the first place.” Anna never really understood why Alyssa was hellbent on pursuing her despite knowing that Anna just didn’t like girls that way. She wondered whether this was just Alyssa’s odd way of showing love to her friends? Probably, the only other person knew that Lyss liked to hang around with was Viola Banks, and Anna usually never stuck around long enough to see them interact.
”GET FUCKED PIGS!” Alyssa shouted at the screen triumphantly as her bird toppled the castle formed by the evil pigs before she looked at Anna.
”You give me twenty five seconds of free reign and there’ll be more than a chance. Twenty five, that’s all it’ll take me, just sayin’.” Alyssa said with an absent shrug, as Butler spoke up.
”We’re here.” He said simply as he pressed the button on the security gate and it slid open, allowing them to drive onto the massive airstrip at Los Angeles International, more commonly known simply as LA X.
”The pilot says they’ve already arrived, so no issues. Where would you like me to put him?” Alyssa thought for a moment, before speaking.
”Front seat, away from my precious Anna dearest. He might be a prick.”’A… that…?’ This concerned Analise. She could barely handle Alyssa and her…
large personality, but to think that her guest could be the same - or someone that Alyssa didn’t want near her?
Anna would’ve sworn if she could.
She looked out of the window, checking for any strangers approaching the car, signalling to the others in the car as she noticed a tall figure drawing closer and closer to the car.
”I think I see him.”Ty had been standing around for almost 20 minutes, waiting for whoever-the-fuck Butler and Alyssa were. That was all the pilot had said before he’d disappeared off into the sunset. Once he saw the expensive looking ride pull in, he
knew that had to be them. After all, the family was supposed to be multi-billionaires--they owned a goddamn
private air hangar. They’d drive a high class Mercedes.
He licked his fingers as he approached the car, getting the remnants of barbeque sauce from the wings he’s had on the plane off of his fingers. It was actually surprisingly good, for air food. Maybe flying in a private plane with an almost fully equipped kitchen would enable the chef to make food that didn’t taste like dirty asshole--and Ty knew exactly what that tasted like.
He walked to the back of the car and threw open the trunk without a care in the world, hefting his bags inside of it. Almost immediately, the car sank down a bit and Alyssa frowned.
”What is this guy bringing with him? Bricks?” Butler shrugged his massive shoulders and Ty moved to Anna’s side of the car, knocking on the window with his knuckles.
”He did not just do that, did he? Tell me he didn’t touch my car window with his disgusting, unsanitized hands!”Butler shrugged again and hit the button to roll the window down and as soon as Ty saw the two girls in the backseat his face lit up into a grin and he winked before he spoke,
”Nice! I called ahead and said I only fucks with the dopey blond broads and natural redheads, it’s good to see that the fam didn’t ignore my message.”Butler sighed, holding his head in his hands as Alyssa looked over at Ty, and frowned.
”This will be your first, and your only warning. But if you ever talk to me like that again, I will destroy you. No, seriously, I will fucking massacre you, you understand me? You’re going to have to call the United Nations and get them to PUT A BINDING RESOLUTION ON ME TO KEEP ME FROM ELIMINATING YOU FROM HISTORY!” Alyssa was moving now, reaching toward Ty, but was stopped by the seatbelt.
”BUTLER! Fetch me his head! On a silver platter! I’m going to feed it to Turk.” She decided, allowing herself to be snapped back to the seat by the belt. Butler leaned over and opened the door for Ty.
”I think I might like it here…””I’m going to eat your firstborn child.””Yo, on second thought. Definitely like it here.”Butler gave Anna an apologetic look.
Caught between the two, Anna pressed herself back against the seat as far as she could as if she were trying to blend in with the leather seat. She had tried to -- note,
tried to -- keep Lyssa back from mauling the guy to death, but the seatbelt was enough to keep her friend in her seat.
He was definitely strange, and
not someone Anna was wholly comfortable with sharing the same space. He had the Alexandros vibe, but to a whole other level of obnoxiousness. Frowning slightly, she adjusted herself on the seat and cleared her throat. She wanted to get away from him as soon as possible, and the best way to do that was to get him to wherever he needed to go and ask Lyss to drop her off back home.
And the first step? She had to be polite and get him inside.
”Ah… Bartim- uh… Barti-” Great, she didn’t even know his name. This was starting off swimmingly. Clearing her throat again, she gestured towards the front of the car, avoiding eye contact.
”There’s a seat at the front f-for you.”Part of Anna wanted to offer to take up the front seat, but it was likely that if Lyss would actually end up killing him if they sat next to each other for longer than a minute. Actually, scratch that. She would
definitely kill him, and it wouldn’t even take her thirty seconds.
Ty shrugged and flopped down into the seat without much protest, shutting the door behind himself,
”You can just call me, Ty. It’s easier to remember, yo,” Ty said from his seat in the front as he adjusted his hat and sunglasses, looking out the window.
”So I was told that the house I’m going to is banging. Is it really that cool?” He turned slightly to face the girls behind him, despite the almost
evil look that plagued Alyssa’s face.
Immediately, Anna nodded.
”Definitely. It’s huge and there’s so much you can do. I mean, it’s really fit for a princess.””A queen,” Alyssa growled, arms folded over her chest as she shook her head.
This guy was going to get to enjoy her glorious estate?
Blasphemy.
”Yes, queen, sorry-” Anna patted Lyssa’s shoulder before turning back to Ty. The engine stirred back to life and the car slowly pulled out from the hangar and back onto the road.
”Um, well, back to what I was saying,” Analise’s uncomfortableness was slowly ebbing away, gradually being replaced by Anna’s usual chirpy and
overtalkative nature.
”The place is massive, like, it’s really easy to get lost in there. One time when I stayed over at her castle, I got lost while looking for the kitchen because I got hungry in the middle of the night and I couldn’t even find a single person so I had to sleep in the corridor until someone found me the next morning. So yeah, it’s really massive.”Alyssa shifted in her seat. He’d get to enjoy
her castle!
Hers. After disrespecting her like that… The queen simply
wouldn’t have it! ”That’s it! Butler, I want him banished from the castle until further notice! He can stay in the guest house!””Aly-” Butler couldn’t even finish before Alyssa dove back in, putting a stop to whatever he planned to say before he could.
”Banished, Butler.””Very well.”Anna frowned,
”Lyss, that’s not very nice.” She chastised her friend for the second time during their car-ride.
”He hasn’t even said anything to you.” Yet.
”He called me a dopey blonde broad. I am only one of those things! His disrespect and insolence cannot be forgiven!””Yo, does this bitch think she’s like actually a medieval queen or something?” Ty asked, looking back at Anna and then at Butler. Again, Butler groaned.
Alyssa looked around them, then nodded when she saw that they were in the mostly uninhabited part of the highway.
”Stop the car. I will show him medieval.””Yo, you west coast people are fuckin’ weird, bro.”Anna sighed. She hadn’t meant
that. He was definitely a douchebag, but he was doing so well since they’d started on the journey! Dang it, Ty! Anna pressed her hand against Lyss’ shoulder, trying to keep her against the seat while saying
”Lyss, not now. Let him go to the guest house then, but you don’t need to kill him.”It was a serious concern, Anna knew that Lyss was ready to kill, and there was only one way to stop it.
She looked around Lyss for her phone, chewing at her lip in worry until she found the device tucked in beside Lyssa - between her leg and the car door. Looking at Lyss one more time, Anna quickly reached over her lap and pulled her phone from its place, quickly unlocking it and smiling with relief as the familiar pause menu appeared on the screen.
”Lyss, look!” Anna pretty much shoved her phone against her friend’s face to get her to stop looking at Ty or at Butler’s direction.
Alyssa snatched the phone from Anna, her eyebrows furrowed in an angry expression as she pushed on the screen.
”You’d better have nudes on this stupid fucking thing,” she grumbled, but absently thought back to how Anna had bent over her earlier and her rage was slightly numbed and she pulled up Angry Birds, seemingly satisfied now.
”Strawberry, Anna.”Looking at Butler for a moment in surprise, she then turned back to the small fridge from earlier and opened it to grab another strawberry for Alyssa.
”Here, Lyss, have the strawberry.”Without looking up from her game, Alyssa opened her mouth.
”Yo, I like where this is going.” Alyssa took a deep breath to keep herself from exploding again. Did this guy know when to stop?
Anna raised her eyebrow incredulously.
”Lyssa, you’re not three. You can feed yourself.” Despite saying that, Anna still fed her friend the strawberry, knowing that it was either her feeding Alyssa the strawberry, or Ty dead. And even though Anna didn’t like Ty at all, she couldn’t just let Lyssa loose on him. Poor guy wouldn’t know what was coming.
Alyssa leaned forward and took the strawberry into her mouth, her lips briefly closing around Anna’s fingertips as she snatched it away. For now, the queen was satisfied. Butler quietly hit a button, causing a window to close between the two halves of the car--something Alyssa had had installed so she could enjoy ‘private time’ with certain people without him watching or hearing. In this case, it was a defensive measure against his charge’s admittedly powerful rage. Alyssa sighed and shifted in her seat.
”I wish we were in the limo or something. Then I could just take a nap. They can’t hear us anymore. So I am going to be as sad and pathetic as I want. You should stay and cuddle me while I watch cartoons so I don’t feel sad.”And
there was Lyssa’s odd way of asking Analise to stay over. Honestly Anna should’ve been used to it by now, but each time it was still odd to hear Lyssa
wanting her. Anna nodded, reaching her hand out for Lyssa to drop her phone in her hand. Once she had her phone back, Anna began typing out two text messages:
Penguin
I’m staying over at Lyssa’s now
Mama & Papa
Lyssa’s invited me to stay over for tonight. I have my antibiotics and I'll be back early morning in time for the morning round, so don’t worry about me ❤ ❤ ❤
As Analise sent the messages, the car slowly pulled into the gargantuan mansion that Alyssa loved to call her
castle, the car slowing down to a stop right in front of the entrance. Anna looked over at her friend with a soft smile.
”Let’s go.”
