Your Colorful World vs. My Black and White World

Slowly and surely, Adeline was replacing Abby. Although Adeline had different places and ideas on what fun was, she was always able to surprise Zacky and amaze him with wherever she decided to take him. Today, she took him to the local carnival.

They were in the car, arguing about going there. Zacky couldn’t find a good reason to go to a carnival. He didn’t find any fun in them. It was basically a run down amusement park to him. Still, he rolled his eyes, and only agreed to go because Adeline pleaded for him to go with her.

As soon as Zacky paid eight dollars for the both of them to enter the carnival, Adeline ran and dragged him along with her until they reached the cotton candy stand. She told Zacky to wait a minute. He nodded, diving for his phone that was in his pocket.

Adeline went to the cotton candy stand and hid, watching Zacky. He hadn’t moved from his spot and was still giving all his attention to his phone.

Only a minute or two passed before Zacky began to panic. He began to notice people giving him weird stares. That made him sweat and he started to fidget. He checked the time on his phone. Had it only been 20 seconds or was his phone malfunctioning?

A young girl walked shyly towards him and asked for his autograph. He took the sharpie marker from her hand and signed his stage name on a piece of paper she thrust into his hand.

After the autograph was over, the girl didn’t walk away. Zacky flashed a nervous smile, wishing Adeline would come back and save him already.

The girl fired question after question at Zacky. “So Zacky, when is the new album coming out? Are you back in studio yet? I didn’t know you lived here! Why are you here anyways? A famous person like you would never come here! Oh my gosh, I have to tell the other girls!”

The pressure was just too much for Zacky and he almost hyperventilated. He needed Brian with him for this interview. He needed Adeline to save him. He needed anyone to take this girl away.

Standing up from her hiding spot, Adeline decided that she should go back to Zacky before he fainted. She had two cotton candy sticks in her hand so it wouldn’t look suspicious as to where she was.

The second Zacky spotted Adeline, he breathed. He watched as Adeline promised the girl that Zacky would give her more autographs later. He watched in glee as the girl walked away with a happy grin on her face. What he didn’t see was the wink Adeline gave the girl.

Most of the people at the carnival were older adults and very young toddlers. They wouldn’t have known who Zacky was to begin with. The girl that asked for his autograph was one of the volunteers at the animal shelter. This was nothing more than a test. Unfortunately, Zacky failed.

Nevertheless, Adeline gave Zacky the cotton candy. “You have to get over your fear of your fans,” she stated.

“I’m not scared of them!” he replied indignantly.

It was too bad he was such a bad liar. Even if Zacky’s statement sounded truthful, Adeline saw right through it. He was clearly afraid of people and was claustrophobic around them.

“If you get nervous, just look at me,” Adeline sighed, shaking her head.

Zacky licked over his lips. He couldn’t see why she just didn’t believe him. He wasn’t scared of anyone! Why was she so persistent in proving something that was not true? He swore he could never win when he was with her.

“Fine, I’m taking your offer, but only because I find you extremely pretty,” he said in a cool voice.

Adeline pretended she didn’t hear him. She was positive he only said that to dissuade her belief that he wasn’t as confident as he looked around people due to his fame. She also wanted to save herself the embarrassment because she knew he couldn’t have been talking about her. There were so many things she knew, it was starting to take effect on her. Disregarding all the knowledge, Adeline was determined to teach Zacky to not care.

By the end of the night, Zacky was able to ignore any stares others gave him. He had beaten his phobia of people and Adeline was damn proud of him for it.

Night had fallen and the two wanted to head home. Zacky parked his car in an empty spot a few blocks away from Adeline’s house, wanting to take a walk with her.

When they got out the car, Adeline felt so accomplished; she was practically skipping. Sure, she had helped others before but helping out a rock star seemed to rise above the rest. She was never star struck with Zacky since they didn’t have an effect on her whenever she was able to meet someone famous. In her eyes, everyone was the same. It was just that some had a larger salary than others.

The two were directly in front of the Montalvo residence in a few short steps. Zacky was still holding the large teddy bear he won when he played the Baseball Toss at the carnival. Adeline stared at him confused.

“Isn’t that for your baby cousin?” she asked.

He shook his head and gave her the bear. “I lied. It’s for you.”

Adeline blushed immediately, looking down at her feet. Zacky pushed her chin up so she was staring at him, her cheeks feeling very warm. "Don't be embarrassed. It's a good thing you're blushing. It means I did something right."

Words jumbled in her brain as she tried to think of something, anything to say. When nothing rushed to her mind, all Adeline did was look at Zacky and nod. He gave her a small smile before heading back to his car. He definitely had feelings for her.