Your Colorful World vs. My Black and White World

Zacky knew he was stalker for noticing it, but he saw that Adeline didn’t have many clothes to go out in. She had many t-shirts, jeans, and work clothes. He would know; he sometimes did the laundry for her when she couldn’t wake up at her usual time in the morning. He admired her so much for being so dedicated to her work even if it took away all of her energy. In a way, her life was comparable to his when he was on tour.

“Hey Ady?” Zacky called from the living room.

She appeared a few minutes later with a bottle of Windex and a paper towel in her hands. She was in the feat of cleaning her room. “What’s up?” she asked, placing the bottle and paper towel down on the coffee table.

“Do you want to go shopping?”

“Sure, but I’m buying anything.”

“But that’s the point of shopping. I’m taking you shopping.”

Her eyes widened considerably. “What makes you think you know how to buy a girl clothes?”

His chest puffed up in confidence. He tapped his chest with his fist and explained, “Trust me I do.”

“I don’t want to spend my money,” she pouted, “on clothes I’ll never wear.”

“You’ll wear them when you’re out with me. And I’ll pay for them. Think of it as an early birthday present. Well, many early presents.”

“Fine,” she sighed, giving in. Zacky was giving her the pleading puppy dog look, and she couldn’t say no when he looked so expectant. So after the both of them took in a change of clothes, Zacky drove to the nearest mall.

The first store Zacky dragged Adeline into was Forever 21. The dark colored buttoned down business shirts drew her in before she took a breath. Much to her dismay, Zacky pulled her towards the jeans sections.

“What size are you in pants?” he asked.

“Five,” she muttered, feeling awkward. She knew Zacky was straight and did not have a liking to men, but by the way his eyes glittered as he picked out shirts and pants for Adeline, she couldn’t help but to re-think her hypothesis. Zacky seemed too happy touching women’s clothing.

After a few more minutes of Zacky’s blissful whistling, he pushed Adeline into the fitting room and gave her a load of clothes to try on. She looked at the pile of shirts, jeans, skirts, and even a few dresses. The dresses were a huge no-no.

She pushed the curtains aside and stomped her way towards Zacky who was leaning against the wall. He gave her a smile before he noticed her anger. “Hi?” he said as she approached him.

“I’m not letting you waste money on that many clothes. And the dresses. No. Just NO.”

He rolled his eyes, turned her around, and pushed her towards her changing room. The young girl folding clothes gave them a questioning glance. Zacky grinned childishly at the girl before practically throwing Adeline back into her room. “Shut up and try them on. We haven’t even bought you shoes yet.”

Adeline grumbled as she looked at Zacky’s authoritative glare.

The first installment of clothes in Forever 21 alone made Adeline’s mouth drop. Her mouth proceeded to touch the floor when she saw the total amount of money the clothes cost. Zacky nonchalantly pulled out his credit card for the cashier to swipe.

“What is wrong with you?” hissed Adeline when she grabbed his arm. “You are not spending all that money on these clothes!”

He rolled his eyes. “When are you going to let it sink in? I have money, Ady. I don’t mind spending it. Now, let’s go,” he explained grabbing the bags, “you need shoes.”

When they finished shopping, they climbed to the third floor where the food court was. Adeline bought a chicken salad—with her own money—while Zacky bought a cheeseburger.

In the middle of their meal, Adeline took a peek at all the bags containing clothes, shoes, and even makeup. “You know,” she mentioned, swallowing a piece of chicken, “I’m surprised you know how to shop for a girl.”

Zacky slurped on his drink in a non-repulsive way. “A lot of people are. My mom taught me how to.”

“I love her! She’s so motherly.”

“Yup, she is. Did I ever tell you that I have my own clothing line?”

Adeline’s eyes widened. “You did not! Tell me more!”

Zacky wanted that exact reaction from her. He was hoping she would be interested. Many people knew about his clothing line, but he didn’t like to discuss it to those many people. Zacky always donned himself weird, so it was weird that he was willing to tell Adeline all about the back-story and history of Vengeance University.

They must have spent close to two hours sitting at the food court discussing Zacky’s clothing line. He was pleased to know that Ady was so into his story, and she listened patiently when he told her he was having problems promoting his newly designed creations. She even pitched in an idea to help him with his sales. She would advertise any shirts that he thought needed attention. And that gesture alone made him fall for her even more.

The flashes of cameras and the buzzing of groups of people alerted Zacky’s senses. He looked all around the mall, behind the fake palm trees, against the pillars, and those sitting down. The paparazzi were everywhere, and they were quickly making their way towards him.

In a mad dash, he dropped the bags he was previously holding to the ground and pulled the innocent Adeline towards him. He covered her face with his hands and leaned down so that their faces were merely centimeters apart.

“What the-”

“Sh. They’ve over there.”

As Adeline was staring at Zacky’s face in shock, his eyes darted from left to right, on the lookout for any nosy photographers who would drag Ady into the whole mess of the celebrity gossip world just for a good story.

When all of the paparazzi left, Zacky let go of Adeline and reached for the bags. They were both oddly silent until they sat in the car, seat beats clicked into place. As Zacky pulled his car out of the parking lot, Adeline dared to ask the question that had been burning in her throat since the mall.

“What was that?” she asked breathlessly.

“The paparazzi,” Zacky said slowly. “I don’t want them taking pictures of you. They’ll end up digging into your personal life. I don’t want that.”

“Thanks for looking out for me.”

“No problem,” was what he said. What he really wanted to say was that he selfishly wished he could give the paparazzi a reason to dig into Ady’s personal life. He contemplated on kissing her, even if it was a simple peck, at the mall. He wanted to so badly, but he knew that would be rude, especially when he wasn’t sure if she had feelings for him as well.