I Just Had to Lick the Cookie, Didn't I?

I can take your problems away with a nod and a wave of my hand,
'Cause that's just the kind of boy that I am;
The only thing I haven't done yet is die

"Adriaan! Get up!" Milo was screaming. There was a loud pounding noise too. I opened my eyes and looked around. It was a little...shocking. Last night I must have fallen asleep in the bathtub.

Climbing out of the bath tub---yes, as in the thing you bathe in---I took in more of the bathroom's beauty. Milo picked a nice hotel to stay at...

"Adriaan!" he shouted again. I yawned and shuffled over to the door. When I opened it, I made sure to keep myself at a distance so Milo wouldn't accidentally hit me while he pounded obnoxiously. "It's about time," he huffed. Confused, I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes. "We need to be at the auditorium in ten minutes. Get dressed." He tossed me a pile of clothes---which I barely caught---and closed the door.

On the plus side, Milo has excellent fashion sense. He actually managed to pick out a nice outfit for me. (White shorts, light green baby doll top, and flip flops.) Granted it isn't something I would normally wear, but at least it wasn't hooker-ish. Like the outfit I had been forced to wear a few days ago... Ahem, moving on.

After brushing my teeth and combing my hair, I opened the door and was immediately grabbed by Milo. He pulled me out to another door and bent down a little.

"We have four minutes, hop on." I started to climb onto his back, but he stopped me. "Wait, take this," he handed me his suit jacket and then rolled up the sleeves to his white button-up. "Alright, hurry up."

Once I was secured on his back, Milo took off out of the room like a mad-man. He ran down the stairs---ignoring the elevator we passed---and out another door that lead outside. Apparently we weren't in a hotel after all.

Outside was hot. Oh yes, very hot. Damn Oregon for being hot today... Anyway, there was a ton of green grass. Not something I had suspected to find in Oregon. There was a big building in front of us, which I'm assuming is the auditorium. Another building was a little further in the distance too. Only that one was even bigger.

"Nice to see you again," a man greeted us at an open door. It was right there that Milo let me get off. He wasn't even breathing heavy. "You're on in fifteen. Good luck." Milo dragged me inside the giant building and I could here a ton of voices and ruckus from somewhere. We were backstage of the stage. Obviously. Milo stopped at a small table with a chair next to it.

"I thought you said that we were in a hurry?" I asked, a little peeved that he was rushing me for no reason.

"We were, if I'm not fifteen minutes early for something that actually matters to me, I get pissed. I doubt you want to deal with me being pissed for the rest of the day." Um, okay. That's not weird at all...

"Is this one of your odd habits that I should be informed about beforeI move in with you?" I asked, using the excuse that we were moving in together as a cover-up for the truth. See, I'm good at keeping secrets. I've established that I'm Milo's 'girlfriend', so I assume it would ruin our little masquerade if someone found out we were getting married. Speaking of which I---

"Yep, but I don't think it gets too much weirder. It might though. Don't take my word for it." That made us both smile.

Milo took a seat on the table top and I joined him. My legs swung back and forth and I watched them intently.

"Hey," he whispered. I looked up at him just as some random guy walked by, completely ignoring us. "Let's go out to dinner tonight. You know...for your birthday. Somewhere nice; with real food." My mouth would have fallen to the floor if I didn't have the amount of self-control that I do. It was a little hard to process the fact that I was going to actually celebrate my birthday.

"Sure," I said, shrugging. Milo smiled meekly at me. For the first time, I actually took in what he was wearing today.

He was in straight black slacks and fancy dress shoes. His white button-up had a patch on the left 'breast' area. It was like a crest with the same rearing horse that was on his soccer shirt. Taking another look at the jacket he had me hold, I noticed it was a part of the whole uniform. There was the same patch in the same place on it. Smiling, I looked back up at Milo, who was watching me. His eyebrow rose when he saw my expression.

"Are you wearing a uniform, Milo?" I asked in a teasing manner. Milo straightened his posture and pursed his lips.

"Maybe..." he stated, glancing around the room. Looking straight at him, I laughed lightly.

"Why?"

"It's a tradition here. Returning Alumnae always wear their uniform---as long as it still fits." It made sense enough, I guess.

"Excuse me, Maelogan, Dean Michaels apologizes, but he won't be here for another few minutes. You're on in ten, so he'll have to meet with you afterward," a man told Milo. Where he came from, I have no idea.

"Thanks," Milo said and the man left. He jumped from the table and started to roll down his sleeves; I watched him intently. Oddly enough, I just noticed something that's been right in my face this whole time: Milo has a tattoo. Reacting, I hopped off the table and grabbed his arm. He abruptly stopped rolling down his sleeves and looked at me. "What?" he asked.

"I never noticed before," I laughed a little and looked from his eyes down to his arm. On Milo's left forearm, he had a long black line. Nothing fancy, just a long black line; probably four or five inches long stretching down the center, and centered between his wrist and elbow. Very random, yet captivating.

"How about this one?" he laughed, raising his right arm to my face. I shook my head, seeing for the first time the three black parallel lines that were each an inch long, crossing over his wrist; perpendicular to his veins.

"I can't believe I never noticed before..." I said, surprised at myself. How could I miss something like that? Hey, at least they aren't naked girls or something, right?

"Mr. Boone! Boy have you grown, son!" a voice boomed from somewhere in the darkness of the backstage blackness. Milo turned around and hastily finished pulling down his sleeves. "Ah, Maelogan, how have you been?" A large man appeared in front of Milo. He was gigantic; taller than Milo and grey. Very grey. His hair anyway.

I ignored their catching up conversation, and made sure I looked presentable for all of the people I was going to have to meet.