We'll Never Tell a Soul

“Help me, Rae!” Adrienne whined, tugging lightly at the guitar case in my backseat. She was sitting in the passenger seat and because of the bulky boot on her foot she couldn't swivel around to pick it up properly. I rolled my eyes a bit at her and tugged the case up, pulling the guitar out before handing it to her so I could put the case back into the backseat with her crutches.

Yeah, pretty weird to be sitting in the middle of a highway in a stopped car, but we didn't really have a choice. We were headed to Orlando, taking the highway and just outside of Gainsville there was an eighteen car pile up. Damn this shitty Florida weather. If it weren't for the fog I'd bet the wreck would have never happened. We'd been sitting still for about an hour now and we didn't expect to move any time soon. Cars were piling up around us, waiting to move as well. You'd think that they'd open up the other side of the highway for our traffic, but I suppose the fog was a definite setback to any type of progress at all.

I really hated to leave the car running for as long as we'd been sitting, but it was thirty-eight degrees outside and I wasn't about to sit in my car, suffering through the cold when it had a perfectly fine heater built into it. That and my parents were kind of made of money so my pretty little credit card could get me more gas when I needed it.

That's party why I didn't have many friends. You could never trust if they really liked you or if they just really liked the things you owned. You only knew what they told you. And they always told you want you want to hear. The other part was because I found 'weird' things to be particularly interesting. Like pseudosciences and tarot cards, reincarnation, things that people didn't believe. Or just didn't want to hear.

“I need to do another reading,” I muttered, mostly to myself. Adrienne sighed a bit. “I know you don't believe in them, Addie, but I do. She nodded, pulling the spare deck I kept out of my glove box. Just as I'd finished shuffling the deck, someone knocked on the window, making me jump. “Fucking hell, Jack. Where did you come from?” I questioned, through the now open window that Adrienne had excitedly rolled down. She was practically bouncing in her seat and entirely speechless. “Addie, roll up the window. Jack, get yours ass in the car. It's fucking cold outside,” I muttered, pulling my snuggie tighter around me. Both followed my requests and Jack finally answered my question.

“Well, we're headed to Orlando for a show. We're stuck in this mess just like you guys are.”

“Ohmygod, we're going to Orlando, too!” Addie squeaked, speaking for the first time.

“Oh, pardon my manners,” I stated, shaking my head slightly. “Addie, this is – “

“Jack fucking Barakat,” She interrupted me, making me smack the back of her head which caused Jack to chuckle.

“Don't fucking interrupt,” I huffed, sticking my tongue out at her. “Jack, this is Addie. By the way, why were you walking around out there? It's freezing and foggy. How are you not lost?”

“Well, actually...” Jack trailed off, letting me know that he was lost and had accidentally – and thankfully – bumped into us. It was kind of funny how out of all the people he had to have met that night at the concert he remembered me. It'd been what? A week ago. And he remembered me? He stared down at the deck in my hands. “Are those... Are those tarot cards?”

“Oh, yeah,” I answered casually, shrugging a bit.

“Raelynn's like obsessed with them,” Addie interjected, causing Jack to give me quite a strange look.

“Raelynn doesn't go as pretty with you as Chandler does,” He blurted out before peering down at his hands, pink coloring his high cheekbones. I giggled, smacking Addie's arm lightly.

“She only calls me that because she knows it bugs me. It's my middle name. I could read the cards for you, if you like?” I shot her a look before turning my attention back to Jack. Addie was still holding my guitar and she started lightly strumming the bridge to 'Remembering Sunday' as Jack nodded his answer to my question. I shuffled the deck again and then held it out to him. “Pick any card. It's going to be your significator.”

“Significator?” He questioned, drawing a card from the deck and placing it face up on the arm rest between the two front seats. I bit down on my lip slightly.

“It's meant to represent you. It's supposed to help put the rest of the cards in perspective. You've drawn The Fool.”

“But I'm not a fool, am I?” He looked worried, though it was obvious he was trying not to show it.

“That's not what it stands for. The Fool represents infinite possibilities; one who has all they need to do or become what they want to be in their life. Just be sure to keep a wary eye out. Not everything is what it seems, darling.” Jack only nodded, so I decided to go on. “Now, you ask a question and the cards will give you an answer.”

He seemed to be pretty deep in thought for a moment before he shrugged, looking a little lost. “I don't know what to ask,” He finally said, sounding a bit defeated. I smiled softly.

“Most people don't know what to ask, they either try to ask something too general or too specific. I can start you off if you like?”

“Sure.”

“Sure,” Addie mimicked his way-too-eager voice, making him blush for the second time since he'd been in the car.

“How is Jack's love life?” I questioned, turning out three cards and laying them all face up in a row. “The first card represents the past: Hermit, which reflects – surprise, surprise, introspection. It also reflects peace, solitude, and virginity.”

At that Addie sprayed the hot chocolate she was taking a sip of onto the dash of my car and Jack's face turned bright red. “Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone starts out a virgin,” Addie exclaimed, only making Jack's skin deepen in color. “Oh, my god, you still are, aren't you?”

He shook his head, but he was refusing to make eye contact, the color refusing to leave his cheeks. He was flat out lying. Addie and I shared a look. “So am I,” I offered honestly, trying to make him feel a bit better. At that he looked up, smiling a bit. Addie rolled her eyes.

“You two are such dorks. Speaking of which, how in the hell does you being a virgin compare to him being one? He's like twenty-four.”

“Twenty-three!” Jack interjected, giving her a look. “And you know, maybe I'm not like Alex and Zack and I don't like to sleep around, okay?” He said, suddenly seeming defensive. “I just haven't found the right girl,” He added on quietly.

“I think it's really sweet,” I said quietly, tucking some stray hair back behind my ear.

“You have contacts in today, don't you?” He asked, staring directly into my eyes. I found myself at a loss for words so I simply nodded. “You should wear them more often.”

“Go on with the tarot cards. I'm finding out some rather interesting information,” Addie pressed, making both Jack and I sigh.

“The second card represents the present: Wheel of Fortune, reflecting a change that's going to happen in your life that should bring joy, luck, happiness. Something really great is about to happen to you, doll.”

“Maybe he's gonna lose that V,” Addie stated offhandedly, making me shoot her a pointed look.

“Maybe he doesn't want to, Addie! You know, just because you're a few years older than me, doesn't mean you know everything!”

“I was just messing around,” Addie grumbled, turning her attention back to the guitar in her lap. I sighed, she had such a habit of crossing the line.

“The third card is for the future: The Lovers – oh, that's...” I bit my lip, not wanting to go on. People had a tendency to either overreact or completely brush off these types of things.

“That's a bad one, isn't it?”

I nodded a bit and sighed. “Yes and no. The Lovers represents an unexpected decision between two things that one loves, with the wrong choice often bringing painful consequences. Essentially it's the epitome of 'I thought I was going to pick this, but then this popped up and now I don't know what to do'.”

He nodded slightly and then shrugged a bit. “The shit will hit the fan when it does. I just gotta live it up 'til then.”

“Oh, you are The Fool,” I muttered, shaking my head a bit and putting the cards back into my deck. Just then Jack's phone rang and he dug it out of his pants pocket.

“Yeah?” He said, holding the phone up to his ear. “Uhm, well, I kinda got lost –“

I suddenly snatched the phone from him and put it on speaker. “We kidnapped him. If you want him back you have to spend the entire day telling everyone how amazing Chandler and Addie are.”

“So, Addie,” Alex Gaskarth's voice trailed through the phone. “Is Chandler your boyfriend?”

I let out a giggle. “Actually, I'm Chandler. Addie is my best friend. Yes, I know, it's a boys name. Jack has already established that.”

“Oh, God, Alex, help me. I've been kidnapped by two outrageously hot girls,” Jack called, feigning discomfort. I could practically feel Alex roll his eyes.

“Well, doesn't that sound just awful,” Alex retorted, letting out a sigh. “How hot?” He quickly changed the subject.

“Well, they're both definitely gorgeous. A blond and a brunette –“ Jack started, but was interrupted by Alex.

“Dibs on the blond!”

“She's jailbait!” Addie interjected, giggling at Alex's haste. “And she's too innocent to go for you, darling. You need a girl with a few notches in her belt. Like me.” Addie is such a slut. But I love her anyway. At least she's smart enough to always use protection and be cautious about STDs. She may be a horny bitch, but she cares about her health.

“Jack, how in the fucking hell do you always stumble upon women like this?”

“He's just got this charm about him. He's childlike and intuitive. It draws us in like flies to honey,” I mumbled, not realizing I was speaking aloud until the words had already spilled from my lips. “He's a puzzle just waiting to be put together and I felt it from the very start. I will solve you, Jack Barakat, don't think I won't.”

“That sounds like a challenge,” Alex stated, making me blush and bite down on my bottom lip. My tongue flicked out and trailed over my snakebites, a nasty habit that I'd picked up, always giving away when I was nervous or embarrassed.

“Aww, look, she's all flustered now. Say something else that will make her blush, it's cute!” Addie egged on, only making me blush more. Why couldn't she just shut up?

But Jack obviously had something or another up his sleeve. He waited for me to risk glancing up, looked me right in the eye, then muttered two simple words. “Challenge accepted.”