Tales That Must Be Re-told

The following day, Hannah and Adelaide were in some mall in Massachusetts looking for an outfit for Adelaide to wear that evening. Seeing as Adelaide had no blind idea what she was supposed to pick out, Jack was forced to crack and at least tell Hannah of his plans.

“If you tell her anything, I’ll…” he had paused at this point. “Well, I’ll think of something, and it won’t be good.”

“Hannah,” whined Adelaide for the seventh time, “Can you please just tell me? This is driving me fucking nuts, I hate surprises.”

“I can see that,” said Hannah with a sympathetic smile. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you. I’m really sorry - you’ll just have to wait and see.”

They were now entering their fifth store, and as the girls stepped inside, Hannah stopped in her tracks and stared at a dress hanging on a mannequin on a wall.

“Right there,” she said and pointed. “It’s perfect! Do you like it?”

“It’s really nice, actually,” agreed Adelaide. “I’ll try it on.”

An hour and a half later, the girls had picked out an entire ensemble for Adelaide to wear that evening.

“Shit, is it already three thirty?” asked Hannah as they were leaving the mall. “We need to get back so we can get you all dolled up.”

Adelaide sighed.

“Can you at least not give me a tiny hint?” she tried as she followed Hannah into a cab.

Hannah paused. “All I’ll tell you is that you should be a very happy girl by the end of the night.”

“Asshole, that just makes me want to know even more!” complained Adelaide.

Hannah laughed as Adelaide’s face became more and more annoyed. “You’ll know in a few hours, don’t worry.”

Within a short amount of time, Adelaide and Hannah had arrived at their hotel and made it up to the room which they were sharing with Alex and Jack.

“If you want to go have a shower, I can do your hair and make up afterwards,” offered Hannah as Adelaide was setting her bags down.

“Okay, that sounds good.” With that, Adelaide went into the bathroom and locked the door.

After showering, she put on a pair of pyjamas for the time being and wrapped her hair in a towel. “I’m ready,” she called as she opened the door to the bathroom and stepped into the main part of the room. As she laid her eyes on Hannah, who was attached to her brother’s face, she winced but forced herself not to say anything - Alex had been surprisingly accepting of seeing her and Jack act like a couple (as long as they didn’t go too overboard, of course), so Adelaide was forced to be just as tolerant.

Hannah pulled away from Alex, whose face adorned childish pout, and faced Adelaide. She chuckled. “Sorry about that, Addy.” Hannah stood up.

Adelaide sighed. “I’ll learn to live with it. Do you want me to go get the blow dryer?”

“Sure.”

“Hey Addy, excited for tonight?” Alex called to his sister as she went into the bathroom and retrieved a hair dryer. She pictured him grinning cheekily.

“I’m not sure, Alexander,” replied Adelaide as she joined Hannah at the foot of the nearest bed, plugging the dryer into the nearest socket. “Why don’t you tell me what it is that I’m doing, and I’ll let you know whether or not I’m excited for it?”

Alex laughed. “Sorry, Ads, not allowed,” he said. “Jack would murder me and then we would need a new singer and it just wouldn’t result well.”

Adelaide crossed her arms as Alex pecked Hannah and walked to the door. “Speaking of which, I should find him and help him get ready. I’ll see you two ladies later.”

A disgruntled Adelaide sat on the bed as Hannah dried her hair, section by section. Finally, it was completely dry.

“What are we doing with it now?” asked Adelaide.

“Hm,” thought Hannah. “Do you want me to curl it?”

“Sure,” said Adelaide. Hannah stood up and went to her luggage, returning with a flat iron. She plugged it into the wall and sat on the bed, waiting for it to heat up.

“So, how are things going with Alex?” asked Adelaide.

Hannah smiled. “Well, as far as I can tell, things are going great.”

“That’s good - he’s not usually one for serious relationships,” said Adelaide.

“Well, I don’t know how serious we are right now - it hasn’t been that long since we’ve been together,” said Hannah. “But I think it could turn into one.”

Adelaide smiled. “Well, if you ever need any advice on him, I’m a pretty good candidate.”

“Thanks,” said Hannah, returning the smile. “You and your brother are really close, huh?”

She nodded. “Yeah, we’re best friends. I’ve always been like one of the guys, really - I’m close to all of them.”

“It’s nice to have that.”

“What about you, do you have any siblings?” Adelaide asked Hannah.

“I have an older sister,” said Hannah. “We aren’t very close though; we’re two completely different people.”

“Aw, that sucks,” said Adelaide. “I don’t know what I’d do without my brother.”

Hannah smiled and picked up the straightener. “Well, I think this is hot enough.”

Adelaide observed in the mirror as Hannah worked on her hair. Finally, about twenty minutes later, Hannah was finished.

“Make-up?” asked Hannah as Adelaide admired her hair.

“Sure,” said Adelaide, standing up and digging through her bags until she found the one containing the make-up she’d purchased earlier.

They went into the bathroom, where the light was brighter, and Hannah got to work again. A few minutes later, Adelaide’s make-up was complete and all she had to do was get dressed.

“Thanks so much,” said Adelaide as she pulled her dress off the hanger she had placed it on and cut the tags. “You’re quite good at this.”

“Oh, no problem,” said Hannah with a smile. “It is what I do for a living, afterall.”

Adelaide chuckled and Hannah stepped aside. “Well, I’ll leave you to get dressed.”

Shutting the door, Adelaide changed into the dress and exited the bathroom. She approached the full-length mirror hanging on the wall and studied herself.

“He’ll fall in love with you all over again,” said Hannah and smiled.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. “Easy there, Hannah. It’s not that spectacular.”

As if on cue, the door clicked open and Zack walked into their room.

“Holy shit,” he said once his eyes fell upon Adelaide. He grinned. “Looking good, Addy.”

She sighed, brushing her sideswept bangs out of her eyes. “Thanks, Zack.”

Adelaide proceeded to put some of her belongings into the black clutch bag.

“I’ve been sent to collect you,” said Zack once she had finished. “You guys have dinner reservations at six.”

Adelaide looked at the clock - it was 5:12. She nodded. “Okay, just let me put on my perfume.”

She retrieved her bottle of Burberry Brit from her large purse and sprayed it on herself, setting it on the nightstand.

Zack opened the door for Adelaide. Before she stepped through it, she turned around.

“Bye, Hannah, thanks again!”

“No problem, duckie,” she smiled. “Have fun!”

Adelaide walked with Zack to the room him and Rian were sharing. Once they were inside, Jack was nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?” Zack asked Matt.

“He jumped off the balcony,” replied Matt with a serious face, then rolled his eyes. “In the bathroom, where else would he be?”

Zack laughed. Matt looked impatient.

“BARAKAT, HURRY THE HELL UP, YOUR DATE IS WAITING!” shouted Matt.

There were scurried footsteps from inside the bathroom, then the door opened to reveal Jack, clad in a black suit with, miraculously, a red tie.

“We match,” he said and grinned his crooked smile which Adelaide couldn’t help but return.

“We do.”

Matt stood up and placed his hands on each of their shoulders, steering them towards the door. “Enough dawdling, you two have a date to go on!” he said, and with that, he opened the door and shoved them out into the hallway. “Have fun!” he exclaimed happily and shut the door in their faces.

Adelaide laughed as Jack took her hand in his and they began to walk towards the elevator. “Someone’s anxious.”

He’s not the only one, thought Jack. Not even close.