Sunnyside Up with Red Ketchup

by Andrews, Ashley

  Cupid Boy let out a nervous laugh and sent a worried glance at Zane, who still refused to take his eyes off of her. He started to walk towards her slowly.

  "Casper, leave." Cupid perked up.

  She would have jumped for joy at finally finding out Cupid Boy's name, if Zane hadn't been approaching her with a murderous look in his eyes.

  Casper didn't seem to notice and saluted mockingly. "Aye, aye, captain!" And then he left, closing the door behind him.

  She stepped back as far as she could until her back hit the wall. Zane, however, continued towards her, his arms folded across his chest and eyes narrowed in hatred. She swallowed and kept her gaze steadily on his. Perhaps if she made conversation, he'd stop? “I hear our first activity is to showcase everyone's talent! I can't wait. What's your—"

  One of Zane's hands slammed hard onto the wall beside her head. He moved it so that he was leaning on just his forearm and then tipped his head close to hers.

  Okay, so making conversation didn’t work.

  She stared back, unfazed by his actions. Don't get her wrong, the slam had made her jump and all, but she didn't know what putting his face close to hers would achieve. Although she had to admit, his face looked a whole lot more angelic close up, even with a look of annoyance across his face.

  "You will leave," Zane muttered to her. "You will leave this dorm, by tomorrow. I can't put up with your annoying voice and perky attitude. Royal Haven isn't the place for people like you."

  She swallowed. But...she couldn't leave. Her mission was to look after Zane and make sure that he was safe at all times. How was she supposed to do that when she was on the other side of the camp? Blaine's men were sure to come looking for him some time soon.

  She shook her head and smiled up at him. "I can't leave. And if I’m annoying you, maybe you should leave. I don’t see why I have to," she said it so innocently. Well, she was innocent. She didn't think that what she was saying was rude.

  Zane stared at her, his face devoid of any emotion. Then he moved backwards and let out a scoff, running a hand through his hair before bringing his cold, gray eyes back to her.

  "You're unbelievable," he shook his head, his eyes wide and his lips pouted, meaning he was biting his cheek.

  Every movement he made, mesmerized her. He looked alive with emotion. Yet, he only seemed to show it when he was alone with her.

  In the last week Red had noticed that when he was with other people, he seemed to wear a polite, cheerful mask. He always displayed prince—like manners, and was unfailingly nice to people.

  She continued to smile, then frown, watching him carefully. She cleared her throat. "Do you like my company, because I don't see any other reason why you would be here?" That's what she did. Speak her mind. She’d never been taught to hold her tongue, or that something’s were better left unsaid. Besides, she couldn't change with him in her room, she wanted to be alone. Who cared if she upset him?

  Zane looked at her, speechless. Then his face straightened back into its usual, placid expression and he straightened up. He walked quickly towards the door. He opened it, but before leaving, he scrunched up his nose.

  "Take a shower. You stink," he said, and closed the door.

  She frowned after him and then lifted an arm, sniffing. Shrugging, she moved over to her bed, bent down to get the suitcase and then threw it on the bed. She shuffled through her clothes until she found a nice clean shirt. When she lifted it, three pins fell out. Her eyes widened in realization and she clutched them in her hand, looking worriedly down at the dog pin, which was vibrating and flashing red. Hurriedly, she put it in her ear. She put the boat pin on the shirt she was currently wearing.

  "H—Hello?" she stuttered. She screwed her eyes shut as yelling filled her ear.

  "RED? IS THAT YOU? JESUS. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT YOU SINCE LAST NIGHT. WHAT HAVE YOU—"

  "Please, don't yell so loud," she begged, putting a hand to her head. A severe headache pounded in her skull. She heard a sigh down the mic.

  "It's fine. At least you've answered. I wanted to ask why I couldn't get video footage yesterday. Everything is blank."

  She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her aching forehead against her bed. The bump from the day before was still tender. "I’m sorry. I forgot to put all the pins on yesterday." She heard a groan from the other end of the line.

  "Red, you HAVE to remember to put them on—"

  “I know, I know," she interrupted.

  "Have you made any progress with Zane?"

  She sat back and looked up, bunching her lips in thought. It was a habit she’d never been able to break. "I’m not sure. He keeps popping up in my room without my permission and asking me to leave Royal Haven. Is that good enough?" She got silence from the other end of the line.

  "Red, you know what? I'll contact you later." And the line went dead.

  She pulled the funny shaped dog pin out of her ear and rubbed her sore lobe. She grabbed her clean clothes and headed off to the bathroom to take a much—needed shower.

  Chapter 5: Brown

  Zane couldn't take it anymore. Nothing—NOTHING—he did was getting rid of the girl. First, he'd allowed the others to try a major prank that usually was enough to send everyone that they didn’t want, away from Royal Haven. Covering her room with flour hadn’t worked. It should have served as a signal that she had been targeted and that should leave the dorm, IMMEDIATELY. But Red? She'd just laughed it off and spent the rest of the day cleaning.

  Next, a poke into the family life. He would get them to talk about their family and find out if they are actually worth the trouble of keeping. If they had survived the flour step, that is. Red had survived, and the interrogation had done nothing but backfire and end up making Zane think intensely about his own situation.

  Finally, the close—up intimidation technique—he was at his scariest when up close, glaring at the person he was trying to get rid of. If he invaded your personal space, it was bad news.

  But Red...she hadn’t even blinked. Instead she’d mocked him for it, whether intentional or not. And getting up close had only made Zane realize just how flawless the girl looked up close. He had no idea why he wanted to get rid of one measly girl so much. She wasn't affecting him. She wasn't rich, that much he could tell. As far as he could tell, her clothes were just cheap, men's clothes. She wasn't doing anything and yet Zane was suffering.

  He readjusted the close—fitting, black tux that he had put on for his performance and looked at himself in the full—length mirror. His hair was the same as always—swept back and messy, the rough tendrils just brushing the base of his neck. He changed the style frequently, fitting his hair to his mood. Frowning, he decided that the next day he would change it again. Maybe this time he’d part it on the side, or maybe just go natural? Curly?

  Casper was sitting on his bed, dressed in a tux that was identical to the one Zane had on. He was reading a magazine and was for once, quiet. His eyes flickered over to the door every so often, impatiently.

  Zane knew he was waiting for Seth. Seth was the third person in their triangle of friends. The guy was always late.

  Okay, so it was a little embarrassing that she couldn't do up a tie. Everyone could at the age of eighteen, right? Was she supposed to go to the show and wait until Rupert found her before finally managing to finish dressing?

  Sighing, she clipped the football pin onto the shoulder of her sleeve and the boat pin alongside it, putting the dog pin in her pocket. She tugged at the collar and sighed, undoing the top few buttons. She was never going to survive the evening with it done all the way up to the top.

  When she looked back down at the two ends of her tie, lying limply in her hands, an idea came to mind. It was the perfect opportunity to initiate another contact with Zane! Perhaps he would smile happily, let her in, do up her tie, and realize that she was meant to be at his side forever?

  Right, she knew that was unlikely.

  A knock at the door interrupted his tho
ughts and he looked at his watch. Seven—thirty—the show was due to start in just fifteen minutes and Seth should be there any minute. But Seth wouldn’t have knocked.

  Casper noticed this too and tilted his head toward the door, frowning in confusion, the magazine still open in his hands. "Who is it?" Casper whispered loudly to Zane.

  Zane's confused frown was his reply. He stood away from the full—length mirror and strolled over to the door, opening it a crack.

  It was Red. And she was holding up two separate ends to a tie on either side of her neck. She wiggled the ends. "If you don't mind, I need a little assistance."

  Zane had practiced hiding his surprised expression and—although inside he was yelling in frustration at how the girl constantly surprised him—he kept his face totally blank. He closed the door on Red's face and walked back over to the mirror.

  Casper had sat up, the magazine on the ground, forgotten. "Who was it?"

  Zane's nose scrunched up as he readjusted the bow tie that was around his neck. "The kid."

  There was a moment of scrabbling and then Zane heard the door open again. He turned to glare at Casper, who welcomed the black—haired girl inside the room.

  "Casper," he hissed. The blonde—haired boy grinned at him, giving him two thumbs—up signs. Zane's arms fell to his side helplessly and he rolled his eyes.

  Red looked at Casper, holding the two separate ends to her tie uselessly. "Help?" she asked innocently.

  "Awww," Casper grabbed Red's shoulders and turned her around quickly. Now she was facing Zane.

  "How can you want to get rid of this, Zane? Just look at her." Casper pointed.

  Zane spared Red a glance. The girl looked back, her eyes bright with innocence. For a moment, Zane froze and focused on nothing but Red. Everything else was shut off from around him and all reasonable thoughts were thrown to the back of his head.

  Red's black hair was messed up roughly, giving her the bed—head look, with the bangs lightly brushing against her thin eyebrows. Her cheekbones were thin and high, lips thin and rosy, and her nose was small and pert. Her eyes were the weirdest feature; thick, long lashes that surrounded wide, cerulean eyes that were so unique.

  She was cute. When you really looked at her, she was so natural compared to all the other girls he had known.

  Coughing, Zane shook his head lightly and went back to adjusting his bowtie.

  “I get rid of anyone who irritates me," he looked over his right shoulder, his arms still messing with his tie. "And by knocking on my door, you've managed that task better than anyone else."

  Red didn't retaliate. In fact, she just grinned and let out a quiet laugh. "Well, I guess not being able to fasten a tie is my downfall. I’m sorry, I'll leave." She bowed her head and turned to leave. She hadn’t been surprised to have the door slammed in her face when she had plucked up the courage to venture over here. But it was a surprise to have Casper open it again and pull her straight back in. In all honesty, she was kind of a little scared of how friendly Casper was to her. It was disconcerting, especially considering she had no idea who he was. She would have to get Dexter to check him out.

  She knew who Zane was, only because Dexter had insured she understood that every piece of technology Headquarters had, was made by his family. He was going to be the president of that company as soon as he was old enough.

  That much power and responsibility scared her. But, a person was still a person in her eyes. Money, family... it didn't matter to her. She guessed that's what happened when you were bought up by a bunch of men who were willing to throw their lives away just to capture one dangerous criminal.

  Casper grabbed her hand, a serious expression on his face. "Hey, don't leave. Zane doesn't mean it. Here, let me do that," he forced Red to turn around and grabbed the two different ends of the tie, starting to loop it around. Zane watched his friend mess with the girls tie and frowned.

  "Aren't girls supposed to wear dresses at things like this?" he commented, meaning to hurt and offend the girl.

  “I don't feel comfortable in dresses. Why force yourself to wear something you can’t be comfortable in?" was her reply.

  Zane resisted the urge to curse, realizing his question had done nothing but make Red think he was curious. He looked between Red and Casper. Then he snorted, turned back to the mirror and the corner of his lips upturned into a sardonic smile.

  "Hey, Casper, it looks to me like you've got some sort of attraction to the kid." He held back a smug smile of success when all movement from the corner of his eye stopped. Then his mood dropped heavily when they didn’t take the bait.

  "Don't be silly, Zane. You know you're the only one for me," Casper's mocking, cheerful voice called out.

  Red's quiet, nervous laughter followed. Did that mean that Casper liked boys? Umm. He’d called Zane munchkin? She was too confused after having lived so long underground. She just didn’t get this by—play.

  Mentally cursing, Zane swiped his hands down his tuxedo jacket in frustration, making out that he was only straightening it.

  Casper finished fastening the tie at the same time, taking a step back and examining Red.

  She was wearing a black shirt with a thin, white tie, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and revealing her pale arms.

  "You clean up pretty well." Casper folded his arms and examined his tie—work.

  Red flicked the ends of her bangs out of her eyes and smiled shyly.

  Zane's arms folded into themselves once again. Something he seemed to do anytime he was upset. He narrowed his eyes at the girl.

  "Do you get pleasure out of irritating me?" he asked Red, taking a step forward.

  She looked up. Honestly not sure what to say. She wasn't doing it on purpose, was she? So again, she spoke the truth. "I’m just trying to make some friends," she replied quietly, her face entirely serious as she stared at Zane. It was quiet for a minute. Red jumped when Casper placed a hand on her head. She looked at him, her eyes wide.

  Casper smiled serenely. "Well, for throwing the stupid camp class system out of the window and for making this place a whole lot more interesting, you've got yourself a friend." He ruffled her hair and then grinned.

  She looked at him, a smile spreading over her face. Casper's response was unexpected, but she realized she was one step closer to Zane, by making friends with HIS friend. "Thank you," she said with so much feeling, Zane started to feel sick.

  He stepped forward, ready to say something, but before he could the door to his room opened.

  Now, she was standing in Zane's room with Casper, staring at the person who had just entered. Something inside her chest flipped and her mouth dropped open. You know how she said that Zane and Casper were both like angels? Well, it was like they each had a different temperature, depending on how their angelic features and personality was. Zane was cold, Casper was lukewarm, but this one...

  He was warm, totally warm. He had glorious, chocolate—brown hair with light brown highlights. It was like a delicious, creamy hot chocolate that one of the agents had once bought her from a place called Starbucks.

  His appearance just oozed comfort and warmth. His skin wasn't tanned; it was just creamy, kind of the color of sand. His eyelashes were long and thick, his wavy hair followed the same style as hers and Casper’s; however it looked so much more natural. His eyes were a dark, coco brown. He was wearing the same outfit as Casper and Zane, but he had taken off the suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves on the blindingly white shirt, left the bow tie undone and the top few buttons to his collar unfastened also. Wow! She thought. Just, Wow!

  "Seth." Zane frowned and looked at the clock. "You weren't supposed to get here for another forty—five minutes."

  Seth seemed to ignore him. He looked directly at her, his warm eyes connecting with her blue ones. A warm, peaceful smile filled his face. "Who's this?" he asked.

  She swallowed. His voice was so...velvety. Like a caramel bar.

  Casper leapt forward and stood between the two
of them. "Her names Red Hart— nice name, right? I thought it was a joke at first, but it turns out that's actually her name! Man, I’m so glad you're here, Seth. It's been so boring with just Zane—" Casper went quiet when Zane glared angrily at him, his arms tightening over his chest.

  Seth ignored Casper's incoherent ramblings, hearing only the important pieces of information. "Red..." he whispered to himself.

  She had only just managed to catch him murmur her name under his breath and swallowed nervously.

  His careful scrutiny left her feeling cold and slightly shivery. Whenever someone stared at her so intently...it was like they knew. They knew that she was undercover.

  She jumped when a hand appeared in front of her. Looking up, she noticed that it belonged to Seth. He was smiling and wiggled the finger on his outstretched hand. She figured she was supposed to take it, so she lifted her right hand to fit it into his. Gosh. Even the palms of his hands were warm. She didn’t feel cold anymore.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Red," he shook her hand gently and kept his piercing gaze on her.

  She stared back, unable to pull her eyes away from his face. Her mouth had opened to reply, but the words caught in her throat. Why was she speechless? Her hand fell limply to her side when he released it.

  He turned to Zane. "It turns out my private plane was fixed faster than estimated. That's my reason for being early. Now, shall we head to the show?"

  Zane was looking at her, his face completely expressionless.

  Damn, it made her uncomfortable. It was like he hadn't even acknowledged Seth's words. Then he stuck his chin in the air and his eyes briefly landed on Seth, giving him a curt nod, before he left the room, not sparing her another glance.

  Maybe it was because women's hormones just seemed to ooze out of her body. Maybe it was because she was paranoid. Was that why it felt like Casper, Zane, and Seth kept looking at her?

  They couldn’t know her secret, so why were they staring at her? Maybe they knew that there was something different about her. There had been one moment where Zane had looked at her—ACTUALLY looked at her. It made her feel a little victorious. At least he had acknowledged her existence. Judging by his personality, she knew that he would be difficult to get along with, so she had taken a big step, making friends with Casper, who seemed too nice to be real.