I own nothing. Simple one-shot inspired by a riddle I heard.
Riddles
SPOV
Today was riddle day at Condor studios. Instead of greeting people with 'hi', we asked them a riddle. Solving it would get you a bonus on your paycheck. Leaving it unsolved would diminish your reputation as a puzzle solver. At the end of the day, whoever solved the most puzzles would win a week off from work and a thousand dollar shopping spree at the stores of their choosing.
I was sitting in the cafeteria counting how many puzzles I had solved when Chad Dylan Cooper walked in the room.
He pulled over a chair and sat down, bringing the only raincloud to affect my usually sunny personality.
"I've heard from your cast mates that you're an excellent puzzle solver. Excellent puzzle solvers are usually good at giving others puzzles to solve, so give me one. I need to win that vacation," He said. Did he just… complement me?
"Did you just complement me?" I asked. Chad looked like this humored him.
"When I said excellent, I meant excellent compared to the rest of your loser cast. I am an expert puzzle solver," Chad said arrogantly.
"Okay solve this," I said bitterly, "If it were two hours later, it would be half as long until midnight as it would be if it were an hour later. What time is it now?"
Without a thought, Chad said, "Its 9 p.m. I thought you would've done better than that."
I was stunned. All day, no one had solved my riddle. No one.
"Your… your turn to ask a riddle," I said.
"Okay, but first, if I say something. If it's true, will you give me your photo?" Chad asked.
"Sure," I said, a little wary of the question.
"And if it's a lie, do not give me your photograph. Would you promise that?" Chad asked.
"I guess," I said. Chad was still majorly confusing me.
"You will give me neither a photo nor a kiss," Chad said. Oh, so this was the riddle. Or not. He could just ask for a photo, I mean, it's not really a riddle. I just have to give him a photo.
But the harder I thought, the more I couldn't figure it out. If Chad was lying, than I wouldn't have to give him a photo, but if I didn't, he would be telling the truth. If he was telling the truth, then I would have to give him a photo, but then he would be lying because he said I wouldn't give him a photo.
Chad looked at me, his expression blank. Unreadable. How was I supposed to figure this out? Then, it dawned on me what I had to do. Seeing my expression of realization, Chad smirked.
"That's low," I said angrily. The cafeteria was full, my cast mates were at a different table because they were trying to think of a puzzle too hard for me to solve. They didn't want me to overhear. Chad's cast mates were there too at their usual table.
"You promised," Chad pointed out, beaming now. He scooted his chair closer to mine.
I felt his arms wrap around me, his chest against mine.
I felt my arms wrap around his neck without needing to be commanded.
I felt sparks at my lips met his in the middle of the cafeteria.
I felt many pairs of eyes goggling at us, even though my eyes were closed.
I felt my heart do back flips and butterflies flutter in my stomach as he pulled me closer to him and ran his hand through my hair.
I felt disappointed when we broke apart, but grateful that we didn't let go.
When I opened my eyes, everyone staring at us was clearly visible. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open slightly.
I looked at Chad. He looked like his dearest wish had just come true. I rested my head on his chest. Chad kissed the top of my head.
I love Riddle Day.
In case you were wondering, Chad and I tied. We both got the week off and split the thousand dollars, not that we needed to. Chad spent most of his money buying me a golden necklace with a pendant of two intertwined hearts. I spent $60 on my favorite cologne for Chad to wear. It was the same cologne that he normally wears, but I wanted to buy something for Chad. I mean, he bought me an expensive necklace!
