I'm standing on a bridge. I'm waiting in the dark . I thought that you'd be here by now . There's nothing but the rain . No footsteps on the ground . I'm listening but there's no sound . Isn't anyone trying to find me? Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night . Trying to figure out this life . Won't you take me by the hand , take me somewhere new . I don't know who you are , but I... I'm with you. I'm with you.
- I'm With You - Avril Lavigne
Larger Than Life
Chapter Two
Escape
~*~
Learning the ropes of an intern was easy for Jack. The errands consist of odd jobs, for example getting paper work for the executives, doing small scale cleaning jobs, and getting food and drinks for various people. He ran into some snobbish characters along the way, but he waved them off and didn't pay any attention to them. He had better things to do, such as keeping his job. Even though he was at the studio for more than two days, he did not come by the famous singer, Bianca Fierce. Jack wondered where she was in the studio, only momentarily for Jack didn't mind. He could care less about the young celebrity. The job's duration lasted a week, and two days have passed. Jack would be in bliss when the seventh day came around the corner and he could escape this world of artificial beauty and arrogant celebrities.
While he was driving the cleaning cart back to the closet, Jack noticed a figure wearing an overwhelming hoodie, obviously two or three sizes too large. It hung off of her thin frame. He assumed it was a girl, since the hoodie had pink etchings printed on it. Only employees were allowed to be in the area he was in. No outsiders were allowed to wander in there. It was security's job, but Jack had to get the girl out of here.
"Excuse me," he dully began. "This is a private area. You're not supposed to be here."
Turning, a pair of designer sunglasses looked back at him. The girl's height was shorter than Jack's, her head coming up to about his shoulder. Through her hood, strings of red hair flowed. She wasn't much different then the other girls he'd seen who tried to sneak in but she seemed... different, in a good way. Her plain pink lips began to mouth something.
"Help me..."
His eyes squinted, unsure of what she said. "What?"
'Help her with what?' Jack mused.
The girl's head turned when a beefy security guard (Jack nicknamed him 'Steroid Man') walked across the hall a corridor away. She grabbed Jack's hand, throwing him off balance, and began to sprint.
"Wait...!" the intern breathed. With his height, he was usually the one who dragged people.
Jack tried to get out of her unusually strong grasp, but every time his hand squirmed in the limited space she allowed his wrist, her grip just kept getting tighter, turning his knuckles white. Who was this girl? Was she a thief snooping around the studio, or a crazed Bianca fan?
'This is some serious dedication,' Jack thought in disbelief.
But why was she dragging him around? He hadn't even met the star!
"Hold on, stop please...!" Jack panted.
He was starting to lose motion in his hand, the girls nails starting to dig into his wrist. Jack just about stumbled over a box of costumes that sat in the middle of the hall. In the nick of time, he jumped over the box, further throwing himself out of balance. The frantic racing was pulled to a halt, and they were both outside of the studio, the warm air rushing past the two. The wind blew Jack's chocolate hair and the girl's strawberry hair in odd directions. Fuming, Jack was furious at the stranger. He was lucky the girls careless pulling didn't hurt him.
"What... the hell..." he panted, trying to catch his breath and glare at the same time. "Is wrong with you?! I almost broke a leg because of you!"
Jack winced at the mental image, glad he survived in one piece. The woman kept a stiff face, but her body language was screaming in fear. The young man scoffed, his hands turning into fist.
"I'm stuck in this hole with a bunch of airheads!"
Turning, Jack saw a discomforting look across the girl's face. He rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he could take his words back.
"You're... with the studio, right?" he quietly asked.
She shyly nodded and muttered, "Yeah..."
She sounded hurt. Even though she nearly injured him, Jack wished there was some way to make her feel better.
"I'm so sorry... You want me to get you something to drink? It's the only way I can apologize."
Her head shook a quick 'no'.
"I have to, please let me. I really take back what I said about the studio... It's been a long week for me. It's hot anyways, so why not get something cool to drink?"
Jack grabbed for the woman's hand. The sunglasses looked up at him, expressing emotions that didn't need volume. One perfect eyebrow arching.
"Oh, man, I'm so sorry again. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jack, Jack Stephenson. What's your name?"
The woman took off her sunglasses, revealing hazel irises that glowed in the bright sunlight.
"I'm... Sally," She murmured, not quite meeting his eyes.
Jack watched her face blush and she looked up, her brow crinkling.
"Do I have something in my teeth?" asked Sally, self consciously raising her hand to her mouth.
Jack blinked and said, "what?"
"Well you're staring," she retorted with a slight smirk.
"Oh, uh sorry. It's just-" He could feel his face flush, hoping and praying that Sally didn't see it.
"Er, it's so warm out here and I thought you might overheat in that hoodie."
Your eyes are so pretty...
He was grateful that he didn't say that out loud. Embarrassment was all over his face just thinking about her response.
Sally let out a small smile at his obviously forged answer, "Alright..."
"Now tell me, why did you drag me down a hallway from 'Steroid Man'?"
Sally started at him funny.
"Who?"
Note~*
QueenSkellington is the official co-author of this story. :D *heart*