PARIS! YAY! FROM NICOLE'S POV! YAY!
I want to go there someday. It sounds awesome!
Well enough about me! Here's the chapter! YAY!
Disclaimer:
If I owned this movie, do you think I'd spend my time writing fan fiction? Thought not.
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Nicole
After a rather long flight and several hours of whining on Riley's part, we arrived in Paris. I had to admit, it was a beautiful city. The Seine River was probably my favorite part of the city. Shortly after our arrival, we went to see Lady Liberty. The statue was much smaller compared to the one in New York, but the view was pretty awesome all the same.
I leaned on the railing, bored out of my mind though, as we searched for our next clue.
"This is, like, impossible, what you're doing." Ben grinned as Riley expertly flew his helicopter around the statue.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it." Riley commented. Kathleen stood next to him, looking intrigued.
"Where'd you learn to fly a remote-control helicopter like that?" She asked, looking impressed.
Riley shrugged. "I had a lot of free time as a kid." He muttered.
"He had to leave a clue somewhere on here…" Ben said, looking deep in thought. "Move in on the torch."
"Alright, let me get there. It's not as easy as it looks." Riley remarked.
I rolled my eyes. "It can't possibly be that hard."
Riley opened his mouth to retort, but a police officer across the bridge shouted something in French. Ben and I crossed the street to talk to him.
"Excuse me, officer, may I help you?" Ben asked.
"Ah, American, eh?" The officer said, sounding none too pleased. "Of course you see no problem interrupting everyone's pleasant morning with your buzzing there." He motioned towards the helicopter.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking at the officer sternly.
"Hey, do you know how much our Constitution was influenced by your man Montesquieu?" Ben was obviously trying to get off the subject.
"You know Montesquieu?" The officer and his buddy looked impressed. Ben nodded, beginning to grin. They recited off some line that I had never heard before and didn't really care about, though I tried to appear interested.
"Ben, I got it!" Riley cried triumphantly, running across the bridge. "I got it!" He handed Ben the control, pointing at the monitor. "I hope you read French."
"Well, Laboulaye was French. It makes sense that he chose to write it in French." I pointed out.
"May I?" The officer offered. Ben nodded, handing him the remote.
"He's a cop." Riley said through clenched teeth, looking a bit nervous.
The two officers read off the clue, while Ben listened closely to every word, deep in thought. He began pacing around, thinking even harder.
"'These twins stand resolute'… Resolute twins… Resolute. Resolute… And then twins… Siamese Twins? Siam? Trade routes between France and Thailand! That's ridiculous…."
I looked on, impressed. The guy knew his stuff, I had to admit that. And there was something about him that I really liked. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I suddenly found myself fighting the color that threatened to rise in my cheeks. Even I didn't understand what this meant at first. Then it struck me like a lightning bolt.
I was falling in love with him!
"HMS Resolute!" He suddenly cried. "A British ship that got lost in the Arctic in the 1800's. It was salvaged by American whalers, and when the ship was finally retired, Queen Victoria had two desks made from its timbers. Voila! Resolute twins!" A grin spread across his face.
"Where are those desks now?" The French cop asked,
"The closest one is in Buckingham Palace in London." Kathleen answered.
"Riley, how fast can we get there?" Ben asked.
Riley shrugged. "I don't know, why don't you ask your new best friends?" Ben held out his hands in a what-do-you-mean? sort of gesture.
The cop's friend said something in French, and the one that spoke English translated. "His going to call you a cab."
"Merci beaucoup." Ben and I said simultaneously. Our eyes met, and I smiled a little bit at him. I had a feeling the next week or so was going to very difficult….
-OoOoO-
Later at the hotel, I was laying on the bed in the room Kathleen and I were sharing. I sighed, staring up at the patterns on the ceiling while I contemplated everything. I was alone, because Kathleen and Riley were out on a date somewhere in the city.
I jumped when I heard a knock on the door. I quickly stood and opened the door.
"Oh, Ben." My heart flipped. "What's up?" I tried to sound as casual as possible.
"I just wanted to know if you'd eaten yet." He shrugged. "I was just going to go downstairs to that little café and grab a bite."
"Oh." I blinked. "No, I can't say I have."
"OK, well do you want to come with?" He asked. I looked up, my eyes meeting his. There was something in his eyes that hit me.
"Uh, yeah, sure." I spun around, grabbing my purse. "Let's go."
The elevator ride was quiet until we stepped out into the small restaurant. We sat down, grabbing a few menus. We ordered our drinks, and finally he spoke up.
"So, you like history?"
It was a typical question for him. "Yeah, I guess so." I shrugged. "Actually, I never really liked it until now. It just has a new meaning now, I suppose." I thoughtfully took a sip from my Pepsi. "We can always learn from our mistakes."
"What do you mean?" He asked quizzically.
"Well, history tells us all about the mistakes we've made in the past and how we could keep ourselves from making the same mistakes."
"Hmm…" He mulled over this a minute. "I never really thought of it that way."
I shrugged, and we sat in silence for another moment.
"You're a really smart girl." He commented. "I like that."
A sudden burst of heat exploded in my cheeks. "Thanks. You're a lot smarter than me though. I don't think I could ever figure out half the things you do."
Our eyes met from across the table, and my heart skipped a beat. Suddenly I was leaning forward, and our lips brushed. My heart sped up as I leaned forward slightly more, pressing my lips against his. My hands were clasped in his. My entire body seemed to tingle with some new feeling that I didn't recognize.
A minute later I pulled away from him, nervously touching my lips. "Wow." I whispered, trying to catch my breath. "That was…"
"Unexpected?" He finished, mirroring my nervous and slightly embarrassed expression. I didn't dare look down, afraid that he would catch sight of the heat that had risen in my cheeks.
I glanced down at my lap, a small smile beginning to form on my lips. "Wow…"
-OoOoO-
Kathleen
Riley and I walked back into the hotel, his arm around my waist as we talked. I looked casually towards the small restaurant in the hotel and stopped dead in my tracks.
"Oh my god!" I gaped at the sight before me. "Do you see what I think I'm seeing?"
"Depends. Do you think you're seeing Ben and Nicole kissing?" He asked, sounding as astonished as I was. I nodded wordlessly, my mouth hanging open. "Then yes."
I saw Nicole pulling out of the kiss and I let out a small yelp, quickly moving out of the doorway.
"Am I on one of those hidden camera shows?" Riley asked slowly, looking around the lobby. I shook my head.
"No." I whispered. "I don't think so…" I suddenly grabbed his wrists, pulling him towards the elevator.
"Hey!" He shouted. "What are you doing?"
"We can't let them think we've been spying!" I whispered, pressing the elevator button. I could see a love triangle forming sometime in the near future…
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A love triangle? (gasp!) We'll see how that turns out, won't we?
Well, you know the drill guys! Review!
Thanks for reading!
-AP