Adrian

     Adrian picked up her heavy books from off the elevator floor and trudged down the hall of the large apartment building, grumbling.

 

"School...books...homework, where does it all end? In my doctor's office, where I end up paralyzed for life because of these things?" She let her hands out from underneath the stack of textbooks, allowing them to scatter like c**k roaches, dropping all the papers jammed inside of them in front of a large door that resembled a steel brick. Rolling hazel eyes in frustration, she fished around the inside of her green messenger bag for the keys. Not finding them, she hoisted the bag onto her knee and began to look for her keys with her sense of sight rather than touch. Finding them underneath a half eaten Snickers bar, she let the open bag fall to her side and unlocked the door. She hopped over the newly made moat of work and pushed the metal brick to reveal a shining studio apartment. Everything but the walls, counters and floors were covered in metal. The walls were a solid white and contemporary art in an array of colors hung off thier pure white cheeks like tears.  The floors were a light brown wood and assulted the eyes in shine from a fresh coat of wax.

 

"I'd watch your step," a pale, brown haired, 20 year old called from across the large living room.

 

"Spend the day cleaning again, Darik?" she called to him from the thresh hold.

 

"That and consulting publishers."

 

She turned from him to pick up her mess from the hall. "Ah, so this is depression cleaning?" she laughed.

 

"No, more like anticipation cleaning."

 

She packed the materials into one pile then turned back to him with a questioning look, her newly dyed black hair flipping in his direction. "What are we anticipating?"

 

"Responses, and hopefully a cash flow."

 

"That's just what we need. We are already two months behind on rent." Adrian slipped dainty silver painted toes out of combat boots that clearly weren't hers. She let her baggy, black cargos flowed freely over her feet as she pressed them firmly into his almost dry, waxed floor.

 

"AHHH, MY FLOORS-"

 

"Are dry. It's okay." She walked up to him, leaving small impressions of the pressure points of her feet on the floor. Adrian stood in front of Darrik and smiled, her tanned skin glowing and her light brown eyes set ablaze by his green staring into them. "See, that wasn't so bad."

 

He smiled back at her. "Yeah, for you." Darik picked her up and cradled her in his muscular arms. He frantic giggles and screams became nestled in the side of his neck as he carried her like they were married. He put her down and allowed her to catch her fleeting breath before looking at the tower of paper at the door. "For class?" he called as she walked into the kitchenette and shoved her face in the fridge, shifting through chinese food boxes and foil wrapped food.

 

"Ugh, yeah." Adrian came out of the fridge victoriously, carrying a slice of cold pizza in her hand. Darik walked to the stack and shoved his hands underneath it. He strained to lift it up, but did so thanks to his slightly muscular build. He swerved and maneuvered his way to the small dining table and let all the books fall there. Her entire first semester at Clintmore College lay scattered on that table.

 

"So, are you going to throw it out?"

 

 Her eyes grew wide as she spoke through chewing cold morsels. "What? Are you kidding ? I worked so hard and you just want me to throw that away? Are you insane?" In anger, she ripped another bite of pizza from the slice in her hands. Darik backed away from the table, his hands up like a caught criminal.

 

"Okay, okay, no trash can! But you have to find a place for it, and there aren't very many Bio-chem majors in this apartment...."

 

"I know, but  I can't very well toss it. What if I lose notes or data that I'll need?"

 

"Your responsibility," he said as he turned around  and headed for the small hallway between two bedrooms. Adrian scarffed the last few nibbles and threw the foil in the trash, hurrying to continue her conversation.

 

"My responsibility?" she screamed behind him  as she entered his bedroom. Same as the living room, his room was white with one red accent wall. A bookshelf stretched down another wall and the bed was pushed into the third. He turned to watch her walk in, hair flowing behind her in the wind, eyes wide in self defense. He even loved the way her tight tops and baggy pants contradicted one another in her entrance; one clung close to her while the other pushed away from her. "Just my responsibility? Didn't you say you would help me with this whole school thing?" She stood right in front of him, staring up the height difference at his half smile. She cocked her head to the side. She was yelling at him, why wasn't he freaking out back at her? "What the hell is wrong with you, Darik?" She lifted one of her eyebrows up as she stared at him. His brown hair fell over his eyes, but he refused to move. He always knew it bothered her, but he always let it happen because he knew what she would do. She put her soft palm on his cheek and brushed the stray hairs from his sight, making him smile. His smile acted as a domino effect for her, making her smile back. He pulled closer to him, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist.

 

She latched her hands onto his forearms and kept her eyes within his own smiling. Darik bent his head to kiss her when and her eyelids began to fall as a knock came from the small hallway. "uhhh...." The two jumped at the sounds and looked to the door of the room to see a more muscluar version for Darik standing in the doorway. Adrian looked down in Darik's arms shyly as she began to giggle out of embarrassment. "If this is a bad time...."

 

"No, Adam. We were just-"

 

"No need to explain, little sister." Adam gave a big smile to the couple as Adrian parted from Darik's embrace to meet him. She walked up to Adam and smiled in a placid way.  She turned back to look at the lover she left alone, arms by his side and a look of sadness on his face. She smirked and walked out of the room, leaving the two brothers alone.

 

"Perfect timing , Adam." Darik smirked, turning away from him to look through the books on the self.

 

"Didn't realize it was a moment. Sorry. Just came to ask about the rent." He walked into his brother's room and shut the door behind him as to not let Adrian hear. "You know we are a lot more than two months behind. Why not let her help you like she wants?"

 

Darik turned around from the shelf to look at his brother in shock. "Take money? From a girl who is paying tuition, apartment rent herself, books, and meals on her own? You're not serious, right?"

 

"She persistantly offers it to you, and you don't take it because-"

 

"Because I don't feel like living off anyone else. Especially the girl I want to give the world to."

 

"Okay I get that you want to give her everything, but right now in the process of doing so you are driving us into getting kicked out of this house. I think she will understand."

 

Darik walked to where his brother stood and looked him. He spoke in the lowest, angriest tone he could muster. His eyes became large and glowed with infuriation. "I don't want her to know about any of this. I can handle it.  I will have your money to you, okay?" He glared at Adam with such venom then stormed out of the room. He stomped into the kitchenette to see Adrian staring at the stack of work that towered over her. Her hip jutted to the side as her body slanted to the left. Her hand was on her chin and her eyes scoured the pile. He flew past her in rage and stuck his head in the fridge, wishing it were the oven. She turned at his race of rage and sprinted to him to try and quell him. She threw herself like a shawl over him and talked to him sweetly.

 

"You okay, baby?"

"Fine," he sighed as he closed his eyes and inhaled the cold breeze coming from the fridge. "Liar," she lightly giggled adage muddled herself into his neck. He knew her best. She wouldn't let it go until he was alright, but he never wanted to lie to her. "It's okay, babe." He turned to her and wrapped his arms around her, letting the refridgerTor door close for itself. she gladly returned the favor and hugged him back, putting her head on his shoulder to whisper in his ear. "why not spend tonight with me, baby? I've to work so we could hang out there for awhile...." the proposition lingered in the air for a moment as Darik considered what his brother said. His eyes grew wide with principle, then calm on decision. " Being at your job beats the hell out of here'" he pulled her closer and smiled. "I'd love to spend tonight with you." The force between their lips pulled them close and they shared their feeling through encoded message wig their lips. When they released one another, Adrian looked deeply into darik's eyes. "Should we invite Adam?" she questioned, tracing circles on darik's shirt. He thought for a moment then looked at her smiling face as strands of her hair brushed in front of it. "No," he replied as h brushed it from her vision. The Base of the Rave club made the entire avenue shake. The large,tanned bouncer looked her up and down with piercing blue eyes. A girl of peircings, few tattoos and dyed black hair stood before him in a leather corset, leather miniskirt and a trenchcoat that hugged her perfectly while exposing her. The boncer's stone face cracked a smile and he opened the door for her. "The club could use your life,Adrian." h scraped behind her as Adrian took darik's hand and lead him into the sea of bouncing dancers.She maneuvered her way with ease as she opt darik's hands tightly wrapped in hers. She walked up the long stairwell to the en booth on the opposite end of the dancefloor and opened the booth to find the manager throwing records left and right,looking up like he'd Ben caught with illegal drugs. " oh thank god you're here," he said grabbing her shoulder and throwing her into the booth. "I've had the same music playing forth past ten minutes. just do your magic." he rushed down the stairwell and left her with darik in her inner sanctum of the club. She picked up the thrown records from the floor, eyeing each one for the right selection. When she found it, darik watched as her eyes lit up and she put the record on the turn table. She picked up the headphones and place one to her ear and her hand on the turntable. She tested the mic a bit and then yelled as loud as she could,"BLOODBATH!" the lights of the club went red as the mix made the entire club bounce higher than they did before.