"Yes, your hair is a mess."
"Thanks," I mumbled, grabbing jeans and a casual top and standing up. Adrian smiled at me and I shook my head heading toward the bathroom. Surely my hair wasn't that bad.
Yeah, my hair wasn't bad. It was a disaster! There was so much colour in it, making it even harder to comb it out. Giving up, I decided I might try washing it out.
I hopped into the shower, letting the warm water soak me from head to toe. I looked at the floor as the orange water went into the drain. God, this was ridiculous. Who knew that I could possibly carry this much orange powder on me?
After an hour of tugging, probing and clawing my hair, I finally got it untangled, and managed to rip a quarter of my hair out. The Colour Run, or whatever it was called in French, was amazing, but the aftermath was horrible.
Maybe next time I'll take a hat.
"Hurry up, Iv!"
I rolled my eyes rushing to get ready. I probably did take a long time. I looked in the mirror, still seeing some patches of orange on my skin that just wouldn't go. Cursing under my breath, I tied my wet hair into a loose ponytail and opened the door.
Adrian was leaning on it and fell back before gaining his step and standing up, clearing his throat. "Nothing happened."
"If you say so."
"You took your time," he muttered. I waved him off, realizing he was holding a bag.
"What's in that?" I asked.
"You'll see. Come on, Darius had to use my shower because you took forever. What were you even doing, having a nap?"
I narrowed my eyes at him as he dragged me outside where Darius was against the limo talking on his phone. That reminds me, I still had his phone. Did he really buy a phone just for this trip? Doesn't that make him a workaholic?
"Alright, I'll talk to you later," I heard Darius mutter into the phone as Adrian pushed me inside, not gently either. I sent him a dirty look which he just responded to with a smile and grabbed a chocolate bar out of his pocket.
"Want one?" he asked, offering me.
I wrinkled my nose, shaking my head as Darius got in. "I ate too much," I told Adrian, leaning against the seats. I heard Darius chuckle and I looked at him. "What?"
"If you didn't eat too much, I would be surprised."
Adrian started laughing and I frowned as I looked out the window. I wanted to try everything Alphonse made. It was purely delicious, well, apart from a few delicacies. I remember the last time I had French cuisine. We went to a restaurant with my parents for their anniversary and even then the whole menu was in French and my father ordered for me.
And that was just some fancy sandwich was deconstructed on the plate, nothing like what I had today.
"So where are we going?" I asked after a few minutes of quite chatter between Darius and Adrian.
"You'll see," said Darius, sending me a wink. I turned around looking out the window as my heart skipped a beat. Damn those winks, he better stop or my heart will explode.
I looked out the window, noticing that in this part of town, there was no traffic. I focused on the amazing scenery. It was a fairly long ride and I even dozed off in the middle before I felt the limo come to a gradual stop.
"Are we there?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"Yep."
I followed them out of the limo blindly and froze, one leg out. I smelled it, the salt in the air. It woke me up immediately as realization came to me. There was only one place with this smell I loved.
Beach.
I scrambled out, my jaw dropping at the sight. The water was calm with waves slithering onto the sand gently. There were seagulls in the air, their squawks barely heard. The wind was gentle, just a soft breeze.
France has beaches? Sure, it was a stupid question to think, but staying near Paris, I didn't think there were any beaches there. No wonder the drive took too long. I could see the sun setting behind the waves, still half way, the orange and purple light it sent into the sky was beautiful.
"It's so pretty," I said.
"It is."
"Come on,” Adrian screamed as he started running. “The last one to find a shell is a rotten egg.” I raised my eyebrow at Darius as we watched him run in the beach screaming like a banshee.
Is he for real?
Darius looked at me and shrugged and did what I didn't think was possible.
Ran right after his cousin.
"What?" I asked myself quietly before the kid in me took over. I didn't want to be a damn rotten egg.
Using the side of the limo for support, I quickly slipped off my shoes, placed them inside the car and ran after them. My feet hit the warm sand. It was warm and comforting against the cool breeze, sending warmth through me. I saw Darius pick up something only to be pushed by Adrian aside.
Shit, I needed a shell.
I ran toward the waves. Usually shells were deposited there.
"I found one na na na na na you are a rotten egg."
I sighed upon hearing Adrian chanting in the background as I picked one up.
"Aluminium hasn't found one either," said Darius.