Dreaming and the Art of It (On Hold)

Dreaming and the Art of It - Before - 4

Hello!

So we start off with a little bit of Scarlett, and then we get to Roslyn some more.

I actually really like Scarlett! :) What do you think about her? And Alexander? Let me know!

-jennaxxx

PS. I've added a temporary cast for now, which, for the moment, I'm pretty happy with. But as the characters develop, there might be some changes made to it. Any suggestions?

Chapter Four

Scarlett:

“I really don’t like you now,” I said through clenched teeth, taking my seat across from him in the cafeteria. Sure enough, when I’d arrived to my new ‘work,’ Alexander was sitting in the seat I was in just days ago – his seat.

“Good afternoon,” he gave an aloof smile before dropping it to a frown, noticing my empty hands. “Do you not eat lunch?”

“When I’m as angry as I am, I don’t usually house an appetite,” I bit angrily. “I personally asked you not to request me back!”

“But you were good company,” he smiled politely, unfazed by my contempt. “I don’t often get good company.”

“Right,” I mused dryly. “What, with being insane and all, isn’t it? You realize that now that I’m an intern here, I have a job to do. You cannot just keep me in the dark about whatever it is you did to land yourself in the High Security Wing?”

“Michael must’ve already handed you my file then,” he shrugged.

“No,” I said firmly. “He hasn’t. He told me so much though. I trust you’ll tell me the rest, Alexander.”

“Xander,” he corrected me. “Call me Xander.”

“Fine,” I laughed exasperatedly. “Tell me, Xander. I have a right to know.”

For the first time, I saw him get angry – and even so, he wasn’t very irate. “Listen Scarlett,” he said politely, but didn’t smile like usual. “I like you enough to spare you casualty: I will not just tell you my life story. Don’t think I didn’t notice how quickly you diverted attention from yourself yesterday. It’s just about as uncomfortable for me, talking about my past, as it is for you, if not more.”

I pursed my lips, caught off guard by his change in demeanor, but just as quickly as he’d told me off, he was leaning back into his chair. “I’m sorry,” he frowned. “I mean no disrespect to your parents, and none to you. But I simply don’t trust you, as you don’t trust me. That’s really what this whole internship is about.”

“The one you’ve forced me into?” I murmured, finding my mouth dry as I spoke. What was with this man?! He was so freaking nice! What could he have possibly done to land himself in the High Security wing?

Or was his civility just a sign of how mentally unbalanced he really was?

His lips twitched to the familiar faint smile. “Sorry about that. You’re just intriguing.”

I didn’t let his words affect me; I was in business mode. I needed to negotiate some way to get to know more about him. “Fine,” I licked my lips. “But if this whole internship is about building trust, then you’ll have to start talking sometime, Xander.”

He smirked at me. “I like my name on your lips.”

“That’s sexual harassment,” I said sharply.