Bonus Chapter 14: Photograph

"Sorry I'm late," Lumiere gasped, as he let himself into the apartment he shared with Cogsworth. "The train got stuck again. Something about a signal problem on the tracks. Or possibly a mime attack in the second car? They really need to invest in a new intercom system. Anyway, I got here as fast as I could."

"No problem," said Adam, who was sitting in the middle of the couch reading a newspaper. He didn't even look up as Lumiere came bursting through the door, but he did give a slight jerk of his head toward the kitchen. "We saved you some pizza."

"Pepperoni?" Lumiere asked hopefully.

"And extra cheese."

"You guys are the best," Lumiere sighed, as he dropped his messenger bag by the door and made a beeline for the grease-stained cardboard box sitting on top of the kitchen counter. His stomach growled hungrily as he lifted the lid; just as Adam had promised, there were three glorious slices of lukewarm pepperoni pizza waiting for him inside.

"You got the tickets?" asked Cogsworth, who was sitting at the end of the counter, typing away on his laptop.

"You mean these tickets?" said Lumiere, brandishing a trio of tickets from the pocket of his jacket and slapping them down next to the pizza box.

Cogsworth glanced over at them casually before returning his gaze to his computer. Then his head snapped abruptly back to the tickets. He snatched them off the counter and held them up in front of his eyes, which had gone as round as saucers. "These are our tickets?"

"Those are our tickets," said Lumiere.

Cogsworth waved the tickets excitedly at Lumiere. "These tickets, right here, in my hand?"

"Those tickets, right there, in your hand."

"These seats are in the second row!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that part?" Lumiere replied. He smirked as he slid two slices of pizza into the microwave, but he couldn't help but feel that his grand reveal had not been as grand as it should have been, thanks mainly to the fact that it seemed to have sailed clear over Adam's head. Adam hadn't said a word, or looked over, or reacted in any way that indicated that he was even aware of the conservation taking place behind him. Lumiere had been sitting on the big news all day, and he had been looking forward to the moment when he could spring it on his friends. After all, it wasn't every day that they got to see Def Leppard from the second freaking row. What could Adam possibly be reading that was more exciting that that?

"But how?" Cogsworth continued to gaze reverently at the tickets as the microwave chimed. Well at least he seemed suitably impressed, thought Lumiere.

Lumiere grabbed his pizza and perched himself on the stool next to Cogsworth. "You're not the only one with friends in high places," he said, putting on a lofty tone. "An old buddy of mine from the radio station works as a sound engineer at the arena now. He was able to hook us up. Although, even I didn't know the seats would end up being this good."

"I've never had seats this good for anything," Cogsworth said in awe.

Lumiere feigned indignation. "What about that time I snuck you into the wings for our drama club production of West Side Story?"

"I hardly think that's a fair comparison. As magnificent as your Tony was."

"I did make a magnificent Tony, didn't I? You should have seen it, Adam - my death scene had the entire auditorium in tears. Adam...?" Lumiere repeated, glancing over his shoulder when Adam failed to respond - again. He cupped his hands around his mouth and gave it another try. "Earth to Adam! Come in, Adam!"

Adam gave a start. "Huh?" he said, turning around and blinking rapidly at his friends, as if he were just waking from a trance.

"Good article?" Lumiere asked dryly.

"What?" said Adam.

"The newspaper," said Lumiere, with a nod toward the paper that was still clutched in Adam's hands. "If your nose was buried any deeper in it, you would have an ink mustache."

"You do know that that paper is at least two weeks old, right?" said Cogsworth. "Today's is right here on the counter if you want it."

"That's okay," Adam said, turning back to the paper. But there was an oddly strident edge to his usually even timbre that caught Lumiere's ear. And if the puzzled look on Cogsworth's face was any indication, Cogsworth had caught it too. Curious, Lumiere stole another glance over his shoulder. Adam's posture was relaxed - almost too relaxed, Lumiere thought, frowning to himself - but the tips of his ears had gone a vivid shade of red, which Lumiere knew they only tended to do when he was deeply embarrassed about something. Interesting...

Moving cautiously, Lumiere swiveled around on his stool and leaned sideways, squinting over the top of the couch and Adam's shoulder so that he could get a look at the article that Adam was reading. "A review of the new Cormoran Strike book?" he said in surprise, his voice in Adam's ear causing Adam to jump in his seat and hastily fold the paper onto his lap. "That's what's got you so spaced out?"

"Didn't you already read that?" came Cogsworth's voice from somewhere deep in the refrigerator. A moment later, he stuck his head around the door. "The book, I mean? I thought I saw it on top of your bag at rehearsal last week?"

"Yeah, I did," Adam said gruffly. "I was just curious to see what the Times' new book critic thought about it."

"The Times has a new book critic?" said Lumiere. "Since when?"

"Since the old one retired at the end of last month," said Cogsworth. "Where have you been?"

Lumiere chose to ignore that question. Instead, he reached over the back of the couch and motioned with his hand for the old newspaper, which Adam surrendered with visible reluctance. Lumiere's eyes scanned the page for the byline as he unfolded the paper. "Belle Dupont," he murmured. "Belle, huh? What do you figure that's short f-"

And then he found the little black and white photograph printed next to the byline, and he let out a low whistle. A girl who appeared to be, like him and his friends, in her early twenties, looked back at him from the greyish newsprint. Her long, dark hair was swept back into a low ponytail, and full lashes framed her large, keen eyes. "Wow," he said. "Out with the old and in with the new, huh? Well I sure wouldn't mind taking book advice from her. She's beautiful!"

"Oh, you think so?" said Adam. His tone was airy, and his expression was one of neutral politeness, but Lumiere could see that the tips of his ears were now burning even redder than ever.

"Most definitely," Lumiere said, grinning slyly to himself as the pieces of the puzzle began to slip into place. "But I have a feeling I'm not the only one who thinks so. Unless there's some other reason you're reading a two-week-old review of a book you've already read?"

"What are you suggesting?" Adam shot back, leaning forward on the forearm that he was resting on the top of the couch. His entire face had gone red now, and there was a skittish look in his eyes.

"I'm suggesting that you were more interested in this photo of the lovely Ms. Dupont than you were in her thoughts on the book."

"That isn't true!" Adam insisted.

Lumiere raised an eyebrow. "No? Then what did she have to say about the book?" he asked, crossing his arms and fixing his friend with a look of smug inquisitiveness.

"She liked it," said Adam, snatching the paper back defiantly.

Lumiere snorted. "Oh. Well then I stand corrected. Thank you for that incredibly enlightening synopsis."

"She thought the character development was better than in the previous book, but that the mystery was more convoluted - which it was. And she enjoyed the detailed descriptions of London. Overall, it was her second favorite book in the series." Adam got to his feet and held the paper out to Lumiere. "If you don't believe me, go ahead and read the review for yourself."

"Read it later," said Cogsworth, with a glance at his phone. "We need to get going. There may be some traffic closer to the arena, and I don't want to miss any of the opening bands."

Adam placed his empty plate in the sink and carried the newspaper back over to the pile of old papers bound for the recycling bin.

"Wait!" Lumiere exclaimed, just as Adam was about to toss the newspaper onto the top of the stack. "What are you doing?"

Adam froze with his hand in midair and looked over at his friend in alarm. "Uh, throwing this in with your recycling? Why? Should I not?"

"Are you sure you don't want to bring it home so that you can sleep with it under your pillow?"

Adam's expression darkened, and he gestured rudely with his free hand as he dropped the paper.

But Lumiere merely grinned and held the door for him as they followed Cogsworth out into the hallway. "Hey, no hard feelings. I'll buy you a beer at the show, all right?"

"Yeah, all right," Adam agreed.

"But I'll wait a few days to take the recycling out," Lumiere said with a wink. "Just in case you change your mind."

Congrats to Def Leppard on their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (like two weeks ago, but hey, better late than never). Pour some shook up ramen! :)