Chapter 10 #2
Back at the top, everyone arranged their mats and settled into place.
“Whenever you’re ready,” the employee said, eyes still locked on his phone, and JJ took advantage of his obvious distraction.
Just as Alec told everyone to get set, JJ jumped to his feet. Before anyone realized what he was doing, he threw himself face-first onto his mat at the same time as Alec shouted “Go!”
“Hey!” Oliver shouted, but he quickly decided to follow JJ’s example.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him grab Alec’s shirtsleeve and try to use his friend’s weight to propel himself forward.
Alec, however, was having none of it, and he yanked Oliver back by the collar.
The boys fought each other all the way down the slide, both trying to gain an edge over the other.
In the end, they finished dead even. JJ came in first, and as the only noncheater, I brought up the rear.
“Ha!” JJ jumped to his feet when I reached the bottom and shimmied his shoulders at us in a victory dance. “Beat you all.”
“Congratulations,” said the mat attendant. “Savor the win, because you’re now banned from the slide for breaking the rules. Same goes for you two,” he told Oliver and Alec. “Hand over your mats.”
“But we still have ten tickets,” JJ complained.
The guy pointed at the exit. “Not my problem. Get going.”
“Well, this blows,” Oliver said as the eight of us passed through another turnstile. He’d offered his remaining tickets to me, but I didn’t want to ride the slide by myself while everyone waited at the bottom.
“You know the one thing that will make everything better?” JJ asked. He pointed at a sign above one of the many food stalls. “Three words, my friends—chili cheese fries.”
Xander didn’t feel comfortable eating from any of the vendors, but he promised he wasn’t hungry, so JJ led us over to Mac’s Heart Attack Shack.
We got in line behind a large group of girls, most of whom were sporting tank tops that identified them as the Sun Valley High School cheer squad.
They paid us no mind until Oliver noticed one of the girls was wearing a Heartbreakers tour shirt.
He tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around, I was instantly reminded of a young Gabrielle Union from her teen rom-com days.
Gabrielle pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “Nice getup. Did you lose a bet?”
Oliver offered her what I assumed was meant to be a friendly smile, but the tusks he was wearing made his expression look a little wild. “Actually, I’m helping out a friend. I was just wondering—do you like that band?” He gestured at her shirt.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose they’re okay.”
I cringed at her response, my cheeks heating up with secondhand embarrassment for the boys.
Oliver, however, didn’t seem to mind. There was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. “In other words, they suck?”
Another shrug. “They were my favorite in junior high, but I’m more into K-pop now. What’s it to you?”
“Just curious. My girlfriend is obsessed with that Oliver Perry guy.”
“Oh, I love Oliver!” said another one of the cheerleaders. “He’s my favorite too.”
Stella let out a single bark of laughter that made Gabrielle’s gaze flicker over to her, but she was too focused on scrolling through today’s pictures to notice.
Gabrielle narrowed her eyes as she took in Stella’s appearance, from the aqua stripe in her hair to the camera clutched in her hands.
I suddenly wondered how recognizable Stella was.
She wasn’t famous like my sister or the band, but she’d been dating Oliver for a while now.
Surely a dedicated Heartbreakers fan would know who she was?
Fortunately, JJ butted in before any realizations could be made.
“That curly-haired guy? You’re joking, right? He looks like a total douchewaffle,” he said. “If you ask me, the drummer is the class act of the group. What’s his name?”
This made Gabrielle smile. “That’s JJ. He’s my favorite.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because he’s beyond hilarious.”
An ear-to-ear grin stretched across JJ’s face, and he puffed out his chest as he turned toward his bandmates. “Hear that guys? JJ is beyond hilarious.”
Xander sighed and rubbed a finger over his eyebrow. “We’re never going to hear the end of this,” he whispered to me.
Suddenly, all the girls were discussing their favorite member of the Heartbreakers.
Oliver seemed to be the front-runner, but JJ was a close second.
Alec’s name was tossed around a few times as well, but I didn’t hear a single mention of Xander.
Which pissed me off. What the hell was wrong with these girls? Couldn’t they see how awesome he was?
As the line inched forward, I peeked over at him. He was kicking a nonexistent stone on the ground. We barely knew each other, but Xander struck me as someone who oozed happiness, a glass-half-full type of person. At that moment, he looked anything but, and none of his friends seemed to notice.
“Well,” I said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “There must be something wrong with you guys, because you’re all forgetting about Xander. He’s fan-fucking-tastic.”
A few of the Sun Valley cheerleaders piped up in agreement, which was satisfying, but the feeling didn’t last long.
Xander cleared his throat. “Hey, uh…looks like all the picnic tables are filling up,” he said, kneading the back of his neck and avoiding my gaze. “I’m gonna go save us a place to sit.” He hurried away before I could stop him, head hung low as he slipped into the crowd.
Crap. Had I said something wrong?
Or maybe my comment embarrassed him?
It was also possible that I was overthinking things and his reaction was purely in response to the cheerleaders’ conversation, but either way, I wanted to make sure he was okay.
“Indie?” I looked up and found Alec staring at me, a frown marring his face. “Everything all right?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll go find out.”
Without waiting for Alec’s response, I stepped out of line and chased after the pirate hat I could just barely see weaving through the throng of people. When I finally caught up to Xander, it was only because he’d stopped to inspect the menu at a food stall specializing in all things lentil.
“Mushroom lentil burger?” I said, reading off the first item, a healthy dose of skepticism in my tone. “Do people actually eat that?”
Xander jerked at the sound of my voice, but once he realized it was me, he said, “According to the description, it’s their number one seller.”
“Weird. Are you going to try it?” I asked, shooting him a sideways glance.
It sounded absolutely disgusting. Then again, I wasn’t exactly an adventurous eater.
Violet teased me whenever we ate at restaurants because I always asked for the kids’ menu—chicken fingers and grilled cheese were fine by me.
He shook his head, jostling the beads, bones, and coins I’d sewn into his wig. “Nah. What’s the point when I can’t eat the bun? I was, however, wishing I could have the Mediterranean bowl.”
“And you can’t because…?” Multiple signs on the stall proclaimed Loving Lentils was a vegan establishment. Surely there was something on the menu he could eat?
“Ordering food at events like this can be tricky. There’s always a chance of cross contamination.
For example, look at number ten.” He pointed to the Thai crunch salad at the bottom of the menu.
Underneath the product description was a red asterisk: CONTAINS PEANUTS.
“Sure, there are options I’m not allergic to, but what if the cook makes my meal on the same cutting board he chopped peanuts on? For me, it’s not worth the risk.”
I frowned. “That doesn’t seem very fair.”
“How so?”
“Nothing here is safe for you to eat, but it’s against the rules to bring food in,” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “So what? You’re just supposed to go hungry?”
My indignation must have been amusing, because Xander finally cracked a smile. “If I really wanted to, I could’ve brought my own meal, gone to Guest Services when we arrived, and picked up an ADA wristband.”
“What’s that?”
“A disability bracelet. It allows me to carry in food.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that was something you could do,” I said, feeling silly. “It still sucks though. That’s a lot of extra work for a basic necessity like eating.”
“Yeah, I suppose, but that’s how it’s always been, so I’m used to it.” He shrugged. “Seriously, don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“Are you though?”
Xander dropped his gaze. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you bolted out of line,” I said carefully. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Of course I’m okay,” he responded, waving me off as if I’d overreacted. “I’m used to fending for myself when it comes to food.”
Not what I meant, I wanted to say, but I decided not to push the topic. The uncomfortable look in Xander’s eyes made it clear he didn’t want to discuss what had happened.
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.” A line of people was forming behind us, so Xander stepped away from the food stall and gestured to the designated picnic area. “Why don’t we go find somewhere to sit?”
It took us a few minutes of hovering next to a couple who’d already finished their meal for us to snag a spot, but once they left, we claimed the table and waited for the others to join us with their food.
“So do I get to see you on Tuesday?” Xander asked.
Frowning, I attempted to pull up my mental calendar. “What’s on Tuesday?”
Xander gave me a funny look. “The premiere for the final season of Immortal Nights?”
Oh, right. Pretty sure Dad mentioned it a few weeks back, but no surprise I didn’t remember. I made a point of tuning out my family’s IN conversations. And with the exception of Comic Con, I never went to the events. Not even one as monumental as the final premiere. “Wasn’t planning on it. Why?”
“The band was invited,” he answered. “I was hoping you’d be there.”