Chapter 11
The linefor the Ferris Wheel takes a little while to get through, so much so that Luke actually offers to use his celebrity status to get them bumped up in the line.
‘Don’t you dare!’ Chloe hisses, mortified at the very thought. Luke wags his eyebrows and pretends like he’s gonna whip off his disguise. He just laughs when she yanks his hat back down by the bill.
‘I won’t, I won’t,’ he says, waving her off. ‘We’ll wait in line like all the plebs.’
‘Aw, is the poor rockstar sad to have to be a normal person for once?’ Chloe asks in a baby voice, jutting out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. Luke just huffs a laugh and nudges her forward as the line moves.
They make it up to the front and Chloe pretends to not notice Luke slipping the ride conductor money to stop them at the top.
Chloe’s stomach does a flip that has only a little to do with her morning sickness and a lot to do with the aggressive swaying of the cart. (She loves the height of Ferris Wheels but honestly hates that they’re not more stable.)
Still, it’s peaceful inside this little carriage. So far away from the crowd, this is a rare moment where it’s just the two of them. Chloe wonders if it feels as comforting to him as it does to her.
Their cart makes it half up the wheel when Luke speaks.
‘The interview this morning…didn’t go so well,’ he says. Up here, the sounds from the fair and ocean below fade away, so it’s just Chloe and Luke. Still, his voice is almost blown away by the seaside wind, and she barely catches what he says.
‘Oh?’ she prods carefully, sliding closer to him. It’s only to hear him better, but it doesn’t stop electricity from coursing through her veins when her leg presses against his.
She’s getting good at ignoring these little moments.
Luke sighs, big and loud. ‘There was this game the host wanted to play, like, a play off that show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, and I…well, I lost. Mav and Quinn did just fine in the game, but I kept losing. And then it’s just so easy for them in front of the cameras, they can joke with interviewers and fans without any problems. And I’m just there, feeling like a third wheel in my own band.
‘Mav and Quinn are so much better than me at everything, you know? Always have been. Music, writing, school. I’m just…they needed a bass player and I was there.’
Chloe’s voice catches in her throat. She tries to find the words, the right thing to say to make him feel better. As their cart stalls right at the top of the Ferris Wheel, Luke looks out into the distance.
The view really is incredible, but Chloe’s eyes are only on him.
‘You know you’re just as important to the band as Maverick and Quinn are, right?’ Chloe asks finally. Luke shrugs, eyes fixated on the line where the sky and the sea meet.
‘That’s not what everyone says.’
‘Who?’
‘My mom. Regina. Hell, sometimes even Quinn when she gets in a mood,’ Luke admits. ‘I’m the replaceable one, and I have to work twice as hard to keep my spot here. Mom’s always made sure I knew that. Hell, she even called before the interview, telling me not to make a fool of myself. If my own mom doesn’t think this can last, what chance do I have?’
‘Your mom doesn’t know everything,’ Chloe says softly. ‘Just because she doesn’t have faith in you, it doesn’t mean anything. And that game? The whole point of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader is to make people look dumber than they really are.’
‘But—’ he hesitates, then says, ‘Where would I be if it did happen? If everyone gets fed up with me, decides I’m too dumb and untalented to be here?
Chloe nudges his knee with her own until he finally meets her gaze.
‘It’s not going to happen,’ she says, softly but firmly. ‘You are…you’re way more valuable than you realize. Those girls earlier? You made their entire life by taking photos with them!’
‘Before or after I bit their heads off?’ Luke asks dryly.
Chloe sighs. ‘I’m being serious. And if it bothers you so much that you don’t have your diploma, you could try getting your GED.’
Their cart starts to move again, slowly bringing them back down to the ground.
‘You think?’
Chloe shrugs. ‘I really don’t think you have anything to worry about, but maybe it would be good for you to go for it. At the very least, it would show you that you’re smarter than you think you are.’
Luke lets out a huff. ‘It’s been years since I’ve been in school. I wouldn’t even know where to start.’
‘I could help you,’ Chloe offers. ‘I was always pretty good in school.’ An understatement, but Chloe doesn’t think this is the time to brag about being a Gifted Child. ‘And I learned some really good studying techniques from Elena when I was in college. We could figure it out together, you know?’
Luke’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. ‘I…I don’t know if I could manage it.’
Chloe gives him a small nudge. ‘I believe in you.’
Luke promises to think about it, but he’s in a much better mood as they exit the Ferris Wheel. He even chuckles a little when the kid in front of them runs to a garbage can and throws up, though he stops quite quickly when Chloe catches a whiff of the vomit and does the same. He does valiantly hold back her hair though, and buys her a bottle of water after she’s finished.
‘This kid’s gonna kill me,’ she moans, plopping down on a bench. The water bottle is cold, icy condensation wetting her hands as she holds it. It feels nice in the summer heat, and she presses the wet bottle to her cheek and sighs. ‘I’m already so tired of throwing up.’
‘This part goes by quickly, right?’ Luke asks, taking a swig from his own water bottle. ‘The morning sickness, I mean.’
‘Supposedly,’ Chloe says. ‘If I make it that long. I may just die first.’
Luke snorts. ‘You’re dramatic.’
‘You would be too, if you had a bean-sized baby making you puke your guts up all the time!’
‘Can’t argue with that,’ he admits. ‘Are you okay? Or do you want to go back to the hotel and lay down?’
Chloe sips her bottle, though somehow even the feeling of water in her stomach is making her nauseated. Laying down in a dark room sounds heavenly right about now, but…Maybe she doesn’t want this outing to be over.
So she just shrugs.
Luke nods, taking that as a yes. ‘Let’s find Elena and Devin then.’
A few texts later, Chloe and Luke find a surprise waiting for them at a food stand near the entrance of the pier. Little tables with umbrellas line the edge of the dock, full of people nibbling on ice cream and hot dogs. Chloe moans, moving behind Luke as if he can shield her from the onslaught of smells.
‘Hey! Look who we found,’ Elena calls, waving from their table as if Devin’s bright red hair wasn’t enough to spot them.
Luke slows when he spots Maverick and Quinn sitting at the table, causing Chloe to almost bump into him.
Maverick is lounging back in his plastic chair, somehow spread out so much that he dominates the table, even with Devin and Elena next to him. Chloe understands why being in a band with him makes Luke feel insecure; if Maverick Carter is one thing, it’s a Presence.
Quinn, on the other hand, is hunched over on the opposite side of the table, a billowy hat blocking her from the harsh sun. She has round sunglasses on, but Chloe can tell that she’s glaring daggers at Devin, who’s leaning on the arm of her chair, chattering away with Maverick.
But Maverick doesn’t look totally bothered this time around.
If looks can say anything, Chloe thinks he might actually be flirting back. Chloe has to give it to Devin—when the girl wants something, she certainly will not stop until she gets it.
Maverick does cast Luke and Chloe a lazy look, gesturing with the oversized soda cup. ‘Fancy seeing you guys here! Thanks so much for the invite.’
Chloe swears she sees Luke’s eye twitch. ‘Hey Mav, Quinn. What are you guys doing here?’
He pulls a couple extra chairs from an empty table nearby as he talks, and Elena scoots over to make room. She and Chloe share a look. This is weird all around.
Quinn shrugs. She sits back in her chair, an air of nonchalance that’s immediately undermined by her glaring at Devin. ‘We were bored, you ditched us. We tracked your phone here, the usual.’
‘Wait, you tracked his phone?’ Elena asks incredulously, looking from Quinn to Maverick.
‘We regularly go out into strange cities all on our own, and we’re famous and regularly have stalkers?—’
‘Dedicated fans!’ Maverick corrects with a shit-eating grin. Quinn kicks him in the shin. He barely reacts; Chloe thinks this must be a regular occurrence for them.
‘So, yeah, we keep tabs on each other. Why, got a problem with that?’ Quinn asks sharply. Elena shrinks, just a little, and shakes her head.
‘Was just asking,’ she mumbles into her drink.
‘Quinn, shut up,’ Luke says, his voice tight. He works his jaw, like he’s swallowing back words he knows he shouldn’t say. Chloe feels the same.
‘I think it’s sweet that you watch out for each other,’ Devin cuts in, not-so-subtly pulling her shirt down by the hem. Her smirk grows when she sees Maverick’s gaze drop for a second. ‘We do that, too. Elena’s a total Mom Friend, you know.’
‘Tch,’ Quinn huffs, snapping her fingers in their direction. Devin frowns.
‘What?’
‘Can you do anything but flirt? Like, are you physically capable of having a normal conversation?’ Quinn demands. ‘’Cause it doesn’t seem like it.’ Devin makes a face at her.
‘I’ve never flirted with you,’ she says snidely.
‘Oh, please, you are such a try-hard.’
‘Better that than a stuck-up snob!’
‘This is getting out of hand,’ Luke tries, but he’s drowned out by Devin and Quinn, whose bickering gets louder and louder. Devin stands up first, leaning over the table to get closer to Quinn. Her hair falls around her like a curtain, blocking everyone else from view.
‘I think you’re just jealous,’ Devin says. ‘That Maverick’s getting all the attention, not you.’
Quinn stands as well, shorter than Devin but just as intimidating. ‘Why would I want your attention? You give it away so fucking easily.’
Elena nudges Chloe and gives a small shake of the head. One by one, they all escape the table; Chloe, Luke, and then Elena, who grabs Maverick by the arm and pulls him away.
Devin and Quinn don’t even notice, so engrossed in their bickering that the rest of the world seems to have dropped away.