“Stop! You’ll kill him!”
I frantically grabbed a fistful of Roman’s shirt and gave it a hearty yank. He didn’t budge, but my hands slipped on the smooth cotton so I ended up falling backwards, right on my butt.
“Oof!” I groaned, glad the floor was carpeted. However, the pain dissipated in the wake of my fear as I stared, wide-eyed, at the scene before me.
Roman had slammed Parker up against the wall and was huffing and puffing like an angry dragon. I was surprised I didn’t see steam pouring out of his ears. Meanwhile, Parker looked a bit scared—though not scared enough, in my opinion.
“It’s alright, Maya,” he said rather calmly, not seeming at all fazed by the fact that Roman looked like he was about to punch him in the face. “He won’t kill me. He’s supposed to stay in my family’s house in Oahu next summer.”
Roman let out a low growl, and I groaned. “Parker! Now’s not the time to be making jokes!”
I scrambled to my feet and attempted to pull Roman off once again. It didn’t work; he shrugged me off as easily as if I were a
feather.
However, after a moment, he finally let go and took a step back to glare at us, sparks practically flying from his violet eyes.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” he roared, his voice loud enough to shatter glass. If all the glass in the room hadn’t been shatterproof, that is.
I instinctively whimpered and stepped behind Parker.
“Er…well, we did plan on telling you, sooner or later.” Parker cleared his throat as he straightened his shirt.
“I can’t believe it,” Roman muttered furiously. “All this time, I thought you two were dating. I even tried to get along with her!”
He jabbed a finger in my direction. “I even went to her house! With lollipops!”
Parker’s eyes widened, swiveling his head between Roman and myself. “You went to her house? With lollipops?”
“That’s not the point!” Roman bit out, but his face had turned pink. Inanely, I wondered what ever did happen to those lollipops. “The point is, I would never have had to—to be so nice if you two hadn’t lied to me!
Parker sighed. “Oh, calm down.”
I couldn’t help but stifle a giggle as Roman’s eyes almost popped out of his head. A vein pulsed dangerously in his forehead. “YOU’RE TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?!”
Oh boy. I immediately covered my ears with my hands to protect my eardrums, but I could still hear him loud and clear.
“How can I calm down when I just found out one of my best friends has been lying to be for weeks?!”
“It’s not necessarily lying,” my big mouth piped up of its own accord. “It’s more like—like acting.”
Roman shot me a don’t-you-start-with-me look and I immediately shrunk back, wondering when I’d started fearing Roman Fiori.
“And why exactly were you two ‘acting’?”
That, I can answer. Eagerly, frantically, I launched into an explanation about my grandmother’s matchmaking schemes and how Parker just so happened to show up at the right time. “I mean, you’ve met my grandmother, you know how scary she is,” I babbled almost incoherently.
Parker’s loud guffaw interrupted me. “You met her grandmother?” he chuckled. “How did that go?”
I winced. Oh. Maybe now hadn’t been the best time to bring that little incident up…
Roman’s face turned purple. “I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. It,” he hissed, glaring at me like it’d been my fault. The venom in his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Nevertheless, I huffed indignantly. Well, I never told him to wear the darn Mickey Mouse shirt, and I certainly never told him to come to my house in the first place. He had only himself to blame.
“You know, I don’t know why you’re so mad, Rome,” Parker commented conversationally, draping an arm over my shoulders. He really liked doing that, didn’t he?
Roman’s eyes turned to slits, and I bit my lower lip nervously. Couldn’t Parker be serious for just one second?
“If anything, you should be glad,” Parker continued. “Happy, really.”
“And why is that?”
For some reason, the gaze Roman leveled at his friend seemed to be almost a warning.
Parker smirked. “You tell me.”
Roman tensed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said stiffly, but I noticed with relief that his anger seemed to have abated a bit.
“Sure.” There was a highly amused look on Parker’s face, although personally, I don’t see what’s so funny about the situation. “You know, this means Maya doesn’t have a date to homecoming…”
I scowled. Oh yeah. “Thanks for leaving me high and dry like that,” I mumbled. Guess I was just going to have to go alone.
I sighed. A senior going to her last homecoming alone. Am I cool or what?
“I’m sure you’ll find a date soon.” Parker’s jade-green eyes twinkled mischievously. “Right, Rome?”
I darted a quick glance in his direction. Roman seemed to have perked up a bit, but when he saw us looking, he scowled again. “I don’t know, I’m not psychic,” he finally snapped, a weird expression on his face. “You know what? I don’t have time for this. I’m leaving.”
With that, he stormed out of the room.
I rubbed my temple. His mood swings were giving me a headache.
Parker chuckled. “You two are a riot.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said tiredly.
“Of course you don’t, honeybee. You’re quite dense.”
My mouth flopped open and closed like a fish’s. “I’m dense?” I sputtered. “I don’t see how—“
“Come on, walk me out.” Parker cut me off and guided me to the door by my elbow.
If anything, he was the one walking me out. When we passed by Roman’s room, I couldn’t resist peeking through the half-open door. What I saw nearly made me laugh out loud.
Roman may be rich and good-looking, but the boy danced like a spastic chicken with its head cut off.
Although I couldn’t quite figure out why he was dancing in the middle of the day anyway.
* * *
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la,” Zack hummed merrily as he pushed open the door of the Scion’s private bathroom and into the hall. “’Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la!”
He really had no idea why he was singing Christmas carols in October, but he was in a good mood today, and Christmas songs were just so happy.
Now, if only he could find Maya…
Zack pursed his lips, his blond head turning from side to side as he tried to catch a glimpse of the half-Asian. Adriana had told him to invite Maya to their country cottage over the weekend—and to leave out the fact that everyone except Roman would have “sudden emergencies” that prevented them from going.
That wouldn’t be a problem, if he could only find her.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a bright flash of red hair. Zack squinted. Hey, wasn’t that Maya’s friend? What’s-her-name? He was pretty sure she was named after a city. Florence? Paris? Vienna? He racked his brain before it finally hit him.
“Venice!” he shouted, bounding down the hall towards the petite redhead.
She spun around, her jaw dropping when she saw him. “Are y-you t-talking to me?” she stuttered, pointing to herself.
Zack was confused. Was there someone else named Venice here?
He looked around. Nope. No other people were in the hall. “Yes. You are Venice, right?”
She nodded frantically, making her look like one of those bobble-head figures he used to collect when he was little.
Zack laughed. She was kind of cute. “Do you know where Maya is?”
“Erm, no.” Venice tucked a fiery strand of hair behind one ear. “I think she left, but I’m not sure. Why?”
Zack’s face fell in disappointment. “Oh, I just wanted to invite her to my family’s country house this weekend.”
“Oh.” Venice paused. “You know, I don’t think she can go this weekend. She has a date tomorrow.”
This time, his jaw dropped. “A date? With who?!”
Please say Roman, please say Roman, please say—
“James.”
Oh god that’s not Roman. Adri’s going to throw a fit.
At the thought of his sister’s wrath, Zack shuddered a bit. Sometimes he couldn’t quite believe he managed to make it out his mother’s womb unscathed. Thank god he couldn’t remember anything from when he was a fetus because sharing that tiny little space with Adriana must’ve been a nightmare.
“Are you ok? Why did you shudder when I said his name?” Venice asked, furrowing her brow.
“Oh, no reason,” he muttered, trying to think of a plan. “Where are they going?”
“I think she said something about an amusement park.”
“An amusement park,” Zack repeated slowly. There was no amusement park in Valesca. The closest one was near La Terra.
There was no going around it. He had to call Adriana.
“Can you stay here for just one second?” He held up one finger to make his point as he speed-dialed his twin with his other hand.
Venice shrugged. “Sure.”
When Adriana answered, Zack quickly explained the situation. She didn’t react the way he expected.
“So why are you calling me?” Her voice crackled over the line.
Zack frowned. “Because, uh, I don’t know what to do now?”
Adriana sighed wearily. “Follow them, Zack. You follow them.”
“Follow who?”
“Maya and James, Zack! Maya and James! Follow them tomorrow and find out what’s going on between them!”
“Ok, fine. I was just asking. Jeez,” he huffed. She didn’t need to be so snippy.
“But don’t go alone. Take someone with you.”
“Carlo and Parker?”
“No, Carlo’s got enough to worry about and I don’t trust Parker to get the job done. You were talking to Venice, right? Take her with you. She knows Maya well, so she can read her actions better than any of us.”
“Oh.” That made sense. “Ok. What—“
“Sorry, Zack, I have to go. My manicurist just came in. Text me if anything new comes up, ok?”
“Sure.” Zack pouted. She never had time for him anymore.
When he made his way back to Venice, she looked at him questioningly.
He flashed her a dazzling smile. “Are you up for an adventure tomorrow?”
* * *
“You copied me!”
“No, you copied me!”
“No, obviously you copied me! Mine is a girl’s coat!” Venice tugged on the sleeve of her khaki trench to emphasize her point.
Zack frowned down at his almost identical trench. Except it was a lot manlier than hers, of course. “So? Mine’s Burberry!” That’s what Adri told him anyway.
He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at Venice. He thought it would clever to dress up as a spy detective this morning, like the ones in the movies. He’d worn the trench, the fedora, and the oversize sunglasses, and added a touch of casual with his old Levi’s.
And then Zack arrived at Venice’s house, only to find her wearing… a trench, jeans, fedora, and sunglasses.
“We look like one of those matching couples,” he complained. “That’s lame."
“Well, too bad,” Venice huffed, climbing into the passenger seat of his black BMW. He’d chosen to drive this today because Maya had never seen it, and because it was less flashy than his Porsche. “I’m not changing.”
Zack frowned, wondering when she’d changed from cute to annoying. He reluctantly pulled out of her driveway just as she flipped on the radio and turned it to a Taylor Swift song. Venice immediately started warbling the lyrics to “You Belong with Me” at the top of her lungs.
Zack flinched. The girl could not hold a tune to save her life.
This was going to be a long day.
Two hours later
“Ohmygod! Look at the roller coaster! It looks like so much fun! Can we go on it, pleasepleasepleaseplease please?"
Venice bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet as she pointed at the giant green roller coaster in front of them, her eyes wide and shining.
It made Zack tired just looking at her. He thought he had a lot of energy? Try Venice on a sugar rush.
I knew we shouldn’t have gotten that sixth cotton candy, he thought.
“We’re not here to go on roller coasters,” he pointed out, even as he stared the metal structure longingly. “We’re here to find out what’s going on between Maya and James.”
Venice pouted. “I don’t see why we have to follow them all day. They’re just friends.”
“Yeah, but they could—“
“Ooh, a puppy!” she squealed, racing after the tiny Pomeranian.
“Wait, stop!” Zack shouted, running after her, his coat flapping behind him. He saw people giving him strange looks but he ignored them. He’d gotten so many of those since they stepped foot in the park that they didn’t even faze him anymore. “They’ll see us!”
As if on cue, Maya and James, who’d been talking and laughing a little ahead of them, turned to see what all the commotion was about.
Panicking, Zack grabbed Venice’s arm and immediately yanked her behind a garbage can. In their haste, they ended up knocking heads.
“Ow!” Venice rubbed her forehead, her nose twitching. “Eew, it smells.”
His own nose twitched a bit. “It’s a garbage can.” He peeked cautiously over the top. “I don’t think they saw us.” He turned to Venice with a stern look. “Don’t pull that again, ok? If they’d seen us, we would be in big trouble.”
Venice looked abashed. “Sorry,” she squeaked.
“What is going on here?”
Zack looked up to see a beefy security guard scowling down at them, a suspicious expression on his pudgy face.
“Oh, nothing,” he chirped, pasting on his most innocent smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Venice do the same.
“Nothing, huh?” The security guard narrowed his eyes. “Y’all look awfully suspicious, hiding behind the trash can like that.”
“Oh, erm, we were just playing hide and seek,” Venice offered brightly. She stood up, brushing down the front of her coat. “But, uh, we’re done now. We won!”
“Yeah!” Zack jumped in. “Our brother’s never been able to win!” He let out an evil cackle.
The suspicion morphed into fear on the security guard’s face. He probably thought he was dealing with lunatics. “Is that right?” He took a step back. “Well, uh, have fun.” With that, he scurried away, but not before Zack heard him mutter, “They’re a bit too old to be playing hide and seek. Too old to play dress-up, too.”
“Great. Now everyone thinks we’re crazy,” he sighed, even though he wasn’t all that upset. Crazy people had all the fun. “Come on, let’s go.”
Zack started speed-walking in the direction Maya and James had gone in, hoping they hadn’t lost them, when he realized Venice wasn’t following. He turned and saw her still standing by the trash can.
“What are you still doing there?”
“There’s gum on my shoe!” she wailed. “On both my shoes!”
He groaned. Of all the luck—“That’s ok, I’ll just pull you.” Zack grabbed her arms and tugged. Venice lurched forward a bit, but that must’ve been the Krazy Glue of gum because her feet didn’t budge.
Zack frowned determinedly, giving her another tug. No dice. “Can’t you help me at least a little?”
“What do you want me to do?” she snapped crankily. “I’m the immobile one here! Do you have anything I can use to cut the gum out?”
“If I had a knife I would’ve used it on you already,” Zack mumbled, appalled at the violent turn in his thoughts.
No! That was a mean thing to say. Think of happy things, Zack, happy things. Fluffy bunnies and rainbows with pots of gold and…and leaping unicorns eating cotton candy…
Cotton candy! At the thought of the stupid snack that had gotten Venice so hyped up in the first place, Zack gave another mighty tug without thinking, causing Venice to tumble forward right into him.
“Oof!” Zack fell down on the ground with a loud groan. To his horror, he felt something wet on his lower leg.
“Aaaah!” He jumped up and frantically spun around like a dog chasing its tail, trying to see what he’d fallen in. He prayed it wasn’t…
“There’s ketchup all over you.” Venice looked like she was trying not to laugh as she pointed at the oozing red condiment on his jeans.
“Noooo!” Zack wailed. “These are my favorite jeans!”
She frowned. “Are you gay?”
“No!”
“You sure sound gay.”
“Shut up and come with me to the gift shop to buy some clothes!”
“Hey, don’t you be telling me to shut up, I thought you were supposed to be the nice one---ooh, puppy!”
“Don’t you dare!”
The two continued to bicker as they stormed into the nearest gift shop. Well, Zack stormed, and Venice hobbled, since she still had gum on the bottom of her shoes. Fifteen minutes later, they came out, the redhead in new flip-flops and trying not to laugh while Zack tried to keep his one-size-too-large shorts from falling.
Stupid store. They had to run out of his size.
“Great, now we lost them,” Zack sighed. Adri was going to kill him.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Blondie.” Venice, who’d gotten over her Scion starstruck-ness a long time ago, pointed at a small outdoor restaurant, where Maya and James were eating burgers and laughing.
Zack breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe there was still hope. Then, to his horror, he saw James lift up a hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face. Maya blushed and turned away, but James placed a hand under her chin and tilted it up so she was facing him again.
“Oh, no, they’re going to kiss!” Zack squawked. Crap. “She’s supposed to kiss Roman, not that overgrown hedgehog!”
“Hedgehog?” Venice squinted at the sandy-haired boy. “He doesn’t look like a hedgehog to me. And why is she supposed to kiss Roman?”
Zack barely heard her as he ran towards the café. No, Maya could not kiss James. That would ruin everything! He was a better matchmaker than that!
As he watched, James lowered his face closer…closer…
“FIRE! There’s a fire!” Zack yelled randomly, saying the first thing that came to mind. “Fire! Run for your lives! Forget about your burgers and your kisses, RUN!”
The people sitting at the café looked around, confused, as a low titter ran through the crowd.
“Fire? Where?”
“I don’t see any smoke—Peter, put out your cigarette!”
“To hell with it, I’m finishing this burger. If I’m going to die, I might as well die eating Kobe beef.”
Maya and James looked just as confused as the rest of the people. Maya’s eyes scanned the crowd, and Zack gulped, realizing she was going to see him in just a second if he didn’t do anything.
He looked around frantically just as Venice caught up to him, panting and out-of-breath.
“Sorry, sir, I’m just going to borrow this for a moment,” Zack blurted, grabbing a huge map of the park from a passersby’s hands.
“Hey! Get your own map!”
Ignoring the man, Zack whipped open the map and shoved it in front of his and Venice’s faces just in time.
“This is ridiculous,” Venice hissed, glaring at a point on the map that indicated the location of the Slip-Slider. “What were you talking about? There’s no fire.”
“I know that,” Zack hissed back, afraid to lower the map in case Maya was looking in their direction. “But I had to do something.”
“Young man.” He twisted his head to see two security guards, neither of whom was the one they’d ran into earlier, staring sternly at him.
“Yes?” he asked weakly.
“Young man, we’re going to have to take you into headquarters for disturbing the peace.”
Venice and Zack let out simultaneous groans. Could this day get any worse?
* * *
The “outing” with James today had gone surprisingly well, except for that one weird incident during lunch when someone had yelled “Fire!”
I shook my head, slipping one foot out of my sandal and flexing it as James pulled into the Fioris’ driveway. Some people were too weird. Luckily, James wasn’t one of them. He had been funny, sweet and easy to talk to, and I actually had a lot of fun.
“Thanks so much for today, I needed it,” I said, smiling at him as I unbuckled my seatbelt. “And thank you for driving me back. You didn’t need to.”
“The pleasure was all mine.” James smiled back. “And of course I did, I wasn’t about to let you go on that bus at night. We should do this again sometime.”
I bit my lip. “As friends, right?” I liked him, but I didn’t like him, and I didn’t want to lead him on. He’s nice, but we got along a little too well. He did everything I wanted to or asked, and it was a bit…boring.
Not like Roman. The thought popped up so suddenly I almost jumped, but thank god I didn’t. I shook my head a little. Today must have gotten to me, because that thought alone proved I was going certifiably insane.
James lips twisted wryly. “As friends.” He glanced at the mansion in front of him, his expression darkening slightly. “Is this your house?”
“Uh, no, it’s my friend’s. I’m just staying here while my parents are out of town.” For some reason, I didn’t want to tell him it was Roman’s house.
“Who’s your friend?”
Guess I didn’t have a choice. “Er…Roman.”
James eyes suddenly sharpened as he whipped around to face me. “Roman Fiori?” The name came out as a hiss, and I instinctively shrunk back at his unexpected fierceness.
“Yes?”
James scowled. “Why are you staying here with him? It’s not safe!”
“Well, he offered…” My voice trailed off. “Anyway, he’s not as bad as you think he is, really!” I’m not sure why I was defending that pain in my butt, but I bristled a bit at James’ tone.
James snorted. “Yeah, right. He’s a menace,” he muttered. “You don’t even know what he did.”
I frowned. “What did he do?”
He stared at me for a moment before looking away. “Nothing, it’s not important,” he said. “Just—I just don’t like him.” He let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.” His next smile was rueful. “Not exactly the way I wanted to end today.”
“It’s ok, I understand,” I assured him, though curiosity was still burning inside me. “You’re just looking out for me. I appreciate it.”
“Yeah.” James leaned closer, and I stiffened, thinking he was going to try and kiss me again. And he did—only it was a friendly peck on the cheek. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“No need,” I said quickly, my face flushing. Don’t they only do that on dates? “It’s right there. But, um, I should get going. You know, it’s pretty late—“ I glanced at the car clock and winced when I saw it was only nine-thirty. Wow, I’m a loser.
Luckily, James didn’t say anything. “Ok, hopefully I’ll see you soon.” He gave me another, warm smile. “And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me, alright?”
I nodded, thanking him once again before getting out of the car. When I opened the door, I turned to wave goodbye, and waited until he pulled out of the drive before heading to my room.
I only got halfway there before something stopped me. Or rather, someone.
“Where were you all day?” Roman demanded, folding his arms over his broad chest as he stared imperviously down at me from the staircase.
I sighed, not in the mood for his interrogation. “I was out with a friend.” I started up the stairs, but he blocked my way.
I looked at him with annoyance. “What do you want?”
“Who’s your friend? I called everyone, no one’s seen you.”
“What, are you stalking me now?” I crossed my own arms, mirroring his stance.
He ignored my question. “Tell me!”
“For your information, his name is James!”
“James,” he repeated.
“Yes, James! Now let me through!”
“And do I know this James? What were you doing? Were you on a date? Why were you out so late?”
I groaned. Seriously? “Well, gee, I don’t know if you know him, Roman, why don’t you ask yourself? And no, it wasn’t a date, we just went to an amusement park!” I neglected to tell him James was the same guy he almost fought at Stan’s party all those weeks ago.
“You went all the way to La Terra?” Roman stared at me accusingly. “With some guy you don’t even know that well? Don’t you know how dangerous that is? You could’ve been raped, or killed!”
“But I wasn’t,” I snapped. “And for your information, James is a very nice guy.”
“Yeah, sure,” he sneered. “I bet he is, when he’s trying to get in your pants.”
What the—of all the—“What are you talking about? He doesn’t!”
“Did he try to kiss you?”
I opened my mouth to respond, then snapped it shut, remembering the way James had looked at me during lunch. Telltale pink tinged my cheeks.
Roman’s eyes turned fiery as he gripped the banister. “He did, didn’t he?”
“That’s none of your business!” I attempted to shoulder my way past him, but he grabbed my arm and spun me round so I was pressed up against his chest.
“To hell it’s none of my business!”
We just stood there on the staircase, glaring at each other, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a bit dizzy from the heat that emanated from his body. I swallowed hard, the warmth of his grip burning my skin, but it wasn’t a painful burn. Far from it, actually.
My breath hitched as I stared up into Roman’s eyes, which had darkened to an almost purplish-black color, making the gold flecks stand out even more. I focused in on those mesmerizing golden dots, my entire body tingling. The only thing to be heard was the sounds of our labored breathing and the frantic beat my heart was drumming against my chest. That woodsy scent of his snuck through my nostrils, making me feel woozy.
Sensory overload! Sensory overload! my brain screamed, urging me to turn and flee before I fainted. Or worse, before I…
“So are you two going to homecoming together now?” Roman’s voice was gruff, and he didn’t loosen his hold on me.
“No.” I answered without thinking, my voice coming out smaller than I would’ve liked. Homecoming.
“Really?”
Was it just me, or did he sound slightly hopeful?
A random, inane image of Roman and I attending the dance together flashed through my mind. I would be in the dress from Barneys, he would be in a tux. We would walk in and everyone would turn and stare, marveling at how good we looked together…
And just as suddenly, the image was replaced by one of Roman with some beautiful, bitchy ice queen by his side, and my stomach clenched a little. Oh right. He already had a date.
I yanked my arm away, effectively breaking the moment. Roman blinked and stumbled a little, as if dazed, while I tried to ignore the sudden chill that enveloped me.
“Actually, I forgot. I do have a date. I’m going with Carlo,” I blurted, taking satisfaction at the stunned look on his face.
I sincerely hoped Carlo’s offer was still open. Roman wasn’t the only one who could get a date! And I’d be damned if I was going to stand there all night like some wallflower while the guys waltzed around with their dates.
“I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun with your date too,” I added coolly, backing away. “Good night.”
With that, I turned and nearly ran to my room, not stopping until I’d locked the door behind me. I slid down the wall and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.
For some reason, the image of Roman and the theoretical ice queen remained in my mind, which wasn’t the problem. The problem was why I felt like crying every time I thought about it.
My eyes widened as I thought back on the past few weeks. The way he'd looked so vulnerable the night of the blackout, how my heart broke for him when he told me about his parents, how I kept unconsciously comparing James to him at the park today. The way I blushed around him and the way my skin felt like it was on fire every time he touched me.
But no. I hated him. After everything he did, I should hate him. I definitely did. But that didn't explain why I'd been slightly relieved when Parker told me we didn't have to pretend anymore, nor did it explain why a part of me had foolishly hoped Roman would've asked me to homecoming while we were on the staircase.
There was no way. It defied logic and everything sane. I mean, I didn't—I couldn't possibly have a crush on Roman Fiori, could I?
I gulped. Oh crap.