Love and Fame Games (Book 1)

07

It was rare for me to see Seth sleeping, even after years of us being friends. He was usually more active than this—too active, some might even say—but I guess playing all night in some trendy venue in LA would take a lot out of anyone.

I would have sat elsewhere and let him sleep but he chose that moment to sit up and stretch his arms over his head. He saw me standing a couple of steps from the doorway—half-frozen and staring at where he was—and stopped mid-yawn. I would have died of embarrassment right then, but he just smiled and waved me over.

The Chemistry lab had long tiled worktables for group use, instead of individual desks and chairs. I headed over to the very last row, where he had the table by the window all to himself. I found it strange that no one had sat beside him before me but was glad for it. I placed my stuff on the table and pulled up a stool so I could sit.

"Hey," he whispered, smiling. It was just a normal greeting, but I shivered a little when I heard it. I never thought I'd be even a little starstruck by some boy who lived on my street but here we were. Why else would I be acting this way?

"What the hell are you doing in Honors Chem?" I blurted out and immediately winced.

Seth shrugged. "You know I like Science."

"Fiction," I clarified, head tilted. "You like Science Fiction—like Star Wars and other shit that has nothing to do with this class."

Seth, looking amused, waved this off and I made a face. Like it was that simple. Sure, he could be somewhat of a dork at times, but I mean, I liked music and that never got me anywhere.

"Good thing you're here then, right?"

That made me scoff; I did slightly better in class than Seth, in general, but I didn't belong here any more than he did. My grades were just okay, but I was often pressured into taking more advanced classes that were out of my league because of who my sister was.

Nothing that had to do with Summer didn't make my life a little bit harder.

"Why? So I can do all the work while you catch up on your beauty rest?" I asked. Seth gave me a funny look, and then brightened.

"Great idea," he said, making me widen my eyes and sputter.

"I wasn't offering!"

"Come on, Adrian. You're always telling me not to hurt my hands. Now, you can actually do something about it." He held up his hands in front of my face and wiggled his fingers, for effect. "I have a lot riding on these, you know."

I scowled and batted them away, but he flashed a goofy grin and I smiled, too, in spite of myself. "Do you think Ethan and Tristan are being whiny giant babies in their classes, too?" I fake-wondered aloud. "Or maybe they can play with their feet."

Seth looked about to respond, but something at my side of the table caught his eye. He reached over, and in one swift, smooth movement, got my printout off the top of my stack of things before I could do anything about it. I quickly got on my feet but so did Seth and he held the sheet of paper high above my head before I could swipe it back.

"Let's see which of my other classes just got easier for me," he said, laughing, as he started to read. I made another grab for the piece of paper but he turned to block me with his shoulder and I ended up clawing at the air.

Still huffing, I backed off and cast him a dirty look behind his back.

"Let me see yours."

He handed me an identical piece of paper without so much as a glance in my direction. Looking at it, I chuckled to myself. He must have gotten his printout only minutes before he came into class and it was already wrinkled and full of scribbles.