Love and Fame Games (Book 1)

12 (Part Two)

"Son of a bitch!"

A string of barely coherent profanities followed Seth's initial outburst and my hand went to my mouth in shock. The book I had been holding only a second earlier had bounced off his shin and landed on his foot with a soft, sickening thud. Hence the hopping about and carrying on.

Good thing Warped was having a slow day as usual and not that many people were around to witness this boy demonstrate how perfectly incapable he was of not making a scene.

He froze in mid-sentence and then, probably upon realizing that he had just given away his location to the very girls we were avoiding, his eyes widened. I took a peek and found them checking the aisles in a precise way that I found unsettling. Tossing my head, I motioned for Seth to follow me to the other side of the store. He complied, still hobbling a little.

"You Jordan Castle fans are gonna be the death of me."

"I think they're really more yours than Jordan's," I said, as a deflection.

Seth made grumbling noises; I ignored him and continued to do so until I sensed his patience once again start to wear thin.

"Okay, how about this: I'll place you by the Jordan Castle stuff while you stand perfectly still, suck in your gut, and pretend to be a part of the display—"

"How about you try thinking less like a cartoon character?" He looked like he wanted to strangle me just then. After a beat, he added, "and excuse me, what gut are you talking about?"

I had to bite the inside of my cheek so I wouldn't laugh out loud and draw unwanted attention.

"You are having way too much fun with this," he muttered.

Through a gap in the bookcases, I saw the girls approaching. They were near enough that I could make out snippets of their excited conversation, which was still about finding the boys. One thing was for certain: They were a determined bunch.

"What now?" Seth asked, his voice filled with dread.

"Shush. I have a plan." With Seth in tow, I ducked behind a concrete beam at the back of the store, stood in front of him and quickly unzipped my hoodie.

Seth's entire face lit up immediately. "Good plan. I like it so far."

"Shut up." I took off my hoodie and tossed it to him—hard. "Don't be a creep."

He laughed. "Hey, you're the one undressing in front of me."

"I am not!" I frowned at him and tugged at the white shirt I had on underneath to make my point. He was really making me regret trying to help him. "You need a disguise. Put that on."

"I will not! Seriously, Adrian, you can't make me wear girls' clothes."

I gave him a look. "It's a hoodie—in blue and grey."

"With a leopard print. And glitter. And this." He gave the puffy heart charm attached to the zipper a frustrated shake.

"What's your point?" I asked. Seth made a choking sound and I threw my head back. "Relax, no one's gonna look that closely. And don't worry about the fit, I always buy my hoodies a size or two bigger."