“More like terrifying. I don’t understand how you guys do it.”
“Do what?”
“Handle everything. The constant attention, the lack of privacy, the media scrutinizing your every move.” Violet’s life was a nightmare. Just thinking about swapping places with her made me feel as if I’d eaten something rotten.
He shrugged. “You get used to it. I’m not saying there aren’t days when all you want to do is shut the world out, but I’ve learned to deal.”
“Is that what happened today?” I asked, steering the conversation back to the original topic. I still didn’t understand why Xander Jones had been napping when he could’ve been onstage addressing thousands of excited fans.
A line appeared between his brows. “What do you mean?”
“With the panel. Did something happen that you weren’t up to dealing with?”
“Oh, no.” He raked a hand through his hair, then sighed as if thesimple action was exhausting. After several silent moments, he said, “The truth? I didn’t go because I got cut from our cameo. Jewel broke the news to me earlier today.”
“Wait, what?” I gasped. “You’re not inanyof the episodes you guys filmed?”
“Well, there’re a few scenes where the four of us appear as a group. We’re some sort of vampire-hunting gang? I’m not entirely sure. The point is I had zero lines in those scenes. All I did was stand in the background and wave a pistol in the air. The script literally read, ‘Vampire Hunter Number Three waves pistol tauntingly.’ The frustrating thing is I filmed this really sick chase sequence with Gabe Grant where I almost capture Luca, but apparently it wasn’t good enough to make the cut.”
His explanation made my heart sink.
“I’m sorry, Xander. That blows.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is.”
At this, I frowned. Extra material—even full scenes—got axed from the final cut of an episode all the time. What I couldn’t wrap my head around was how Xander had been treated. “So let me get this straight—Jewel didn’t want you on the panel anymore because of your lack of screen time?”
“She never came out and said that, but when Oliver showed up…” Xander trailed off and shook his head.
The Oliver he was referring to could only be Oliver Perry, the lead singer of the Heartbreakers, which confused me even more. “I don’t understand. I thought you guys were based out of LA. What’s Oliver doing here?”
“We are, but his girlfriend, Stella, goes to school in New York, and he’s visiting her this weekend. He dropped by to say hi. As soon as he showed up, Jewel started making comments about how he’d be perfect for the panel since he played the biggest role on the show. I got the message, so I pretended I wasn’t feeling well and let Oliver take my place.”
“You’re mad,” I realized.
Xander scrubbed a hand down his face. “Not at him specifically. It’s just… I’m disappointed, that’s all. I’ll get over it.” He pasted on a smile and changed the subject. “So what’s the deal with your sister? You seem pretty angry at her.”
It was clear he was done talking about what happened, so I forced myself to ignore the geyser of questions welling up inside me. “Violet needed an assistant for the day. I agreed to help her, but only if she gave me a break to see a panel I was excited about,” I explained, trying not to scowl. “Thatturned out to be a major mistake.”
“I’m assuming you missed the panel?”
“Yup.”
“What was it about?”
“SFX makeup.”
“Whatkind makeup?”
“Special effects,” I said. “It’s basically where you use prosthetics to create cosmetic effects in movies and stuff.”
“So like Mystique fromX-Men?” he asked, referencing one of my all-time favorite Hollywood makeup transformations.
“Exactly,” I replied with a grin.
My interest in special effects makeup stemmed from my obsession with Halloween. I loved everything about October 31—from its roots in ancient Celtic harvest festivals to trick-or-treating, because who didn’t enjoy free candy? There was always a palpable excitement in the air during the days leading up to the holiday: families carving jack-o’-lanterns to display on their front porches; little kids deciding if they wanted to be princesses, superheroes, pirates, or ghosts; friends scaring each other shitless at haunted houses. Like horror movies, Halloween was an ode to the macabre and monsters that went bump in the night, terrors we could experience one day a year without ever being in real danger.
But if I had to pick my favorite part about the holiday, it was the process of crafting the perfect costume. You wouldn’t catch me dead in a sexy nurse getup or devil’s horns. I relished the challenge of coming up with a concept that was original or clever or whimsical, which was how I discovered Melody. I’d been searching for the perfect DIY costume when I stumbled across her evil mermaid makeup tutorial on YouTube. The contrast of gore and glitter immediately caught my eye, and I was able to transform myself into a creepy version of Ariel using everyday items from around the house. The only thing I’d had to purchase was latex paste. After that, I was hooked.
