“Sounds fun. Can I help?”
Was he serious? I couldn’t wrap my head around why Xander was so willing to lend a hand.
Someone cleared their throat before I could answer, and we both looked up to find Felicity standing in front of our table. “Hey, guys. Do you mind if I join you?”
Her voice was soft and silvery. Part of me had expected to hear Violet’s low, husky tones, but everything about Alec’s girlfriend was sweet down to her button nose. Which made sense since my sister was the devil incarnate. Wasn’t that how doppelgängers worked? One good twin, one evil?
Offering her one of his wide, lopsided smiles, Xander kicked out an empty chair. “Of course not. Did you guys already finish the second round?”
“No, but I’m not very good. As soon as I ran out of lives, I ditched.” She grinned sheepishly and sat down beside me. The similarity between her and Violet still startled me, but up close, I was able to pick out more differences between the two. Unlike Violet, Felicity didn’t have a cleft chin, her face was peppered with freckles, and her outfit was too girly for my sister’s taste—she wore a pink high-waisted skirt paired with a lacy top and a necklace beaded into the shape of a bird. “So what were you guys talking about before I interrupted?”
“Indie was just telling me about the makeup school she’s applyingto,” Xander said. “We’re going to brainstorm ideas for her portfolio. Wanna help?”
“Beauty makeup?” She directed the question at me, but since I’d just shoveled another nacho into my mouth, Xander answered first.
“No, prosthetic. You should see what she did at Comic Con. Turned me into this super freaky alien with purple skin.” He pulled out his phone and showed her one of the pictures Melody had taken.
“Is that really you?” she asked, glancing between Xander and the photo.
He nodded. “Awesome, right? I walked around the convention floor, and nobody knew who I was.”
Felicity shook her head. “Wow. I didn’t realize you could do something like that with makeup. You’re super talented, Indie.”
“Thanks,” I replied, trying not to squirm at the attention. It felt weird to be complimented on something other than a violin performance.
“I was thinking,” Xander said as he continued to scroll through his camera roll. “There are some really great shots here. Why don’t you do an alien theme for your portfolio? That way, you already have some of the work done.”
“That would certainly make things easier,” I said, “but aliens, fairies, zombies—basically any kind of mythical creature or monster? They’re way overdone. Besides, I didn’t make the prosthetics I used on you, and Melody helped with the application, so it’s not one hundred percent my work.”
“I might have something,” Felicity said, leaning into the table,her eyes darting to Xander. “But it would require the assistance of a certain band.”
“What kind of assistance?” he asked.
“Well, I find it really interesting how Indie used makeup to help you hide in plain sight. What if, instead of creating a portfolio based around a specific theme, she demonstrates her proficiency by transforming the four of you into someone no one will recognize?” Felicity turned her attention to me. “Then you can go somewhere public and photograph the guys interacting with other people to prove you were able to use your skills to disguise some of the most famous faces in the world.”
“It’s not half-bad,” I said, rubbing my chin as I turned the concept over in my head. I was willing to bet that no one else applying to ACM would submit something like what Felicity was proposing.
The only problem was the actual models themselves. What if the Heartbreakers weren’t interested in helping me? Xander and I hardly knew each other, and I’d only just met Oliver and JJ. On top of that, they were leaving for tour at the end of the month. Why would any of them want to spend their remaining free time helping some random girl they didn’t know?
I turned to Xander hesitantly. “What do you think?” I asked, crossing my fingers underneath the table.
He offered me another one of his endearing grins. “Sounds like a blast. I’m in, and it shouldn’t be hard to convince the rest of the guys to help. Only problem is we’d have to get this done before we leave for tour. Will that be enough time for you?”
My heart leapt. “I’ll make it work.” After all, ACM was just my backup plan. I couldn’t spend all of November making prosthetics. I needed time to practice for my audition.
“What about by next weekend?” he asked as I finished off the last of my nachos. “Would that be possible?”
“Depends on how detailed my concepts are,” I replied, brushing salt off my hands. “Why?”
“Soul Harvest starts next weekend,” he said. “One of Stella’s favorite bands is performing, so she’s flying in to visit Oliver, and he’s taking her to the concert. I planned on third wheeling, but what if we all tagged along?”
I perked up in my seat. “Hey, that might actually work.”
Soul Harvest was an LA music festival that took place during the two weeks preceding Halloween. Most attendees dressed up to celebrate the holiday, and while not as popular as Coachella, Soul Harvest pulled in enough big-name headliners to generate crowds. Not only would it be the perfect place to stage a photo shoot—no one would bat an eye at four guys in costume—but the thought of a famous band gallivanting around a music festival unbeknownst to the other patrons made me grin.
“Wait,” I said, enthusiasm fading as another thought occurred to me. “Will we even be able to get in next weekend? Tickets sell out fast.”
“Normally, no, but you don’t have Courtney in your back pocket,” Xander said as he unlocked his phone. “That woman can make anything happen. She’s a freaking genie.”
