Xander didn’t feel comfortable eating from any of the vendors, but he promised he wasn’t hungry, so JJ led us over to Mac’s Heart Attack Shack. We got in line behind a large group of girls, most of whom were sporting tank tops that identified them as the Sun Valley High School cheer squad. They paid us no mind until Oliver noticed one of the girls was wearing a Heartbreakers tour shirt. He tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around, I was instantly reminded of a young Gabrielle Union from her teen rom-com days.
Gabrielle pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “Nice getup. Did you lose a bet?”
Oliver offered her what I assumed was meant to be a friendlysmile, but the tusks he was wearing made his expression look a little wild. “Actually, I’m helping out a friend. I was just wondering—do you like that band?” He gestured at her shirt.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose they’re okay.”
I cringed at her response, my cheeks heating up with secondhand embarrassment for the boys.
Oliver, however, didn’t seem to mind. There was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. “In other words, they suck?”
Another shrug. “They were my favorite in junior high, but I’m more into K-pop now. What’s it to you?”
“Just curious. My girlfriend is obsessed with that Oliver Perry guy.”
“Oh, I love Oliver!” said another one of the cheerleaders. “He’s my favorite too.”
Stella let out a single bark of laughter that made Gabrielle’s gaze flicker over to her, but she was too focused on scrolling through today’s pictures to notice. Gabrielle narrowed her eyes as she took in Stella’s appearance, from the aqua stripe in her hair to the camera clutched in her hands. I suddenly wondered how recognizable Stella was. She wasn’t famous like my sister or the band, but she’d been dating Oliver for a while now. Surely a dedicated Heartbreakers fan would know who she was? Fortunately, JJ butted in before any realizations could be made.
“That curly-haired guy? You’re joking, right? He looks like a total douchewaffle,” he said. “If you ask me, the drummer is the class act of the group. What’s his name?”
This made Gabrielle smile. “That’s JJ. He’s my favorite.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because he’s beyond hilarious.”
An ear-to-ear grin stretched across JJ’s face, and he puffed out his chest as he turned toward his bandmates. “Hear that guys? JJ isbeyondhilarious.”
Xander sighed and rubbed a finger over his eyebrow. “We’re never going to hear the end of this,” he whispered to me.
Suddenly, all the girls were discussing their favorite member of the Heartbreakers. Oliver seemed to be the front-runner, but JJ was a close second. Alec’s name was tossed around a few times as well, but I didn’t hear a single mention of Xander. Which pissed me off. What the hell was wrong with these girls? Couldn’t they see how awesome he was?
As the line inched forward, I peeked over at him. He was kicking a nonexistent stone on the ground. We barely knew each other, but Xander struck me as someone who oozed happiness, a glass-half-full type of person. At that moment, he looked anything but, and none of his friends seemed to notice.
“Well,” I said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “There must be something wrong with you guys, because you’re all forgetting about Xander. He’s fan-fucking-tastic.”
A few of the Sun Valley cheerleaders piped up in agreement, which was satisfying, but the feeling didn’t last long.
Xander cleared his throat. “Hey, uh…looks like all the picnic tables are filling up,” he said, kneading the back of his neck and avoiding my gaze. “I’m gonna go save us a place to sit.” He hurried away before I could stop him, head hung low as he slipped into the crowd.
Crap. Had I said something wrong?
Or maybe my comment embarrassed him?
It was also possible that I was overthinking things and his reaction was purely in response to the cheerleaders’ conversation, but either way, I wanted to make sure he was okay.
“Indie?” I looked up and found Alec staring at me, a frown marring his face. “Everything all right?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll go find out.”
Without waiting for Alec’s response, I stepped out of line and chased after the pirate hat I could just barely see weaving through the throng of people. When I finally caught up to Xander, it was only because he’d stopped to inspect the menu at a food stall specializing in all things lentil.
“Mushroom lentil burger?” I said, reading off the first item, a healthy dose of skepticism in my tone. “Do people actually eat that?”
Xander jerked at the sound of my voice, but once he realized it was me, he said, “According to the description, it’s their number one seller.”
“Weird. Are you going to try it?” I asked, shooting him a sideways glance. It sounded absolutely disgusting. Then again, I wasn’t exactly an adventurous eater. Violet teased me whenever we ate at restaurants because I always asked for the kids’ menu—chicken fingers and grilled cheese were fine by me.
