Page 35 of Foes & Cons
I lean back and cross my ankles together, smiling back at Roxy. I wonder what it is that—
“Vivian Erikksen!”
“WHAT THE INTERROBANGING FUCK?!”
Yeah. That was me.
Rashawn looks at me, shuffling as far to the other side of his chair as possible then sort of folds his whole body up. I swallow,then try a coywas that megiggle but even I know it comes out more deranged serial killer than cute pixie. I look out at Roxy for support and she’s standing up, watching the third contestant sashay to the stage, high-fiving people like a pro wrestler.
My fingers dig into my seat as my heart races faster than a Lunar Dragon during a blood moon. Roxy catches my eye and shrugs. She knows that as deliriously happy as I am to be in with a chance of getting us to Comic Con, losing to Vivian Erriksen would be the worst thing on this particular plain of existence, therefore making life for those around me basically intolerable.
Vivian waves at the audience as she makes her way to the third and final seat, one hand on her hip and the other on the back of the chair.
“Thanks, bitches,” she says to Felix and Dimitri.
“You arewelcome,” says Dimitri, looking at Vivian like she’s a quarter pounder with cheese.
Vivian waves at the audience again, twirling her chair round then straddling it backwards.
I gape at her then look out at the audience. Roxy mimes turning a dial down, her signal for me to not lose my shit.
It’s a little late for that.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LILA MURPHY
I’m not leaving my bedroom today. Not after that. It’s too embarrassing.
BUD LEROY
You can’t hide in your room every time you make an ass of yourself, Lila. You’ll never leave the house.
Vampire Falls. Season one, episode six – “Did You See?”
My beef with Vivian isn’t just because of the gold medal in gymnastics thing, or because she makes me feel like a hovel-dwelling goblin whenever I’m in her vicinity, or even because she calls everyonebitches. It’s also because she’s part of the reason I lost one of my best friends.
When Charlie Chamberlain left after our kiss, I spent most of the evening texting Roxy as she demanded every single detail. If she was worried our little group dynamic would change, she didn’t show it but instead teased me with kissing GIFs and names for our firstborn. Because she didn’t need to play it cool the next morning, her head whipped round at school looking for him, probably so she could make fun of him too, but we didn’t see him that morning, not until English, just before lunch.
Roxy and I bustled into the classroom with seconds to spare, so Charlie Chamberlain was already sitting at his usual desk near the back. Once we were settled, Mrs Egleston explained about the literature project for that term, which we’d be working on with a partner. Roxy high-fived me, but then Mrs Egleston said she wanted boy-girl groups, and if we didn’t choose our partners,she’d do it for us.
Everyone groaned but my heart fluttered wildly, especially when she started with the back row. Charlie was the third person she called on, and I hadn’t made eye contact with him since we arrived, so I looked at him over my shoulder and smiled, waiting for him to say my name. He looked around the room, his eyes almost moving through me, like we were strangers, and then he picked his partner. He didn’t say my name. I don’t think I need to tell you whose name he said.
Roxy gasped and grabbed my hand, but I pulled away, trying to fold myself up as small as I felt. He ignored both of us for the rest of the week – like the kiss, our friendship,Vampire Falls, all of it, had never happened.
I’d never thought about the word heartbreak until that day. I’ve never been ashamed of my love forVampire Fallsbut being passionate about anything other than contouring or chasing a leather sphere around made me an easy target, so I never trusted anybody. I let him into my favourite space, and he crushed it. He broke my heart, he broke me, and he broke us.
Now Vivian’s here too, potentially about to break my ultimate dream. Roxy places a plastic cup in front of me and takes the envelope I’ve been clutching since the steward gave it to me. I pick up the cup and take a long sip, the cool liquid snapping me out of a delirious haze.
“What is this?”I ask.
“Iced latte.”Roxy takes a sip from her own cup, then opens the envelope. “Decaf.”
Probably a good idea.
“Thankyou,” I say, slumping back into my wooden seat.
“YouOK?” she says, looking up at me from the sheets of paper in her hand.
