There was a long, terrifying silence. Finally, Olivia opened her eyes.
Jackson had turned around . . . Except, it wasn’t Jackson. It was Will.
‘Oh, stake me now!’ Olivia gasped.
Will frowned. ‘Huh?’
‘Nothing,’ Olivia replied, realising that she could not very well explain to him that she had blurted out something that her vampire twin sister did when she was mortified. Spots danced in front of her eyes. Was it possible to faint from sheer embarrassment? She looked down at the ridiculous prison of fabric that she was wearing and wondered, didn’t she see historical women in movies reach for paper fans at times of distress? Where was Olivia’s paper fan?
Then she burst out laughing, and put her face in her hands. This is the kind of thing that could only happen to me, she thought, shaking her head.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Will, his face flushed as he stood up from his chair. ‘I just didn’t know how to interrupt you once you’d got started.’ Then he smiled ruefully. ‘So . . . I guess you’re the ultimate fangirl, huh?’
Olivia’s jaw dropped open. She stared at him in pure horror. ‘Is that . . .?’ She croaked the words. ‘Is that what Jackson told you?’
‘No! That was just a dumb joke. Sorry.’ Will ran a hand through his hair, in a scarily Jackson-like gesture. ‘Listen, that guy does not shut up about you – like, ever.’
Olivia blinked, trying to take that in. ‘Really?’
‘Really,’ Will said. ‘And hey, look on the bright side . . . at least you got to have a dress rehearsal. Can I give you some advice?’
Olivia nodded dumbly.
Will smiled. ‘Repeat that whole speech to Jackson. Don’t change a word. Now, go get him!’
Olivia staggered out of the make-up trailer, desperately trying to run through exactly what she’d said in the ‘dress rehearsal’. But she could barely remember any of it now!
I can’t do it again. Not yet! She aimed for her own trailer, trying to stay upright. I’ll just take a minute, have a drink of water . . . get myself together. Then I’ll go find Jackson.
She swallowed hard. It looked like she’d be improvising again. But at least, next time, she’d be aiming her declaration of love at the right boy!
Please let it work.
She opened the door to her trailer and was overwhelmed by the smell of . . .
Roses . . . Lots and lots of roses! As Olivia stepped inside, she gazed around in shock.
Her whole trailer had been transformed into a rippling river of beautiful red and white rose petals. Romantic rose petals, everywhere!
They covered her table, her chairs and the carpet, while twelve long-stemmed red roses lay on the side-table by the trailer door.
In one corner sat her laptop, with red-and-white rose petals scattered across its keyboard. As she stepped into the trailer, the laptop screen came to life, playing a pre-recorded message, but she barely even noticed. Ivy and Brendan were yelling, ‘Congratulations on wrapping your first ever shoot! We can’t wait to see you!’ from the screen – but Olivia couldn’t even see them through the mist of tears that had formed in her eyes.
She couldn’t even take in the words that Camilla and her bio-dad added to the message as they appeared on-screen.
All of Olivia’s attention was on the river of rose petals . . . and the sudden feeling that someone else had just entered the trailer.
Slowly, she turned round, hardly daring to hope. But there he stood, with a suitcase at his feet – the boy she’d been looking for all day.
Jackson gave her a slow smile.
Chapter Ten
Ivy almost laughed when she walked past the crowd of blonde skater-girls outside school on Monday morning. They had all turned at exactly the same moment to glare at her, just as if they shared some kind of hive-mind underneath their identical pixie-cuts.
Don’t worry, clones, she thought, rolling her eyes. I have absolutely zero interest in poaching your skater king.
All that Ivy cared about was Sophia . . . who hadn’t been on the school bus. Again. Worse, Ivy hadn’t seen Sophia skating along the sidewalk, either.
Please don’t let her have had another crazy accident! she prayed. Surely, after yesterday, her best friend would have finally had the sense to give up being a wannabe skater-girl?
Up ahead, she saw Brendan standing near the school doorway, talking to Amelia Thompson. Ivy sighed but forced a polite smile for the Goth-Queen.
‘Ivy.’ Amelia nodded back with her usual cool courtesy. ‘I see you were getting a few dirty looks back there. Don’t let those skater-girls get to you. Or at least . . .’ She frowned slightly. ‘Don’t show it if they do.’
‘Got it,’ Ivy said, and bit back a reluctant smile.
Goth or bunny, it seemed that all popular girls had at least one thing in common . . . an obsession with image!
As Amelia headed inside, Ivy whispered to Brendan, ‘Have you seen Sophia?’
Brendan shook his head. Holding out his hand to her, he asked, ‘What about you? Are you ready for another week of being part of the “it crowd”?’
‘Oh, gak.’ Ivy pretended to gag. ‘Let me think. New school, new students, and a rulebook I don’t seem to have . . .’
‘Look at it this way.’ Brendan grinned at her, giving her hand a warm squeeze. ‘If you don’t follow the “rules”, then that must mean you’re a true outsider here.’
Slowly, a grin spread over Ivy’s face. ‘Huh . . . You’re right, I am. Just the way I like it!’
She leaned forwards to give Brendan a hug . . . but he stopped her by nodding over her shoulder. ‘Here comes Sophia.’
Ivy’s heart sank. From the expression on Brendan’s face, the outlook wasn’t good. She turned, bracing herself to see a picture of Finn’s skateboard tattooed on to Sophia’s face, or something equally ridiculous.
But, a second later, Ivy was letting out a sigh of relief. Her best friend was wearing a fashionable, halter-neck black dress. Her black, bat earrings might look unexpected against her pixie-cut blonde hair, but otherwise she looked back to normal.
She didn’t look happy, though.
‘Are you OK?’ Ivy hurried over to her, looking for new bruises. ‘Did you have another accident? Or –’
‘No.’ Sophia sighed and gave a lopsided smile. ‘Although I did think for a minute that my eardrums might have exploded when my parents saw my new hairstyle.’
‘Ouch.’ Ivy winced, putting a supportive hand on her friend’s arm. ‘They didn’t like it?’
Sophia shook her head. ‘I’m pretty sure I’m grounded until Christmas.’
Ivy stared at her. ‘You’re kidding. They actually grounded you?’
‘They said I should have asked permission first. You were right. I guess I just . . .’ Sophia’s voice drifted off as she glanced over at where Finn stood with his ‘bodacious’ buddies just inside the hallway. She sighed.
One of them looked back at her and laughed.
Ivy’s teeth clenched together. ‘That’s it. I’m going to take care of this once and for all!’
Before either of her friends could stop her, she marched down the hall. Bunnies scattered out of her way, clearing a path, and she had to admit . . . it felt good.
Not that she would ever scatter bunnies on purpose.
‘Hey!’ she snarled, as she reached Finn and his crew. ‘I need to talk to you.’
Standing in the middle of the skater crowd, Finn looked nervous. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘In private,’ Ivy said, and gave Finn’s snickering friends a death-squint. They turned pale, and edged away.
Sneering at them, Ivy pulled Finn away with her. ‘Look,’ she said in a fierce undertone. ‘I know you’re not the brightest crayon in the box –’
‘Sorry?’ His face creased into a frown. ‘Have we actually met?’
Ivy rolled her eyes. ‘The point is, though, I didn’t think you were a total jerk.’
‘What?’ He flinched as if he
’d been slapped. ‘I’m not. Why would you think I am?’
Ivy pointed at the skater group waiting for him. ‘Can’t you see how cruel your friends are being to Sophia? Why don’t you stop them?’
His frown deepened. ‘Well . . .’
Ivy lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘And, anyway, what are you doing, giving Sophia skateboards to borrow? Can’t you see she’s crushing on you? Are you actually trying to lead her on, or do you just not care about her feelings?’
‘I’m not trying to lead her on,’ he said. His frown had eased, but he was flushed now with what looked like embarrassment. ‘I wouldn’t do that. It’s not my style.’
‘Hmm,’ Ivy said sceptically.
‘And as for my friends . . .’ Finn sighed, tapping his skateboard against his side. ‘I’m sorry they’ve been uncool. I’ll talk to them, though. I will.’ He squared his shoulders. ‘I’ll make it clear that they need to leave Sophia alone. She’s a nice girl, and she doesn’t deserve to be unhappy.’
Finn’s voice softened as he seemed to catch sight of someone over Ivy’s shoulder. His eyes turned dreamy. ‘Believe me,’ he finished in a whisper. ‘I know how she feels. Crushing on someone who doesn’t feel the same . . . it’s rough.’
Ivy twisted around to follow his gaze – and had to snap her mouth shut to hold back a gasp.
Amelia was sauntering into Homeroom, tall and arrogant in full goth-splendour . . . and Finn was gazing after her wistfully!
Ivy suddenly felt dizzy. The skater boy has a thing for the Goth Queen? High school is even weirder than I’d thought!
She forced herself to think through what Finn had just told her. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I accept that you’re not actually trying to hurt Sophia. But . . .’ She narrowed her eyes in a medium-level death-squint. ‘Promise me you’ll be more sensitive in the future.’
‘Absolutely,’ Finn said. He raised one hand to high-five her.
Grimacing, Ivy accepted the high-five. As he went back to the crowd of skater guys and SkaterGirl 2.0 clones, she walked slowly back to her own group. Sophia was watching her carefully.
‘What did he say?’ she asked, the moment Ivy caught up with her.
Ivy shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that Finn is going to be nice to you from now on, and his friends won’t tease you any more.’
‘Finn’s always been nice to me!’ Sophia protested. Ivy could hear the desperation in her friend’s voice.
Gently, she put her arm around Sophia’s shoulders. ‘Yes, but he’s not . . . right for you.’ These were hard words to say out loud and Ivy didn’t like hurting Sophia’s feelings, but she knew it was time for this madness to end. Things could have been worse. At least Finn wasn’t a complete jerk. It turned out Sophia had good taste – even if it was misplaced.
‘Don’t forget the Second Law,’ Ivy mumbled to Sophia, out of anyone else’s hearing. ‘“No vampire should fall in –”’
‘I know,’ Sophia interrupted her, nodding sadly. ‘Being with Finn was just a silly fantasy.’
Ivy felt a twist of pain at the wrecked look on her friend’s face. First crushes are never easy!
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘And I’m really sorry if I’ve been annoying you this last week. I was only trying to help.’
‘I know.’ Sophia’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘Starting a new school is just so confusing. I’m going to need my sidekick.’
‘No doubt,’ said Ivy, feeling the sting of tears in her own eyes. ‘But, wait . . . when did I become the sidekick?’
Sophia laughed, and pulled Ivy into a hug. Just then, someone walked up to them. It was a tall goth-boy Ivy hadn’t seen before, dressed in a black Pall Bearers T-shirt and ripped black jeans. But it wasn’t his clothing that caught Ivy’s eye, it was his hair – his bleached blond hair.
He stopped beside them, looked Sophia up and down . . . and gave her a nod of deep respect.
Sophia’s mouth dropped open as he walked away.
‘See?’ Ivy whispered. Grinning, she poked Sophia’s arm. ‘I’m not the only one who thinks so!’
But there was no time for Sophia to reply. Suddenly, they were being swarmed by goths.
‘Oh, my Goooood!’ A pale, black-haired goth-girl clutched at her heart. ‘Baxter actually acknowledged you!’
‘He nodded right at you,’ agreed a skinny goth-boy beside her. He gazed at Sophia in worshipful awe. ‘Do you have any idea how cool you must be?’
Grinning, Ivy stepped back, letting Sophia be the centre of attention. Goths on all sides were inviting her to parties, asking her advice . . . and completely ignoring Ivy. This was just the way she liked it. She watched as Sophia answered question after question, clearly thriving under all the attention. At one moment, she caught Ivy’s eye and the two of them shared a secret glance of pleasure. It was so nice for Ivy to see her friend looking happy again.
‘Excuse me,’ a student said, squeezing past Ivy to get closer to Sophia. ‘I just want to get to the popular girl.’
Ivy made a show of stepping aside. ‘Be my guest,’ she said, with a proud smile.
‘Hey.’ Brendan stepped up behind her to murmur into her ear. ‘Just so you know? As far as I’m concerned, you are still the coolest girl in the world. Even if your hairstyle is no longer the “in”-thing . . .’
‘Oh, shut up.’ Laughing, Ivy turned and threw her arms around him.
Over his shoulder, she took another look around the darkened halls of Franklin Grove High. Students milled around in their groups, chatting happily.
High school was definitely weird . . . but maybe it wouldn’t eat her alive, after all. If anything, she was now intrigued. Over in one corner of the hallway stood Finn with his friends. He was staring hard at another place in the hall, where Amelia’s goth pals crowded around her.
A star-crossed romance, Ivy thought. Even I’m curious to see how this will end . . .
Olivia looked up into Jackson’s face, which was more gorgeous than the sea of red petals in her trailer. She felt as if she were in a waking dream. ‘You did this . . . for me?’
He nodded. For once, he wasn’t wearing his megastar smile. He looked nervous . . . and vulnerable. He pulled away from her. ‘Of course,’ he said, and swallowed visibly. ‘I thought you knew how I felt about you?’
‘I didn’t,’ Olivia said softly.
But now . . .
Suddenly, so many things made sense. She understood why he’d wanted to walk by the river together, and why he’d organised the private lunch on the London eye. She knew now why he’d been so moved by the Shakespeare play . . .
She knew everything!
They were gazing into each other’s eyes, so intensely that Olivia could hardly breathe. Now was the perfect time for her ‘spontaneous’ speech . . . but, right now, she couldn’t find the words!
Oh no! She grabbed a rose from the side-table by the door and pretended to inhale deeply, to hide her face.
Unfortunately, she breathed a bit too deeply. The strong scent made her choke! She doubled over, coughing. As her eyes watered, Jackson hurried over to slap her back.
Argh! Waving him off, she straightened up. ‘Why,’ she gasped, ‘can I never do these scenes properly in real life?’
‘Don’t ask me.’ Jackson was smiling again. ‘I can’t see a single thing wrong with the way you’re playing this one. You know, you’ve never looked as pretty as you do right now.’
Olivia snorted. ‘What, because of my red, watering eyes and flushed face?’
Jackson reached out and stroked a strand of hair away from her face. ‘No,’ he whispered. ‘Because I had to spend so much time away from you to realise how beautiful you are . . . inside and out.’
Olivia couldn’t keep it inside any longer. She had to tell him. Right now . . .
But Jackson got there first. ‘I love you.’
As relief and joy rippled through her, Olivia felt all the tension she’d been carrying around for weeks simply dis
appear. It was the easiest thing she had ever done to reply: ‘I love you too.’
Jackson’s lips curved into a smile that had nothing to do with Hollywood . . . and everything to do with her. As his warm arms wrapped around her again, Olivia knew down to her bones that, somehow, everything was going to work out just fine.
I can’t wait to tell Ivy!
Six hours later, Ivy was grinning as she sat at her computer, talking to her twin on Lonely Echo. ‘You’re kidding,’ she said. ‘You actually confessed your love to his body double? How alike are they? I mean, if Jackson’s busy, does Will go to his doctor’s appointments for him?’
‘Oh, hush!’ said Olivia, but she was laughing. She looked cosy in a fluffy pink bathrobe, her legs tucked up beneath her on what looked like a very plush hotel bed. ‘You’re just lucky I can laugh about it now. For the first couple of hours after it happened, I almost fainted every time I thought of it.’
Ivy laughed as she scooped up another spoonful of her after-school Marshmallow Platelets. ‘So, I guess, all’s well that ends well, right?’
‘Totally.’ Olivia beamed out from the computer screen. ‘Everything’s absolutely perfect with Jackson . . . and I’m not leaving Franklin Grove.’
‘Really and truly?’ Ivy set down her cereal. ‘You’re not going to get talked into moving to Hollywood and enjoying the high life once Eternal Sunset is done?’
‘Nope.’ Olivia shook her head firmly. ‘The moment this shoot wraps, I’m coming back to Franklin Grove – for good.’
‘That is the best news ever.’ Contentment flooded through Ivy as she took it in.
With Olivia around, even Franklin Grove High might start to feel even more normal. And life was always better with her twin. Then a thought occurred to her.
‘But what about your rekindled romance?’ she asked. ‘Isn’t that going to be difficult with you in Franklin Grove and Jackson going to film sets all over the world?’
Olivia shrugged. She didn’t look unhappy. ‘We’ve learnt a lot from last time,’ she said. ‘We’re going to make much more of an effort to make time for each other.’
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