Page 2 of Griffin

Instead, my fingers closed around something warm, heavy, and a little soggy, with the faint smell of cured meat and mustard.

I looked down to find a half-wrapped sandwich roll in my hand. I blinked, surprised, then grinned.

“You’re a lifesaver!”

The words came out louder than I intended, and a few of the nearby crew glanced over. But I didn’t care.

After two days of surviving on caffeine and energy bars, this was the closest thing I’d had to real food.

Todd laughed, trying to keep his expression neutral. “I heard your stomach growling all the way from over here.”

I paused halfway through unwrapping the sandwich, glancing at the distance between us earlier.

He’d been at least twelve feet away—not exactly close enough to hear my stomach growl.

I raised an eyebrow, a skeptical look crossing my face. “Seriously? You heard that?”

Todd laughed harder. “I was kidding! Jeez, Michael, you take things way too seriously when you’re hungry.” He shook his head. “I’m with you practically 24/7, remember? I knew you’d be starving. You haven’t eaten anything since this morning!”

“Oh, right.” I chuckled, feeling a bit silly for letting myself get so worked up.

I must’ve been even more drained than I thought.

Or maybe just on edge from this weird tension that had been gnawing at me since we’d arrived two days ago.

Something about being here just didn’t sit right.

Todd’s smile faded a bit, and he seemed like he was about to say something when, out of nowhere, the half-unwrapped sandwich was snatched right out of my hands.

“What the hell?” I shouted. I usually kept my cool in public, but hunger and frustration had finally caught up with me.

I spun around, ready to give the sandwich thief a piece of my mind, but the curse on the tip of my tongue stopped short.

It was Shawn. Fellow streamer. Grade-A asshole.

He took a massive bite out of my sandwich and grinned as he chewed, eyes gleaming with his trademark smugness.

Todd stepped in quickly. “It’s the crew’s dinner break, but Shawn was only supposed to show up half an hour from now.”

His tone was apologetic; I could tell he’d been doing his best to keep Shawn and me from crossing paths.

I wanted to tell Todd it was fine, that I knew he’d done his best to avoid this exact scenario.

He would’ve gotten me out of here if he could. But the words wouldn’t come.

I just stood there, staring at Shawn as he took another bite, my sandwich slowly disappearing right before my eyes.

I stepped forward, ready to snatch my sandwich back or, better yet, smash it in his face.

Before I could do anything, though, Shawn suddenly draped the arm holding the sandwich around my shoulder, pulling me close.

His other hand shot up for a thumbs-up just as a camera flash went off, blinding me.

I blinked a few times, disoriented by the sudden burst of light. When my vision cleared, a phone camera was practically shoved in our faces.

Shawn, already mid-sentence, kept up his act for the camera. “And we’re both so excited to play this game. Hey, maybe we’ll even stream together on release day, huh? What do you say, Michael? Just like old times?”

He turned to look at me, that familiar smirk tugging at his lips.

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