Page 13 of The Heartbreakers
An array of objects launched in our direction, and when something green and slimy hit my shoulder, I shrieked. I looked down at my camera, afraid that some of the mystery goo had landed on it, but it was slime free. Before I was hit by anything else, I tore my camera away from my neck. The strap was tangled in my hair, but I pulled it free just in time as a water balloon smashed against my chest and soaked my shirt through.
“Oh shit,” someone yelled. “Abort mission!”
When the attack stopped, we all stared at each other—Drew and I with our eyes wide, and three-fourths of the Heartbreakers with their mouths hanging open.
“Da hell?” the muscular boy exclaimed.
Glasses scratched his head. “Well, this isn’t weird.”
“No, not at all,” Drew said. He picked a pair of boxers off his shoulder. Besides the dirty laundry and water balloons, we had been pelted with Silly String and Cheetos. The green goo on my shirt looked suspiciously like Jell-O.
A second of uncomfortable silence passed before the boy wearing glasses jumped forward, almost as if he had been startled by the realization of what had just happened, and he rushed over to us. “Oh God!” he said, and his face was bright red as he brushed Silly String from Drew’s shoulder. “I’m super sorry. We thought you were Oliver.”
Drew shook his hair out, and a Cheeto fell to the floor. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, patting himself down to make sure nothing was caught in the folds of his clothing.
“Dammit! We had everything planned out perfectly,” Muscles muttered as he chucked a Silly String can to the floor. He ran his fingers over his buzzed hair and then shook his head. Finally, he turned to Drew and me and cleared his throat. “Sorry if we scared you.” He glanced down at my Jell-O stain, flinched, and added, “And pelted you with crap.”
I still couldn’t find the words to speak, but Drew suddenly threw back his head and laughed. “I’m sorry,” he said and clutched his stomach as everyone stared at him like he was crazy. “It’s just, that was probably the most eventful thing that’s happened today, but nobody is going to believe me when I say the Heartbreakers ambushed me with a bag of Cheetos.”
Muscles finally cracked a smile and held out his hand to shake. “JJ,” he introduced himself. “I probably wouldn’t believe you either.”
“Yeah, let’s pretend this didn’t happen,” Glasses said. “I’m Xander by the way, and that’s Alec.” He pointed at the guy still standing behind the couch. Alec hadn’t said a word, but he raised his hand in acknowledgment when we glanced his way.
“Nice to meet you,” my brother said and shook both of their hands. “I’m Drew, and this is my sister Stella.”
The boys studied me as if there was something off-putting about my face. I held my breath and prayed they didn’t remember me—if Drew found out I had verbally abused the entire band, I would never hear the end of it—but recognition flashed in JJ’s eyes and I knew I was done.
“Hey,” he said, pointing at me. “You’re that girl from the elevator.” He turned to Xander and starting whacking him on the arm. “It’s the girl from the elevator, remember?”
Xander pushed his friend’s hand away. “Yes, JJ. Quite clearly.”
“Hang on.” Drew turned to me. “You met all of them?”
“More like shouted at us,” Xander clarified, “but yeah. We’ve met.”
I didn’t bother to look at my brother because I knew he was scowling at me. “Sorry about that,” I said and tugged on the hem of my shirt. “I wasn’t in the best mood.”
“We’ve heard way worse,” JJ said, dismissing my apology with the wave of his hand. “Right now, all I care about is getting some payback on Oliver. He filled my favorite shoes with peanut butter this morning, so he has it coming. Someone help me fill more water balloons before he shows up.”
Drew glanced back and forth between the boys to gauge how serious JJ was. “You want us to help you ambush Oliver Perry?”
Apparently JJ was dead serious. “Damn straight,” he said. He was already at the kitchen sink, and the hot-pink rubber of a new balloon was wrapped around the faucet. “I wanna see that sucker’s face when he gets an unexpected shower. Xander, see if we have any more Silly String.”
The front door banged open, and Oliver strolled into the room. “Valiant attempt, JJ. I’ll give it a four out of five, but you’re never going to out-prank me.”
As soon as I saw Oliver, my ears started to prickle as if they’d been fried on a sunny day. I quickly stepped to the left where Drew was standing, hoping to disappear behind him.
“Aw, man,” JJ groaned. He tossed the one balloon he’d managed to finish back into the sink. “How long were you out there listening?”
Oliver flopped down on the couch. “Who said I was listening?”
The way he settled back into the cushions—hands folded casually in his lap, legs spread out in front of him—made my stomach roll. This was a different person than the boy I’d met this morning.
JJ stared at Oliver, eyes narrowed. “Wait…” he said, as he slowly put something together. “You knew our plan before you left?” Oliver didn’t answer, but the smirk on his face was confirmation enough.
“And then you invited them up here,” Xander said, pointing at Drew and me. Again Oliver remained silent, but he tucked his hands behind his head as if he was pleased with himself.
“That’s low, man,” JJ said, shaking his head. “Tricking innocent people.”
