The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 23- Friends

I take a deep breath before knocking on the door. Just after my fist hits wood, Lindsay turns me to face her.

"Oh! I forgot to ask. Which guy is off-limits?" she asks with a smirk.

Before I can respond, the door opens, revealing Ashton's smiling face.

"Hey! Come on in," he says, stepping to the side to allow us entrance.

I risk a glance at Lindsay's face. Her eyebrows are pulled together, and her lips are puckered, but I can't tell if she recognizes him or not. Her confused look fades away quickly as she puts on a polite smile and steps into the house.

When we enter the kitchen, the other three boys are already waiting for us, sitting around the bar. I barely greet the boys, continuing my scrutiny of her face. Her confused frown returns for a moment as she takes in the others. She turns and looks at me expectantly.

"Oh, right. Guys, this is Lindsay," I say, looping an arm through hers. "My mentor and boss."

They smile and give her friendly nods.

"And Lindsay, this is Ashton, Calum, Michael, and Luke." I point to each boy as I name him. At every name, I feel her stiffen beside me and can just hear the small gasp escape her mouth. I poise myself for the scream, but none comes. Instead, Lindsay's calm voice rings through the room.

"Nice to meet you. Stephanie, could you show me to the bathroom, please?"

"It's just down that hall and-owww!" I am stopped short with a hard pinch to the arm. "Sure, let me just show you."

"Excuse us," she says as I lead her around the corner. Once out of the room, she spins me around and grips me with an iron glare. "You didn't tell me you were friends with 5 Seconds of bloody Summer!" she whisper shouts in my face.

"It didn't seem important at the time?" My defense comes out weak like a question.

"Really? It didn't seem important on the way over here? Or when we pulled up to the house? Or how about when you were about to knock on the door!"

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, I met a famous band and hang out at their house sometimes. Wanna come?'"

She crosses her arms. "Would've been better than blindsiding me like this!"

I sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. I just didn't really know how to tell you without sounding pretentious or stuck up or something. Besides, I had no idea if you'd even know who they were."

"Please!" she scoffs. "I don't live under a rock."

I have already apologized and don't know what else to do, so I simply stand there and wait for her anger to simmer out. Eventually, I can tell that it does because she looks over at me with a wry smile. In an instant, I'm forgiven.

"You weren't lying about them being cute," she says.

"I couldn't have lied because I never said a word on the subject!" I protest.

"Your eyes said it all." She brushes me off with the wave of her hand. "By the way, you never did answer-which guy is off-limits? Because I'm not holding back tonight. It's not every day I get to flirt with an A-lister."

"Eh. I'd say we're more like the C- or D-list."

Lindsay and I both snap around to face Ashton as he comes around the corner. I expect to see her as flustered as I am with getting caught talking about them, but she stands there completely nonplussed and even lets out a cute little giggle.

"Yeah, sure. A number one album is definitely only C-list worthy..." she says dryly, rolling her eyes.

Ashton grins, his dimples coming through. "I like this friend of yours, Steph. You should bring her 'round more." Then he turns to address her directly. "And as for your question about who her boy is-since I know Steph will definitely not give you the answer, then I will."