I kidnapped Josh Hutcherson

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Paige climbed out of the car. "Stay here," she told Josh.

"Why?!" he exclaimed.

"If someone sees you in there, they'll call the police," Paige explained. "It's not like you're some random citizen, your a celebrity. Not only that, a celebrity who's face has been splattered all over the news lately."

"What if someone sees me in your car and recognizes me then?" Josh fired back defiantly. 

Paige bit her lip. "Er . . ." If someone saw him and rang the police then she wouldn't know until she came back out of the store. "Fine." She leaned into the car and opened the compartment below the dashboard. "Put that cap and sunglasses on." 

"Got it," Josh replied. Paige watched as he pulled the cap over his head and covered his eyes with the sunglasses. She could still tell it was him. Whether it was because she knew it was him or not, she wasn't sure, but it was going to have to do.

She guessed they were lucky that she had found her bank card in the back of the car in her old purse. At least they could get food and water with it. As they walked into the gas station store, Paige felt on edge. Would they know it was him? What would happen if they caught them? Would she have to sell out Jenni?

"Why don't you get a two litre bottle instead of the little ones?" Josh asked, gesturing at the larger water containers on the shelves.

Paige stared at the two small bottles in her hands and realized that it would make more sense to get the two litre bottle of water instead, like Josh said. "Right," she replied. "I've just never really had to plan this far ahead before. Especially not when I'm buying something as simple as water. Normally it's in, out, sorted for the next couple of hours."

"Well, good thing I'm here to help, right?" Josh smiled.

Paige smiled back, glad that he was here. She was glad that he had escaped and that she had managed to catch up with him. Not only did it ensure Jenni's safety but it was actually nice to spend some time with someone who, well, wasn't Jenni. With people like Jenni, Paige had to tread carefully through whatever she said, out of fear of saying something that related to one of her friend's 'fandoms' so that she wouldn't freak out and/or take a mini seizure.

"Fun fact," Paige said as they made their way down the bread aisle, "fandom is actually an abbreviation of 'fan domain'."

Josh stared at a pack of wheaten bread, thinking about it for a moment. Paige couldn't help noticing how the artificial lights coming from the bulbs of the store's overhead lights made his jaw cast a shadow of its own. Now that was what she called a jaw. "That's actually very cool," he said. "Although fan domain sounds more awesome."

"That's what I said!" Paige replied. "It sounds all dark and mysterious. Like something someone could say with a deep voice and make it sound sinister. You know, come to our fan domain! Mwhahaha!" Josh laughed, looking at her as if she were crazy but couldn't help chuckling anyway. 

"You're mad, do you know that?" he asked.

"Not as mad as most," Paige replied. They started moving down the aisle again after having grabbed a pack of ten rolls and shoving it into their basket. "I'd say I was on the more sane side of madness."

"There isn't a sane side of madness. That's why it's called madness," Josh told her. 

"I know what madness is, I've been surrounded by it most of my life, and I am not it," Paige said. "I was always the sane one." She paused. "I suppose I was the oddity, the different one. In their eyes . . ."

Josh pulled the cap further down his face as someone passed them. "Embrace being different," he said. "Would you rather blend in with all the sheep or stand out from the herd?"

"Erm . . . pass?" Paige tried.

"There isn't a set answer but, in my opinion, standing out is the better option," Josh explained. "I mean, look where it got me."

They stopped beside the frozen goods, even though they weren't getting anything there. Paige laughed softly. "You were the different one?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, yeah," Josh said. "Where I come from, especially when I was a kid,  entertaining wasn't really what most nine year olds were thinking about. But it was something I really wanted to do and didn't give up on, despite what they thought of me. And look at me now."

Paige tsked, starting to walk again. "But I'm not famous. I'm not even different in the mainstream way of being a hipster who doesn't follow the herd." 

"As far as I'm aware, being mainstream isn't what people should be aiming for," Josh said. "I thought mainstream was a bad thing?"

"It isn't desirable," Paige replied. "People who aren't mainstream are hipsters and god are hipsters annoying." They were heading to the till when they passed the magazines. Paige paused. "Is that you?" she asked, picking up a particular mag with an article about the 'Best Child Actors of the Noughties'.

"Um, yeah," Josh said, pretending to busy himself with fixing his sunglasses.

"When was this?" Paige asked, opening up the magazine to the said page. The article said the photo was from 2008. "Aw, you were so cute. Look at your mop hair!" 

"Oh wow, is that the time?" Josh said, looking at the invisible watch on his wrist. "We have to be going now so let's just pay and get out of here." He took the magazine from Paige before she could poke any more fun and sheep-dogged her to the till.

Paige chuckled but went to pay. As the cashier ran through the items, she glanced behind herself and couldn't help smiling at how Josh was cringing at his 2008 picture.

Was . . . was she developing feelings for him?

No. She couldn't.

It was too dangerous.