Undercover Star

♪ Twenty-Two ♪

"Say cheese!" Summer called from the ground. I gave her an angry look as I balanced on a ladder to hang up a string of stars. I was already worried I was going to fall; I didn't need more distractions.

"Can you just wait to take a good picture of me?" I asked her cautiously. I looked down at Harley who was holding the ladder. I make one wrong move with Summer, and he could cause my death. Who put me in that situation?

"It makes it more memorable," Summer replied. She bounced away to Leo and Ty who were having a difficult time with a table.

I fastened the last star on the beam. Only a thousand more strings to hang. I sighed to myself as I looked down at the impatient Harley, who was staring at me angrily.

"I'm coming down now," I told him. He was going to hold the ladder, or he would be hearing from my lawyers.

"Can't wait," he muttered loud enough for my ears.

I rolled my eyes, beginning to climb down the ladder. I knew as soon as I started moving that he was not holding it tightly. It wobbled with every step and I clung for dear life.

"Would you just hold the ladder?" I snapped. "I will charge you for murder."

"Calm down, loser," he called back in reply. He grabbed the ladder dramatically and glared at me as I made my descent.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I sighed in relief.

"I think she said we're starting on the stage today," I said to Harley as we walked over to Summer and the other boys.

He eyed me for a second. It was as if he was deciding whether to make a snide remark or not. "I think so," he replied plainly.

Good talk. At least we weren't trying to kill each other. Not that I wanted to hurt him; that would be bad for my image.

"I think we should put the lights towards the back of the stage," Summer said to me, pointing to the top of the stage. "Then we can stand in front of them."

I nodded. I went back and pulled the dreaded ladder back onto the stage. Summer handed me a string of lights. I began climbing the ladder. Leo quickly grabbed onto it. I thanked him in my head. He wouldn't let me fall. Hopefully.

"Can you guys go to the church and get the extension chords?" I heard Summer ask Ty and Harley.

The room felt less tense after they left. I wished they could stay away forever.

I fastened the beginning of the string to the start of the beam. I was going to appreciate every decoration I saw at a party from that point on. I never realized how much work went into it.

"You okay up there?" Leo called up.

I looked down at him, surprised. "Yeah, I'm good." I shook my head as I focused back on the lights. "I thought Harley was going to purposely drop the ladder before."

Leo nodded. "I wouldn't have been surprised."

"Not to say I wouldn't have done the same," I added after making sure Summer wasn't listening.

He chuckled. "I probably would have too."

"You're alright, Leo," I commented, half paying attention to my words, half not. "How come you're friends with him?"

"Well, Ty's my brother," he told me after shifting his grasp on the ladder. "We stick together. We're all we've got."

I always forgot they were brothers. Sure, they looked similar; both having dark brown hair. Ty's was longer, though, and covered part of his piercing dark eyes. I swear, he always looked like he was hunting something...or someone. Leo had shorter hair and his eyes were lighter, and he didn't look like a vicious tiger.