Chapter 138
I was still standing in front of Pippa, who tilted her head at my last comment, a soft laugh escaping her lips.
"You really think this looks cute?" she asked, gesturing to her chaotic mix of colors.
"I mean, yeah," I replied, still watching her. "It shouldn't work—but somehow, it does. You look like a Lisa Frank notebook that came to life."
Pippa blushed and looked away, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"I told her she'd look adorable," Cara said. "I called her Enid Sinclair—Wednesday's best friend."
"From the Addams Family?" I asked, intrigued.
Lauren jumped in. "Yep. Cara's obsessed with that movie. She even wrote a novel about Wednesday's teenage years. I'm dressed as Bianca Barclay—her rival."
"Lauren!" Cara exclaimed, clearly embarrassed.
"What? You already told him the name you gave to Pip's character," Lauren replied with a shrug.
"Yeah, but I was only going to say it was based on an idea I had..." Cara muttered.
"You should let me read it," I offered. "I've got a few connections in TV. If it's good, who knows? Carly, Freddie, and Sam are starring in a new show next week."
Pippa was probably from a Netflix series. Enid too. Unfortunately, I didn't watch much Netflix. With all the crossovers, I honestly can't tell who's still fictional and who turned out to be real.
I only check before launching a film or series—to make sure the person doesn't actually exist. And if they don't have superpowers, I don't worry much.
I'm not going to stalk someone just because they were part of a show in my past life. Besides, they tend to show up around me naturally (God bless the plot)
Pippa gently held Cara's arms. "You really should show him," she said, then turned to me. "I've read it—it's genuinely great."
Cara stayed flustered.
Lauren grinned. "I forgot you're basically all famous. Carly and Sam have done movies, and now they're doing a series. Cher and Regina were in Marshmello's music videos. And you've sung two of his songs. You even had a thing with Chloe Sullivan," she added with a teasing smirk.
"Don't forget Freddie," I said. "He's our cameraman. The only reason he didn't appear before was because he didn't want to. But in the new series, iCarly, he'll finally be on screen."
Milly returned from the bathroom and wrapped her arm around mine.
"These are my friends from school: Pippa, Lauren, and Cara," I said. "This is Milly."
"Of course he's with someone..." Cara whispered to Pippa, earning a nudge in return.
They all greeted each other.
"Where's that little weirdo?" Milly murmured.
"I took him out of the party," I said.
Turning back to the girls, I added with a grin, "Can you believe it? A kid confessed to Milly just minutes before you arrived."
Milly gave me a playful pinch.
"I can. What would surprise me is someone older being brave enough to try that here," Lauren said.
"Hey, you make it sound like I'm some kind of hooligan," I replied, feigning indignance.
Not a single idiot had tried hitting on someone who came with me. Cher and Regina must've done a solid job curating the guest list. And really, how stupid would someone have to be to flirt with the partner of a guy who can call in three dozen brutal bodyguards?
Just then, someone else appeared—dressed as Marshmello—and gave me a big hug.
She playfully slapped my forehead. "Don't look at me like I'm troublesome." Her voice changed for normal
"But you are," I said, smirking.
Turning back to the others, I introduced her. "Guys, this is Brit, my friend."
Everyone greeted her.
"She doesn't seem British. She doesn't have the accent," Pippa said, puzzled, confusing the nickname with someone actually from Britain.
"She was just born there," I lied.
Yeah, Britney just bugged me to come. We had to set up a whole plan so she could show up without alerting any paparazzi.
"Nice party!" she said, looking around.
I gave her a suspicious look. "I don't know if you're just being polite," considering she's probably been to the best parties in the world. "And besides, everyone here is like 16... are you sure you're okay with that?"
"Heyy, I'm only a bit older than that. And I didn't go to many parties without, you know?" she replied.
Without being the center of attention, she must have meant. And here, there were probably six or seven people dressed as Marshmello, making her even less noticeable.
"Okay, let's have some fun," I declared to the five of them, pointing things out. "There's a Haunted House, Themed Escape Room, Fortune Teller, Cursed Treasure Hunt, Themed Photobooth, Mysterious Boxes – 'Touch if You Dare', Horror Movie Trivia... some of them even have prizes."
We started with the claw machine. It was filled with Halloween-themed plush toys—vampires, mummies, pumpkins, witches. Each person had three tries before passing it on to the next.
Pippa went first, concentrating hard as she aimed for a black cat plush. She missed by a hair and groaned. "This thing's rigged."
Lauren took over next, determined to prove her wrong.
"Let's see," she said, cracking her knuckles.
And then Cara. No one got anything on their first turn (3 chances), but the room was filled with laughter and playful taunts.
I gave it a shot and managed to get one on my first try. I pulled out a small vampire plush and handed it to Milly.
"Hey, get that one for me," Brit said, pointing at a bat plush that looked like it had flown straight out of a Pokémon episode.
I focused and dropped the claw perfectly. Moments later, the plush landed in the chute.
"There you go," I said, handing it to her.
"You're actually really good at this," Pippa said, impressed.
Then a voice chimed in from behind us. "Claw machine runs on a randomized program. So even if you're skilled, you probably won't win unless you've been 'chosen'. Jake must have someone cheating the system, making sure the claw always grips tightly when it's his turn."
"No one likes a smartass, Paige," I said unfazed
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A/N: There won't be any characters with superpowers. Some characters from shows who originally had powers might appear, but those abilities will be removed. At most, you'll have something like Sam winning a fight against someone bigger than her.
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