Queens of Geek

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: TAYLOR

I'm blissfully immersed in Firestone Lane when we get a text from Charlie.

Charlie: Hey! You guys free? Studio wants me & Jase to do The Rising live action experience. Wanna join? It's got zombies!

Taylor: That. Sounds. AWESOME! Where? When?

Jamie and I meet Charlie outside the entrance. I'm buzzing with excitement after making it through to the next round of the SupaFan contest. Usually, running through a maze with zombies on my tail would probably be something I'd say no to. But I feel like I've chugged five Red Bulls and I can't wipe the smile from my face, so I figured, what the hell?

"Hey!" Charlie beams when she sees us. "How'd you go?"

"I made it through to Round Two!"

"That's bloody awesome!" She high-fives me and hangs an arm around my shoulders. She gives me a weird look, like she wants to tell me something, but then glances quickly at Jase and decides agains it.

I poke her in the stomach. "What?"

She takes me and Jamie by the hands and pulls us near the doorway to the maze, away from everyone else.

Jamie is standing close behind me, leaning a hand against the wall. "You've got big news, don't you?" he asks with a cheeky grin.

"The biggest!" She makes a squealing sound in the back of her throat. "Alyssa kissed me!"

Jamie and I gasp. I grab her hands and squeeze my lips shut to suppress my scream. "Seriously?"

She nods. "And that's not all. She asked me out! We're having dinner tonight!"

I look up at Jamie, his eyes are shooting out of his head and his mouth hanging open into a smile. "You're going to dinner with Alyssa Huntington?"

"I am."

We want to talk more, but Alex calls us over.

Charlie squeezes our hands. "Don't tell anyone yet. Not even Alex. I don't want this getting online, not after the circus I've been living in since me and Jase. I really, really like Alyssa, and I don't want the media or the fans involved until I'm ready."

We nod. "Of course," I say, sliding my thumb and forefinger over my lips in the zipping motion.

Alex comes over. "Everyone ready? Entertainment Now is here. They want to film you running through the maze. It'll be great publicity for the movie."

"We're gonna be on Entertainment Now?" Jamie asks.

"Well, maybe in the background. The cameras will be on Charlie and Jason."

Jamie's shoulders sink in disappointment, and I elbow him in the side. "Cheer up! You're about to be thrown into a zombie apocalypse! This is your dream!"

He chuckles. "True."

Alex drags Charlie away to do a quick pre-maze interview with Jase and the EN reporter.

Jamie taps my shoe with his and tilts his head towards mine. "You sure you want to do this?"

I put my fists on my hips and stick out my chest, striking a Wonder Woman pose. "I can handle it. I'm SuperTay!"

He presses his lips together and puffs out his cheeks a little before bursting into laughter. "More like SuperDork."

I glare at him, holding my pose and trying not to laugh. "I could survive in there longer than you."

He lifts his chin and raises an eyebrow. "You wanna bet?"

"Let's do it," I say.

The corner of his mouth lifts into a half-smile. "Okay. We'll race. The winner gets to hijack the loser's twitter and tweet something embarrassing."