He let go of her at last. Olivia chanced a look back at Holly, who had put her camera down and was watching now. Ugh. Just what I need.
Olivia tried not to flinch when Brendan took her hand.
‘I’m not Ivy!’ she hissed.
Brendan’s smile faded. ‘What are you talking about?’
How could Olivia get him to understand? ‘It’s me, Olivia! You know, the girl who helped you get into the Pall Bearers concert? I answered the question about the third line in the second song on the first album, remember?’ That was one detail Ivy couldn’t possibly know.
Brendan peered more closely at her. ‘I don’t believe it. For a minute there, I really . . .’
‘I have to keep the act up,’ Olivia said, interrupting him. ‘Holly mustn’t guess. I’ve been playing along to get her a dream interview with Ivy. She wants to be a journalist and I didn’t want to crush her dreams. She’s entering a competition that ends this week. She doesn’t know Ivy’s in Transylvania. Can you play along with me?’
He gave a big sigh and shrugged his shoulders. ‘I guess one more game of make-believe shouldn’t be such a big deal.’
‘Thank you!’ Olivia gasped. Holly was smiling and waving over. Olivia waved back.
Brendan grabbed straws while Olivia ordered a Beauty-Boosting Blueberry smoothie, a Cherry-O for Brendan and a Twist and Shout for Holly.
‘Coming right up!’ said the beaming waitress. No sooner had the order been placed than the entire Mister Smoothie staff – waiters, cashiers and all – boogied out from behind the counter, snapping their fingers:
Hey, Mister Smoothie!
I’ve got a little twist!
I’ve got a little SHOUT!
As the whole smoothie shop broke into song, Olivia blushed – very un-Ivy of her.
Holly seemed unfazed. Her camera shutter was clacking away as she took pictures of the whole shebang. Olivia knew the real Ivy would rather be caught dead!
She tried to will her cheeks back to pale again as she made her way over to Brendan and Holly.
‘Since when do you order Twist and Shouts?’ asked Brendan, his eyes twinkling.
‘When in Rome?’ replied Olivia, handing out the smoothies. Brendan was really taking his role seriously. Olivia made a mental note to suggest that Brendan look into drama club after this. ‘Did you two meet?’ Olivia asked. ‘Brendan, Holly; Holly, Brendan. Brendan’s my, um, boyfriend.’
‘I can see that,’ said Holly, grinning broadly. ‘I don’t suppose he gives everyone hugs like that.’
Brendan draped an arm across Olivia’s shoulders. ‘Oh, Ivy just loves it when I get all romantic!’ He laughed and kissed Olivia on the temple. Don’t pull away. Don’t pull away! she willed herself. Holly was still taking photos of them.
‘Love’s young dream,’ Holly sighed.
Brendan shrugged. ‘Something like that. Isn’t that right, Ivy?’
What would Ivy do? She dug her elbow sharply into Brendan’s ribs. ‘Quit it with all the mushy stuff,’ she growled. Brendan laughed.
OK, now Olivia was officially starting to worry. She knew Brendan Daniels pretty well and never had she pegged him for this dedicated a thespian.
‘So, Brendan,’ said Olivia, ‘did you know that Holly here is friends with Olivia?’ She did exaggerated eye rolls in Holly’s direction hoping that he would catch on. ‘Remember Olivia?’
She just hoped she could get through this little situation without alerting Holly to anything odd. After all, Olivia wasn’t doing this to be two-faced. Holly had really helped her and been a true friend; Olivia wanted to do something good back, and if she could pull off letting Holly think she’d got photos of an uber-cool goth like Ivy, then this fiasco would all have been worth it.
‘So, Holly,’ said Brendan, hunching forwards. ‘What brings you to Franklin Grove? Have you been here long? How are you liking it so far?’
But before Holly could answer, Brendan was firing more questions. ‘Is it cold where you’re from? How about the weather here? It’s nice, right?’
Easy there, Brendan, thought Olivia. He was always so laid back, what had got into him? He was jiggling about in his seat, as if he had too much energy to burn.
Holly pursed her lips. ‘The weather? Well, I guess it’s . . .’ Olivia stopped listening because she felt Brendan’s fingers intertwining with hers. Just playing along, right? Olivia smiled rigidly and did her best not to pull her hand free.
She glanced down at her lap. Their hands were under the table, which meant Holly couldn’t see them. And if Holly couldn’t see them, then the holding hands wasn’t part of the act, which meant . . . Olivia’s chest tightened. Did Brendan think she was Ivy for real ? How was that possible? The tan, the wig; it didn’t make sense. And she’d just told him that she was Olivia in disguise! Could he have forgotten so quickly? Brendan knew his own girlfriend, didn’t he?
That was when she realised: Brendan’s hand was blazing in her palm. Now she knew something was wrong. Brendan Daniels should not be heating up like a human radiator. It was no good waiting for Sophia’s rescue call now. They had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
‘Um, Holly,’ Olivia interrupted as Holly was explaining something about ozone layers, too much sun and the Franklin Grove community pool. ‘I’m really sorry, but I just remembered . . .’ She smacked herself on the forehead. ‘Brendan and I totally have to . . . do something.’ Olivia tugged Brendan’s hand. ‘Come on, Brendan, we better get to it.’
Brendan flashed Olivia a goofy smile that froze her heart. This was worse than she had thought.
‘OK! Well, next time, then?’ Holly said as they wriggled out from the booth. She was only halfway through her Twist and Shout and Olivia had barely had a chance to touch her drink, but she hauled Brendan as quickly as she could out of Mister Smoothie and into the sunshine. He was chuckling as he allowed himself to be dragged along.
‘You’re always so impetuous, Ivy,’ he teased.
‘I’m Olivia, remember? O-liv-i-a!’ she said, slowly and carefully. Brendan just looked confused.
Olivia strode up the street, Brendan in tow. What am I going to do? Her heartbeat thrashed and she felt like she couldn’t get enough oxygen. She was seriously starting to panic. Look at him! Brendan’s face was bright red, his hand clammy. She remembered how flushed he’d been before, how much energy he seemed to have. And now his memory seemed to be going! This had to be some kind of ailment that she knew nothing about. She’d once had a Bloodbite Nettle rash, but that was as far as her experience with vampire illnesses went.