Page 25 of Next to Everything We Wanted

“I hope you don’t mind sharing with me,” she said as she sat next to me. “I’m kind of a popcorn hoarder.”

I laughed. “I’m a popcorn hoarder, too. We can clean the whole thing together.” I looked at the screen before facing her again. “So, you guys like to watch DVDs instead of streaming?”

Sienna nodded with a smile. “My dad bought me a bunch of DVDs when I was little, and we watched them together. When the twins were babies, I made them watch them with me.”

“We don’t remember a thing,” Adam said, spilling popcorn on the floor.

Sienna giggled. “So maybe I did it more for me than for them. Still, it brings back many memories. Emma’s obsessed with my collection now.”

I smiled, though something tugged in my chest as I thought about Asher. I’d never done things like that with him. “That’s cute.”

“It is.” Sienna brushed her hair out of her eyes again. “Gosh, I can’t stand wet hair.”

“Me either.” I ran my hands through my own damp hair. “At least my hair is short enough where it doesn’t bother me. I used to grow it out, but it ended up being a hassle.”

“Yeah.” Sienna sighed. “I don’t look that cute anymore. I need to buy waterproof makeup. That’s a thing, right?”

“I have no idea.” I chuckled. “Though you actually look cuter.”

Pink bloomed across her cheeks. “Really?”

Oh, crap, I wasn’t supposed to saythat.

“You’re cute no matter how you look.” I grabbed a large amount of popcorn and shoved it down my throat. Being the gentleman I was, I choked on it, my spit flying everywhere.

“Gosh, be careful.” Sienna patted my back. “You don’t have to hoard that much.”

I coughed into my sleeve. “My chipmunk cheeks have disappeared.”

I didn’t find the lame joke funny, but she laughed anyway. “Shame.”

“You guys!” Emma whined. “The movie!”

“Right.” I tried to swallow the rest of my cough.

As we watched the beginning of the movie, I remembered why I’d only watched this movie one time—it really was boring compared to the second. This was just the summer camp version ofHigh School Musical, and it didn’t pull it off.

“What’s your favorite movie?” Emma asked me, her eyes struggling to stay open as the movie faded to another scene. “If you don’t like this, we can watch something else.”

Sienna covered the smirk on her face.

Emma sighed. “So maybe the second movie is better.”

“I don’t have a favorite movie, so I’m down forCamp Rock 2,” I said.

“Okay.” Emma changed the DVD and skipped through another round of ads.

“Have you ever been to a music camp before?” Sienna asked me, taking a piece of popcorn. “I did when I was fourteen for two weeks. It was a lot of fun. I wish I would’ve stayed in touch with the people I met there.”

“What camp did you go to?” I asked. “I went to The Fun of Music Camp. They never bothered to make the name more interesting the years I went there, from age eight to twelve.”

“That’s the camp I went to, too! It’s cool we have something in common like that.” She laughed. “Sorry if I act a bit strange sometimes. You’re literally like a celebrity to me and my bandmates.”

“Thank you,” I said as I took a piece of popcorn, successfully not choking this time. “That means the world to me.” And it did, though I tried to ignore the way my stomach pinched when she called me a celebrity.

“Every time we leave the cafe, we’re devastated because we always want to hear one more song.” She nodded to the screen. “Kind of like this movie. You want to hear just a little more. That’s the type of effect I want to make with my music.”

“The effect comes naturally.” I shrugged. “I like to let my music speak for itself. Show who the real Gavin is inside and have that lasting impression on someone.”