Page 53 of Notice Me, Jameson Hart

Silence befalls our group. I glance around to see Rita, my brothers, and Jameson all staring at me.

“Wow, Kevin,” Robbie says, shaking his head. “That was bad, even by your standards.”

Adam nods, clearly on Robbie’s side. Rita, on the other hand, is giggling behind her hand. She lowers it just enough for me to see her mouth the wordhopeless.

“I thought it was punny,” Jameson says, and the entire group turns to stare at him next. His grin is sheepish but genuine. “What? I like a good Joan Jett reference.”

Adam and Robbie groan in perfect unison, as though they’ve been practicing their disappointed brother routine for years.

“Don’t encourage him,” Adam says to Jameson. “Kevin’s music puns are a menace to society.”

“They’re an art form,” I protest, feeling oddly buoyant now that Jameson defended my terrible joke.

Rita claps her hands together, bouncing on her toes. “You’re perfect for each other! Bad puns and everything!”

My face turns a dark red. “Rita!”

But I notice a flush spread across Jameson’s cheekbones too.It’s the heat, I tell myself. The temperature is still hovering somewhere between surface-of-the-sun and depths-of-hell. That’s why he’s blushing. No other reason. None at all.

Rita catches my eye, and her expression says she thinks otherwise.

“We got snacks!” Ethan’s voice cuts through the awkward moment as he, Matthew, and Tyler return. Their arms are loaded with enough junk food to feed a small army. “Popcorn, nachos, candy, those weird pickle chips Tyler likes?—”

“Pickle chips are a delicacy,” Tyler defends, already opening the bag.

Ethan wrinkles his nose. “Anyway, I’m sitting with Matthew and Tyler in the Jeep.”

“What?” Jameson straightens up. “I thought we were watching the movie together!”

“Dude, no offense, but you’ve been farting up a storm all day. I’m talking toxic levels. I’m not spending two hours trapped in a car with that.”

“I have not!” Jameson’s face goes from pink to full crimson. “Ethan, what the hell?”

“You totally have. Remember after lunch? You cleared out the entire living room.”

“That was the dog!”

“We don’t have a dog,” Ethan says, already backing toward Matthew’s Jeep with his snacks.

Tyler snorts with laughter. “Come on, little Hart. We’ll protect you from your brother’s digestive issues.”

“I don’t have digestive issues!” Jameson calls after them, but they’re already gone, leaving him standing there, mortified.

Rita’s eyes light up. “Well, we can’t have Jameson sitting all alone in his car, now can we?”

No, no, no.I see where this is going.

“I guess I’ll sit with Adam and Robbie in the van,” she continues, her voice dripping with false innocence. “And Kevin can keep Jameson company in his car. Perfect solution!”

“Works for me,” Adam says, already heading back to the van.

“Same,” Robbie agrees. “Plus, Kevin probably wants to sing along to all the songs. At least this way, we won’t have to hear it.”

I stand frozen, torn between wanting to strangle Rita and kiss her for being an evil genius. She winks at me as she follows my brothers to the van.

“You don’t have to,” Jameson says quietly. “I mean, if you’d rather be with your brothers?—”

“No!” The word comes out too fast, too eager, way too loud. I clear my throat and try again in a lower register. “I mean, it’s fine. Rita’s right. No one should watchGreasealone.”