Page 40 of The Spotlight Effect

I change and go into the bathroom to brush my teeth so my breath is fresh. Then I spray perfume on and put on some more deodorant and finally some highlighter before grabbing my bag.

“I’m ready.”

“Alright, let’s ride,” Raven says, jumping up from the bed and walking out. I text Lia and my mom that I’m leaving. I make sure my mom replies before I leave.

Raven drives us to Malibu in her dark blue Jaguar and we stop for smoothies along with cake pops on the way for fun.Scarlett also thought It’d be fun to take pictures, so we did. Scarlett sends some of the pictures we take to the group chat, entitled Avengers 2.0, which I am now added to. I try not to freak out because I am actually becoming friends with them.

Everyone is named after a character in Marvel. It was Zara’s idea when she made everyone take a Marvel quiz Scarlett tells me. Raven is Black Widow, Scarlett is Hawk Eye, Emerson is Captain America they changed the A to E, Noah is Thor, Grayson is Loki, Shawn is Nick Fury, Kenan is Tony Stark, Charlie is Spider-man, Zara is Wanda, and I am Doctor Lex Strange.

“Welcome to the fortress,” Scarlett says as we drive up in the driveway.

“It’s also close to Charlie’s penthouse,” Raven says.

“Most of us have two houses. This one, the one we live in and another where all public things go on,” Raven explains. They really like their privacy.

“You all live here?” I ask.

“Technically, yes, but Shawn and Grayson are the only ones who don’t stay here full-time,” Raven answers.

Raven drives up into the parking garage and parks the car beside like ten others before unlocking the doors. How many cars do they have? I genuinely have no idea what they do with all of these.

We go around to the front of the house, which has large flower bushes, perfectly cut grass, and a stone path leading to the door. The mansion is a white, modern architectural style with large windows. The shape looks like a bunch of rectangles connecting, plus the house sits up on a hill so you can see the large pool in the back.

Scarlett unlocks the door, letting us enter a large space with glossy wooden floors and a sea animal light fracture hanging from the ceiling. “Welcome to The Fortress!” Raven says, placing her keys inside the table by the door. I look around, taking itall in. To the right are some steps that go to a platform with a seating area along with a piano and guitars. In front of me is a wall with music records covering it, and to the left in the middle are some floating stairs with glass railings.

This is a beautiful house.

“Hey, we’re back!” Raven yells out. We walk to the right, which leads into the large living room and music area, and Scarlett starts hooking up some instruments. Over in part of the living room, there are boxes, packages, and envelopes.

“What are all those?” I ask.

“Fan mail, brand deals, PR packages,” Raven answers, walking down past the living room into what looks to be a dining room.

“Lexi!” Charlie exclaims, squeezing me into a big hug.

“Hey, Charlie,” I say, laughing a little.

“Don’t kill her, Charlie,” Kenan says, appearing as well. Charlie lets go of me and goes over to Scarlett, tackling her onto the sofa and planting kisses everywhere on her.

“I missed you, pretty girl,” he says in the dreamiest voice ever.

If I could shoot myself, I would.

“I’m sure she missed you too. Come on, lover boy,” Shawn says, pulling Charlie off Scarlett. When did he show up?

“It’s nice to see you again,” Shawn says.

“You didn’t have ballet today,” Raven says as more of a question.

“No, Madame had a doctor's appointment,” Zara answers, looking down at the floor.

“Where’s Grayson?” I ask, noticing he’s absent.

“On set with Emmy and Noah. They have to film behind-the-scenes tapes and an interview,” Charlie answers. “He’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“Come on, stop the boy talk. Let’s play some music,” Raven says, slinging on her bass.

I watch Raven and Scarlett play for a while and talk to Zara as well. She doesn’t seem like much of a talker, but I try to get her to loosen up. We all tried making a pyramid because they wanted to see some more cheer skills. I even managed to teach Raven how to do a back walkover. Shawn brought us all pizza as lunch, and me and Zara made pink lemonade to go with it.

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