Page 48 of Celebrities Don't Date Bookworms

For the first time, Hudson’s smile seemed to switch from genuine to frozen. Even if I thought it was pretty fake before, it looked infinitely better than it did now.

“There’s no shame in needing a part-time job,” Hudson said tightly. “I had one to help support my parents before I joined Take Five.”

Christina flushed, and looked away quickly, making a show of pulling a textbook out of her bag, and stepping away. That was definitely for the best; I didn’t think there was any coming back from that.

“Hudson,” another girl jumped in, “tell us all about your friendship with the other boys. Do you live together?”

I rolled my eyes. I didn’t understand why they would be asking him questions that they obviously knew the answer to; with all the news coverage that Take Five got, their fans probably knew more about them than they did about themselves. As Hudson droned on about their living arrangements, and how he loved living with his four best friends, I climbed out from my seat on the non-crowded side of the desk. Unsurprisingly, my spot was immediately taken over by three more people, but I didn’t worry about it. As long as they didn’t ruin any of myschool stuff, I couldn’t care less about them sitting there. It wasn’t like I wanted the spot anyway.

I walked across the room and dropped down in one of the beanbag chairs in the corner. They were technically for silent reading, but for today, we were going to count texting as reading. I glanced up again as I heard everyone around Hudson start giggling. In the gaps between people, I saw that he had also pulled out his phone, and was now showing it off to the girls like it was some work of art. I shook my head and looked down, hoping that I would have some new notifications from the group chat. I was a little surprised by how much I was starting to rely on talking to these guys all day; how much I felt like they were my real friends in the same way that Sloane was. I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy that I had new friends or concerned that I still didn’t know who any of them were.

Group name:I promise this isn’t a group chat, Dad

Members:Ni-Ni, Bay, Sharky, Tis Moi Luca, Not Zesty, Eggo

Tis Moi, Luca

Not to be dramatic, but

I just met the most beautiful girl in the world

Sharky

Do tell

Tis Moi, Luca

My guide at school

I think I might be in love with her

Ni-Ni

How long have you known her exactly?

Tis Moi, Luca

An hour

But when you know, you know

Eggo

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I only asked the question because I thought it was relevant, but as I looked at it, I wondered myself. If someone had asked me a couple of weeks ago, I would have said no resolutely. How could you fall in love with somebody that quickly? Heck, I wasn’t even sure I could even develop a crush on somebody that quickly.

But that was before I started talking to Bay.

I wasn’t in love with him yet—I knew that much for certain. I barely even knew him. But I was definitely starting to get some feelings for him, and if I was someone who thought I could fall in love that fast… maybe I would think I was.

Tis Moi, Luca

Absolutely

Sharky

Youshould ask her out

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