Ivy had slipped out of the back door of the diner. She had to hide out behind a dumpster, while the hoards of cameramen snapped away at the six Mia wannabes and shouted questions at them: ‘What can you tell us about Jackson?’ and ‘Which one of you is best at cooking?’
Olivia was at the opposite end to Charlotte, but Ivy smirked when she saw another candidate toss her hair right in Charlotte’s face.
She didn’t want anyone to catch on that there were two Olivias running around the set, but she didn’t dare risk moving until the Mias had gone back inside and the paparazzi had dispersed.
She dodged behind a truck when two security guards walked past and then hid behind a stack of boxes when she saw a lighting technician. Ivy had to get out of Olivia’s bunny clothes as soon as vampirically possible.
‘Oof!’ As she stepped out from behind the boxes, she ran smack into the broad back of a guy dressed all in black. ‘Uh, sorry.’
He turned around and smiled. ‘I’m not. It’s the closest I’ve got to you in days.’
‘Brendan!’ she exclaimed.
He gathered her up in a hug. ‘You look so cute with a tan.’
‘Ha ha,’ she replied. ‘How did you get on set?’
‘It turns out Jerome is almost as fond of the Breakfast Bun as my girlfriend is.’
Ivy smiled. ‘Well, I’m desperate to change before our double act is discovered.’
He pointed across the parking lot to a dark trailer. ‘I bet that’s someplace no one will see you.’
‘That’s Jessica’s trailer.’ Ivy caught on quickly. ‘Genius! Just wait here and I’ll grab my clothes from the costume trailer. I won’t be able to change there because there’s bound to be some extras hanging around, looking for accessories to “borrow”.’ Ivy ran between trailers to the costume trailer and ducked her head in, grabbing her bag before anyone saw her. Then she raced back to Brendan, crouching low in order to avoid being spotted.
‘Good rescue!’ Brendan whispered.
They looked both ways. No one was coming, so they scurried across to Jessica’s trailer.
‘I’ll be your watch dog,’ Brendan said.
Ivy gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, yanked open the door and stepped inside. Jessica’s trailer was dark and, even though it was twice as big as every other trailer on the lot, it was crammed with stuff. Jessica had clearly just stormed off and left everything behind.
There were bunches of flowers, now wilting from lack of water, and a bowl full of chocolate candies with all the colours picked out except the red ones.
‘People actually demand that?’ Ivy muttered.
She switched back into her normal clothes and then rummaged through the drawers of Jessica’s vanity table to find some make-up remover. There were boxes of false eyelashes, bottles of hairspray and fake tan, and even some wart cream.
‘Ew,’ Ivy said.
She found some removal cream and wiped off as much of the tan as she could, until she felt almost herself again.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard Brendan outside coughing loudly.
Oh no, Ivy thought. I’ve got nowhere to hide!
She could see out of a side window and there were people milling around outside the trailer opposite. She knew that was Jackson’s trailer; she could see him moving around inside, pausing by his dressing-table mirror.
Ivy watched as he leaned in close to the mirror.
What’s he doing? Ivy wondered.
He was hunched over. His fingers were going to his eye. Ivy gasped as he popped out a contact lens with one finger. CONTACT LENS! Just like the one she put in every day to protect her vampire eyes from the sun.
Garlic clause or no, Ivy thought. This is the evidence I’ve been waiting for! Jackson has to be a vampire.
Chapter Ten