The Weight of the Stars - K. Ancrum Page 0,42

he moved out for college,” Shannon explained. “He was super into theater and did a lot of shows with the same place Blake goes to. He kept most of his costumes and he was about your height, Ryann. I figure you might be able to find something that works for you here better than anywhere else.”

Simon’s room was almost completely wallpapered with posters cut out from magazines and playbills. It was the only room in Shannon’s house that wasn’t immaculate.

Shannon pushed into Simon’s closet and started tossing things on the bed. “I don’t know what you’re looking for exactly, but at least his stuff will fit.”

Ryann was distracted by the sheer intensity of what she’d just walked into. She pointed at a picture that had been stapled right into the drywall. “Who is that?”

Shannon popped her head out of the closet. “Uh … I think … oh! Adam Ant. I was going to say Boy George, but I’m pretty sure that’s Adam Ant.”

“How do you—how is all this stuff here? What is your brother even like?” Alexandria asked, dragging her hands across all the posters. Some of them were even signed.

Shannon was stuffing her hair under a tall, white George Washington wig. She had a bunch of bangles on her arms and a silk vest on over her pom-squad uniform. “Hmm. Kind of like Tomas, but funnier.”

Ryann touched the edge of a naval waist jacket. “Your parents were okay with this? I mean … I’ve met them, so that’s a valid question.”

Shannon sat on the edge of Simon’s bed and shrugged a bit. “Simon’s a lot older than me, so I don’t remember much about how my parents talked to him when I wasn’t around. But he spent a lot of time with me and taught me a lot of cool stuff. I think I started hanging out with you guys because you and Tomas reminded me of him and I missed him. I hope that’s not weird.”

Alexandria smirked. “I wondered about that, but it seemed rude to ask. You’re really different from the rest of the people in this friend group.”

Shannon flopped backward onto the bed. “I also thought Ryann looked so cool with her jacket and her motorcycle. Walking around like an absolute dreamboat, yelling at people and breaking things. She’s so pretty, right, Alex? It’s not fair.”

Ryann laughed. “Watch it, you might make Ahmed jealous,” she said, frantically trying to divert the subject away from what Alexandria thought about how she looked.

“Ahmed doesn’t care,” Shannon said. “He’s not possessive, you know? Hey, try that jacket on the right—yeah, the red one. If you’re going for Adam Ant’s look, it would fit better than the navy one.” Shannon pointed into the closet, and then hopped up, opened one of the side drawers, and started digging around in it.

“If you’re going to do Adam Ant, you’ve gotta do Adam Ant makeup,” Alexandria said, leaning against the door frame.

“I don’t know how to do fancy shit. I’m barely accomplishing eyeliner,” Ryann replied.

Alexandria shrugged. “I could help. Maybe.”

“That sounds like it’s going to take a while,” Shannon said. “I’m going to see if Simon has anything in Alexandria’s size and root through my closet. You know where things are, Ryann. My makeup box is in my room by my desk. Just holler if you need anything.”

6 MINUTES AND 21 SECONDS

Ryann sat on Shannon’s desk chair and pulled her bangs back into a short ponytail on the top of her head. Alexandria dropped Shannon’s large makeup bag onto the desk and then hopped up to sit next to it. She tucked her toes around the legs of Ryann’s chair and pulled it closer until she was able to comfortably reach Ryann’s face.

Ryann folded her arms, anxious about the closeness.

Alexandria reached out, but Ryann flinched and slid farther down in the chair. She silently willed her heart to stop banging so loudly.

Alexandria rolled her eyes. “Don’t move. You’ll mess me up.”

She daubed a brush around in a container, then reached out and started painting a line down Ryann’s forehead.

Ryann had never done this before and she wasn’t sure where to point her eyes. She could feel Alexandria’s breath on her face and the brushstrokes tickled a bit.

Alexandria being this close made her a little bit dizzy. The heat of Alexandria’s thighs was seeping through the sleeves of the jacket Ryann was wearing. She shifted a bit, but Alexandria clicked her tongue in disapproval and steadied Ryann’s chin with her other hand.

Ryann thought about