Chapter Six

Jace

Bright pink hair shot out from McKenna's black visor. There was a stuffed hot dog glued to the brim and her two knobby buns atop her head had hairs shooting out. There weren't many people who could pull off this look. McKenna was one of them. She stood at the register, tapping the screen as someone spoke with her, and the bright canned lights hanging down from the ceiling above her flickered off the thick lip ring she had in the bottom right hand corner of her mouth. And the nose ring on the right side, too.

Damn, that's hot.

She handed a cup to the guy who'd ordered and offered a slight smile. She didn't do that much, and it wasn't a big smile at all, but even a hint of one looked good on her.

I remember when she used to smile all the time. That was back when she had long flowing blond hair and emerald green eyes that popped under her long dark lashes.

But it didn't seem like any of that mattered to McKenna.

At least, not since about the sixth grade.

I sat on the bench in the mall outside The Hot Dog Shack, watching her. I'd been here for about fifteen minutes, trying to figure out what we were going to do about the mess she'd caused telling people she was going to kill off the prince. He was the main character of the story. I had big plans for him and a certain unexpected character I was still working out. I had everything plotted for the most part, but nothing was ever written in stone.

It was nearly eight thirty p.m., so she'd be done soon, and it finally looked like the crowds were dying down, so now might be my time. I didn't have any idea what to say, but I needed to get my freaking notebook and find out exactly what she'd said about the prince.

I hustled from the seating area across the walkway toward her.

My skin practically vibrated as I approached her area.

The guy who'd just ordered stood off to the side near the order pickup area, scrolling his phone, so I stayed near her register, watching McKenna fill the customer's bag full of condiments. Through the prep window into the kitchen, a guy who had to be at least six feet tall and as big as a tank hunched over a grill, flipping hot dogs.

McKenna looked up from the bag she was filling and immediately slouched her shoulders when she made eye contact with me. Wow, talk about a bummer. Eliciting a response like that from a pretty girl was every guy's dream.

"I swear, if you order a hot dog meal for your entire football team I'll break your middle fingers so you can't write any more kissing scenes."

"Dude." I showed my hands in surrender.

She kind of half chuckled and then snagged the food from the prep window shelf and stuffed it into the bag. Okay, sarcasm was her thing. Duly noted.

"Here you go," she said, handing the bag of food to the guy.

He never looked up from his phone, just grabbed it and left without a word. McKenna rolled her eyes and said, "You're welcome."

The dickweed didn't even acknowledge her. "Hey, asshole, she's talking to you."

He grunted a thank-you but kept on his way.

"Nice guy," I said, stepping up to the counter. "Welcome to The Hot Dog Shack, can I help you?"

McKenna sang out, sarcasm dripping from each word. "Ha-ha," I said. "I need my notebook."

"Oh. You'd like a chili cheese dog, fries, and a Coke?"

She tapped the screen of the register. "Good choice."

"Or not," I said. "Look, can we talk about the next chapter?"

"I told you, I'm working," she whispered. "So you're getting what I order you, buddy, or I'll get in trouble. The cook is the assistant manager and he's a real ballbuster."

"Throw in a few chocolate chip cookies, too." Lily would definitely deserve a treat after having to hang with Dad tonight and not getting a story, since I was here.

McKenna tapped the register screen.

"Listen, you can't just tell people you're going to kill the prince," I said. "People are freaking!"

"I know. I saw the comments." She shook her head.

"And, per my earlier texts, I never technically said anything about the prince; they assumed. Your fans are intense. Did you know people are leaving me presents at my locker?"

I had seen that. It was actually pretty cool, the thought of my story inspiring so many people. I mean, I knew it was popular because of the number of reads, but that was all online. I could interact with people, chat with them, but to see it in real time? I never knew so many people at my own high school had read the story.

Wonder how they'd react if they knew I'd written it. A seventeen-year-old guy. Would they laugh? Or would they be leaving presents by my locker like they were McKenna's?

She handed me a cup filled to the brim with soda. "You know you're going to have to pee like a thousand times tonight if you drink this whole thing."

"Um, that's not at all weird to say." I took a long drink.

Surprisingly, a slight blush pooled on her cheeks and she tossed her glance to the side. Almost as if she were nervous.

McKenna nervous?

I eased over to the pickup area, watching her, as I took a long draw from the straw. I needed the caffeine, since I had to alter my already set chapter before it released tomorrow, but watching McKenna, that suddenly got me energized, too.

"Anyway, back to killing off essentials." Yeah, keep it focused on the story. On the story.

She glanced over her shoulder and must have been satisfied with what she'd seen because she leaned over the counter a little and said, "Dude. What was I supposed to say? People have been hounding me about it nonstop. And, I mean, I don't know the story."

"Well to start, you have to read what's posted."

"Hard pass."

"What?"

"Dude, no offense, but I just don't have the time for that. Besides, I'm not much of a reader, okay?"

Wasn't much of a reader? How was that even possible? I couldn't imagine life without reading, or writing for that matter. "Then why the hell did you stand up for me like that?"

She shrugged, then grabbed a rag from under the counter and started wiping down its surface even though it looked spotless already. Almost as if she had to keep busy. For pretenses or...because of me?

"I mean, swords? Princes? Knights? Sounds like a Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings rip-off. Can you say overdone?"

"Jeez. Tell me how you really feel." Talk about a swift kick to the balls. "But still, you can't go around telling people that certain characters are getting killed off. Especially when they aren't! Please? Read it for me?"

"I think I've done enough for you."

"You did save my ass." I leaned against the counter. "I thought I was going to get outed for sure."

"So why not just own up to it? I mean, guys like you eat that fame shit up, right?"

"Guys like me?"

"Football stars. Popular people. I mean, isn't that what you guys are all about?"

"Whatever." I glanced at my phone. She didn't know shit about me. I hated the stereotypes I had to battle every freaking day.

One, I was a jock, so that instantly meant I was a jerk. I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't a jerk. I'd hoped McKenna would have seen that in me, but I guess not.

Two, I was a guy, so no way could I write steamy romance novels.

Three, I was popular, so people thought I had to act a certain way. Okay, that last one, as much as I hated to admit it, I fell into a little bit. Only dating the girls my friends approved of and hanging mostly with other popular kids and athletes.

I shook the thoughts free. "You close in, like, thirty minutes, right? I'll walk you to your car so we can talk."

"Order up!" the guy yelled from the prep area.

She whipped around and then grabbed the chili cheese dog. "Aren't you sweet, offering to walk little ol' me to my car."

"Are you always this sarcastic?" I said as she turned toward me, holding my tray. "I seem to remember a blond- haired, green-eyed girl who was actually approachable and kinda...nice."

She hissed in some air through her teeth and grimaced. Yikes. Maybe I'd touched a raw nerve or something. But I did vaguely remember her from third grade summer camp. She was a lot different back then. I wondered what had caused her to make such a drastic change in her appearance and personality...

"Look," I said. "Let's just talk about the next couple chapters so you know what's up."

"Here's your order, sir." She set my tray on the counter and pushed it toward me, then leaned over. "I'm not so sure this is going to work out, you know? I mean, I don't like people all up in my business. Just tell everyone you're the author!"

"I can't." I picked up the dog and took a bite. If the football team found out, I'd get crucified. Plus, Dad would never approve.

"Can't or won't?" She furrowed her dark eyebrows and glared at me.

I chased my bite down with some soda before I choked on it, then said, "You saw the shit I was getting. I'd be crushed."

"You've got dicks for friends. Just sayin'," she said. "And WriteEmHard? What. The. Fuck, man. Really?"

This girl didn't hold anything back, did she? "Fantasy. Romance. It's a play on words."

"Oh, I get it." She chuckled as she shook her head. "Dude. You're sick."

I chucked a fry at her, then took another bite of my hot dog. I hadn't realized I was even hungry. Then again, Coach had us running bleachers today followed by a wicked weights session. I'd barely had enough time to swing by home, shower, and then hang with Lily a little before coming here.

"So where's the notebook?"

She leaned over to the side, then from beneath the register, she pulled it out.

"Just...lying there? You had it—" I shook my head, unable to even spit out the words, what with my head pounding so hard.

"You can write, but you can't talk, huh?" She smirked as she pushed it across the counter to me.

I snatched it, giving her a hard glare. "Did anyone else see this?"

"Who, the fry cook? Yeah, he ran to Staples, photocopied the entire thing, and is suing you for plagiarism." She rolled her eyes at me, but she was smiling just a little.

The pounding in my head chilled out now that I had the notebook back. I'd written a lot of important ideas in this thing.

"I'mma getting, like, six hot dogs! Coach ran us ragged today!" A voice I recognized as Kyle's yelled out.

"Oh shit." I whipped around and froze. I'd totally bailed on them today, claiming I had to hang with my little sister. If they saw me here they'd know something was going on between McKenna and me, especially since the hallway incident yesterday. Not to mention, I was holding my KOS notebook right now.

Laughter and curse words got louder with every passing second. Crap... I knew some of my teammates were about two seconds from seeing me here.

I faced McKenna, who rolled her eyes at me.

I am so busted.

Hey, Everyone!

I shared an image as the header of this chapter that screams McKenna! What do you think? The image is from the following website: https://www.redbubble.com/i/ipad-case/Cotton-Candy-Space-Buns-by-itslopez/26015954.MNKGF 

Also, I'm so sorry for the slow update! I've been pretty sick lately. :( I'm getting evaluated by different doctors and hoping to figure out what the heck is going on. 

Anywho, I hope you LOVE chapter six! I'll get chapter seven up and ready to go ASAP!

Hope everyone is staying safe! Let us know what you think of the chapter in a comment!

Love,

Kelly Anne xoxo