Love Struck (4 page)

I put my arms out, directing them right at Lance. He needed to fall crazy in love. I directed all my power and concentration his way. “You're going to fall madly and passionately in love wi—”

“Angel,” a woman who came rushing out of the back office yelled. How did she know my name?

But there wasn't time to think about it. Because she pushed Lance out of the way with one hand and she thrust the other one toward me. A wave seemed to rush through the air, going through me and Gabi, then rumbling through the stage curtain and hitting everyone in the vicinity.

My whole body felt warm, and then everything went black.

“Are you okay?” Gabi was standing over me. “Please tell me you're okay.”

How did I end up on the floor? I slowly stood up.

“Say something! Angel!” Gabi cried.

“I'm fine.” Only I was more than fine. I was fantastic. There was an almost electric energy spiraling through my body.

“What happened?” Lance asked.

“Nothing,” his manager said. “Just stay away from her.”

Stay away from her?
Like I needed Lance Gold in my life? Who cared about him when there was someone clearly ten times more drool-worthy in the room?

“You didn't faint because I yelled at you, did you?” Gabi asked. “I'd never do anything to hurt you.”

I guess she wasn't mad anymore. But it would have been hard to stay mad at me. I was incredibly charming. “I know,” I told her.

She picked off some dust balls that stuck to my jeans. The cleaning staff really needed to do a better job on their floors. I was too special to walk around with dirt on me.

“Lance, I told you to go,” his manager said.

What was her problem? How could she be more concerned with him when
I
was in the room?

“Don't worry,” I told her. “He can stay. I'm leaving.”

Lance wasn't that great. Not in comparison to yours truly—the most awesome person ever!

I didn't even want to be in the same space with someone who couldn't see that. So I brushed myself off and headed for the front entrance. People like me deserved way better than a side door. It was so out of the public eye, and I deserved bigger. I deserved to be the main event. So I walked right out through the curtain and onto the stage, my head held high.

A huge applause broke through the crowd. Naturally.

“I love you, Angel!” That was Max. His voice was definitely unmistakable.

“She's my true love!” Cole shouted back. “My girlfriend. My boo.”

“Not for long,” someone else said. “She's going to be mine.”

I couldn't even make out what was said after that. There was too much screaming. Not that I could blame the crowd for fighting. If anyone was worth it, it was me.

A few people held up their phones and took pictures. I was definitely going to need copies.

“Angel, Angel, sign my shirt, pleaasseeee!” Courtney said, forcing a pen up toward me. Uck. Of course, she managed to get close. I couldn't be around someone like her. She was pathetic. I couldn't risk it rubbing off.

“Get away,” I commanded.

“You heard her,” someone else said, pushing Courtney away from the stage.

That gave me more breathing space, but it still wasn't enough. Other people immediately took her spot. And while they weren't as irritating as the mere sight of Courtney, they were still bothersome. There were screams, requests for pictures and autographs. It was too much. I couldn't think. My precious thoughts were getting away from me when they needed to be savored. I had to make an escape. Mere mortals couldn't appreciate someone like me. I was gifted, I could do special things. I was mind-blowingly cool.

I needed to go somewhere quiet where I could appreciate my magnificence in private. I needed to go home.

I jumped off the stage. Can you say huge mistake? People crowded around me as if one glance from me would make their lives complete. Which I guess was true. But still, it was too much. Strangers were tugging at my sleeves and trying to shake my hand. I understood it. It wasn't every day they got to be that close to greatness. But I wanted some “me time,” too! I deserved it.

So with one hand motion, I parted the crowd, leaving a nice, empty path to the exit.

Perfect powers for a perfect girl.

And just like that, I left the mall.

“What are you doing out there?” my mom asked, her head poking out from the front door of our house.

“Just gazing.” I had been standing there motionless for about twenty minutes.

“At what?”

“At me.” I let out a long sigh and continued to look at my reflection in the window.

“Come inside,” my mom said.

“I'm fine right here.” I twisted my hair up into a bun. It looked hot. But maybe down was better. I let it fall loose again. Ahh, who was I kidding? My hair looked great whichever way I wore it.

“You know, we have actual mirrors inside.”

She had a point. “Fine.” I went in the house.

“I made a new potion for Auras-R-Us,” she said. “Try it for me.”
Aurasrus.com
was a new-age website Mom ran. She sold all sorts of wacky, mystical products on it that she claimed could enhance your soul and aura. I had serious doubts.

“No, thanks.”

“I need another opinion,” she said. “I think I may have added too much lavender to this one. And you can't have a purifying potion with too much lavender. It just doesn't work.”

She wasn't going to take no for an answer. So I decided to humor her. Then I could get back to my long to-do list and get some important things out of the way, like taking pictures of myself with my webcam.

I got comfy in the big Buddha chair in our kitchen. I bet I looked totally adorable sitting there with those pudgy Buddha arms engulfing me. I'd have to get a picture of that, too.

As soon as Mom placed a bowl of her concoction in front of me, I totally lost my appetite. I was overcome with a flood of warmth. There in the spoon was my reflection. And it was all distorted. I was like an abstract piece of art. So cool. I belonged in a museum.

“Well?” Mom asked.

How could I eat when my stomach was flopping all over the place? It was like what happened when Cole smiled at me, only even more intense. My heart sped up like it was the soundtrack to a really fast Mara's Daughters song. I couldn't get enough of myself. I moved the spoon around in front of me. Each twist gave me a new look. A new work of art. “Amazing.”

“You didn't try it!” she shouted.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“You just called the potion amazing when you haven't even tasted it.”

Sometimes moms could be so clueless. “I wasn't talking about your watered-down soup. I was talking about
me. I'm
amazing. Duh.”

“Okay, what is going on here? What is wrong with you today?”

I couldn't hold back my laughter. “
Wrong
with
me
? Absolutely nothing. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

The next thing I knew, Mom was placing six crystals in front of me. She must have been afraid Lou was going to pop in to try and get some face time with his fab daughter. Mom always brought out crystals when she got nervous about anything. It was fine with me. They were better than mirrors. I could see my reflection in them. Multiplied by ten. I was surrounded by dozens of Angels. Just like heaven.

“What did your father do to you?”

“Lou? Nothing. I'm not even speaking to him.” I threw a kiss at the crystals. My reflections threw one back.

“This is definitely tied to the devil,” Mom droned on. “You are not acting like you.”

“Sorry,” I said when I finally realized what was going on.

Mom was jealous. Jealous that I wasn't giving her any of my attention. It wasn't right. After all, the greatness that was me wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for her. So I tore my eyes away from the crystals. It was time to include Mom.

“What do you think?” I asked, showing her a full-lipped, pouty face like they did on that
Top Model
show. “Do you like this one?” Then I made another pout, this time only jutting out my bottom lip. “Or this one?”

Mom's eyes got superwide. She must have been awed that I was letting her help me decide which look to use. So much so that she couldn't even contain herself.

Out of nowhere, she did something I'd never seen her do before. She probably just wanted to share the moment with her partner in my creation.

And really, who could blame her?

“LOUUUUUUUUUUUU!”

A big burst of smoke appeared right next to me. It only clouded the air for a moment, but I was annoyed. That was a whole moment where I couldn't see myself. It was bad enough I had to waste time blinking and humoring my mother; I didn't need to lose more precious time dealing with an evil father.

Lou was standing to my right when the smoke evaporated. “What can I do for you, ladies?” he asked.

“You can start by undoing what you've already done,” Mom told him.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

Mom grabbed onto a crystal and squeezed it, which I found rude. That crystal was not a stress ball. It was a tool to reflect my beauty. “I am talking about your daughter. Just look at her.”

Both of them trained their eyes on me. I knew Mom wanted me to do my model faces for Lou to show him how gifted I was. But he didn't deserve it. A devil who went around teaching his minions to take good souls for the underworld shouldn't be rewarded. Even if that same devil claimed he wouldn't ever do it again.

But I didn't want to upset Mom. She didn't do anything wrong, and she had made the effort to get Lou there just to show me off. So I decided to do her a favor.

I made the best faces—better than just pouty. I threw in fierce, surprised, and happy. And you know what?

He didn't even appreciate it.

“I don't get it,” he said. “What's going on?”

What was going on was that he didn't understand pure genius when he saw it. It was a miracle someone as great as me came from someone as awful as him.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

Hmmm. Why had I ever had issues with my boobs before? They seemed fine to me now. I pulled on the collar of my T-shirt and peered down inside. Yep. My chest was perfect just the way it was. And, it made sense my size was double-A. After all, you couldn't do any better than an A-plus!

“Angel?” my mom asked.

I took my head out of my shirt. “What?”

She just shook her head. Probably annoyed that I stopped paying attention to her. But it was hard when I had myself to think about. I was like the Eighth Wonder of the World.

I posed like an ancient Egyptian. Yeah, the pyramids had nothing on me. “Quick,” I told Mom, “get the video camera. My beauty needs to be documented and sent to
National Geographic
. They're going to want to do a cover story on the world's newest gift to mankind.”

Lou scrunched up his face. Maybe he was beginning to see how stupendous I was. About time.

“This is too much,” Mom mumbled. “She can't get enough of herself.” Well, obviously. “Angel,” she said, “I just realized how well you can see yourself on the door to the oven.”

She didn't need to tell me twice. I planted myself right in front of it. She was right. It beat the crystals—all of me, not just my face, was visible in the door.

“See,” Mom told Lou.

It was sweet that she was trying to get him to realize how spectacular I was.

Lou moved toward me. I could see his legs in the stove door, and they were totally ruining the view. I took a deep breath. I blocked him out. Instead, I focused on my eyes. My beautiful eyes.

I was soooo lovely. My heart was beating faster than before and my breath was shallow. I closed my eyes and leaned in closer to the stove.

A wave rushed through me. I opened my eyes and found myself KISSING the oven door. What was wrong with me? Who kissed their own reflection in a kitchen appliance?

I turned around. My parents were both staring at me.

“Feel better?” Lou asked.

No, I felt humiliated. I stood up and looked at him. “What did you do?”

“Took you out of the spell you were under,” he said.

“Spell?!”

“Yep, from the looks of it, a love spell. And I think the real question here is what did
you
do?”

Love spell? On myself?
Well, that would explain the mushy gushy feeling I had. But how did it happen? I was trying to make Lance fall in love with Gabi. Not
me
fall in love with
me
! This was truly embarrassing. I was being ridiculous. Not even Courtney spent that much time admiring herself. And she held the world's record in vanity.

“Well,” Lou said. “Care to explain?” Both of my parents were still staring at me.

I couldn't. Lou knew that. My mom wasn't clued in to the fact that I had powers, and that's exactly how it needed to stay. When Lou first came into my life, she said it didn't matter if I inherited his special gift, that she'd love me no matter what. But when I lied and told her there was nothing magical about me, she seemed super-relieved. I knew she would be. Mom changed her name, her job, her whole life to get away from Lou and his evil ways. Having a daughter who took after him was not on her wish list.

“Beats me,” I answered. “No clue how it happened.” Ignorance was always effective. They couldn't blame me for something I knew nothing about.