ANYTHING BUT ENEMIES

08. starstruck

MY BAD MOOD disappears the second I see Frances Delaney.

There are writers and then there are authors. Frances Delaney, in my mind, sits on a shelf miles above author, filing into the category of literary genius.

Which is probably why I stand in the doorway with my mouth gaping at the woman for far longer than what's socially acceptable.

She raises a brow as she turns, a faintly amused smile coming over her face at my dumbstruck expression. A face I've only seen on the inside and back covers of her books, occasionally glossing her social media pages. "Are you in this room?"

One second, two...After snapping out of my shock, I'm able to nod slowly. "You're...You're Frances..?"

The woman laughs now, black hair flying over her shoulder as she moves it from her face. "Frances Delaney, uh huh. Why don't you come sit down...?"

"Cleo!" I yelp a little too loudly, aware of my peers around the table too late to sooth my embarrassment. "I'm Cleo."

"Cleo, then! Come join us."

Holy shit, dude.

As I approach the table, I do my best to shake off my starstruckness, attempting to revert back to normalcy. "Wow, I never thought I'd see you in the flesh."

From the corner of my eye, I can see a couple other people seated nearby nodding along.

"I second that," Ruby says excitedly. "I loved Frozen Minds."

"Same here," another guy—Marty, I think, pipes up, fingers clenched tightly around his pencil.

Frances chuckles before leaning against the table. "You guys are too sweet. I'm glad so many people seem to enjoy my little, made-up world as much as I do."

"It's more than a made-up world." Anaya speaks up now. "Frozen Minds is literal art. I had so many existential crises while reading. I even wrote my English lit research paper on it in high school."

The woman in front of us holds a hand to her heart, lips twitching in what's for sure about to be another onslaught of laughter. "You know what, I'll take all the praise I can get."

Chuckles meet her words.

She glances around the table as we start to settle down, eyes falling on the chair across from me before her fingers begin to tap. "So we're missing one more?"

A chorus of yeahs is the response, and she nods before shuffling around a stack of papers.

I can feel the tiniest bit of my bad mood creep back at the mention of Dane.

I'd left him in the hallway after storming off minutes ago. Hopefully he's in the bathroom crying in a stall and reflecting back on how much of a prick he is.

"I'm here."

Nope, not so lucky.

We all turn to watch him stride up to the table, hands tucked calmly into his pockets, face an impassive mask.

Surprisingly, he doesn't even glance my way as he takes his seat, though I suppose I prefer that to his previous glaring.

"What's going on?"

I suck my teeth at his apparent lack of interest in Frances Delaney, and that finally gets me my dirty look. I can't say I missed it in the few minutes he was gone.

"Well, since everyone's here, I think it's time I go over the agenda."

An excited buzz fills the room at the statement.