*CUPID'S MATCH BOOK 2* FIRST DRAFT
Lila receives an ominous Valentine's Day card.
Cupid & Cal are keeping a dark secret.
Fate is being interfered with.
And a sadistic, and extremely powerful banished cupid is intent on stealing Lila's heart. Literal...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
We walk into a flashing, pink, bubble of noise.
Fake arrows and banners reading Cupid Dance hang from the ceiling, and strobe lights blaze down on a thrashing crowd of students – many of them wearing wings and thrusting fake arrows into the air. There's a smoke machine billowing out sweet, cotton candy scented air by the raised DJ booth, and deep pink lights flash from corners of the gym. My black and pink balloons are scattered across the floor and tied around the climbing frame and basketball hoop, entwined among tissue paper heart bunting.
Cupid tenses as he looks around, a pained expression growing on his face. A group of guys from the football team pass by wearing nothing but white sheets turned into makeshift diapers, wings, and cupid bows.
"Why? Just why would we dress like that?!"
I pull him forward through the crowd as he mutters on about giant babies with wings.
"Completely impractical..."
I scan the dance floor – searching for Charlie, Cal, or worse, Valentine. Still Cupid chunters on.
"Now don't get me wrong, I would look totally hot regardless... but still..."
I can't make them out through the throng of students, wings, and bows. I pull Cupid, his hand still grasped around mine, toward the drinks table by the DJ booth. It's at the front of the gym so offers a good vantage point.
"I mean I'd definitely turn some heads if I dressed like that. In a good way, probably. Show off my abs..."
I halt as we reach the drinks – my eyes still searching the room
"But it's humiliating, you know?"
It's crowded here, people swarming for the bottles of coke laid out on the table. I notice a girl from the lacrosse team is passing around a hipflask to add to people's plastic cups of punch
"Giant babies..."
I turn to look up at Cupid and raise an eyebrow at him.
"Are you quite finished?" I say.
His eyes widen, the pink light from the strobe glinting in his irises.
"I'm just saying!" he says. He looks around. "God, it's really awful in here. Charlie organize all this?"
I nod.
"I like to think this is what the inside of Charlie's mind looks like at all times," I tell him – raising my voice over the loud dance music.
The corner of his lip tugs upward.
"Sounds about right. She's spent too much time with Klaus, that's the problem. Remind me to get someone at the Matchmaking Service to teach her about real cupids..."
Amusement glints in his eyes and I give him a playful punch.
"Is Cal here yet?" I say.
"Not sure. I think he was planning on helping Charlie set up the matches. You know...so I can get all super strong." His grin widens. He looks at the students swarming the drinks table. "Keep a look out, I'm going in! May as well enjoy ourselves until my pain in the ass brother gets here."
