“We’re out,” Fi interrupted, again, like it was final. Even as Fi started to march out of line, Cat just stood there, fuming. She felt like she was going to burst into tears and she never, ever, positively ever cried where other people could see her. She spent way too long on her eyeliner for that! How could Fi not even let her get a word in edgewise? How could Fi not let Cat explain what was going on here? Why this was important? How could Fi be…?
Telling her what to do.
Cat blinked.
Oh.
Oh.
Cat’s breath caught in her throat and she plunked back down onto the ground, ignoring her sister’s yelling. Cat dropped her head into her hands and started counting slowly to ten, which always seemed to work for Alex.
Alex. Is this how he’d been feeling while Cat had been directing their moves for the Quest? She hadn’t meant to be insensitive or thoughtless—she was just trying to be efficient and get stuff done. Sometimes Alex was too quiet and unsure for his own good, you know? But, Cat realized, that didn’t matter. As much as they were participating in the Quest to win, they were also doing it because they loved doing it. Together. Being in charge didn’t have to mean controlling everything. Alex just wanted to be treated like a partner, not a sidekick. Why hadn’t Cat been able to see that sooner? Before everything had fallen apart?
Reaching the count of ten, Cat took a deep breath and found she could fill her lungs again. She took her hands away from her face and saw Fi stomping back over to her spot in the line.
Cat didn’t know what she was supposed to do now. Leave with Fi? Give up the Quest?
But was the Quest even worth it without Alex?
“Catalina—”
“Wait!” Rowan, who had been following Cat’s sister, skidded between the two siblings. “Fi, seriously, wait.” Rowan put her hand on Fi’s shoulder. To Cat’s great surprise, she thought she saw her sister actually blush.
Cat stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Crushes were gross, but they might actually help her out, just this one time.
“Rowan, we have got to get back to my parents—”
“Fine.” Rowan threw her hands out, exasperated. “That’s fine. You’ll get your camping.” Cat thought she heard a note of disdain in the girl’s voice.
“My what—?” Fi sounded confused, but Rowan didn’t let her finish.
“But Alex isn’t here. We’ve got to find him first. Okay?”
Fi nodded. “That’s what I’m trying to say.”
“Good.” Rowan squeezed Fi’s shoulder and turned back to Cat. “Now. Where’s your brother?”
20
Alex
Alex had never felt so lost in his life.
Not literally. He had the GeekiCon map and schedule memorized weeks earlier. He’d been to this convention a million times before. He knew exactly where he was and where he was going.
But he also had no idea where he was going. He was just … going.
Alex trudged around the upper floor of the con, passing by lines for panel rooms, lines for bathrooms, lines for food vendors, lines for signings … Now that he thought about it, GeekiCon really was a lot of lines.
At least they kept the people organized and out of Alex’s way. For the most part.
As he wandered the con’s packed corridors, Alex stared at his feet and tried to keep his breathing steady. Right, left. In, out. Right, then left. In, then out.
Alex found his way to a small open space against a wall and put his back to it, sliding down to the floor. He pulled his game console out of his bag and powered it on. He would just sit here and play until the day ended. That was fine, right? He did that at home all the time. Hours would go by in a flash. No big deal.
But Alex couldn’t focus on his screen. Every time he tried to concentrate on his game, his eyes went blurry. There wasn’t anything physically wrong with him, he was pretty sure—he was just so distracted.
Every time he tried to stop being angry at Cat, he just couldn’t. She had completely ruined this day. Everything had been going so great. If she’d just … not been so inconsiderate, and not cheated, and not given away their passes, and—and …