6 months ago:
She couldn't stay away.
Not because she wanted to be around him, but because she'd been a horrible person in her life and karma was finally biting her back.
The amount of interactions they'd had since the wrapping of their film boggled her. The instances should have tallied a big, fat zero. Apparently, one of the two was covered in glue, because she couldn't seem to escape him. To be absolutely fair, this time, like a few of the others, was entirely her fault. Then again, Victor was her friend, too. She could spend time with her friends. Even if they were, inexplicably, best friends with Garfield Mark Logan.
"Gar told me about his run in with you and some kids?"
Raven sighed, brushing back the shoulder-length strands of her blonde wig. "I've been helping to care for them. I take them out to eat once a week when I'm home, spend time with them where I can, and I fund their necessities." And their wants. That whole thing about spoiling people.
"Ah. I'm surprised you let him join."
"I tried to get rid of him. The oldest is a twelve year old girl, and with one of his pretty boy smiles I was defeated."
Vic scoffed. "He ain't that pretty."
It was on the tip of her tongue to agree, except that he was. He'd grown up in the limelight, transitioning seamlessly from cute little boy to heartthrob teen idol to swoon worthy leading man. All of those adjectives taken directly from magazines, because they didn't exist otherwise in Raven's vocabulary. Still, the point stood that Garfield Logan was, in fact, pretty.
Always had been.
Suddenly her vision filled with a puff of blue cotton, so she jerked her chin back to avoid shoving her face into it. Someone spoke from behind the obstacle. "I don't normally go for blondes these days, but your eyes really take my breath away."
Raven took a large, affronted step backwards so she could direct her glower at the speaker rather than the cotton candy. A big, doofy hat similar to those she'd seen dangling from several game booths covered a large portion of his head, and oversized shutter shades obscured the top half of his face, but she'd recognize that chuffed grin anywhere.
"You're following me," she accused.
He dipped his chin into the pink candy in his other hand and took a large enough bite that some stuck out the corners of his mouth while he chewed. "I honestly had no idea that you were here until I saw you a few minutes ago with Vic. He invited me."
That traitor.
She spun around to give him a piece of her mind, but he was gone. Of course he was.
"I got you this," Gar hedged after a second, looking around as best he could with those absurd glasses over his eyes. "I was gonna go back and get another for Vic, too, but I can't see him." He rolled his head around to try looking around the shades in different angles. "Is he still here?"
Raven shook her head slowly, amazed that she'd managed to acquaint herself with these people. "No."
"Weird."
"Exceptionally."
He paused, then thrust the cotton candy out again. He wiggled it. "All yours, Raven."
She pursed her lips, but took the offering. "Thank you."
They waited around for another awkward moment, but Victor didn't reappear. Obviously, they'd been set up. She just didn't know why. It wasn't an efficient set up, regardless, because she could just walk away right now. Any moment now. Just… leave.
Raven sighed. "Well, we were on our way to the game booths before you showed up."
"Oh, sweet, I'll win you something."
She lifted an eyebrow. "You sound awfully confident."
"Yeah, mama, how do you think I got these sweet digs?" He gestured proudly to his 'disguise.' It made her wonder what he wore before that. There was no way he'd shown up at a fair without a cover.
"You really need to stop calling me that."
"Hmm, how about no?"
"No."
"Excellent."
He trotted off, and she started after him. "That's not what I meant."
As expected, he ignored her complaints. He chose instead to shove the remnants of his cotton candy into his mouth and settle down in front of a ring toss. "If I win you one of those giant stuffed animals, will you give me a thank you kiss?"
"Absolutely not."
He laughed. "You like that phrase."
"I seem to need it a lot with you."
Through the slats of his shutter shades, his eyes sparked with mischief. "I'm not deterred."
Deterred from what, she couldn't decipher. Bugging her, most likely. Most people were intimidated by her, but for some reason, he wasn't scared. "You say that like I should be relieved."
"Of course. Who else would win you a giant stuffed animal?"
Crossing her arms as best she could with food in her hands, she rested her hip against the counter of the booth. "You keep mentioning this prize, but I have yet to hold it in my hands."
Another laugh bubbled out of his ever-grinning lips. "Fair enough. Prepare to be amazed." He slapped a bill onto the counter and the attendant pushed a small pile of rings towards him. "How about a high five for every ring I land?"
Well, it was better than a kiss. That, and she doubted he'd get any. These games were rigged. "Fine."
"Sweet." She didn't like the tone of his voice. It sounded like he already knew he'd won. It could have just been his ego talking, though, so she tried not to worry about it. In order to win the giant stuffed animal he was after, he'd have to get all five rings onto the center bottle. Therefore, he'd be aiming solely for that, significantly decreasing his chance of landing any rings at all.
Raven bit off a small piece of cotton candy, watching as he took a deep breath and prepped his toss. She choked on that small piece of cotton candy when he landed the shot.
"Woah, Rae, you okay?"
"You're cheating."
Instead of offending him, she'd merely amused him. "How?" The question carried over a rumbling of laughter.
There wasn't really a way to cheat at this. So, with a purse of her lips, she held out her hand. He grinned and smacked it, taking the high five he'd bartered for. What she got in return, she wasn't sure. But her hand tingled a little, and he hadn't hit it hard enough for that to be the cause.