The Cure for Second Lead Syndrome by Amanda Abram

CHAPTER 5

Caleb eyed the whiteboard with a look of unease. “I don’t know about this one, Bria.”

I had spent all last night planning this afternoon’s event. Out of all the ideas I had on the board so far, I felt that the “Bump and Catch” would be a good next step for us. Not only was it quick and easy, but it involved Paige being in his arms again.

Why would he possibly have an issue with the “Bump and Catch”?

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked defensively.

“Nothing. It’s…I don’t know…having someone bump into Paige hard enough to send her flying into my arms seems kind of rude.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m going to be the one bumping into her, and I’ll go easy on her.”

Caleb’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Wait—you’re going to be the one doing that?”

“Yup.”

“Oh…” he said hesitantly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Do you have a problem with me doing it?”

“Well, it’s just that Paige knows who you are. Wouldn’t it be better if we went with someone she wouldn’t recognize?”

I grinned as I walked over to my closet door. “I thought about that too, but then I came up with a solution.”

Opening the closet door, I reached inside and grabbed the items I’d set aside last night.

“Ta-da!” I exclaimed, spinning back around and holding them up for Caleb to see.

He stared at them in confusion. “What am I looking at here?”

I dropped the items onto my bed. “You’re looking at my disguise.”

“Disguise?”

“Yeah.” I held up the most important item first: a long black wig. “So that Paige won’t recognize me.”

Caleb pointed to my hand. “Is that a wig? Why do you have a wig?”

I smiled as I glanced down at it. “Last year, I decided I wanted to dye my hair jet black. I begged my mom to let me, and she said she would think about it. She also said I’d have to wear a black wig around the house for a while first to see how I liked it.”

“And? What did you decide?”

“Well, have you ever seen me with black hair?” I asked with a smirk. “I bought the wig from a party store, wore it around the house one weekend, and realized I look terrible. But it doesn’t matter how terrible I look today, just as long as I look like somebody else.”

Caleb chuckled. “I can’t wait to see it on you.”

“Why? So you can make fun of me?”

“Of course,” he said with a grin. He motioned to the other items on the bed. “What’s all this other stuff?”

I glanced down at the pile and started sifting through it. “Just more of my disguise. Large sunglasses that will hide half my face, a hat, makeup, and an outfit I normally would never wear in public.”

Caleb eyed all the items curiously before pointing at the yellow sundress of my mom’s that I’d picked out. “What’s wrong with that outfit? Why wouldn’t you normally wear that in public?”

I picked it up and shrugged. “Because it’s not my style. I don’t like sundresses. Or dresses in general. But do you know who does like them? Carly Buchanan.”

“Who’s Carly Buchanan?” Caleb asked in confusion.

I scooped the pile of items into my arms. “Give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll show you exactly who she is.”

Before Caleb could say anything, I ducked out of the room and headed for the bathroom to change into my disguise. Everything but the wig belonged to my mom: the dress, the sunglasses, the hat, even the makeup. I did wear makeup of my own from time to time, but the color palette I typically used was very muted. Carly Buchanan, the alter ego I had created specifically for this “Bump and Catch” event, liked bold colors—which meant I had to raid my mom’s makeup stash for some dark red lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and really anything but the drab colors I was normally seen wearing.

It only took me a few minutes to throw on the dress, apply the makeup and put on the wig and hat before heading back to my bedroom for the big reveal.

“Voila,” I said, stopping in the doorway and striking a pose. “This is Carly Buchanan. What do you think?”

Caleb’s eyes widened in amusement as he took in my appearance. “I think Paige definitely won’t recognize you.”

“I know, right?” I entered the room and turned to look at myself in my full-length mirror. Even I didn’t recognize myself.

“You sure are putting a lot of effort into all this,” he said, standing up from the bed.

I gave his reflection a dismissive wave of my hand. “I put very little effort into this look, trust me.” Spinning back around to face him, I said, “Would you like to go over the plan again?”

Caleb shrugged. “It’s pretty straight-forward, right? Paige and I will be hanging out on the boardwalk, and at exactly two-thirty, you’re going to appear behind us and pretend to trip. You’re going to fall into Paige, who will then fall into me, and I’ll catch her. Am I missing anything?”

I shook my head. “Nope. That’s pretty much it.”

He rubbed at the back of his neck as he shot me a curious look. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“What exactly are we hoping to get out of this one? I mean, Paige will be in my arms for literally one or two seconds, and I’m pretty sure she’s not going to find any part of this romantic.”

“These are all baby steps,” I explained. “Sure, it will all be over in the span of two seconds, but those two seconds in K-dramas are crucial. Trust me, the moment shared when the female lead is thrust into the arms of the male lead is almost always magical. Time slows down as they stare into each other’s eyes…as a spark ignites between them and suddenly, they are the only two people in the world…”

I smiled dreamily as my voice trailed off. I must have zoned out for a second, because the next thing I knew, Caleb was snapping his fingers in front of my face to get my attention.

“That’s great and all,” he said, “but this is real life, where time doesn’t slow down. Two seconds in the real world lasts only two seconds.”

“Then hold onto her for longer than two seconds,” I said with a shrug. “I’m setting up the moment between the two of you, but you need to be the one to create it. You can make it into whatever you want.”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

“Do whatever comes natural.”

“But this kind of stuff doesn’t come natural to me.”

I could tell he was starting to get frustrated. “You’ll do fine. Even if the moment only lasts for two seconds, and sparks don’t fly and time doesn’t stop, that’s okay. We’re still in the beginning phase of this plan. I can admit that not every idea of mine is going to be a winner, but we have to at least try them out because at least a few are bound to work.”

He didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know, Bria…”

I glanced down at my watch. “You should go. It’s almost time to go pick up Paige.” I took a step forward and placed my hands on Caleb’s shoulders. Looking up at him, I gave him an encouraging smile. “This is all going to work out in the end. I promise.”

He smiled back. “Is Bria making that promise or is Carly Buchanan?”

I let go of him and stepped back. “We both are. Now get going. Remember: two-thirty. Be on the boardwalk and be prepared to catch Paige in your arms.”

Caleb nodded. “Okay. We’ll be there.”

He brushed past me and gave a small wave before disappearing from my bedroom.

I turned to look in the mirror once more and grinned at my reflection.

I meant what I said to Caleb. No matter how insignificant today’s event was going to be, it was going to nudge Paige closer to falling in love with him.

I just knew it.

***

By the time I arrived at the boardwalk, I was already regretting wearing my Carly Buchanan disguise. It was way too hot and humid to be donning a wig and a hat. And it felt like my makeup was melting off my face, but I had to suffer through it. For love.

I arrived early and managed to spot Caleb and Paige right away. They had grabbed some lunch from one of the many food stands located along the pier and were now sitting at a small umbrella table, enjoying each other’s company. As for me, I was sitting at a table a safe distance away from them, sipping on an iced coffee and pretending to read a book while discreetly spying on them.

As I started running through the plan in my head, I glanced warily down at the high heels I borrowed from my mom. I felt like a ballerina when I walked in them—not because I was graceful (me and high heels don’t mix), but because the heels were so high that I was practically walking on the tips of my toes in them. I’d had a hard time making it to the coffee stand and then to the table I was sitting at without falling flat on my face, but that was kind of the point. I didn’t think I’d be able to bump into Paige willingly, but I was fairly certain the heels would take care of that for me naturally.

A quick check of my watch notified me that it was only three minutes until show time. My gaze flickered over to Caleb and Paige, and sure enough, they were standing up from their table and heading for the spot I’d told Caleb to be.

Quickly shooting out of my chair, I smoothed out my dress and made sure my wig was on straight. Gathering my stuff, I began to follow them.

Caleb casually glanced around until he spotted me, and when he did, he gave me a subtle nod as if to say that he was ready.

I just hoped I was. I hadn’t practiced this, so I wasn’t sure how difficult it might be to pretend to stumble and then push someone—especially someone as nice as Paige Bishop. But I had to remind myself that it wasn’t like I was going to hurt her or anything. I was doing a nice thing for both her and Caleb. One day, in the very distant future, perhaps they would tell their grandkids the story about their quirky classmate with an elaborate plan who played a crucial role in them getting together.

Just as we had planned, Caleb made sure Paige had her back to me, and that she was standing directly in front of him so she would immediately get pushed into his arms when I fell into her. All that was left was for me to stumble. As I made my way over, I decided the best course of action would be for me to pick up my walking speed as I approached them, and just as I got behind Paige, purposely roll my ankle enough to make me unsteady in the heels. Gravity would take care of the rest.

So, when I was a few feet away, that’s exactly what I did. I began to walk faster. But at the last second, as I started to roll my ankle, something unexpected happened: Paige moved, stepping to the side so she was no longer in front of Caleb. But it was too late. Rolling my ankle worked even better than I imagined, and I immediately began toppling forward, letting out a small yelp in the process. But instead of falling into Paige, I spun around and began falling toward the ground instead. I was well on my way to landing hard on my butt when a pair of strong arms quickly reached out and caught me before I fell to the boardwalk.

Those arms belonged to Caleb. He caught me right before I landed, securing one arm around my upper back and the other around my lower back—like we’d been dancing, and he was dipping me to finish off our routine.

Caleb stared down at me, wide-eyed at the realization that this plan had gone completely wrong. My eyes were as wide as his as I stared back at him. The sun was directly behind his head in the sky and was creating a halo effect around him, making him appear almost angelic. Heroic. And the sudden, slight tightening of his grip made me feel secure. Safe.

It was the perfect re-enactment of the typical “Bump and Catch” moment in a K-drama. Exactly how I’d envisioned it. Except, of course, for the fact that Paige was supposed to be the one he caught, not me.

“Omigosh, are you okay?” Paige asked; the sudden sound of her voice startling us.

“Y-yeah,” I stammered as Caleb quickly recovered and pulled me back up into a steady, standing position. Keeping my head down so she couldn’t get a good look at my face, I cleared my throat and added, “S-sorry.”

To Paige’s knowledge, I was apologizing for “accidentally” bumping into a “stranger”. To Caleb’s knowledge, I was apologizing for unintentionally ruining our plan. Judging from the subtle hint of disappointment on his face, he wasn’t about to forgive me.

Paige glanced me over before her gaze landed on my shoes. She pointed at them, smiling. “Wow, I’m not surprised you managed to stumble in those. I would never be able to wear heels that high. They’re gorgeous, though. Where did you get them?”

I pulled the rim of my hat farther down over my face as I slowly began to back up. Having a conversation with Paige was never part of the plan. I couldn’t risk her recognizing my face or my voice, but it wasn’t in my nature to ignore someone who was talking to me. I was opening my mouth to throw out the name of a random department store from the mall in response to her question when Caleb stepped in and saved me from having to answer.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

I nodded. In a small, altered voice, I replied, “Yes. Thank you for catching me.”

“No problem.” He flashed me a smile, and I could almost swear I detected a hint of amusement in it. Like he thought it was funny that I had been the one to fall into his arms, not Paige.

I returned his smile, gave Paige a quick one as well, then spun around and walked away from them as fast as my heels would allow without making me stumble again.

Once I was a safe distance away, I ducked behind one of the food stands and pulled my phone out of my bag. I was about to text an apology to Caleb when a shadow suddenly fell over me. I glanced up to see it was Caleb himself. He must have followed me.

“Um, what happened back there?” he asked in a hushed voice, motioning wildly in the direction he’d just come from.

I bit down on my bottom lip in shame as I slowly slid my phone back into my bag. “I’m so sorry, Caleb. That didn’t go the way I thought it would.”

Caleb snorted. “Yeah. No kidding.”

“I didn’t expect Paige would move at the last second.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as I sighed in defeat. “And now that part of the plan has been completely ruined.”

After another quick glance around, presumably to make sure Paige hadn’t followed him, Caleb joined me at my side and shrugged. “Honestly, it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting to get much out of this one, anyway.” He stared down at his feet. “Actually, I’m not expecting to get much out of any of this.”

I frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“Because ever since I picked Paige up this afternoon, she hasn’t stopped talking about stupid Tyler Baldwin.”

“Oh.” My frown deepened.

“She keeps dropping useless, random facts about him like, ‘Tyler loves surfing’, or ‘Tyler wants to go to school for marine biology’, or ‘Tyler’s favorite food is avocado toast’. It’s driving me nuts.”

“Understandably,” I said with a nod. “So, I take it they’ve been spending a lot of time together, getting to know each other?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Okay, well…” I stopped for a second, racking my brain for what our next step should be. As soon as an idea hit, I said, “Maybe we can use those random facts to our advantage. All we have to do is—”

“Wait,” Caleb interjected, raising his hand. “Let me stop you right there.”

My breath caught in my throat. Uh-oh. I recognized that tone of voice, and I recognized the expression on his face. He was about to break up with me. Or, more accurately, he was about to end our professional relationship.

He was giving up.

“I’m sorry, Bria, but I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Why not?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation in my voice to a minimum. “Because this part of the plan failed? Caleb, I told you before that not all of my ideas are going to be winners. So, this one was a dud—that doesn’t mean the next one will be. I mean, you saw my whiteboard, I have tons of other ideas to choose from.”

“It’s not only because of what just happened,” he said. “It’s because this is a lost cause. If Paige hasn’t already fallen for me after all these years, she never will.”

“That’s not true at all,” I said. “You just need that one special moment that makes her realize you’re the one she loves. It happens all the time in movies and books.”

“Exactly. You’re talking about fiction. I’m talking about fact. Those ‘special moments’ don’t happen in real life.”

I shook my head furiously. “No, they do. Let me prove it to you.”

“Sorry, Bria.” He lowered his gaze to the ground as he took a step back. “But this is over. Thanks anyway.”

“But Caleb—” I began, but he turned and walked off before I could say anything else.

Well, that certainly wasn’t the result I’d been hoping for.

With a defeated sigh, I snuck a quick glance around the corner of the food stand to make sure Caleb and Paige were nowhere in sight. Once I confirmed the coast was clear, I began the long trek back to my car, moping the entire way.

I couldn’t let Caleb give up. He and Paige were meant to be. And I was going to be the one to get them together if it was the last thing I did.