This Is Primetime

"Open your hands and shut your eyes, and soon you'll get a big surprise!" Matt chanted the words in a sing-song voice. I laughed at the childish rhyme. I hadn't heard it since I was a kid. "Do it," he demanded suddenly, reminding me that there was a reason that he had said it in the first place.

I obliged his request, holding both my hands out and squeezing my eyes shut until it hurt. I felt something light and cold against my skin, and I opened my eyes again. Once the purplish spots faded from my vision, I inspected the object on my palm.

"Aw, it's so cute!" I held the beaded bracelet between my fingers. "I had one just like this when I was little!" The beads were all varying shades of purple, which was one of my favourite colors. I slipped it onto my wrist, smiling at the way the elastic string pulled it tightly together as soon as I released it.

"I won it. I had to prove to you that not all of those carnival games are fixed," he smiled widely, exposing all of his teeth.

"I thought you proved that when you won me the panda bear."

A loud, disgusting noise echoed from Markie's throat. Both Matt and I looked over at her. She was sitting behind the counter, looking anywhere but at us. I knew what she was thinking without hearing it. She must have believed that her ludicrous suspicions were now confirmed by the fact that Matt had given me things that he'd won.

Ignoring her, I turned back to Matt. "Thanks. I love it."

"So it was worth coming in to work to get it?"

"Well, I would have liked to have been there when you won it. But this is okay, too. Where are the guys?"

"On a roller coaster. I told them I was getting motion sickness and had to sit it out this time around. But really, I just didn't want to hear Ian and Mike make their stupid little comments when I gave you the bracelet."

"I think Markie is doing enough of that for everyone," I glowered at her over my shoulder. She still wasn't looking directly at me, but the small smile on her lips told me that she saw it.

"So how's work going today?" His voice was airy and nonchalant, but I could see another question burning in his eyes.

"Work is boring. It's been a really slow day; even worse than yesterday. It's given me some time to think."

"And?" He stared at me with wide, expectant eyes.

"Markie thinks I've already made up my mind. But I'm not so sure. I think I'm going to call my mom later on and see what she has to say about the whole thing."

Matt nodded, appearing to be deep in thought. "When is your break?"

I glanced back at Markie, who waved me off. "Now, if you feel like hanging out."

"Great. Follow me."

Confused, I fell into step beside him as he walked purposefully out of the store. "What's up?" I asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

"They should be off the roller coaster by now. They'll be wondering where I disappeared to."

"Oh," I murmured. I kept pace with him as he strode quickly through the mall. He turned down a new stretch of stores and ducked inside the brightly colored amusement park.

The piercing squeal of a child's terrified scream made me shiver as a roller coaster roared over our heads a few moments later. Matt led the way to the spot where the rest of the guys were waiting. I assumed that they must have arranged for a meeting spot earlier in the day.

"Hey, Josh, come talk for a second," Matt didn't wait for a response as he continued walking past the small group of puzzled boys. Josh and I glanced at each other in bewilderment, then followed Matt over to the lineup for the bumper cars.

"What's up?" Josh looked from Matt to me and back again.

I wished that the butterflies in my stomach would just fly away and leave me be. I was sick of the constant reminders that I still cared for Josh more than I should have.

"What would you think of Beck moving in with me?" Matt asked, crossing his arms across his chest and taking a stance that reminded me of a surly bodyguard.

"I..." Josh continued to look at both of us, trying to guage our reactions to the topic at hand. "Are you moving back to Vancouver?" His eyes settled on me, though I couldn't read his expression.

"The offer's on the table," I shrugged. "I'm considering it."

"And why do you care what I think?" Josh turned back to Matt.

"I don't. But, even though she won't admit it, I know that she does. She won't move there if she thinks that you're going to feel awkward."

Josh's green eyes softened as he looked at me once again. "Becky, don't worry about me. If you want to live with Matt, then go start packing. I don't want to stand in your way. I won't feel awkward, but will you?"

Something about the way he worded his response made me suspicious. It felt like he was trying to make me believe that I wouldn't want to be around him. I really had intended on consulting my parents before making a final decision, but spite was overwhelming me.

"Yes, Matt, I'll move in with you. It'll be just like old times," I felt my vision flicker unwillingly toward Josh for a fraction of an instant. Again, his face was indecipherable.

Matt's face, on the other hand, was exuberant. His relinquished his threatening stance and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm so glad! You won't regret it. You'll absolutely love being back in Vancouver!"

I held onto him tightly. "I know I will. I won't have to miss you guys so much anymore."

Josh and I were staring at each other over Matt's shoulder. I smiled at him, hoping that it would show that I was actually happy about my split-second choice. Now that I was thinking about it, it was a relief to have made a solid decision. Now I could just focus on following through.

Josh smiled back, and it seemed legitimate. His twisted words from a moment before didn't seem so threatening all of a sudden. Maybe it had been genuine concern in his tone. Maybe I'd overreacted. It was too late to change my mind now.

"Let's celebrate!" Matt released me. "I would say we should get a drink, but that's probably a bad idea. You've got to go back to work."

"Fuck work! It's not like I'm the one driving home, either. I say we have a big drunk fest tonight."

Josh and Matt both laughed at my enthusiasm.

"How about we take you for a drink as soon as your shift is over?" Matt bargained.

"I guess that could work. But don't keep me waiting. You'd better be there to pick me up as soon as I'm done for the day," I tried to sound threatening, but I was too happy to accomplish it.

Someone coughed loudly beside me. I turned and found that we were at the front of the line. I smiled at the boys.

"As much as I would love to kick your ass on some bumper cars, I don't have any tickets. Have fun, I'll watch from out here."

Josh raised an eyebrow at me. "You should know that I don't give up that easily! I'm almost offended that you would think I would let you walk away right now." He pushed past me and spoke in low voices with the attendant working the bumper cars. They shook hands, and I rolled my eyes. Josh was bribing him to let me on. Of course. He looked back at us and beckoned us forward. "Come on, Becky. You're too charming to turn down."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," I muttered.

Matt laughed as he walked beside me. "Admit it, you're excited."

"Of course I am. I love bumper cars. I'll try not to knock your teeth out, okay?"

"I didn't just mean the bumper cars. You're happy that you're moving in with me."

"Shouldn't I be? I mean, I thought you were happy too."

Matt jumped into a small, cramped green car. "I'm exstatic. I think it's going to be a really good idea."

I slipped into a bright purple car nearby. "I'm sure it will. But seriously," I twisted my steering wheel around so that my car was aimed right for him. "You're going to wish you had a mouthguard."

A buzzer sounded and techno music filled the area. I pushed my foot down and the car took off directly toward Matt. He swerved out of the way just as Josh came at him from the other side, causing Josh and I to have a head-on collision.

The ride didn't last long, but we were all feeling a little bruised from our seatbelts by the time we got off. I was still rubbing my shoulder when we were reunited with Ian and Mike. Ian was watching the three of us approach, and there was caution in his eyes. He looked kind of worried.

"What was all that about? Where did you guys go?"

"Becky's moving in with me!" Matt told him, his words rushing out too fast in his excitement.

"Seriously?" Mike's eyebrows shot up. "You're going to be living together? In the same apartment? Are you taking the spare room, or..." he let his question trail off suggestively.

"It's not a spare room anymore," I corrected him. "It's my bedroom." I hoped that the finality of my tone would rid his head of any preconceived notions that he had about Matt and I. Somehow, I knew it wouldn't be quite that simple.

"So what did your parents say?" Josh asked.

The mention of my parents made my insides tie up in knots. "I haven't actually talked to them yet. I haven't had a chance to call them since you guys showed up yesterday. They don't know that you're in town, or even that you're back in my life. I suppose I should make time for them now. I assume they'll want to know that their only child is moving away."

"Your mom is going to be deliriously happy," Josh smirked. "She always wanted you to wind up with Matt. I know, I know," he continued, ignoring my outraged expression. "You're not actually together. But it'll look that way to her, don't you think?"

"It sure looks that way to everyone else," Ian snickered.

Matt smacked him upside the head, making Ian's blonde curls jump as he flinched. "It wouldn't look that way if you paid attention."

"But don't pay too much attention," I murmured, remembering the way that Markie had picked up on so many details that I'd previously believed hadn't looked bad at all.

"Can we go see your parents after you're done work?" Matt had, apparently, missed my addition to his statement. "I'd love to see them again. I bet Josh would, too."

"Yeah," Josh replied in a sarcastic voice. "That sounds like the perfect evening to me. Her mom always hated me."

"She didn't," I argued. "Well, not always at least. Just in the beginning, when she thought you were some phase I was going through. Not to mention the fact that our first real date involved me getting very drunk at a house party."

"Yes, but she didn't know that was our first date. You told her that we were hanging out with Matt all night as friends."

"We did though, didn't we? I distinctly remember ruining Matt's chances with some girl, and then we all sat outside together."

"Not for long," Matt piped up. "You were pretty far gone by that point, so I told Josh to take you home."

"Whenever you were drinking, you almost always overdid it," Josh observed. "Have you improved on that yet?"

"I wasn't that bad!" I said defensively. "I was totally fine at your sister's wedding, wasn't I? I never made an ass of myself that night."

"I think I'm going to like having Becky around," Ian grinned at me. "I get to hear all of these stories about Josh and Matt before we knew them. Something tells me that things could get interesting with you."