Page 40 of Cosplay & Consequences

“I am,” she said, reaching for her phone.

I dove past her and grabbed it before she could, holding it out of reach. My height was the only advantage I’ve had in the history of our brother-sister relationship.

Paige shoved me, trying to pull my arm down. “Give me my phone so I can quit the job I don’t have!”

“You can’t quit the job you don’t have because I’ll fire you if you don’t take it!”

She punched me in the shoulder. Hard. “Give me my phone!”

I smacked her shoulder. Much lighter than she hit me. “No!”

She pulled back in shock, holding her shoulder. “You hit me!”

“Yes! I’m smacking some sense into you!” I shouted.

“You don’t hit me! I hit you!” she shouted back. “This is how our relationship works!”

“Well, you’re being an idiot!” I informed her. Loudly.

“You’re the idiot!” she snapped back.

Faye glared at both of us. “Am I the only adult here?”

That seemed to knock some sense into Paige. She stopped shouting and covered her mouth with her hands. “I- I don’t know. I shouldn’t take the job. You need me.”

I shook my head, setting my jaw in determination. “Absolutely not. I’ll be fine. You’ve been my assistant for thirteen years. You deserve better.”

“You can’t even find your shoes without me,” Paige argued. “I have to bring extra pairs of socks for you whenever we travel because you’re an idiot.”

“You can’t take care of me forever. This is an amazing opportunity. I won’t allow you to pass this up.”

Paige let out a long sigh of frustration. “I don’t know… with the thing going on at the end of the season and-”

I put my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You’re going to be great. You have to do this.”

She paused, trying to speak. Her eyes were red, and she sniffled. “Yeah?”

“Absolutely. I’m so proud of you.”

Faye smiled. Something I hadn’t seen in a long time. “Mom told Alfie she wouldn’t do it unless he filmed your fan trailer.”

My stomach dropped, and my jaw went slack. “Really?”

Paige winced. “Oh, God. Don’t get mushy on me.”

“Shut up. I’m hugging you,” She resisted at first, but relented. I laid her head on my shoulder. I motioned to Faye. “You too. Get in here.”

Faye grunted, but didn’t seem to mind when she slipped into our group hug.

“You know I love you both, right?” I said, knowing what their reactions would be and not caring.

Faye groaned and tried to pull away. “Ugh. Gross.”

“Don’t make it weird, Danny,” Paige said, trying to pull out of my arms, “you know I’m not a hugger.”

I held both of them firmly in my arms, not letting them go. “Say it. You know you want to.”

“Nope.” Faye squirmed and broke away.