“I ran into someone I know.” Harper evaded the question and turned her attention to Gemma and Alex. “How is the picnic treating you guys?”
“Good,” Luke said. “Except I should’ve worn more sunscreen.” His pale skin seemed to reflect the light, and the red curls on his head were frizzing out. “I’m not used to this much sun.”
“Do you live in a dungeon, Luke?” Marcy asked. “I’m only asking since you’re skinny and pale, and it looks like your parents might keep you chained in a basement.”
“No.” Luke scowled, then pointed to the Canadian flag on her shirt. “I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice.”
“I’m not Canadian,” Marcy corrected him. “I’m just wearing this shirt to express my anti-patriotism.”
“You really are a charming girl, you know that, Marcy?” Alex said.
Marcy shrugged. “I do what I can.”
Since the park was filled with pretty much everybody in town, it had been buzzing with the sounds of talking and music. But somewhat abruptly, the area around the picnic tables seemed to grow quiet, as if everyone were speaking in hushed tones and whispers.
Harper looked around to see what had happened and instantly saw the reason for the silence. The crowd had parted, making way for Penn, Lexi, and Thea, who were heading straight for Harper and Gemma.
Penn wore a dress so low-cut her chest was all but popping out. When she stopped at the end of the picnic table, she put her hands on her hips and smiled down at them.
“How are you guys doing?” she asked, surveying the table.
“Great,” Luke said eagerly, oblivious to the tension that hung over them. “I’m, uh, I’m having a great time. You guys look great. I mean, you look like you’re having a great time.”
“Why, thank you.” Penn looked at him, licking her lips hungrily as she smiled.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Lexi added.
She reached over and tugged one of his curls, pulling it like a spring so it would bounce back. Luke looked down and giggled in way that was reminiscent of a schoolgirl.
“Is there something you want?” Gemma asked.
Harper noticed that when Penn’s dark eyes latched onto Gemma’s, her sister lifted her chin higher, as if defying her in her some way. Then Harper saw something that made her blood run cold—Penn’s eyes changed, shifting from near-black to an odd golden color, reminding Harper of a bird.
Her weird bird eyes stayed locked on Gemma, but Gemma’s expression didn’t change, as if she didn’t notice the startling shift in Penn’s eyes.
As suddenly as they changed, Penn’s eyes went back to their normal soulless color. Harper blinked and glanced around, but nobody else seemed to notice the change. They all just stared at Penn as if mesmerized, and Harper wondered if it’d just been her imagination.
“Nope.” Penn raised one of her shoulders, managing a seductive shrug. “I just wanted to stop and say hi. We don’t know many people here in town yet, and we’re always looking to make new friends.”
Thea didn’t look like she wanted to make new friends, though. She stood off to the side, a bit back from Penn and Lexi. She twirled her long red hair around her finger, and wouldn’t look at anyone at the table.
“You already have friends,” Harper said to Penn and nodded to Lexi and Thea.
“You can always have more, though, right?” Penn asked, and Lexi winked at Luke, making him giggle again. “And we could definitely use a friend like Gemma.”
Harper was about to ask Penn exactly what she meant by that, wondering what on earth they could possibly want with her little sister, but Marcy cut her off.
“Wait,” Marcy said through a mouthful of cheese curds. “Didn’t there used to be a fourth one?” She gulped down her food and stared up at them. “What did you guys do with her? Did you eat her? And then throw her up afterward, because obviously, you guys are bulimic.”
Penn shot her a glare so fierce it actually made Marcy cringe. She lowered her eyes and pulled her cheese curds closer to her, as if she thought that Penn might steal them from her.
“So have you guys been on the rides yet?” Harper asked, in an attempt to keep Penn from slaughtering Marcy. After that look, Harper thought it would be better if she kept the conversation banal instead of confronting Penn about her interest in Gemma.
Penn’s icy expression instantly melted, and her saccharine smile returned. Harper noticed that Penn’s teeth were unusually sharp. In fact, if Harper didn’t know better, she’d say that her incisors had actually grown and gotten more pointed than they had been a few seconds ago.
“No, we just got here,” Penn explained in her silky baby-talk. “We haven’t had a chance to check anything out yet.”
As she spoke, some of the unease Harper had been feeling when she noticed her smile vanished. Marcy even seemed to relax a bit and braved looking up at Penn again.
“I’d really love to win a teddy bear,” Lexi said, her voice going singsong as she spoke.