They changed and changed back to demonstrate.

“At a television studio? I wouldn’t mind, I don’t think,” Natalie said. “But I’m weird. There are a ton of things that bother me that other people treat as normal, and a ton of things I wouldn’t blink at things that annoy or freak out other people.”

“I respect that,” Chris said. “Yes, you have to find that nugget of you and cling to it. That stuff that makes you different.”

“It’s not anything fancy,” Natalie said. “I’m anxious about the stupidest stuff and I can get zen with routine work and chores. There are maybe three times in my life something horrible happened near me, and I kept my cool while other people were breaking down. That’s basically it.”

“Fancy enough,” Chris said.

“It’s really not,” Natalie replied.

“Nat, if you have Chris’s respect, take it and run. That’s better than a lot of us get,” Rain said.

“That’s not true,” Chris said. “I respect you guys, mostly. I think you’re obnoxious and wrong-headed, but you don’t suck at everything. If you did, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Okay. Keep swiping,” Ashley indicated the phone Chris held.

“I tell people I respect them and I get told to get back to the grunt work. People wonder why I’m the way I am,” Chris said.

Natalie frowned a bit at Chris, then seemed to remember something, going by the small look of surprise on her face. She snapped her attention to me.

“Oh, Victoria! We got the go-ahead from Ms. Kenzie Martin’s guardianship to have her on the show.”

“Good,” I said. “If you’re up for it, Kenzie?”

“Yeah. So long as I’ve got you guys.”

Tristan had said something. He switched.

Byron shook his head. “There three things here I have issues with. Your armor is heavy, and I’m not that strong. Why are you in the spotlight, when I’m supposed to get the extra hours tonight? And why? Really why is it so important I wear the armor?”

He switched back to Tristan. No immediate reply from the bolder brother, but Tristan’s hand was in motion, like an orchestral conductor with his stick. Flick, flick, stop—he met my eye, and there was a light in his eyes.

He was nervous and he was also wholly in his element, getting ready to face this.

I was going to say something, but I heard the others. Chris was being cranky, still on about the swiping. Ashley and Kenzie were talking to him. That was more of an immediate concern, as much as I worried about Tristan wanting to do this so badly he was willing to bulldoze over Byron.