Hi again! So I originally posted this over at LJ for the nick_girlslash fic/art exchange under crazy_girl6 back in January, but just now decided to put it up here as well. So I hope you like it. My first shot at Carly/Shelby.
"For the last time, you're going!" Seriously, Shelby Marx invites them to a party, and Carly makes up a billion excuses not to go. "Freddie and I wanna see her again, and just because she makes you nervous is not a reason to skip it. It's at the MMA headquarters, and Mama loves her MMA. Anyway, we fixed the whole Shelby chiz, remember? We're all friends now. The only thing that could go wrong is Freddie being all pathetic and trying to bust a move on Shelby again."
Carly fidgeted anxiously. It wasn't like she didn't want to see Shelby again, she really did. She also knew that Shelby wasn't planning to kill her, but for some reason… she just didn't feel comfortable going there. "Uh… I don't have a date," she quickly conjured up.
"What about Chris? You guys have been going out for a month now!" Why doesn't she want to go, anyway? She liked Shelby, after they got over the whole fight thing. How many girls get to go to the MMA kickoff party on invite from the reigning champion, and then refuse? Okay, so most girls would probably be afraid to go, but still. Carly has no reason to refuse. If anybody else tries to kill her, Shelby and Sam would be nearby. Sam just didn't understand. Unless… nah, not possible.
Crap, Chris. Carly had completely forgotten about Chris. "I don't want to go to the party with Chris. Can't he just come over and watch "Girly Cow" with us? There's gonna be a new episode that night."
Sam crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'd forget what night 'Girly Cow' is on?"
Carly shrugged. "I was kinda hoping," she said, desperately. There goes her last excuse. Ugh, I guess I have to go to that damn party now. There was no way Sam was going to let this go if Carly didn't say she would go.
Even after Carly gave in, Sam was still suspicious. It was obvious Sam had vented to Freddie, and Carly wanted someone like that. There was Chris, but for some reason… nope, not gonna happen. Forget it. Chris was awesome, and she wasn't going to give him up just because of some out of control hormones. Still, there was this little annoying voice in the back of her head that just wouldn't shut up. There was no way Carly was bringing Chris, however.
"Aren't you glad you came?" Sam asked. Carly wasn't sure how to answer that question. On one hand, Sam might stop bugging her if she just said yes. On the other hand, she really was not having a great time. Shelby had greeted them, and it felt as though chinchillas were eating away at her stomach. Carly had ignored the feeling that time, but she started to get a bit freaked out when she had met Shelby at the refreshments table and the chinchillas came back.
Carly went with the safe bet. "Yeah, I guess so," she sighed. "I just have a stomachache or something." Sam didn't look very convinced.
"Okay, if you say so. But something weird is going on here, and Mama's gonna find out what it is." And with that statement punctuated, Sam was off into the crowd.
It felt weird lying to Sam. Carly had always told Sam everything, but this just didn't feel… normal. She had always been a semi- normal girl; at least as much so possible being raised by Spencer. Carly didn't think Sam would spazz out or anything, but part of her was afraid of what Sam would think. Carly was the always the responsible one, not the one who would let herself get carried away in a sea of crazed teenage hormones. Well, not usually, at any rate. There was Griffin, but she had been fourteen at the time and just got a little carried away.
Still, she realized, Sam needed to know. She would tell her right after this party was over, because Sam was currently having a discussion type thing with some big burly men that kind of scared Carly. That, of course, wasn't the only reason, but it worked for now.
Suddenly Carly heard a friendly, upbeat voice from behind her. "Hey Carly! What's up?" Carly recognized that voice. It was Shelby. Carly froze up. Suddenly she wished Sam, or Freddie, or even Spencer were next to her. Should she run to the bathroom and hide? No, that would be ridiculous. She was the cool-headed girl who made perfectly rational decisions. She just had to view this situation reasonably. Right, and how is this a reasonable situation, anyway? Carly ignored this thought, took a deep breath, and turned around.
Shelby laughed. "So you dressed as a goth? I would have loved to see you like that," she said, amused. Carly knew that Shelby doesn't mean it the way Carly secretly wanted her to mean it, but the thought still crossed her mind a few times. The Questions started to go through her head: Does Shelby think I'm pretty? Does she like me? Carly shook her head away from those thoughts, and tried to pay attention to the description of Shelby's latest match.
Carly was bored. She wasn't going to lie. And yet, she was happy to be here. Alone. Without Chris. With Shelby.
There was no one who could possibly be judging Carly around her, except for Shelby. The one person who mattered the most of all at this moment. She could pretend she just wanted to be friends with Shelby, she could be all flirty like she usually got around guys she likes, or she could be herself. Carly chose the right option. And honestly, she was just about to tell Shelby everything when suddenly something happened that made her freeze and take a sharp intake of air.
Shelby put a hand on her shoulder. Shelby told her to calm down about whatever she was stressed about. Carly smiled softly, and told Shelby that she would calm down.
Carly's not sure why she did it, but she is glad that she did. She simply took Shelby's hand in her own- a bit slowly, perhaps, but Carly did it nonetheless. Shelby may have seemed a little surprised at first, but she took in stride. After all, she is Shelby Marx, youngest champion ever in the MMA.
"Hey, you wanna grab something to eat?" Carly asked. She was a bit nervous, she had seen the food here before, but she also felt oddly brave that night.
"Yeah, sure… just- one more thing," Shelby said. She then proceeded to grab Carly and quickly kiss her. "Ready to go now?" she asked, smiling.
Carly was a bit shocked, but nodded and smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be." She may have meant more than getting food. Shelby got the message, and laughed, before heading off to the food table with Carly, hands intertwined.
Carly would have some explaining to do later on, and she also would have to break things off with Chris. It might not be easy to do those things, but for now she's happy, and that is all that matters.