Tracy: Yay! A new story! A little bit, okay, a lot different than what I usually do, but it's all good. This project is something that I know means a lot to both Kelsey and I, and I know we're going to work really hard on it. I will, of course, still be updating "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden," so don't worry. I write for Amber and Corny in this story, as if you probably couldn't have guessed. Anyway, here's the beginning, hopefully there will be an update soon! I have a feeling this one's gonna be way dramatic, and as you can see, it's rated M, though probably only for language and themes, things like that.
Kelsey Rose: Hi, theatrics here. I like to appear and disappear at whim, as you could tell, but, anyway. Tracy and I have been wanting to write a story like this for a long time now, so it's really exciting to finally be able to. Yes, it's a collab, so that means we both write it together at various parts in each chapter. I'll just go ahead, leave all the mystery aside, and say that I write for Shelley. I write for others, as well, liiike a certain ladies' choice who has yet to appear and little Miss Brenda. But, that's about it for now, or, all that really matters. Yep. Hope you enjoy! XOXO.
"She is such a slut," Brenda whispered venomously to Shelley as she chewed vigorously on a fresh piece of gum. They had just gone off the air for a commercial break, and the Council Kids had all broken off into their groups to chat with one another.
"I know," Shelley echoed Brenda's assertion with a sneer in Amber Von Tussle's direction. She wasn't paying them any attention. Good. "I don't see why she thinks she can get away with wearing that virgin pin. I mean, really. She's got a lot of nerve, don't you think?" Both of the girls giggled viciously to one another; however, neither of them succeeded in taking notice to the fact that Amber had long since turned her head towards the conversation. She wasn't deaf, after all.
"I don't believe that nonsense about her mother being the one who got her the lead dancer spot," Brenda crossed her arms over her chest and leaned closer to Shelley. The redhead rolled her eyes at the mention of the Von Tussles.
"Of course not, Brenda," She replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the entire world. "She's screwing around with Corny. Isn't it obvious?" Shelley groaned in exasperation at her friend's lack of rationality. Brenda shifted uneasily where she stood, and Shelley quickly caught her mistake. "Ugh, you know what I mean," She waved a hand sharply and dismissively. Shelley didn't care about Brenda's various and recurrent flings with Corny Collins; she knew about those. She knew just how easy her friend was, and so did virtually everyone else at Patterson Park High. It was only news if someone like Amber Von Tussle was thrown into the picture.
"Oh," Brenda let her arms fall to her sides as she popped her gum. "Yeah, right," She smirked suddenly, as Shelley pressed her lips near her ear.
"Why do you think she's always falling down?" Her voice was still loud enough for someone several feet away to still hear. "She's so used to having her legs up and spread apart," She snickered cleverly. "It's no wonder she's always complaining about muscle cramps during rehearsals, right?" Brenda gasped, and then joined Shelley in giggling.
"I'm not surprised," Brenda reached for a can of hairspray and promptly smoothed down a section of her hair before she began spraying it. Shelley's eyes wandered as she waited her turn with the hairspray can at Brenda's mirror. Her pale eyes locked unexpectedly with a very peeved-looking Amber Von Tussle. Shelley knew that expression all too well. The way that her eyebrows furrowed, and her nose and forehead wrinkled: Amber made things far too obvious when it came to her emotions, at least, as far as Shelley was concerned.
Shelley smirked and quirked an eyebrow at her. She wasn't about to make any assumptions, but her intuition told her that Amber had heard every last thing she had just so smugly whispered to Brenda. Well, good. More power to her. After tipping her chin upward slightly and sneering to Amber, she turned on her heel and received the can of hairspray from Brenda. Amber was clearly still fuming, but that wasn't her problem, because, by the time she finished spraying her hair into place again, the cameramen called time.
Forty seconds just wasn't enough time for them to stage what they both knew was coming.
After the show ended for the day, and everyone had cleared out, Shelley stayed behind, like she did on most days. She was gathering her things in her purse when a soft, yet stern hand gripped her fiercely on the arm.
"What the hell is your deal, Shelley?" The person snapped, hurt obviously a huge part of the undertone of their voice; although, only Shelley would have been able to notice it.
"What?" Shelley turned around and propped her hands on her hips.
"Don't cop the innocent act with me, Shelley!"
"Oh, get over yourself, Amber," She rolled her eyes and draped her large purse over her shoulder. "You know it's true. Don't act like you're some saint."
"Me?" Amber scoffed at the words, tossing her blonde head back in sheer annoyance, "Dear God, Shelley, are you kidding me? I'm not acting like a saint, and I'm not telling you to treat me like one. I'm telling you to stop spreading shit behind my back, especially to that whore Brenda. You know she's the easiest one of all of us; she has no room to talk. She's only doing it because she thinks she'll win you over and won't have to sit alone on the bus anymore," Amber placed her hands on her hips, shooting Shelley an ugly sneer. She lowered her voice, bringing her head closer to Shelley's, "I know you get off on bitching me out, but I'm telling you to keep my name out of your mouth around her, and stop acting like the spoiled little bitch that you are, you got that?"
Shelley couldn't help but smirk inwardly to herself. If anything got her off, it certainly wasn't that. However, that was the farthest thing from her mind at this moment.
"You're just livid because you know it's all true," She bared her teeth. "How can I spread rumors when they're true, Amber?" Shelley kept her eyes narrowed as she eyed the other girl. She was doing everything within her power to sway her reactions away from jealousy. "You talk about Brenda like she's the only victim, when, at the end of the day, you're the one on your knees," She said cynically, suddenly resisting the urge to just turn and jet out the stage door. She was growing weary of this conversation; it was making her physically and mentally sick.
"Ugh!" Amber sighed, doing her best to act disgusted with her, though it was clear that a damaged ego played a large role in this confrontation. "Don't start your holier-than-thou shit with me, Shelley," Amber paused and sneered pleasantly when she saw that her comment had clearly reeled Shelley's attention in. "You, of all people, should know that it's not like that with Corny and me. Just because we get along doesn't mean I'm screwing him, Shelley. You've been hanging around Brenda far too long if you think every relationship has to involve some sort of sexual release to be successful, or even existent," The irony of Amber's words was not lost on her, and she averted her eyes, letting them gaze down at her white pumps.
Shelley laughed spitefully.
"Oh, please," Shelley moved her purse from her shoulder and tossed her sweater on at lightning speed. "I'm not mental, Amber von Tussle," She rolled her eyes again. "I'm sure you have one hell of a time fucking around in his dressing room. I've seen you walking in and out of there almost every day. I'm not as oblivious as you think."
Amber froze, an indignant pout motivating the corners of her lips to turn downward.
"God, you wish that were true, so that you'd have yet another pity party to throw for yourself, don't you? You just wish I couldn't keep my hands off a single person who walked by me so that you could sleep at night knowing that these pathetic little lies you're spreading won't come back to bite you in the ass," Amber knew she was being hypocritical, but she couldn't pretend to care right now. The deadly glare that Shelley had caught Amber in caused her to bite her tongue, to avoid saying anything further. She didn't exactly know how Shelley knew about her and Corny. She'd gone to great lengths to preserve their privacy, and avoided bringing his name up in any type of daily conversation. She kept her eyes averted from his during the show, never made any unusual or suspicious gestures towards him. In fact, she avoided him at all costs, if only for this specific reason, because she knew what would happen when she finally admitted to the fact that Shelley knew her just as well as she thought she did. Maybe even better than Amber knew herself.
Shelley stood there, no longer hiding how pissed and frustrated she was with this whole exchange. She hated having to talk about Corny. She hated having to discuss this with her when it was the absolute last thing she wanted to talk about. And she hated how small Amber made her feel. That was what really got to her. The fact that someone, aside from herself, could build her up and then break her down so quickly, made her absolutely furious.
Amber stood watching her, unsure of what exactly to do. She knew Shelley was angry; it didn't take an idiot to figure that out. Her brows were furrowed, mouth and forehead crunched slightly. Amber crossed her arms over her chest, staring nonchalantly at her, desperate for her to see that she could hold out all night. Desperate for her to realize that she didn't need Shelley to forgive her for this; even if it may have been true.
Both girls were silent for what seemed like hours, until Shelley stepped forward and jabbed her finger into Amber's shoulder, smirking. Amber stumbled back slightly, her pale eyes raising to meet Shelley's as she made direct contact with her. She narrowed her eyes into slits, hissing quietly at her as Shelley stepped closer.
"You know, jealousy isn't very becoming on you, Amber," She chuckled threateningly, her hand moving to grasp onto Amber's wrist as she pressed her lips directly adjacent to her ear. "You don't have to make your desire to have me all to yourself so obvious." Within a few seconds, she had her pressed against the wall near their dressing tables with her teeth grazing the skin of her ear teasingly.
Amber's breath caught in her throat and she sighed involuntarily, her eyelids only half open as she glanced around to see if anyone else was backstage. The rest of the council had gone already, of course; they had no reason to stay. They had families and pets and homework to attend to, but Amber didn't. All she really had to attend to right now was Shelley.
"You couldn't handle having me all to yourself," Amber promised her quietly, keeping her head tilted so that Shelley's lips stayed at her ear. "I'm too much woman for you, Shelley." She smirked, knowing her previous statement would elicit a reaction from the girl.
The redhead looked at her derisively, and then pulled back from her.
"You think you're such a prize, don't you?" She asked her, a sarcastic tinge to her voice. "Well, you're in for a bracing reality check," Shelley swore to her, her expression morphing into another look of contempt.
Amber abruptly turned her face to look at her, her lips dangerously close to Shelley's, a seductive smirk slipping across her lips, "I'm sorry, babe. It's just not gonna happen." She let her eyes meet Shelley's lips, and sucked her own lower lip in slightly, chewing on it to refrain from completely ravaging the girl. She curled her fingers into tight firsts and leaned closer to the redhead. "But, maybe we could work out a little compromise."
"Compromise?" Shelley stayed true to her previous expression and gazed at Amber, issuing a silent challenge to her. Letting one of her hands slide down the length of the blonde's neck to the center of her chest, she gripped for the collar of Amber's dress swiftly, and then glared. "Not on your life," She whispered scornfully to her, just before turning on her heel to leave her there.
Amber watched her go, and didn't bother to call for her. There was no point. She knew Shelley; knew the taste of her lips and the pitch in her voice. She knew, as well as anything, that this would blow over. Knew that one of them would end up on the other's doorstep early one morning or late one night, begging the girl to take her, and without fail, one of them would. This would result in swollen, tired lips, aching muscles, more physical pleasure than Amber had known existed. It was a morosely beautiful dance they shared, and it kept the other coming back for more, always.
Amber rolled her eyes mockingly as the studio door slammed behind Shelley, completing her fantastic exit, and she shifted her weight, pausing for a moment before turning on her heels to return to her vanity. She gathered her supplies, shrugged her purse onto her shoulder and turned sharply, her blue eyes narrowing as she made her way through the hallways of the backstage area, slipping soundlessly into an empty corridor, pressing her back against the door and shifting so that her fingers rapped gently on the entrance to the room.
She waited a moment, holding her breath as she heard shuffling inside the room, and when he pulled the door open, her blue eyes met his. She kept her steely gaze focused on him, and he slid the door open further, allowing her to slip into the room undetected.
"Corny, I need to-" she began to speak, and stopped. His fingers traced over her forearms, and she clenched her jaw, suddenly unable to shake this incredible guilt that plagued her at the thought of Shelley's words.
"I know," he answered her gently, his fingertips now pressing against the edge of her jaw, tilting her head up to look at him. "Are you going to stay here with me for a while today?" His voice was so soft, so incredibly comforting that Amber couldn't even pretend to care that she knew he was fooling around with Brenda, probably more of the council girls. She couldn't pretend to care that she knew that by his words, he was implying something else. Yes, company, but only of the physical kind. She would only stay until he was spent and sweaty, and she would leave as soon as her knees stopped trembling. That was the only thing Corny could offer her; a few moments of pleasure for a lifetime of pain. Still, she was in no position to deny him. He was wanting her, and she needed to be wanted.
"Yes," she answered him, though she wasn't completely sure why. "I'm going to stay."