𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫

Alicia Rivera paced back and forth backstage, the clicking of her shoes against the polished wood floor settling into a smooth staccato rhythm that helped her focus. She was due to perform on stage in front of a live audience in a matter of minutes—and every time she peaked out from behind the curtains she continued to see the reserved seat empty. It twisted up at her heart with every unanswered text message to her boyfriend, but she rationalized that he was running late. Stuck in traffic. Lost track of time. Had a hard time getting into the performing arts center. Lost his ticket. Would she need to come rescue him? If only he would text her back! It'd help ease her nerves, the very least. She didn't want him to miss her first solo dance routine, but it helped to see that both her parents, Len and Nadia, were in their seats to cheer her on for her big day.

"Three minutes to curtain," a faintly British voice announced over the intercom. Alicia swallowed hard, scurrying over to the alcove where she'd stashed her purse and tossed her phone into the pocket, zippering it closed. She had to get a quick run through in before she went on, if she didn't she knew she'd regret it for the rest of the night.

Five, six, seven, eight.

She cued the imaginary music in her head to the beat of Elastic Heart by Sia—it wasn't exactly her first choice for the dance but she needed to keep it PG. Her original had been a mashup of Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande and Hands To Myself by Selena Gomez, but she'd been talked out of it for the sake of her audience. The dance steps were memorized to the core, she could follow it flawlessly and do the routine in her sleep if she really wanted to. Everything she'd ever done had led her up to this moment, she deserved it. All her hard work at Body Alive Dance Studio prepped Alicia to finally have the spotlight to herself.

"Leesh?" a small voice beckoned, just as there was an announcement for one minute to curtain over the intercom.

Alicia pauses, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead to check for any signs of sweat, and turned to face her interruption. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth turned down at the corners, "what are you doing here?"

"You didn't think I'd miss this, did you?" Massie Block raised an eyebrow, both hands planting on her hips.

"Well, all things considered." Alicia gave a half-shrug, her nose twitching slightly at the familiarity of Massie's perfume. It had been a long time since they'd been face to face, since they'd last spoken, and it truly took Alicia by surprise that Massie had come all this way to see her perform.

"I can't stay long, but... I just wanted to wish you luck." Massie attempted to smile but Alicia could tell that something was bothering her. If only she cared enough to ask.

"Thanks," she answered in a clipped tone, twisting on her heel to turn away from Massie, but the other girl caught her arm in a flash. "Uh, hello? Personal space invasion."

"Sorry, I just needed to—"

"Look, whatever apology or fake shit you have to say, I really don't wanna hear it right now, Massie." Alicia all but growled, ripping her arm out of the brunette's grasp. "I'm on in thirty seconds, find me after," she said in a quick attempt to cover her ass, suddenly feeling bad—how could she not? Massie went out of her way to make sure she'd be there to see Alicia tonight for her first real debut as a solo dancer.

"Sure," she said, her tone just on the sharp side, and walked away from Alicia before anything else could be said. The Latina watched her for a few seconds longer before rolling her shoulders back, letting out two deep breaths, and channeling her inner diva as she sauntered out onto the stage once they called her name.

𝔫𝔬𝔴

Claire had disbanded from the girls as soon as they were finished with breakfast at Big Daddy's, driving back to Westchester to pick up her daughter from the in-law's. It was Tuesday afternoon, which meant she had several clients to meet with for a photography session, a mommy-and-me yoga class, and grocery shopping—somewhere in between she wanted to devise a plan on how to get Massie back into her life, thanks to a little tip from Kristen that they would be grabbing lunch together, in hopes of salvaging things.

Now, Claire sat at the breakfast nook in her quaint little home with her Nikon on the tabletop in front of her, while Shay was gated in in the living room playing with her toys and watching Blues Clues. She was fiddling with the cap on her camera, occasionally picking at the bowl of cubed fruit she'd plucked out of the fridge and dipping them in a small dish of chocolate. Her phone was on the charger, but that was just an excuse as to why she hadn't mustered up the courage to text Massie as Kristen had done. She'd succeeded in getting a few test shots done for an engagement photo shoot, a maternity, and a spontaneous graduation announcement for a girl at Columbia University. The yoga class had gotten cancelled, she wasn't complaining that's for sure, and grocery shopping could wait until later.

"Hey baby girl," Claire called to her daughter, who immediately dropped one of her mechanical toys and looked over at her mom as if she'd been caught doing something bad. The toy landed on the floor with a loud thud and Claire giggle-winced. Claire rose from the breakfast nook, with Shay meeting her at the gate that separated the kitchen from the living room, and scooped her up off the floor. "Want some nummies?"

Even though Shay was a little delayed when it came to speaking, or walking, she still had her own way of communicating. To answer Claire's question, the toddler clapped her hands three times then threw her arms up in the air, her own form of speaking—babbling—going a mile a minute. Claire strapped Shay into her high chair and handed her a sippy cup filled with watered down apple juice to occupy her until she got lunch out. Shay pat her hands happily against the highchair's tray, before getting a burst of energy and sweeping her arm out to knocking the sippy cup away. Claire heard it ricochet across the kitchen and sighed as it clanged into the fridge. She was in the middle of pulling out the container of cheese cubes and leftover macaroni from Gracelyn's house when her phone pinged with a new text message—then tripled. She quickly cut up the food for Shay, handing her one of the plastic baby forks, and giving her the apple juice back, before crossing the kitchen to check her phone.

Kristen Gregory: don't ask questions, just roll with it
Kristen Gregory: what do you have to drink
Kristen Gregory: I'm gonna be outside in 2

Claire narrowed her eyes, but just as she'd tapped to reply, her doorbell rang—she spared a glance at Shay before going to open the front door. Even before she wrenched it open, she already knew what—who—was standing on the other side, and was not mentally prepared to come face-to-face with the infamous Massie Block.

Kristen was shaking around the ice in her Starbucks cup impatiently, the dazzling smile matching the light in her blue eyes. She had succeeded getting in Massie's good graces, of course she did—if she didn't, Massie wouldn't be standing here with Kristen on the Fisher's front steps. Massie looked exceptional, professional, in a eggplant-colored Karen Kane embroidered tank top that skimmed the top of her black Hudson Barbara high rise skinny jeans, and COACH Waverly beadchain pointed-toe pumps that complimented her black-and-gold The Kooples metallic trimmed blazer perfectly.

"Uh, come on in," Claire immediately stepped aside to let the two women inside her home. "Can I get you anything?"

"Water," Massie immediately responded, waltzing into the Fisher house with her amber eyes flickering curiously. "Nice place, Kuh-laire. Really suits you."

Claire, unsure of whether or not that was some kind of insult, smiled her thanks and went into the kitchen; a couple minutes later she returned with Massie's glass of water and Shay in tow. She handed the beverage to Massie, who took it graciously and slowly sipped it. Shay's eyes widened at the new female sitting in the living room, and crawled around and gathered as many toys as she possibly could to give to Massie to welcome her into her home.

Kristen and Claire chatted with ease, occasionally attempting to include Massie in their conversation but she politely excused herself to answer a phone call each time they tried—they knew it was a tactic to avoid participating, she must've felt awkward or unsure, because she'd done it enough times in middle school. Kristen was getting a little annoyed, she brought Massie there because she said she'd talk things over with Claire, and this was not how it was supposed to go. The next time Massie came back, Kristen forced herself to leave the room, eyeing Massie distinctly that this can't be something she ignores forever, and stepped out onto the front porch.

"So, Claire," Massie began—taking initiative to break the ice right away as soon as they were alone. "How have things been for you?"

"Pretty good..." she mumbled, "Cam and Derrick are planning to open a restaurant, but for now he's doing some cameraman work for Dylan to help pay the bills until things take off—I'm a stay at home mom, but I do some photography here and there for my own contribution towards things."

"Oh, speaking of Cam..." Massie didn't hesitate diving right into the real reason she wanted to speak with Claire. She had to know the truth. "Does he—"

"Massie Block stop right there," the blonde interrupted, but her voice was shaking. She knew what Massie was going to say and it had her insides twisting up like a pretzel. "Please don't do this."

"You should've thought twice," Massie said simply.

"I thought you were my friend, Massie.." Claire swallowed, trying her hardest to hold back the tears threatening to spill—years worth of pent up emotions were bubbling to the surface.

"I was, and I just wanted what's best for you." Massie claimed, her tone earnest. "But you didn't seem to think so—you thought I was out to hurt you, because Alicia put that thought in your head."

"I didn't—I wasn't—please Massie, it's not like—"

"Save it, Claire." the brunette cut in sharply, "I know you well enough to know for a fact that nobody else knows what you did, and that there is not a single part of you that regrets anything. I've seen you in action over the years, you're not as innocent as you think, and you're definitely not the victim." Massie's voice has softened, so soothing and calm, but the lines of her face had hardened coldly. It scared Claire. "I'm not gonna keep your secret forever, I hope you know that," she added as she rose from the couch, gently placing Shay's toys on the cushions where she once sat.

Claire didn't need Massie to finish talking to know that there was, indeed, an underlying threat in her words: if Claire didn't come clean on her own accord, she was going to expose Claire for the type of person she really is. And it would sound a lot worse coming from Massie. The blonde nodded with understanding, and fidgeted with the hem of her top, trying to think of something else to say but she was at a loss for words. Luckily, Kristen had finally come back inside, and from her silence, the giddy smile on her face, she hadn't heard a thing that Massie had said, no matter how vague it'd been.

Claire had to prolong this, she didn't know how but she did—she needed to buy as much time as she could to find the right way, the right words, to explain her side of the story. Nobody would forgive her if Massie came out with it, she'd at least have a fighting chance if she was the one to clear the air. And the only way Claire saw fit was to pretty much kiss Massie's ass until she came up with a real plan.

.

"Why are you talking to Massie Block again?" Dylan asked, her voice hitched somewhere between a guttural moan and a whisper. It was probably the worst thing to be talking about when she was about to bask in thirty minutes of sexual glory—normally it would have gone on for longer, but she was running short on time this afternoon—but it hadn't left her thoughts since seeing them together the night before at the Block's party. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, maybe because it brought up memories of when they were in middle school, how Derrick had chosen Massie at first back in seventh grade, only to show an interest in Dylan during eighth. They'd gotten pretty hot and heavy throughout high school, never daring to share that dreaded eight letter word because it would ruin what they had, especially after their public relationship ended. Derrick had taken Dylan's virginity but she knew that she wasn't his first—that title went to either Olivia Ryan or Skye Hamilton; nobody could be exactly sure.

Derrick, in the midst of sucking on her left nipple and edging her underwear out of the way so he could do a quick finger-bang before she had to leave him with blue balls again, lifted his head to stare straight in her leafy green eyes. "Do you seriously want to be talking about Massie right now?"

"I mean, no, but..."

"Then let's not," Derrick captured her breast back into his mouth, teeth grazing over her sensitive nipple. Dylan let out a small gasp, her fingers combing over his dirty blonde hair, though silently cursing it hadn't been cut so short. She missed running her hand through those shaggy strands, the way she could tug them hard enough to make him hard without even a kiss or glimpse of her half-naked body while sneaking in a quick fuck between whatever they were doing previously. Nobody knew how often Derrick had her backed up into a corner, not even the Pretty Committee—when they briefly talked about it at breakfast, she made things seem like they were a fluke. She had said it was an occasional thing after they broke up in high school, because she knew they would be judging her for hooking up with an ex rather than just getting back together.

Dylan hated herself for thinking about Derrick's relationship with Massie while he was pleasuring her, her entire body flooding with warmth and tightening with the familiar tingling sensations. She couldn't stop wondering if Derrick was going to "dump" her for Massie now that she was back in town, could it be possible that Derrick was already bouncing between girls to have the best of both worlds? They looked pretty cozy at the party, but as far as she knew, Derrick hadn't woken up in the brunette's bed or vice versa. He had been alone when he picked up Cam from Big Daddy's, she could see that through the windows, but that didn't exactly mean anything.

"Fuck," Dylan whispered, inwardly cursing at her own thoughts and her body's natural release. Derrick smirked against her throat, which he'd started kissing and nipping at, and removed his fingers tantalizingly slow.

"Have fun at work," Derrick tapped her bottom lip with his glistening pointer finger, and laughed softly as he wiped his hand clean with a bunch of napkins he'd kept in his back pocket.

"You're so gross," Dylan whined playfully, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand then sliding it casually on the wall behind her. Derrick pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and exited Dylan's room after making sure the coast was clear—they'd gone back to Merri-Lee's estate for some alone time, it was only ten minutes or so away from where Dylan was expected to be and very much empty thanks to Merri-Lee being at the studio and her sisters were off on a shopping spree, which made it extremely convenient.

She took a ten minute shower, scrubbing off any sign of Derrick and removing the stench of arousal with grapefruit scented body wash. After she was done, she blow dried her hair and styled it to have little flips at the bottom of her loose ringlets, changed into a jaw-dropping outfit that was sure to impress everyone in the room, and perfected her smoky eye makeup. Dylan was due to meet with some personnel for dinner at some restaurant in the city, people that would be closely working with her that she needed to get acquainted with, now that she was on the path to making a name for herself that didn't associate with The Daily Grind or Merri-Lee Marvil.

author's note: sorry it took so long to update and i'm sorry that this chapter isn't as great as the others, this was pretty much just dedicated to Claire and Dylan. For the next update you can look forward to:

- learning more about Claire's secret
- Josh and Alicia having a night together
- discussion on Massie, Derrick, and Dylan
- A heart-to-heart between two beloved characters