Kelsey Rose: This is where things start to get spicy. ;)

Tracy: I can't wait to write the next few chapters of this story, and...I'm trying to get back into my other ones, I really, really am. I've had a slight distraction, but I'm really trying to, so...we'll see what happens.

Corny, of course, had no idea what he was in for. He found himself in his dressing room sometime after the show that afternoon, loosening his tie, unbuttoning his suit jacket, and resting on the couch. He always took a moment to breathe in his dressing room before heading home for the evening, and figured that he, more than anyone, deserved it. If not for all of the physical exertion he experienced during the show, then certainly for managing to keep the girls on the show away from each other, which in turn kept them away from asking too many questions about him, and inevitably finding out that he had bedded the majority of them.

It wasn't difficult to imagine why they wanted him, not in his own mind. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He knew things they wanted to be taught, and would teach them willingly. In all technical aspects, he was their mentor, and took this delegation rather seriously. He was always careful with the responsibility he had been dealt, save for that stupid predicament Brenda had gotten them into. He had given her a hundred dollars, and for this somewhat meager amount of money, she'd assured him that she would keep quiet about the paternity of the child. Whether she would use the money for a back-alley abortion, a new dress, a manicure, he didn't know, and didn't care. He had done what she had expected of him. It was his job to love them for a few moments at any given time, not their entire lives.

Within moments, however, a certain redhead had found her way into the ever-familiar studio. Much to her delight, it was empty. The custodians were through for the evening, and she was left to assume that it would just be Corny and herself. Perfect. Shelley moved stealthily towards his dressing room door, and, just before she decided to rap her knuckles against the wooden door, paused. Smirking, she tossed her coat aside, and then slowly undid her dress until it was nothing but a pile on the floor. Sure, she was only furthering Link's point about her, but she didn't give a shit.

Satisfied, she nonchalantly knocked the back of her palm against the door.

Corny heard the sudden rap against the door and groaned slightly, rising and forcing his feet to carry him to the door. His hand fell upon the knob, and he twisted it, pulling it open. His eyes, almost instinctively, went immediately to Shelley's body, rather than her face, his eyes scanning down her sharp curves before forcing himself to look to her face, attempting not to make a show of sucking in his breath as his eyes met hers.

"Uh," he stammered for a moment, then clenched his jaw, "Shelley-" and though he knew that, without a moment's hesitation, he should have told her to slip back into that dress crumpled by her feet, but those weren't the words that slipped from his mouth, "What are you doing here?" His eyes locked on her body, even as he spoke.

"I came to see you, of course," She crooned, her eyebrows rising suggestively. Now was her chance to prove her worth as an 'actress,' whatever that called for. Taking a step forward, she shoved him backwards slightly with one push of her palm against his shoulder. "You're alone. That's… different," She observed innocently, her fingers curling around the collar of his shirt.

He let her push her back, his feet hurrying to catch him before he fell and busted his head against the coffee table not too far behind him.

"Shelley-" he said her name again, but found himself suddenly speechless, "You don't-well, you shouldn't be in here." Still, his eyes were fixed on her body, and he allowed his fingers to work up to hers, beginning to uncurl her fingers from his shirt, but pausing just a moment too long with her fingers around his hand, and he held her like that for a moment, his voice dropping suddenly as he observed her, "You're not wearing any clothes."

Shelley smirked and quickly snatched a hold of his hand. Slowly, she brought it towards her, and then carefully positioned it upon her shoulder, where she let his fingers linger where they may.

"As if you're one to protest," She said softly, as she took a step closer to him, her leg brushing against his ever so slightly. Shelley glanced up at him, that playful smirk forever tormenting her features. "Why are you so shy all of a sudden, anyway, Collins?" She wondered, her other hand beginning to creep up his chest until it reached his neck, where it then snaked around it.

"Shy?" The word came out as a cracked whisper, and he shook his head, his fingers suddenly moving without hesitation over her shoulder, cupping it gently, using his fingers to skim the soft skin there. "I don't know the meaning of the word shy, Shelley." He dipped his head in closer to hers, "There are a few dozen girls at your school who would be willing to testify to that."

He narrowed his eyes at her, not bothering to move away.

"You're one of the few council girls that's never even given me a second glance. What are you up to, Shelley?"

"I'm offended, Corny," Shelley pouted her lower lip, and brushed past him. "Honestly, why is it that you assume I'm up to something? Is it not possible that I've always had some sort of secret… attraction to you?" She feigned betrayal, and then sat down on his couch in a very 'come hither,' though elegant fashion. Shelley crossed one leg over the other, and leaned back against the couch. Her pale eyes glanced up and over at him with an almost harmless, yet mysterious connotation to them.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her as she retreated to the couch, but didn't move any closer to her.

"If by secret attraction you mean, tried to scratch my eyes out and blind me, then yes, it's possible you've had some sort of secret attraction to me." He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from her before looking back at her, "Wait a minute. Does this have something to do with Amber?"

Shelley had to force herself not to roll her eyes. She was already ridiculously nauseated, so there was no point in getting extremely pissed off, as well.

"Why would this have anything to do with Amber?" She began, uncrossing her legs as she did so. "The world does not revolve around her, contrary to popular belief."

He watched her still, with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, well, the world may not, but a huge part of this studio does, and there's usually not a thing that goes on in this place without her knowing about it." He sighed, taking a step closer to her, "I'm just saying, Shelley, if this is all part of some intricate plot to get back at her for some petty fight you got into, I'm not getting involved." Still, he couldn't force himself to look away from her, "Tell me now if it is, Shelley," he warned lightly, "I'm not some sort of Red Cross for teenage girls with wounded hearts, and I don't provide shelter for the needy." He paused for a moment, then took a step closer to her, his pants leg brushing against the skin of her knee, "So?"

Shelley frowned for a moment, and then stood, now face-to-face with him.

"I'm an independent young woman, Corny," She said sternly, as she began to close the small gap between them. "This has nothing to do with her," Shelley said finally, her hands moving to his neck. Gradually, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his firmly, while she tried to convince herself not to be sick from the terrible sensations that coursed through her.

He didn't break away from the kiss, and let his fingers slip around her waist, pulling her closer to him before sneaking up and massaging the small of her back lightly. His fingers traced over her bare skin before he slowly moved his hands down, his fingertips brushing the waistband of her panties before moving up her back. His fingers hooked into the back of her bra, tugging at it lightly and teasingly, though not allowing himself to remove it just yet.

"Are you?" He asked her lightly after the kiss had been broken, his breath falling close to her ear, "I would love to see that independent young woman take the rest of her clothes off, then."

"I'm not that easy," Shelley insisted with a smirk, her fingers curling and uncurling behind his neck. "Let's see what you can do," She said, her voice just barely above a whisper. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt again, she pulled him down with her onto the couch. She pressed her lips against his again, and let her hands trail slowly down the length of his arms before sharply taking hold of his wrists and holding his hands down, away from her. Age and gender had nothing to do with it, she was still Shelley, still outrageously assertive, and still very much dominant in this situation.

He let himself fall slightly against her, groaning a little as she held his hands that way, his mouth finding a spot just below her chin, his lips kissing a wet trail down her neck and to the base of her collarbone, sucking on her skin lightly before pulling back a little, attempting to break his hands free from her. He continued his kisses down her chest, his lips playing softly on the skin just above her breasts, kisses landing just above the material of her bra.

"You have yet to see what I can do, dear Shelley," he promised her, his voice silky-smooth as he allowed himself to taste her skin, his head still dipping between her breasts as he continued to pull his hands from her surprisingly strong grasp.

Bad sex and foreplay twice in one day was a little much for Shelley, she had to admit, but she couldn't very well stop her plan when it was already in motion. Imitating a smirk, she dug her fingernails lightly into his wrists before abruptly releasing them. As she was about to speak, she was overcome with the strong desire to gag yet again. The feeling of his revolting saliva against her skin, and worse in her mouth, made her want to keel over the nearest toilet, wherever the hell that may be.

"Is that so?" She purred, her fingers working at the buttons of his shirt until she was effortlessly able to cast it aside, with a little compensation from him, of course. "Then, show me," Shelley urged him intriguingly, hoping that she didn't sound half as uninspired as she felt.

There was no vocal response from him; none was needed, not as he allowed his head to dip further and allowed his kisses to become wetter with each inch he descended further. His hands finally found her hips, setting her back slightly against the couch and crouching slightly so that he could explore her body further. His lips found the skin just above her belly button and he kissed her there lightly for a moment, his fingers skimming softly over her hips, tracing an aimless pattern as he let his tongue dart out to lick the skin.

Shelley bit her tongue with a vicious amount of force to keep herself from seriously gagging. However, as she heard the door open and saw a pleasantly familiar face in its threshold, she smirked again to herself. At an instant, she tilted her head back and moaned softly, the muscles in her stomach tensing as she let out a small, pleasurable giggle. By forcing herself to breathe more heavily along with her act, she made her face flush, and that was exactly what she was going for. If she couldn't enjoy what was going on presently, then she could at least get a kick out of the aftershock for all it was worth.

Amber had come here, to Corny's dressing room, fully expecting to find him, though not necessarily with a girl, particularly Shelley. As she threw the door open, her eyes narrowed and fell upon him, clearly kneeling and kissing down Shelley's body, only God knew what he was actually kissing. She sucked her breath in, her cheeks flushing instantly, as her gaze settled upon the similarly flushed redhead with her head tilted. She swallowed hard, clenching her teeth silently, still watching them as Corny moved slightly, pushing Shelley's knees apart slightly as he kneeled between them. She opened her mouth to speak as Corny chuckled softly, tracing his fingers down the insides of Shelley's thighs.

Shelley sighed in false ecstasy, and amazingly kept herself from shuddering in disgust as Corny pushed her knees apart. Grinning shrewdly, she found her eyes locked with Amber's for a moment. Letting her eyes fall shut once more, she moaned again, and curled her fingers against his shoulders.

"Oh, God, Corny, I love it when you use your mouth like that."

"What the hell!" She dug her nails into Corny's shoulder, pulling him back and nearly causing him to fall from his crouched position on the floor. He turned, his eyes wide at the sight of her and fully expecting to get an ear-full from the outraged blonde. She narrowed her eyes hatefully at him, then stepped dangerously close to Shelley, forcing Corny to relinquish his position between Shelley's legs for Amber to stand between them, pointing her finger accusingly down at the smirking redhead. "You are so damn stupid, do you know that? You think Corny actually believes that you're enjoying this?" She turned her head sharply to look at the older male, who watched her cautiously, "Corny, you stupid fuck, you think for one second that she's not lying to your face?" She scoffed in disgust at him.

"You're stupider than I thought if you think that's what gets her off."

She shifted, turning back to Shelley suddenly, her eyes catching on her body for just a moment too long before she forced herself to look at Shelley's face, her eyes dark and narrow.

"You're such a lying little whore, Shelley," she sneered at her, her voice low and quiet, "You have nothing better to do than make every aspect of my life miserable, do you?" Her lips curled into a hard sneer as she leaned slightly over her, "Look at you, coming in here like a hooker, and for what, Shelley, so you can say you beat me at some kind of stupid ass game that you started?"

Shelley merely stared as Amber went off. Her expression was blank, and, even though she was in nothing, save her underclothes, she didn't even bother with trying to cover up. What would she be hiding from, anyway? Tilting her head slightly, she crossed her legs and folded her arms over her chest idly, one eyebrow raised. If Amber had expected any sort of reaction out of her, she would get nothing of the sort—not yet, anyway.

Amber stared hard at her, her face flushed dark crimson, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. She swallowed hard; it was an attempt to swallow down all of her emotion; her guilt and sadness, frustration and hatred. It was nearly beyond impossible, of course, for her face not to betray her. Her fingers curled into tight fists at her side, and she bit on her lip, drawing it into her mouth quickly, as she was certain the bitter taste that hit her suddenly was blood.

"You know what?" She glared at Shelley for another minute, then glanced back at Corny, shaking her head, "Fuck this, and fuck both of you." She turned, swallowing again as she started toward the door and then turned sharply on her heels, "No, better yet, just stay here and fuck each other. Because neither of you deserve better than the dumb-asses that you both are."

Throughout the silence that enveloped the room and the fierce remarks from Amber, Shelley just sat there, uncertain of how she was supposed to react. She kept her eyes away from Corny, and, instead, locked onto Amber's angry and hurt gaze. At that moment, she could say that she felt some sort of pang within her, but as to what it was exactly, she hadn't the faintest idea.

Once Amber left, Shelley stifled a small sigh, and then finally let her vacant eyes wander back towards Corny. She lifted herself up and got behind him, her lips lingering dangerously close to his ear, as her hands rested on either shoulder. Feigning a smirk, she purred softly into his ear.

"Don't let her bother you," She started to say, her eyes narrowing. "She's just a minor inconvenience; she always has been."

He allowed himself to smirk as she said the words, then shook his head.

"No, not a minor inconvenience. She's a huge pain in the ass. I would expect you of all people to recognize that, Shelley." He turned his head a little to look at her, "But she's not important. Never has been, never will be. Let her be pissed; it will keep her out of our hair for a little while." He moaned softly at the feeling of her fingertips against his shoulders, "Believe me, when you hurt precious little Amber's feelings, she doesn't come crawling back for more."

Shelley had to force herself not to cringe or seethe with rage at the things that he was saying. It took a strong bundle of willpower not to grab him by the hair and hiss and yell at him until she was inevitably satisfied.

"Enough about Amber," She said coldly, after a few moments of silence. "I did not come here to talk about her," Shelley curled her fingertips against his neck and kept her lips near his ear. "I'm the one who has your undivided attention."

He growled quietly, turning his head to look at her before shifting, moving and allowing his hands to skim down her sides again, his fingertips brushing her smooth skin.

"Yes," he nodded his head slowly, his voice quiet, silky smooth, just as it was with Amber, and every other girl. "You have my complete undivided attention…" he kissed the base of her neck again, trailing his way up to her ear and whispering the words to her quietly, "And still… I can think of two things that I'd really like to see… divided."

Shelley sucked in her breath sharply, and then smirked at him, her eyes giving the illusion of interest. She pursed her lips and side-glanced him as he spoke, a sinister glint in her eyes.

"Yes, of course," She promised, her voice low as she leaned up and began whispering to him. "Oh, but, by the way… I've been meaning to tell you something."

He smirked at her, his eyes connecting with hers, and lowered his head a little, keeping his face close to hers.

"Yes?"

Narrowing her eyes again, she pressed her lips directly adjacent to his ear.

"I wouldn't have sex with you if you were the last person on earth, Corny," She said bitterly, her fingernails digging into his shoulder as she shoved him away from her harshly, and stood. Shelley tipped her nose in the air as she pushed her way out the door, scooped up her dress, and then slammed his dressing room door behind her. Quickly and fiercely throwing her dress back on, she paused to sigh and glance around the studio. She had accomplished what she had come to do, but she still couldn't shake a certain feeling from her.

Pulling her sweater around her, she began towards the stage door, and then slowly pushed it open. Narrowing her eyes a bit, she glanced around the parking lot for her car. Just as her eyes were about to sweep over it, they were ensnared by a flash of bright colors, flawless blonde hair, and pure, revealing blue eyes. Holding her breath for a moment, she made her way out the door in a hurried and disoriented fashion.

Amber pulled her sweater around her as well, her eyes connecting with Shelley's for only a moment as she looked away from her, the wind whipping against her with such force that she almost felt as if she would blow away. She squinted her eyes against the cool wind, then turned back to look at Shelley. God damnit, why was her mother taking so long to get here? The one day she was more than desperate to escape this living hell of a studio was the day she decided not to show up. Amber tasted a bitterness in her mouth, and thought for a moment that she might throw up as she watched Shelley walk.

"He must be getting faster," she said the words to no one in particular, and tried to convince herself that she hadn't just walked in on that scene; hadn't seen his hands on her, hadn't seen her tanned, flawless body writhing at his touch. She let her gaze brush the ground for a moment, and then raised her eyes, catching Shelley's own pale eyes. As much as it hurt her, she forced herself to stare into the same eyes that she'd gazed into so many days; so many nights. She clenched her jaw and allowed herself to stare at the redhead, her hands curling into fists on her lap.

Shelley glanced back at Amber briefly before getting into her car. She had just barely heard what she said, and she kept herself from hissing in revulsion. Amber could think whatever the hell she wanted for all that Shelley cared. Sighing, she started the car and headed off in a seemingly random direction. Wherever she decided to go, it wouldn't be home.

As Shelley drove away, Amber pulled the sweater slightly in front of her face, dipping her head to bury it in the soft fabric. Like this, she could pretend that she was merely shielding herself from the wind, until her mother arrived.

Sitting on that bench, buried within herself, Amber used the cloth of her sweater to wipe the single fallen tear from her cheek.

Of course it didn't matter. It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last time she found herself crying over Shelley. Though at that moment, she made a vow to herself that as long as Shelley could force herself not to care about what they had, Amber could, too.

Shelley was the one, after all, who had taught Amber everything she knew about lying to herself.