Hello there! Okay, there seems to have been some confusion about this story: when I said that it was a good place to stop, I was only referring to stopping that last chapter. This fic isn't quite finished yet - although there is hardly much left to go now.
So in other news: As you probably all know by now, I met Miss Maraudeur in person! Her last-but-one update for Educating Naomi was even posted from the very sofa that I am sitting on right now. We had a great time, and I can tell you that she handles her broomstick like a natural born chaser! And just to give you all a hint: you are going to LOVE what she's done with the next chapter of Educating Naomi... just saying.
So on with this chapter. Try and spot a little cameo appearance in this one from a much-loved Skins character...
Chapter Thirty Two: Loaded
Emily
The days began to pass by very quickly. Our show was a huge success – we were constantly sold out, as every one clamoured to see the hottest act on The Strip. I was still pretty much in hiding for the time-being, though. Our aim was to present the altered ending for a few weeks while we came up with a more permanent end to the show. Once we had done that, then I could return to having a more normal existence. Well, as normal as anything can be, in a city like Vegas.
Oddly enough, our secret was now much easier to keep than it was before. The logic of the press was somewhat surprising to me: they were willing to reveal my presence when it was a complete secret, but now that it was revealed as the ending of the show, their consciences wouldn't allow them to spoil it. I couldn't understand it, but Naomi and Cook were not surprised by it.
Justin didn't make a reappearance, although I was constantly expecting him to. Naomi however, seemed less bothered about that possibility. Whenever I mentioned him, she just said that there was nothing he could do to hurt us. I knew she was right. Having finally stood up to him, Naomi had begun to gain more self-confidence. She was finally starting to give herself a little credit for all of her achievements. Whether Justin showed up again or not, I felt like his shadow had gone from over us once and for all.
Things settled into something of a routine, with each day very similar to the last. I should have known that things weren't likely to stay like that.
"Mornin' campers!" Beemed Cook, as he walked into the rehearsal room one morning. He held a folded newspaper up. "Looks like Freddie'll try anything to snatch some attention back from us!"
"What's he done?" Asked Naomi, a small hint of alarm in her voice. Cook grinned, and shook the paper open with a flair. It was a local newspaper, a one that liked to print any 'gossip' about the Vegas performers. Cook began to flick through the pages. He was quite a way through it before he found what he was looking for, so whatever it was, it clearly wasn't big news.
"Here we go." Cook cleared his throat importantly. "At the end of his show yesterday evening, the Marvellous McClair showed that he too has a romantic side. To the delight of his audience, he went down on bended knee and proposed to his assistant Elizabeth Stonem. Miss Stonem, known in the show as the Enigmatic Effy, was quick to accept his proposal." Cook placed the paper on the floor so that we could all have a look. "Check it out! That's all the space they gave it. That and a crappy picture of the two of them." His face seemed full of glee at how little interest this announcement had garnered.
"Cook, are you okay?" Asked Naomi, hesitantly. Cook shrugged.
"Yeah, course I am!" Naomi stepped closer and placed a gentle hand on his arm. Cook shook his head. "I don't give a fuck about that bitch anymore!" He declared. He sounded like he meant it, but I don't know him as well as Naomi does. She didn't look convinced. Cook continued. "Look, if Freddie wants to go saddling himself with a wife, then that's his look-out, isn't it? But this just shows how desperate for attention they are!" Naomi chuckled.
"Yeah, it is a bit desperate, isn't it? Trying to copy my big romantic gesture."
"What's a bit desperate?" Asked Katie, just arriving in the rehearsal room. With a sinking feeling, and unable to intervene, I watched as Cook pointed straight at the paper.
"Freddie! He's only gone and proposed to Effy at the end of his show!"
I braced myself for whatever was to come. I still didn't know exactly what had gone on between Freddie and Katie – or for that matter, if it was going on still – but something told me that this wouldn't be happy news for her.
"Cook!" Just too late, Naomi reached where I was at in my thoughts.
"Katie, I…" I stepped towards my sister, ready to offer comfort if it was needed. She was stood as still as a statue, her face unreadable.
"They've got engaged?" She asked, incredulous. Naomi nodded softly. Ignoring me, Katie stepped forward and snatched up the paper. She read it through frantically, her eyes darting back and forth across the page. "That fucking liar!" She snapped, scrunching her eyes closed. I moved closer and placed my hand on her shoulder.
"You never did tell us what happened with Freddie" I began, gently. She didn't seem to hear me. She opened her eyes, and frowned at the article again, as though hoping it would reveal more information.
"Right" she said softly, more to herself than to anyone else. "That bastard's not going to get away with this" she muttered, before throwing the paper aside and storming out of the room.
"Katie!" I called after her, but she was already gone.
"Sorry" said Cook, sheepishly. "I forgot that her and Freddie…" he shrugged. "What exactly did happen between her and Freddie?" He asked. I shook my head.
"She never did tell me. She always made out like it was nothing, but…" I stared at the door that Katie just left by. How much had there been between them?
"I'm sure she's okay." Naomi was trying her best to reassure me, but I couldn't stop worrying about Katie. We were both in my hotel room, having abandoned rehearsals for the day. We were trying to spend some quality time together, but I kept looking out of the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of my sister. "She seemed more… angry, than upset" mused Naomi. I nodded.
"Yeah, but that's how Katie hides things" I explained. "She never really lets things show much – she always bottles it up. Even when we were kids, she hardly ever cried. I was always the emotional one, and Katie was the strong one." I sighed, and moved to sit down on the bed next to my girlfriend. "Even when she split up with Scott, I didn't see her cry. She may have done so in private, but not to me."
"Does she never cry?" Asked Naomi with concern.
"Yeah, sometimes. She cried when she found out that she couldn't have kids. Not straight away – it was a few days later. The implications of it just seemed to hit her all of a sudden, and she just let it all out." I sighed as I remembered that day: holding a sobbing Katie in my arms, and just wishing that I could take her pain away.
"But this thing with Freddie…" Naomi hesitated, not sure how best to phrase what she was thinking. I understood what she was getting at.
"Yeah, it doesn't seem as though she could have really fallen for him somehow, does it?" I muttered. There was something about the image of Katie being desperately in love with Freddie that just didn't seem accurate. I only hoped that I was right – that she wasn't heartbroken by his engagement.
"No, she's never seemed like she was in love with him" said Naomi. "I mean, she's your sister, but to me she seemed like she was just pissed off more than anything, this morning." I nodded. Naomi had a point, but there was still a nagging though at the back of my mind that there was a little more to Katie's reaction than that. But try as I might, I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"So how's Cook?" I asked, trying to push Katie out of my thoughts, at least for a little while. Naomi shrugged.
"It's Cook. He doesn't really show things either."
I chuckled inwardly at the irony: I had spent practically all of my adult life hiding in the closet, and Naomi had spent the last four years running from her problems. Yet here we were, talking as if we were the emotionally mature members of our group.
"I think he's alright" added Naomi, thoughtfully. "He accepted ages ago that he lost Effy to Freddie – them getting married doesn't really change anything."
"It probably won't change his chances of getting the odd shag from her" I said, thinking of the day that Naomi and Katie caught the two of them together in the rehearsal room. Naomi chuckled.
"I think that actually helped him to get over her, somehow" she added suddenly, clearly thinking about that same day. "Sounds kinda shallow, but… I think knowing that he can still screw her if he wants to…" I nodded, understanding what she meant. It did sound shallow, but somehow not so shallow when it came to Cook. "It's not that he's only after sex" added Naomi quickly, wanting to defend her best friend. "But it…"
"But sex does feature pretty highly on his list of priorities" I suggested. Naomi nodded, and we both giggled.
After a moment, Naomi's face became serious again.
"Funny" she mused. "But it never featured very highly on my list of priorities." Her eyes darted away from me, like they so often did whenever she discussed her past. "I used sex to try and make me feel better about myself for a while, but it never worked."
"And before that?" I prompted. I didn't have any wish to know intimate details of her sex-life with Justin, but I had to admit to being a little curious. Naomi shrugged, awkwardly.
"I wasn't really that bothered about it" she admitted. "I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. I just figured that I wasn't that highly sexed."
I snorted at that. Ever since we had first slept together, I had found it practically impossible to keep Naomi's hands off me. She looked up at the noise, and her eyes met mine. A shy smile crept across her face.
"Please note that I used past tense!" She insisted. "Everything changed when I met you."
"Glad I could help" I answered with a smirk. Naomi took my hand with hers.
"I mean it" she said sincerely. "You've changed everything for me. I never knew what 'making love' was, before I met you. We don't just fuck each other, we… I mean that when I'm with you I want to… I mean…" as her words dried up, I decided to plough in and rescue her. I closed the space between us, and pressed my lips to hers. She responded immediately, sliding her arms around me and pulling me closer.
"Emily, I love you so much" she breathed against my lips, before kissing me again. This time, the kiss deepened. I moaned as her tongue met mine. Who are we kidding? We can neither of us get enough of the other one – there's no point pretending any different.
We kissed with slow, but passionate kisses, our arms entwined around each other's waists. Then Naomi pulled slightly back from me. She raised a hand up to stroke my cheek, as she stared into my eyes.
"You are so gorgeous" she whispered, a hint of awe in her voice. She kissed me again, with a fervour that took my breath away. When we next broke apart, I found myself panting slightly for breath. One look at Naomi's reddened cheeks told me that she was getting as het up as I was.
Again she moved back to kiss me, as though she were starving and my lips were her nourishment. Fingers sought out skin, as things began to heat up even further. Clothes were slowly discarded, as all other thoughts and concerns fled from our minds. We began to lick and stroke and caress, showering adoration on each other's bodies.
After an afternoon spent in blissful abandonment, Naomi and I got dressed and returned to the real world. There was still a show to perform, after all.
We walked hand in hand into the backstage area of the theatre. Then we went our separate ways into our dressing rooms. Katie was already in ours, busy getting into costume.
"Katie, where've you been?" I asked, abruptly. She gave a casual shrug.
"Just had some stuff to do, that's all." All trace of her earlier anger was gone – she seemed like her normal self.
"Are you okay?" I asked, wanting to make sure. Katie threw me a questioning glance.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Her complete change of demeanour had me a little thrown.
"Well, just earlier… I mean, Freddie and Effy…"
Katie made a dismissive snort.
"I'm not heartbroken over that skinny little twerp, if that's what you're thinking!" She declared.
"No, I just thought…" I decided to try a different tack. "Where have you been all day, anyway?"
Katie switched her gaze to the mirror above the dressing table, and started to apply her make-up.
"I told you, I just had something to take care of." She paused, thoughtfully. "I had to deal with the garbage."
"But…"
"And anyway, I wasn't gone all day - I came back around lunchtime." Her reflection caught my eye and smirked at me. "I was going to knock for you, but you sounded like you didn't want to be disturbed."
I blushed a little. I doubt that Naomi and I had been particularly quiet, earlier on. Katie sniggered as she noticed my embarrassment.
"I'm just glad that you've finally figured out what your fanny is for. Seriously, Ems – I used to think you were in training to become a nun!"
"Oye!" I snatched up a toy mascot, and threw it playfully at my sister. "Just because you shag like you're practicing for an Olympic event, doesn't mean the rest of us have to!"
Katie gasped in pretended shock.
"Are you saying that I'm only shagging at an amateur level?" She demanded, haughtily.
"Would you rather be thought of as a pro?" I asked with a giggle.
"Hmm, not really!"
And so all attempts at a serious conversation were done away with. At least for the time being – I fully intended to try and find out a little bit more of what had been going on with Katie in recent weeks.
The show was another roaring success. We had three encores before the audience finally let us go and began to file out of the theatre. Then the four of us went to get changed in our dressing rooms. Afterwards, we all collected together backstage. A few of the stage-hands were still hanging around, huddled together in conversation. At least I didn't have to hide from them anymore, now that I was revealed in the show.
"What's going on? Why haven't you got this stuff tidied up?" Asked Naomi, noticing that the crew had left-off part way through getting the things from the show put away. Immediately they split apart like a flock of startled birds, and continued with their work.
"Sorry Naomi" said the one who was in charge, and who ordinarily didn't allow any slacking-off. "We were just talking about the news. You know – about McLair."
Naomi frowned at him.
"You were talking about his engagement? I didn't take you guys for being so romantic!"
The gaffer shook his head sadly.
"No, not that. You won't of heard yet - it happened while you were onstage. I've got a friend who works back-stage on their show – I just spoke to him."
"What happened?" Demanded Cook, stepping closer. All four of us gave the man our full attention.
"There was an accident" he told us. "During his final trick."
"The bullet catch" breathed Naomi.
"Yeah, something went wrong. Instead of catching the bullet, McLair got shot."
We stared around at each other, all of us struck dumb with shock.
"He's dead?" Asked Katie, in an anguished voice. The gaffer shook his head.
"No, he's still alive. He's been taken to hospital."
"What exactly happened?" Asked Naomi in a quiet voice. The gaffer shrugged.
"It's not really clear, yet. His assistant fired the gun, and he collapsed to the stage holding his face. Apparently, there was blood everywhere."
"Oh my God!" Katie staggered a little. Her face looked distinctly green.
"That's not all" added the gaffer. His voice held a slight hint of enjoyment at being able to deliver such dramatic news. "The audience panicked when it happened. They all tried to make for the exits at the same time, and caused a massive crush."
"People in the audience were hurt?" Asked Naomi in horror. A nod from the gaffer.
"Yeah, quite a few of them. Just minor injuries mostly, but one woman was hurt pretty badly. She's the niece of the guy who owns that hotel – her name's Mandy something-or-other. Apparently she fell down between the aisles but she's freakishly tall, and couldn't get back up again. She ended up getting trampled on. Anyway, she's mashed up pretty badly – my mate said her own mother wouldn't recognise her, now. They reckon she'll be drinking soup through a straw for the foreseeable future."
Naomi, Cook and I all exchanged agonised looks. None of us new exactly what to say. Sure, we had been rivals with Freddie and Effy, but we had no wish for things to end like this. I glanced across at Katie to see how she was bearing the news. She looked like she was going to be sick. None of us looked in good shape, but she looked positively dreadful.
"That's so awful" she muttered to herself. I was on the point of moving closer to give her some comfort, when I heard the beep of a text message. As we all watched, the gaffer dragged his mobile from his pocket. Phones were supposed to be always switched off back-stage, but none of us were going to reprimand him at a time like this. He read the message, then gave a gleeful chuckle. Why do some people take a genuine delight in others misfortunes?
"The police have got the whole theatre in lock-down now" he informed us. "They're talking about sabotage. Somebody's done that to him deliberately, and they're going for attempted murder."
"Fuck." The word was muttered softly, and it came from Katie. I stared at her. Her eyes met mine, and she held my gaze for a few seconds before looking away. She looked tormented, and - was I mistaken? Or were her eyes also filled with remorse?
Well I hope that was worth waiting for! Please let me know what you thought of that.
