IC Time: October 16, 2007
Location: Roberston Residence: Garage
Synopsis: Late night practice has Anastasia and Carly revealing things to each other that they've been keeping a little secret.
Submitted by: Carly
The night is unseasonably warm and dark, clouds partially cover the sky, it is eerie to say the least, especially when you live right next door to the cemetery. The soft sounds of music can be heard coming from the garage of the Robertson household, one of the doors has been partially left open. Upon closer inspection, the music being played isn't so soft, it's pop music, Pussycat Dolls as a matter of fact. Inside, on the cold grey cement, is Carly Robertson, the flighty blonde Senior at Forks High, dancing her feet off. While this would be a regular scene, it isn't, the girl is dancing around a chair with a top hat and a cane… and the dance she is doing could be considered quite lewd.
Anastasia has given up. Ten minutes of knocking and waiting with no answer is apparently too long. The blonde girl turns away from the door, starting back toward the street… and stops, looking around, one eyebrow arced thoughtfully. "Now where…"
And then her eyes chance upon the partly-open garage door, and a faint light painting a brighter swath on the other door. She moves closer, making no particular effort at being quiet. The young vampiress, even in boots, naturally walks rather softly, though the music likely helps her to remain unnoticed. A moment later she peeks through the crack between the two doors.
And stares, her mouth falling open for a moment as her eyes turn huge. "Oh… Em… Gee…" she murmurs, then blinks and tries to pull her wits back together.
Carly is quite engrossed in the song, and her dance. Sounding out the steps as she goes, it is obvious that she is practicing for something, not just for fun. "Step two three, down, up, down, up, grind, step, step, step…" The song's slow rhythm is ideal for the young girl who is having a little trouble with some of the poses on the chair. Hopping up onto it, she feels the wobble, but goes on, "Twirl… Whoah geez!" And she jumps off the thing lightly just as it clambers to the floor. A long sigh is given as she moves over to push a button the laptop that is connected to the soundboard. She hasn't noticed the vampiress yet, it is likely that she is too preoccupied with her own business.
Ana watches, paying some attention to the dancing girl's face, then gasping softly as the chair nearly goes over with Carly on it. She breathes a quiet sigh of relief as it doesn't.
Then her eyes widen a little as the light of the laptop's screen strikes the dancer's face. She quickly knocks lightly on the closed half of the garage doors. "Carly?" she says, nearly in a whisper.
The blonde teen quickly looks up and turns a deep shade of red, "Oh god! I thought my mom came out here!" She runs over to the door and almost pulls the other girl in, peeking out before she closes it. "Nobody else is out there, right? I don't need /this/ reputation on my head… How much did you see?" The young girl is quite embarrassed by the looks of it, as she finally turns to face the other blonde. "Oh hey.. you're the girl from the college… black veil?" She makes her way back over to the chair and lifts it easily back onto its feet.
"Eep!" Ana squeaks as she's almost pulled inside, and darts through the doors as fast as she can, her suspenders and too-big pants shifted askew from the tugging and too-hasty movement and her cap nearly dislodged from her head as its bill brushes the garage door's edge. "Ah… no, no! I'm alone. I just heard your music, and wondered what it was," she replies, faintly flustered.
She adjusts her cap to sit more properly on her head, then smiles more warmly. "Nice to see you again. And I was kind of kidding about the black veil… I settled for a little black t-shirt and…" She pauses hastily, blushing a little. "Um, so, what's the dancing for? You're good, by the way. Take it from a singer."
"You're a singer too?" Carly beams as she hears this revelation, wandering over to a stool and hopping up to sit on it. She motions to the big comfy couch against the wall, "Have a seat. I've got an audition on Saturday… so I'm practicing. I can't let my mom and dad know though, so I can only practice when they're asleep or when they're not home. And now I'm talking way too much." The girl flushes again and shakes her head, "Sorry, I get a little worked up."
"Yeah. Musician, really, since I also play guitar and piano." She blinks at the revelation. "Wow, that's quite a secret," Ana replies, a bit awestruck. "Why don't you want them to know? They don't support your dreams of stardom?" she asks, her tone sincere and a little concerned. At the comment about talking too much, Ana grins and lays a hand gently on one of Carly's shoulders. "Really, it's okay. I get worked up, too, and I chatter a lot more than you sometimes, trust me. So what are you auditioning for? The topper and cane are an interesting touch."
"Cabaret" Carly says simply, trying not to blush, but it doesn't work. She tries to mask her embarrassment by giving the other girl a sort of half grin, "They support my dreams, they supported all the bands I was in, they buy me all of this recording stuff and fantastic guitars… but I don't think they'd support this. I think my dad said 'peep show strippers' when I showed him the ad. He didn't even look at it. But my agent said it might be good for my career… to help get noticed." She bites her lower lip and glances up the stairs, wriggling a little on the seat. "Hey, I haven't showed anyone and I am /really/ dying to… do you think you could keep a secret?"
Ana's grin remains. "Of course! Like I'd rat out a fellow musician," she replies, taking the offered seat on the comfy couch. "Anyway, nothing to worry about right now… just set the cane and the topper out of sight, and if anyone comes down, you're talking to a school chum, right?" she adds, with a faintly impish smile. That fades as a suspender slips from her shoulder and falls to the cushion, and she glances down at herself. "Bloody… stupid pants." She hooks the dislodges suspender and pulls it back up over her shoulder, then shifts a little on the couch to try to pull her pants up, likely to cover the several inches of black panties peeking over her waistband. "They always do this to me…"
Waving to the other girl to follow, Carly hops off her stool and proceeds to run up the stairs. "This way, it's so… bad… but it looks so pretty!" At the top of the stairs is a bedroom, a very girly bedroom. Windows wrap around the south and east side, for the most part they are unshuttered and the girl is free to look outside. The house next door is quite visible and the one window on the second floor that could peek into the girl's bedroom is quite obstructed by curtains. Carly proceeds to open a closet door, and hanging on the other side is a suit of lingerie so bedecked with lace and ribbons that it seems almost absurd. It is pink, with a fine grey net overtop, muting the color just a touch. And on the floor is a pair of silver 3 1/2" Jimmy Choo peep toes.
Ana follows, being careful to walk quietly in her boots. She arrives a little behind Carly, still adjusting her pants and suspenders, and glances around the room appreciatively. "Not quite my style, but /nice/ room." She turns her smile on Carly, just as the closet door is opened. And she can only stare. "Oh, my gawd… so bad, but /so/ pretty… I can't believe you're actually supposed to /wear/ that. It looks too gorgeous just on the hangers. And those shoes are /killer/. If I hadn't seen people dance in heels that high, I'd never believe it could be done. And with that top hat and cane, too. /Wow/… it's just like a sexy old movie, only in color." She looks over at Carly, eyes shining, and blushes. "I…" She pauses. "Maybe I better not say anymore. You might think badly of me."
Shaking her head, Carly laughs a little, "I just showed you the lingerie that a man bought for me and you think I'll think badly about you? You probably think I'm going to be a hooker or a stripper…" She bends over to grab one of the shoes and lifts it up reverently, "I can't believe Afton bought these for me, they're so hot and so expensive! He doesn't think I can dance in them, but I've been practicing, I just need to get that chair down before I start with these."
"Why would I think /that/" Ana asks, with a smile. "I /know/ what you're gonna be… a dancer! Besides, isn't it kind of hard to strip when you're holding a cane and a top hat? So /that's/ right out."
Her eyes turn thoughtful. "Who's Afton? I don't think I know him. And definitely practice harder for those heels… if you took a fall, those heels could really hurt your ankles."
"Afton is this /totally/ hot guy, like unbelievably hot. But he's my agent, and he's married." Carly speaks about the man almost reverently, even sighing at the end in a rather forlorn manner when she reveals that he has a wife. "I'm actually hoping to be a pop star like the Pussycat Dolls, or even All Saints or Spice Girls… a girl band, you know? Rock, punk, metal, all of that is too hard to break into, but if you get a good hook and a great act, you can break into pop a lot easier." She quiets down again and replaces the shoe next to its mate. "So what would I think badly of you for? You never told me!"
"Hmm… maybe I should meet him sometime. He sounds… I dunno. Sexy as it is, it feels a little odd to give a high school girl pink lingerie, even as a dance costume," Ana replies, thoughtfully. "He… does know you're in high school, right? I don't wanna rain on your cabaret, but… I think you should be careful, y'know?" she adds, her tone a little uncertain.
The second question draws a thoughtful look. "Well… what you said about Afton, except the married part? Totally, unbelievably hot? I could say that about you, and mean it. I'm… well, I'm lesbian," she says, a little hesitantly. "Geez, this is awkward… and here I am in your bedroom, looking at pink lingerie that I know you'll be sizzling in, and my pants just tried to fall down back there. If you don't think I'm creepy or too weird for words, I'll be real surprised."
Carly gets a little defensive when the other blonde voices her misgivings about the man in Carly's life. "Yeah, he knows… he's just my agent, don't worry. He's /totally/ married, I saw the look in his eyes when he was talking about his wife. I don't even stand a snowflake's chance in H-E-Double hockey sticks to even impress him." Then she blinks as the other girl goes on, going a little pink in the face. She slowly closes the door of the closet and clears her throat. "o-ooh…" Pause. "Well then, isn't that.. well not exactly creepy, and really nothing for me to laugh at, but… I'm pretty straight. But thanks, you're pretty hot too." The younger blonde's voice raises about an octave near the end of her little speech, she's trying her best not to make the other girl feel awkward but as she said, she did just show her the lingerie. "So… want a diet coke or anything?"
Ana manages a smile. "That's good, at least, though I still want to meet him sometime. You don't have to introduce me or anything, and I won't hurt your chances, I just… I just kind of had a bad feeling about it for a second there. S'probably nothing."
She has trouble keeping that smile on her face as she goes on, not missing Carly's sudden pinkness about the face. It resurges after a moment. "Nice recovery. Didn't expect you to be anything but straight, really. You're awful nice, Carly. Really. Thanks for not… well, not freaking over it, y'know?"
The awkward moment is over the second Anastasia smiles, and Carly beams one of her own. "There's nothing to freak out over, really, it's the way you are and the way I am." And to reassure the other blonde, Carly reaches around her shoulder with one arm and leads her back down the stairs, side by side. "Oh, I wish you could meet him… he said he was going out of town until my audition though. I think even with you being a lesbian you'd be all sorts of… well you know… for him. The guy is a serious looker." When they reach the bottom of the stairs though, Carly yawns and looks around. "Oh hey, I didn't even think to ask. Are you driving? I didn't hear a car. I have to get some sleep but if you want to stay over you can, my folks won't mind."
Ana's smile warms considerably as Carly's arm slips around her shoulders and she moves to go downstairs. She has the sort of warm smile that seems to light up her whole face, different from the awkward smile she tried to use to reassure Carly, and the genuine smile when her friend hadn't freaked. Not as subdued. "So it's really okay… I'm so glad. And I can appreciate a cute boy or a handsome man, young or old," she replies. "Just not quite in the same way."
At Carly's next question, she blinks. "Um… no, not here. I left my car at the Waffle House and walkedfrom there," she replies. "Don't know if I should stay… your parents might not approve of me. Older, not in school… questionable fashion sense," she muses, indicating her bare midriff and her camo pants and cap, the chains on her ponytails.
Shaking her head like she won't hear any more, Carly puts both of her hands on the other girls shoulders and pushes her back up the stairs. "Seriously, it's okay, you're a girl, not a guy. Dad won't get out the shotgun. Just don't go into my closet and steal my Jimmy Choo's, I'd be some upset." The light hearted laugh that follows is followed by a stern glance, "I mean it, I love those shoes." A last glance to the double doors of the garage has Carly relieved to see they are completely closed. Then she moves swiftly up the stairs with the other girl in tow. "If you like guitars you will be up /all night/ playing by Gibson custom… seriously, that thing will give you orgasms just touching it. I even have a guitar that Lev Krinov gave me, he autographed it!!" Carly babbles on until she drops off to sleep, her speech broken by yawns and then finally slowing until it fades.
