Love Songs

Chapter Two

Allie - Saturday, 4:30am.

"Ugh, it is so early," Jessica was complaining as I hit my alarm. She'd slept over to facilitate the whole transportation process. My mom was driving all three of us to the airport, and our flight was at 6:30. I practically rolled off my bed and onto the floor, and Jessica followed suit, as she went to get clothes for the day and I stumbled almost blindly into the bathroom. 

To my surprise, Shay was just leaving, already dressed and black eyeliner liberally applied. I'd been expecting her to roll out of bed about five minutes before we had to leave.

"You're already up?" I questioned, impressed.

"I never went to bed," she said, removing an energy drink can from its spot on the sink as she unplugged her hair dryer. There were two more in the trash.

I shook my head. "You're unbelieveable."

She smiled, twisting my words. "I've been told."

Shay met Jessica in the hallway, as I washed my face in the sink.

"Someone has bed head," Shay commented.

"Coming from someone who ends up with bed head every time another girl walks by, I'm not insulted," Jessica said coolly.

"Sharp tongue even at four in the morning," she noted. "Not bad."

I liked that my sister was comfortable with my best friend, but sometimes Jessica and Shay always arguing made me feel like the mother of two very hostile children. They were both clever, but Shay often took what she said too far. And Jessica had a quick temper, while Shay never tired of cracking insults. So more often than not, I ended up mediating between the two of them, and that was not a job I signed up for.

I knew that deep down, Shay liked Jessica, because when Shay doesn't like people, she doesn't bother with them. Anyone she doesn't like, she'll just ignore. But she always made the conscious effort to pick on Jess, which showed me that somewhere under her tough exterior, she thought something of her. With Jessica, it was always less clear. I didn't know if the same was true, or if she simply put up with talking to Shay because she was my sister and she almost always started it.

I just wasn't looking forward to three hours on a plane with both of them.

________________

Jessica - Saturday, 6:35am.

Leave it to Shay to make us stop for coffee when we're already ten minutes late to board. We were all going to pay the price for her neglecting to sleep the night before, and that became obvious as we became the last three people on the plane. An unpleasant stewardess ushered us to our seats, which were nearly in the back, right next to the bathroom.

We were stumbling awkwardly through the narrow aisle, when I knew Shay's eyes fell upon a pretty girl about three rows in front of us. 

"Just a minute," she said mischeviously, stalking back the way she came. Allie and I both rolled our eyes, knowing what was going to ensue though none of us had said a telling word.

"Excuse me," Shay said, batting her eyelashes at the girl. "Do you mind if I put my bag in your compartment? The ones near my seat are full."

"Sure," the girl said, and even though she was probably straight, I could tell she was noticing how good looking Shay was.

"Thank you so much," she drawled, reaching her arms up to open the compartment. When she did, her entire shirt rode up, revealing her flat stomach, her sparkling navel piercing, and the black ink tattoo that lined her hip bone. I'm absolutely postive that it was no accident.