Just What I Needed

Just What I Needed (51)

“You know,” Keely began conversationally as she shoved open the door with her shoulder, “Stealing people's shoes isn't very nice.”

In the mirror, Marissa grinned, apparently completely at ease with the fact she was wearing nothing but a plaid skirt and bra as she sat in front of her travelling bureau. “I know,” she answered easily, using a mascara tube on her eyelashes. “But I'd been wearing heels all day and I went into your dressing room and they were just sitting there, calling my name.”

Rolling her eyes casually, Keely closed the door behind her and leaned against it wearily, a sound of relief escaping her lips as she did so. “Heels paired with stages and crowds, never a good idea,” she groaned, leaning down clumsily to pry the heels off her pale feet.

“You ain't seen nothing yet,” retorted Marissa, switching to lipstick.

Delighted, she straightened and clapped her hands together, the heels dangling from her fingers. “A BTO reference!”

But the girl just fixed her with a blank expression.

“Bachman Turner Overdrive?” prompted Keely.

Her expression didn't so much as flicker.

“Of course not,” Keely grumbled with a little sight, “You don't know anything about Elvis, why would you know about BTO?” When Marissa looked at her quizzically she raised her voice, saying, “So where are you keeping my shoes hostage?”

In response Marissa pointed towards the corner of the room unseeingly, where it was proved her converse sneakers were waiting patiently.

“So where have you been lately?” asked Keely, picking up her shoes.

Marissa just made a questioning noise in the back of her throat.

“I mean, I never see you as much as I do with the boys. Which is lucky for you, I gotta say, sometimes I want to throttle the lot of them at once. But, back to the point, you've been pretty much non existent lately.”

Wincing, the she stood up, flattening her skirt. “Yeah, well, dad's still pissed about Seth...”

Pursing her lips, Keely pointed out, “He really holds a grudge, doesn't he?”

It looked as if Marissa was about to respond as she turned around, her mouth opening, but a knock and the requesting of her presence on the stage interrupted her. Sending her a smile, she slipped into a pair of sky high bedazzled heels, which Keely personally thought could be seizure inducing, and said, “Well, I'll see you after?”

Keely just shook her head, juggling the two pairs of shoes between her hands as she continued to stand barefoot. “I'm pretty sure I'm going to go crash right now, the bus might have had heat, but the boys playing football or something in the bus last night. Let me tell you, it doesn't matter how many times you hear it, when they tackle each other in that little space and the sound echoes around, you don't get used to it. Every time they hit the floor, you wince and think that they're just going to go through it.”

She laughed, pulling open the door, “Yeah, another good reason for the fact dad and I have our own tour bus. Plus, I wouldn't want to share one with a band I wasn't even part of. So, next show do you think?”

“Definitely,” Keely replied.

But when Marissa stepped out the door, Keely called out, “You do realize that you forgot your shirt, right?”

Simpering, the girl just spun in a circle. “This is my shirt, Keel.”

As she walked away, Keely felt her eyebrows fly up her forehead. She couldn't help but think she'd never be able to do that, perform in a bra and skirt. Not only because it looked rather pop star, which was far from her goal, but it'd just be awkward. And she'd been a cheerleader, those outfits weren't exactly modest.