Love, Lust, and Jealousy.
It's a story Cora knows all too well - not because it's her own, but that of her character in Illicit Affairs, the murderous romance that's about to take Broadway by storm. It's her crowning achievement, her pride and joy...
"I have gathered you here today," Cora announced. "Because I am having a fashion crisis."
"...You invited us to Shake Shack to talk about your fashion crisis?" Siena questioned.
Cora shrugged, grabbing a fry off the tray in front of her. "I wanted fries. And you are the two most fashionable people I know."
Next to Siena was Anais. They were an almost amusing sight to behold—Siena with her dark hair hanging in loose waves and her ensemble of all black clothes; Anais with her blonde hair pulled up into a top bun and sporting an outfit of bright colors. They might have only known each other for a grand total of five minutes, but they balanced each other out nicely.
Anais grabbed one of the fries from the communal tray. "What's the problem?"
"Since I've been really bad at shutting up about it, I'm sure you're both aware that the Tonys are in a month. I need a dress, but my bank account says I definitely do not," Cora explained. She felt like she'd had her big, dramatic fashion moment at opening night and now she didn't know how to top it. As a tentative afterthought, she added, "And I need to upstage Rasmus. I can't let him show up looking better than me."
A smirk quickly formed on Anais' lips, which then turned into a full grin. "Ah. So this is really about the boy, then."
"Do not call him the boy. And no, it isn't," Cora insisted. "He just...happens to also be involved."
She glanced at Siena for backup, but Sie just gave a sheepish shrug. Traitor. "Sorry, but I think I'm with her on this one. It's not like you have to go up onstage and present an award or anything."
"Look," Cora said stubbornly. "I don't know if I'll ever get to go to the Tonys again, so I want to go all out while I have my chance. That's all."
"I have a friend who rents out dresses. She's got some really cool stuff, even some vintage ones. I can send you her number if you want," Anais offered, though she didn't appear fully prepared to drop the whole Rasmus thing.
"Perfect."
"But...this really is about the boy. I swear I've never seen two castmates try to compete with each other so much."
Cora resisted the urge to audibly sigh; Siena snickered a little bit.
"If you want to talk so much about boys," Cora offered, narrowing her eyes at Anais. "We can have a nice chat about how you're always making heart eyes at Gideon when you pass him in the hallway."
At the same time as she protested "I do not!", Siena asked, "Ooh, who's Gideon?"
"Gideon is Rasmus' dresser at the show," Cora explained, picking up another fry and biting off the tip. "And the guy Anais has an obvious crush on."
"It is not obvious!"
"Ha!" Cora slammed her hand on the table a little too loudly, making herself jump and a few people around them shoot her dirty looks. Oops. Her palm came up feeling vaguely sticky, which was a little concerning. "So you do like him."
Anais glowered at her and silently shoved a fry into her mouth. Then two, then three.
But she didn't tell Cora that she was wrong this time.
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