The Great Pretender

21: Tongue Tied

Seven had simply shrugged and returned to napping on her desk, "What? This isn't my class."

-.-

"So when were you planning on telling me about that?" Cherish pondered as they made their way toward the cafeteria. She had just been informed by Mr. Brown, that Seven was performing at the showcase later that night. As she was attached to him, Cherish would not only be forced to be in attendance, but now she would have to be part of his show.

"Never."

"What if I had plans for later?"

Seven dragged her through the line in the cafeteria, "You'd have to change them. Besides you don't have anything to do then. You'd be watching."

"Oh, sorry Mr. I'm-so-full-of-myself. Tell me why I would want to watch?"

"What, besides the fact that I'm the most amazing guitarist in this place? Lasagna."

Cherish was unsure what lasagna had to do with anything.

Seven smirked at her confusion and looked back at the lunch lady, "Two lasagnas... and fries. You'd be watching because you wouldn't want to disappoint Ian or Juss."

"Oh. Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?" Cherish flung her arms up in the air, exasperated.

"Because you're on a need to know basis," he reasoned as he handed her one of the two trays he was given.

"What? Since when does being dragged up on stage with you not count as needing to know? Thanks by the way." They fell into silence as Cherish began cramming her lunch into her mouth before they even got out of the cafeteria.

She flushed at the amused look Seven was giving her, "What? You know Ari will find us. I'd like to actually eat my lunch today." As they turned the corner, Cherish gave him a smug look; Ari was waiting for them for another stupid activity.

-.-

The school was eerily empty except for the odd student scurrying past as they set things up. Cherish found herself being ushered into the green room backstage. Seven set his guitar down carefully and then flopped haphazardly onto a couch.

"So this is the green room?"

"Yup."

She watched as he pulled his guitar from its case and caressed it like it was a baby. It was something, she had noticed, he did every time he picked it up.

"I've always wondered why they call it a green room if it's not green," she thought aloud as she trailed a finger along the black wall. Grinning, Juss pointed up at the sign on the wall behind her; The Black Room.  "Right."

As Ian and Juss sat on the table in front of her, she pulled her small makeup case from her bag.  She hadn't had a chance, after making them stop at her house so she could shower and change to reapply her make up.  Digging out a mirror, she handed it to Seven, "Hold please."

They watched in amusement as she applied her makeup meticulously; they had never before seen her act so typically girly. When she finished, she plucked the mirror from Seven's hand and stuffed her makeup case back into her bag. She looked around and noted that the room had filled up since they got there. Students from Mr. Brown's classes lounged on all the couches, each one of them doing a last minute run through of their act.

Pulling her damp hair up off her back, she flipped it over the back of the couch and leaned into the soft cushions behind her, dropping her feet into Juss' lap. She closed her eyes and listened as Seven fiddled with his guitar; slowly the random notes turned into a song. Soon Ian joined in, thwacking out notes on his bass while Juss resorted to smacking a beat out on her knees since he couldn't get to his own. She was reminded instantly of sitting through rehearsals with Cash and Iggy and occasionally Quentin. After some time she managed to pick out one of the songs they were playing and grinned.