Never As It Seems

Chapter 2

Staring into her wardrobe, Amber sighed. Her plan all week had been to wear the most casual outfit she could find to the concert tonight. As she looked at the clothes on her bed, the ones she had been about to put on, she turned back to the wardrobe. What if a camera did catch her and she looked a mess? Would she be letting Mum down by not making an effort? She sighed again as she walked over to the bed and sat down.

Amber had been dreading this day all week. She was surprised at how quickly she had become used to life out of the limelight. And now, here she was, she was back to having to preen herself to within an inch of her life. It's not that she was famous and most of the time she wasn't hassled by the media but there was always the chance she could be and up until a month ago, she had been to most, if not all of her mother's public engagements. She now loved the feeling of jumping out of the shower and throwing on whatever outfit she felt like. She loved being able to leave her hair down and her make-up untouched in the bathroom.

Startling her from her reverie, Amber's phone rang. She jumped up and sped to the desk to see who was calling. It was Dessa. Amber groaned, she knew what was coming. She flipped open the phone and put it to her ear.

"What do you want?" She snapped with a smirk.

"Are you excited? Did you decide what to wear? You know you're actually going to meet them! Will you get me their autographs? What are you wearing? Are you sure you can't get me a ticket?"

Dessa finally stopped to take a breath giving Amber the opportunity to answer at least one of her questions.

"You know I tried. The gig was sold out over a year ago and our seats are in the VIP box. Apparently it's full to capacity."

Dessa huffed. "I know. I just can't believe how lucky you are. You're actually going to meet Keeper! Ugh, I'm so jealous!"

Amber had to smile. Dessa had been her closest friend for several years. They had virtually grown up together. Her enthusiasm for absolutely everything was infectious and Amber truly wished she could take her along to the concert. Not only would it make Dessa's dreams come true but she could do with the moral support.

"Believe me, if you could take my place, I'd gladly let you. I hate boy bands..."

"They're hardly boys any more!" Dessa interrupted.

"Well whatever. It's just not my thing. In fact I'd rather cut off my ears" Amber slumped back onto the bed.

"Just enjoy it. For me. I want to hear every detail tomorrow. Actually I'm free later if you want help choosing an outfit. I can come over."

Amber looked down at the jeans and pink hoodie next to her. "It's Okay I'm sorted and anyway I need to get going. I'm meeting Mum for dinner first."

"Oh yes... The chat! I hope it goes okay. Your Mum's pretty chilled. She'll be cool with it and it's not like you'll never go to Uni. I wish I could take a year out too. My Dad would freak!"

Amber cringed just thinking of it. "Yes, he would. And anyway, you're gonna love Uni. And I'll need somewhere to go and visit when I'm bored of doing nothing!"

Dessa laughed. "I know. I'm actually getting quite excited about it now. It'll be strange not to see Dad every day but I can't wait to get into life down there. I was talking to Paul the other day and he said he'll show me around the first week and introduce me to his friends..." Dessa trailed off. "I'm gonna miss you though Amb. It'll be so weird doing life without you."

"Oh stop it. You'll be so wrapped up in all the stuff there, you won't even think about me. And anyway, we have a whole summer ahead of us yet!"

Amber could almost hear Dessa smiling. "Yes we do and it's going to be amazing!"