This time, Erika had a different tone in her voice; almost as if she had grown a spine. Maybe hanging out with Kelly did that to her. "No."
Meredith stared at the paused movie. "Does Erika usually take this long in the shower? I mean, I know she was covered in half-eaten pizza, but come on!"
Julia shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, but she should've finished by about now." Something in her gut just didn't feel right, and it wasn't the food or the drink. "I'm gonna to tell her to speed the hell up. Who's with me?"
Kat stifled a giggle. "You need a posse to tell someone to get out of the shower?" Julia grinned back.
"You wouldn't believe what it takes to get my sister out." All three remaining gals decided to humor Julia, partly because they wanted to watch the rest of the film.
All four of them walked up the stairs, knocking on the bathroom door. "Hey Erika," Kat said, "Dry off and get your butt out of the shower! We'd like to finish the flick!"
There was a ruckus, but none of it came from the bathroom. A great deal of muffled argument seemed to be emanating from Kelly's bedroom. "Odd," Meredith commented, "She's supposed to be asleep."
Kat looked at Mary for a second, before deciding to be the first to investigate. She cautiously walked up to the room and stood aghast at the sight before her. Erika was on her rear and against the wall, her bra ripped off her person. She was being held against the wall by a visibly angered Fiona, while Jade was holding Kelly down to her bed. Kat just motioned for everyone else to approach the threshold.
Julia immediately went through the door, Mary following soon after, the two of them working quickly to stop the fracas. In a flash, Jade and Fiona found themselves thrown to the floor courtesy of the party guests.
"Jade," Fiona commented, "this wasn't part of the plan."
The mastermind behind their operation, miffed at the fact their plan had been outright shot down, grimaced. "Yeah Fiona, I know." She briefly took a glance at the people surrounding her. Kat, Julia, and Meredith's faces were all etched with unadulterated anger; while Mary's eyes were loaded with cold fury. Her stepsister looked like a deer in the headlights, her face frozen in stone. "Time for Plan B."
Both siblings shoved their way out of the room, running from the bedroom and the house itself. Erika slowly began to breathe again as Kat asked if she was alright. "I'm fine," she remarked, "I'm fine. Although I'm going to have to buy a new bra next chance I get." Erika got back on her feet, trying to cover her exposed breasts with her arms as she stood over Kelly. "Is she-"
Meredith nodded her head. "She's fine. Kelly's actually fallen back asleep. They didn't manage to do anything."
Erika stared at the floor in shame. "I'm sorry about my sisters. What they tried to do"-
Mary cut her old friend off. "Stop right there. They're your stepsisters, Erika. You're not their keeper."
There was a collective pause about the room. "Alright," Julia commented, "time to continue the movie!" All of the girls sans Kelly began to shuffle out of the room, but Erika found that something was tugging on her torso.
"Mmm..." Kelly had snaked her arms around her. "Teddy..." There was a tiny little smile on her face as well.
The following morning was not a pleasant one for Miss Kingsley. It felt like her brain was bouncing off the sides of her head. She also felt a little off-balance for some odd reason. Regardless, she felt a little better after she hopped out of the shower. Once she got dressed and out of the bathroom, though...
