Stage Fright (On Hold)

ONE

Bastrop, TX
2015

Claire lay, curled up on the loveseat in May's living room. She had a tub of vanilla ice cream cuddled to her chest, a spoon hanging out of her mouth, and a box of tissues by her side. There were tear streaks on her face, and her eyes were red.

May was next to her, Claire's feet in her lap. Her attention was on her friend, who had just been through the worst kind of break up: the first one.
It was at that moment, staring at the mess her best friend had turned into, that May made one of the snap decisions she was known for. She might have been a bit unobservant and rather naive at times, but no-one could ever say she didn't take care of her own.

Pulling out her phone, May shot a text to her boyfriend. He would be relieved to hear that he did not, after all, have to go to the concert she had been planning to drag him to. She had won the two tickets in a radio contest she'd entered. She hadn't expected to win, but she did and had two backstage passes on her hands.

"If you're not actually going to eat that," May said, her tone taking on that assertive quality Claire's so often had. "Then go put it back in the freezer."

Though her movements were slightly robotic, Claire actually did get up and put the ice cream back. May followed her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her down the hall to her bedroom.

"Okay, here's the deal." May said in the same tone she had used before. "You are going to let me dress you, do your hair, and you're going to make an effort to do your make up. You will come with me, not mope the entire time were gone, and you will actually try to enjoy yourself. If, when we return, you wish to continue your sad, mopey existence, I will not stop you. But until then you're going to be happy. Got it?"

Claire gave a weak nod, and to May's surprise, spoke for the first time since her ex called that morning. "Where are we going?"

May remembered then that she hadn't told Claire yet about the tickets, which was probably a good thing. Boy bands weren't really Claire's thing, and May didn't want to have to fight her.

"Doesn't matter." May replied casually. Silence fell again as she began to tear through her closet. Clothes began to fly, and it wasn't long before the room was an utter disaster. Claire had tried on and stripped off a dozen outfits before May finally settled on one. A fitted black tee, ripped skinny jeans, and tall black boots, and a similarly simple outfit for herself.

May's clothes wouldn't actually fit Claire as May was a - proudly - curvy girl and Claire a stick. But Claire spent so much time with her best friend that about half her own closet was there, and May liked to keep around some old clothes she had grown out of.

She took her time with Claire's hair, playing with various styles until she finally decided on a simple french braid with a few wisps pulled out to frame her face. The braid hung down to Claire's hips, something that made May slightly jealous. She loved the look of long hair, but could never stand to grow her own out that way. Sliding a cute headband into her own, shorter hair, May gave a satisfied nod at their reflections.

Claire managed well with her makeup, focusing around her pretty green eyes with a earthy shadow and a little liner, finished off with a touch of mascara. May went with a bold lip and a simple, lined eye. 

By the time both girls were ready, May was in a rush to leave. They had three hours until the show, but traffic was going to be insane. It could take an hour or more to get there, then they would have to wait in line. If they got there on time, they could spend up to an hour with the band backstage in hair and makeup, so long as they stayed out of the way.

May had had more than enough of Claire's silence. As soon as they were both in her Honda Civic, she put her favorite Journey CD on. It was one they both knew by heart forwards, backwards, and in their sleep.

May started singing with all she had right off the bat, but it took Claire a few songs to really get into it. Once she did, though, she sang with more heart and soul than she probably ever had before.

Both girls had decent singing voices, and with the right training could have gone places with it if they wanted to. May was more inclined to do so, but was still unsure if that was really what she wanted to do with her life. Claire, on the other hand, had other ambitions. As much as she loved music, she loved translating it onto a stage even more. She was a dancer, and dreamed of one day opening her own studio.

By the time the hour-and-a-half long drive was over, Claire seemed a lot more like herself. She had smiled, and even laughed along the way. Her mind was officially off of the terrible events of the morning, and hopefully stubbornly rooted to the present.

May grinned as she climbed out of the car. Operation 'Distract Claire' had officially begun.