her stomach, she walked next to Shira and led her into the rehearsal room ofOverdose.
"Boys, I brought someone with me!", She announced and pushed Shira in front of her, as she seemed to be quite intimidated.
"This is Shira, the best pianist in our town," grinned Cree and introduced the band members to her new acquaintance."Now don't exaggerate!", Shira grumbled and if you looked closely you could even see her cheeks glowing. Cree just grinned and pushed her on to the keyboard that had been sitting there unused before.
"I hope you can handle it," said Cree, wondering how very different a keyboard could be from a piano. She had absolutely no idea about that.
"Don't worry, that'll be fine," Shira calmed her down and smiled. Somehow, Cree liked Shira's smile. It was so honest and made her forget the sad eyes.
"Okay, let's get started. Shira just plays a little warm and we'll play a few songs!"
With a swift movement, Cree grabbed the microphone and tossed his temporary spare drumsticks to Trent.

~ * ~

Cree stroked her fiery red hair, slightly out of breath. Her features were relaxed and there was an almost inconspicuous smile on her lips. She was sure she was perfectly right.Her satisfied gaze wandered to Shira, who was still playing a few small melodies on the keyboard. Careful not to trip over the cables, Cree walked over to her and grinned at the buttons.
"Awesome ..." she enthused and looked up, exactly at the same moment that Shira also looked up. Their eyes met, captured each other and did not let either of them turn away.
"Likewise," Shira muttered in a tone that made Cree shiver and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"Hey you, we're taking a break, Gerald is going to get us something to drink!" Shouted Larry, tearing the girls out of this questionable atmosphere.
"Uh, yeah, okay!" Cree called back, being the first to break eye contact. Her head was pounding strangely, which could of course also come from the loud music, but somehow the singer didn't want to believe that.
She went over to her bag, took out her cigarettes, and lit one."Do you want one too?" She mumbled because she had the butts between her lips. "It's not a Lucky Strike," she added, remembering Shira's words.
"With pleasure," said the pianist without hesitation and took a Marlboro. The girls sat down on the rather shabby couch that had been here when it wasn't a rehearsal room.
"Why don't you smoke Lucky Strike?" Cree dared to ask when none of the other boys was listening. You could tell that Shira didn't like this question because she was nervously fiddling with her sleeve and not looking at Cree. Cree was about to start again and tell her that of course she didn't have to tell her, but Shira replied:
"It's because of my sister. This brand reminds me too much of her."
The singer put out her cigarette, just looked at Shira and asked no further questions. She wanted to know if Shira was just having an argument with her sister or if she was possibly dead.The latter seemed more plausible to her, because the way Shira had said this sentence sounded incredibly sad.
Cree waited patiently, but the blonde said nothing more. Cree had to accept this for better or for worse, she had no right to ask others about her private life.
So she was all the happier when Gerald came back and handed them all a beer can.
"You drink, don't you?", Cree asked her new friend a little too late, because actually it had been obvious to her.
"Well ... not often," Shira admitted and looked down as if that was something to be ashamed of. Hell knows why, but Cree thought the look on her face was cute.
"Don't worry, we'll teach you that," she said with a grin and put a hand on Shira's shoulder.
Shira looked up questioningly. Did she understand correctly now? Cree realized that she had apparently been blabbering before the other members even consented.
She turned to them and examined them all in turn.When everyone nodded smiling, she turned back to Shira, beaming.
"Shira, would you like to play in our band?"

~ * ~

Finally the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach that had tormented her for days was gone. Sighing, she closed the door behind Shira and leaned her forehead against it.
For a moment she happily closed her eyes and smiled to herself.
"Well, has the eagle found its prey?" She heard Gerald's voice behind her. She knew he didn't ask for an answer because he was absolutely right.
"It was a good decision," he continued, and Cree wondered why he wasn't even telling her something that she didn't already know.
"Do you think we have a chance to get the record deal?" She asked her brother quietly and opened her eyes again.
Gerald's footsteps echoed dully on the wooden floor as he approached. Cree could already feel his strong hands wrapping around her from behind.
"I guess so."
"Thank you, Gerald.""For what?"
"For being there."