"It should be interesting." she said slowly.

"It'll be fabulous!" Lenn jumped off the stage. "Especially since you each have the right coloring."

Auren and Nicky exchanged a glance.

"Now, Danny and Knickie." He eyed the boys. "I have wigs, but you might want to dye your hair instead."

Damian raised one eyebrow.

"The outfits will be the same as in the movie. The dancers will be the hardest parts to cast. Surely this school has some dancers who can keep a rhythm." Lenn muttered.

"Wait a second. I'm not wearing black spandex pants in front of the entire school." Auren spoke up. Damian started to respond and shut his mouth quickly when she glared at him.

"Well, we can work with that." Lenn hedged.

Auren sighed, already regretting this. Lenn had agreed to work around her schedule. Since she knew every line from the movie it would just be  a Damianer of working on timing for her. The auditions for the supporting members and chorus were to start being held that afternoon.

***

Damian was reclining in his chair, reading over the script. Around him wandered various cast members. He had yet to meet his "t‑birds". They  hadn't all been cast. Nicky and Kenny were due to arrive any minute. Uncomfortably, Damian was aware of a voluptuous, Hispanic redhead watching him intently. Wishing Auren was there with him, Damian chose to ignore the stares. Finally she sauntered over.

"I'm Destiny. I'll be playing Cha‑Cha." she purred. Damian nodded his acknowledgment. Auren was not going to be happy!

"Damian. I'm Knickie."

"I know. I believe we have a couple scenes together." she sat down next to him, leaning forward just enough to offer a view of her cleavage. A skin tight, floral shirt clung to her chest. Built curvy and seductively like Auren, but not as much muscle or as toned. Low cut jeans hugged her full hips. Layers of styled auburn curls fell down her shoulders.

"Yes, we do." he said politely.

"I believe you refer me to as the hottest date at the dance." she smiled, her perfect teeth shining at him.

"I think Knickie does." he confirmed. One long, red fingernail started to touch his hand. "But for me, Sandy is the hottest." he said quickly. Raising one dark eyebrow, he saw the cattiness rising in her.

"You liked Olivia Newton‑John?" she demanded. Damian smiled politely and stood, seeing the object of his conversation approaching.

"No, my girlfriend."

Auren, Nicky and Kenny approached Damian. Damian knew her well enough to know the smile on her face was masking quiet fury. Obviously she had seen the tramp coming on to him.

Enveloping her in his arms, Damian greeted Auren with an uncharacteristically public display of affection.

"What's with you?" Auren asked mildly, her eyes softening some. Was he trying to convince the girl or himself?

"Missed you is all." he squeezed her hand. Nicky kept a close eye on Kenny. There were a number of attractive girls milling around, mostly extras. The younger brother had one chance.

Lenn jumped on stage.

"Ok, people! I think most everyone is here! I'm still debating on a couple choices, but I wanted everyone to meet. I'm going to split you into groups real quick. I need the main dancers over here, please. Twins, stay where you are. Over here I need the other t‑birds and Pink Ladies. Here please, Eugene, Patty, Cha‑Cha, Leo, Chisholm. Teachers and coaches over here, please."

Eagerly, everyone split into the groups, eyeing their cast mates, some with envy, some with admiration.

Destiny eyed the twins. Yes, Mr. Knickie would be the challenge.

Auren listened with one ear as Lenn went on about rehearsals and other stuff. Her eyes were casually scanning the room, landing on the red‑haired bitch who tried to put a move on Damian. Auren was not in the mood to deal with a horny slut. One quick snap of her leg and the bitch would be toast . . .

Damian's squeezing of her waist brought her back to reality. The bitch wasn't watching him. Good.

***

"I was waiting for Ms. Cha‑Cha to burst into flames." Nicky commented later that evening.

"Why?" Auren asked calmly, reading over the article she was grading.

"Gee, must have been the warm reception you gave her." Nicky had her feet propped up on the coffee table as she skimmed the articles.

"You saw the way she was rubbing against Damian." Auren replied, marking a typo. Nicky snickered.

"Don't worry. Damian's as solid as they come. He's not going anywhere. Besides, that girl has STD written all over her."

Auren glanced up at her sister.

"You thinking about Kenny?"

"Yeah." Nicky admitted.

"I don't think he's stupid enough to repeat his mistakes."

"Me neither, but ‑" Nicky shrugged and reached for her beer. "Men do stupid things all the time."

"True." Auren marked another typo. "Johnny must have been drunk when he typed this."

Auren's cell phone rang, startling the pair.

"Auren here." there was no answer. "Hello?" A chill ran down Auren's spine as she hung up.

"Wrong number?" Nicky asked. Auren set the phone down.

"I don't think so."

***

Nicky was highlighting in her architecture book as Kenny emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate of cheese and crackers.

"Interesting stuff?" he asked, sitting next to her on the floor. Piglet had doubled in size and was wrapped around her feet snoozing.

"Yeah, just bad writing." she sat the book down and took the beer he offered her. "This guy uses words I've never heard of."

"I can think of something simpler. And much more fun." he grinned lazily at her as he kissed her gently.

"I bet you can." Nicky said calmly, refusing to allow him to see how he could get to her. "But I find the designs of a building just fascinating reading."

"Bet I can change your mind." he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, running his finger down her chin.

"Don't you have a chem test to be studying for?" she asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't paying attention in class. I was thinking about you." he kissed her neck lightly, taking the book from her hands.

"Liar." she laughed. Piglet opened one golden eye and rearranged herself, freeing Nicky's feet.

"It's true. I was thinking about the two of us . . . alone . . ." he  turned her face towards his to kiss her again. Unconsciously, Nicky slid her hand around his neck as their passion instantly burst forth. Neither noticed Piglet had scooted herself over to the plate and was happily crunching on the snack.

"Kenny." she pushed him back.

"What?" he asked, puzzled by the interruption.

"This is going too fast."

His confusion grew.

"I'm not following you."

Nicky pushed him off of her and sat up, brushing her long hair back from

her face.

"You broke my heart once. We just jumped in without hesitation. I won't set myself up again. I want to get to know you more before we jump back into bed."

Kenny nodded, kissing her gently.

"I agree." he said softly. "But woman, just looking at you drives me crazy."

"Try a blindfold." she said in jest. Smiling sweetly, Kenny's next words were interrupted as he noticed Piglet licking the plate clean.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. Piglet bolted behind Nicky as Kenny glared at her. Laughing, she drew the fat puppy out and cuddled her.

"Were you hungry, little girl?" Nicky asked, rubbing the pup's silky head. She was rewarded with lots of rough kisses. Kenny couldn't retain his scowl, the picture in front him was too adorable.

***

Auren wasn't pleased to see Destiny hanging around the auditorium as she arrived for rehearsal. Tonight they were largely working on the early scenes, which did not include Cha‑Cha.

Destiny eyed the lead actress as she strode in confidently. Auren could be a formidable opponent, she knew, but Auren didn't carry the blatant sex appeal that Destiny herself did. Men openly drooled when she walked into a room, usually displaying her assets. Auren was quiet and a

wallflower. Destiny had done her research. Editor of the paper. Man hater until recently. Rumors of an affair with a younger man who abruptly disappeared from the paper.

As Auren approached the stage she could feel Destiny's dark eyes following her. The slut would underestimate her. Everyone did at first. Just because she was quiet.

Damian and Kenny were joking around with the actors that would be playing the other t‑birds.

Auren pretended to study her script while keeping an acute eye on Ms. Cha‑Cha.

***

Auren stood at the post office, mailing out her application to the University of Arcadia. Though she knew her chances of winning were slim to none, she was curious to see if she could make the grade.

"Hi, gorgeous." Damian walked up behind her and slid his arm around her waist.

"Hi." she smiled. No need to tell him about Ireland. It would just make him worry and Auren wasn't serious about it to begin with. 

"Auren!" Nicky was running towards her. "You'll never believe what I heard!"

"What?" Auren asked calmly.

"A particular former newspaper student is trying to start a second newspaper on campus." Nicky blurted. Auren raised one eyebrow.

"Who? Why? When?"

"One Mr. Alexander Bastian." Nicky handed a letter to Auren. "This came through the dean's office when I was in work study today. It's a letter of appeal to start ‘A solid, well‑rounded paper not catering to the fluff heads of the campus.’"

"You're kidding." Auren skimmed the letter rapidly. Nicky wasn't.

"He knows we're funded by the student government. That letter went to the ASG, both the dean and the President."

"He must be on crack if he thinks they're going to take our budget and  give it to him. That's why I've worked so hard on this thing. So it can't fail. And I'm not about to let some peon come in and destroy my work!" Auren snarled, her eyes flashing.

"Down, girl. Go talk with Sandy. I bet it's crossed her desk by now."

"I"ll catch you later." Auren kissed Damian lightly and the twins headed off towards the dean of students.

***

Auren's worries were quickly laid to rest by Sandy.

"This guy is blowing smoke." the strawberry blonde Dean tossed the letter into the trash.

"He's a punk, Sandy. Just an egotistical punk kid." Auren glowered.

"I wouldn't worry. No one is shutting down <I>The Inquisition</I>. It's been here longer than I have." she laughed.

"I'm really starting to regret this whole <I>Grease</I> thing." Auren bit her nail thoughtfully. "If I can't devote enough time to the paper this semester, that might give Alex the opening he needs."

"Taker a deep breath." Sandy advised. "That paper is solid as a rock. It's not going anywhere. This kid just wants to rile you."

"Yeah, I know. It's working." Auren muttered.

Nicky helped herself to a handful of jellybeans that Sandy always kept  handy.  "I, for one, can't wait to see you as Sandy." the Dean laughed. Auren grinned.

"It'll be interesting, to say the least." she admitted.

***

The scenes for Grease advanced quickly. Most of the students involved knew the movie, and timing was quickly worked on. No one really knew what the sets would look like, even the students working on them.

Lenn was paranoid about the dance off scenes and spent the most time working on them.

"Danny and Sandy, you two are so stiff I think you're mannequins!" Lenn shouted one day. Auren flung her script to the floor.

"Well, get over it! This was your idea, not mine! I find it a little difficult to kiss my boyfriend's brother!" she shouted back. Lenn threw up his hands.

"Pretend it's the other one!" he shouted back.

The cast stood silently, watching. They were used to these outbursts by now.

Damian was mildly amused by the scene before them, but Nicky wasn't. It was getting harder and harder to fight her attraction to Damian. Their scenes flowed smoothly. How did Auren get so lucky to find the man?? And it was more difficult to not ask Damian about the night at the club.

Nicky wasn't sure she hadn't dreamed it...but then who had brought her home?

"Fine! You two go work somewhere else!! Knickie and Rizzo!! Let's work on the car scene!" Lenn shouted.

Auren stormed off the stage. Kenny followed.

"Don't take it personally, Kenny. I just have trouble kissing you."

"It's ok. I'm not real comfortable with it either." he admitted. "Especially after uh . . . having messed around on Nick before."

"Well at least you have a conscience about it." Auren winked at Kenny.

"Why don't we get together later tonight or something and try to work on this stuff? Maybe if we do it by ourselves instead of being in front of  the whole cast we can ease into it." Kenny ran his hands through his dyed hair. The black brought out his bright blue eyes, but Auren preferred Damian's dark brown.

"That sounds like a good idea." Auren sighed. The music was going for the dance scenes now.

Through the curtain she could see Destiny and Damian, working on theirs. The seed of jealousy rooted itself a little deeper.

"The dancing is the easy part." Kenny muttered, standing behind her.

"Yeah, no kidding. It's just the rest that sucks." Auren laughed.

"Remind me again why we agreed to do this?" Kenny asked. Auren eyed him with irritation.

"You and Nick and Damian thought it would be fun." she said dryly.

"Ok, next time I suggest something that sounds like fun, shoot me." he sighed.

"Willingly." she muttered, watching Destiny wrap her body around Damian's as they danced to the music.

***

Em was leaving the library when she saw a familiar tall figure. Impulsively she stepped behind a bush and watched as Alexander Bastian hurried into the library.

Rumors of his attempts to start another newspaper had gotten back to her, and the thought made her uneasy. By running the paper this semester she was taking an enormous amount of pressure...even with the twins to  help her, most of it had fallen on her shoulders.  And she just wasn't sure how to handle it all.

***

Auren flew through the pile of articles she graded, trading them off with Nicky.

"Tom is slipping this semester." Nicky commented, handing Auren a paper.

"Yeah, he is." Auren frowned. "I wonder if he thinks we won't notice."

"I don't know. This whole Grease thing, sis ‑ it's really starting to make me wonder."

"If we bit off more than we could chew?" Auren raised one eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm starting to think so."

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages."

"Well, with Kenny as your man ‑" Auren bit off the rest of her sentence. Nicky's gray eyes glittered at her sister.

"No. Not so much physical this time."

"Really? That's interesting. You testing him?" Auren asked, reaching for her beer.

"Yeah, I think so. Besides, last time we just delved into bed and barely knew each other. I'm not going through it again."

"Good girl." Auren nodded approvingly. Piglet was attempting to pull herself up onto the couch next her.

"Come on, furface. Get your fat little butt up here."

Though Auren pretended to be gruff with the puppy, Nicky knew her older sister adored the pet. Several times she had come to spy Auren cuddling  the puppy and stretched out on the couch napping with her, Piglet snuggled close to Auren's neck. Em wandered into the room and flopped on the couch.

"Hey, how's the new girl working out?" Auren asked. "I haven't had a chance to really get to know her yet." 

"Nadia?" Em asked. "She's doing great. One of our best. Here's her latest article. "

"Excellent." Nicky's eyes skimmed the article. Auren peered over her shoulder.

"Give her some meatier stuff. This girl has some talent."

"You got it, chief." Em made a note on her pad. "She's cute, too."

"Down, girl." Auren snickered.

***

Spring Break arrived and flew by too quickly for Auren. Locked away in the cabin with Damian, hidden from the prying eyes of the world, the pressures of the paper, the play, Kenny and everything else to do with reality vanished. For almost a full week she focused on Damian and

their relationship, solidifying their love.

Damian was pleased and surprised by the new vigor of their lovemaking, delighted by her suddenly pouncing on him without warning. Away from the real world, he felt like he was finally seeing the real Auren breaking out.

One night they lay close together in bed, Auren's leg wrapped around his tightly. Her eyes were closed, but he knew she wasn't asleep. Shifting, he propped himself up on his elbow to study her. One gray eye slowly opened.

"What are you looking at?" she asked sleepily. In the soft light, the golden chain gleamed against her throat.

"My favorite editor." he replied, lightly brushing her hair back from her eyes.

"Hmmph." she replied, closing her eye again. His finger traced over her eyes and nose and down to her lips, where he kissed her gently.

"I'm going to kidnap you. We're going to stay up here and never go back." he said suddenly. She chuckled.

"Well, I don't know that we have enough condoms for that." she rolled over onto her stomach, exposing her tanned, smooth back to him. His hand drifted around her neck to her back, where he began to draw pictures with his fingertip.

"I'd kinda like to see what our kid would look like." he said absently, tracing the outline of her shoulder bone. Alarmed, she rolled over and looked at him.

"You're not serious."

"Of course I am. I don't mean right now. No, not any time soon. Someday, though." he pinned her down and tickled her.

"Someday is right." she teased, locking her legs around him.

"Think about it. It would definitely be tall." he was nuzzling her neck. "Probably blue eyes."

"And blonde hair. Yeesh. Poor thing." she nipped his neck lightly.

"Have to beat the boys off her if she looks like you." he kissed her.

"No, I'll teach her to beat them herself." Auren giggled. Her next words were lost as their passion rose.

***

Upon the end of Spring Break, the play swung into high gear as opening night drew close. Tempers flared, egos were bruised, but the show was coming together. Except for the opening scene.

Auren repeatedly jabbed at the punching bag, channeling her energy into each swing. Nicky was bracing herself against the force of her sister's swing as she held the bag.

"What did the bag do to you?" she grunted. Auren bounced back and forth on her toes, still swinging.  "It's Lenn. I hate him. He's an egomaniac."

"He's right. You and Kenny have to get that scene right."

"We will, we will." Auren growled. Stepping back, Nicky cringed as Auren began her spin kick attacks against the bag.

"I mean it, sis. . .Damian and I can handle the scenes between us without too much problem, and we have to do more than you and Kenny."

"Yeah, I know but ‑ how do you do it? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but when I look at Kenny I have more of an urge to smack him than kiss him."

Nicky laughed. "Sometimes I do, too. I don't know. Damian and I are friends and it makes it easier for us. We joke about it all the time. Besides, kissing him, it was weird like kissing my brother or

something." she laughed. 

Auren growled and slammed her fist into the bag, forcing her sister back a few steps.

"Damn, you have some real aggression in you. What's up?" Nicky asked.

Auren shook her head and set off a series of punches that almost caused Nicky to lose her grip.

Never could she tell Nicky what had almost happened between her and Kenny.

***

Destiny watched the twin sisters in the workout room in the fitness center. Auren was working off some real frustration. Damian had been positively glowing at their first rehearsal back the other night. His adoring eyes never left his girlfriend except when he was onstage as Knickie. Destiny and he had their dance down smooth as silk, as did Destiny and Kenny. The whole thing ran easily, save that first scene.

During her scenes with Damian, Destiny did her damndest to snuggle up against him and drape herself around him. Not only did he tolerate it, but he seemed pleased.

They were moving onto the dance scene. Destiny took her place at Damian's side.

With a smile to herself, Destiny thought about the hot young man who had interviewed her earlier that day, Alexander Bastian. Once that article came out, Auren and Damian wouldn't be together much longer. And Destiny had her own plans for that evening with Alexander.

***

Auren and Kenny danced smoothly, cued to when "Sonny" ran up and pulled "Sandy" away. Destiny moved in as Cha‑Cha, pulling Kenny back onto the dance floor. Auren ran offstage, then hid in the shadows to watch. 

"Interesting show going on." a smooth, seductive voice behind her spoke. Turning, she glared at Alexander.

"Do you need something?"

"Just you." he leered. Auren didn't answer him and turned back to watch Destiny and Kenny.

"So what's it like, working with the your ex and his new girl?" Alexander chuckled. Auren turned to face him, eyes flashing.

"What are you talking about?"

"Little miss Cha‑Cha and your precious Damian."

"Alex, you're babbling. Either get to the point or get lost."

"Everyone knows they're seeing each other on the side, Auren. You need to wake up and realize Mr. Perfect is taking you for a ride."

Auren kept her face expressionless, her specialty.  "Alex, just because you couldn't get me into bed doesn't give you the right to make a pathetic attempt to destroy Damian and myself. Go back to high school, you're out of your league."

"You can't hide from the truth, Auren, and you know it. So does Damian."

His words hit home. Slowly she turned back to him.

"What did you say?"

"Everyone knows what's going on with you and Kenny. Damian ignores it since he has her." Alex smirked. "You two are so perfect for each other. Watch your back, Auren. Your glass house is about to crash."

With that, Alexander sauntered off.

***

Auren flung her pen down in frustration. Images of Damian and Destiny groping each other flew through her head.

Alexander was winning, she realized. He had her completely paranoid.

"Bastard." she muttered. Damian would never cheat on her. Destiny was just a cheap slut. Damian loved Auren. It wasn't in him to cheat. Was it? She had never thought she could cheat on Damian but she almost had with Alexander. . .and now Kenny. . .which Alexander knew about apparently.

With a heavy sigh, Auren went to search for aspirin.