Audrey knocked loudly on the door in front of her, then leaned casually against the frame and waited for an answer. It was a few minutes before the door was finally pulled open, to reveal a short, glamourous blond girl.
“Audrey, darling!” she shrieked in a posh accent as she took in the girl waiting outside the door. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”
Audrey grinned at the overly dramatic greeting and leaned in to give the woman a hug. “Hello, Raine.” She stepped back slightly and looked at Raine, pleased to see the older woman hadn’t changed much. Her outfit was typical of the flamboyant style the London-based artist favoured. She was wearing tight zebra-print pants and an even tighter black tube top with feathered trim that accented her curvaceous figure.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, grabbing Audrey by the hand and pulling her into the spacious contemporary flat.
“Well I’m in London on a shoot, and I needed the use of a darkroom, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by paying you a visit.”
“Of course!” came the exclamation, punctuated by an emphatic hand gesture. “We’ll get you set up there in a bit, but first come in for some tea! Or would you like something stronger?” She gestured to the various bottles of liquor that lined a shelf on the wall.
“Tea’s fine,” Audrey said.
“Come in, come in,” she urged, pushing Audrey gently into the living room. “Sit. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Audrey watched Raine as she strutted into the kitchen, amazed at how fast her friend could move in the impossibly high strappy stiletto heels she was wearing. She then turned her attention to her surroundings. If anything, the apartment had gotten even more outrageous since the last time Audrey had been there. The walls were covered in black fun fur, as were the couch and chairs. All the furnishings were done in black, white and red, and Raine’s artwork was displayed on every available surface. She scanned the photographs and charcoal sketches, noticing that most of them were quite recent, because she’d never seen them before. Her face lit up in a grin when she recognized a photograph of herself hanging behind the couch. It had been taken on the day that she and Raine had met. She’d been sitting on a bench in Trafalgar Square when Raine had approached her and asked if she minded having her picture taken. Even though Audrey felt slightly uncomfortable in front of the camera, she consented to it, willing to help out a fellow photographer. Raine hadn’t wanted her to pose or anything, just wanted to follow her around and take candid pictures. It was a bit weird at first, but she soon got used to it, and she got used to Raine’s outlandish and sometimes just plain strange manner. By the end of the day, the two girls were fast friends, and Audrey made it a habit to visit every time she was in London.
“Here you go,” Raine interrupted her reminiscing, placing a cup of tea down on the table in front of her and then taking a seat beside her. “One milk, two sugars, right?”
“You got it,” Audrey affirmed, picking up the delicate cup and sipping tentatively at the scalding liquid.
“So why are you here again?” Raine asked conversationally.
“I’ve got some shoots lined up with a group over the next few days.”
“Which group?” Raine inquired.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard of them,” Audrey said. “They’re a boyband called N Sync.”
“Ooh! I’ve seen them on the telly a few times,” she giggled. “They’re positively yummy!”
“I’ll have to agree with you there,” Audrey said with a smile.
“So what’re they really like?” Raine asked.
“Well I don’t know them very well, but they seem like very sweet guys. Especially Justin,” she added, with a small grin.
“Ooh, Justin, which one’s he?”
“He’s the young one with the curls and the great lips.”
“Oh I know which one you’re talking about! He’s delicious!"
"Yeah," Audrey sighed.
"Do I detect a hint of romance?” Raine asked, nudging Audrey in the side with her elbow.
“We’re just friends, if that. I only met the boy yesterday,” Audrey said immediately in an attempt to allay any suspicions Raine was developing.
“But you wish you were more than friends,” Raine guessed.
“No!” Audrey immediately denied. “Well... I don’t know. Maybe. No! No, I don’t. We’re just friends, that’s all. I’m done my tea,” she said suddenly, setting the half-full cup back down on the table and standing abruptly. “I better develop this film if I want to get out of here tonight.”
Raine shot her a knowing look and decided to drop the subject for the moment. She followed Audrey as she hurried down the hall to the small room where Raine had set up her darkroom. “Why don’t you stay the night here? It’ll be like old times!”
Much as she had missed her friend, Audrey was reluctant to say because she knew the subject of Justin would undoubtedly be brought up again, and it wasn’t something she wanted to talk about. Raine was naturally nosy, and she would insist on knowing exactly what Audrey felt for Justin, and to be honest, Audrey wasn’t at all sure what she felt for him. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
“I can’t. We’ve got a shoot early tommorrow morning,” she said. Well, it was the truth.
“Where?” Raine asked.
“Camden Market,” Audrey mumbled quietly.
“What? Camden? Darling, you know that’s like a five minute walk from here! That settles it, you’re staying here tonight! It would be simply impractical to go all the way out to your hotel just to come back here in the morning. You’ve got all your equipment here, don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but I'm all out of film,” Audrey fumbled for an excuse. “And I don’t have anything to wear.
“That first comment was just idiotic, Audrey. You know I’ve got loads of film, and you’re welcome to have some. Also, I’ll loan you something to wear,” Raine replied promptly. “Stop arguing with me, because you know I’ll only win in the end. You’re staying here tonight, and that’s final.”
“Fine,” Audrey agreed. “Let me call the guys’ management and let them know I’ll be meeting them in Camden rather than accompanying them there."
She made her way back to the living room and searched through her bag until she found the list of contact numbers she’d been given. She picked up Raine’s phone and called the group’s manager, who promised to pass along the message to the guys.
“All done?” Raine asked as Audrey hung up the phone?
“Yeah,” she replied.
“Great! Go get started on those pictures of yours! I want to see more of those beautiful boys! I don’t suppose you could make me a few prints of that brown-haired one, do you? Mmm, now he has some serious sex appeal.”
Audrey laughed at her friend’s request. “I’ll see what I can do. Go take a cold shower or something while I get to work on these,” she said, closing the darkroom door in Raine’s face.