The Princess and the Plague Part 34 By Anistasia Allread Slightly tweaked by Nick B “Can I go now?” Erika asked. “Yes.” The doctor nodded. “Just watch her for unusual behavior.” Erika's mother laughed. “That's been kind of hard to distinguish lately.”

---

 
 
Erika looked up to find herself surrounded by concerned faces.

“Oh my God, Erika are you all right?” Samantha knelt beside her. “Don't move.”

“Why?” Erika asked. “I'm fine.”

“I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,” a girl cried over and over again.

“Stay still.” Melinda ordered.

“I'm fine,” Erika protested.

“We aren't going to take any chances with your... your, you know.” Krystal held one of her arms down.

“Paramedics are here,” someone announced.

“Your parents are on their way over as well,” Samantha added.

“I'm fine, really,” Erika told the paramedics as they strapped on a B.P. Cuff and began taking her pulse.

“She just found out that she has a brain tumor,” Melinda told them.

Erika could hear several gasps as that was digested.

“This is why I told your principal. I just knew you were going to get hurt.” Erika's mother made her way through the onlookers.

“I'm not hurt, I'm just fine.” Erika wanted to scream.

“Miss, do you have a brain tumor?” one of the EMTs asked.

“Yes, but it's fine. I'm fine,” she insisted.

“I'm sorry miss, but we have to make sure.”

Erika found herself being fitted with a neck collar and rolled onto a back board.

“I can't believe this,” Erika stated. “I just got knocked to the ground is all.”

“Did you black out?” the EMT asked.

“Who doesn't when they're knocked down?” Erika stated.

“We just need to be safe. A quick CAT scan should take care of it,” The EMT added.

“Just go and get it over with. It's not like you have a choice,” Taylor advised.

“Fine.”

“We'll meet you at the hospital.” Erika's father put a hand on her shoulder.

“I really am sorry.” the cheerleader from Adams was scared.

“It was an accident,” Erika assured her.
 

 
Erika got to enjoy her second ride in an ambulance in just a few months. The whole way to the Emergency room, the EMT kept asking her name and where she was. The ambulance came to a stop and Erika was unloaded and wheeled into a room. The Doctor and nurses swept over her like a tide over sand, asking question after question.

“You have a brain tumor?” the doctor asked looking at a chart.

“Yes.” Erika was getting sick of the questions.

“We're going to get a CAT scan real quick to see if anything has changed with it. If you are as fine as you say then we'll release you. Okay?”

“Do I have a choice?” Erika asked.

“Not really.” The doctor smiled. “We'll get those ordered right away.” He left the room.

Erika lay on the stretcher, strapped to a back board, unable to move.

Her father entered the room and came up to her. “How are you doing?”

“I really do feel fine.”

“I knew you shouldn't be out there dancing tonight.” Her mother was wringing her hands.

“I wasn't dancing, I was video taping the squads dance. If I had been dancing, This might not have happened,” Erika rebutted.

“That's enough, the both of you.” Mr. Martin looked from one to the other. “They said you hit your head pretty good.”

“It feels no worse than a slight headache.” Erika said. “Hitting the diving board hurt worse than this.”

Her father smiled. “You're going to have to tell me about that sometime.”

The radiologist came in and wheeled Erika down for a scan then returned her to her room. Both of her parents were sitting in anticipation.

“I'm not quitting Rally,” Erika said to the ceiling.

“I'm not asking you to,” her dad said.

“Mom told Principal Crawford about my tumor and now I can't dance,” Erika accused.

“Your mother is only concerned for your safety,” her dad explained. “Until you have it removed, I agree that you have to be very careful.”

The Doctor came into the room and went over to Erika. “The scan came back clear.” He unfastened the neck collar and began unstrapping her from the back board.

“I told you I was fine.”

“I know, but we have to be sure. There are occasions when someone has said that they were fine and then stood up only to have their spine move a centimetre and sever their spinal cord,” The ER doc explained. “The radiologist also spotted your tumor and has compared these scans to your others. He says that nothing has changed.”

Erika could hear her mother's sigh of relief.

“Can I go now?” Erika asked.

“Yes.” The doctor nodded. “Just watch her for unusual behavior.”

Erika's mother laughed. “That's been kind of hard to distinguish lately.”

The doctor looked like he was about to say something, stopped and then turned for the door. “I'll have the nurse bring in your orders and prescription.”

Erika followed her parents out of the ER hallway and into the waiting room. Most of the cheer and rally squad was there along with a few girls from the Adams squad. Tricia along with Krystal, Victoria and Julian were also there.

“Are you all right?” they asked, almost in unison.

Erika was overwhelmed with the show of concern. She nodded unsure of what to say. “What are you all doing here?” she asked.

“We wanted to make sure you were all right,” Samantha stated.

“I am so sorry,” the Adams High school cheer leader apologized for the twentieth time.

Erika went up to her and took her hand. “I know you are. It was an accident.”

“It was.” She wrapped her arms around Erika and gave her a hug.

“We need to get Erika home,” her father announced. “I think it is great that you all came by to check on her.”

Erika felt as well as witnessed the waiting room empty as all of the visitors followed her and her parents out to their cars.

“See you tomorrow,” Tricia called out of the car window as she passed.

Erika waved.
 

 
Erika woke up to her mom knocking on her door. “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.

“Good.” She leaned on an elbow. “It was just a small fall.”

“Even a small fall can have large consequences, Erika.”

“I wasn't dancing.”

“I know.”

“It was an accident.”

“I know. I... I was just scared,” her mother admitted.

“Next thing you know, you'll have me wearing a helmet,” Erika scoffed.

“That's actually not a bad idea.”

“Moooom.”

“I know, I know. I won't make you do it.”

Erika almost let out a deep heavy sigh.

“You have a big night ahead of you,” her mother went on. “I was of the mind to keep you home so that I can keep an eye on you, but your father has talked me out of it. You need to shower and get ready for your hair appointment. Breakfast is waiting downstairs.” Her mother closed the door behind her. Erika could hear her feet as she descended the steps.

Erika stretched and slipped out of bed and into a shower.

“Wear something with a zipper front,” her mother called from her bedroom. “That way you can get it off without destroying your hair.”

Erika found a hoodie that Eric used to wear and pulled on a pair of jeans. She slipped on some flats and grabbed her phone, purse and other essentials before heading down stairs.

“Will this work?” she asked.

“Grab something to eat and blow dry your hair. Salons want your hair dry when you go in for an updo,” her mother advised.

Erika ate a quick bowl of oatmeal and rushed back upstairs to finish her duty before getting into the car with her mother.

“What about my dress and stuff? I left them at the school last night.” Erika was getting frantic.

“Tricia and Taylor collected it all and are bringing it over while you are getting your hair done.”

Erika let out a big sigh of relief.
 

 
Erika loved the dress that she had picked out for this occasion. It was beautiful and absolutely sang to her inner princess. She stood before the floor length mirror in her mother's bedroom and admired herself yet again.

After getting her hair done at the salon, her mother took her to the cosmetics counter at a nice department store and had her make up done. Erika was so careful not to touch her hair or even her face on the ride home. She didn't want to ruin the work of art she had become.

Erika arrived home with just enough time to get ready before Tricia and Julian were going to show up. She headed into her bedroom to find her dress laid out on the bed, her duffel and other bag sitting next to it. Erika stripped out of her hoodie and sweats, and changed her panties.

She got out the adhesive and made sure that her breast forms were going to stay in place. The last thing she needed was one of the skin-colored prosthetics to slip out and bounce unceremoniously across the floor.

She could hardly wait to feel the expensive pair of nylons. She carefully slid the sheer coverings up over her legs and shivered involuntarily at how wonderful they felt. She slid the dress up over her hips and fastened it in place. Her personal bubble seemed to have just grown by a foot and a half with the voluminous skirt sheathing her legs.

Erika took out her sparky chandelier earrings and placed one in each ear before slipping her feet into her heels.

“Mom?” Erika made her way to her mother's room. “Could you make sure I'm zipped up all right?”

Erika's mother stood transfixed.

“Mom?” Erika asked.

“Yes, I'm sorry. It's just I would never have thought you were a boy,” her mother stated.

“Thank you.” Erika smiled.

“I still am not in favor of this choice,” she reaffirmed. “But tonight, you look very... pretty.”

Erika's face flushed with pleasure. She turned to show her mother the back of her dress.

Her mother tugged here and smoothed there. “You look ready. Do you have a clutch?”

“A what?”

“A clutch. A small purse to put a few essentials in.” Her mother moved to her dresser and began searching. “Here, use mine for the night.”

“What do I put in it?” Erika inquired.

“Lip gloss, a few hair pins, money, your cell phone. That kind of stuff.”

“Sure, okay. Are they here yet?” She asked.

Before her mother could reply the door bell chimed.

“I believe they are.”

“Do I go and answer it?” she asked.

“You father is taking care of it. Are you ready?”

“I don't know. How do I look?”

“Amazing.” Her mother smiled. “I'll go let them know you'll be down in just a moment.”

Erika nodded. She ducked into her room and began loading a few items into her clutch as her mother went downstairs.

She stood again before the mirror, her mind was in awe as to how pretty the girl before her looked.

She heard voices at the foot of the stairs by the front door. She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart and went to meet her dates.
 

 
Julian helped Tricia out of the car and took one arm. “I hope you don't mind,” he commented.

Tricia smiled. “Not at all.”

“Did you see Erika all dressed up last night at the game?” he asked.

“Yes, she looked gorgeous, didn't she?” Tricia smiled up at the tall swimmer.

Julian nodded. He didn't know exactly how to feel about the blond on his arm. She was one of his dates, and yet she was also competition for the attentions of Erika. She hadn't given him any outwards signs of which role she was going to play.

Well, he thought. I'll just play the gracious gentleman until she shows me otherwise.

Erika's father opened the door and greeted the two with a warm hearty smile. “Come in, come in. don't you both look great. I'm Erika's dad.”

Julian introduced himself. Tricia had met both parents previously.

“Erika will be down in just a moment,” Erika's mother announced quickly descending the stairs.

Julian could see a strong resemblance between Erika and her mother. His dad had always told him that if he wanted to know what a possible wife would look like later in life, to just look at the mother. Julian decided that he could live very happily with that outcome.

Commotion at the top of the stairs caught his attention. He looked up and stopped breathing. He knew he was staring, but he couldn't stop. Beautiful was too cheap of a word to describe the vision as it began it's decent. Angelic? That was close, but still didn't seem right.

Erika's ebony hair had been curled, piled and pinned up high in the back of her head allowing for a few curled tendrils to escape and soften her look. The dark blue dress with black accents was the perfect color to bring out her already deep blue eyes. Her make up was noticeable but not over done. Her smile radiated and filled the room with a warmth that seemed to envelop everything.

God, I've got to be the luckiest guy at this dance, he thought. “Wow Erika, you look... you look... I can't find the word for it,” he stumbled.

“Ravishing,” Tricia supplied. Her pink lips curled up in as hungry a smile as Julian's.

Julian nodded.

Erika's beaming smile seemed to pulse to a higher power of beautiful at the comment.

“You don't clean up so bad after all,” her father teased.

“Thanks, Daddy.” Erika winked at her dad.

“I, um. I got you a corsage,” Tricia managed to get out.

Julian flushed with embarrassment. “I got you one too.” Could a girl give another girl a corsage?”

Erika took the last step and looked at her blonde friend and gave her a smile before focusing her hauntingly beautiful eyes up at Julian. His heart skipped two beats

“Thank you.” She smiled. “I feel horrible. I didn't get you a boutonniá¨re, Julian.”

“That's okay,” Julian managed to get out. “You can be mine.” Did that come out stupid?

“Turn towards the camera,” Erika's father instructed.

Julian feeling all thumbs managed to slip the corsage over Erika's wrist as her father snapped a couple of pictures.

“How are you feeling? How's your head?” Julian asked.

“I don't want to be reminded of my... condition tonight.” Erika looked sternly into his eyes and then flicked her gaze over to Tricia who nodded.

Great, you stupid oaf, Julian berated himself. Bring up the one subject she's trying to forget.

“Your turn, Tricia.” Erika's father directed.

Julian watched as the blond with much more grace slid the corsage up to rest next to his.

“Okay, group photo.” Erika's father motioned with his hands to have the three of them gather close together.

Julian stood in the center with the blond, Tricia on one side and the ebony, Erika, on the other.

“Okay, go have fun.” Erika's father waved them off. “Have fun, but be careful.”

“Yes, Sir.” Julian nodded. He opened the door and escorted both girls back to the car.

“I'll take the back,” Tricia offered. “I'm the third wheel anyway.”

“You are not,” Erika argued.

Julian didn't know how to feel yet. He was sure he could have fun with Tricia, but he was interested in Erika. Tricia was a bit of a third wheel.

He helped Erika into the car then decided to be a gentleman and help Tricia in as well. He walked around to the other side and decided that one way to get Erika interested in him was to treat Tricia with the utmost respect. After all, who did girls listen to most? Their girlfriends.
 

 
Tricia bit her lower lip as she sat In the back seat of Julian's car. Julian was a nice enough guy and this was his and Erika's night together. She was just asked to come along because she wanted to go with Erika and wouldn't ask a guy to go with her.

Erika was absolutely stunning. Tricia's breath was taken away as she watched her friend start down the steps. Sure her dress wasn't pink, but the blue really looked good.

She watched the back of Erika's head, the curls were pinned in so artfully, it went so well with her haltered dress. A bit of sparkle flashed now and again as light caught her earrings.

“How are you feeling today?” Tricia asked. “You really gave us a scare last night.”

“I had a bit of a headache last night, but I'm feeling fine today.” Erika looked over her shoulder and smiled at Tricia. Tricia could never get enough of that pretty smile.

She thought back to when she had first met Erika at camp. The first few weeks were very rocky for her dark haired friend. Erika was so busy trying not to be noticed that she didn't have time to make many friends. Tricia had picked her out as special while playing a kick ball game against Columbine Cabin. There was something so fragile, yet alluring about the the girl. The way that she yearned to be accepted to be liked. She was almost like a small helpless kitten in need of a home. As camp proceeded however, Erika began to blossom. She began to become more self-assured. She smiled more often, which was what melted Tricia's heart.

When her cabin had been demolished, she felt like she had hit the lottery when she was assigned to move in with the Lavender Ladies of Columbine. She was amazed that the cabin had figured out Erika's secret and of all things, accepted her as a sister.

The love, or should she call it the obsession that Erika had with Samantha was almost blinding. It hurt a little that someone as beautiful as Erika was so blindly in love with a girl who Tricia knew couldn't love her the same way that Erika wished to be loved. When Erika and Samantha decided that it wasn't going to work out, Tricia felt like she had won the lottery for the second time.

Julian pulled up at the restaurant's front door. Valets opened the doors for the girls and assisted them to the covered entrance. After handing over the keys to the car, Julian took both girl's arms and escorted them into the busy restaurant.

Several upper class men with their dates, were already seated at the long reserved table. Julian greeted them openly and introduced his two dates to them before sitting down, making sure that he sat next to Erika.

“So which one of you are with Julian tonight?” the girl next to her asked.

“We both are.” Tricia winked at her. If she could get the rumor going that Julian was dating them both rather than Tricia being a 'hanger on' then it had better start right away.
 

 
Erika sat at the long table next to Julian and across from Tricia. Just a few months ago she would have been intimidated and self conscious of the looks and stares that she was receiving from the others around the table. Tonight however, she was feeling like a Princess. Well, she was a Princess, in a way.

Julian radiated pride and confidence, his smile broad and slightly arrogant. The others at the table, softened and seemed a bit timid when looking at her. His classic tux with white tie and cummerbund looked fantastic on him, showing off his swimmer's broad shoulders and narrow waist. Having worn a tux in the past, Erika felt a bit of sympathy for him. Although she was in heels, she bet his feet were hurting worse than hers even this early in the evening. She was so glad that she didn't have to wear a collar and tie that seemed to cut off not only oxygen, but blood supply. Other than a bit of a breeze to chill her shoulders, Erika was very comfortable in the dress. Who would have ever thought she'd admit to that a few months ago, even to herself.

Tricia was a sight for sore eyes. The blond was in a pale pink and white dress. Her hair had been pulled up and curled with a cascade of curls falling over her left shoulder. She too looked like she had her makeup professionally done. Her pink glossy lips were aching to be kissed and Erika was aching to be the one kissing them. As usual, Tricia seemed to be able to handle any situation thrown her way. By her quiet demeanor however, Erika could tell that Tricia wasn't quite comfortable on this date, but she could see her trying her best not to step on Julian's toes.

How was she going to balance these two tonight? They both wanted and deserved attention from her. Trade dances with the both of them? As nice as it was being with the two of them, Erika was starting to have doubts of the wisdom behind this plan.

The salad was set before them stifling some of the conversation as the dressed up students began to eat their dinner.
 

 
“I need to powder my nose,” Tricia looked pointedly at Erika.

“Good Idea. Will you excuse me?” Erika looked towards Julian as she rose.

The two girls entered the decadent bathroom. The soft mood music piped through overhead speakers sounded a bit louder away from the busy dining room.

Tricia took Erika's hand and led her over to the vanity area, scanning to see if anyone else was there. Tricia pulled Erika to her and pressed her lips against her girlfriend's.

Tricia's perfume was sweet and intoxicating, her lips felt soft as velvet and wonderful. A charge of electricity shot through her body as Erika kissed back savoring all of the wonders of Tricia.

After a few moments, Tricia pulled back, her lips swollen with passion and excitement. “God, I've been wanting to do that all evening,” the blonde admitted.

“Me too.” Erika grinned catching her breath.

The two girls used the facilities, and touched up their lip gloss and mascara before returning to the table a little chagrined.

The Bay House pulled out all of the stops for the Homecoming kids. Sparkling cider in place of champaign. A bit of candle light, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.

The meal was very good and only her already tight bodice and Tricia's example kept her from eating like a football player after pre-season training.

The group of Homecoming couples exited the Bay House as a group. Erika was pleasantly surprised when Julian insisted on paying for Tricia's dinner as well.

“You are my date as much as Erika is,” Julian told her.

“But that wasn't part of what was discussed,” Tricia argued.

“Look at it this way,“ Julian smiled. “I'm going to Homecoming with two pretty girls. My dad was so full of pride that he gave me money to make sure that you were both taken care of.”

Tricia sighed, but didn't press the argument.

The valets were all busy bringing the cars around. Julian took Erika's hand and easily but gently pulled her back behind the group who were talking and sharing stories. He turned and faced her, his massive swimmers shoulders filling out the tux jacket quite handsomely. One large hand cupped her chin and drew it up slightly as he lowered his head. His musky, almost spicy scent filled Erika's nose with calm secure feelings. His firm lips gentled as they caressed hers. Erika found her self drawn into his embrace, but felt comforted by it instead of repulsed. His fingers lightly caressed the nape of her neck sending chills down her spine as his tongue met hers through parted lips.

The sound of a car pulling up and of doors being opened and closed brought an end to their embrace.

“I've been wanting to do that since I saw you at the top of those stairs,” Julian told her.

Erika smiled. “Me too.” She hadn't realize the truth of those words until she at uttered them.
 

 

---

 
To Be Continued...