Chapter 2

Clare was about as stunned as anyone could get, as she stared across at the girl in front of her. "You're saying that you're, but the last time I saw you was..." She started off saying, before Annie started to laugh. "Lets see. I think it was your freshman year. That would have made it my senior year." She said, and Clare nodded. "I was kind of shocked when I saw you in the office the other day. I had to go home and pull out my old yearbook to make sure that I wasn't imagining things, and that it was really you Clare-bear." Annie said, and Clare blushed in embarrassment. Annie had been the one to give her that nickname, and the only girl to ever use it. Still, she couldn't believe that she was sitting across from someone she last had contact with about 4 years ago.

"Last time I remember seeing you, you were almost like a pixie. Almost no curves, hiding under your baggy sweaters, now look at you. I think your boobs are bigger than mine." Annie said, and Clare chuckled. She knew that Annie was making a joke about her breasts, only because it was her nature. "I never recognized you. That's embarrassing. At least to me." Clare said, before the waitress came over and took their order. "What have you been doing with yourself?" Clare asked, but Annie just shrugged. "Oh. This and that. Nothing really interesting to begin with." Annie replied. "Oh come on. I'm sure you have some interesting stories to tell." Clare said, and suddenly noticed Annie's face turning red. Her once happy smile turning into a look of embarrassment, almost shameful.

"What's wrong?" Clare asked. Annie seemed hesitant to answer, and stared out the window a bit, before letting out a long sigh. "Remember how parents are around here? No sex until you're married, all that other crap that they feed you." Annie started to say. "Like any naive country bumkin, I wanted to see what it was like in the big world. To see what the large city could offer a small town girl like me. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that the big lights, and bright stars that are always in the movies, is just illusion." She said, and Clare bit her lip lightly. She could see that Annie was slightly pained by what she had to think about, and didn't want to ruin their reunion anymore by having her bring back anything that she didn't want to. "But, you're here now, so don't worry about it." Clare said, and smiled. Annie gave a half smile back, but looked down at the table for a bit. "You do know what goes on in the studio right?" She asked, and looked up.

Clare wanted to say yes, but she actually had no idea. "Not really. I just started yesterday, when you saw me." She said. "Oh. Would you like to see?" Annie asked. Clare just nervously nodded yes. "It will tell you a little more about what I ended up doing in the big city." Annie said, and smiled a bit. After lunch, Annie drove Clare back to the studio, which was locked, like Jesse said. "Good thing he gave me this key." Clare told herself, as she opened the door. She paused at her desk, reading a note that Jesse left her about taking the next couple of days off, and looked over at Annie, who just smiled, and took her hand. "Come on. I want you to see this." She said. Annie led Clare to one of the other back rooms, where there was a bed, a casting couch, and not much else. "This is the bedroom. There's also a dining room, and a living room in the other sets." Annie said, and Clare's interest got peaked on "sets".

Pulling Clare to another room, Annie paused before she opened the door. "Okay. Just prepare yourself for something a little shocking." She said, and Clare nodded, before Annie opened the door. Inside, Clare saw dozens of posters, and double the magazines that lined the walls. "Porn posters? Is this what you wanted to show me?" Clare asked, and Annie nodded. "Take a better look. Especially at that one." She said, and pointed out one. It was some sort of Pirate movie from the looks of it, and Clare's jaw just about dropped, when she noticed that she wasn't staring at just any actress, but Annie herself.

"This is a joke right?" She asked, but Annie shook her head. She then proceeded to show Clare magazine, after magazine, that had pictures of her, naked, sometimes with a man, sometimes with a woman, or something just solo. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I can understand if you feel like getting out of here. I mean, it's not everyday you find out that your friend poses nude and has sex on camera right?" Annie said, almost apologetic. Clare couldn't think. Her head spun with the possibilities, and she soon found herself wanting to sit down. After what seemed like an eternity, Clare found herself wanting to ask one, simple question. "Is it hard?" She asked, and looked up at Annie, who seemed confused. "I mean, to pose in front of a camera, naked?" She asked, and turned red.