Diabolical

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"Hey... Can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

Dawn Marie gave a slight start as she looked up into the kind, placid face of her friend.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to startle you, hun."

"No... It's all right, Lilian," the brunette replied, her right hand raising to her brow, her eyes fluttering closed for an instant. "I'm just a little jumpy, and I didn't see you."

The blonde woman nodded, caring and sympathy in her eyes at the same time.

"I understand."

Dawn Marie rose from the chair, abandoning her nearly empty plate and began to follow the other woman out of catering.

"What's going on?" she asked softly.

Lilian cast her glance all around the arena hall.

"Not out here," she said discreetly. No one was watching them or even paying them the slightest heed, but she still felt paranoid. Quickly, she ducked into an abandoned locker room. She ushered Dawn inside, then shut the door behind them and flicked on the light.

"Now... I don't want you to get mad at me, but there's something you should know."

The brunette arched a brow questioningly, her heart pounding fast as she realized what her friend might be getting at. But Lilian had given her her word and had promised not to say anything to him. She was more than a trustworthy friend - but *had* she actually gone and undermined that trust?

"What are you talking about?"

The blonde blinked, sympathy all over her pretty face. Then, after the briefest hesitation, she spilled.

"I told Amy about you and Adam."

"You *what*?" Dawn cried, incredulous. Her brown eyes widened as she eyed her good friend in shock, and anger slowly seeped in. That was one thing she'd never expected nor anticipated. She'd thought if anything, Lilian might approach Adam to confront him about how he'd treated her... But *Amy*? Her mouth suddenly went ash-dry.

"I'm sorry," Lilian said with humility. "I didn't do it to hurt you in any way." She cocked her head to the side as she searched Dawn's face, silently pleading with her friend to not be too angry with her. "I like Amy - you know that. And I felt she deserved to know the truth - that her boyfriend is a no good, stinking, rotten, cheating creep." Her normally soft features hardened with those words but softened again as she grew sad. "But she didn't believe me anyway," she finished.

Dawn Marie kept her gaze on Lilian, silence reigning supreme as she was now at a loss for words. Then, a slight memory from the previous night returned to her.

"So *that's* why she gave me that look."

"Pardon?"

"After the show last night," Dawn explained, "Adam and Amy passed me by in the hallway - and I could have sworn she gave me the dirtiest look."

"Oh." Lilian bit her lip, thoughtful for a moment. Then, "Well, she *did* say you must have lied to me when you told me about Adam."

The brunette's eyes grew wide again.

"I didn't!"

The blonde placed a hand to her distraught friend's shoulder."

"*You* know that, and *I* know that... Hell, *Adam* knows that. But Amy doesn't. Honey, she's in deep trouble - because she's so in love with that jerk, she thinks he's perfect and can do no wrong."

Dawn Marie looked down at the floor, feeling defeated.

"So, that means one thing..."

The brunette looked up slowly at the other woman's words, which had a ring of sudden excitement to them.

"... We'll just have to get him to admit in front of her that he's guilty."

The words reverberated through Dawn's head, echoing and bouncing off the recesses of her mind.

"Yeah, we'll do just *that*," Lilian said with a smile.
 
 
 
 

Part 34

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