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All Eyes On Me	By : ibgarry Category: +G through L > Ib Views: 1242 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Previously uploaded on AO3 and FFN. I do not own Ib or its characters, nor do I make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Garry learned over many years of experience and working with Carrie that he, as an announcer, was not always welcome on the floor. His presence, according to the dancers and his subconscious, cut off the customers' "train of thought". To this, there were always exceptions: new kids, suspicious characters, and other strange things. Ib could only be considered new for a few days, if Garry even cared to stay. Most regulars knew she was new, so Garry's presence was only partially welcome. Carrie, on the other hand, was not one of these exceptions.

For the first five or six minutes of the first hour, the stage was hers and whoever else's.
Garry remembered this as he stepped out onto the stage, Carrie just across from him. Announcing Carrie was easy enough, since everyone knew her and she had the audacity to strut with confidence without introduction. She was funny without saying a word; she had skill and an ability to be emotive. She lost that air when she performed, though.
Ib had a childlike, naive air. Most people really liked her personality and the naive trope in general. She was a natural pro, too, although she could still play the part with innocence.
Mary teased and played her audiences. In short, she always seemed to be having fun. She was different from Ib in the sense that Ib had her own personal aura of innocence, but Mary was left to her own devices.
Garry let Carrie take over right after he introduced the show. She was fine, alone with her applause and cheering. Ib, as well as Lady and another girl, were waiting backstage. Ib sat alone while the others spoke. She didn't seem to be lonely; if anything, she was amused. Garry joined her side shortly. She adjusted her legs and looked up at him.
"Have fun?" She asked.
"A blast," He joked sarcastically.
"I don't feel like working tonight."
"Me either. Are you tired?"
"Yeah. I enjoy talking to you, though. Much better than being on stage. Not as much work."
He was somewhat flattered, but he wondered if flattery had been her intention. "I could say the same."
She smiled. "Two days ago, I was terrified of you."
"Huh?"
"I'm not good at talking to boys."
"You're a stripper."
"That I am, but dirty talking is different from small talk like this. But you're good at it."
"Small talk?"
"Yes. I was never very good at it."
"You seem to speak just fine. You were scared of me?"
She leaned on one arm of her chair, covering her mouth as she giggled. "You're just... really tall, okay? You were so scary..."
Garry was used to being called tall, but not scary. He scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't realize..."
She jumped up, trying to correct herself. "No, I'm sorry! That wasn't kind of me..."
"Do I have a scary face, too?"
She laughed at herself, and he could tell even in the dark that Ib was red in the face. "No, no, you... don't. You're..." She held what she was thinking on her tongue, "... you have a cute face! It might be because you're old..." She sat staring into the dark before she violently blinked out of her daze at the realization of what she had said. "No, no, I meant you're older! You're older than me!"
He stooped beside her and laughed. "I'm only twenty-nine!" He barked. She laughed with him, and the guilt seemed to fade from her laughter for a moment.
"That's ten years older than me, though!"
"At least I have a cute face in my weary, old age..."
She elbowed him, but he laughed and grabbed his sides.
"I'm sorry," She apologized, a smile still painted on her face, "I'll pay you back for that somehow."

He returned to the podium just as Carrie exited. He read off his paper before he spoke again: "Returning for our second act tonight..." Ib stepped out, the light not yet hitting her. He could hear her heels click softly, which suited her. The lights, alluring soft pinks and snow whites, bounced off her bare skin.
She stood like a movie star in one heated, loud, choreographed scene, stepping one foot perfectly in front of the other. Garry didn't want to speak for her; she could have just spoken for herself, kneeling in front of her already-regular college boys with negligent abandon. Her dark hair just brushed against her skin, but she only looked so much fairer under white light.
Garry stopped just as she passed the halfway-mark onto the thrust stage, no hand on her hip. Her hips swished just slightly, how she wanted it, her arms at her sides but moving with her momentum. She stepped in front of the crowd, her crowd, onto her knees, the heels of her hands, hair falling around her face. Garry watched her, a cold sweat washing over him, and he realized she did not understand her audience like he did, after so many years of experience.
She was already showing most everything she had. She accentuated every curve, every feature. She could dirty talk. She was utilizing it. She was right in knowing that this field was different from her small talks. Garry felt her, her audience, himself move ever so slowly, wanting to look away.
One of her regulars reached out and grabbed her wrist. Garry went hot and remembered the lights and the stuffy room.

He couldn't leave then; it was his job to look nice and to intervene in an emergency and to watch. But, somehow, this was different.

There was a lapse in movement as a man in the crowd laid his hand on Ib's breast, and even, if only for a moment, Ib froze with them. It was too loud as it was, but there was yelling across from Garry. They knew the rule: no grabbing the dancers on stage. Tips were different. Dollar bills were different. They were expected when she asked.
Ib continued as if nothing had happened.

There was another twenty minutes for Garry. Once all was said and done, He shed his vest behind the curtain and draped it behind a chair. It had been a short shift. He ran his fingers through his loose hair, and all five of the performers, chatting and pulling on their clingy form-fitting clothing, were completely oblivious; he was supposed to be there, anyway.
One of the girls opened the door for him, but he could see the sympathy on her face when the light hit her.
Carrie was standing outside her room, but it was too loud in the hallway to hear anyone beyond the door. Garry didn't care to in the first place. Carrie was visibly upset, tugging on her synthetic hair. She only saw Garry when he was right in front of her. She read his face for just a second and took his hand, draggin him behind her and away from the dressing room door; once she was out of earshot from the door, she turned to him.
"She's fine," She said, her head and voice low. Garry had assumed so. She watched her hands. "I feel bad."
"That's the job." Club rules were disobeyed week after week no matter how many people knew about them, but it was in the job description.
"It's always shitty the first time, though."
Garry felt no place to speak, for he had never been put in the same position; he could only imagine. "We can only hope she gets used to it."
"If it's worth the money, she'll stay." He remembered suddenly Carrie's testy attitude. He never agreed with her tendency to silently investigate people on her own, but he agreed nonetheless, as he usually did.
Her platinum blonde hair was tinted in blue, and it shined in the light. Her pearl necklace tinkled with every motion.
"How was she doing?"
She sighed, pouting a bit. "She kept telling me, y'know, she could go back out and work on the floor, but-"
"Okay."
"I have to go back on."
"Is someone taking over her spot?"
"Mary didn't mind." Carrie pulled on a loose thread and ripped it. "I think it was a way of paying her back for the dress." Garry didn't see it worth commenting on.
Carrie juggled the torn thread in her hands before she shook it out. She looked into space, and as Garry waited for her to finish her train of thought, she stepped past him. "Is your shift over?"
"Yes."
She began to walk back. Garry followed. "Will you stay with her?" She asked.
"If she wants me to."
She paused again before turning to him. "I have to work soon, so I can't watch her forever." Carrie knocked on her dressing room door, with no response. The door whined as she opened it. Garry stepped out of view as Carrie peeked inside.
"Can Garry come in?"
Garry didn't hear Ib's reply, but Carrie held open the door for him and stepped out of his way. He whispered a "thanks", and she nodded, ducking out of the doorway.
Ib had dressed back into her street clothes. She was sitting at Carrie's vanity, wiping off makeup with pads she pulled out of a carton. The spotlights on Carrie's mirror were still on, but someone had shut Ib's off.
Garry pulled a folding chair up and sat down next to her. She acknowledged him with a nod.
She straightened up suddenly, and under the cover of her bangs, she wiped her eyes with a rag. She had taken off most of her eye makeup; in contrast, she looked startlingly exhausted.
After a moment of examining herself, she put her head in her hands and groaned.
"I could've continued working, you know..."
Garry placed a hand on Ib's back. "I think Carrie was just worried about you."
She rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands. He realized that resting his hand on her was probably not comforting in the least, and he leaned back in his chair.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, thanks."
"You know this isn't the last time it'll happen."
"I came into this job fully aware of its consequences," she sighed. "I really want to keep working."
"Maybe you should just take the night off, Ib."
She slouched. "But if I do, then-"
The dressing room door flew open, and Ib's inner turmoil radiated off of her as her and Garry's attention shot to the door.
Mary ran in with Rose in tow; Rose was visibly upset (moreso for being dragged along by Mary), but Mary's expression was one of sheer shock.
She was panting furiously, and her hair was disheveled.
"Are you alright, Ib?!" She roared.
"I'm fine." Ib was stunned.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Mary was breathless, and she leaned on her knees to catch her breath. "I ran back after my shift to check on you! I was so worried!"
Rose stood silently to the side, only vaguely concerned.
"I'm fine, really." Ib was casually trying to brush Mary off, but Mary clung on for dear life.
"I'm so sorry that happened, Ib!" Mary cried into Ib's chest. "Go home for the night and rest. You deserve it!"
"Really, it's okay."
"Garry, can you help Ib get her things together?"
Garry began, "Mary, I don't think..."
"It's whatever. I'll go home."
Garry and Mary turned to Ib, mouths agape. The room fell silent, but Ib didn't meet their gaze.
"If you want me to."
"That's the spirit!" Mary cheered, clapping her hands together. Garry watched as Rose shyly disappeared from the doorway. "Take a night off! You deserve it."
"Thank you, Mary." With faint color returning to her cheeks, Ib nodded to Mary with a small smile.
Mary clapped once and turned to Garry. "Now that that's all settled, I've got to run."
"Sorry to make you take my time slot."
Mary groaned, "Oh, Ib! Don't apologize for that!" She fell dolefully to Ib, squatting to meet her face. "It's no trouble! I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
Ib nodded again, averting her gaze. Garry had observed the whole exchange from a few feet away.
The door shut behind Mary, and Ib's silence lingered overhead. Garry was the first to initiate a conversation.
"Are you alright, Ib?"
"Yeah." She stood up, smoothing out the back of her pleated skirt. She threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
With such a visible look of anguish painted on her face, Garry was struck with a pang of guilt. He wrung his hands together, ridding his palms of the residue left behind from standing under hot light, and he stood. "Please don't feel bad about leaving, Ib."
She turned her attention to him only for a moment, but her face was sullen.
Garry smiled pitifully. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. "They care about you a lot."
Ib dazed for a moment, turning over the idea in her mind. She bit her lip before nodding. "You're right." She scoffed. "And Mary will get more tonight if she takes my time slot."
Garry laughed but his laughter faded as he found Ib wasn't reacting the same. Ib stared into him, and Garry gulped hard. She turned away from him with a wave of her hand. "See you later."
The color of Garry's face faded to a pallor. "See you."
- 5
- 6
- 7
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All Eyes On Me