Love Bites

“And just remember, anything could happen in a world so seriously strange-“

“Hey, you!” I jumped as something icy cold brushed my ear to pull out the earbuds I had in. Smiling over my shoulder was Oliver, neatly dressed in some rose patterned t-shirt and dark blue jeans. “What’re you watching?”

I glanced to the laptop he had lent me. Nikki, Valerie, and I had never really had an at home computer so being able to surf the web on Oliver’s was intensely fun. Sure, I had used the ones at the library but they only worked half the time and I was too busy with homework then. “Some guy you subscribed to”, I said. “What do you want?”

Oliver plopped himself down on my bed. “Well, for the last week I’ve noticed you and your siblings all wear the same clothes so for one thing, we need to go shopping. For another, my party’s soon and we still haven’t gotten you a dress.”

While it was really nice of him, I couldn’t help but stare at Oliver who saw no problems with his plans for the day. “Dude, you don’t have a job”, I pointed out. “How are we paying for-“

“I’m working on that”, he snapped. “Plus, I’ve made arrangements with Kellin to pay Maria whatever she wants for your dress so we’re clear. You just owe Kellin a free body-“

“Who’s Maria?”

“A friend of mine. Can I not have friends, Thorne? She’s a seamstress and owns a dress shop in the French Quarter so you have to be familiar with it- Brink’s Bridal.”

I had seen the shop before. Though I had never been inside, I had seen it (and maybe spent a lot of time staring through the windows at night). It was edgy, with sharp black and silver accents and flamboyantly dressed mannequins in the windows. When I was in high school, the girls all fawned over the place during homecoming and prom because Brink’s was known for one-of-a-kind dresses. The thought of going to such an upscale local luxury made me wonder what Oliver had negotiated for it. “What’s Maria getting out of it?” I asked.

Oliver beamed. “What do any of us get out of it?” he replied. “Blood. Since Botswick’s a medical student, he can sneak into labs and get blood bags which is great as they’re always chilled and we vamps don’t have to worry about causing a panic within the mortal community. Now c’mon, Thorne. Get up and get dressed.” He took the laptop from me, shutting it forcefully as he left the room. I rolled off the bed and slid into some graying black skinnys and a flannel shirt before I managed to slink my way downstairs. Val, Nikki, and Oliver were already waiting for me by the door. “Come ooon, Thorne!” Oliver sang, dangling his keys.

“Whose vehicle are we taking?” I questioned.

“Oliver’s borrowing his friend’s Jeep”, Nikki shrugged, following Oliver out. I looked to Valerie who just made a sweeping gesture to the door, as if saying “go ahead”. We walked outside and piled into a 1996 Grand Cherokee that Oliver drove to a large strip mall complete with a little cobblestone walk and park benches between the stores, kind of like Bourbon Street if it had any class. Oliver hastily reached into his pocket and pulled out a few wads of cash.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a thousand each”, the vampire informed blandly despite the awe my siblings and I shared. He gave each of us a neatly stacked pile of bills, put together with a money clip. Even with the bodies and the shop, I don’t think any of us had held this much money. Where did Oliver get all of this? “Just come see me if you run out but don’t spend it on stupid stuff”, he grumbled. “Ugh, it’s so hot out here. Thorne, come on. We might as well go see Maria first.”

“When should we try meeting up again?” Valerie asked quickly.

Oliver opened his mouth but quickly groaned again. “Ugh, why do I have to decide?” he whined. “I just have to do everything. Three. That way you can all get properly fitted and shop or whatever.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me down the cobblestone street, beginning the Craigs’ shopping spree. Oliver tried his best to walk under the shop awnings, shading himself from the sun. I wasn’t entirely surprised-he didn’t look very comfortable and it probably sucked being unable to sweat. It was so weird thinking that Oliver was technically just a corpse…a corpse incapable of decomposing but a corpse nonetheless. We reached the bridal shop, Brink’s Bridal sitting proudly in a cursive font on a black sign. Oliver pushed open the glass shop door and took a moment to relish in the AC. A blonde woman with a large set of boobs crawled out from underneath a mannequin’s under skirt.

“Oli Scot”, she beamed, straightening her tiny pencil skirt out. “What have you brought me?”

Oliver gestured to me as Maria eyed me up and down, like she was considering buying steak from a butcher. “Thorne, my new house mate”, Oliver informed. “She’s going to attend my party with me but I need a gown for her. I’m thinking drop-waist.”

Maria, or I guess she was Maria, pulled a small fabric measuring tape from the pocket of her blazer. Without my consent, she started poking and prodding me. “She’s so tiny”, Maria tutted. “And so pale. Oliver, are you feeding her?”

“She eats when she wants to. Thorne knows where the kitchen is-“

“Put your arms up”, Maria commanded. I stared at Oliver who had already found a chair to sit in. Maria poked me in the arm so I lifted them. Having never been in a bridal shop, I kept glancing to Oliver in hopes he’d tell me what I needed to do but I don’t think he realized it. “35…24…32”, Maria counted, going from my ribs, to my waist, to my hips.

“And I want something with a lace up bodice”, Oliver added. “Not one of those stupid zip up-“

“You’ve never laced up a bodice in your life”, Maria scoffed.

“No but I’ve taken enough off so how hard should it be to put one on?” he argued. I snorted but somewhere, my brain wondered just who those bodices belonged to and why the Hell Oliver was removing them.

“Don’t say that with your girlfriend here”, Maria teased. She turned me to face her and smiled. “What do you see yourself in, doll?” she questioned.

“Oh, I-I don’t know”, I admitted. “I told Oliver these big gowns were stupid, but-“

“Gowns are never stupid”, Maria interrupted. “Every girl deserves to be a princess. That’s what I’m here to do, doll. So what do you see yourself in?”

“I never really thought about it”, I mumbled. If I offended her, Maria didn’t seem to care. She was listening to Oliver interject again.

“Drop-waist”, he insisted. “With a lace up bodice. Preferably something silver with black accents. It’ll make her look taller and thinner while still giving her the poofy skirt she wants. And I want a sweetheart neckline.”

Maria looked to me, as if asking if this was okay. I hadn’t really ever thought of myself as short (but compared to Oliver I suppose I was) so I didn’t really see the need for a drop waist or whatever that was. Oliver seemed to know what he wanted though, as I’d expect from a 600 year old vampire. I shrugged back at her before she yanked me into the depths of the store.

And there, in all of their poofy, sparkly, tool, fitted splendor, were the ball gowns. Mermaid dresses, ball gowns, A-line skirts, cocktail dresses, bridesmaids’ gowns. Mindlessly, my hand skimmed the one-of-a-kind, handmade dresses, feeling the silks and satins brush my fingertips. Oliver tried having me pull back but Maria scolded him. “Let her look. You’re here for her, aren’t you?” she demanded. She brought us to the fitting room area, which had a little sitting area where I guess friends and family could sit and wait while their bride or daughter tried on the dresses. There was a small walkway against what looked like one of those mirrored walls that you see in ballet studios. You could walk around it on either side to find the fitting room. I sat down with Oliver on a large leather couch before Maria pulled me up again.

“Let me have a look at you”, she demanded. Maria tucked two fingers under my chin, lifting my head up so she could examine me. Slowly she walked around me, like we were in some kind of interrogation room before nodding. “I’ll be back”, Maria stated. “Go pick one of the dressing rooms and get your clothes off.”

“Why can’t she just do it out here?” Oliver snickered. Maria’s eyebrows came together before she smacked him in the back of the head. “Oi. What did I-“

“I want all of my girls to feel like the royalty there are”, Maria barked. “Not like common street trash.”

“Well, some of them are-“

“Just like you. You-“ Maria pointed at me. “Get in the back. You-“ she pointed to Oliver. “Be quiet till we come back.” Silently, I walked around the mirror to the back rooms and found one towards the end. There was a small door, a little white shutter door, and a mirror inside. Otherwise, it was basically a white box with black carpet. I didn’t look in the mirror. I didn’t want to. Like I told Oliver, I had stupid hair and dirty finger nails. My skin wasn’t evenly toned. I didn’t have the naturally red lips. I wasn’t some doll.

My mind crawled back to Oliver and the bodices. He was ancient and probably had his fair share of girls. Not that I minded, obviously. We were just friends. Absolutely just friends. But what had they looked like? What if one of those bodices belonged to Marilyn Monroe? Marie Antoinette? Queen Elizabeth (virgin queen, my ass)? How the Hell was I supposed to compete with that? My self pity came to an end when Maria came bursting in with a slew of dresses.

“Oliver was right”, she said. “We need something to bring out your eyes.”

Notes

Massive updating spree today. Over here, on the BVB site, on my Wattpad. Yay! I'm not a loser anymore!