"Start again" Flower sighed opposite me, stopping the CD player.
Scowling to her over the table, I pulled the papers towards me that had the lyrics printed out.
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We had picked up breakfast on the way in. The smell of fried bacon and eggs was filling the room. Vinnie slurped his coffee frappe as he watched on.
Even Flower ate some of the hot chips he offered her, almost dropping one onto her light yellow shirt beneath her soft green shorts held up with two fabric lengths to act as suspenders.
"I'm not going to get this down pat in a couple of minutes" I slapped the sheet "and why have it so complicated? Where the hell am I supposed to even have time to breathe?"
Flower held out a pawed hand, raising a brow.
"Can I?"
"Go for it" I grumbled and passed it over.
Leaning over to skip back to the start, she cleared her throat and pressed the button.
There was the usual pause before Lumi started to sing. It was hard to line it up and not fumble right at the beginning.
Flower took a breath, placing the papers down.
She didn't need them?
Vinnie exchanged a look with me. Slurping again, he swirled his straw around the ice.
"I don't get hurt" Flower began, getting the timing perfect "how can I feel when I won't learn?"
She grinned, stepping up onto her chair to mimic the stage. Vinnie cheered. I gave a polite smile at her obvious smugness.
I knew this part already. We were flipping into position by now on the chandelier. I knew this cue only by noise. I didn't memorize the whole damn song.
"Born to darkness first, I flicker to avoid your burn."
Hang on, I didn't remember that bit.
Leaning over to grab the paper, the lyric was right there.
Was I too busy remembering key words that I had chosen to ignore parts of the same song I had been listening to every night?
"If I don't risk it, how will I learn?" Flower mimed perfectly "when you pull it apart, when was it ever my turn?"
That part sparked recognition in me. The first bit was foreign, but I knew the middle well.
"I'll make a new start, cross my heart. I'm more than a shadow."
How much had I missed in doing the routine up on the chandelier? Obviously, I wouldn't hear anything else while flipping and focusing on remaining poised perfectly beside Nisha, but these chunks were huge.
I couldn't have been that ignorant, surely?
"Go, Flower!" Vinnie cheered "get it, girl!"
She climbed up onto the table to pose proudly. I grabbed my side to help steady it while Vinnie did the same with one hand while the other clutched his precious frappe.
"Why do you burn so bright when you know no-one is watching? Stay away, disobey! Keep everything squashed in. Don't listen to the voice inside your own head!"
Vinnie smirked to me. I returned it, trying to hold the table as Flower put her all into her performance.
"I'm going to live! Always through someone else's eyes! Let me breathe! Help me see what should be right!"
"I creep up in the night!" Vinnie sang out with her.
"Ready?" Flower grinned to us.
I was confused. Vinnie nodded enthusiastically.
Drawing up a breath, Flower spin around.
"Look at me, can't you see? It's me! It's me!"
She jumped up with each 'me', making the table bang with her weight slamming back down into it through her spread feet.
Flower wobbled when Vinnie's one-handed attempt at anchoring her didn't work.
I gripped on for dear life so she wouldn't fall off from the shaking. Vinnie even placed his drink on the ground so he could snatch onto the table properly.
Flower shot him a glare, tapping her way around again.
"I'm holding on for you!" she sang, preparing to jump again.
"It's you! It's you!" I joined her, laughing.
"The shadows play tricks on your eyes, can't you tell I'm no deceiver? I'm here in disguise. Venomous, temptress, truth teller and believer."
"What am I supposed to be?" Vinnie belted out with her.
"I'm your shadow!" Flower triumphed, pointing to me as she sang to make me join her "nothing more than a stain on your wall!"
"Your shadow! I hear and see it all!" I grinned up at her, making sure I wasn't missing verses for this part I knew well.
"Light it up, is it there?" Flower started.
"Voices speaking everywhere" Vinnie joined.
"Uh, try to run, if you dare?" I read off the paper.
"Everything we will share!" Flower grinned.
"It's your shadow, coming down to snatch you up!" Vinnie pounded the table with Flower's stamping feet.
"You'll know this part, Elgress!" she pointed to me.
Oh! The ending!
"Let me see it all!" We all chimed in, snorting and laughing as Flower pretended to be breathless from such a powerful performance, her arms up in the air.
Vinnie cheered, whistling. I joined in, miming the crowd as Flower bowed and gasped dramatically at her admiration.
"And that" she grinned as the CD ran out "is how it is done."
"You know it so well" I breathed up at her, a little in awe, a little in annoyance.
"Well, I am one of the sound techs. I've got to know these things. I even still remember the old shows. Remember the one that had the horror theme?"
She turned to Vinnie who snapped his fingers and took another long sip.
"Floating Tampons" he cited the drink that had been the most popular.
Completely red with a foamy layer of white on top. It got a little string to hang over the side too. Cleaning those damn things up after a long night was a pain in the arse. We were picking strings up for fucking months.
Flower laughed, shrugging.
"Floating tampons? He's adorable" she snorted to me.
"Very" I just grumbled back to his smug face drinking up the compliment.
Pushing over the chips, I took a few to try and curb my growing hunger again.
After smashing down a few painkillers this morning, the stabbing pain was a little more bearable. The bleeding, however, was still flowing fiercely. I squeezed my legs together to try and keep it from humiliating me in front of this other stranger I only met today who was supposed to be my new bestie.
She was a little uppity for me. She always looked so smug and came across as a bit rude, intentional or not. She knew her job well and wasn't afraid to let anyone else know.
"So, practice this" Flower popped open the CD player to recase the CD itself "it's ancient, but at least you've got a physical copy rather than an audio file. I don't even think you have a phone, do you?"
Narrowing my eyes at her, I decided not to pull it out from my pocket. Compared to other more slim models with touch screens, it was a brick. It still used buttons.
"Not a good one" I just said.
"See? That's good I got you the CD then" Flower beamed "you can even borrow the CD player. The old thing never gets used anymore since, well, since the nineties?"
She giggled. I forced a smile back, feeling like it was a personal attack on my own lifestyle.
She didn't know about it. I wasn't about to give her fuel for the fire already burning inside her.
"So, the lyric sheet is super old" Flower jabbed a black nail to it before her hand planted on top to slide it back towards herself "I'll print you off a new one once I get the lyrics written up. It would be far too convenient if someone kept the original files, wouldn't it?"
"Super" Vinnie commented with an eye roll.
"Right?" Flower agreed with his sass "he gets it."
She turned to me again for my input.
Why did it feel like she was pitting Vinnie against me?
"When will I get them?" I worried now "does Bruce want me to try this tonight?"
"While you are still reading off a sheet?" Flower snorted and waved a hand "God no! How embarrassing! Give it a few days at least. You'll still have to head to costumes so they can alter the old dress to make it a bit bigger to fit you."
Her eyes ran over me. Clenching my teeth, I just smiled through the jab on my weight.
Not everyone could be a thin thing like her. It didn't look like she had a scrap of fat on that patchy dog body of hers.
"Thanks."
"Any time" Flower took it as sincerity, standing now with the lyrics "don't leave them hanging too long. They don't like to be kept waiting. Very impatient bunch, I tell you."
We both just nodded as Flower waved and let herself out of the room to tap away. Each nail clicked along the floor as she strutted off to type up the lyrics.
"So.... do you like her?" Vinnie looked to me now with a smile "you two seemed to be clicking."
"She's kind of a bitch" I huffed as Vinnie chuckled back "do not tell her that!"
"I've got you" he shook his head "Flower is Flower. That's all I can describe it as."
"More like a weed" I muttered, hearing Vinnie gasp out another laugh "what? It's true! You heard the way she called me poor and said I was fat!"
Vinnie shrugged, still smiling.
"She does that with everyone" he replied while I ate my bitterness away "it's just her."
So, she gets an excuse to be a cunt because that's who she was? Who made their whole personality to be like that anyway?
"You two will get along great" Vinnie smirked "I can tell."
"If I had venom, let's just say she'd be dead" I just grumbled to his widening eyes "if she keeps picking at me, I'm going to fight back. I'm not having it."
"So feisty" Vinnie swirled the dregs of his drink "don't go turning into another one of the snakes now. They're all so..."
He swirled a hand, thinking.
"Complicated? Emotional?" he sounded off, frowning around his thoughts "Odd?"
I scoffed, agreeing to it all.
"Bastards?" I added.
"Hmm, that too" he agreed, gazing at me "but only a few."
I smiled and returned to the food.
"Maybe we should head down to get the dress done?" I pondered then frowned as I realized a flaw in that plan "do you know where they keep that lot?"
Vinnie hummed, thinking. He shrugged.
"I actually have no clue" he mumbled "they usually just pop up out of nowhere. Maybe ask someone?"
"If there is anyone" I grumbled at Flower's oversight "she could have told us before she left."
"That would be too easy" Vinnie pointed as he grabbed the empty drink and food wrappers to stuff into the paper bag "why don't we start at Nisha's dresser and work our way from there? Your team should know."
That wasn't a bad idea. I was just hoping any of them would be in this early. Not a lot of workers liked to hang around Paragon for longer than they absolutely had to.
Still, it was a start.
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Seeing the slider across to indicate someone was inside was a good sign.
Knocking gently and having the door opened by Benji made me hopeful.
"El!" his face immediately lit up at me, and he opened it wider to let me in "you bought a friend."
"Vinnie" he introduced himself to Benji who took his hand firmly.
"Benji" he smiled back, but didn't linger.
There was nothing more there than a quick friendly greeting. I don't know why I expected more for Vinnie.
I peered around to see that Benji has his kit cluttered across the benches, halfway through sorting makeup into a smaller box.
"What are you doing?" I smiled nervously at it.
He turned to where I was looking, giving a small smile.
"You caught me" he grimaced "I'm, uh, jumping ship?"
He said it so unsurely. Sorting his more pricier palettes into the case told me he had made up his mind on that at least.
"Why?"
Was he doing this because of Lumi? Was he afraid he'd somehow be next?
Benji turned, sliding his eyes between us?
"You guys haven't heard?"
I scoffed and folded my arms.
"Unlike this lot, I'm not a gossip."
Benji looked blankly at Vinnie; the most known loose-lipped person around here.
"Nisha left" Benji turned to sort some more.
Stunned, I just stood there. Looking around for the others, I chuckled.
"You're kidding me. You're pulling a prank."
"Wish I was" Benji shrugged "Oliver saw him getting into a car at the back dock. Took Avery with him too. The costumers have a bunch of gossips in them. I found out through a shared message on social media."
Avery as well?! So, only Tawn was left?
"What about the show tonight?" Vinnie beat me to the question, as dumbfounded as I was.
"I don't want to know" Benji shoved in the last cream and slid in some brushes before snapping the case closed, flipping out a green bag for the rest "I don't want to be here when Bruce figures it out."
He pulled out a folded letter from his pocket to wave it.
"I'm quitting, starting now" he said "and I'm not waiting to see what comes my way. If you two were smart, you'd leave too."
"We actually just need to find where the dressmakers are around here" I forced a small smile "we aren't leaving yet."
Benji looked disappointed in my response. He had actually been hopeful I'd quit with him. I wasn't going to give up this job just yet when I still had so much left to do.
"You know where the chandelier is?"
I nodded. Obviously.
"There's a whole floor around there. You can't see it because of the walls. The quickest way would be to go up there and through the door hidden in the wall at the back where the chandelier sits. Take the hall and the first room in the right. You'll find them in there."
I got the information we needed. Now I was just here out of sympathy for Benji's circumstances.
Benji gave a little sigh, almost begging me with his eyes.
"You sure you don't want to leave?"
Vinnie glanced to me as he wrapped his arms around himself.
"Who would man the bar?" he chuckled nervously.
Benji turned, throwing a hand up.
"Who cares? You want to have a glass thrown at your head or a bottle to your neck, be my guest. I'm just saying, Bruce will flip his shit when there is no show tonight. Get out while you can."
Seeing the other empty stations, I approached Benji.
"Have the others left too?"
He shook his head as the bag bulged with the rest of the makeup.
"They'll figure it out when they come in."
Picking up a tube of lipstick, Benji wound it up. It was a deep red that shimmered under the soft lights.
I watched as he scrawled a message across the mirror in flourish. Adding his name at the end, he stood back to smile at it.
Nisha is gone. Took Avery with him. I quit. There will be no show tonight. Leave while you can. Benji.
Something was nagging my gut as I looked at it. Something was telling me that I should document this before it was wiped away.
But why? A resignation wasn't that important to me.
Somehow, deep inside, I knew I needed to.
"Can I take a photo of this?" I asked as I pulled out my phone.
Benji didn't care. He just tied off the bag and grabbed his case.
"Go for it."
I stepped back so I could get the whole message in the shot. Vinnie grinned beside me, gesturing for Benji to get in the shot when he saw we were reflected perfectly.
"It's like a selfie" he beamed when I scowled at his antics.
"Hey, I'm all for saying a 'fuck you' to Bruce" Benji forced a little smile and cradled the case under one arm so he could bend up a middle finger.
Vinnie pulled rabbit ears over my head. I covered my face with the phone to snap the shot.
"There."
"Send it to whoever you want" Benji grabbed his case again "I don't care. I'm out of here. It was nice working with you, El."
He gave me a one-armed hug and patted me on the back. Offering his hand to Vinnie again, they shook briefly.
"Get better soon" Benji smiled and waved on his way out of the room, leaving the light on for us.
Vinnie looked at the way he had gone before turning to me.
"Maybe Rhubarb Jam is a good thought after all?" he suggested softly.
I sighed at the stupid thought, but knew that the idea of getting away from it all was tempting; as impossible as it seemed.
"Maybe" I just shrugged.
Vinnie was just glad I didn't reject it outright this time. Grinning, he led me from the room so he could turn out the lights and close the door.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCI0yDQcag4
I never knew that there was a hidden door up behind the chandelier or why it was there.
The notch was small and sunken into the wood. The door slid rather than swung, disappearing into the wall beside it seamlessly.
"Maybe there was a whole floor up here once?" Vinnie pondered when I poked my head through to look down the well-lit hallway "maybe they just demolished the rest of it to make it bigger?"
That would explain why there was another alcove like this on the other side of the building and why there was another room beside it.
It did open up the area, but at the loss of such a huge amount of working space? Only a thought that dumb had to be from Bruce or some other thicker idiot before him.
"Feels like a murder hall" Vinnie giggled a little when we stepped in and closed the door behind us "it's kinda empty."
Other than a painting beside the first door that had a star tacked onto the door, the rest was barren.
It was kind of depressing back here.
Still, we needed to be here. Flower had said so.
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I could hear the faint beat of music when we approached the first door. There was a window in it that allowed us to see through.
On the door itself was a golden plate stating that this was 'Costumes'. They had used paper tape and glitter to make their own golden star around it.
Beneath were the scribbled names of who worked in the department, just like the stars had on their dressers. It was all in the same paper tape; temporary.
Through it, a large table sat in the middle of the room. Pressed against the walls on the left side was a whole line of sewing machines.
To the right sat a massive wardrobe. The middle was an empty gap with some sort of metal hook hanging out. On either side were the stars names with a column of shelves running down alongside their own wardrobe space where costumes were folded inside. The main ones hung in the gaps reserved for them.
Avery, Adrian, Nisha, and Lumi, and me were on the left. Lumi's name has been smothered in tape and have my name scrawled over the top. I could still see the bold, and professional, lettering of hers underneath. Where I had been before was now replaced in the same way with Onyx's name.
They looked like thick cardboard plates. Not even the stars were expected to be permanent, it seemed.
To the left was Luke, Levi, Tawn, and Lorrie.
They had the same shelving alongside their wardrobes. With it closer to the door, I could see that each one was labelled by size, with a bunch of folded costumes inside.
For the dancers? They didn't even have names. They only went by their sizes and were all stacked in.
They pulled their own weight during the show and didn't even get recognition for that up here.
I wouldn't say anything about it. I just needed to get a job done without stepping on too many toes.
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Opposite us was a row of windows with smaller drawers underneath, filled with fabric. On top of it was a little speaker with someone's phone docked in to play the music.
I saw a male bird hybrid hunched over the table with a plastic bag of fabric beside him. He was pinning together the scraps into the shape of some sort of vest. His black and brown wings hung over the seat he was barely in; as if he was ready for escape at any moment.
It was only then I noticed the hand written note stuck to the windows warning not to jump out of them.
Knocking gently on the glass, I caught his attention. Hard eyes only glared and ignored me.
Another head poked from the left.
A human female grinned and opened the door for me, beaming at the both of us.
Her brown hair looped like literal hoops down the sides of her head.
I withheld my laughter at such an absurd style, forcing it into a smile instead.
This girl was colourful. Her rainbow top was swirled towards the middle like tie-dye. She had on bright pink jeans that resembled the artificial colourants in bubblegum. Even the ties holding her ridiculous loops together were yellow, orange, and green.
The only thing I could look at on her without hurting my eyes was the rainbow glasses she wore. Her brown eyes and faded pastels of the rims were much more bearable than the rest of her.
"You must be Elgress" she gushed to me, shaking my hand before turning to Vinnie "and you are....?"
"The bartender" he only replied, shaking her hand too.
"Of course!" she nodded "I'm Elsie. I'm one of the human seamstresses here. Flower told Lewie you'd be up for Lumi's dress."
News sure travelled quick around here. Must be handy to have an ear clip to say whatever you wanted into it. Sure beat texting everyone.
"Do we come in?" I asked when I saw she hadn't moved from the door.
She gasped and instantly moved aside.
"Sorry. It's not everyday we actually get someone like you coming in to get fitted directly. It's quite exciting!"
"For some of us" the bird replied with an eye roll.
"I haven't introduced the team!" Elsie blocked my way again, beaming and swinging a hand to the table "this is Oliver. He's not a people person."
He didn't look up from his project. He just pulled out more fabric to snip it, flicking a middle finger up to Elsie.
Elsie swung her hand to the left where the machines were.
"This is Kitty" she gestured to the human sized furry black cat only dressed in a blue collar sewing away who flicked a hand up in a quick wave.
"Herb" she passed over a yellow humanoid cockatiel who stopped her task to smile and wave, her big, orangish cheeks resembling blush marks.
"Tally" she smiled to the large black dingo who didn't move from his task. A white muzzle scrunched in concentration while his brown eyebrow markings furrowed over the work.
"Quinn" she pointed to the massive echidna human sitting on the edge of its seat to admire its work. The human face turned towards me and grinned, pierced through at the sides with brown quills tipped black. The quills continued down it's back and along its arms. The clothing it wore was shredded at the back to accommodate the quills dwarfing it.
"Ironic, I know" the echidna chuckled back in a light male voice.
"And Poncho" Elsie finished at the last machine.
I didn't expect a doberman to turn to smirk at me. The long, pointed face painted in sheer black continued down it's whole body. The brown muzzle showed off a few pointed teeth. The ears had been cropped to stand upright. It also wore a heavy silver chain that dangle when it worked.
He was too fierce-looking to be called something like Poncho.
"Or you can call him Pom-pom" Elsie whispered to us.
He obviously heard but didn't object, only smiling to himself.
I wasn't here for introductions or cutesy nicknames. The sooner I got out of here, the sooner I could be away from a room full of strangers about to see me bleed through their nice dress.
"Where is the change room?"
Oliver snickered. Even Poncho smirked.
Elsie pressed her hands together, as if for forgiveness.
"There is none. We just make the stuff up here. We need you here so we know the dimensions."
Sneering back at her falling face, I glared to Oliver thinking it was hilarious.
"Keep laughing and I'll carve you up, Chicken Wings" I snapped to him.
Glaring to Poncho, he fixed his expression into a serious one only set on his work.
Oliver glared back, sneering. He turned it to Elsie who gestured for him to keep working.
"I'm not here to be made fun of" I narrowed my eyes down at Elsie "I need a change room."
"I'm really sorry" she squinted back "we just don't have one. There are toilets down the hall, but we need to fit at least two girls in to mark."
So that was a no-go then. No cubicle could hold three people.
I grumbled, huffing.
Lowering to her level, I leant close to Elsie.
"Look, Elsie" I began, softening my tone "I need some privacy. You know how it is with that time of the month, between us women."
Her eyes grew wide and she even glanced down like she'd be able to see it.
"Oh."
"Just clear out the room and hang something over the door. I don't want to ruin the dress."
Not like I'd fit in it anyway.
"Yeah" she finally agreed "I can make that work."
I smiled and relaxed.
Maybe I could get out of here with some dignity attached.
"Kitty, Herb; I need you two. The rest of you should leave" Elsie commanded before pausing "Oliver, you'll stay."
"What?" I hissed "why?"
"Why me?" he also complained.
"Someone needs to hold the fabric over the window and he has no problems with blood" Elsie muttered back "I'll make sure he doesn't look."
Straightening, she looked to him sternly.
"I need you to cover the window for her."
"So precious" Oliver rolled his eyes as he headed for the holes stacked with fabric "we're already dressing her and she expects a full VIP treatment?"
Scowling at the back of his head, I felt Elsie's hand on my arm.
"I can do it instead" Vinnie volunteered.
"I'm really sorry, but I can get in a lot of trouble if it isn't someone from my team" Elsie grimaced "but that's so sweet of you, uh, Bartender."
Right, he hadn't given her his name. Did she really not know who Vinnie was?
Vinnie just smiled sympathetically at me and filed out with the others.
The two women, the bird and the cat, stood by my side. Oliver grumbled and closed the blinds on the windows, muttering to himself.
Was he always this grumpy about simple tasks?
"Today, Oli" Kitty jeered to him.
He glared to her and held up a spotted swatch to see if it was big enough.
They nodded and he grumbled his way to the window to knock on it and flip off his friends laughing at him.
"Good to know I'm a joke" I mumbled on my way to the side of the table where the gap was biggest between it and the cupboards.
"They're just being idiots" Herb replied, walking over to fetch the sparkling dress I knew ripped into a corset underneath "men being boys."
"Don't speak for all of us" Oliver replied.
"She won't" Kitty smiled up at me, withholding a giggle.
I smiled back and grabbed the hem of my shirt.
"Do I...?"
"Go for it" Kitty grinned "we'll be as quick as we can."
"Very" Herb handed her the dress so she could grab scissors.
I eyed them, suddenly nervous.
"We don't have a lot of resources, so we have to make do with what we've got."
Great. Another underfunded vital part of Paragon.
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There was no point delaying the inevitable. I pulled my shirt up and threw it onto the table.
I hesitated at my pants. I knew it was going to be a murder scene down there.
Just get it over with Elgress. The quicker it is, the easier it'll be.
Shutting my eyes, I peeled down my pants. Instantly I heard a gasp and reeled them back up, opening my eyes.
"No, no, it's ok" Kitty soothed me "we'll just grab some wipes, right?"
"Right" Herb agreed "it'd ok, we all get it."
I stared at them both, snorting.
"You're a cat and you're a bird."
"Look, cats get them; just not in your typical way" Kitty spoke blatantly.
"And our could say eggs are a birds period" Herb chimed in.
I heard Oliver let out a laugh.
"Don't tell her lies" he giggled.
"I'm making her feel better" Herb pouted.
I giggled at her, snorting myself. My chuckles quickly turned to tears that had both girls coming to soothe me.
I don't know what came over me. I could hold it in, but now that I was here with these women who were showering me with kindness, I was a sobbing mess.
"It's h-horrible" I choked out through the sobs rocking through my clenching belly "it h-hurts."
"I've got pain killers" Kitty rushed for the sewing machine she had been at to tug up a bag beside it "it's hybrid-friendly! It'll taste horrible to you, but it'll do the job."
"Not like you'll need special ones" Herb commented.
I forced a small smile, trying to control my crying.
"You got to chew these ones" Kitty rushed over to the fabric section to rip out a packet of wipes on her way back, popping two pills into her padded paw and hold it out to me "try to get through it."
Would it be ok to take these? Could I take pain killers while still wondering if I was expecting?
I had to. If I denied them after sobbing in pain, they'd question my sudden change of heart.
It should be safe. It had only been two days.
Crunching down on them, the powder filled my mouth.
It actually wasn't bad. It was kind of chalky, but not as horrible as Kitty had made it out to be.
Still, I screwed up my face and coughed out to make her laugh. I had to keep up the act I was human.
"See? Told you!" she chuckled.
"It's horrible!" I pitched my voice up "you eat these?"
"If I don't want to die, yeah" Kitty shrugged "can't take normal ones."
I had never thought about that. The further from being human they were, the more they had to turn to alternatives.
"Thank you" I smiled to her.
"Let's deal with the rest" she opened the wipes "you ready?"
Breathing in deeply to give myself strength, I peeled down my pants again.
I could feel the wet fabric unsticking from inside my legs. I saw the blood smeared across my skin. There was even little strands of clot in there too.
It was absolutely humiliating! I didn't try to stop the tears again.
"It's all good" Herb soothed me as Kitty handed me wipes to rub along the inside of my legs "you're doing great!"
Clutching the soaked wipe, I now had the dilemma of where to put it.
I heard Oliver tell Elise to take his place. Keeping his eyes down, he ran for the table to tip out the fabric from the bag he was working from. Running over to us, he held it out.
"I've seen blood before" he kept his eyes up at mine when I refused to scrub in front of him "I'm not looking."
He was being oddly considerate for someone who laughed and made fun of me earlier. True to his word, he kept his eyes fixed on an area behind me when I ducked down to try and clean myself up. He lowered the bag so I didn't need to wave the bloodied wipes anywhere near his face.
"T-thank you" I sniffled through my swiping.
"It's all good" he replied "I've seen roadkill with less mess."
He grinned when I smirked. Coughing out a laugh, I snorted through my tears as I added another to the bag.
What an arsehole. I liked his humour already.
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"I think it's all gone" Kitty spoke up "you should put a few inside your thighs while we do this."
Nodding, I sniffled and sobbed as I packed my legs with sticky wipes. They formed a gross wet layer of protection that didn't feel any different from the initial bleed
Oliver tied off the bag and put it on the table. He went back for the fabric while Herb laid out the dress on a portion of the table to cut up the side and spread it out.
"I think sheer would be good for the filler" he announced and held up a swirling see-through flowering lace "we can put this down both sides and cut it into the back and front to make it look like it's meant to be there. We can avoid the danger zones that way."
"I'll need extra" I called to him, dropping my head in shame "I bloat badly."
"We've got you" he just replied, slapping the roll on the table so he could take the scissors from Herb and cut off two very large strips.
"Kitty, pins" Elsie ordered.
Kitty rushed off to return with a transparent case of colourful pins she unfolded from the table.
Instantly, a few went into her mouth, between her teeth. The others were stabbed into a fabric pumpkin made from mismatched scraps.
Oliver whisked over with the lace. Herb pressed the front of the dress to my body. Kitty started to pin the lace down my right side. I extended my arms fully outwards to give her room.
She worked fast. Mumbling instructions, Oliver understood her grunts and clicks as she pinned and pulled the fabric in place.
Once one side was done, she darted to the other to pin along there while Oliver held it in place.
It felt so strange to have his hands in a place I had only been touched and held seductively. His hands were rough and had none of those thoughts behind them. He was just getting his job done and I was here to be arranged into whatever position they needed me in.
"Almost done" Kitty mouthed around the pins.
Tensing as she pulled the fabric near my hips, I was aware that her heightened senses wouldn't miss the blood starting to soak the makeshift pad.
"Done!" she called as she pulled at my leg "take it off really gently."
Hands were all over me to help inch the fabric upwards. I shrunk inwards when it crumpled up over my face that was being protected by everyone pulling the fabric away from it.
When it was off, the dress was whisked to the table. Kitty made sure that the pins were marked and let out a few centimeters for room.
I wiped down my legs again and had Oliver over with the bag. He also had my shirt which he held out to me.
"Grab some pants from the stars closet" he tilted his head as I pulled it back on gratefully "I'm sure they won't miss them."
I paused, raising a brow.
Benji had said Oliver had seen Nisha and Avery leave. Had he not told the others their stars were missing?
Looking to the names still in place, it was obvious not everyone knew the truth.
He gave a sly smile as he tied off the bag.
Why not tell them?
"Thank you" I just mumbled. I didn't know what else to say except for those two simple words.
He grinned and went over to dump my stained pants into the bag he gave back to me.
"If you want something to bleed through, Avery's clothes do look a bit too nice" he swept a hand to his side of the dresser.
Avery was much too thin for me. His small frame wouldn't fit my larger one. I already had to be let out for Lumi, who was larger than him again.
"Can I go for the sized ones?" I pointed to the eighteens.
He looked hesitant. Turning to the girls, they waved for me to grab one.
"We will make another, it'll be fine!" Herb called around marking "you need them more at the moment. Go for the ones on Tawn's side! They have leggings in there!"
Oliver led the way to bend for the eighteens and take one off the pile to hold up for me. They were in a fake snake scale pattern and looked like they would come just past my knees. They were perfect.
"Take it easy, ok?" Kitty spoke up now with a smile to me "don't go wrecking yourself before your big show tonight!"
Oliver and I exchanged a look. He definitely had no doubts they weren't coming back.
He averted his eyes while I pulled on the pants. When they were secured, he looked to me sympathetically.
Elsie lowered the cover and opened the door. Instantly there were complaints and jokes about how long we had been.
"Try not to bleed out" Oliver spoke softly to me "I don't want to fill out an incident report today."
"If there is a 'today'" I smirked back "let alone a 'tonight'."
He nodded, understanding.
"Are you going to leave to?" I lowered my voice to him before he could "Benji from Nisha's dresser has already run for it."
His eyes widened at the news and he glanced behind him to the women working away. They hardened on the others spreading out. His glare kept them at bay.
"I'd like to, but I get things here that I don't out there" he muttered "not everyone is understanding towards hybrids that are better."
"Because you run your mouth?" I smirked and chuckled "you're annoying and rude?"
He did the same, pointing a clawed finger at me.
"See, I like you" he grinned as he shook it "you get it. You aren't a pussy when it comes to speaking up."
"Why live that way?" I scoffed.
He smiled again, it growing wider.
"Give me your number" he demanded as he pulled out his phone.
"So you can sext me later?" I rolled my eyes "did I make your cloaca that excited?"
He blew out a breath, laughing.
"You are such a cunt" he shook his head at me "no wonder the bar tender likes you."
Vinnie?
Turning, I saw he was talking with Elsie by the door. He was ready to leave now that we had done what we came for.
"Vinnie is just a good friend" I replied simply "and he's also gay."
Oliver glanced to him, checking him over. He knew instantly his assumption was wrong.
"Still, could be bi."
"I doubt it" I scoffed "his dream is to serve a handsome man at the bar and fall in love through it. There are no women on his mind."
Oliver rolled his eyes and held out an impatient hand for my phone I hesitantly pulled out of my pants in the bag and gave to him.
He flipped it around, obviously finding it's age amusing. When he pressed on the buttons, he eyed me while trying not to laugh.
"It'll come back into fashion" I told him "you'll see."
"I'll be dead by then" he quipped, finishing up his number and sending himself a message so he had mine "when you get some proper pants, you should get yourself something that doesn't look like a brick of butter."
I snatched it back and put it into the pocket of my borrowed pants.
"I'll see about it."
He knew this wasn't a definite, and sighed at me. Giving a quick goodbye, he was back at the table to continue on his own project.
I took this as my opportunity to leave. The girls were happy for me and shouted their goodbyes from around the dress. Elsie pressed herself to me for a quick hug before I left with Vinnie.
36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQSfkLElmU
"That actually went alright" I told him as we started to walk away.
Following the hall back towards the chandelier, I wasn't going to explore any new places without being properly prepared for it. That meant fresh pads and pants.
"I saw you giving Oliver your number" he nudged me "I knew you two would get along. You are both quite alike."
"In a weird bird way" I agreed.
Vinnie let out a laugh, nodding.
He pushed the sliding door to let me through. I only stopped on the other side when I felt a constant rhythmic vibrating from my backside.
"That's probably him now" I rolled my eyes and pulled out my phone "I wonder what he w..."
Smirking down at the screen, my face fell with my gut when I saw it wasn't him at all.
"It's Tawn" I turned it towards Vinnie.
His eyes grew wide. He flicked a finger, whispering for me to answer it.
Pressing the button, I raised it to my ear.
"Hello?"
There was silence on the other side. I heard a huff and the phone being shuffled.
"Are you at Paragon's?" Tawn's voice bit down the line.
It sounded like he was clenching his teeth. It wasn't his usual upbeat tone. He didn't even reply to my greeting.
"Yes, why?" I frowned, ignoring Vinnie who wanted me to tell him what was going on.
"Meet me at the address I'm sending you" he snapped "it should only take you twenty minutes to get here."
Before I could respond, he hung up. No goodbyes. No questions about my wellbeing, like he usually had. Every breath and word was spat out, as if to an enemy.
"Well?" Vinnie breathed "what did he want?"
My lip began to quiver again as I looked to the phone for the message that lit up.
It was just an address copy and pasted from the internet. No icons or personalized text garnished it. It was straight to the point and cold.
The familiar feeling of knitting fear gnawed at my stomach and chest when I showed the shaking screen to Vinnie. The address pointed to a marker next to a road. There was no buildings nearby where he wanted to me to go.
No witnesses. No way to disappear if I wanted to.
"He wants to meet" I whispered, trying to stop myself from sobbing again "I think he knows."
ns 15.158.61.51da2
