Of Fashion And Death
Chapter 1: A Passionate Designer
Ruby Rose was driving her car down a dirt road with forest all around her. She was delivering a pizza as her job and this was going to be her last delivery of the day. Unfortunately, it was also the longest, as the customer seemed to be living in the middle of nowhere. The redhead hated these deliveries, as she would have to struggle to get the pizza delivered on time. There was also the chance that it was a prank, which would lead her to returning the pizza and getting yelled at by the manager. She hoped that she could at least get a decent tip for the troubles she had to go through.
Once she finally arrived at the location, Ruby had to check the address she had been given. Seeing that it matched brought worry to her heart. The house she had arrived at was big and in pretty bad shape, which made it look like it was abandoned. However, the part that really made the young girl worried was that all over the yard were mannequins standing around and they each had different pieces of clothing covering them. While that was already weird, the part that Ruby found scary was that some of their clothes had been torn by somebody. There were even some that had marks of stabbing or getting hit with blunt weapons on them. It looked like some insane murderer had set up a training field and had been practicing their skills.
At this point, Ruby didn't care if this was all a prank or something. She just wanted to get in her car and drive away. Nevertheless, the redhead knew that she had a job to do, so she walked through the yard and to the front door of the house. Right now, she didn't care about getting a tip. She just hoped that she would get home alive.
Ruby rang the doorbell and soon heard footsteps coming closer to the door. Her imagination was bringing up all sorts of images of the person who lived there, but none of them were exactly comforting.
'Please don't be an axe-wielding murderer! Please don't be an axe-wielding murderer! Please don't be an axe-wielding murderer!' the redhead screamed inside her head as the footsteps stopped at the door and she could hear someone unlocking it from the other side.
Once the door opened, Ruby was surprised to see that the person was nothing like she had imagined. The person who opened the door was a tall young woman with dark brown hair that reached her chin. She was wearing a black beret on her head, a loose white t-shirt and loose black pants. She also had sunglasses over her eyes.
The woman stood at the door, simply staring at the redheaded pizza delivery girl in front of her. While Ruby was relieved to see that the person that lived in the house was not some horrible murderer she had imagined, the silent staring she was receiving was making her feel uncomfortable.
''Ummmm... Pizza delivery?'' Ruby aid awkwardly, bringing the box in her hands a bit higher to emphasize her reason for being there.
The woman still stood silent for a couple of seconds, almost like she was pondering what she had just heard. She eventually seemed to snap out of the daze she seemed to be in.
''Oh, right! Sorry about that!'' the woman apologized with a smile on her face. ''I just have a lot of going on in my head right now. I actually forgot that I ordered a pizza.''
''It's okay,'' the redhead said, relieved that the woman finally started talking. ''That will be 12 dollars.''
''I don't have my wallet on me right now. Could you bring that here, while I go look for it?'' the woman asked as she started to walk back into the house. ''Go sit on the couch and make yourself comfortable, while you wait.''
''Ummm... I'm not sure if I should...''
''Well, that's strange. This is the first time someone has refused a request from me,'' the woman said with a smirk. She then suddenly posed with her right hand on her hip and her left hand on her sunglasses. She tilted the sunglasses down enough so that she could look over them. ''Or don't you recognize me?''
Ruby was confused by the question at first, but she then noticed the pose. It was somehow familiar to her, like she had seen it on a magazine or something. After a couple of seconds, the redhead realized who this person was.
''Oh! You're Coco Adel! The famous fashion designer!'' Ruby said in a shocked voice as she recognized the woman in front of her.
''Yes! That is correct!'' Coco said with a wide grin, happy that she had been recognized. ''I guess you're into fashion, huh?''
''Not really... It's just that your face is pretty much everywhere, since you're such a big deal. Last time I saw you was on the news, when you suddenly went missing with that partner of yours,'' the redhead answered, referring to a news article that said that the designer had disappeared with a model that she often worked with, Velvet Scarlatina.
''It's not that I'm in trouble or anything. It's just that people like me sometimes need peace and quiet to do our work. I needed to get away from all the noise and other distractions in order to focus on my work,'' Coco explained.
''Is that partner of yours here as well?''
''Velvet? Oh, she's here, but she needs to be alone right now. She needs to work on something a bit and can't join us.''
''Where should I put your pizza?'' Ruby asked after stepping inside the house. While she knew that she shouldn't go inside a stranger's house like that, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Most people never got to meet celebrities like this, so she decided to do as Coco requested.
''Just leave it on the living room table. Come on. I'll show you where it is,'' the designer said and beckoned the girl to follow her into a nearby room.
Once the redhead had walked into the living room, she saw just how messy the place was. The house might have actually looked better on the outside, because it looked like no one had cleaned in there for weeks. Dust and trash was covering the whole place. Ruby also noticed that among the trash were pieces of paper that had drawings on them. These were most likely failed designs for clothes.
''Sorry about the mess. You can put the pizza on the table over here,'' Coco said and pointed at said piece of furniture that was in the middle of the room. Once the pizza delivery girl had put the box on the table, the fashion designer continued speaking. ''To be honest, I actually have a reason for inviting you in my house. You see, I noticed something about you that captured my attention and I wanted to speak about it here.''
''And what might that be?'' Ruby asked, curious about what a celebrity like Coco would want with her.
''I'm going to get straight to the point. Would you be my model?''
''W-WHAT!?'' the redhead asked with a blush, shocked that something like that was just asked of her.
''You heard me. I want you to be my model. You see, I have been struggling to get a perfect model to work on, to inspire me. At first I thought that Velvet would be all I would need, but I haven't been able to make any progress with her. However, once I saw you, I knew immediately that you were the answer to my problem,'' Coco answered.
''B-But why me? I never thought that I could be a model.''
''It's because you can make anything look good. I mean, just look at you,'' the fashion designer explained. She looked over Ruby in her uniform, which consisted of a red shirt with the pizzeria's logo on the back, a red baseball cap and black pants. ''You have that awful outfit on you, yet you look great in it. You also have this pure and innocent aura around you that I have been looking for. While Velvet has a somewhat similar feel around her, it's not as pure as yours. Besides her, I've only been able to work by using my imagination and mannequins, but it has been hopeless.''
''Is that why you have those creepy dolls around the yard?'' Ruby asked, remembering the scene before her when she arrived at the place.
''Yes. Fashion is my passion and I take my passion very seriously. You are right now the answer to my dilemma, so I beg you to join me in creating that which I seek to create. To join me in the world of fashion!'' Coco said and offered her hand to the pizza delivery girl.
This was all so sudden that it took Ruby a moment to get her head straight. Once she did, she started to slowly bring her hand up to Coco's. After all, this was an opportunity that no one would pass.
''Well... if you say that you need me... I think I could-''
''HELP!''
The sudden scream came from upstairs and caused Ruby to freeze up. She felt how terror started to take over her heart as she realized the situation she was in. Something was very wrong now and she needed to escape.
''Shit! I thought I silenced her properly!'' Coco cursed under her breath as she glanced at the direction of the scream.
Ruby tried to run away, but the fashion designer was soon in front of her, blocking the way out of the living room. She glared down at the pizza delivery girl, all of her previous friendly nature completely gone from her.
''You're not going anywhere. Like I said, I take my passion very seriously and I will have you model for me,'' Coco said in a cold voice.
What the woman had not expected was that Ruby was able to defend herself a bit. Having a tough older sister who practiced boxing had led to her getting a few lessons in defending herself. While not a real fighter in any way, the redhead was still able to throw a decent punch, which hit Coco in the gut and forced the air out of her lungs. While the crazed fashion designer was on her knees, recovering from the blow, Ruby ran past her and towards the front door. Coco still tried to grab her with her hand and almost got her, but the girl was able to make her way to the door and out of the house.
While Ruby was not strong, she was still a fast runner. She quickly made her way through the yard and to her car, where she got in the vehicle, started the engine and drove away. Once she was driving away to safety, she started to look for her phone to call the police. The redhead hoped that if she was fast enough, the police might make it there soon enough to save Coco's captive. However, she was horrified to notice that her phone was missing.
'I must have lost it when she tried to grab me! Instead of me, she took my phone!' Ruby thought to herself as she realized what had happened. She kept driving away as fast as she could, hoping that she would be able to get in contact with the authorities fast enough that Coco would get arrested and her captive rescued.
Meanwhile, Coco herself stared out of the window as Ruby's car drove away. She looked down at the phone in her hands, glad that she had been able to take it. This gave her extra time before the police arrived. Dropping the phone on the floor, the crazed designer started to make her way upstairs to where the scream came from. She was angry that her perfect little model had been scared away and she was going to punish the one responsible for it.
Coco eventually made her way into a room where a tied up young woman was laying on a couch. The woman was wearing an outfit that the designer had made her wear and it consisted of a white dress, black gloves that reached her shoulders, a red scarf around her neck, black shorts and black high-heeled boots. The woman had long brown hair and a pair of rabbit ears on her head, indicating that she was a faunus.
This was Velvet Scarlatina. A model that often partnered up with Coco to make new outfits.
When Coco had decided to disappear from the public eye, she had kidnapped the rabbit faunus in order to make the newest outfit that would ''shock the world,'' like the designer liked to say. Coco was surprisingly strong and was able to force Velvet into cooperation with strength and threats of violence. Whenever she wasn't modeling for her captor, Velvet spent her time tied up and locked in the room with no means of escaping.
However, this day had brought her a chance for freedom, as Coco had decided to order a pizza, meaning that someone else would finally come to the house. While the two women were professionals when it came to fashion, neither of them knew how to cook at all. This led to the crazed designer getting sick of eating the bland instant foods she got from the supermarket, which then made her order something. Coco did know that the person delivering the pizza could possibly find out about her captive and call the police, but she had been certain that this wouldn't be a threat once she covered Velvet's mouth with a rag. She had apparently thought wrong, as the faunus had been able to get the rag off her mouth and it was now hanging from her neck.
Unfortunately for her, while someone now knew of her peril, it would be a long time until help arrived. And during that time Coco was going to punish her for what she did.
''Velvie, Velvie, Velvie. Why did you have to do that?'' Coco asked in a voice similar to a mother scolding her child. She then started to walk towards her captive. ''I just had the perfect model there that would have helped me in my work. Thanks to your little stunt, she's gone now. You know that you haven't been able to help me in my work, so why did you have to drive her away?''
''What? Was she supposed to replace me? Would you have let me go, if you had gotten her to work for you? I doubt that,'' Velvet said in a bitter and hateful tone.
''Velvie, you know that I couldn't do that,'' the designer said as she sat one the couch and gathered the rabbit faunus in her arms to hug against her body. ''You would have talked and told someone about what we did here. They do not understand the work we do here. The dedication we put into this. They would have tried to stop it. We can't have that, can we?''
''I just... I just want to be free. I just want to see my family,'' Velvet said as tears started falling from her eyes. ''I don't want to do this anymore.''
''Well... I can help you with that,'' Coco said before suddenly taking hold of the rabbit faunus' head and snapping her neck, killing her instantly. She then pushed the dead body off her lap and to the floor like it was garbage. ''Now that I'm done with you, I guess I need to start packing my stuff. Don't want to be here when the cops come.''
As the crazed designer went around the house and gathered her belongings, she couldn't help but think about the pizza delivery girl she had met. The girl just radiated innocence and purity, which made her perfect for Coco's work. She was certain of it.
''Too bad she got away. Would have saved me a lot of trouble,'' Coco said to herself as an insane grin spread over her face. ''But I will find her. I know I will. And once I do, I'll have her help me shock the world.''
Author's notes: Hey, guys! Hope you liked the first chapter to my new story. This is something that I have been wanting to write for some time now. Since I've been doing lighthearted comedy for quite some time, I wanted to do something darker for a change. This is also my first actual attempt at a horror story, so it's an interesting experiment for me. This will also be a very short one, four chapters at best.
Also, for those who want to see more War for Ruby, I ask you to wait a bit longer. I will get back to it eventually, I just want to do something different first. I will get to it in due time. I'm not like a certain president, who makes false promises and is on the news constantly for controversial statements.
Anyways, please tell me if you like the story. If you do, I'll continue. If you don't, I'll delete it and we can hopefully forget that it ever existed. It's your opinion that decides it's fate.
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.