[This is the final story in the Mace Halloween oneshots this year, so we're ending off with a bang. This amazing story came from none other than Oooooopartygirl enjoy!]
[ALSO, TRIGGER WARNING]
It was storming.
Of course it was. I bet mother nature was having a good laugh watching all the small kids run from door to door in the pouring rain unaffected by the weather if it meant getting even a small dose of the God sent thing we call candy. And of course here I am, a 31 year old woman settling in the nook of my window sill having just arrived at my house after a long day at work praying that the lack of light emitted from my house will drive the little buggers away from my door and in turn away from me. Call me bitter, but conversing with children? Not necessarily my forte.
Whack
I turned my head quickly to the bedroom door only to see a draft had caused it to close abruptly. I huffed a breath, annoyed at myself for being this overly scared on halloween and turned back to the window to continue my admittedly creepy, stalkerish observations of the community's behavior on this supposedly 'spooky' night. Although once my vision to the outside was completely restored, something caught my eye that had only become visible in the mere seconds it took me to look to the door and back. I wouldn't have thought much of it, it was just an owl after all, but the only owls I've ever seen have been brown with amber or yellow eyes. This owl, however, had vivid green eyes and was, red? But that wasn't even the weirdest part, the thing was staring right at me with those enticing eyes and its head was cocked slightly, as if it was observing my observation; Actually never mind that last part, it makes my brain hurt just thinking about it. After a weird staring contest that honestly could have lasted anywhere from 10 seconds to an hour, my body decided that my eyes were too dry and I needed to blink. But as I oddly enough expected, when I reopened my obnoxiously needy eyes, it was gone. I got up stiffly from my position on the window sill and made my way through the darkness downstairs deciding that a drink could do more good than bad at this point, before I headed back up to bed.
The next few days were uneventful. I got up, got ready, went to my boring ass job as a barista at a local coffee shop, went home, went to sleep and started everything all over again. What can I say? Times are rough. After I broke up with that selfish Hannah bitch a year and a half ago, I was left with nothing. She took my house, my car, my job, even my dog for Christ sake. I've had to start all over. I packed up with the little money I had left, and headed off from LA to the great white north. Canada is really as great as they say it is, sure it gets a little chilly especially in Vancouver where I live now, but other than that, it's perfect. They have the best accents, the best coffee, the best Timbits? Whatever those are, and of course the beautiful thing called poutine. I got up from bed and got ready with low expectations for the day. Once I arrived at Colleen's Corner which is the coffee shop I work at, I made my way inside only to be greeted by my favourite co-worker, Aubree.
"Hey Gracie, how've you been? It's been too long grasshopper, too long indeed." She mutered in what I assumed to be a completely failed Chinese accent as she bowed.
"Aubree, I'm fine thanks for asking and incase you were unaware, I literally saw you yesterday, and are you ever going to give up the grasshopper thing? I've been working here for a over a year, you're hardly my master dragon anymore."
"Excuse me!" She fake gasped and clutched her chest as if she was truly hurt by my words, "I could not foresee your betrayal, oh grasshopper how you hurt me so" She removed her hand from her heart and brought the back of it to her forehead dramatically.
"Bree, really?" I bit lip trying hard not to laugh and encourage her juvenile behavior. "Just stop calling me grasshopper, it's simple really, no need to make a big deal over it."
"Can I call you grassy?"
"No."
"Hopper?"
"No."
"Hoppy?"
"Bree, I'm warning you. If you don't stop, I will have no choice but to make out with you right here, right now." I said calmly while crossing my arms, knowing the lesbian card always worked with her.
"Eww. Get those lesbian hands away from me," She joked, "you know as well as I do I'm as straight as... As, a-, uh.. As... A branch!" She nearly shouted proudly.
"Really Bree? A branch? Branches aren't always straight you know, a better expression is pole, you're as straight as a pole."
"Right, you heard branch? Turn your hearing aids up Hoppy, I definitely said pole."
"I gave you fair warning Bree, remember that." I said with a smirk, inching my way towards her.
"Wait! Gracie, Gracie bear, please," She raised her hands in defence and started backing away. "Think about what you're doing Grace, I'm too young to die!"
"Well no one said anything about death Aubree, now come back here before I-" I was cut off by someone clearing their throat behind me, and judging by the largely decreased severity of Aubree's terrified expression, I knew exactly who it was.
"Why good morning Grace, if you're done harassing poor Aubree here, I would like you to actually do your job." My boss said in her I-mean-business voice.
"Aw come on Col," I tried, "let a girl have some fun will you?" I turned to face the infamous Colleen Ballinger, boss lady extraordinaire.
"No! Uh, I mean, no, boss it's alright, me and Grace will, uh, do work things. Actually I think I heard someone call me to the kitchen so Grace can work the till and the tables today. Great, nice chat, bye!" Aubree bolted to the back room, not sparing a second for me or Colleen to compromise her escape plan.
"You know what? I'm not even going to ask." Colleen said shaking her head with a breathy laugh. "Just do what she said and work the till for today Helbig, who knows, maybe you'll find a lucky lady and stop having to torture my employees huh?"
"Yeah whatever boss, just go back to your office and pretend to work why dontcha." I winked and scurried off only half as fast as Aubree, trying to get away before Colleen could come up with a comeback.
The rest of the day went pretty slow. I guess it takes a few days for everyone to run out of the caffeine and sugar they got on halloween and need to come here to get their fix. Colleen decided in retaliation for my 'rude' remark earlier, I had to close up shop for the night. Aubree had to leave along with all the other employee's for a variety of reasons and Colleen was long gone, perks of being the owner I guess. So I was left sadly all alone to clean up, count up and close up. I finished cleaning and counting the profit for today without much trouble, and headed to the back room to grab the keys to lock up. I grabbed the keys and was headed back to the front when I heard a loud crash, like glass breaking. With a rushed and sloppily thought through, thought process, I made the decision to check out what was happening, and if it was a robber like I thought, I would totally be able to chase them off (note the sarcasm). I ran to the front of the store and as expected there was a severe draft coming from the lack of a front window and a maybe 250 pound, muscular man dressed in all black climbing in through it. He was a little busy trying to break in to notice me, so I thought I would sign my death wish and call out to him.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted, praying he wouldn't hear the shakiness in my voice. He looked up at me quickly, maybe slightly scared, until he saw a petrified tiny 130 pound girl, then he laughed.
"Aw, baby you almost had me worried for a minute there" He said in a cliche gruff and scary voice, as he finished climbing through the window and started making his way towards the oh-so-mortified me, giving me a lustful once over.
"Mister, I- I call-, I called t-the police." I stuttered out while walking backwards and unfortunately, right into a wall. "Y-you better leave. P-please, please l-leave." My voice shook so bad I was unsure if he could even understand me. He laughed again and I lowered my head trying not to show the embarrassing tears that conveyed just how terrified I really was.
"Aw that's cute honey" His voice held malice and humor. "But unfortunately" he grabbed my chin, forcing my eyes to level his. "I don't believe you." I whimpered and he laughed again, his breath was alcohol ridden and nearly as harsh as his words. "How 'bout this beautiful" he pulled away slightly, so he could get a full face of horror when he spat his next statement. "If you make this easy for me, and show me where the money is," He paused, and leaned in to whisper the words in my ear with an evil smirk plastered on his face "I'll fuck you after I kill you." I whimpered louder this time and cried harder until there were no singular tears, just streams of moisture running from my eyes.
"No! M-mister, please-!" I was cut off by rough lips on my own, immediately seeking entrance into my mouth which I would never willingly grant. He laughed once again when I struggled against him.
"No? Fine then babe, I wanted to hear your screams anyways" He grinned wider and he looked down, watching his hand as it felt it's way to my upper thigh under my work uniform's skirt. He put the other calloused hand over my mouth to stop me from crying out and used his body weight to keep me pinned the wall. I thrashed around nonetheless and in a desperate effort to stop his advances, I bit his hand as hard as I could, until I felt the warm metallic taste of blood pool in my mouth, and as soon as he instinctively retracted his hand, I screamed as loud as I possibly could, trying to get the attention of anyone that could be near by. All too soon, his hand returned to my face forcefully and he breathed a laugh, his anger overcoming his lust, he raised his uninjured hand "You'll pay for that bitch!" I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact, but it never came. It was silent for a second and I was to afraid to move. Then there was a whimper. Wait, a whimper? It didn't come from me. My curiosity won over my fear and I opened my eyes. Can fear cause you to hallucinate? It must because what I saw was impossible. Directly in front of me, there was the man who tried to rob the place, with his hands grasping the furry red one wrapped around his neck. Yes I did say furry. There, in this little hole-in-the-wall cafe was a monkey? I don't remember getting hit in the head. The monkey growled and threw the now terrified thief back through the window he came from, landing with a sickly thump. I stared at the man for awhile, noticing the small and irregular movements from his bloodied chest. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon so I slowly turned to face the beast who saved my life. When my eyes met those of the animal however, it was an animal no longer. There, staring at me completely naked and slightly flustered, was a crimson haired goddess with green eyes that were all too familiar. Before either of us got the chance to speak, I noticed a wince as her head shape changed slightly.
"Uh, hi there." she said looking nervous. I just stared. This beautiful woman was completely naked in front of me, just saved my life, and had just changed from a monkey to a human. "Um, I understand you have a lot of questions right now, but, um, could I get some clothes first please?"
"Uh." Apparently my vocabulary has become that of a 4 year old in the presence of this woman. Great. She giggled hotly noticing she had no reason to be afraid and snapped to get my attention. "Um, uh, yea-, yeah sure, you can come to my place." My face turned as red as her hair when I realized what I said. "Oh! Wait, sorry I just meant-" I was cut off by another giggle and well manicured hands waving me off.
"Don't worry about it princess, I get it, no clothes here right? It's okay, I am beyond appreciative for your kindness and hospitality, and I would be even more so if you took me to your home" She spoke so precisely and surely, it was as if she had memorized this encounters dialogue before it even happened.
"Oh, uh yes, yes of course miss, you did just save my life after all. Can I ask you one question before we head out though?" I asked.
"Well I believe that in itself was a question, wouldn't you agree?" I hesitated, working out in my brain if she was correct. "Don't think about it too hard princess," She laughed at her own joke "I'll be nice and grant you 2 further questions before we leave."
"Oh, okay. Are you a shapeshifter?" Yes people, I watch tv, I know the only supernatural creature -unless there is a Pagan God I'm unaware of- that can change to a monkey, is a shapeshifter.
"Yes" She shrugged, like this wasn't a massive revelation in my naive human life. "You've got one more question there gorgeous, make it a good one." I silently cursed the woman for her blush worthy terms of endearment.
"Why a monkey?"
"What?"
"Why would you shift into a monkey?" She laughed again at that and shook her head.
"Out of all the questions you could have asked, this is the one you choose?" She held a grin though her face grew curious.
"Yes." Hey, if she was aloud one word answers so was I.
"Alrighty then." She sighed and readjusted her position to cover more of her body; I guess the answer was more complicated than I assumed and she didn't want to have to explain it twice with me staring at her body this whole time. Smart. "First of all, I would like to point out the animal I shifted to was an ape, specifically a chimpanzee, not a monkey." I rolled my eyes in hopes that she'd let my common misconception slide and return to her explanation, which she thankfully did. "Anyways, the main reason I chose a chimp, is its similarities to humans. Something you probably don't understand about shifting, is that it hurts, like big time. When we shift, we actually experience the bones, muscle, and tissue moving and breaking and realigning. For instance when I turn into an owl, for example," This caught my attention particularly, I narrowed my eyes at her knowingly but she just smirked, cleared her throat, and carried on. "Owls are pretty hard on me, they share very little in physical appearance and structure, with humans. The hardest part of that transition is the hollowing of bones, I'm used to bones breaking by now, but having the marrow and God knows what else, sucked out of them? Stings like a bitch. So when in a pinch, I usually go chimp mode because not much changes, yet I come out more intimidating, shocking and a lot stronger."
"Wow, okay so why were you at my house on halloween?" I asked surprisingly calmly. For some reason even though this whole situation scared the hell out of me, I felt I could trust this woman, and not only because she just saved my life.
"Aw too bad princess," She pouted her bottom lip with mock sympathy. "you ran out of questions." She laughed at my rejected expression. "Come on beautiful, we have a home to get to and clothes to find." She spun on her heel and walked out the door causing the little bell to ring and bring me out of my slight daze, she turned around to meet my eyes again but came out unsuccessful as my eyes selfishly trailed over her unclothed body. "The name's Mamrie by the way and if you're done checking me out, I would really appreciate to get going." I blushed madly at her words and tried my very hardest to avert my eyes from her completely.
"Uh, right. I'm Grace." I walked through the door past Mamrie towards my car ignoring the snickering coming from the only person behind me.
"Grace." She tried. "I like it. Can I know your last name?"
"Helbig." I answered, not really wanting a conversation about me, she was the shapeshifter after all.
"Grace Hell-big? You realize how easy that is to make fun of right?"
"No, no one's ever made fun of it before" The only nickname I ever got was grasshopper from Aubree, not even Hannah could come up with something the 2 years we were together.
"Ou this should be fun." She took a second to stroke her fake beard. "I'm thinking... Smellbig, that's my favourite. It's your new nickname."
"Whatever Mametown." I grinned at my own wit as we arrived at my car. "Just get in so we can go home."
"Welcome to my humble abode." I said to Mamrie as she walked through the door to my house. I was careful not to touch her in any way in fear of touching something I might regret not regretting.
"Humble indeed." Mamrie tried to cover with a cough, but gave her insult away with a telling grin
"Oh? And what is that suppose to mean Mames?" I smiled faux sweetly.
"Oh don't worry your pretty little head about it princess" She giggled while messing my hair, giving me a view I would not soon forget.
"How 'bout we get you those clothes." I turned and rushed up the stairs trying to clear my mind of the too highly inappropriate thoughts to be having about a girl you've known less than a day. I assumed Mamrie had followed me to my room by the giggling that followed me all the way there. "Just pick whatever you want from inside the closet." I gestured to the wardrobe's door I had just opened for her.
"I'm sorry to disappoint smellbig, but I'm already out of the closet" She laughed and entered the room not waiting for me to regain my composure she had ruined by her words. She is gay? Does that mean she likes me? I mean I get that just because she's a lesbian doesn't necessarily mean she is attracted to me, but I'm a wishful thinker. Sue me. Mamrie came out of my closet sporting an American flag onesie and a wicked grin.
"What is it?" I questioned her newfound cheery attitude.
"I found something." She giggled and I realized her hands were suspiciously behind her back. Oh shit.
"And what would that be?" I questioned again unsuccessfully hiding my fear. She moved her hands in front of her to reveal red lingerie panties with the phrase 'all about the bass' written across the ass. I sighed in relief that she had not found items for more lonely nights, if you know what I mean.
"Is that relief I see?" Mamrie asked with a smirk.
"No." I answered shortly hoping she'd drop it.
"I think it is, should I go back in and keep looking?" She started towards the door.
"No!"
"Come on let's have a look."
"Mamrie, No."
"Grace, yes." She mocked. I needed to think of something to stop her quick. I got up from the bed and yanked her arm around to face me. We both stood there for a moment registering my actions before I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into me, smashing her lips on to mine. I committed to the kiss, immediately enjoying the warm and soft texture her lips had. She took another second before tilting her head and smiling into my lips biting the lower one softly forcing me to try and suppress a moan. We both pulled away and smiled at one another for a second before Mamrie turned and headed towards the door to my room.
"Where are you going?" I asked, wondering why she hadn't said anything about my oral assault. She didn't answer. She opened the door and headed down the stairs. "Mamrie?" She still didn't answer she just continued to the front door and opened it. "Mamrie! Please just-, just wait, please." She stopped and turned around; surprisingly her face held a huge grin.
"Can I stay here the night?" She tilted her head in a questioning manner. She was really confusing me, I thought she was upset with me, now she wanted to stay the night? Though who was I kidding, there was no way I was going to deny her.
"Sure?" I said as a question, hoping she would explain, but she did no such thing and shrugged already on her way back up to my room. After a moment of consideration, I decided to just go with it and see what she wanted to tell me. I opened my door to see Mamrie already in my bed laying on her back with her hands clasped behind her head. I groaned at the odd situation and changed into my pajamas before climbing in beside her and mirroring her position. "There is a spare room if you wanted that." She shook her head, her face still held a grin I couldn't understand. Finally she turned to face me.
"You have 2 more questions princess." She turned back and stared at the ceiling. Though this whole 2 questions thing was new to me, I already had 2 questions in mind.
"Why were you at my house on Halloween?"
"Because I saw you running into your house when I was flying by, for reasons I may never understand, you peaked my interest. I found your observing behavior odd, but refreshing. I haven't met many people who have that type of introvertedness that they want to watch, but not to be seen." Wow, this woman has super powers, is beyond beautiful, confident, and is suddenly so insightful?
"Oh, okay." I replied lamely, honestly I was too busy thinking if my next question was the one I really needed to ask right now.
"Go on princess." She encouraged. I took a deep breath.
"I guess this might be considered 2 questions but, if you liked the kiss," I studied her reaction, but she had none. "Would you, uh-, do it again?" I looked away in an attempt to save myself from her possible negative answer, but it didn't last long as Mamrie grabbed my chin and stared into my eyes with a still unreadable expression. She leaned in slowly and tilted her head, her lips meeting mine much softer and gentler than the last time. When she pulled away she wore her infamous grin.
"Did that answer your question?"
When I woke up in bed the next morning, I was almost confused why there was no one next to me, but then I remembered the inexplicably realistic dream I had last night and understood. I got ready like any other day and headed off to Colleen's Corner. I met Aubree at the door and hugged her.
"Aw Grace! It's been too long gra-, uh, girl." She greeted with an award winning smile.
"Bree knock it off, don't make greeting me like this a habit." I walked with Aubree to the back and grabbed my apron.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Hey sorry about ditching you yesterday, had to pick up a drunk little gay man."
"Tyler?" I knew the answer but thought I would ask regardless.
"Tyler." She confirmed. "Also you're bussing today so enjoy." She winked and walked back to the kitchen to probably do nothing but flirt with the chef, Chester. I grabbed my cloth and cleaner and headed out to the front to start a long day of cleaning. I made it to the front of the store to clean the windows, when I noticed that the main front window was spotless. No one had cleaned the windows in weeks and I'm pretty sure I saw a maple syrup stain on it just yesterday. I was so focused on the window, that I nearly failed to note the unforgettable green eyes of the red owl that landed on a light post outside. It took me nearly a full minute to understand what was happening, and when I did, the owl was already taking off. I watched it lift smoothly from the post with wide eyes and as it flew by. And just before it was completely out of sight, I could almost swear the damn thing winked at me.