Alright. First story in the Jhonen section, don't own any characters, blah
blah blah. Be nice or whatever. You don't have to be. Open flames are
accepted, who cares about the air.
--~~*~~--
Devi took in a deep breath, piercing green eyes slowly scanning her surroundings. All around her, the sights and sounds of a busy mall pulsed, people scurrying from shop to shop, too wrapped up in their own selfish desires to notice much more than their next destination. She was mildly relieved to see that the people walked right by her, none of them pausing for even a second glance. That was good. She didn't really feel like being noticed at the moment. Not outside the Bath and Body Works store.
Slowly, she exhaled, returning her gaze back to the glass door of the little shop. Turning the collar of her brown trench coat up around her chin, she pressed a deathly pale hand to the brass handle, and entered.
As soon as she stepped through that doorway, a tiny bell tinkling overhead, the tortured artist was nearly blown right back out. Never before had her nose been bombarded with so many strong scents at once. It was a wave of what was supposed to be sweet-smelling fragrances, but combined together to form one huge stink, it might as well have been poison fumes.
She gagged, a thin hand flying to her nose in a vain attempt to shield it from any further damage by the terrible stench of the store. She could now see why customers were so scarce.
Devi gave a desperate glance around the room, her eyes scanning feverishly for the product she desired. She wanted oh so desperately to just find it and leave. Run far, far away from this stinky nightmare.
Her darkly outlined eyes finally settled on a large candle display in the back corners of the brightly lit room. Letting out a whoop of triumph, she briskly trotted over to it, sidestepping frilly pink displays of shampoo and body wash.
Devi wanted nothing more than to just escape from the horrible shop, and hope her nose hairs hadn't burned off. But, there were so many candles. Oh so many varying scents. Her mind was overwhelmed.
"Lavender rose passion?" Devi read aloud, an eyebrow quirking in response, "Silky daisy wave?"
She wanted none of these pastel floral scents! But that seemed to be all they had. Devi sighed, her mood dropping to a sudden low. She'd hoped to treat herself to a nice, relaxing bath that night. A soothingly warm bath, surrounded by candlelight and piano music. A sort of reward for making it through another shitty week.
But if the only scents they possessed were frilly flower things, she might have to skip the candlelight. She didn't really want to relax in a room flooded with harsh, electric lighting. A warm, yellow glow only fire could create seemed like a wonderful addition to her special occasion. But she also didn't want to bathe in the nasty scents of the store. As she was doing now.
She was about to leave, broken-spirited, when a certain wax cylinder caught her eye. Turning on her boot-clad heel, Devi strutted over to it. It was the deepest shade of blue you could create for a candle without making it one of those black, Satan-worshiping things. She scanned over the pastel blue label.
"Midnight breeze."
She felt a tingle at the simple, yet enchanting name of the smell. She'd always liked the night. The late hours were so calming, so peaceful. This was definitely the scent she needed to help her relax.
Reaching back and plucking out a few more of the same smell, Devi turned and walked over to the cashier. She emptied her armful of candles gently onto the countertop, as if they were made of glass. The cashier gave her an odd glance at the tenderness she put into handling the wax things, but began to scan them nonetheless. A customer was a customer.
"$12.95," he stated slowly, holding out a thin hand. Devi eagerly dropped a twenty into his waiting palm, practically bouncing in her impatience. She wanted to leave. Badly.
Running a hand through his bleached-blonde spikes, the guy opened the cash register and began counting out her change. Slowly. As if he'd never past second grade. With his free hand, he carelessly knocked the candles into a plastic bag. Devi practically pounced on it, clutching the bottom so that the wax didn't hit the hard countertop and become dented or whatever.
Gathering up the bag, she impatiently waited for her change. The cashier's nose was slightly wrinkled in the excruciating, brain meat-straining efforts it took to make change for a twenty. Slowly he pulled out a five. And then a one. And another one. And then a nickel. He slowly turned, and was about to drop it into Devi's quivering hand, but faltered.
"Wait. Did you want this in bills, or loose change?" he asked. He almost turned back to the register to recount the money, but before he could, it was snatched fiercely from his hand.
"I am not in the mood for this, you little teenage shit!" Devi screamed, expertly whirling around and making a mad dash for the door. "The smell of your fucking store is making me PMS!" she shrieked over her shoulder, receiving quite a lot of stares from nearby mall-goers. She tore out of that horrid place as fast as humanly possible, leaving the cliché dumbass teen bewildered and disturbed.
--~~*~~--
The ending was rushed, the poor stupid cashier underdeveloped. I could've done a lot more with his character, but I got lazy. Sorry it's so short, next chapter up soon.
By the way, I've never been in a Bath and Body Works store. But I've glanced at them. *nods* They look scary. And if they're anything like the Forget-Me-Not place (horrible, horrible experience there. If a certain friend is reading (you know who you are) just shut up. Shut up.) then. . . yeah. Holy hell, that place is stinky.
So, if you shop there frequently, let me know. How does it smell? Is it really as frilly as it looks at a glance? Do they even sell candles there? And how much are they? $12.95 has been stuck in my head all night/early morning, so I just put it down as that. *shrugs*
And I have a horrible handle on the characters right now. They feel so foriegn to me. So, forgive me if some of this stuff isn't totally acurate. My comics are lost in the garbage dump that is my room. I have no idea if Devi really likes the night, or would even take a nice, relaxing bath. Dear god, I want to take one of those. Sounds so sofisticated, though. I'd probably go pyro with the therapy candles and burn down the bathroom.
(ahem) Anyways. More later. Or, maybe soon. I dunno.
Review. Or die.
--~~*~~--
Devi took in a deep breath, piercing green eyes slowly scanning her surroundings. All around her, the sights and sounds of a busy mall pulsed, people scurrying from shop to shop, too wrapped up in their own selfish desires to notice much more than their next destination. She was mildly relieved to see that the people walked right by her, none of them pausing for even a second glance. That was good. She didn't really feel like being noticed at the moment. Not outside the Bath and Body Works store.
Slowly, she exhaled, returning her gaze back to the glass door of the little shop. Turning the collar of her brown trench coat up around her chin, she pressed a deathly pale hand to the brass handle, and entered.
As soon as she stepped through that doorway, a tiny bell tinkling overhead, the tortured artist was nearly blown right back out. Never before had her nose been bombarded with so many strong scents at once. It was a wave of what was supposed to be sweet-smelling fragrances, but combined together to form one huge stink, it might as well have been poison fumes.
She gagged, a thin hand flying to her nose in a vain attempt to shield it from any further damage by the terrible stench of the store. She could now see why customers were so scarce.
Devi gave a desperate glance around the room, her eyes scanning feverishly for the product she desired. She wanted oh so desperately to just find it and leave. Run far, far away from this stinky nightmare.
Her darkly outlined eyes finally settled on a large candle display in the back corners of the brightly lit room. Letting out a whoop of triumph, she briskly trotted over to it, sidestepping frilly pink displays of shampoo and body wash.
Devi wanted nothing more than to just escape from the horrible shop, and hope her nose hairs hadn't burned off. But, there were so many candles. Oh so many varying scents. Her mind was overwhelmed.
"Lavender rose passion?" Devi read aloud, an eyebrow quirking in response, "Silky daisy wave?"
She wanted none of these pastel floral scents! But that seemed to be all they had. Devi sighed, her mood dropping to a sudden low. She'd hoped to treat herself to a nice, relaxing bath that night. A soothingly warm bath, surrounded by candlelight and piano music. A sort of reward for making it through another shitty week.
But if the only scents they possessed were frilly flower things, she might have to skip the candlelight. She didn't really want to relax in a room flooded with harsh, electric lighting. A warm, yellow glow only fire could create seemed like a wonderful addition to her special occasion. But she also didn't want to bathe in the nasty scents of the store. As she was doing now.
She was about to leave, broken-spirited, when a certain wax cylinder caught her eye. Turning on her boot-clad heel, Devi strutted over to it. It was the deepest shade of blue you could create for a candle without making it one of those black, Satan-worshiping things. She scanned over the pastel blue label.
"Midnight breeze."
She felt a tingle at the simple, yet enchanting name of the smell. She'd always liked the night. The late hours were so calming, so peaceful. This was definitely the scent she needed to help her relax.
Reaching back and plucking out a few more of the same smell, Devi turned and walked over to the cashier. She emptied her armful of candles gently onto the countertop, as if they were made of glass. The cashier gave her an odd glance at the tenderness she put into handling the wax things, but began to scan them nonetheless. A customer was a customer.
"$12.95," he stated slowly, holding out a thin hand. Devi eagerly dropped a twenty into his waiting palm, practically bouncing in her impatience. She wanted to leave. Badly.
Running a hand through his bleached-blonde spikes, the guy opened the cash register and began counting out her change. Slowly. As if he'd never past second grade. With his free hand, he carelessly knocked the candles into a plastic bag. Devi practically pounced on it, clutching the bottom so that the wax didn't hit the hard countertop and become dented or whatever.
Gathering up the bag, she impatiently waited for her change. The cashier's nose was slightly wrinkled in the excruciating, brain meat-straining efforts it took to make change for a twenty. Slowly he pulled out a five. And then a one. And another one. And then a nickel. He slowly turned, and was about to drop it into Devi's quivering hand, but faltered.
"Wait. Did you want this in bills, or loose change?" he asked. He almost turned back to the register to recount the money, but before he could, it was snatched fiercely from his hand.
"I am not in the mood for this, you little teenage shit!" Devi screamed, expertly whirling around and making a mad dash for the door. "The smell of your fucking store is making me PMS!" she shrieked over her shoulder, receiving quite a lot of stares from nearby mall-goers. She tore out of that horrid place as fast as humanly possible, leaving the cliché dumbass teen bewildered and disturbed.
--~~*~~--
The ending was rushed, the poor stupid cashier underdeveloped. I could've done a lot more with his character, but I got lazy. Sorry it's so short, next chapter up soon.
By the way, I've never been in a Bath and Body Works store. But I've glanced at them. *nods* They look scary. And if they're anything like the Forget-Me-Not place (horrible, horrible experience there. If a certain friend is reading (you know who you are) just shut up. Shut up.) then. . . yeah. Holy hell, that place is stinky.
So, if you shop there frequently, let me know. How does it smell? Is it really as frilly as it looks at a glance? Do they even sell candles there? And how much are they? $12.95 has been stuck in my head all night/early morning, so I just put it down as that. *shrugs*
And I have a horrible handle on the characters right now. They feel so foriegn to me. So, forgive me if some of this stuff isn't totally acurate. My comics are lost in the garbage dump that is my room. I have no idea if Devi really likes the night, or would even take a nice, relaxing bath. Dear god, I want to take one of those. Sounds so sofisticated, though. I'd probably go pyro with the therapy candles and burn down the bathroom.
(ahem) Anyways. More later. Or, maybe soon. I dunno.
Review. Or die.
