Taking a deep breath of polluted air and swiping the gossamer veil of faux cobwebs to the side, Lydia took her first few steps down the dark staircase. "I'm sure this'll be the greatest party in the world," she muttered to herself, her quiet voice dripping sarcasm.
"A party?" Edward asked somewhat excitedly, looking up at Amber Rose with curiosity.
"Yeah," she replied, snapping her gum a little more loudly than Edward would have liked. He jumped and she apologized. "It's a Halloween thing. I think it'd be fun."
"But...but didn't Lydia ask you to stay with me?" Edward was afraid that his new friend would leave him. He supposed he wouldn't have minded so much, as she did make him a little uncomfortable with her intense eyes lined with excessive amounts of kohl, and lips as black as the night sky. But Lydia had specifically asked this favour of her. He would feel bad if Amber Rose just skipped out on her, like that...
"I never said I'd leave you, hon," she said, giving him that devilish smile that sent cold chills down the length of his spine.
"Oh..." was all he could manage as he snipped nervously at the air.
"I want you to come with me," she said, crouching down so that she was eye-level with him. He could smell her rose-scented perfume even better, now that she was closer. It was a pleasant enough scent, but something about it made him feel almost sad. Still, it was a familiar scent, and Edward had the feeling that if he were going to go to aforementioned party, he would need a certain degree of familiarity in order to feel comfortable.
"Lydia never said to stay here," she continued when Edward did not reply. "All she asked was that I stay with you and keep you company, and I fully intend to do so."
Edward supposed that was true. But a party? He'd never been to a party, before. Closest thing had been the cookout at Peg's, and that hadn't been -so- bad...
"Okay," he said, timidly, hoping he wouldn't regret to having acquiesced so willingly.
"Awesome!" she said, standing up suddenly, her black and red hair flying in all directions as she did. Edward couldn't help but notice the slight bounce in her breasts as she moved, but they -were- rather, er, large. The shirt she was wearing didn't do much to conceal this, Edward told himself to keep from feeling too embarrassed.
"But we have to get ready. Or, -I- have to get ready. You've all ready got your costume on."
"Costume?" he asked, standing up from his seat on his straw bed.
"Whatever you wanna call what you're wearing. I like it," she said, taking a small, black circular object from her purse. "I think it's hot." Edward watched as she opened the black circle, took out a smaller white circle and started patting her face with it. Her eyes never left the open black circle as she vigourously powdered her cheeks, chin, nose. Edward didn't really see the change. He realised that the black circle contained some kind of make up (something he'd become all too familiar with in his time at Peg's house) but it didn't seem to be making much of a difference. Her face still looked white and smooth and soft. Edward wished he could touch it. The powder made it all the more tempting, and it even had a pleasant scent to it.
She rummaged around in her little vinyl purse a few more times, each time pulling out a different kind of make up. She put it on with care and precision, though Edward didn't understand why--she was all ready wearing everything she was putting on. Oh well. If it made her happy...
"Done!" she said, snapping her compact shut and shoving it back into her bag. "Ready to go?"
"I don't know," Edward replied, sincerely. -He- hadn't put on any make up. Was he supposed to? Compared to Amber Rose, who was wearing enough make up to qualify for a position in the circus, he felt so bare.
"You know, you're absolutely right," she said, walking toward him, her bag clutched tightly in her black-nailed hands.
"What?" Edward asked, confused. He hadn't said anything, really. He was about to suggest that perhaps he, too should put on some make up, but...
"You would look so hot in black lipstick and eyeliner."
Edward was dumbstricken. Had she read his mind? Had he actually said what he was thinking, aloud?
"I...I guess so," he stuttered, still stunned by the fact that his new friend was seemingly telepathic.
"You totally would. Come here," she said, fishing through her purse, once again, and producing two sticks of black makeup; one short and fat, the other long and thin. "Don't be scared, I wouldn't hurt you in a million years," she said when Edward hesitated. "Just try to be as still as possible." Edward tried. "Close your eyes." Edward closed his eyes. "This'll only take a sec..." Edward waited patiently as Amber Rose touched his face and applied the make up in the appropriate places.
Lydia was miserable. It wouldn't have been so bad if the inconsiderate assholes would put out their cigarettes, or at least have the common courtesy to go outside and smoke where the air wasn't so close. The music throbbed in her temples and was really beginning to get on her nerves. It wasn't even -good- music. That at least would have been tolerable. This was just...crap.
iThis is horrible. I should really just leave/i she thought, trying to find her way over to the refreshments table through the "fog" that spilled forth from hidden machines. It did not mesh well with the cigarette smoke, and Lydia coughed when one of the fog machines went off not two inches from her face.
iNo, I gotta do this/i she told herself, not entirely sure why. Maybe it was to prove to her parents that she could have a life outside of Edward and school. Or maybe she would just get drunk and come home plastered so that her parents would never let her out of the house, again.
"Yeah," she said to herself as she ladeled some punch into her orange and black paper cup. "That sounds like a good idea."
Edward was in awe of the person he saw staring back at him in the dusty mirror. Was that really him? When he was finally able to pull himself away from the person's face, he studied its other features. Hair, clothing...scissorhands. Yes, it was definitely him. But he looked so...different.
"Wow," he breathed, the corners of his mouth twitching. "That's me?"
"Yeah," Amber Rose said, wrapping her arms around his front and leaning her head on his shoulder. He was too enthralled with his reflection to respond to this sudden contact. "I told you it'd be hot."
All he could do was smile and stare. He looked completely different from his usual self. His eyes were lined all the way around with about a half inch of kohl, with thin little designs branching off in several places to make the look "more unique and exotic. You don't wanna look like everybody else, do you?" Actually, he did...but this was close enough. His lips were black like hers. The lipstick made them look like a doll's and it covered up the scars. That made Edward happy.
"Let's go!" she said, breaking away from him and making a dash for the door. But Edward hadn't moved. He was still admiring his new look. She giggled girlishly, practically dragging him away from it and out the door.
They'd taken Amber Rose's car to the place where the party was supposed to be. Cheesy Halloween decorations littered the front lawn, and there were a line of cars parked along the street.
"This must be the place," she said, unfastening her seatbelt.
She'd made it halfway up the driveway before the realisation that Edward had not been able to un-do his seatbelt hit her.
"Ohhh, I'm sorry, Eddie," she apologized, leaning far over him to release him from his belt. Edward leaned back as far as he could but still did not totally avoid getting a face-full of cleavage. He felt his face become slightly warm, despite the chilly October air as she helped him out of the car. Why did that always happen when he got close to pretty girls? His father had never really gone into great detail as far as that subject was concerned. Oh well. He had to learn lots of things for himself. Why should this be any different?
DING DONG! Edward jumped at the sound of the doorbell as it echoed creepily from somewhere in the bushes. He'd almost composed himself, when "BUAHAHAHAHA!" the bushes began laughing maniacially. It was all Edward could do not to run away. He decided instead to hide behind Amber Rose.
"What's that?" he whispered, scissorhands clicking away as his entire body trembled.
"Oh, sweetie, that's just a boom-box hidden in the shrubs. It's playing a stupid Halloween tape. Don't be scared."
But Edward -was- scared. He'd talked to bushes lots of times, before. He especially liked to do it when he was trimming them. But this had been the first time a bush had ever spoken to -him- and it scared the living daylights out of him.
Within a few moments, they were invited in, and Edward ran past the evil foliage as fast as he could without barrelling into Amber Rose or the guy who'd opened the door for them.
"What's with him?" the guy asked, pointing a thumb toward where Edward stood huddled in the corner, his black hair falling down into his eyes, his scissorhands snipping at regular intervals every two seconds or so.
"Oh, nothing," Amber Rose said, walking toward scared-bunny!Edward and flashing her signature smile over her shoulder. "He was just scared of the bushes, right Eddie?" If Edward nodded it was unnoticable due to the shivers that shook his entire body.
"Awww," she crooned, reaching a hand out to him. "It's okay, babe. Don't worry." She patted him lightly on the head and smiled sweetly at him. "Don't get out much, do ya?"
Edward shook his head and tried to stop shaking so much. Amber Rose continued to pet his hair and whisper comforts to him, and after a few more minutes, he was calm again. He was grateful for her kindness. He wanted to thank her, but somehow could not find the words.
"Well," came a semi-familiar voice from near the door. Apparently Mr. Doorman had been standing there, the entire time. "Party's downstairs, unless of course you'd prefer a bedroom or something. I hear Mitch is renting 'em out for a small fee." He gave Amber Rose a lecherous grin and winked at Edward before disappearing down the hall, and presumably into the basement.
"What does he mean by--"
"Nothing, Eddie. Just come with me."
Now Lydia was starting to enjoy herself, if only a little bit. The music didn't seem quite so intrusive, the smoke drifted in graceful waves around the room, and everywhere she looked she could see shiny things. The party was divided as such: jocks/cheerleader-types in the far left corner, mods/emo kids/art students mingled in the middle, punks/goths lounged around on the sparse furniture in the far right corner, and the stoners hung out wherever they landed. Everyone seemed to know their correct place. It was almost as though they'd been handed little slips of paper telling them where to go as soon as they walked through the door. But, though Lydia would definitely have been pegged as a goth, she preferred to remain sans label, and sit wherever she damn well wanted.
Lydia took a deep breath for the first time since she'd come down the stairs. She unmisakably caught a whiff of another kind of smoke, in the mix. But she was on her way to a pleasant buzz, and she didn't really care who was smoking what. She was finally beginning to almost enjoy herself.
It had been difficult, but Amber Rose had successfully resisted the urge to pull the six feet of Goth girl's wet dream beside her into a closet and shag him, senseless. Usually, if there was an impulse she acted on it, right away. She was a no-nonsense kind of girl, and she usually got what (and who) she wanted without too much trouble. But Edward was different, and not just because of the jagged metal blades he had in lieu of flesh-and-bone fingers. He was different on the inside, too. Amber Rose had pursued quiet boys, before. She liked them. She liked seducing them. They let her be dominating, and after a long string of bad ass, tough guy, semi-abusive boyfriends, it was refreshing. But Amber Rose had never met anyone like Edward before in her entire life. He was obviously somewhere around her age. He had the body of a grown man, slender as it was. But he seemed to possess a child's understanding of the world around him. It was a little deeper than that. She could tell he was intelligent just by looking into his eyes. His big, black, haunting eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen, and they belonged to the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, respectively.
No, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't deflower this one. And besides, this was Lydia's turf. She hadn't been friends with the girl for very long, but she didn't want to betray her trust at the drop of a hat, even for someone as irresistable as Edward.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, his voice so quiet and honest.
"Because I want you," she said with a sigh. She spoke the truth to him. Why should she lie? He'd asked her a question, and he deserved a truthful answer. God, was it true.
He only looked at her, his eyes speaking volumes but his lips still as the grave. She could take no more of this. It was far too intense, and she hadn't yet had anything to drink.
"C'mon, Eddie," she said, carefully grabbing hold of his wrist. "Let's go downstairs."
Edward allowed himself to be led down the hallway and to the door that had smoke and coloured light seeping out between the cracks. The door hadn't yet been opened and all ready Edward could tell that the music was absurdly loud. He wasn't sure he would like it, but when he saw Amber Rose smile at him in that strange but not entirely unpleasant way of hers, he knew everything would be fine.
A million different smells, tastes and sounds assaulted Edward's senses the moment Amber Rose opened the basement door. Rubber, sweat, smoke, candy, beer, and roses. Edward could scarce hear himself think, but he was glad to still smell Amber Rose's perfume. It was perhaps the one familiar thing around him.
He descended the staircase slowly, getting caught in the fake spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling. He gave a few snips with his scissorhands and the strands of stretched cotten fell away. Amber Rose still held tightly to one of his wrists and he was grateful to not be entirely alone in this strange place.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the anxiety set in. The paranoia, the fear, the panic. Who were all these people? What would they think of him? Would they like him? Would they be mean to him like the others had been? Edward felt a lump rising up into his throat and had to clench his eyes tightly shut for a moment while he swallowed it. He was scared. Amber Rose by his side wasn't enough. He wanted Lydia. Was she there? She'd said she was going to a party. Was it the same one? And if she -was- there, how would he possibly be able to find her in this thick cloud of smoke and noise and flashing lights?
"Edward," Amber Rose said, shaking his wrist, slightly. "You okay?"
Edward didn't hear her right away. He thought someone might have been talking to him, but the music was so loud, and the sight around him, though blurred by smoke and fog, was fascinating. People in all different styles of dress were dancing, some slow, some fast. Some people were just sitting and talking, or smoking a cigarette. Upon closer inspection, Edward realised that some peope were even kissing each other. His gaze fell upon one such couple in the far left corner of the large room. She was dressed as a rabbit in high-heeled shoes and fishnet pantyhose, he was in a plush velvet robe and slippers. Edward barely noticed their strange clothing. He was too distracted by what they were doing. He'd never seen anything like it...
"Edward!"
His attention was jerked suddenly from the snogging couple by Amber Rose's voice raising above the noise.
"Yes?" he answered, almost afraid that he'd somehow done something wrong. He felt strange, but there was no reason why he shouldn't, given the circumstances.
"You okay?"
Edward wasn't really sure, but he nodded politely, nevertheless. He didn't want Amber Rose to think he wasn't having a good time. That was the point of parties, wasn't it? To have a good time? The couple in the corner sure looked as though they were accomplishing that goal...
"I feel a little, um, sick," he said, raising his voice above its usual level to reach her over the music and laughter.
"It's probly just the smoke. You'll get used to it. Wanna dance?"
Edward froze. His father had begun to teach him to dance...but then something had happened. An accident...Edward hadn't wanted to learn, after that. Besides, he thought as his eyes swept the small crowd dancing around them, he'd never learned how to do this kind of dancing, anyway.
Not wishing to disappoint or seem rude, he simply leaned closer to her and said, "I would like to...but I can't."
"Aw, c'mon babe. I'm sure you can. Just try. For me?"
Edward vehemently shook his head, his black hair waving in front of his face like willow tree vines in a harsh wind. "I don't want to hurt anybody."
Amber Rose made a face of realisation and nodded. "Okay, hon. I understand. It's kinda tightly-packed. Guess dancing wouldn't be a good idea." Edward nodded, slightly embarrassed. He couldn't agree more.
"Well, I really wanna dance...but let's go find a place for you to chill, first." And she took him gently but firmly by the wrist, once again, and led him off to the far right corner of the dingy room.
Lydia was on her third cup of punch. They were medium-sized cups, and Lydia was not a large girl. She was well on her way to drunkenness and rather enjoying herself. She'd been drunk a few times before, but hadn't found it particularly interesting, or even really worth doing again. But tonight was different. Tonight she needed a little help if she was to get through the evening with her sanity intact. Her eardrums and lungs were a little worse off, but at least she wouldn't end up freaking out and killing everyone with the various sharp and pointy decorations she'd taken note of, earlier.
She was basically alone, save for a young man who was passed out at her feet, but he wasn't bothering her much. He wasn't exactly capable of pleasant conversation, but that was perfectly fine as far as Lydia was concerned. In fact, as far as she was concerned, there was no such thing as pleasant conversation in a place such as this. Occassionally someone would pass her and make a comment about how she was on the "wrong side of the room," but other than that, she was enjoying peace and quiet. Or at least, no one was trying to talk to her over the insanely loud music, which was, the more she had to drink, getting better and better. She'd show those know-it-all control freaks. They should have known better than to insist she go to a late-night, teenager-infested Halloween bash. She would show them just how oblivious to everything they were. Did they not know that there would probably be sex, drugs and rock n' roll at the party, or did they just not care? Yeah...she'd show them, all right.
"Edward, huh?" the small girl in the even smaller vinyl dress and matching boots said. "That's a nice name." Her dark-painted lips parted in a toothy smile and Edward noticed that her canines seemed to be slightly larger than normal. Before he could even begin to be puzzled, another similarly dressed girl to his left spoke.
"I love your outfit," she said, batting her long, false eyelashes at him so rapidly Edward wondered if the girl didn't have something in her eye.
"Uh, thank you," he said, having recognized her comment as complimentary, but just barely. They were all so interesting. Their multi-coloured hair done up in all sorts of different styles, their slim legs covered with fishnet or striped stockings which ended in tall vinyl boots adorned with more buckles than his entire suit. They were all wearing a lot of make-up, like Amber Rose, and they all had that same unidentified quality that made Edward feel slightly uneasy, yet simultaneously good.
"Where do you shop? I've been looking for something like that for ages," piped up a third girl, sitting two cushions to the right.
"Shop?" Edward asked, confused.
Fortunately, he didn't have to answer.
"Wow, he totally makes his own clothes. That's so awesome!"
He smiled shyly and began to snip his scissorhands. He was still nervous, but at least now he was sitting, and not smack-dab in the middle of all the smoke and noise.
"Hey Edward, do you have a girlfriend?" asked the second girl with the blue pig-tailed hair and cat glasses.
"Uhm..." he hesitated, not presicely sure what the girl had meant. He thought he knew, but was still not sure how to answer. Lydia was a girl, and his friend, and he definitely felt something more than just friendship for her...but did she feel the same way?
"Not really," he answered, finally, a note of sadness in his quiet voice. "But kind of," he added as an afterthought, if only to keep the girls from throwing themselves at him. He didn't want another "Joyce" incident, especially not when he was becoming so close to Lydia. And what if she -did- have feelings for him, and would disapprove of him "going with" other girls? He was vaguely savvy to the ways of what was called "dating." Better to be safe than sorry. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Lydia's feelings.
"Holy crap, what are those?" a fourth girl with rainbow-coloured dredlocks inquired, gesturing to his hands.
"They're, uh...my hands," he said, knowing that wasn't the answer they would expect. But instead of the anticipated ridicule, he recieved only a chorus of "wow"s.
"Can I touch them?" the third girl asked, eagerly leaning forward to expose the rounded tops of her breasts. She really -was- a lot like Amber Rose...
"I suppose," he said, not seeing any harm in letting the curious have their way.
"Wow," she said, yet again, and reached out a hand to touch the cold steel of the longest blade on Edward's right hand. Edward watched in frightened surprise as a perfect stranger reached out to stroke his scissorhands. What if her hand slipped? What if he moved and accidentally cut her? He remained as still as possible as the young girl commenced her exploration of the sharp objects that served as Edward's fingers.
"That is -so- cool. Can -I- touch them?"
Edward nodded and blinked as another girl reached out to touch his hands. He couldn't say that he wasn't enjoying the attention, he was only worried that something would suddenly go horribly wrong.
Now a few of the girls were now crowded closely around him, petting the blades of his scissorhands as though they were cute and furry and not at all dangerous. It was confusing, but there were many things that Edward did not understand. This was just another thing to add to the ever-growing list.
And then it happened.
"Woooow..."
Edward gasped and yanked his hand away from the girl who'd just sliced her wrist open with one of his blades. He looked on in stupified horror as blood trickled down her bare arm in crimson rivulets. His mouth was suddenly very dry. He thought to apologize, but then he saw the look on the girl's face. It was of awe and admiration, as though she were looking at a very beautiful painting. Her eyes sparkled with a strange light and her mouth was o-shaped as she stared at her bleeding wound in wonder. He hadn't done that to her. She'd cut herself ion purpose/i.
"Holy shit," said the girl with the too-large cross around her neck. "Those must be super sharp..." She stared lustfully at Edward's scissorhands like they were precious gems or something good to eat. He suddenly wanted very much to hide them behind his back, but it was too late. She'd all ready pounced on him and begun using the tip of one of his blades to prick her finger.
Edward was too terrified to speak. What was -wrong- with these people? And then one of them asked him a question, which served as a momentary distraction from the slice-and-dice party going on in front of him.
"That where you got all those scars?" she asked, crossing her legs. She was one of the two who were not participating in this strange and highly unsettling ritual.
He nodded, his mouth still too dry to form speech.
"Yeah..." she said, lazily rolling up the sleeve of her velvet top to reveal pale skin punctuated with tiny red scrapes. "I have a little problem with that, sometimes. If I'm not depressed, I'm fine. Not like these posers, who do it just for the hell of it," she said, rolling her eyes at the three girls who seemed perfectly content to cut their arms to bloody ribbons on Edward's blades.
"Hey, screw you, Mollie. You're just as much of a poser as anyone else."
"Except for Edward. He's hardcore." Several of the other girls agreed, and poor Edward reached a new level of confusion.
"Hey Edward," the girl with the exaggerated canines said. "You want some?" She stretched her bleeding arm out to Edward, holding the gaping wound close to his face as though she wanted him to do something with it. Kiss it, maybe?
"Hey, Eddie!" Amber Rose's voice broke through the mess of sounds and Edward thought he could never be happier to see anyone who wasn't Lydia.
"Having fun?" she asked, walking over to him and his groupies, half of whom were now bleeding profusely and loving it.
Edward only looked up at her with a silent plea to remove him from the circle of freaks in which he currently sat. She took two looks at the girls surrounding him and understood, immediately.
"Time for Edward to leave, kids," she said to the girls, all of whom seemed at least slightly younger than her, now that Edward could compare them with his own eyes.
Some of them protested verbally, others merely whined, but it was obvious that all of them were sad to have their new toy taken away.
Edward stood as quickly as possible, eager to get away from the little crazies that sat lapping at each others' wrists with eager tongues. But, as insane and uncouth as they seemed, he still somehow managed to remember his manners.
"G-goodnight ladies," he stammered, bowing stiffly to the circle of vampirettes.
"Night, Edward," they seemed to say in unision. Edward delivered a quick nervous smile to them before getting as close to Amber Rose as possible without hurting her, and allowing himself to be led quickly away.
"Jesus, what the hell were they doing?" Amber Rose said, more to herself than to Edward, who was nevertheless obligated to answer, even if he didn't think he could.
"I don't know," he said, honestly, his face even whiter than before. "They seem to be...vampires..." Edward said, recalling the horrifying blood-sucking creatures of the night he'd sometimes read about.
"Pfft," Amber Rose made a noise of dismissal and rolled her eyes. "They're nothing but wanna-be's. Look at them. They're all like, twelve." Edward looked back at them and wished he hadn't.
"Anyway, sorry I left you there. How 'bout I introduce you to some older, more mature people?"
Edward nodded. "Anything but them," he said, still in a daze, which was not being at all helped by the booming bass or smoky air.
"Okay..." Amber Rose said, scanning the room for someone she knew. "Oh! Bobbi!" she exclaimed suddenly, startling an already shaken Edward. Apparently she'd found a friend to introduce him to. He hoped this would turn out to be better than what had just happened...and hopefully with less blood, too.