Dark Tea Chapter 4
Over the weeks, CC and Tea worked every day, sometimes twice a day, in therapy. And it HURT! Gods, but it hurt! Many times Tea would be screaming in agony, trying to regain the strength in her legs, to be a dancer again. And many a time, Tea wondered if this was all worth it. Would she ever again be able to be a dancer, to try and reach out and be the lead dancer in a major musical on Broadway or anywhere else? There were times when she doubted that she ever would succeed in doing that.
In her second soul room, Tea's Dark Side was getting anxious. She was enjoying being around CC, but she also felt the pain that Tea was going through. And while she was not thrilled with the idea of Tea being a dancer, she wanted OUT! She wanted to get out on the town, to enjoy life, and above all else, FIND THE MAN WHO DID THIS TO HER! That, above all else, was something that drove her to help her light side to get stronger. For, unless she got stronger, they never would get out of these therapy sessions and take care of what needed to be done.
Finally, about two months after the therapy sessions began, Christine stopped the session early. "We've been going at this for about two months now Tea. It's time we both took the rest of the day off. You're coming with me. I'm going to a nightclub that I know of, and I want you to come with me" she told her patient. It had been several months since Christine had been out, and she felt the need to get out, don her special clothing, and ENJOY herself this evening. Looking Tea over, she quickly got an idea for her. "With you coming to this club, we are going to have to get you looking like you fit in. Which means, while I am getting my outfit on, I'll pick one out for you, and we'll get your makeup done for it as well."
Tea was surprised "Just what are you talking about CC? I mean, before I was hurt, I would go out to dance clubs, but that was it. So what is so special about this club?" she asked her therapist. The idea of a club sounded good, but if CC was saying she would need special clothing to go to it, it must be a special club.
Christine just let out a deep moan, as she adjusted her body. "You've probably noticed the spiked collar that I wear around my neck. Well, that is part of the attire you and I will need for tonight. Because tonight," here Christine gave a dramatic pause "We are going to a GOTH club!"
While Tea was stunned to hear this announcement, her darker side was THRILLED! For her, this was her chance to come out. In her soul room, she dressed like a Goth, and decorated it with Goth style furniture. So, the idea of this club was something that gave her an incentive to come out and play. Knowing this, she gathered her deck, in the hope that she might be able to get a duel in this night as well.
Tea was a little nervous about the club. While she relished the idea of getting out for the night, she just could not see herself dressed as a Goth. To her, it was something that just sounded too weird. People with spiked, colored hair, and heavy metal music just did not sound all that great to her. But, if it meant getting out for a night, then it might be worth it. "So, what will I need for this club? I mean, I've never been to a Goth nightclub before" she asked her therapist.
"I'll take you to a shop where we can get you properly decked out. It's a place that I am something of a regular at. And don't worry about the cost. It's my treat" Catherine told her. And with that, Tea was dropped off at her house, to prepare for school and a shopping spree afterwards.
Tea muddled through classes the next day. While she was concentrating on her schoolwork, she was also looking forward to seeing what Catherine had in mind. A shop that specialized in Goth clothing? And she was something of a regular there? She was seriously looking forward to it! Even Yugi and Joey noticed it.
"So, what's got you so chipper today Tea?" Joey asked. He had been trying to keep an eye on her as best that he could, considering he was not only working somewhat at a grocery store as a stocker, but also trying to keep his grades up as well. He was pulling a B- average these days, enough that he was hoping to get a scholarship to a university, so that he could major in economics. He was showing a talent for being able to tell what was hot and what was not for customers.
"I agree with Joey. You seem a lot chipper than usual" Yugi added. Seeing Tea with a smile that showed a bright spirit, instead of a smile that seemed to hide the pain of her therapy workouts was a pleasant thing to see. And he wanted to encourage that for his friend.
"Thanks guys. Catherine is taking me out tonight. And no, its NOT for another therapy session! She taking me to a club that she knows" Tea informed them, a smile on her face. Just getting out, even if it was to a Goth club, was better than not getting out and around others for a change.
"Well, if things get rough, call me. I'll be there as fast as I can" Joey told her, wanting to make sure she knew that he was not going to let what happened months ago at the restaurant happen again.
"Thanks Joey, but with CC taking me, I think that I will be safe" she told the blonde haired teenager. Joey had stepped up, with Tristan having gone his own way learning things that a low level mobster would learn, things like being a pimp, collecting protection money, and other things. In fact, he had dropped out of school, due to his being out and about so much.
Finally, school was done for the day, and CC was outside in a sedan waiting for her. "You ready?" she asked Tea, who was looking eager to get out and about.
"You better believe I am. Still a little nervous about this Goth club, but it's been so long since I've been to a club, I am just eager to get out" Tea told her therapist. In fact, it looked like Tea was so full of energy that she was jumping up and down in the car!
"Just calm down Tea, You are acting like a kid on a sugar high" CC told her, with laughter in her voice. And with that, the two headed off to the west side of town. Arriving on this side of town, Catherine guided the car to a parking spot in front of a shop that looked dark compared to the rest of the storefronts around it. But, as they approached it, Tea was surprised to see that the darkness was due to the paint and other coloring on the storefront. Inside, it looked inviting.
"Welcome to Simone's and Martins. Do you need help in finding" a young woman started to say, when she saw who it was. "CATHERINE!" she cried out, running up and giving her a big hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?! And who is this young lady?" "The lady said, looking over Tea, eyeing her with a eye for what she could sell her.
Catherine laughed. "You know me by now! I NEVER tell you when I am going to show up! She then sobered up. "Simone, this is the young lady that I have been working with. She has been needing therapy, and with all that has been going on, I felt it was time to hit the club. Simone Baker, may I present Miss Tea Gardner. Tea, this is Simone Baker, the co-owner of this shop" she said, introducing the two ladies.
Simone stood about 5'2" in a pair of boots with a 5" platform on each boot. She had a pair of dark, knee high stockings, a blue black corset dress, lace gloves, a spiked choker, and a small hat. Her eyes showed more white than usual, indicating special contacts. But what really surprised Tea was her makeup. Her face was very pale, almost ghost white, with black lips and a pair of small earrings with a cross design on them. The whole ensemble screamed GOTH!
"It's a pleasure to meet you" Tea said, looking over Simone and the shop. Everything in this shop screamed GOTH. Black dresses, shoes and boots with high platforms, unusual earrings, corsets, chokers, you name it, it was in this shop. As CC and Simone continued talking, Tea started looking around.
As she did, her Dark Side, was smiling from ear to ear! FINALLY a place that truly appealed to her! And, if things worked out this night, a chance for HER to come out and live a little.
As they were looking over the shop, a young man came up to her. He was wearing a dark suit and paints, a dark shirt with matching tie, and a dark vest trimmed in red. "Greetings my dear. I am Martin, the co-owner of this shop. Is there something that I can help you with?" he asked, in a smooth voice that sent shivers up and down Tea's back.
"Martin, when did you get back?" Simone asked, looking over at her co-owner and fellow Goth. Martin handled the business end of the show, such as the books, ordering new merchandise, and some sales work. People thought that he was gay, but he was just a guy who was more into making people feel good, so that he could get more sales for the store.
"Simone, I just got back a few minutes ago. I had to finish up the meeting with the accountant. We will have a nice profit this year. Now, tell me. . . CC!" he shouted, as he ran over and gave Catherine a big hug. "It's good to see you back!" he exclaimed, then he calmed down. "So, what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" he asked the red head.
"Doing some shopping for myself, but mainly, Tea here" she told Martin, pointing at the young lady in question "is having her first night out in a while, and she is going as my guest to The Club. And, she has never gone Goth before" Martin was informed.
:"A virgin? We haven't had one of those here in some time, have we Martin" Simone said, looking at Tea as if she was a piece of fresh meat.
"Well, it will be a challenge to get her properly outfitted and made up, but I guess if we can't do it, then no one can" Martin responded, going over in his mind, what things Tea would need and how to get her looking right,
"Well, Jasmine is off today, so that means that YOU have the task of doing her makeup and getting her clothing" Simone informed him, with the pleasure of seeing Martins jaw drop. "Not up to the challenge? Or are you scared to do a virgin?" she asked, a look in her eyes telling that she was partially joking, partially serious.
THAT made Martin stand up straight and look his partner in the eye. "Oh, I can do it. It may be a while since I last did a makeover, but I CAN do it!" he told his partner. And with that, he headed over to give Tea a once over, and start on her makeover.
"Well, young lady, its time. Time to get you outfitted and then made over for this night at the club. So, let's get going. Getting you outfitted is going to be the easy part. But, doing your makeup . . . THAT is going to take some time. Up to three hours to do and do right! So, let's get started" Martin told her in a tone that brooked no disagreement.
The first section of the store that they went to was the shoes and boots. "Let's get your shoe size, and then we can see about getting you the right size for your feet. We don't want you getting blisters on your feet for being on them all night" Martin told her, wanting to get her fitted and fitted right.
"Before I was injured, I used to wear a size five" Tea informed him, the memory of her being raped and harmed still present in her mind. But, hopefully, this night out will help ease the pain somewhat.
Martin nodded. "So, what do you aspire to do, once you leave school?" he asked, as he pulled down a pair of black strappy shoes with 3" platforms. Looking them over, he was satisfied that they were in good shape, no holes in them, and not needing to be polished.
"I was hoping to be a dancer. Maybe I still can, with CC's help" Tea told him, as she followed Martin to another section, this one with stockings in bags. "I never knew that Goths wore stockings" she informed Martin, as he pulled several bags with different styles and lengths of stockings.
"Most people don't look at Goth's as anything but freaks. Psychologists consider Goth's more as a subculture of humanity. For Simone and myself, it's a way to enjoy life and to make money off of it" he told Tea, as he nodded his head and added the stockings with the shoes, and put them down on a chair that was nearby. The stockings that he had chosen were knee high, with a spider theme to them. After that, they headed for a section that had corsets,
"This will be the hardest part of the outfitting. Getting you into a corset. We have to get you into one that will be the right fit. You also will have to decide, once we find one that fits you, of you want front or back lace, underbust or overbust" Martin explained, as he took her to a dressing room in this section of the store.
Tea was stunned! She had seen movies with women in corsets, but never realized that there were so many styles! All the ones she had seen in the movies were back laced and went over the bust line. "I'm going to need some help with this. Not only have I never worn a corset before, I've never seen one before except in movies" she told Martin.
"SIMONE! Get over here please" Martin called out. This was one of those times that a female clerk would come in very handy. A female clerk could help out with measurements, as well as show and help out with the fitting of the corset for the customers. It was times like that made Martin wish he was back in the office handling calls, placing orders, and helping out with the bills.
"What's the problem Martin? CC was just starting to get her new attire together when you called" Simone grumbled. CC usually picked out something both interesting and sensual, so helping Martin out was a distraction to her.
"Tea here, needs help with a corset. She has never worn one, let alone seen one, outside of movies. So, she is truly in the dark, and I hate to admit it, I am out of my element here" Martin told his partner. He hated having to call her over, but with Jasmine off today, it was going to be up to Simone to take care of this. Perhaps, when all was said and done, if Tea liked her new look, a job offer could be made to try and get her working here.
'Let me give Martin a hand with Tea. You go ahead and pick out some more items" Simone told CC, as she headed over to the corset section of the store. For all her grumbling and complaining, Simone understood where Martin was coming from. Martin, while he could do the makeup as easily as one of the girls, was a stickler for the rules of retail. And the first one was that no male would touch a female without another female present. And to do the measurements that would be needed to get the right style corset and other things that required touching that could be considered intimate, for Martin, it just screamed that he needed a woman at his side to take care of this!
While all of this was going on, Tea's dark side, the Goth side, was thrilled with what she was seeing. This shop just THRILLED her to no end! If Tea never went back to the restaurant, this would be the BEST place in the world to work at! All this leather, vinyl, and other material, along with the corsets, the dresses, the skirts, the stockings, the shoes, the boots, and the chokers, along with the material for hair, just THRILLED her to no end! This shop was just sheer paradise to her, and she NEVER wanted to forget this shop! Oh no, she wanted to come back again and again, to get more Goth clothing. And, if she could convince Tea to do some furniture shopping, maybe some Goth furniture as well. It would have to be small pieces, since Tea would be in charge, but still, it would make a nice change from the usual vanilla furniture that would be in the place most of the time.
By the time that Simone had arrived, Tea was starting to get into the idea of going Goth, something that indicated, even if she did not realize it, that her Dark Side was getting stronger. She went through the corset section, and picked out several corsets that appealed to her. "Well Tea, we need to get your measurements to make sure that not only do the corsets fit, but if you go for a dress or skirt, they will work as well" Simone informed her. With that, a measuring tape was produced by Simone, who proceeded to measure not only Tea's bust line, but her hips and waist as well.
"Well, for a 5'2" young lady, you are a little on the small side. 32B bust, 24 inch waist, and 33 inch hips. It's going to make fitting you for a corset a little tricky. We may have to get one custom fit for you, rather than one straight off the rack" Simone informed Tea. In her mind, Simone was thinking underbust for Tea. Overbust might be too much, and with her size, maybe a front lace one at that.
"Maybe this one?" Tea suggested, looking at a black underbust corset with red lacing that seemed to be one that would fit. She didn't know why, but something about this corset was just calling to her, just like the Dark Magician Girl was her favorite card to duel with.
Both Simone and Martin took a look at the corset. The coloring was something that would go well with Tea's coloring, and it was the right size. Now, all that was needed was either a dress or a skirt. And with this underbust corset, a dress seemed to be the optimal choice versus a corset tank top.
"You need two more things before we start on your transformation my dear" Martin stated, as he took her to a area marked accessories. There were all sorts of little things from earrings, to bracelets, rings, gloves and chokers there. The first thing that he took Tea to was the gloves. "Since we are going to do some work on your nails, long gloves are out. I would suggest a pair of short, lace gloves" he offered, pulling out a pair that matched the description that he had .
The next item was what had caught Tea's eye when she first met CC: A spiked choker! Tea quickly grabbed one, and put it around her neck. That told Martin one thing: It was time to commence the makeover!
With that, Tea was directed to a chair in a room that was not usually seen. This room was used when makeovers were done, and that is what was being done to Tea. The first step was doing her nails. No more plain, short nails. Oh no! The new nails would be longer and a mixture of red and purple in color. Her brown hair was washed, styled and had red highlights put in it, as well as some red in the ends. Her school uniform was carefully removed and put in a plastic bag, to be sent home with her later that evening. With a towel put around her neck, Tea was put under foundation and brushes for nearly three hours. When done, Tea was given a chance to see her new look in the mirror. The look was AMAZING! To see her with the pale face, blue eyeshadow, eyelashes that had been curled, eyebrows carefully colored, and the whole look was something that would stun those who knew her. With that, Martin went to get CC, to show Tea's new look to her. But, while Martin and Simone were out, as Tea took a look at herself in the full length mirror in the room, her eyes glazed over momentarily. When she recovered, there was a smirk on her face. Her Dark Side, TEA, was now in charge!