It was half past nine when Max eventually made it to the party. Fashionably late! The Old Mission was a disused church on the outskirts of town that dated back to the first Christian missions in this part of Oregon. The old brick and wood building had been abandoned and left to rot for a long time in favor of a more modern church closer to the town center, until it was restored and repurposed as a reception hall. Max walked to the large and heavy wooden doors, and saw they were covered with posters showing skeletons dancing in fire. The text read:
The BlackHell Academy Vortex Club proudly presents
The Dance Macabre Party
Abandon all hope ye who enter here
Inside, she found herself in a dark and crowded vestibule. She could hear the loud bass lines of industrial music and the chatter of multiple conversations from the main area, as well as smell the odors of dozens of people's sweat, and she was glad she had a couple days to learn to control her super-senses, otherwise she might have gone insane right here right now. She stood in the queue for the cloakroom and when her turn came, she was surprised to end up face to face with a girl from her photography class she didn't expect to see in a place like this at all.
"Stella?"
The girl looked even more surprised as she exclaimed: "Max? Is that really you? Sorry but, waw you look hot!"
Max giggled. "Thank you, and sorry I was surprised but I didn't expect you here at all. Thought you hated those parties?"
Stella shrugged: "I still do, but I'm paid to man the cloakroom, and you know, my family's not very rich, so when I can make a couple dollars here and there… but what about you? Thought you hated those parties too?"
Max smiled sheepishly: "Well, can't say I really hate them until I've tried them, right?"
"Just be careful, okay? We never know, after that thing with Nathan and Kate… ugh, that guy's always given me the creeps!"
"Don't worry, I will. I don't look like it, but I can defend myself!"
"Have fun, then! Want me to take this super uber-cool jacket for you?"
"Yes, please."
Max handed her her new leather jacket and, with a friendly wave, left her at her work and stepped inside the church proper.
So that's what a Vortex Club party looks like? One thing's sure, they know how to make it look cool!
The place was completely bathed in red and blue lights and artificial smoke. The central nave was used as a dancefloor on which dozens of people in various disguises were waddling to the loud tunes sent by the DJ, whose station was on the back of an empty stage on the other end of the church where the altar once was. And over the DJ's head, where there must have been a large crucifix back in the days, there now was a huge neon-red pentagram.
Tasteful. Kate would hate it.
Max looked from side to side. There were several older men, serious and tough-looking, dressed in black pants and bomber jackers, patrolling around, casting suspicious looks at every guest. These men were all wearing a yellow armband with the word SECURITY written in big bold black letters.
A professional security crew? Wow, they sure have learned the lesson from last time!
The right aisle was occupied by the bar, and the left aisle had been fitted with tables and chairs for those willing to chill out and drink before hitting the floor again. She spotted Courtney and Taylor sitting at a table and walked to them.
"Hi there, Selina!" she said to Courtney, whose costume was an almost screen-accurate Catwoman suit from The Dark Knight Rises. The stunned look on her face when she saw Max was priceless:
"Max!" she rose all of a sudden and proceeded to turn around her, inspecting her costume with her keen eye. "So this is the costume I've been waiting to see… you know what, it's awesome! Really, I didn't expect that from you, no offense, but you know, you've never been known for great outfits, but this! Damn, that's hot stuff! That's what I call making a fashion statement!"
Max thanked her somewhat embarrassed, happy to have passed the Courtney Wagner Fashion Test but not used to receive fashion compliments - especially from her! The costume she'd picked this morning and was now wearing was a pirate costume, consisting of a white chemise that left her shoulders bare tucked under a brown leather corset, with brown tight-fitting leather pants and black jackboots. She was also wearing a red sash around her waist and beads of various colors in her hair. As for the make-up, she'd hesitated but eventually opted to go for something quite radical for a girl who usually didn't wear make-up. After all, it was Halloween, right? So she'd put on a thick dark eyeliner and black lipstick to enhance her now naturally white complexion, as well as black nail polish. She was pretty proud of the result.
"I'm gonna get Victoria," Courtney said, "she's been dying to see you, and I bet she won't even recognize you! The bar's just behind you, get yourself a drink and I'll tell her to meet you there."
On these words, she left, leaving her alone with Taylor. And Taylor didn't look quite right. She was wearing a she-devil outfit, a red dress with red make-up and fake horns on her head, but she didn't look like she was enjoying herself much, sitting there, sullen, cradling her drink in her hands. Max sat beside her and asked her how she was doing. Taylor raised her head to look at her and Max saw in her eyes that this was far from her first drink.
"Oh, great," she mumbled drunkenly. "Couldn't be any better, y'know… my momma's gonna die in a couple months cuz o'that stoooooooopid cancer shit, so, like, yay! Might'z well drink myself dead so I won't hafta think 'bout it no more…"
Then the blond girl finished her drink, put her empty cup back down on the table, and started weeping. Max drew her chair closer so she could give her a comforting hug.
"Taylor," she said as softly as she could to still be heard, "I know you're hurting, I know what it's like… you know, to lose someone dear… but I promise, things are gonna get better. I promise."
The blond girl snickered sadly: "Yeah, right! Look, it'z nice that y'trying to make me feel better, but it's not like sum miracle will make my mom better."
"Why not?"
"I don't believe in miracles," she just said somberly.
"I don't believe in miracles, but I knew they exist. I have seen some myself, and we'll see more of those soon."
Taylor sniffled and looked at her with wide eyes, as though she were a messiah announcing the Second Coming... or a complete lunatic.
"The fuck are you talking about?"
"Don't worry about it, I just know it will get better. For you, for me, for all of us. Trust me."
And on these words, she gave her a final hug and stood up and headed to the bar. She didn't have time to order herself a drink before she heard her name called behind her, and turned around to face Victoria. The taller girl was coming for a hug but froze dead in her tracks when she saw her friend's pirate costume.
"Who are you," she said, "and what did you do with shy, hipster Max?"
"You like what you see, Chase?" Max asked, laughing.
"Damn right I do! That corset is sexy as hell!"
"Thanks, yours isn't bad either."
Victoria had opted for the Victorian vampire style, wearing a long and wide light blue silk skirt embroidered with fine white lace, and a matching corset leaving her shoulders and arms bare, with the exception of a crystal necklace around her neck that looked ridiculously expensive. She must have used powder or something because her skin was alabaster white, except for her dark purple eyelids, and she was wearing deep red lipstick, with two tiny trickles of fake blood at the corners of her mouth. And to complete the look, she was wearing red contacts and pretty realistic-looking fake fangs.
Wowser, she's a real bombshell as a vampire!
Quit fooling yourself, Max, you think she's a bombshell, period.
I don't!
*Sigh*
Did I really think *sigh*?
Victoria then came for the hug, and it made an already confused Max even more agitated.
Her skin is so warm! And her smell is so… I can smell her blood right under her skin, it must be so delicious!
Jeez, Max, get a hold of yourself! Good thing Lacroix gave you a little snack before he let you go, or you'd have bled everyone here dry before the party was over!
"Damn, you're cold!" Victoria said. "But it's so good to see you! I was so afraid you couldn't come when you got ill this morning!"
"I was too, but, I'm a lot better now."
"So, what are you, a goth pirate?"
"A vampire pirate, actually. Check this out!"
And Max opened her mouth in a cruel grin to show off her teeth. Victoria moved closer to inspect them, positively impressed.
"Holy shit, these look so real! Where did you get those? I had mine custom-made by a dental technician and they don't look nearly as good as yours!"
"Now that's a secret I can't reveal," Max said, feeling cheeky.
"Oh come on, from a vampire to another?"
"Mmh, maybe if you beg and pledge allegiance to Max Caulfield your Vampire Overlord."
"Seriously? You're already a higher-ranked pirate than me, and now you have to be the Vampire Overlord? Won't you ever let me take the lead?"
"Mmmh... nah."
Victoria sighed playfully. "Pretty please, My Lord?"
"Okay, I'll tell you, but that's a secret."
Max put a hand on Victoria's shoulder and crept closer to whisper softly in her ear:
"These are my real teeth, for you see, I'm a real vampire but shush! I can't let anyone know except you."
Victoria shivered, both at Max's cold touch on her shoulder and breath in her ear… and also with pleasure at this little game.
"Oooh," she cooed, "a real vampire? Are you going to bite me?"
Max's heart skipped a beat.
Keep cool, she's playing, that's all!
"Mmh," she said coquettishly once she'd recovered her cool, "I bet you taste good, so I might if you don't behave."
"Asking me to behave at a party?" Victoria chuckled. "Then I guess I'll get bitten before the night is over."
"I figured… you naughty girl."
Victoria thought this was all fun and games, yet she felt a growing sense of confusion: Is she flirting with me? Nah, that's just friendly banter, right? Just teasing.
Teasing, flirting… what's the difference?
Max is a friend, that's the difference! And I'm not even into girls!
Really? Is that why you were so worried she may not come tonight? And recently you've been thinking a lot about that time on the train tracks, the two of you holding hands…
Shut up, Inner Vicky!
"Now," she said after clearing her throat to chase those parasite thoughts away, "how about a drink? Joe, two Halloweeners please!"
The bartender nodded to her and a few seconds later, brought them two shots filled with a brownish liquid.
"Halloweeners?" Max asked.
"Vodka with toffee and spiced pumpkin, it's awesome." The blond girl raised her glass at Max and declared: "À la nôtre!"
Max repeated, whatever the fuck that meant, and raised her own glass and they drank at the same time.
Vodka with toffee and spiced pumpkin? More like mild water with a slight sweet taste!
"And now," Victoria announced while taking her phone from her purse, "let's take a selfie, the two hottest vampire chicks in town deserve a picture! Come on, show me your fangs!"
She wrapped her free arm around Max's shoulders and the two girls made snarling faces at the camera, fangs out and brows furrowed.
"So how do you like your first party?" the blond girl asked after she put her phone back in her purse.
"Honestly? It's awesome, I didn't think I'd have so much fun here-"
With you, she was about to say, but stopped herself right on time.
"You and the Club really did an awesome job," she finished.
"Yeah," Victoria sighed, "but to be honest, it's not going exactly the way we wanted to…"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, just, organization issues… I spent the last hour or so in the VIP lounge trying to talk Dana into doing her show."
"Show?"
"Yeah, she promised us a show tonight, she and the cheerleading squad have been working on it for a while, and of course we advertised the shit out of it, but now she's sulking in the lounge, saying she won't do it as long as Logan is in the place. I've been trying to talk to her, but she won't listen to me. Juliet is with her, and I don't know if you've heard of my… uh… fuck-up with her and Zach…"
"Yeah, I kinda heard the rumors."
"Yeah, well they don't really feel like talking to me, because of that…"
"Did you apologize to Juliet?"
"Of course I did! Well… sort of…"
Max cocked an eyebrow: "Sort of?"
"Well, yes… okay, maybe I didn't quite apologize… yet… I know, I know, it's just… it's still a difficult thing for me to do, okay? I apologized to you and Kate already, and both times it was… emotionally…"
She was getting agitated, so Max put a hand on her arm to calm her down, and told her it was okay, she understood. And she did. Before the horrifying events of the 7th of October, Victoria Chase was known as the Ice Queen, composure and control personified. She had that talent, earned through years of practice, of making people feel she was so above them, untouchable. Apologizing, and meaning it, put her in a position of vulnerability she had yet to get used to. Max had seen behind the mask several times since then, at the hospital, then at the cemetery, when they talked about Nathan, at the junkyard when they played pirates, and that same night when she called her just to hear her voice for comfort… there was a good person behind the Ice Queen façade, but she needed a little push to come out of her shell.
"Do you want me to try and talk to her?" Max offered. "We're quite friendly."
"If you want." She pointed to the left part of the transept, which was closed off the rest of the party with black curtains. There was a bouncer standing in front of the entrance, next to a table at which a girl was sitting with papers in front of her. "The VIP lounge is this way, just give your name to Sarah and she'll let you in."
"Are you sure? I'm not a member of the Club…"
"Well," Victoria admitted sheepishly, "you kind of are, now. I added your name on the list myself."
Max grinned at her, feeling kind of flattered, and headed to the VIP lounge. This small corner of the former church was darker than the main area, and the heavy curtains muted the music a bit, so as to create a cozier atmosphere, a welcome respite for Max. It was more comfortably furnished too, with sofas and armchairs on which several members of the Club and their guests sat chilling. The tables were full of glasses, bottles and ashtrays, and the scent of weed was filling the air like incense. There were several girls scattered around wearing the same costume, a long black trench coat and pale greenish make-up with dark eyes. A zombie make-up? Max looked around and spotted Dana sitting in a corner with Juliet. The leader of the cheerleading squad was also wearing this black coat/zombie make-up combo, so Max guessed the other girls were the rest of her crew and this costume was part of their show.
"Hi Dana," she said, coming closer. "I heard you're not feeling real good tonight?"
Juliet, in her Dame blanche costume, looked up at her, her eyes shooting daggers: "Victoria sent you?"
"No, I came on my own," Max answered with her hands raised as a sign of peace. "Sure, Tori told me she'd really like to see your show, Dana, and I guess everyone else too, but I wanted to see you because I was worried. Mind if I sit down?"
Dana looked at her, dejected, and nodded sullenly.
"You call her Tori, now?" Juliet asked, acid dripping in her voice.
"We're becoming good friends, yes. I know you've had… issues with her, Juliet, but trust me, she's a much better person than you think she is. Just give her a little more time and she'll come around and apologize."
Juliet shrugged, unconvinced: "If you say so."
"Talk to me, Dana," Max said, focusing again on the cheerleader. "Tori said you don't want to do your show because Logan is here? He did… bad things to you, didn't he?"
Silent tears started trickling down Dana's cheeks. "How do you know?" she asked, her voice choked.
"It wasn't that hard to guess, when I pushed him yesterday you sent me a text to thank me. I didn't understand why you thanked me for this, but now I do… is it to talk about him that you went to church the other day?"
Dana nodded.
"What did he do to you?"
Dana shook her head. "I… don't want to talk about this…"
"Dana, you…"
"Max, please," Juliet intervened sternly.
The young photographer knew better than to insist, but still wondered what could've happened. What did this lecherous bastard do to her? Wait a second… when she focused on Dana, she could feel something odd, something in the sounds her body made, something in her scent… like another presence with her, no, inside her. Growing.
Dana is… pregnant?
"Okay," she conceded, "none of my business, sorry for asking. But, if Logan's the problem, can't we just kick him out?"
Dana scoffed. "Kick Logan out of a party? He's a member of the Club, so unless he really causes trouble, he won't be kicked out. And there's no way he's leaving by himself, not as long as he'll have booze and girls to try to put in his bed."
Max pondered on this, but then an answer came to her. Maybe if she made him cause trouble? After all, surely he was still mad at her for yesterday?
"You know what?" she said. "I'll get him kicked out of here for you, how does that sound?"
Dana opened her eyes wide in utter bafflement. "You? How are you gonna do that?"
Max grinned: "Don't worry about it. Where is he?"
"Last time I've seen him," Juliet said, "he was chatting up some girls I don't know, back there. He has a Jason Voorhees costume."
"Kay. I'll be back."
"Hey, Max!" Dana called out as the young photographer was already about to leave the lounge. Max stopped and turned around as the cheerleader finished: "If you make it, tell Victoria we'll do our show!"
Max nodded, smiled at her, and left.
Super Max on a mission to defend a damsel's honor!
Logan wasn't hard to find, thanks to Juliet's info. He was in a dark corner, his hockey mask raised up on his head, chatting merrily with a trio of girls Max didn't know, and who certainly didn't know Logan yet for they were hanging on his every word, laughing at his stupid jokes, completely under his stupid jock spell. Time to break this spell.
"Hey there!" she called out merrily as she stepped in their group as if she belonged. "What's up Logan?"
There was a second of awkward silent as Logan gave her an "are-you-fucking-serious" look, then one of the girls spoke up:
"You," she asked, "you're the girl who had a meltdown yesterday, right?"
"Max Caulfield, glad to meet you," she answered, still with that bubbly, happy-go-lucky tone. "By meltdown, you mean when I just barely shoved Big Bad Bigfoot here and he flew and rolled around like a rag doll? That was so funny, you see, jocks are like zeppelins, they look big and tough, but there's nothing but gas inside."
The girls laughed heartily while Logan, visibly not happy to be the butt of the joke, turned a nice shade of purple.
"And he so didn't see it coming," Max continued, sneering, "he was so surprised I think he even pooped in his pants a little."
This triggered another round of laughter and Logan, having had enough, grabbed Max by the arm and led her a couple feet away.
"Max," he hissed with obvious anger, "what the fuck are you doing?"
"Just decided I'd have fun tonight by ruining your party," she said with a shrug.
"And just why did you decide to persecute me like that?"
"Because I don't like you, Logan. Never have, and never will. Actually, the more I learn about you, the more I despise you. You bully Daniel who's the sweetest, most sensitive guy around, you insulted my best friend in front of me, you treat girls as nothing but potential extra notches on your bedpost. And I know what you've done to Dana."
"What?" the boy turned pale as a ghost. "What the fuck did she tell you?"
"Nothing, she didn't need to. I guessed. And you know what, Logan? This is just another proof to me that behind that pretty jock boy image, you're nothing but a disgusting, steaming, rotting sack of shit. And I'll make sure everybody here finds out."
She started walking away, slowly, and he grabbed her arm from behind with force while shouting: "You're not doing anything!"
She smiled.
Caught.
"Or what?" she yelled as loud as she could. "You're gonna hit me?"
She'd yelled loud enough for people to hear and warn other people that something was going on, and mouth to mouth, it escalated to the DJ who cut the music. Now everyone was staring at them. The security guys were taking position close by, ready to barge in at the slightest sign of escalation. Victoria rushed in to stand at her friend's side, but Max didn't flinch, she kept her eyes on Logan, who started sweating profusely, attempting an "everything's in control" smile at their audience.
"Nah," he declared, trying to sound light-hearted, "come on, I don't fight girls!"
"I don't mind," she replied defiantly, "that would make two of us!"
Her bravado was met with laughter and wolf whistles, while Victoria was getting restless, tugging at her sleeve, whispering in her ear: "Max, what the fuck are you doing?"
Logan felt he was losing control of the situation fast, and he had to react. He couldn't let Suicide Hipster, with her fucking emo pirate costume, humiliate him like that!
"Okay, Caulfield," he called out, mustering what was left of his confidence. "You wanna fuck with me? You wanna play it this way? Alright, put your money where your mouth is."
Max cocked an eyebrow: "What do you have in mind?"
"I challenge you to a Mexican Standoff!"
The howls and wolf whistles grew louder, but not as loud as when Max replied without the slightest hint of hesitation in her voice:
"Challenge accepted."
"Max, seriously!" Victoria growled at her. "What's that all about?"
"You wanted to see Dana's show, didn't you? I'm making it happen."
"But do you even know what a Mexican Standoff is?"
Max shrugged: "It's not hard to guess. Tell Dana he'll be out of there in a few minutes."
Logan and his jock friends brought a table and two chairs in the middle of the cleared dancefloor, then he sat at one of the chairs, looking defiantly at Max. The DJ put on a special music for the occasion, a brooding, threatening trumpet tune fitting for a duel in the Old West. Joe the bartender brought a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses, which he put down on the table. Max took the chair facing her opponent, and Joe poured one shot each. Victoria watched the scene, feeling powerless, her heart racing, palms sweating. Logan was twice her weight, and he was quite the heavy drinker. Max, on the other hand, was just starting to live dangerously, she had no experience of parties and stupid challenges like that. She'd get demolished.
But her anxiety changed for utter astonishment as she watched the two contestants drink shots one after the other, under the howls and cheers of the crowd. One shot. Two shots. Three shots. Four shots.
And Max was holding. Better, she looked like it wasn't having any effect on her!
I can't fucking believe it.
On an impulse, she ran to the VIP lounge, entered and called out:
"Dana! You better come and check this out!"
Then she ran back to the scene of the action, Dana and Juliet and all those who were still in the lounge following suit. She wiggled her way to the front row and ended up standing next to Courtney. At the table, Logan was starting to weaken, bent over the table on his elbows, sweating, his eyes glassy and starey, while Max was still looking as fresh as when they started.
"How many?" Victoria asked.
"Twelve," Courtney answered, "and she's holding, I can't believe it. Girl's a killing machine!"
The barman poured each contestant another shot. Slowly, ceremoniously, Max lifted the glass, and poured the shot into her throat. Then she put the glass down and smiled at her opponent under cheers and applauds. Logan, slowly and clumsily, lifted the glass, poured the shot into his throat, spilling half of it on his chin, and put the glass down. Then he looked at his opponent with sudden dread in his eyes, retched, and hurriedly stood up, only to trip and fall on one of the girls he'd been talking to earlier, barfing all over her in the process. The girl rewarded him with a resonating slap and an indignant yell, much to everyone's hilarity, and the jock, now drunk off his ass, was promptly escorted outside by the security guys.
Max was still laughing at this scene when Zach appeared by her side, prompted her to stand up and grabbed her hand to raise it high above her head in a gesture of victory. The crowd went wild! That was the first time in her life she was applauded and cheered, let alone by so many people! The old Max would've cowered down in sheer terror at this, at being the center of attention, she would surely have run to the nearest bathroom to have a panic attack… but not the new Max. The new Max was enjoying this immensely.
"You're my hero, Max!" Dana shouted as she pulled her in a hug. "Tonight, I'll dance for you!"
Then she ran back to the VIP lounge, and as the table and chairs were removed from the dancefloor, the crowd, seeing the event was over, scattered about, returning to their own business. The DJ put the music back on and the dancing resumed, and Max, starting to calm down but still over the moon (and also feeling slightly tipsy) went to the bar and sat on a stool. Victoria soon took the stool next to her. She was looking at her with little stars in her eyes.
"Max, I can't believe it! What you've just done, it was… heroic!"
"Oh, don't mention it," the girl replied, slightly embarrassed. "It was my pleasure, really, giving this jackass a good lesson. Joe, two Halloweeners please!"
"Again?" Victoria asked, her voice high with astonishment. "After all the shots you've had?"
"That wasn't much, I'm just starting to feel the tingles on my fingers. I got Irish blood, you know, I won't get defeated by a few shots of tequila!"
Puzzled, Victoria paused to scrutinize her friend. "Who are you, Max Caulfield?"
"What do you mean?"
"Not too long ago, you made a very lame pun about being a tea-totaller and said you'd never set foot in a Vortex Club party, and here you are tonight, standing proud, beating Logan in a drinking contest like it's a walk in the park. You're so… different."
"I know…" she paused, musing, then continued: "Tell you what, I think I've realized how strange life is, how you can mind your own business, and suddenly weird shit happens to turn your life around… if trouble can find you anyway, what's the point of trying to stay out of trouble, right? I just got tired of being a shy little wallflower who's just enduring life, now I want to live my best life, dare all the things I never dared before."
"Like what?"
"Like partying."
"And what?"
"What do you mean?"
"What else have you never dared before? What's the craziest thing Max Caulfield, former little wallflower, could do?"
Max squinted at her playfully: "Victoria Chase, are you daring me?"
"Totally. Come on, surprise me."
And how surprised she was, when suddenly Max leaned forward to plant a kiss on her lips! She jumped off her stool and recoiled in shock. Max felt a wave of anxiety chill her excitement at the sight of her friend's bulging eyes. Was it too much too soon? She'd wanted to do it for a while, and it looked like an opening, so…
"Wow!" Victoria exclaimed. "Now that… that was…"
"Well, uh… you wanted to be surprised, didn't you?" Max asked sheepishly, and to her greatest relief, Victoria laughed.
"Like hell I was! You really are full of surprises, Caulfield! I like that…"
Then she sat back on her stool, leering at her friends with half-closed, teasing eyes. "Okay, Max… now I think you're ready for the real party…"
On these words, she put her right hand in her purse and took it out, fist closed, to lay it on the counter between the two girls. She paused, smirking, for dramatic effect, then opened her fist to reveal two pills in the palm of her hand. Confused, Max asked:
"What is it?"
Victoria winked: "XTC."
"XT…" Max started to repeat, then she gasped in shock when she realized. "What?"
Victoria's smile grew even larger, more teasing. "What's wrong, Long Max Silver? Afraid of sailing new seas?"
Max considered the offered pill.
My parents would kill me if they knew. Kate would have a stroke if she knew. But they don't need to know. They told me those things are hella dangerous. To a human, maybe. But I'm no longer a human. I'm invincible now.
She grabbed the pill and downed it with her shot of Halloweener. Victoria did the same. "Welcome to my world," she whispered in her ear. "Hope you like it."
The next hour or so passed by in a haze of dancing, chatting, drinking, laughing. Max had never felt better in her entire life. All the shyness and fear that remained from old human Max was gone now, replaced by an irrepressible urge to feast on the colors, the sounds, the tactile sensations all around her, to experience each of those to the fullest, to live life to its full potential. Wasn't it paradoxical for a girl who was now technically undead to have never felt more alive than tonight? She didn't know. She didn't care. She just felt like enjoying the moment. The heat. Victoria's sweaty musk invading her nostrils as her body waddled next to her on the dancefloor. Her lips, red, full of life, tantalizing. The scent of her sweet, sweet blood, right there, flowing beneath a thin layer of smooth perfumed skin. The craving for blood. For Victoria's blood.
The music stopped all of a sudden, and the lights went dead. Confused, Max stopped dancing, and looked toward the DJ station, which was now bathed in a ghastly blue light and a mist of artificial smoke. Then a bell tolled, followed by a chorus of chanting monks, as a number of figures clad in black coats, wearing broad-brimmed hats and black, birdlike masks with long beaks, slowly climbed on the stage in front of the DJ and stood facing the crowd in a V formation. It looked like Dana's show was about to begin…
The plague doctors stood in silence until the chorus ended, and soon after a catchy riff of electric guitar erupted and a disco ball descended from the ceiling to reflect its specks of colorful light all over the church. The guitar riff gained in intensity and exploded in a full, catchy pop-rock tune as the blue light on stage turned red and the girls, as one, shed their coats and masks and hats and struck a pose. Dana was the lead, and all the girls wore matching black leotards, provocatively revealing, with glittering high heels, and had their skin painted as greenish sexy zombies. The sight of these living dead girls dancing lasciviously in perfect sync was a sight to behold, and one that set Max's already feverish mind on fire. Almost trembling with contained excitement, she leered at Victoria and offered her hand. Victoria cocked an eyebrow:
"Are you asking me for a dance?"
"What does it look like?"
"Alright, but you don't know what you're getting yourself into!"
The blond girl stepped back and with a swift motion of her hand, undid her long blue skirt and tossed it away from the dancefloor to reveal another, shorter white skirt underneath. Max gasped. Time seemed to freeze around the two girls as she stared at her long white legs and provocative swag of her shoulders, until she grabbed Max's offered hand.
You'll soon be hearing the chime
Close to midnight
If I could turn back the time
I'd make all right
Victoria gasped with surprise when Max grabbed her back and pulled her close to her body. Max, she was… so strong! Corset against corset, eyes staring into each other's souls, Victoria saw something in the pirate's eyes, a surreal glimmer like the flame of a candle.
How could it end like this?
There's a sting in the way you kiss me
Something within your eyes
Said it could be the last time
The blond broke free and whirled, still holding her partner's hand, ready to lead her in a rock'n'roll dance.
'Fore it's over!
But she could not lead!
Just wanna be
Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight
Just wanna be
I wanna bewitch you all night
Victoria was an experienced dancer. As part of her extensive socialite training, she had to learn rock'n'roll, as well as tango and other dances. She knew the steps, she knew the moves, she knew she could lead, but Max just wouldn't let her! Every step she took, every move she made, Max was there to counter her with incredible reflexes and snatch the lead from her. Bewildered, she studied her partner's catlike grace and saw in each move of her muscles a wild, primal force, a predator on the hunt with Victoria as the prey. Was it the drug giving her that insane idea? For she suddenly acquired the certainty that the girl she was dancing with was not the Max Caulfield she knew. She was someone else.
She was something else.
And that idea terrified her.
As much as it excited her.
It keeps on giving me chills
But I know now
I feel the closer we get
To the last vow
So she decided to give up the lead and put Max to the test.
I don't wanna end like this (Like this, yeah)
But the sting in the way you kiss me (I'm loving it)
Something within your eyes
Said it could be the last time
'Fore it's over!
She allowed Max to make her whirl around and pull her against her, going limp when she felt their bodies touch so as to allow the pirate girl to hold her and push her back on her feet. She even tried jumping into Max's arms, wrapping her legs around her waist and whirling around madly. Everything she tried, her partner was there to catch her, respond to her moves, and make Victoria feel light as a feather and soft as putty. Her head felt light, her bosom and loins burning. For the first time in her life, she let go of all sort of control and surrendered her body for Max to use as she pleased.
For the first time in her life, Victoria Chase, the Queen of Blackwell, allowed someone else to dominate her entirely.
And she found it incredibly arousing.
Just wanna be
Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight
Just wanna be
I wanna bewitch you all night
Just wanna be
I wanna bewitch you one last time with me tonight
Just wanna be
I wanna bewitch you all night
Max lifted her too high. So high Victoria jerked in a protective reflex and escaped her partner's grip and fell down on the… no, not on the floor. She was floating. There was no more floor, no more ceiling, the notions of up and down, left and right, had all become but mere abstractions. She was weightless in a maelstrom of blinking lights, the people around her a haze of blurred faces and voices, and far away in the distance, a wicked guitar solo. Panicking, she looked around frantically, in utmost confusion, searching for a way back to solid ground, when she felt hands grip her waist, securing her. Max was here. Victoria immediately wrapped her hands around her shoulders for support, and focused on her eyes, her incredible eyes that were like glowing embers burning into every fiber of her being.
With Max as her anchor, Victoria snapped back to reality, the church with its high ceiling above, the people, the dancefloor beneath her feet. Beneath her feet? Befuddled, she realized that through a strange sense of spatial distortion, she felt nothing beneath her feet, and the people dancing around them, oblivious to the two girls, appeared a lot shorter than they should be, the heads of the tallest of them hardly reaching their hips, as though the couple, huddled together, was hanging in thin air. It wasn't the first time she took pills, yet it was the first time she experienced such a disorienting sensation. But she found that it didn't matter much to her. Max was all that mattered. Max holding her firmly, her cool flesh making her skin tingle, the penetrating fire of her eyes chasing all forms of doubt or confusion away. The penetrating, burning desire. Far away in the distance, the echo of a song.
Just wanna be
Wanna bewitch you in the moonlight
The pirate girl opened her mouth ever so slightly, just enough to reveal her fangs. She was going to kiss her again, Victoria realized. For real, this time. Her heart fluttering with anticipatory excitement, the blond closed her eyes and loosened her lips, waiting.
Just wanna be
Wanna bewitch you all night
And trembled when Max's cold lips met her neck instead, and moaned, her whole body tensed with orgasmic bliss, when she felt the pang of sharp teeth piercing through her delicate skin to swig on her warm blood with voracious appetite.
I wanna bewitch you one last time with me tonight
Footnote: the lyrics used are from the song Dance Macabre, by Swedish rock band Ghost, aka the greatest rock band of the past 10 years but I'm not being objective at all here. Let's just say I'm obsessed with this band and can't get enough of it, and I wrote with this music in mind. More precisely, the final scene with Dana's show and Max and Vic dancing was directly inspired by (not to say ripped off) the music video of this song. You can find it on YouTube, but beware, it's a bit weird. Unless you're into scantily-clad girls doing a dancing number at a vampire party. In this case, it's alright I guess ^^
Okay, the song came out in 2018 while the story takes place in 2013, but well, artistic license?