The Queen

Get Ready With Me

Vanessa wasn’t by any means rich, but she was doing fairly well with her life. She was on her third year of medical school, training to be a nurse, and had saved up some money from her younger years so that she wasn’t dependent on student loans.

    Still, Vanessa’s house always sparked envy in me. Everything about her did. Vanessa had to work hard for everything she got, and she was pretty much succeeding in life.

    Let me out, and we can succeed too.

    Just like that I was pulled out of my reverie. Deciding to ignore the voice in my head, as I usually did, I exited the vehicle and followed Vanessa into her small home. As Vanessa searched for her keys I glanced around again, the feeling that someone was watching me still hadn’t left.

    Squinting my eyes and looking into the depths of the woods, I met a pair of golden eyes staring back at me. Fear immediately took over me, but this time I felt the familiar hum of my powers coming to life. 

    Not even a second later Vanessa finally unlocked her door and I all but shoved us both inside, hastily bolting and locking the door behind us. 

    Vanessa stared at me bewildered, “Um Laur, you okay?”. I made a quick check through the peephole before answering, “There was something outside. Like an animal or something”.

    Vanessa’s eyes widened in alarm, “I knew I wasn’t just seeing things, I’ve felt like something’s been following me recently.” She wrapped her arms around herself before freezing. Alarmed my eyes darted around her house, “What? What’s wrong?”.

    Without answering me Vanessa bolted into another room while I stood frozen in place. Vanessa came back a few seconds later with a relieved look on her face.

    “Sorry, I thought I forgot to close the back door. I don’t want a wolf or Jason to come kill me in my sleep”. Trying to shake off my anxiousness I gave her a weak smile.

    It was clear that we were both still uneasy but Vanessa led me up to her room nonetheless. “So”, I started, “Where’s Bran? On another trip to Timbuktu?” My attempt to lighten the mood worked and I saw the excitement in Vanessa begin to build up.

    Bran was Vanessa’s best friend turned boyfriend for almost 15 years. The two were inseparable since elementary and Bran finally found the nerve to ask her out during their freshman year in highschool. A real life Jim and Pam. Quite romantic if you ask me. So romantic, that Vanessa never stopped speaking about him and just how romantic the whole ordeal was.

    She got that lovey dovey look in her eyes just thinking about him. “Yeah, he had to go all the way to New York this time. But he promised to bring me back a souvenir”. We stepped into her room and I admired the cleanliness and organization of everything. She, we’ll call her Olga for now, appreciated it too. Olga loved control and organization. 

    Vanessa continued speaking, oblivious to my thoughts, “I always wanted to see that big green woman of beauty. Maybe we’ll get to go together someday”. 

    Deciding to break barriers and yet again crack another joke I said, “Why go all the way to New York when you can just give a fat lady some of your food and get the same results?”

    Vanessa giggled at my terrible joked and ushered for me to have a seat on her bed. “I didn’t know you were such a comedian”. She gave me a funny look, “Who are you and what did you do with the real Lauren?

    I hid a smile at the irony of those words, there was no Lauren. I always used to tell jokes back at home, but ever since I had to move and change my identity I really did become a different person. 

    Lauren is such a dull ugly name, it belongs to a secretary. Now Felicity? That’s beautiful and fierce. Some might even say sexy. 

    A little weirded out by Olga’s sexy comment I continued my conversation with Vanessa who was trying to pick out clothes. “Where’s the real Lauren? More like where’s the real Vanessa. Since when have you not told Bran that you were going out somewhere?” 

    Vanessa turned around to face me, biting her lip with a guilty look in her eye. That look spoke volumes to me. She was hiding something.

    Eager to know what it was I demanded, “Come on, spill it”. Vanessa could never keep a secret and broke after a few seconds of intense silence.

    “Okay so there’s this guy that I met at a club”, then a little quieter she said, “the same club we’re going to tonight actually”. Upon seeing the shocked look on my face Vanessa quickly kept going, “But I’ve never done anything with him and we’re not doing anything s****l in the least, just walking and he’s a pretty cool guy”.

    I raised my eyebrow, “Really? A really cool guy that you don’t wanna tell Bran about?” Vanessa’s guilty look just got a whole lot guiltier, “I know how it sounds but I don’t want Brandon to get all overprotective like he usually does. I hate fighting with him”. 

    I rolled my eyes, “Mmmhm. But let me ask you this, when you’re with this club guy, do you feel guilty? Do you think about what Bran might think? Hell, do you think about Bran at all?” 

    I was asking ‘serious’ questions but I couldn’t keep a straight face on. The thought of sweet sweet Vanessa feeling guilty for just holding a conversation with another man was hilarious to me.

    Vanessa on the other hand didn’t find it funny at all, “Oh shut up. Since when did you become a therapist?” With a huff Vanessa threw a plan black dress onto her bed. 

    Doing me a once over Vanessa turned to look for clothes for me. I guess this is the part where I insist that she not look for a dress for me and then I end up with a skimpy dress and a roofied drink, but no. Vanessa and I weren’t besties, but she knew me well enough than to try and dress me up in promiscuous clothing.

    That’s something I can do all by myself.

    I felt my jaw drop in shock, there was no possible way Olga just said that. I quickly covered my surprise before Vanessa turned back around with two dresses in hand. Stretching her arm with a long black sequined dress in hand she said, 

    “This one’s called the ‘Don’t Get Fooled Sequin Dress’, a favorite of mine. But, this beautiful one-”

    Vanessa stretched out her other arm that held a long fitted white dress. With a grin she said, “Now this one is called ‘Look Beyond The Pearls’. Poetic aren’t I?”

    I laughed at the dress name that I knew she didn’t come with on her own. My laughter was cut short, however, when I realized that the dresses didn’t match the occasion. I raised an eyebrow, “Um, these don’t exactly scream clubbing”. Vanessa grinned sheepishly, “Yeah, well we’ll be in the V.I.P area so we’ll blend in just fine. 

I scoffed, “So V.I.P. club areas have a dress code that blends in with the Oscars now?” I folded my arms across my chest and asked suspiciously, “Where are we going exactly?”

    “The Tanglewood Web” Vanessa said shyly. I raised both my eyebrows this time, “Now how did you find your way into a club like that?” 

    The Tanglewood Web was a club for wannabes, rich pricks, and the upper class to go out looking for fun. As long as you looked the part you were passable, but you couldn’t be allowed in without your name being on the list. 

    Being on the list was its own difficulty, but the privilege of being on the V.I.P. list was another thing altogether. 

    “The guy I was telling you about. He has an in at the club and asked me to meet him tonight”. More hurriedly she added, “I of course told him that I have a boyfriend”. 

    I laughed at how guilty she was feeling. It was obvious to me that she liked this guy. Yet for some reason, she refused to admit it. She really was trying to keep her loyalties to Bran. 

    “Whatever Vanessa, you don’t have to explain yourself to me”, then before I could help myself, she added, “you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone”. 

    Once again smiling, Vanessa silently handed me my dress and went into her bathroom to get ready. When she finally came out dressed with her hair in a towel and a fresh towel and rag for me I took my que to leave.

    In her bathroom I couldn’t help but think of the uselessness of what I was doing. 

    Such mortal things are beyond you! Beyond us!

    That voice proved my previous thoughts wrong. This was useful, it reminded me of who and what I was. Quickly showering, drying, dressing, and wrapping my soaking hair into a towel I exited the bathroom to see Vanessa’s hair curled to perfection. 

    I offered her a small smile, “You could be a hairdresser with that sort of talent”. Vanessa smiled back and ushered me to sit on her bed for her to start on my hair. 

    A half an hour later and my hair was wavy and my face full of makeup. Vanessa and I both knew that I didn’t need it and she hadn’t planned putting any on. But I wanted to look like a different person tonight, unrecognizable to even my family. 

    Funny word. Family.

    My face looked paler than usual, there was less color in my cheeks, and Vanessa had even managed to remove some of the thickness in my eyebrows. Kudos to her for making my face look… well.. average. 

    I grinned up at Vanessa. I real genuine grin and she met mine with her own, albeit a little confused as to how making me look less attractive made me so ecstatic. 

    Vanessa slipped on her jacket and shut off all the lights while I walked to and waited at the bottom of her steps. We walked to her car silently and drove off. When we hit the highway I felt uneasy yet again. I looked out the window and didn’t see anything.

    The rearview. She giggled. My eyes instantly went to the windshield and my heart stopped.