Phoebe looked out at the yellow delivery van parked outside the front of her terraced house. Cars were parked either side of the street, reducing the road down to one lane. Someone in a hurry had taken great umbrage to the van being stationary. She wasn't that clued up on cars. They didn't interest her in the slightest, but it looked like an Audi. The car drivers irate horn pressing was what drew her to her window in the first place.
The female driver stepped out of her van and gave the car driver the finger, which enraged him even more. She could hear shouting but not the actual words, but she had a rough idea as to what they would be.
The van driver opened the side door and pulled out a large cardboard box that was almost as tall as she was, but given how she carried it, it did not appear to be heavy. It was plastered with air freight stickers and customs labels. Given the parking of the van and the senders apparent location, Hong Kong, Phoebe was almost certain the very large box was for her.
The van driver closed her side door and started to move as though she was underwater. Her movements over-exaggerated and very slow. Very slow.
Phoebe laughed and wondered which would arrive first. Her present from her aunt in Hong Kong, or the Audi drivers heart attack.
Downstairs the front doorbell was rung and her father answered it. There was a brief murmur of voices and the door was shut again as the woman underwater walked back to her van. The car driver lost patience and revving his car needlessly, he wheel spun his car into reverse, no doubt deciding to use another side street to get to where he was going.
Heading downstairs, she tried to quell the curiosity within her. Her parents would not allow her to open it for another two days, which would be her fourteenth birthday. They were such sticklers for tradition.
"It's from Hallie." Her father pointed out needlessly as she approached the box. She read the customs label 'Gift. Childs cuddly toy.'
Well that was so typical of her slightly weird cat lady aunt. Five years too late.
She prodded the box with a finger and it tilted slightly. It was indeed light. The packing probably weighed more than the contents.
"You can open it on Wednesday."
"Awwe dad….." Though to be honest, she wasn't that excited to open it. She had stopped collecting cuddly toys when she had grown bored of her Barbie's. Well, that wasn't strictly true. Whilst she had given all her dolls away to a friend's younger sister, she had kept her goth Barbie. Much to her mother's chagrin.
There wasn't much difference between her Goth Barbie and her current look. Both wore a black velvet dress over red fishnet tights, both wore a black choker with a red gem at the hollow of the throat. Both wore black boots with thick soles, black lips, pale face and dark kohl around her eyes. Both had hair that was black as the night, though in her case, it was dye as she had chestnut coloured hair like her mother.
Goth Barbie had tattoos and lots of ear, lip, brow and nose piercings. She had to make do with temporary tattoos, ear piercings and her nose ring. She had used her birthday money from her thirteenth birthday to get her septum nose ring. Her father on seeing it, had gone absolutely mental.
It was her body. She could do with it as she wanted.
She wasn't going to get anywhere with the parcel as her father took it out of the hallway, so she headed back upstairs. Throwing herself onto her bed she lifted her phone, scrolling through some of her favourite alt groups. She stayed well away from the more mainstream social media sites. People were downright cruel on there. A bit like some of the girls in school, who called her Wednesday.
They thought they were being clever and hurtful doing that, but Phoebe was pretty cool with it. Wednesday was awesome and a bit of a role model for her. Not that she told them that, otherwise they would just change it to something she wasn't happy with.
Wednesday arrived and her parents wouldn't allow her to open her aunt's present till that evening.
Whatever.
They handed her a card as she lay in bed in her skull pyjama's, under her gothic castle duvet. She opened it. A picture of flowers on the front. They weren't even black. Or thorny. Inside were some vouchers for a local shop that didn't sell any Alternative clothing what-so-ever. She put on a bright smile that didn't travel any further back into her body than her face.
"Now you'd better get ready for school love, you can open the rest of your presents when you get home."
"Yes mum." Phoebe kissed her mum and then her dad, rolling her eyes behind their backs as they left her room.
"Hey birthday girl! Got ya something." Thea handed over a card and a small square box, aptly wrapped in black paper.
"Aww, you needn't have…"
Thea slipped her arm through Phoebe's as they walked through the security gates towards the ugly school building. Built in the sixties out of slabs of concrete that were slowly crumbling and leaking water everywhere. The heating often broke down in the winter. Which was cool, as they would all be sent home till it was fixed, which last year took days…
The card had a picture of a suitable Draculanian man on the front, who was pretty hot actually, she was going to keep this card for later tonight when she was alone... And there were black roses. And thorns, on the inside. The box when unwrapped, contained some small white skull earrings with red glass eyes.
"Aww thanks Thea. I'd put them in, but, you know…." Phoebe was already on a warning for her nose ring and skull earrings would most definitely escalate that further, since only simple studs were permitted to be worn in school.
"I know girl…"
A group of boys pointed at her. "It's Wednesdays birthday, on a Wednesday!" They made a big thing about it. Phoebe couldn't see why, it was just a day of the week and inevitable her birthday would arrive on that day at some point, as it had done so once already.
Back home, she swapped out her plain studs for her new skull ones. She took a facial picture on her phone and sent it to Thea.
There was cake after the evening meal. You couldn't have a birthday without cake and candles. Maybe not a 'My little pony' cake though.
For fucks sake mum, read the room!
She took pleasure in making sure she ate as many pony heads as she could get away with. After the pony massacre, she was finally 'allowed' to open the rest of her presents. Makeup, scrunchies, some more gift vouchers for shops she actually used. Last of all, her father brought in the large box.
Truth be told, she was actually dreading this part. Just because she wasn't on social media, didn't mean her mother wasn't. No doubt whatever was in the box would be posted and the contents would get to some of the girls she detested in school, via their mums and their shared online connection with her mother. No matter how much she begged her mother to 'unfriend' certain mothers, she refused. Just because they were friends when they were six, didn't mean that was still the case almost ten years later. Not that her mother saw it that way.
Her mother's phone was out, recording. She might as well get this disaster over with. If it was a large Barbie in a pink tutu, she was going to open her throat with the cake knife. Her father passed over a box knife and she sliced the customs tape that had been used to re-seal the original packing tape.
Phoebe pulled the box apart and burst out laughing.
"Oh for God's sake…" her mother stopped filming and put her phone away. "What on Earth was she thinking!"
Pulling the protective clear cellophane away from the singular content, Phoebe looked at her present. It would probably be her height, when stood up on its legs. Body and leg wise, it looked like a black bear. Facially, it was a thing of nightmares. Like a Labubu made by someone who was criminally insane. It's eyes were unsettling, it's nose looked like it had been pulled from an abattoir floor and its mouth was obviously designed by someone who couldn't decide between a shark or a lamprey and had settled on the worst of both.
It was absolutely fucking fantastic and easily the best birthday present she had ever received.
"There is no way I'm having that in my house."
"Why? It's awesome mum…"
That her mother hated it, only cemented her desire to keep it. Her father was pointedly quiet on the matter. Phoebe collected the rest of her opened presents, the large stuffed doll of nightmares and headed up to her room.
She sat the monstrosity on her bed, sat next it and took a selfie, which she sent to Thea.
: What the fuck is that! :
: It's awesomeness in teddy bear form :
: How big is it? It looks fucking huge! :
: My height when stood up :
: No way! Has your mum seen it? :
: Aye. She wants Dorian out of the house. That alone makes me determined to keep him :
: Named it already? You are bonkers, you know that :
: Who the fuck wants to be normal :
: You are going to need a bigger bed… :
Thea did have a point. Phoebe put her phone down on her bedside table and gently laid Dorian down. There was just enough room to sleep next to him and not fall out of her bed. Just. His toe and hand talons were of a soft material made to look sharp and menacing. Same for his teeth. His ears were doglike and utterly adorable. His 'fur' was lovely and soft to the touch. Totally cuddleable.
That night, in her skull pyjama's after she had removed her new skull earrings, she cuddled up to Dorian as she looked at the front of the card Thea had given her. Her mind supplied some very enjoyable mental thoughts that accompanied her to sleep.
Phoebe woke up sometime in the night. Somehow she was being cuddled in turn by Dorian. She hadn't remembered wrapping his arms around her, but obviously she had at some point. His paws and claws were cupping her breasts and it felt pretty good. Aroused some more pleasant imagery in her mind. She was starting to see the attraction of sharing her bed with someone. She reached out an arm and picked up her phone. Her thumb danced across her lock screen and navigated to her camera. It's flash lit up the dark room momentarily.
She looked at the picture. Dorian's paws and claws hid the outline of her breasts and he appeared to be leering over her shoulder. Somehow his visage implied that something carnal had just taken place, or was about to. Phoebe was rather pleased about that. It wasn't what she had been aiming for, but it would more than suffice. She sent the image to Thea and returned her phone to her nightstand.
Phoebe imagined walking the halls of an ancient fortress. Sensing the presence of another, but unable to see where he was. He stalked up behind her, his large furry arms enfolding her as he pulled her tight against his hairy chest. His ears twitching as she felt his breath across her neck, knowing how close those sharp teeth were to her jugular. One nip and her life blood would flow from her onto the floor and she would be unable to do anything about it. Fading away in his arms.
Her alarm was very intrusive and decidedly unwanted. She dressed for school and met her friend at the gates as usual.
"Good night?"
"Absolutely fucking awesome…" Her eyes twinkling at the fading memories of the previous night.
"I can tell. Who gave you that anyway?"
"My aunt in Hong Kong."
"Cat woman?"
"The same."
"I thought you said she was so vanilla and boring that she made beige look like an explosion in a paint factory?"
"Looks like I was wrong. Happily."
Thea just shook her head in amused disbelief.
That night, feeling greatly daring, Phoebe stripped down to just her knickers and climbed into bed. Dorian felt even better without the barrier of clothing between them. Although she went to sleep cuddling him, she woke to being the one cuddled.
"Phoebe, are you even paying attention?"
"Huh?" Phoebe looked up from the school jotter she had been idly doodling on. It was mostly dark eyes peering up at her.
"I asked if you were paying attention, however, your answer was an answer in itself."
"Sorry Sir," she replied feeling absolutely no remorse.
"Try and at least look as though you are in the room. You are being tested on this on Monday remember."
"Yes Sir."
Thea looked at her pointedly across the table as they ate lunch.
"Are you staying up late chatting on dubious websites again? I thought you said you had stopped that?"
"I might have relapsed a bit…" The lie was easier than the truth.
Thea sighed. "Please tell me you aren't sending some random fifty year old claiming to be fifteen, nude pics again…"
"No! And it was only the once."
"There is no 'once' on the internet. The internet is forever."
"I know, I know…"
Phoebe managed to at least to look interested for the rest of the school lessons.
"Mum, I'm tired, I'm going to bed early…"
Her father made a big show of looking at his watch. "It's half past eight. On a Friday."
"We had maths today. I hate maths and my brain is fried. All I see is squiggles and letters of the alphabet that are equal to other letters of the alphabet. None of it made any sense. And no, before you offer, I don't want you to explain it to me. I'll see you in the morning, mum, dad."
"Goodnight love." her mother said distractedly, her attention mostly on one of her soaps.
Upstairs, in her room, she could not disrobe fast enough. Again, dressed in just panties, she slipped into bed, opening her arms to embrace Dorian.
"Dorian, I've missed you…"