Thanks to sleeplessgurl and ~L for editing.
This is my entry in the Halloween Contest.
Copyright durablue October 2011
*
A small hand shaded the overly large dark sunglasses perched on Amber's small dainty nose. The sun's glare from the store-front was almost blinding in its intensity. Lips slicked with Chap Stick against the winter chill parted in a hiss when sneakered feet misjudged the curve of the sidewalk.
Her purse, cell phone and water bottle went flying as her arms wind-milled in an effort to not fall face first onto the cold sidewalk. Gales of mocking laughter drifted to her. Cringing, she bent down to pick up the things she'd dropped. Her sunglasses slipped down her nose, exposing eyes the color of dark chocolate.
Coming out the front door were three women in their mid-twenties. They were close to her age but that was all they had in common. They had perfectly shaped and evenly tanned bodies with long legs and perky tits. They were all tall with long, streaky hair blowing sexily in the late October breeze.
Jeez, do they have personal fans somewhere on them that blow their hair like some model on a fashion shoot?
She glanced at them again as they whispered about her. Of course they didn't have fans; women like that were graced by the Gods. Amber was willing to bet they could puke and still look drop-dead gorgeous while doing it. She was sorely tempted to throw her water bottle at them, but knowing her luck it would ricochet off the side of the building and hit her square in the forehead. With a sigh she gathered up her things and turned her back to them.
"Jerks," she mumbled under her breath as she trudged into the store to pick up her Halloween costume.
There was no point being a further source of amusement for them or, for that matter, feeling envious. If threatened with bodily harm Amber would admit to being on the short side. On a good day she might stand five feet tall if she stretched her spine. She didn't have a perfect figure either. She was what people called hippy, or if they were feeling generous, curvy.
"There's nothing wrong with curves," Amber reassured herself as she stepped up to the register. "So I'm not built like a coat hanger, so what."
Truth was if she so much as looked at cake or candy it added a pound to her ass and hips. Do not pass go or collect two hundred dollars. It just headed straight to the lower part of her body. It was a battle she had fought her whole life. Her breasts weren't overly large, a bit more than a handful but they did sit high on her chest.
Her hair was long, nearly down to the bra strap. But instead of the straight hair that was in fashion right now she had waves and waves of long strawberry blond curls that had a mind of their own and did whatever they wanted, which was the direct opposite of what
she
wanted. No matter how many times she tried to tame the curls back into a ponytail, the curls worked their way loose.
She had dreamed of having long dark hair and bedroom eyes that would beckon men to her. Instead she looked like a pixie. She blew a curl out of her face, trying to persuade the stray lock of hair to say where it should. Why didn't hers blow sexily around her face? And it still managed to get into her mouth while she waited on the sales clerk.
"Oh yes, that was sexy, spitting hair out of my mouth," Amber muttered as she rolled her eyes.
And what kind of cosmic joke was that shade of hair color anyway? It was neither red nor blond but some odd shade in-between. Her skin tone was what her mom used to call peaches and cream. Amber called it pain in the ass pale. She didn't tan, she burnt like a lobster. And freckles! Whose sick idea was that? She had them across her nose, her chest, her back... everywhere.
The store was packed with last minute shoppers, but finally a clerk showed up. Amber quickly showed her receipt for the costume she had ordered nearly two months ago. Her friends, Mac and Joan—two big Halloween nuts—were hosting a party at their house tonight.
"Ah, perfect," Amber said when the clerk, a male clerk this time, came back with it. "Is there somewhere I can try it on?"
"Right through here, Miss," the clerk said.
"Oh thank goodness."
She had to have the dress custom-made since she was... ah, vertically challenged. The black dress was simple in its cut, just a straight shift type dress but the material was silky. There was a slit up one side that exposed her leg and the length was supposed to be just above her knee.
The top had a V-neck to show off her bust. The dress had spider web patterns all through it and Amber had fallen in love with it from the start. It was a sexy witch's costume without being too revealing. Now she wanted to scream.
"Oh no, oh damn it, no," Amber said to her reflection. "It can't be too short. This can't be happening, not tonight of all nights!"
The dress was several inches too short and a bit too tight. It clung to every curve she had. It was cut up so high on one side you could see the bottom of her garter belt. And the party was in several hours. Amber yanked at her hair and tried to remember why yelling bloody murder in a dressing room on Halloween was
not
a good idea. There was no way she could find another costume this late.
"What am I going to do? It's so damn short! I can't wear this. Why does this always happen to me?"
Amber quickly stepped out and called the clerk who came hurrying. "Oh wow, Miss, it's hot! You'll blow them away tonight."
Amber snapped her mouth shut and did a double take. He thought she was... hot?
"You don't think it's too... short?"
"Absolutely not," he said, eyeing her legs with an appreciative smile.
Amber noticed that a couple of guys who had been dragged inside the shop by their girlfriends were staring, too. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she first thought. Amber put the witch's hat on and looked back into the full length mirror.
"If you... ah, if you happen to need a date for tonight I get off in a few hours," the clerk said.
"Aw, thank you, but I'm meeting friends. But really, you just made my night."
That, more than anything else, made up her mind. She was wearing that dress and she was going to feel great in it, short hem and all.
* * * *
Amber hurried home and took a bath. She curled her hair then proceeded to bribe, threaten and promise all sorts of things if it would only do what she wanted. The dress fit her like a glove and her skin glowed from her bath. Feeling daring, she used a body powder that had sparkles in it.
She dressed and drove to Mac and Joan's, where the party was being held. Amber parked on the street and walked around to the front the house. The first thing she noticed was the graveyard in the front yard.
One grave was flung open, and a partially decayed body was thrown over the side, trying to wiggle its way out of the casket. Another grave had skeletal hands digging their way up through the dirt, reaching for freedom. A limp body hung from a nearby tree with dead, vacant eyes. When people passed it the body shook and shrieked in death throes, as she found out.
"Good god!" Someone next to her on the sidewalk gasped.
Amber laughed slightly and patted the woman's back in front of her. "You okay?"
"Oh yeah, it's just that Mac and Joan get crazier every year with all this stuff."
"It's fun though."
"Unless it's scaring the shit out of you," the woman laughed as they walked up to the house.
Battery-operated red eyes gleamed from the trees and ghoulish jack-o-lanterns sat on hay bales in the yard. A spider jumped and lunged whenever someone passed. A deformed cat hunched and hissed by the steps. Thick cob webs with deadly-looking spiders decorated the front porch. Creepy moaning screams drifted across the yard from outdoor speakers.
Amber walked up the steps and noticed the top step was still cracked. Joan had that on the list of things for Mac to fix. Looks like someone didn't get finished with his 'honey-do' list. Shaking her head, she made a mental note to remind her hostess about that step. Joan would freak if a guest actually got hurt during the party.
A skeleton sat on a bench and greeted people when they got to the front door with a loud awful yell. Big hairy rats with red eyes chewed on human remains. They were black as pitch and hopped around, fighting each other for food. Several ghosts twisted in the breeze. A fog machine blew a sinister smoke all over the yard.
"Good lord," Amber said as she opened the front door, admiring the elaborate spectacle.
The theme carried on inside. Misshapen monsters, silent as death, hid in dark corners with fake knives waiting to attack, cob webs covered every corner, and the same creepy music played inside, too. Electric candles lit up the place and lamps had black light bulbs in them. Snacks were placed throughout the main room.
Amber hesitantly investigated the food offerings. There were bowls of trail mix with candy spiders in them and chips and dip that looked like it had seen better days. A meat tray had what looked like bloody, hacked-off human fingers holding to the edge.
"Oh now, that's just gross," Amber said as she looked at the tray.
"Hacked them off myself just for you," Joan, the hostess, whispered evilly in Amber's ear.
"Oh good lord, you freak!" Amber giggled as she turned around to see Joan, her best friend. "Hey girl! And wow, love the costume. Let me guess... Joan of Arc?"
"With a name like Joan I just couldn't resist," Joan said as she hugged Amber. "Like the fingers, huh?"
"It's so you," Amber laughed. "Where in the world did you come up with that idea?"
"Here... it was in this," Joan said as she handed Amber a magazine. "Damn, gotta go, Mac is waving frantically at me for some reason. We might be getting low on blood and guts."
"Sick puppy; sick, sick puppy," Amber shook her head as Joan hurried off.
She moved over to a couch and sat down. She had a perfect view of the room. This was her favorite pastime... people watching. Several people stood around a boiling cauldron that served punch, laughing and joking as they taunted other people into drinking the boiling brew. Her eyes traveled over the bodies that moved through the shadows.
