The Cold -- PG-13 Challenge #124

[Luxe de Luxe]

Title: The Cold

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

A/N: Written for Champagne Challenge #124: Conditions: The word 'cold' in the title; the words 'blanket', 'shiver', 'smoke' in the body.

Summary: Beth asks Simone a question only a freshie would know the answer to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Cold



“Do you ever get used to it?”

Their eyes met in the mirror.

“Hunh?”, said Simone, her lower lip bowed beneath the tube of YSL Red Muse.

“The cold,” Beth said, pouting at herself, then running her fingers through the ends of her hair. “I keep half expecting that his lips will eventually warm up.”

Simone felt a wisp of pity for the girl. “How long has it been?,” she asked gently.

“I didn’t even notice it at first.” The flush of memory on her cheeks made Beth’s face glow. “But it… it started to bother me about six months ago. We couldn’t seem to kiss for as long as we used to before I’d begin to shiver.” She smiled, “We made a joke of it, you know - Mick getting a blanket for us to shelter under and making a pretend fire, me flapping the ends about and coughing from all the pretend smoke.” She paused, “And - ”

She left the last sentence hanging, playing another pretending game as her eyes lowered, her hands rummaging in her purse for something she never did put her finger on.

Simone said nothing, her heart breaking for the both of them.

This wasn’t the first time she’d heard a story like this and, face it, very few of the stories on the scene ever ended well. Outcomes for girls like them, even girls like Simone herself, tended to fall into one of six categories: death, mostly accidental these days, though sadly sometimes not; a lifetime of futile, obsessive love after the inevitable rejection; or a big house in the suburbs married to a human business associate who never made you come. Turnings were so rare they almost didn’t rate a category, and as for happy, long term human/vampire marriages, well, if Hans Christian Anderson were alive today, that story would be right there next to the one about the vampire raising a foundling baby whose love eventually makes him human again.

Oh, once a decade, somewhere in the world, a freshie would rise above the dysphoria inherent in the condition, save her money and open her own donor agency or something akin to that. Usually they were girls like Beth; those brimming over with so much vitality that their systems could never truly accept the touch of death. Those rare girls only coped with the cold for so long and they always left their vampires in the end. Every girl at every agency and every club that arranged for introductions whispered their names in awe.

“Mick doesn’t bite you,” Simone said.

Some girls started off like Beth but, once bitten, became so addicted to the bite, that they lived with their body’s rejection of the cold, constantly craving the fang, but without the pain of the bite ever fully being dulled and never quite reaching the orgasmic highs the other girls did. It was a terrible fate for a girl.

“No,” Beth confirmed, turning in puzzlement to gaze at her friend in the flesh.

Simone’s already high estimation of Josef’s friend rose another few notches. Mick knew. Of course he did. He’d seen it all before, just as she had. The very first moment Beth had drawn away a second too early, he would have known. Oh the pain he must have felt; the torment of staying, of loving her, knowing what he knew. Just once, he only had to bite her properly just once for the seed of the addiction to take hold and make her his forever, no matter how her body felt beneath the bite.

That it hadn’t been done already meant it never would.

Beth put an arm around the other girl. “Why are you crying?” she asked.

“It’s the cold,” Simone said, “All of us feel a little of the cold.”



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[redwinter101]

Break my heart into a thousand pieces.

And then stamp 'em to dust just for good measure.

This is a heartbreaker, pure and simple. Such a brilliant concept worked into an aching, tragic tale - both for Simone and Beth, and in his absence, Mick.

Beautiful and oh so very sad.

Red

[seamus3333]

No, no, no. Don't burst my bubble like this! What a brilliant bummer of a story. You are such a wonderful writer, you have me believing this horrible fact of vampire/human life. This should be rated X, not PG-13, no one under 80 should be allowed to read. The ultimate angst.

[GuardianAngel]

A whole knew scenario for "It never ends well." Makes sense though. Horrible, sad sense. Mick would never tie Beth to him like that - even if she thought she'd want him to.

[Moonlightsonata]

A sad story but a really good read at this time of the year with the newly fallen snow outside. Thank you.

[AussieJo]

Oh Luxe!
Are you depressed about the cricket or something!

[darkstarrising]

A sad story indeed, but a plausible one (and beautifully written, I might add). Without the bite, there would be no addiction, and in time, Beth might move on, or just eventually die. But I have to wonder about Simone's fate....

[MoonlitRose]

Something that I had not considered. Perpetual Coolness, with a twist.

Thanks for sharing, Luxe.

[Luxe de Luxe]

thanks, Red. Yes, I really wanted this to be a bit of a tearjerker.

sorry, seamus3333. I guess this is a bit of a bubble burst. The freshie life surely can't be all good.

GA, you are such a strong supporter of Mick. I'm totally with you. He would never willingly do anything to hurt Beth, even if it meant he suffered in the end.

I'm glad you found something to like in this sad little story, Moonlighsonata. I like a good tearjerker when the weather gets cold myself.

Oh, AussieJo, your comment made me !! This is a dour little story and I AM depressed about the cricket.

yes, dsr, I think about that too and wonder if Simone was crying not just for Mick and Beth but for herself a little too.

I think most writers convey the coolness of the vampire touch with a sexy, sensuality, MoonlitRose, but I wondered what it would really be like with the constant cold. Thanks for commenting.

[allegrita]

Oh, Luxe... this is such a cold, hard view of what it must be like for a human to love a vampire. It makes a lot of sense, too, darn it.

This is so beautifully written, and says so much in very few words. My heart breaks for Simone, and for Beth, and especially for Mick. So he truly is destined to be alone forever...

[cassysj]

This breaks my heart yet it's so plausible. Mick wouldn't want her addicted to him. Poor Mick.

[Luxe de Luxe]

wow, you're right, Alle, this is a cold, hard depiction of the human/vampire relationship. I hadn't realised quite hard until I read your review. I don't believe Mick is destined to be alone forever. He needs to find a nice vampire girl ( a 'vampire wife' as Beth herself suggested) or even turn Beth when she asks.

This must have been a little hard to read, cassy, given your own freshie series with the dolls. I just can't help thinking of the freshie life being like the life of the bad boys in Pinocchio - all fun and games until a certain point and then...

[francis]

This is truly sad. And a wonderful piece of art in terms of writing. But I can feel the cold of what Mick is going through, and what Simone is going through, and what Beth has been spared. Beth still feels that something is missing, but she doesn't quite understand. And maybe it's better this way. But what a quandary.

[Luxe de Luxe]

This is truly sad. And a wonderful piece of art in terms of writing. But I can feel the cold of what Mick is going through, and what Simone is going through, and what Beth has been spared. Beth still feels that something is missing, but she doesn't quite understand. And maybe it's better this way. But what a quandary.

Thanks, francis. This is a sad, dark little piece. And you're right, of course. Beth doesn't understand the half of what she's gotten herself involved in. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment on this.

cheers,

Luxe

[catravers]

Oh Luxe,

This was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. You've still got it girl!