Petty Woman [Open]

[hellfire_empath]

Fashion porn.

That's what it felt like to Brooke whenever she entered Lanvin's New York flagship store. Everywhere around her there was just fashion. The young woman reveled in it, her high heeled basic black Prada pumps digging into the plush zebra-striped rugs as she slowly walked around the three-story shop. She wasn't looking for anything specific, mind. It was simply that the weekend had come and as per Brooke's agreement with Rachel, weekends could be spent in the city, at Brooke's own apartment, doing whatsoever she pleased.

This usually included shopping, with Brooke's maid Sharona accompanying her with all of Brooke's necessities for the day.

Brooke's raspberry-lacquered lips curved into a triumphant smile as she came across a sleeveless white blouse with a cute little bow-tie collar. She reached up and touched the tie on her own peach coloured sleeveless blouse - a Lanvin creation itself - and snapped her fingers. The blouse, she decided, would pair beautifully with the black textured pencil skirt that she'd just picked up at Opening Ceremony. Sharona reached out to pluck the blouse from where it hung - there was only one left in Brooke's size - when another woman reached out and grabbed the same size, giving Brooke a particularly catty grin as she did so.

Brooke recognized the girl immediately. Candida Archer. She'd been a former student at the Spence School, one of Woodbridge-Robillard's chief competitors and a girl that Brooke had particularly despised for a perceived slight done to her at her debutante ball.

Wordlessly, Brooke gave Candida that look. One which she'd perfected in high school, but one which she hadn't yet gained the ability to add her empathic powers to back then. Today, that was no longer the case. Brooke raised her chin ever so slightly, and her eyes narrowed just a little. She stood a little more taller, maintaining eye contact with Candida as she effortlessly manipulated the other girl into terror and subservience. The blouse was hers and Candida inexplicably felt inferior to Brooke. She rushed past the empath and out onto Madison Avenue.

Triumphant, Brooke handed the blouse to Sharona, who was already saddled with many other clothes that Brooke was purchasing from the shop that day. As she made her way to her favorite salesperson to make her purchases, Brooke faltered just a little bit. This is what Rachel was telling her about, what Rachel was warning her about.

A sociopath. Manipulating a girl's emotions for a blouse.

She froze for a moment as something akin to guilt started wriggling its way into her heart. No. She suppressed those feelings. It was the last blouse in my size. I was absolutely justified.

Still, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that it was true, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that it wasn't.

Comments

[hellfire_empath]

This didn't usually happen to Brooke. Guys didn't usually ask her out. Not like this.

"I'll have to dismiss my maid," Brooke said. "And clear a few things from my schedule," because it was good to seem as though one had an incredibly busy life, right? "But I think I should be able to manage dinner, after having been given the chance to freshen up." And find a dress that would knock the socks off of this Alexander Aaron person.

[call_me_phobos]

Alexander nodded. She'd brought her maid. He needed to invest in a minion or a manservant as well as a few other things to keep the whole appearance of being "human". Humans didn't take well to those with differences. He'd learned all he needed to know watching the issues most humans had with mutants.

"That's just fine. Here is my card." Alexander said, giving Brooke his gold-embossed business card with his number on it.

"Call me once you're free and we'll go. I'll take the remaining time to fashion myself into something worthy of a muse." he grinned.

[hellfire_empath]

Generally, Brooke dragged Sharona everywhere with her. Except the Xavier Institute, and that's only because Rachel and entirely forbidden it.

Brooke accepted the card and brandished one of her own - thick, creamy white cardstock with deep scarlet lettering. The card itself carried a light scent of vanilla and berries - pure and luscious. Nothing like Brooke herself in some areas, but she liked the image of purity that it tended to evoke.

"My address is on there," she said pleasantly. "So you know where to direct your town car to."

[call_me_phobos]

Alexander couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of his lips. Town car. How quaint! Driving had to be the single slowest method of transportation in the world and he didn't know how humans contented themselves with it. Teleportation was far more efficient.

Oh, yes. That's right. Something about maintaining a human seeming.

He inhaled the scent of the card gently and nodded. "Thank you. I'm sure my...driver will find the place with no trouble." he said. "For now, though, I should pay for these and bid you farewell."

When the attendant finally saw him, he simply handed her the garments and directed her on who to charge them to.

"Wait...is that your maid?" he asked, pointing to Sharona.

If Brooke looked,she would note Sharona's wide-eyed expression and the last thing she would hear is "See you tonight, Brooke."

Alexander would be gone when she turned around.

[hellfire_empath]

Brooke turned back to where Alexander had been to see him...gone.

Weird.

She turned back to Sharona, who still stared wide-eyed at the place where Alexander had just been standing.

Maybe he'd gone to the men's section of the store, Brooke thought. To get something to wear that night.

Whatever the case, Brooke had work to do. She tugged Sharona by the arm and led her out of the store, cancelling the rest of her shopping plans.

After all, she had a date tonight.