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'No way Mattie, I won't do it!'
She clenched her fist as she heard the familiar cackle followed by that patronising tut and a smug smile.
'Darling you know you're going to say yes to me. Besides; Mother doesn't know about your little Motorcycle mishap, I suggest you comply and she won't have to find out'
The girl groaned, knowing she wouldn't be able to win especially when Mattie got into politician mode yet still she came back with a feeble attempt at an argument.
'This is blackmail you know!'
'Don't see it like that Sis; this an opportunity to broaden your horizons and experience life outside of the Batcave you're living in'
The younger girl let out another groan flopping head first onto the couch and grumbling some incoherent phrases into a cushion. Mattie shook her head before standing up and making her way to the door, turning back with a playful smirk not that Carmilla could see her with her face still buried.
'I'll pick you up tomorrow morning, 8am sharp!'
Another groan before Mattie continued; not bothering to hide her amusement.
'Hush now, I'll see you tomorrow. Ta Ta darling!'
Carmilla hated conventions with a fiery passion; they were loud, there were always way too many people, there was never a seat available and the worst thing about them were the nerds. The super excitable, high off of Pepsi nerds who spoke in what should be a super secret nerd code that only they seemed to understand and every time she was forced to interact with them for more than 10 minutes she felt like gouging her eyes out. She avoided going to places with conventions for the sole purpose of avoiding a mass killing spree but every time her sister would force her to help and this year was no different. The fact that she was awake before 5pm on a Saturday was bad enough but to make matters worse she had to listen to Mattie's teasing quips about her being a vampire at heart and how much fun they were going to have. She seriously doubted that. She was still grumbling when Mattie pulled the car into its usual spot and the two started making their way into the convention centre. Carmilla was not aware she'd have to carry extremely heavy boxes with baking supplies, Mattie had very conveniently left that part out.
It took them some time to get signed in and find their designated area before they were frantically trying to set things up. The younger girl had no idea why they were rushing given that the event wasn't due to start until at least 10am but still she helped as best she could despite still being half asleep. Mattie thanked her with a steaming cup of black coffee which she only got to enjoy for a minute before a bag of clothes was thrust into her hands and she was made to change. Another reason why she hated going to conventions: almost everybody was cosplaying and thanks to her sister she was now one of them. Stomping into the bathroom she quickly found an empty stall and hid away as she retrieved the outfit that Mattie had chosen. Her jaw clenched as she saw exactly who Mattie was forcing her to be, she was definitely going to end up throttling her today. Shimming out of her favourite leather pants she angrily pulled on the navy blue pinstripe suit pants followed by the white collared shirt and a matching blue pinstripe slim-lapelled-4 button jacket. The clothes all fit perfectly and it scared Carmilla to think how sneakily accurate her sister could be, she shrugged it off before pulling on a thin burgundy tie. Sighing she grabbed the bag to see what was left: a brown-tan trenchcoat and red and white converse sneakers. She emerged from the stall a few minutes later, a violent expression on her face as she charged over to a smirking Mattie.
'Darling you look wonderful'
'SNEAKERS?! Really Mattie?! As if this outfit wasn't bad enough!'
'Calm down Angel Pants, I just thought you'd like the opportunity to get thoroughly involved.'
'More like you wanted the opportunity to gloat and mock me!'
The older girl laughed as she spoke.
'Well, that too but I do recall a certain someone saying she wanted to dress up as one of her favourite Doctor's.'
At this the girl blushed, looking slightly embarrassed as she started to anxiously toy with the hem of her coat
'That was private. I look ridiculous, I'm just going to take it off'
She went to leave but Mattie was instantly grabbing her hand, flashing her a genuine smile as she spoke softly.
'You will do no such thing. Darling you look hot and besides there's no time; the early birds will be coming inside in a few minutes'
'The Early whats?!'
....
'The queue is so long! This is so exciting, I can't believe I'm actually going to get their autographs!'
'This is ultra cool L, they're going to love your outfit'
Carmilla heard them and couldn't help but roll her eyes, she was used to nerd speak and excited nerds were always the most amusing to watch. Their stand had been empty which meant that Carmilla could sit down and read her book without having to engage with anyone. It also gave her the time to do one of her other favourite activities: people watch. She loved to observe people, see what made them tick and given that their stall was situated straight across from the autograph panel she had an excellent view. Currently, she was watching a group of friends stood almost directly infront of her and for the last 5 minutes they'd been excitedly rambling to one another and taking lots of selfies. There were 4 nerds in their party and their dynamic intrigued her. They were very obviously cosplaying and their outfits were very intricate down to the last detail. She hid her smile behind her book as they started to talk louder, her eyes darting from one person to the other.
First, her eyes landed on the figure closed to her; a skinny boy with shoulder length dark brown hair and the slight hint of stubble around his upper lip and chin. The boy was wearing a cotton white shirt, the sleeves folded over so they fell just below his elbows. Over the shirt, he wore a teal blue vest with antiqued brass hook closures that looked like faux leather but it could have been real she wasn't too sure. He had on light brown pants and some brown leather boots that came up mid calf. To top it off the boy had a light brown satchel slung over his shoulder and a tiny green stuffed animal attached to his right shoulder. His messy hair swept in that classic Flynn Rider way was the dead giveaway for Carmilla but honestly; the costume was one she'd seen a lot and she may or may not have seen Tangled a few times but she wasn't about to admit that out loud.
Next to him was a redhead with long curly hair and a tight-lipped smile. Her Black Widow was also incredibly well made but the costume clearly made her look somewhat uncomfortable amongst her cosplaying friends. Plus the large red shopping bag she was carrying kind of ruined her "badass" look. Carmilla's gaze didn't linger on her for too long she could just feel the anxiety radiating off of her. The girl was shaking her head and moving to straighten the other ginger's clothes. Fussy. The other redhead had short hair which was styled to look more sweeping but Carmilla could see bits that were still spiking up. Their clothes were a very easy indication of who they were cosplaying as. The Gryffindor robes, messy tie and a broken wand -they must be a Weasley! She laughed at that, quickly clamping her hand over her mouth as a few people turned to look at her. Mattie looked at her with a confused expression before going back to food preparation. The only pair of eyes still locked on her were the ones belonging to the last person in the group, a small girl with big brown eyes and the softest smile. Her features were striking and Carmilla allowed herself the pleasure of giving the girl a once over. A deep pink scoop-necked sweater and black boot cut pants with some shiny black shoes. That all too familiar deep purple waist length leather jacket with elasticated cuffs and zip-up front. Plus the long blonde hair that Carmilla was 99% certain was a wig. This girl was Rose Tyler, the Rose Tyler that went with her 10th Doctor cosplay. The girl seemed to notice at the same time as she did because then she was flashing Carmilla a bright smile, giving her a dorky little thumbs up before her attention was brought back to the group of friends stood beside her.
Carmilla could hear Mattie calling her and with a sigh she stood up and made her way over to the counter not bothering to remove her reading glasses as she turned to greet their first customer. Plastering on smile after smile as she willed this day to end already, if she had to speak to one more nerd spouting pointless Whovian trivia at her she might explode. Her eyes scanning for the pretty Rose Tyler but that group had disappeared within the labyrinth of eager fans lining up for pictures and autographs. Her shoulders slumped and once again she was reminded of how much she hates being at conventions.
Half way through her death shift Mattie had sent Carmilla away claiming her miserable face was scaring away more customers. So here she was trolling through stall after stall looking at every bit of overpriced merchandise she could find but hey she had money to spend and closets to fill. She smiled politely as people complimented her outfit and busied herself with finding some new posters for her room. So far she'd obtained a paint splattered Black Widow and a cute drawing of Marceline and Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time (she slipped that one in her pocket, no one should know of her slight obsession with that show). She'd made sure to find some Harry Potter stalls, throwing lots of money at the pleased vendor as she walked away with a bag full of Slytherin and Ravenclaw merchandise and even a few bits of Gryffindor because she just didn't know which house she belonged in. She had begun examining some interesting looking Doctor Who t-shirts when she saw them again; the group with the pretty Rose Tyler and the uptight Black Widow. Rose was chattering excitedly with the Ron Weasely as they made their way to the stall where she was lurking, not that she was lingering in the hopes they'd come her way. Not at all.
Her back turned as she rifled through the section with Funko dolls when she felt someone stop beside her, turning to see the Rose Tyler looking at the ones beside her. The girl was even more breathtaking up close and here was Carmilla silently berating herself for losing her usual elusive air of mystery, her normal confidence gone as she nervously shuffled trying to give the other girl some more room which is when the girl looked up, smiling at her as she spoke. Her voice so light and happy that it made Carmilla feel like she was speaking to an angel.
'You don't have to move, I'll probably be here for a while.'
She stilled a breath before finally finding her voice and a small burst of confidence.
'Looking for anyone in particular, Cutie?'
The girl blushed almost instantly and Carmilla found herself wanting to make it happen again, the shy smile she got in return making her lips curve into a seductive smirk as the girl stuttered in response.
'I..I well I was looking for...but you called me cute and wow...I um...never mind just I um...thank you'
'Smooth sundance smooth'
At this, the girl's face scrunched up, her nose wrinkling as she flushed an even brighter red.
'Well we can't all be as smooth as you, can we? Miss, I'm all confident in my sexy 10th Doctor cosplay'
'So you think I'm sexy, huh?'
The girl gaped at her, struggling to form a response which only amused Carmilla further. This girl was just too precious and apparently very easy to rile up.
'So Cupcake, who exactly were you looking for? Maybe I can help...'
She trailed off with a smirk, looking at her with expectant eyes. The girl's eyes widened some more before she eagerly nodded and then shook her head before rambling out a reply.
'Thank you so much. If you wouldn't mind, if you're not too busy because there are so many other stands to see and I'm sure you just wanted to find some good merchandise which is pretty obvious given that you were here first and I just walked over here. My friend Lafontaine; they're the redhead over there,' Carmilla looked to see the girl's friend stood against a post wearing a smug expression. She turned back as the other girl continued her rambling. 'Well they saw you sitting at that cafe earlier and they said you were giving me "seduction eyes" and I thought no that's not possible because I mean look at you but then I saw you staring at me or maybe you were just glancing but anyway they dared me to come and speak to you but when I came over I got nervous so I pretended to be looking at merchandise but then you moved and well I...um, here we are I guess...'
Carmilla blinked a little at the sheer volume and intensity the girl had just released upon her and then she was laughing like actual throw your head back and laugh laughing. Seeing the alarmed look on the girl's face made her stop
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh it's just for someone so small you sure as hell talk a lot Cupcake'
The other girl bristled puffing out her chest slightly as she squinted at her.
'I'm an average size thank you very much! Plus you are only like an inch taller than me.'
'I never said I wasn't small too just that you happen to be smaller'
The pout that formed on the girl's face made her swoon, trying to keep it together as she faced off this tiny adorable cupcake. After a few seconds of silence the girl spoke again, looking down awkwardly as she did.
'I um...well I'm sorry to have bothered you. I'm just gonna go, have a nice day 10'
She started to turn but then Carmilla was speaking, hoping to bring back the smile from moments ago.
'Carmilla.'
'Excuse me?'
'My name. My name is Carmilla and you definitely didn't bother me Creampuff'
The girl bit her lip starting to say something when a voice calling her name stole her attention.
'LAURA!'
The girl turned and then Carmilla could see a very tall redhead walking towards her. Her annoyingly flirty smile instantly pissing the brunette off and then she was stomping away. Pushing people out of her path as she trudged back to Mattie's stand. Cursing stupid ginger giants under her breath, interrupting her time with the pretty Rose Tyler. Yet another reason why she hated conventions; there were always interruptions.
....
The day proceeded to go incredibly slow and Carmilla's mood only soured. She was so sick of dealing with annoying customers and stupid frat boys that kept on asking her for her phone number. Mattie had intercepted when Carmilla looked ready to punch them. Putting her arm around her sister and guiding her over to where the curly haired redhead she'd seen from earlier was standing. The girl was studying their baked good section, seeing Carmilla approaching she looked up with a smile.
'Hi, I was wondering if you could help me?'
'Obviously, what do you need Gingersnap?'
The girl seemed unphased by the nickname, bustling on even chirpier.
'I saw some cinnamon buns that looked just divine but my friend is craving cookies so I said I'd check if you had any of the ones she liked'
'We have chocolate chip and orange, oatmeal chocolate chip and triple chocolate chip cookies and some raisin ones. Any of those sound good Raggedy Anne?'
'Oh yes! I'll take one of each please and a cinnamon bun'
'Great, Mattie will ring you up'
The girl smiled but didn't move, instead leaning over to hand Carmilla a napkin. Glancing down she saw a little tardis doodled in the corner and some scrawly handwriting. Could I time travel into your heart? She looked up in confusion but the redhead just smiled more, motioning behind her. Carmilla looked past the girl to see a very awkward looking Laura smiling at her, she smirked a little before looking back to the redhead who wore a knowing slightly smug smile as she moved to talk to Mattie. Paying the older girl her change before rejoining her friends. Mattie turns with a smile, looking over at her sister's doe-eyed expression before an idea struck her and then she was pushing items into Carmilla's hands and all but shoving her in the direction the redhead had gone in.
'Take their food over and try to look less miserable'
'Mattie c'mon why can't you do it?'
'Oh hush, I'm not the one fawning over the little blonde gidget.'
She made a shooing motion, smiling when Carmilla grabbed a napkin and quickly scribbled something on it before folding it into an origami rose.
'Sap!'
Carmilla flipped her off as she made her way over to their table.
'Here's your food, hope you enjoy them.'
Placing them on the table as the curly haired redhead said thank you, nudging the one Carmilla knew was called Lafontaine when they started to giggle looking suggestively back at Laura who's face was a tomato red. She smirked before leaning over to place the origami rose infront of her, walking away with an extra swoosh of her hips. Her smile growing when she heard Laura let out a squeal of excitement.
Maybe conventions weren't so bad after all.