The Divergence

Lavinia ran her fingertips along the fabric of a dress hanging from one of the racks, feeling the material bunch slightly beneath her nails before she released it with a sigh.

In truth, she didn’t care all that much about her body being seen.

That didn’t mean she planned to run around streaking through Oakridge, but there was surprisingly little embarrassment attached to wearing something revealing. 

Her current outfit certainly qualified compared to the gothic dress she’d worn every night since becoming a vampire.

The white ribbed sweater left her shoulders bare and clung closely to her upper body, while the black skirt wrapped tightly around her hips before splitting high along one thigh.

She knew people were looking.

She simply didn’t particularly care.

A few feet away, Evelyn shifted uncomfortably and tried to tug the hem of her own black skirt down another inch. 

It didn’t cooperate much, and her blonde hair fell forward as she looked down at herself with an expression of quiet betrayal.

Rosaline watched her struggle and giggled. ”I’m so happy. Everyone is finally well dressed.”

Lavinia snorted and glanced over. ”You say that until one of us actually has a wardrobe malfunction.”

Rosaline’s red eyes flicked toward her.

”I’m serious.” Lavinia tugged lightly at the neckline of her sweater. ”Before, if we were playing around and someone tore my dress, I didn’t have to worry about it. It would just fix itself.”

She released the fabric.

”This?” Lavinia continued. ”If you tear it, it stays torn. If you shred it, I’m just standing there in shredded clothes.”

Cordelia laughed softly, her long blue hair shifting over her shoulders. ”Lavinia, you do realize that clothes not repairing themselves is the reality for almost everyone else on Earth?”

Adelaide rolled her red eyes and folded her arms over the front of her oversized gray hoodie. ”You sound spoiled.”

Lavinia tilted her head.

Her solid red eyes moved from Cordelia to Adelaide.

”Fine. I won’t bother with either of you.”

Adelaide laughed.

Before Lavinia could continue complaining, a familiar fragrance drifted through the surrounding mixture of perfumes, fabrics, humans, and vampires.

Tangerine and honey.

Lavinia turned instinctively.

Her gaze immediately traveled downward.

Valerie had abandoned the T-shirt and overalls.

The gray halter dress she’d chosen instead wrapped closely around her figure, with broad straps crossing high over her chest and around her neck while leaving her shoulders and arms completely bare. 

A deep opening broke up the front without making the otherwise sleek dress excessively elaborate, and the fitted bodice gave way to a softer skirt below her waist. 

Her extraordinarily long orange hair spilled around the gray fabric in warm waves, making the comparatively muted outfit stand out far more than it otherwise would have.

Valerie noticed exactly where Lavinia was looking.

A smug smile spread across her face.

She placed both hands on her waist, straightened, and proudly puffed out her chest. ”I know I’m beautiful, but if all of you keep staring, even I’ll get embarrassed.”

”You chose well,” Cordelia said, looking her over approvingly. ”That suits you.”

Rosaline nodded. ”Much better.”

Evangeline hummed enthusiastically. ”Definitely.”

Evelyn fidgeted with her own skirt again before offering a small smile. ”I like the dress. It’s really pretty.”

Her gaze immediately slid toward Celestine afterward.

Celestine’s lips twitched.

Evelyn tugged at her skirt again.

Celestine calmly looked in the opposite direction as though she’d seen absolutely nothing.

Evelyn stared at her in disbelief.

Lavinia covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.

Evangeline, meanwhile, stepped behind Valerie and wrapped both arms around her waist. Her bright red hair spilled over Valerie’s shoulder as she pressed herself close.

”If you’re missing a wife, I’ll happily apply for the position.”

Valerie immediately shook her head. ”Sorry. I’m happily married to Lavinia. Sixty years now.”

Evangeline’s expression collapsed into a pout.

”Again?”

”Again.”

Evangeline released her and stepped away.

Lavinia narrowed her eyes. ”You—”

She reached forward to flick Valerie in the forehead.

Valerie caught her hand.

Lavinia blinked.

With one sharp tug, Valerie pulled her forward and wrapped both arms around her.

”Valerie!”

Valerie buried her face against Lavinia and inhaled deeply.

Berries and pine mixed with tangerine and honey.

Lavinia stared down at the mass of orange hair pressed against her before breaking into bright laughter and attempting to pry Valerie away. ”What are you doing?”

Valerie inhaled again.

”Stop smelling me!”

Valerie tightened her arms.

The others dissolved into giggles.

Rosaline watched them for several seconds before glancing around the store. ”Since we’ve all found something to wear, what do we want to do next?”

”We need to put our dresses in the car,” Lavinia answered, although Valerie’s face was still half buried against her chest. 

She pushed ineffectually at the orange-haired vampire’s shoulder. ”If somebody steals my dress, I’m going to lose my mind.”

That finally made Valerie lift her head.

She took two more shameless breaths before releasing Lavinia, her empty red eyes practically sparkling with satisfaction.

Lavinia smoothed her sweater. ”You’re so clingy.”

Valerie tilted her head. ”Were you like this when you were human?”

”Like what?”

”Affectionate.”

Lavinia narrowed her eyes.

Then she abruptly grabbed Valerie’s face between both hands.

Valerie’s eyes widened as Lavinia forced their gazes together.

”I was single by choice,” Lavinia said, her clear, bell-like voice softening into something lower and slightly hoarse. ”I can be affectionate too.”

Valerie went still.

Lavinia held her there for another second before releasing her face and stepping away.

She twirled once, her golden hair fanning outward around her as her skirt shifted around her thighs.

”Now everyone is stupidly hot,” Lavinia grumbled, ”and I’m stuck with all of you.”

Evangeline leaned into her field of vision, bringing with her a faint breeze scented with black cherries and red wine. ”Are you about to fold to our beauty after all?”

Lavinia’s empty red eyes rolled dramatically.

Then she burst into laughter. ”While I would certainly love to sample every last one of you, I want to explore the mall a tiny bit more first.”

Valerie leaned forward with a smug smile, placing one hand on her hip while twirling a strand of orange hair around a finger. ”I knew I’d be irresistible if I wore something nice.”

”The T-shirt and overalls were nice.”

Valerie’s smile vanished.

”They were nice to the surrounding people,” Lavinia continued, ”and more importantly, they were nice to me.”

Several vampires giggled.

Valerie muttered something beneath her breath while the group began retrieving their original clothing.

The contrast was strange. Their black dresses looked less like normal clothing once removed and carried around. 

Each was unmistakably theirs, perfectly fitted and stylistically distinct despite sharing the same gothic character. 

Lavinia handled hers with considerably more care than she’d expected to feel toward any piece of clothing.

It wasn’t replaceable.

Not as far as she knew, anyway.

Celestine ended up carrying the card Violetta had given them, so she was the one who approached the register first.

The cashier had already watched eight vampires spend an unreasonable amount of time turning the store into their personal fashion show, but she managed to retain an admirably professional expression when they finally arrived.

”You can leave the tags on what you’re wearing. I’ll scan them from there.”

”Thank you,” Celestine replied pleasantly.

The cashier glanced at the bundle of gothic dresses in their arms. ”Would you like bags for those?”

Lavinia immediately nodded. ”Yes, please.”

That solved one problem.

The cashier began scanning their clothes individually while another employee brought over several large bags for their original dresses.

Lavinia waited near the counter.

Then she looked at the cashier.

And blinked.

The woman was cute.

Undeniably so.

But Lavinia’s attention wasn’t staying on her face.

There it was again.

Blood.

Warm, living blood beneath skin.

The scent wasn’t remotely overwhelming. Lavinia had fed before leaving, and there was no hunger twisting inside her demanding satisfaction. 

Still, the smell was enticing enough that a thought appeared with effortless simplicity.

She wanted to bite her.

Maybe a few times.

Just a little.

Lavinia straightened abruptly and patted her own cheek.

No.

She looked away from the cashier.

It wasn’t actually difficult. A human could walk past a bakery while smelling fresh cake without being compelled to rush inside and shove one into their mouth. 

Vampires could do much the same with blood, especially when already satiated.

Wanting something wasn’t the same as needing it.

Still tasted better than cake, though.

Lavinia kept that thought to herself.

Once everything had been paid for and their dresses carefully placed inside the provided bags, the eight vampires finally left the store.

They made it several steps into the mall.

Then slowed.

Lavinia looked at Valerie.

Valerie looked at Rosaline.

Rosaline glanced toward Adelaide.

Adelaide looked at Cordelia.

Nobody said anything.

They had never actually decided what came next.

Lavinia sighed. ”Food?”

That earned immediate consideration.

”Food sounds good,” Adelaide agreed.

”I could eat,” Evangeline said.

A couple passing nearby visibly stiffened.

Lavinia’s eyes rolled.

Really?

Did they think eight vampires were going to choose a random person in the middle of a mall and—

Her thought stopped.

She’d fed on someone in public before.

Lavinia’s expression became slightly awkward.

That had been different.

She’d been asked.

Remembering the taste, Lavinia’s tongue slipped across her lips before disappearing back into her mouth.

Valerie noticed and gave her a curious look.

Lavinia shook her head. ”Nothing.”

Evelyn hesitated. ”I know somewhere with good food.”

Everyone turned toward her.

Evelyn immediately shrank slightly. ”I mean... I think it’s good. I’m not sure if all of you would like it.”

Adelaide smiled. ”A recommendation from you must mean it’s good. Let’s try it.”

Evelyn looked relieved. ”Okay.”

She took the lead.

As they moved through the mall toward the escalators, Lavinia’s senses continually picked apart the environment around them. 

Humans overwhelmingly dominated the mixture of scents, but wolves had passed through too.

Some trails were old.

Others were considerably newer.

They still hadn’t actually encountered a werewolf inside the mall, but there had clearly been several here recently.

That wasn’t surprising. There were more werewolves than vampires, and a mall was a mall regardless of what species someone belonged to.

The humans were much more noticeable.

They stared.

Some tried not to.

Others didn’t bother pretending.

Phones appeared constantly.

Lavinia suspected there were already enough photographs of them online to assemble an entire album documenting the evening from the moment they walked through the front entrance.

They reached an escalator.

Lavinia stepped onto it first.

Valerie immediately moved onto the step directly beneath her.

Lavinia glanced backward. ”What are you doing?”

”Making sure you aren’t giving everyone benefits.”

”What benefits?”

Valerie pointed meaningfully downward.

Lavinia looked at the high split running from her hip down the side of her skirt.

Then she deliberately shifted her leg enough to make the opening more obvious.

”People are already seeing a lot.”

Valerie stared.

Rosaline rolled her eyes from farther down the escalator. ”Seeing a lot isn’t the same as seeing everything.”

Lavinia shrugged. ”Oh. Not really bothered.”

Valerie poked her firmly in the back.

Lavinia glanced over her shoulder again.

”Even if you aren’t embarrassed,” Valerie said, ”you’ll embarrass everyone else.”

Lavinia considered that.

Then she giggled softly and faced forward again. ”Fine. I understand.”

Valerie looked satisfied.

They stepped off at the next floor.

Lavinia looked around as Evelyn continued guiding them through the mall.

As a human, places like this hadn’t been a significant part of her life.

She hadn’t bought many clothes, and when she did, she’d usually ordered them rather than visiting stores in person. 

Going out socially hadn’t been much different. 

Her social circle had been small and unremarkable, composed mostly of coworkers and people she happened to interact with regularly.

She hadn’t even kept up with them after the First Divergence.

They hadn’t been close.

Human friendships required maintenance. Relationships required effort. 

Lavinia had never had a problem with that concept, but without that maintenance, people naturally drifted apart.

Vampires were different.

Everything with them was easy.

So ridiculously easy.

She’d known most of the women surrounding her for less than two weeks, and yet being around them felt effortless in a way relationships rarely had before.

Perhaps that should have bothered her.

It didn’t.

Evelyn eventually led them toward a restaurant tucked into a quieter section of the mall.

Lavinia liked it immediately.

The interior had a warm, homey atmosphere built around a botanical theme. 

Plants decorated shelves and partitions, trailing vines hung from elevated planters, and soft lighting gave the wood-heavy interior an almost greenhouse-like warmth without becoming excessively themed.

Then eight vampires entered.

Conversations changed almost instantly.

Lavinia heard the word vampire from four separate directions before they’d even reached the host.

Fortunately, a large table was available.

They were seated quickly.

Valerie claimed the chair immediately to Lavinia’s left.

Rosaline took the right.

Lavinia slowly looked at Valerie.

Valerie opened her menu innocently.

”Careful,” Lavinia said. ”If you keep being this clingy, I’m going to start thinking you’ve fallen for my beauty and charms.”

Valerie blinked.

Then she smiled.

”I’m utterly captivated by you.” Valerie batted her orange eyelashes. ”So I think that counts as falling for you.”

Lavinia squinted.

Rosaline giggled. ”She’s not wrong. I like you too.”

Lavinia turned toward her.

Rosaline rested her chin lightly against one hand. ”You’re considerate, but sometimes you’re also slightly prickly and arrogant. It’s fun.”

Lavinia stared at her.

”Did you just call me a tsundere?”

Celestine burst into giggles.

Evelyn immediately joined her, although she covered her mouth.

Rosaline shook her head quickly. ”I promise I wasn’t.”

”You were thinking it.”

”I wasn’t!”

”You hesitated.”

”I did not.”

Lavinia exhaled and leaned back in her chair. ”Humans who haven’t even known each other for a day sometimes become intimate. I’ve known all of you for almost two weeks now.”

The others quieted slightly.

Lavinia glanced around the table.

”And I do like all of you. Very much.”

Cordelia’s expression softened.

She supported her head against one hand, long blue hair spilling over her shoulder. ”We’re not human anymore, Lavinia. And we have all the time in the world. You don’t have to feel rushed.”

Valerie hummed softly and reached beneath the edge of Lavinia’s menu to take her hand.

Their skin was equally warm.

There was no living-human warmth against vampire coolness. They matched.

”Most of the time, I’m joking with all my antics,” Valerie admitted. ”But there is a little truth to it.”

Lavinia gave her a long look.

Then squeezed her hand.

”I’m not oblivious or some dense protagonist, okay?”

Laughter broke around the table.

Valerie grinned. ”Just making sure.”

Lavinia lifted her chin confidently. ”You’re all in my harem anyway. Gwendolyn too. Violetta as well.”

Adelaide tilted her head. ”Could you actually handle all of that?”

Lavinia’s confidence lasted approximately two seconds.

Then she shrugged.

”I’m mostly joking.” Lavinia glanced around the table. ”I’m the type who’d stay faithful. But if the person I’m supposed to be faithful to is more than one person, I’m fine with that too.”

Several nearby humans looked over.

Lavinia heard a whispered comment from another table and ignored it.

Out of context, her statement probably sounded beyond shameless.

Nobody at their table objected, though.

Because they understood what she meant.

It wasn’t really the fantasy of a harem, with Lavinia planted in the center while everyone else revolved around her.

None of them wanted that.

If anything, the idea was almost the opposite.

Nobody wanted to lose what they already had.

Nobody wanted Valerie to suddenly pull away from Rosaline because she was with Lavinia now, or for Cordelia to stop being affectionate with Evelyn because she’d chosen someone else. 

Nobody wanted some invisible boundary to appear between them where there hadn’t been one before.

They wanted everyone else in their orbit.

And they wanted to remain in everyone else’s.

Every person both center and satellite.

Lavinia snickered.

Everyone looked at her.

”That’s so poly, though.”

Evangeline immediately shook her head. ”We live forever, and we’re not human. It’s different.”

”It’s sort of the same,” Lavinia replied. ”We’ve been vampires for less than two weeks. You can’t pull the ’mysterious immortal relationship customs’ argument yet.”

Evangeline pouted. ”I could start early.”

Valerie shrugged, still holding Lavinia’s hand. ”Wanting everyone is selfish.”

Lavinia looked toward her.

Valerie continued with complete seriousness. ”But wanting to give yourself to everyone isn’t selfish.”

Rosaline’s eyebrows rose.

”So,” Valerie concluded, ”they cancel each other out and make it equal.”

There was a brief silence.

Lavinia started laughing.

Adelaide shook her head while chuckling, Cordelia covered her smile, and Evangeline nodded as if Valerie had just delivered a profound philosophical truth.

”That isn’t how anything works,” Lavinia said through her laughter.

”It works perfectly.”

”According to Valerie mathematics.”

”The finest mathematics.”

Celestine’s smile lingered for several seconds before gradually softening.

She looked at the empty space around the table.

”I miss Gwendolyn.”

The laughter faded.

Lavinia’s smile weakened.

It had only been a short time since they’d left her behind, and Gwendolyn was perfectly safe. She’d wanted more time with her mother. There was nothing remotely wrong.

Yet Lavinia understood exactly what Celestine meant.

The table felt incomplete.

”Yeah,” Lavinia murmured. ”Me too.”

Valerie squeezed her hand.

Evelyn nodded softly.

Then a waiter approached their table carrying a small stack of menus and wearing the unmistakable expression of someone who had just realized they were about to personally serve eight vampires.

Lavinia watched him approach.

Her smile returned.

At least dinner should be interesting.

Valerie