All Strings Attached

by Miss Merikan

  He met up with Anna in town only to realize she wanted to take him to a doll meet up, or as she put it, have her cake and eat it. He couldn’t resist her big brown eyes and the pendant constantly getting lost in her cleavage, and that was how he ended up in purgatory.

  He was the last person on earth to dis people for being weird, but this just wasn’t his scene. Some of the girls wore frilly Lolita dresses, people bought and sold stuff, and there was talk of a doll marriage. He stuck out like a sore thumb, so he focused on the alcoholic coffee he got himself and watched Anna bounce around the room talking to all her friends. Dressed in a pair of shorts worn over thick tights and a skin-hugging T-shirt with a low neckline, she looked amazingly sexy. The large colorful earrings constantly bouncing off her neck only made Gavin think of the last time he smelled her behind the ear.

  That quickly had him drifting off to memories of sex. It just wasn’t getting boring with Anna. He felt so manly when they role-played, and he got to toy with being dominating, or even an asshole. Seeing Anna unashamedly enjoying herself brought out the beast in Gavin. Even when stuff came up because of his arm, Anna never made him feel inadequate, or like he was useless. Of course, he could put up with this doll crap around him for a little while if it made her so happy.

  “You’re with Annashi, right?” asked a female voice from the side, and when Gavin turned around, taken out of his daydream, there was a girl with big black hair and dark makeup sitting next to him.

  “Yeah, it’s my first time seeing all this,” he said, exchanging a smile with Anna, who gave him a longer look during the conversation she was having with Andrea and one other girl.

  He wasn’t sure what it meant, but then another emo-looking girl joined them at the table. “Hi, haven’t seen you before,” she said and reached out her hand to him.

  Gavin gave her hand a shake, already wishing for a cigarette. What was this about? Girls hadn’t been flocking anywhere near him since he lost his arm.

  “You look like one of my dolls!” said Girl Number Two, shuffling closer. Her knee brushed against his underneath the table. “Shame I don’t have him with me today. We could take twin photos.”

  Gavin squinted, unsure what to make of it. “Twin photos?”

  Girl Number One butted in, patting Gavin’s shoulder. “You know, you and the doll looking alike. It would have been so amazing!”

  “Yeah, your style is quite popular for male dolls,” said Two.

  “Is it?” Gavin cocked his head to the side. He had seen quite a few goth dolls around with owners who didn’t seem to be into the style themselves and looked like regular citizens.

  Anna chose this moment to show up with a wide grin, Beauty, the doll she took with her for the meet cradled against her tits. “Gavin, Andrea’s here. You wanna join us?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He got up and took his coffee with him, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of people crowding in the relatively small space.

  “Are you guys together?” asked One, creating a bubble of uncomfortable silence around the table. Anna stilled with her mouth half open.

  For a total of two seconds, nothing happened, but then Anna let out a chuckle and pulled on Gavin’s shoulder, already tugging him away from the table. “We’re good friends.”

  Gavin took a deep breath, relieved that he didn’t have to answer the question, yet also slightly weirded out because they were definitely more than friends. Then again, it’s not like Anna had any obligation to discuss their sex life with strangers. “I was about to get a doll twin,” he told Anna in a neutral tone.

  Anna looked back at him with a half-smile. “You should get a goth doll bride. Girls are much more fun.”

  “I do like doing girls’ makeup more. Their skin is so much softer,” Gavin said, winking at her.

  Anna’s smile broadened, and she slipped an arm behind his back as they approached Andrea, who was chatting with two other Lolitas ... and their equally frilly dolls. “You generally like doing girls. I know.”

  “Then we have something in common.” Gavin snorted, already cringing internally at the amount of pink cupcakes on the table. And to think that when he first met Andrea, she was an old school goth chick, thick makeup, fishnets, and all.

  They joined the small group of Lolitas, immediately invited to taste the unreal cakes. Thankfully, the girls tried to keep their princess-like topics to a minimum, but he still felt like a guy invited over to a little girl’s tea party, sitting by the tiny table among teddy bears and dolls. It got a bit more interesting at one point when Andrea reminded Anna about a doll head she needed some work done on. Turned out a doll wasn’t all Anna had in her big carrier bag.

  Once the cakes were moved to another table, she spread a plastic sheet, put on a pair of latex gloves, and picked up a blank head. Gavin had seen whole boxes of those back at Anna’s place, but she never actually worked when he was around.

  He sat close so he could see what she was doing. As strange as the dolls seemed when he first learned about them, now that he was more comfortable with their little bodies, he was starting to take interest in their makeup, or faceups as Anna called them. He knew it was a completely different skill than what he knew, but the damn things sat still without any problem. It wasn’t like a person getting tired or bored and moving around when he had to handle all his tools with just one hand. And style-wise, makeup was makeup. He had so many ideas for it that who knew, maybe his ‘faceups’ would sell if he got into it. There were quite a few goth dolls around after all.

  What he did notice as he was watching Anna apply dry pastel dust with tiny brushes was that a lot of what she was doing qualified as special effects makeup. He found it particularly interesting because while he was still an active makeup artist, it was something he enjoyed doing.

  Meanwhile, the conversation went on as usual, finally turning to Anna’s most prized possession.

  “It’s a shame you haven’t brought your Katyusha,” said Charlotte, one of Andrea’s Lolita friends, a girl in a black miniature top hat. “You never see any around.”

  Anna smiled at her from above the head she was working on. “Well, there are only five of them. I’d rather not risk moving her around London.” So she wouldn’t invite Charlotte to see the doll in its display case.

  Charlotte drank some tea from a dainty little cup. “Fairy Dollmother owns three of them, so maybe she’ll bring one to the UK for Nippon Expo.”

  “Maybe. She likes to show off. There’s one in South Korea, and then the last one’s Anna’s,” said Andrea. “I don’t understand why she wants to hoard them all.”

  “It’s like compulsive overeating, but, like, with dolls,” chuckled the last Lolita with her mouth full of chocolate mousse.

  Anna shrugged after blowing some air on the head. “That woman’s crazy. She keeps making offers and just won’t take no for an answer. She even tried to pay Dan for getting me to sell it. Can you imagine?”

  “What?” Charlotte laughed. “Doesn’t she have a mansion in France or something? What if she could pay you fifty thousand pounds? Wouldn’t that be a good deal?”

  Anna frowned. “What would I even need this kind of money for? I want my Katyusha. She’s unique, and not for sale.”

  Andrea raised her eyebrows. “I dunno, like a deposit for your own apartment for example?”

  Gavin cocked his head to the side. “Someone else could say that it’s silly to spend even two hundred pounds for a doll. It’s Anna’s decision. If she wants it, she wants it.”

  Anna looked up at him from above the head, and he immediately knew he got some brownie points there. Her smile was bright enough to lighten up the whole room.

  Gavin’s heart sped up a bit, and he caught a curious glance from Andrea, but if she had any questions, she distracted herself with a pink cupcake.

  *

  It was late at night when they finally arrived at the Tube station in the general area of Anna’s home. They chose not to change twice to get to the nearest one and wal
k home instead. The streets were fairly quiet as they took a shortcut through a huge park with a children’s playground looming close to a set of red brick houses and a football field. Anna was holding Gavin’s hand and chatting about the meeting. She was still very excited.

  “That faceup you did was really something,” Gavin said with a smile. “It made me re-evaluate this whole thing. I’m sorry if I underestimated them before.”

  Anna’s face got serious, and she looked at him for a few seconds as they walked. “Thanks. I thought it really wasn’t your thing,” she said, squeezing his hand.

  “I think I’m seeing all the stuff you can do with them, and it seems fun. I don’t have to make up doll personalities or do photo stories, but I appreciate the whole aesthetics of some of them. I could see myself experimenting with doll makeup.” He leaned down for a kiss as they strolled along the path.

  Anna squealed into his lips. “Really? This would be so much fun!”

  “I knew you’d love that,” Gavin laughed. “Go on, pull me into your little trap.”

  “Yeah, well, I know you can’t resist my bait,” she said, snuggling up to him. There was another group of people walking ahead toward them, but other than that, the area was very peaceful. He couldn’t wait to get home.

  “I love your tight trap,” Gavin whispered with a smile.

  “Oh, my God, you’re such a pervert! You should be ashamed!” teased Anna.

  “Me? A perv? Says the girl with a tentacle-shaped dildo under her bed.”

  Anna gasped and looked at him wide-eyed, nudging his ribs. “That’s different!”

  They quieted down when the group of dodgy-looking young men came closer, and one of the guys walking their way looked up at them, but Gavin was already preparing comebacks in his head, used to stupid comments about his look.

  “Yo, scarecrow. Did she find you at the charity shop?”

  Gavin frowned, already bristling up. “Yeah, same one your clothes came from,” he snarled, pulling Anna a bit behind himself, just in case. His head got hot immediately. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him get verbally abused.

  “Oh, yeah?” asked the guy, walking off his path and coming closer, with his friends looking on and chatting with ugly smirks on their faces. “This shirt? Diesel. Jeans? Ralph fucking Lauren.” He spread his arms and raised his upper lip in challenge. “You wouldn’t be able to afford any of this, you sissy!”

  Anna pulled at Gavin’s arm, trying to take him away from the group. “Ralph Lauren’s a good brand. You going to a party?” she asked in a voice slightly higher pitched than usual.

  But Gavin would not be ridiculed in front of Anna. “What’d you call me?” He made a step toward the guy.

  “Shut up, you painted cunt,” said one of the other guys and poked Mr. Diesel-Ralph Lauren in the shoulder. “Nev, don’t be stupid. Hasn’t your mother told you not to touch the one-armed bandit?” he asked with a wide grin before taking a swig from a can he was holding.

  It was like waving a red blanket in front of a bull. Gavin slid his hand into his bag to grab the pepper spray, but just before he was about to use it, all hell broke loose.

  Anna rushed to stand between him and the thugs, but she only stayed on her feet for a moment before one of them swung his fist their way. She let out a sharp yelp and dropped to the ground with a hollow sound that made Gavin’s stomach turn inside out.

  “Fuck, Nev, why did you hit that bird?” growled one of the guys, pulling Nev away with a rough gesture.

  “Shouldn’t have fucking gotten in the way. She’ll live,” rasped Nev, all bristled up as he spat on the ground.

  Anna moaned, getting to her feet. “Oh, God,” she muttered, touching the white carrier bag as if it were her baby.

  Gavin only spent a fraction of a second deciding what to do, panic curling up in his stomach. He pulled out the pepper spray and used it on both the guys’ eyes, the hiss from the can followed by their screams. Before they knew what hit them, they were curling up and holding their faces. Gavin scooted down next to Anna and pulled her up. They would not be waiting for what was going to happen if they stayed. He was sure as fuck done arguing with a bunch of drunken thugs.

  Anna pulled the carrier into her arms and ran alongside him at the top of her speed. Gavin was lucky to have long legs because platform boots weren’t the best footwear for this. They were both panting as they passed block after block, only to finally slow down once they heard no one following them. Gavin now regretted doing no exercise. He couldn’t catch a breath once they stopped, whereas he should be checking up on Anna. He was such a failure.

  Anna dropped to her knees and unzipped the carrier, carefully removing the white padding only to reveal the face of her doll, still in its plastic protective mask. A quick examination revealed that the doll didn’t appear to be broken anywhere, and Anna slowly tipped over and lay on her back, right where she sat on the asphalt. The skin around her left eye seemed slightly odd, as if the eye was slightly smaller than the other one.

  Still panting, Gavin got down to his knees by her side and reached out to her face. “Are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance?” His heart was beating so fast it made him nauseated.

  She looked up at him with a low sigh. “No, I just need ice. Can’t believe he actually hit me,” she said, raising herself to sit in front of Gavin.

  “I know ... I’m so sorry.” He petted her hair feeling like the biggest loser on the planet. He not only got humiliated but also got a girl hurt. Rock bottom.

  Anna bumped her fist against his collarbone. “Why didn’t you just play along with me? There were five of them anyway.”

  Gavin sighed, looking down to the pavement. “I don’t know ... I just flipped.”

  Anna grasped his shoulder. “You can’t. They could have done something to you. It’s dangerous. What if they had knives?”

  How was he to explain to her that people tried to victimize him all his life and he had to take a stand? That he didn’t want to be laughed at in front of a girl he liked. He shrugged in the end, not even daring to look into her big brown eyes.

  Anna pulled him closer and leaned her head on his shoulder, breathing on his naked skin. “Please, be careful? This could have gotten really bad.”

  Gavin slid his arm under hers and hugged her tight. He knew Anna liked his look, but sometimes he did wonder when she’d get bored with him. He wasn’t even one of those muscle goths who could properly protect their girlfriends.

  Anna embraced him tighter, and for a moment, they stayed still like this. She eventually broke into laughter. “At least the doll’s okay.”

  “That’s most important, right?” He sighed and kissed her ear, uncaring what anyone would think if they saw them sitting on the cold pavement.

  Anna shrugged. “The last time I got a black eye was back at school. It disappeared after a few days. It’s gonna be fine.”

  “Maybe you should paint one on your Minimee?” Gavin finally backed away and helped Anna up.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m going to carry it with pride.” Anna zipped up the carrier and put it on her back again, seeming a bit deflated.

  She wouldn’t say it, but Gavin knew she was angry with him. However she felt about him now, Gavin was certain he hated himself more.

  Chapter 9

  Anna stared at the reflection in her bathroom mirror. She applied ice to her eye as soon as she got home, but the area around it was still swollen and dark blue. It was hopeless. And on the day she was supposed to meet her parents for dinner at that. She was way out of luck. She left the bathroom with a kick to the door, grim and hungry. She didn’t even do her morning workout out of sheer frustration. She couldn’t get her head around Gavin just flipping out like he did. He didn’t have one arm, and as far as she knew, knew close to nothing about fistfights. What had he been thinking?

  She paced to the kitchen, already knowing she needed to sweeten her life. She could make some cookies with peanut butter. Dan was already there, making to
ast with peanut butter and jam. It was his latest breakfast obsession. He told Anna he was on a mission to find out what jam goes best with peanut butter and was insanely dedicated.

  She turned around so that he wouldn’t see her bruise and switched on the oven. “Hi. This one good?”

  Dan frowned, chewing the toast. “I’m still not sure. This one’s pineapple. You wanna try?” He walked up closer.

  “Nah, thanks. I’m making cookies,” said Anna, pulling out all the ingredients she wanted. Ha, she could add mashed banana too. Why the hell not. She deserved it.

  “Hey, hey, hey ... What happened?” Dan put his hand on her cheek and pulled her to the light coming through the window.

  Anna followed him with a scowl. “Come on, I don’t wanna think about it. We got attacked by chavs yesterday, and one of them hit me by accident. It’s no big deal. Will you let me make cookies?”

  “No! What the actual fuck? Where was Gavin? What do you mean ‘by accident?’” Dan was already in drama mode. Anna couldn’t roll her eyes fast enough.

  “He chased them off. I’m fine, Dan, really,” she told him with a pat to the shoulder.

  “He did? Or did you fight them off for him?” Dan hissed, watching her eye with a frown.

  Anna gave him a blank stare. “Who do you think Gavin is? I just got between them in a bad moment.”

  “I think he’s a nice guy who doesn’t have the skill to fight anyone,” Dan grumbled and got back to his toast.

  “So? Most people don’t.” Anna started tossing spoonsful of peanut butter into a bowl. She couldn’t understand why Dan disliked Gavin so much. Was it one of those situations when people simply hated one another at first sight?

  “Maybe just take a cab next time?”

  “Maybe,” she said just to get him off her case as she mixed in the other ingredients.

  “I was thinking that we could do a bidding party for the next MD Momo coming out? You know, the limited edition. We could invite friends over with their laptops, so someone can help you get her.” Dan smiled at Anna and made more toast.