119Disclaimer: I do not own Hemlock Grove or any of the characters. I only own my OC.
A/N: I am sorry for lagging on this story. I was focusing on school, and then I started really getting into my new AHS story, and I also was working on my latest chapter for Floating On Air. It wasn't until I saw the movie Thoroughbreds that I got motivation to continue writing this story. I saw Anya Taylor-Joy in it and her performace made me realize just how much I missed writing Imogen's character. Anyways...here's a new chapter! It's not as long as I wanted it to be, but at least it's something.
Are you guys excited for the movie Glass? I'm planning on watching it opening night with my niece and nephew. We usually go to this nice theater in downtown L.A. whenever we go see a movie together. We did that with the new Halloween move in October and we loved it. But Glass is a movie I have longed seeing ever since the release of Split. Gah, I love that movie and Unbreakable. The acting and soundtrack are amazing in those two. My fave score from Unbreakable is The Orange Man. The score playing during that specific scene in the movie always gives me goosebumps. I'm excited to hear the soundtrack for Glass. I am also beyond happy Anya Taylor-Joy is going to reprise her role as Casey Cooke. She's a survivor and fighter. Can't wait to see what her character is going to do in this new movie.
I know I haven't said Imogen's parents names yet, and there's a reason for that. I'm saving it for a special, rather emotional moment she's going to share with Roman once they get closer with one another. However, if you want a visual representation of her parents I imagine the actress Bridget Catherine Regan as the faceclaim for her mother, and Ethan Hawke as the faceclaim for her father.
Also, I don't own the music or artists mentioned in this chapter! :)
I'll fix any errors that are in this chapter later! Sorry in advance!
"Being different is a revolving door in your life where secure people enter and insecure exit." ― Shannon L. Alder
Chapter 11: The joys of shopping
Imogen hated shopping.
Alright, perhaps the word hate was too much of a strong word to describe how she felt. The raven haired girl though certainly disliked shopping. Her dislike hadn't been something that always existed. The ill content feelings for that specific activity only grew after the car accident she had suffered through. The same car accident that killed her parents, and left her with permanent scars all over her arms, shoulders, and backside.
It would be better said that she hated to look at herself now. For it was a reminder of what she lost and what her body unfortunately got stuck with.
Imogen no longer took joy in trying on outfits, and she hated looking at herself in the mirror. Her own reflection now only caused her to feel self disgust and heartache. That's why she always tried her hardest to not look herself in the mirror anymore, especially when changing. Her reflection would just cause her to go down a spiral of unanswered questions.
Why did she survive the car crash? Why not her parents? Why did the scars on her face go away but not the other ones that were on her body? There were other questions that would pop into her head. Although it was the first two questions that really got to her the most, causing her to feel guilt. She really should have been more grateful in being alive but she just couldn't. Even now as time had passed, Imogen still had that lingering thought that passing away with her parents would have been better.
The scars on her body certainly made her feel that way.
Imogen already knew beforehand that the shopping trip with Letha was probably not going to end well in regards to her emotions. The raven haired girl really should have declined Letha's invitation from the start...but her new blonde friend's happiness had stopped her from doing so. Imogen blamed Letha's pretty soft features because they had caused her to cave in so easily. It was those same soft features that caused Imogen to awkwardly accept the sudden reminder that they were going today of all days to the costume shop after school. Imogen thought they would go later on in the week as Letha had told her, but apparently there had been a change in plans and today was the day for them to go.
Except not only was Imogen dreading going shopping, but she was also dreading being around Roman. Or to be more exact, she was dreading being in the same car as the Godfrey boy. Fortunately, Imogen was able to get out of the whole car ride situation. The seventeen year old managed to tell Letha that she needed to go home to get some money for their little shopping trip.
Of course, Letha being the kind person that she was offered to have Roman drive her home. Imogen though was never going to let that happen. In response to that offer, she hurriedly told Letha that wasn't necessary and then bolted to where her bike was. Before doing so, she sheepishly told Letha she would met her and (unfortunately) Roman at the costume shop. Imogen knew it wouldn't be that difficult to find the costume shop. Hemlock Grove was only so big after all.
Thankfully, Imogen hadn't run into Roman when leaving the school. She did cross paths with Peter but she kept their interactions short. Imogen didn't want to tell Peter about her plans with Letha...mainly because it annoyingly involved Roman. However, Imogen knew that she'd eventually had to tell him. After all, Imogen was about to be in public with not only one Godfrey...but with two.
And as much as she didn't want to tell Peter about the plans she made with them, Imogen was even more nervous about what her grandmother would say. Agatha had made it abundantly clear how she didn't want her around the Godfreys...specifically Roman. Maybe luck would be on her side and her grandmother wouldn't find out on her own. The only reason Agatha had found out about her time spent with Roman at the coffee shop was because she straight out told her. Maybe if Imogen hadn't said anything, Agatha would have never found out. Except as much as Imogen to believe that, she just couldn't. Agatha would have known regardless. Someone would have told her. Even if the townsfolk disliked Agatha, they probably would have told Imogen's association with Roman because they wanted to know why someone like Roman Godfrey would be spending time with Imogen O'Dwyer.
It was a rude and blunt thing to thank, but Imogen knew it was entirely possible. Most of the Hemlock Grove's townsfolk disliked her as much as her grandmother. Imogen also had a feeling luck wouldn't grant her such a thing anyways. And as of lately luck hadn't really been on her side. Imogen supposed she could figure some sort of excuse. Despite not liking lying to her grandmother, she knew telling her the truth would upset her...and the last thing Imogen wanted to do was upset her grandmother.
That was the reason why Imogen made sure not to pass her grandmother's workplace on the way into town. She took a different way into town, and although she had a little bit of difficulty finding the shop, at the last minute of giving up she finally found it. Though she wasn't exactly happy with how she found the costume shop. She instantly felt her mood sour the second she caught sight of Roman outside of said building. The Godfrey boy was outside the costume shop, leaning against one of the entrance's doors, looking as smug as ever. He of course was smoking a cigarette. Imogen she saw his murky green eyes gleam when her bike came to a stop right next to his tall form.
"Hello, Immy."
Imogen huffed as she got off of her bike. She said nothing to him as leaned her bike to the side of the front entrance of the costume shop. The raven haired girl was doing her best not to react to that ridiculous nickname. Despite her efforts on keeping her composure, she felt her left cheek twitch from annoyance. "Roman." She said once engaging in direct eye contact with him. She was still trying her best to not sound irritated. Except as much as she wanted to deny it, Imogen knew she was doing a horrible job at hiding her irked feelings.
Roman took another drag from his cigarette before he made a wounded like expression. Using his free hand he moved it to place it over his heart. "What? That's all I get as a greeting?"
Imogen wasn't falling for his 'you hurt my feelings' act. She gave him a forced placid stare. "What would you have liked me to say? Howdy-do?" She wisecracked.
Roman dropped his free hand and let out a low chuckle. "Nah." He grinned, thoroughly pleased by how she was acting. "But I can't lie and say that wouldn't have been amusing to hear from the gecko."
"Where's Letha?" Imogen asked, finally getting to the point with why she was there. If Letha wasn't there yet then there was no way she was going to stand next to Roman and wait for her. Imogen felt immediate relief when Roman gestured into the costume shop.
"She's inside. I told her I'd wait until you arrived."
Imogen gave him a single nod. She was glad his answer was direct and not a facetious one. The seventeen year old didn't want to deal with his nonsense more than she already had. She was about to pass him to enter the costume shop but what Roman said next halted her movements.
"You know, I could have given you a ride home for you to get your money."
Imogen shrugged her shoulders. "I already had my bike." She said trying to sound resolute. That of course proved to be a challenge yet again with the way he was looking at her.
Roman stared right into her dark eyes with his murky green eyes. His stare was unrelenting and it affected her even more with what he said next. "Well, I'm giving you a ride home."
Imogen right away started to shake her head. "That's not really necessary."
Roman took one last drag from his cigarette before throwing onto the ground and stepping on it. His expression was now stern as he spoke. "I wasn't asking, I was telling." He said in an even tone of voice.
The raven haired girl was about to respond back but before she could the Godfrey boy was already making his way inside the costume shop. Imogen stared at his retreating form, flabbergasted.
Well, then...
Imogen frowned, annoyance and dread filling her up again. What Roman just said made her feel goosebumps underneath the baggy grey sweatshirt she was wearing. She realized that he wasn't going to let her off easy when the time came to leave. He really was going to take her home...and Imogen was not looking forward to that. Imogen managed to calm herself down with what she though next. She still had her bike, and she couldn't just leave her bike behind. Maybe...just maybe...she'd be able to worm herself out of that situation.
The stomach twisting feeling she got from the image of Roman driving her home went away the moment Imogen entered the costume shop. Her mood elevated a bit and her ears perked up when she recognized the song that playing aloud. It was the song, Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
Last dance with Mary Jane
One more time to kill the pain
I feel summer creepin' in and I'm
Tired of this town again
Imogen had to fight herself with wanting to sing along with the lyrics to the song. It was one she was very familiar with. Her father had been a huge Tom Petty fan. She would always sing along to Tom Petty's songs with her father whenever they spent time together. Despite her father loving his songs, Imogen had to admit she enjoyed Tom Petty's music just as much as she enjoyed David Bowie's and Stevie Nicks'. However, after the car accident she slowly started to stop listening to Tom Petty. The main reason was because it reminded her of the time she would spend with her father. The memories of them together getting along caused her to feel sadness.
The seventeen year old expected to feel that familiar sadness go through her right now. However, Imogen was surprised when she didn't. Yes, there was an ache inside her but it wasn't as strongly as it had been in the past. At the moment, Imogen was handling herself fairly well. The past memories of her and her father listening to music together were playing in her head...and she was finding herself okay with that.
As the song continued to play, Imogen's gaze wandered around the shop. The size of the place was pretty small, but that wasn't much of a surprise to the O'Dwyer girl. Most of the other shops in Hemlock Grove were either really small, or at a decent size. The particular size of the costume shop though didn't take away any of its appeal. Imogen had to admit the inside of the costume shop was rather cozy and definitely interesting. There were all sorts of costumes. The traditional ones of course stood out to Imogen, but there were also a few that she didn't recognize right away.
Imogen let out a low gasp and had almost bumped into Roman from behind when she heard a very familiar voice.
"Imogen! Hey!" Letha exclaimed. The O'Dwyer girl quickly backed away from the Godfrey boy hoping to God he hadn't noticed that she had almost bumped into him. However, that smirk on his face showed her that he had taken notice. Imogen did her best to ignore him as she set her focus onto Letha instead. She managed to release a small smile as she greeted her.
"Hi, Letha."
There was a bright smile on Letha's face as she came to stand next to Imogen and Roman. "I'm glad you're finally here!" She sincerely told her and then happily revealed the dress she had been hiding behind her back to her raven haired friend. "What do you think?" She asked playfully showing the dress to her.
Imogen's gaze fell onto the dress. She had no idea Letha had been hiding it. The raven haired girl carefully studied the dress. It didn't take long for her to come up with an opinion. "It's pretty." Imogen concluded, and that was the truth. Although she wasn't much of a fashion expert (even before the car accident), Imogen had to admit the dress was very pretty. It was a 1920s black flapper dress and even without seeing Letha actually wearing it, Imogen knew her blonde haired friend would do the dress justice. "I think you would look great in it." She genuinely told her.
Letha nodded her head, as if finding that to be the final approval she needed. "Then, I'm gonna go try it on."
Imogen nervously glanced at Roman before looking at Letha again. She just found Letha and now she was going to leave to try on that dress. That just meant she was going to be with Roman...alone...again. She swallowed the lump in her throat. No, please don't leave me with Roman.
Letha, however, could not sense Imogen's distress. She just smiled and then looked at her cousin. "Roman, keep her company please."
Roman's lips tugged upwards. To others that action might have looked like he was smiling but Imogen knew by now that he wasn't really smiling. No, he was smirking. His gaze flickered onto Imogen and then back onto Letha. "Don't worry dear cousin, I wasn't planning on leaving her."
Letha politely excused herself and all Imogen could do was watch her walk away towards where the changing rooms were at. As soon as Letha was inside, Imogen immediately put space between her and Roman. The raven hared girl walked closer to where the cashier was at up front. Although the cashier looked to be more interested texting on her cellphone than paying attention to her customers, it made Imogen feel less nervous now that she was alone with Roman.
However, her nerves were still there because she could feel Roman's eyes on her. It was exactly like how he would stare at her when in class. She did not like that at all. It made her feel all fidgety and not only that, but it made her cheeks and ears warm up like crazy. She always disliked attention, but the dislike escalated because of Roman. As Imogen kept looking at the costumes that were on display near the cashier, she felt Roman's presence from behind her. He was really close to her now. Much closer than before. Imogen slowly breathed in and out, preparing herself to tell him to back off. However, when she finally got the courage to turn around and look at him she was verbally hit with a sudden question.
"Why are you always so quiet and withdrawn?"
Well, that was highly unexpected. A puzzled expression began to form on her face. "Huh?"
Despite finding her thrown look to be adorable, Roman kept his stance. "You heard me."
Imogen had no idea what to say at first. Really, she had no clue. What kind of question was that supposed to be? After thinking the question through, Imogen came to the conclusion that Roman was just asking as a way to get to her. Roman had to have known the answer already. He had been a witness when the other students had made fun of her. It shouldn't come as a surprise as to why she was quiet and withdrawn from just about everyone else. Still, she indulged him. "Because being around people gives me a headache." She simply replied, continuing with her costume searching.
Roman scoffed. "That's bullshit."
Imogen once again stopped walking. She looked up at him, frowning. "Excuse me?"
Roman halted his movements as well and was now towered over her. "What you just said was stuck up and I know that you're not a stuck up bitch." He retorted, his intent gaze never wavering on her. "Not like most of the population in this shitty town."
Those murky green eyes of his were making her stomach do all sorts of twists. Her cheeks and ears were burning from the heat she was now feeling. Imogen hoped the redness wasn't noticeable. "You barely even know me." She argued.
"Oh, I know enough." Roman cryptically answered her.
Imogen found his response to be muddling. Except due to her highly embarrassed state, she chalked it up as Roman being Roman. He after all witnessed how she had been treated since school started. Imogen, however, inwardly prepared herself with what she said next. "Look, you know why I am the way I am. I get bullied practically everyday. You've seen that. Everyone has seen it. So, do you really have to ask?"
Of course he'd seen it. He'd have to be fuckin' blind not to see how she was treated. However, now that he was getting closer to her the dislike he felt for the unfair treatment she got was really angering him. More than once had he seen those same bastards who bothered Imogen bother Shelley. He hadn't found the right moment, but Roman really wanted to teach those bastards a lesson. And he was going to, he just needed to strike at the right time. But besides getting even for Imogen and his darling sister Shelley, Roman got a feeling that there was more to why the O'Dwyer girl was distant with everyone. Something that just wasn't about the bullying, not entirely anyways. Perhaps that's also the reason why Imogen dressed the way she did. In those awful bagging clothing. "Yeah, but there's more to it." Roman insisted, as his gaze never lost the intensity that was behind his eyes.
Imogen bit the inside of her cheek, softly. "What?"
This was something that Roman noticed. Which was just a confirmation that he was right. He took another step toward her. The redness on her face became more visible which only pleased the Godfrey boy."You know exactly what...Immy." He said, emphasizing his nickname for her. "I have a feeling that even before you came to live in this lovely town that you weren't exactly an extrovert. Am I right?"
Imogen had to control her breathing. He was really close to her again. Roman was so close that there really was no point in lying to him. He would be able to tell right away if she was fibbing. God damn you, Roman Godfrey. Imogen decided to be real with him. This was probably the most real she was about to be with him...and strangely enough it wasn't bothering her as much as she thought it would. She steadied her composure as she spoke. "Fine...the truth is I'm an introvert who likes authenticity. I can't stand fake people."
Roman this time was pleased by her answer because it was genuine. A smile instead of a smirk appeared on his face. It was the kind of smile he would only ever give to his sister Shelley or even Letha. Only now it was a smile directed to Imogen...and he in no way found that to be arduous. "Now that sounds like the real you."
Imogen was greatly shocked by what she was seeing. Roman Godfrey was smiling...actually smiling. For this brief moment in time he wasn't smirking that usual suggestive smirk of his. He was smiling...and dare she say that it was a nice smile. Perhaps during the past encounters they had, he had smiled, but it was only now that Imogen actually felt like it was genuine. She, however, didn't have time to bask that in because what Roman said next got stuck in a loop inside her head. It kept replaying over and over again she couldn't help but say it aloud.
"The real me." Imogen repeated, lowly. That caused several different emotions to arise in her. Who even was the real her? Because apparently (according to Peter―and she believes it herself now) she wasn't entirely human.
Roman's smile fell when he noticed how Imogen was spacing out. He heard her say that last sentence, and wondered what the meaning behind it was. He was really curious. He wanted to talk about it but he had a feeling doing that would only ruin whatever progress they had just made. So instead of taking the more serious route, he took the less serious one. He leaned forward and that right away got Imogen out of whatever daze she was in. The Godfrey boy felt satisfaction course through him when he saw her face go red again as he moved closer to her. Once he grabbed the costume he was aiming for he took a step back. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was enjoying the flushed view that was of Imogen O'Dwyer.
"You should dress as a hippie."
A few seconds of silence passed before Imogen was able to get a handle of herself. She narrowed her dark eyes onto the costume Roman was holding. It was a cheesy, typical, white knee length hippie dress costume. Imogen furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?" She asked him. It wasn't that she was against being a hippie. Except she wouldn't wear that dress for obvious reason. Still, she was more confused as to why Roman wanted her to be that. She would have figured he'd say something totally different.
Roman looked at the dress he was holding and then at Imogen again. He had said this because it was based off of the music he had seen on her iPod playlist. However, for obvious reasons he couldn't tell her that. "I just think you'd be a cute hippie. Not that you're not cute already." Roman said, throwing her a wink. He was no longer smiling. That smirk from before had now returned.
Imogen would never admit this aloud but she was kind of sad to see his smile go away. Now that smirk that made her go red as a tomato was there instead. Although the redness on her face might have also been because he had called her cute. Not that she found that to be flattering...maybe a little but not enough to get another reaction out of her. Of course what he said next did get another reaction out of her.
"Or you could go as the obvious." Roman said putting the hippie costume to side and then pointed to a witch hat that was next to it.
Imogen right away scowled at him. "Haha."
Roman found her scowl to be completely amusing. The only other thing he liked seeing besides a flushed Imogen was an annoyed Imogen. However, Roman did want to say something to her. She was probably going to take it as him joking around, and he was...but he was also going to mean it. Not that she really needed to know that detail. Roman grew quiet for a moment, and then looked her right into her dark eyes again. "I'm glad you don't think of me as a fake person."
"I never said I didn't think of you that way." Imogen immediately retorted.
Roman's murky green eyes gleamed. "And yet here you are...with me." He suavely told her. "Funny how we always end up in these types of scenarios. Almost like fate. Hell, maybe it is fate."
"No, it's not fate." Imogen quickly shut down that idea of his down. "I'm here because of Letha, not you."
Roman laughed, lowly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Immy." His laughter faltered as he spoke again. "Speaking of sleep, have you been getting any?"
He sounded so concerned right at that moment, that it threw Imogen off. Was he for real? Was he really interested if she had been getting sleep or not? That was surprising. However, what was even more surprising was that she was actually going to answer him. Except she never got to because Letha chose that moment to come out of the changing room.
"I'm getting this for sure." Letha happily said as she made her way over towards them. The black dress she has tried on was now in her hands, ready to be purchased. The blonde quickly felt her happiness falter a bit when she saw that Imogen was still empty handed. "You still haven't found anything?"
Imogen moved her gaze away from Roman. She looked at her blonde haired friend and shrugged her shoulders. "No...nothing has captured my interest."
"I told her she should dress as a hippie." Roman added from the sidelines. He purposely left out the part of him joking she should go as a witch.
"Yeah, well..." Imogen drawled on as she looked at the hippie costume.
Letha right away saw how unsure and uncomfortable she looked. Her gaze landed onto Roman and an idea came to her head as way to get Imogen to open up more.
"Roman, do you mind just leaving us girls? " Letha sweetly asked him. "Maybe you can head over to the ice cream shop? Save us some seats and we'll meet you there."
If it had been anyone else, Roman would have told them to fuck off. But this was Letha...his cousin. He wasn't about to act that way with her. Letha and Shelley were about the only people he actually gave a damn about. "Sure, why not?" Roman said and then started making his way out. He made sure to stare at Imogen one last time before he exited the costume shop.
Imogen felt like she could breathe a little bit better now that he was gone. "Thanks." She muttered.
"It's no problem." Letha answered. "I should have figured it would be easier if it was just us girls to begin with. Anyways, what do you really think of this one?" She said gesturing to the hippie costume.
Imogen sighed."It's nice but...it's a sleeveless dress." She replied, crestfallen. The truth once again was swimming up to the surface. That's why she was so unsure with agreeing to the costume in the first place. Her scars would surely sure if she wore that dress.
"You could always wear a cardigan or jacket over it?" Letha suggested. "In fact, I think I might even a jacket that would go well with it."
"Really?" Imogen asked, feeling relieved and grateful.
Letha nodded her head. "Yeah, and I'll let you borrow it if you buy the dress."
Imogen was about to respond, but another dress caught her attention. The raven haired girl had no idea on how she didn't notice that dress the moment she had entered the store. It was a long red burgundy lace dress, with slightly loose long sleeves. In Imogen's eyes the dress was absolutely beautiful. By the looks of it, it was also the last one of its kind. And her happiness only grew when she saw it was in her size.
Letha was bemused by the sudden distraction but she eventually caught. She looked between Imogen and the burgundy dress, the hippie dress long forgotten now. Her lips went upwards once focusing on Imogen's awed outward form. "Oh, I know that look."
Imogen's turned to look at her, head tilted. "What look?"
"That wide eyed, amazed look you have going on." Letha softly told her. "You love that dress, don't you?"
It wasn't much of a question as it was an observation but the raven haired girl still answered as if it were one. "It is beautiful." Imogen softly said, amazed. She turned her attention onto the dress, once again admiring it.
"I can totally see why. I get that whole Stevie Nicks vibes from just looking it." After saying that Letha's face brightened up from excitement. "Oh my God, Imogen! You should totally go as Stevie Nicks!"
Imogen didn't get as excited as Letha had. At least, not right away. She instead pondered what her blonde haired friend said. "You really think I can pull the look off?" Stevie Nicks was an icon. Not to mention, she was one of Imogen's all time favorite artists.
Letha right away nodded her head. "Yeah."
Despite the blonde's reassurance, Imogen still wasn't sure. She let out a sigh. "No, I don't think I should. I wouldn't do the look justice. I'm too ug―."
"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Letha swiftly interrupted. "How about I do your hair and makeup for the Homecoming Dance?"
Imogen stared at her in huge disbelief. Did Letha really just offer to do that for her? "You'd do that?"
"Only if you get that dress." Letha smiled.
Imogen found it easy to return the smile. Without wasting another second, Imogen gently grabbed the burgundy dress. She held it against her body and let a happy laugh escape her.
Looks like she was going as Stevie Nicks this year for Halloween.
Strangely enough, as soon as Imogen finished thinking that, the song Sara by Stevie Nicks started to play in the costume shop.
