Just Call Me the Fashion Police (Gia)

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian was actually going out for once. Away from campus and out to buy whatever she possibly could. No, she wasn't rich, but she still had Christmas money to spend and she'd been cooped up in her dorm room so long that she hadn't bought anything new and pretty and sparkly. Oh how she missed shopping! It was a love different than her love for dancing and drawing. She could find love in material things even if not many others could. And she wasn't a snob about it, which just made her that much cooler.

But instead of buying just for her, she was buying for another as well. In fact, she was going to the mall for makeover madness. Gia had asked for Adrian's help in order to give her a new look. And she'd picked the perfect person to help her. Not only was she great at finding adorable clothes, but she was THE bargain shopper. She didn't have much money to spend, and yet she still came home with a new outfit each time she went to the mall and had barely spent anything on it. And clearly the girl is totally hot, just ask the guys busy drooling all over her shoes.

That wasn't even the best part of it all though. Adrian was just looking forward to having alone time with Gia. It was the first time they'd hung out just the two of them. And now that she was Craven's girlfriend and now that he'd given her the promise ring, Adrianna felt obligated to get closer to the other girl. She no longer had the weight of feelings for Craven holding her back. She was moving on, which would help her open up to Gia and not be so jealous. Adri planned on making Gia look gorgeous, so gorgeous in fact that Craven wouldn't be able to contain himself. Yes, she says, she is capable of that.

She'd stopped by Gia's dorm room and they'd drove together to downtown and stopped in front of the mall. After parking the car, Adrian stood at the doors and looked up with a smile at the large building filled with stores of every kind. Today, she planned on having fun with someone she wanted to be good friends with. It was her way of staying in Craven's life without getting too involved.

Holding the door open, Adri put on her bright smile, "Are you ready?" She asked excitedly. Already she was noting the skin tone Gia had and the colors that would suit that skin tone best.


OUTFIT

[Gia Elliot]

It had been a good while since Gia had done much real shopping for herself. After Christmas, when Craven had given her the thousand dollar shopping spree, among many other gifts (most of which she still told herself she didn't deserve) and the beautiful ring she hadn't taken from her finger save for bed and showering, Gia had in fact gone to the mall with her mother. Gia had bought one outfit for herself there, one that was not terribly expensive but looked nice enough, and treated her mother to several hundred dollars in nice new clothes. After all, even a maid with tired bones and a failing body deserved to feel gorgeous. But as girly and shop-frenzied as Gia might have been in another universe, one where her father had stuck around and they had stayed in Australia rather than leave penniless to become employees in the Grimley mansion, in this life, she had a hard time spending money.

But she was determined now that she did have a ring, and Craven had insisted on giving her his credit card, that she should look better for him. She didn't want to look like the maid she was, and feel like a charity case. She needed to look the part of the girlfriend of the multi-ba-gillion dollar heir. Problem was, she had no idea how to look like that. Sure, she could look at other people and say whether they looked like they played the part, but Gia didn't feel like that, and whenever she saw herself in the mirror, it didn't matter what she was wearing, she thought she looked like, perhaps a step above a servant girl, though what that would actually be was unknown.

She was happy when Adrianna agreed to help her out. Craven's other bestfriend (Gia was still of the mindset that though they were more than that, they were still best friends, like they had been since they were little) had a much better sense of style than Gia had, and Gia respected that. Besides, it certainly wouldn't hurt to get to know more of Craven's friends. Join in the group more and all that, rather than being something on the side to do as well. As they drove, snippets of mental conversation come from the cars around them, also heading to the mall, which more than distracted Gia from anything that Adrian had going on in her mind.

To say that Gia was intimidated by the large mall as the car was parked and she stepped outside would be an understatement. It was huge. How on earth would they find the perfect outfits in a place like this? How did any girl do it? Perhaps there was some trick to finding a needle in a haystack that Gia just had never learned. Gia nodded quietly at her companion's question and stepped into the heat of the building, watching the swarms of other people and doing her best not to end up with a migraine from the thoughts. Really she needed to focus more on her power training classes and blocking all the mental messages than she did in academics. "Ahuh. So... Where to first? Just lead the way."

[Adrianna Carstyn]

The mall in Pilot Ridge was nothing compared to California's. It was close to the size of one of the department stores in the mall she was used to. But for someone who didn't shop as much and was not as familiar with the lay out of a mall like this, it could be quite overwhelming. Adrian remembered the first time she'd gone to the mall on a spree with her mother. She was young and didn't much understand fashion back then, but Amelia had taught her well. It was crazy trying to find a store with clothes that actually suited her style, but once she had, it was heavenly.

"Alright, well we're going to try all of the big name brand dress stores. They can be pricey, but if you find a sale in there, it's great," Adri spouted off without much thought. The first place she was headed towards was one of the department stores. The entrance led them to perfumes, turn to the right, there were shoes, turn to the left there were clothes. Farther down was the jewelery. Jackpot.

She took a left and looped her arm through Gia's in order to make sure she didn't get lost in the chaos of the perfume spray. The people around there were psychotic, which was why she never bought perfume in a department store. Not to mention they sprayed you if you walked within a ten foot radius of the counter. It was so bad, she gagged every time she walked past it. Nasty combination of flowery and musky scents flying at you, ew.

Standing on her tip-toes she spotted the dress section for juniors and made her way past people, of course using her manners as she tried to get through. The dress section had an outfit for anything. Whether it be prom, homecoming, a date, a wedding, anything. She let go of Gia and started searching through the dresses in front of her, "Okay, if you find anything that you like, tell me. Don't look at prices just yet, just find something you like and we'll go from there." She said with a focused expression on her face.

Adrian was in action and no one could interrupt her. Well, unless it was a totally hot male model that just so happened to be half naked. Even then, she'd only drool for a second.

[Gia Elliot]

Sad as it was, Gia was glad that Adrian had the pluck to drag her around. It wasn't that Gia lacked confidence (shhhh! she does! honest!), but she had no idea where to start, and she couldn't focus long enough with everyone swarming around her to make a decision. It was far busier than she had imagined. Anyway, where had all these people come from? Pilot Ridge wasn't that big, and yet it was like everyone had come to the mall today with their mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, fathers, girlfriends, business partners and their fourth cousin twice removed's boyfriend's little sister's best friend's billy goat's mother's owner's wife. Thankfully, Gia was adept at following where someone dragged her without looking like she was being dragged.

Into one store, around the fruity-flowery mash of scents that really shouldn't be mingling with one another, around the jewelry and into the juniors department, filled with so many colors and styles that Gia didn't know where to look first. Adrian seemed to though, and Gia followed suit, once again nodding at the directions to ignore the price tags (though that would most definitely be difficult.) and to stop Adrianna if Gia found something she liked. The problem was, Gia wasn't totally sure what sort of nice fashions it was she would like. Jeans were jeans were jeans, and other than colors and necklines, most tops looked the same to her as well.

She flicked slowly through the hangers on the circular racks, looking alternating between blankly staring at the fabrics in front of her and lookingn to Adrian in some attempt to grasp what it was she was meant to be looking for. Eventually, she randomly selected a few items from the rack that might look nice on her, and were in a semi-reasonable price range, though Gia would be hurting a bit to pay for them(and yes, she had broken the rules and looked at the tags), before walking over to see what Adrianna had picked out for her. "How're these?"

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna didn't mind crowds much, she was used to worse coming from a hot spot state. She knew how to weave through people fairly easily, even the rude ones who didn't take manners all that well. Eventually she'd just start pushing past people that snapped at her. Damn snooty old people and their cash. Adrian had as much right walking through the store as they did even without as much money in her purse. Rich people were real pains in her ass.

One of the more prissified ladies working in the store dared to give Adri that look that said 'don't touch anything unless you have money to spend,' and at that Adrianna smirked and waved a credit card at the lady. And the woman turned around with a hmph. Ah, the joys of being able to handle such stuck up people. It was a gift really, one she had picked up from her mother, "Yeah stick that nose up as far as you can little miss priss." She muttered in annoyance as she finally hit the dress section.

Dress after dress she searched looking at the materials and colors and fronts and backs and everything. She kept glancing at Gia to get a visual of the dress on her. A few times she winced, not because of Gia, but because some of the dresses were just fugly. She had three dresses in her hand when Gia spoke up. Adrian turned around and looked at the dresses. Narrowing her eyes, she looked at their price tags, all in the same general range. "Do you really like these or are they just eh to you?" She asked seriously.

This was not something she was taking lightly. Not the search at least. It was important to her because she wanted to make Gia feel like she belonged with Craven. Belong to the Grimley name. Adrian wanted Cooper to see a picture of Gia in the dress she would buy and have his jaw drop clear to the floor. Proving to Cooper that Gia could in fact be the wife of a rich man was just a highlight. She was more looking forward to Craven's reaction. "Be picky, you want to find a dress that seems like far too much."

[Gia Elliot]

Gia would not have known how to handle the monied adults that they passed as the disgusted looks and vile thoughts worked their way into her mind. Honestly, Gia wouldn't have minded being in a crowd, even if she were being pushed around, if all those active thoughts on the top of everyone's mind didn't all blend together to pound against her head. As bad as Craven's head felt when he was fighting the thoughts and intrusions of the crows that surrounded him, it was the same for Gia, but she couldn't fight it yet. Which was part of why she tried to avoid being around a lot of people at once. No, it was easier to be with one person, and Craven was, so far, the only person who grasped that she couldn't stop from hearing what people were thinking around her.

Gia blinked at the words that came from her new friend's mouth at one of the women who passed by, as well as the retail clerk assuming they had no money. That certainly did nothing to make Gia feel like she belonged in here, looking at the expensive clothes that were the only way to make her boyfriend's father even possibly like her. The thoughts from the woman about how the girls must have stolen the cards or that the payments would be declined wasn't a whole lot better, but Gia was doing her best to focus on the clothing. However, Adrian's question of the dresses as she looked over was not what she had been expecting.

Gia glanced a bit doubtfully at the items and frowned. "Well, I mean, they're nice, right? I don't know... I've never really been picky about these sorts of things. Or really anything." Carefully, she put the items back on the racks where they were first found, and started over again. Still not sure what she was looking for, what might look good on her frame. Once again, she glanced at the other girl, or rather to what Adrian had picked out, and started looking for things that looked similar to them.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna had the dull edge of a headache forming, but she didn't understand why. Not until the snooty lady's thoughts came dancing through her mind. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but what was even more unpleasant about it, was the fact that it had opened a flood-gate of thoughts. The pounding sensation was one she was used to by now. Everyone's power coming at her all at the same time in Hammel almost helped her build in immunity towards it, but unfortunately not all the way. She then realized that it was probably worse for Gia because she was the one that had to deal with it constantly. The mall was probably a bad idea, but it was great for shopping sprees.

The urge to flip the rude lady off was strong, and Adri was not that kind of person. Rich people just brought out the worst in her. And she knew for a fact it wasn't helping the main purpose here. "Don't worry about them, they're just mad because we're young and hot and they're old and plastic." Adrian said with a smile to make light of the situation. People really were shallow sometimes and it was just so wrong.

Looking at the dresses in her own hands, Adrian compared the different sets. Gia's were classy and reasonably priced without looking at the sales. Adrian's were classy and pricey, but she'd already done the math and the sales were great. They both didn't want to just spend however much they could for the hell of it, but Adrianna was more focused on the elegance of the dress than the price itself. She bit her lip in thought and tapped her index finger to her chin. "They are nice, if you're on a strict budget. We may not be here to spend a butt load of cash, but we aren't that tight on the money sitch. Just this once, I want you to stay away from the reasonably priced and I want you to find something that you'd find on a model. Okay?"

Adri pulled out two more dresses and waited for Gia to finish with her findings. It wasn't that Adrian was trying to nag and tell her to buy the most expensive thing she could find, but in this case, she wanted Gia to look like a Grimley's potential wife. Looks weren't everything, but in order to get in good with Cooper, she had to have the right appearance to make him see just how much her and Craven belonged together. And Adrian was bound at determined to make it that way.

[Gia Elliot]

It probably was not a good thing that Adrianna had Gia's powers creeping up on her. Gia could deal with her powers the way she had been since they'd first manifested: grit and bear it. Having Adrian then also thinking the same thoughts would double everything streaming between the telepath's ears, and Gia didn't want that for either of them. Not for the possible migraine to come, nor for the side effects of Gia's powers that someone else would have to deal with. It was a good thing that Gia had thought ahead about the crowds and brought a bottle of aspirin with her, though as precognition was not her power, she hadn't thought to take one before getting to the mall.

Quietly, she held the bottle out to the other girl as she spoke. Ignore them. That was easier said than done. Gia most definitely was affected by the thoughts of people around her, and while she had some confidence, it was easily wounded. Still, she blushed at Adri claiming they were both hot. Gia didn't think she was anywhere near that word. And she certainly wasn't as attractive as the other girl was. Gia could read thoughts. She knew what half of the boys in the class thought of Adrianna, and it was all... or mostly flattering. Perhaps all, depending on what would flatter her. Quite a bit of it made Gia turn bright red.

She slowed as metal clinked against metal as the hangers hit the rails. Pick something that a model would pick. What was with people and thinking she looked like a model? She didn't. She wasn't. She wouldn't be. She wasn't that tall, or thin or pretty. Not in her mind. "But I'm not a model." It was an utterance, something to say under her breath so that it wouldn't mingle with the other thoughts in her mine. But she wasn't about to argue with the girl who was offering her help and expertise on shopping and fashion. "I'm sorry. I'll try. They just all look the same."

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian was used to headaches and migraines due to her power. It was in a way like telepathy, but only when she was at Hammel. The surge of powers fighting their way to her caused deep headaches and she'd been trying to get a better feel for how to block it. She didn't get the full hit of the power unless she was in contact with someone, but the power itself still nagged at her mind trying to make her see that it was present. Being around telepaths didn't help in the slightest, but Adri was rarely around any. The only one she knew was Gia and they rarely were around each other.

She got the message from Gia and took the bottle of pills popping the cap off. She swallowed two pills and handed them back. Ignoring was difficult. She could ignore things if she had something to keep her mind busy, but shopping wasn't enough to keep her fully occupied. Adri kept getting thoughts upon thoughts along with different feelings of powers. Pilot Ridge had plenty of local metas and it really made going out in public a pain sometimes.

As cool as everyone thought telepathy was, Adrian wasn't a fan. It was useful in some situations, but she really didn't like hearing people think about their sex lives or lack there of. She didn't want to hear everyone else's personal problems or anything really. Guys were the worst though. Whenever one caught sight of her, the thought that passed through his mind was not flattering at all. Horn dogs. All of them. None of it was stuff that she hadn't heard before. Most guys said that stuff to her face. It didn't bother her anymore, it was just thoroughly repulsive.

Adrian had caught a thought from Gia of her self-appearance. She didn't believe that she was hot or as attractive as Adrian, but in all honesty, Adrianna would say differently. The type of beauty that Gia had was inner and outer, and it was a hell of a lot more natural than her own. Adrian was 'sexy' and 'hot' but she was rarely called beautiful or gorgeous. Gia was beautiful inside and out, the fact that she didn't see it was what made her and Craven so alike. Neither of them saw themselves clearly. "You could be though, maybe not on the height, but on the killer looks, you got it hon." She said with a smile.

When she agreed to trying, Adrianna nodded. She didn't feel like pushing the girl into wearing something completely ridiculous. She had finished looking, ending up with five dresses in her hands along with whatever Gia picked out. Next stop was the dressing room.

[Gia Elliot]

Gia couldn't say anything to the idea that she could be a model. She couldn't but arguing wouldn't help the shopping trip at all, and it might end up with them being tossed out of the mall. What sort of person got themselves thrown out of a mall for getting into an argument with a friend? Surely not someone who wanted to be the girlfriend, or future wife of anyone in the Grimley family. Even if Craven's father had married a woman who wasn't well off, Gia could only assume she hadn't worked for Cooper's family, and she had probably dressed and acted the part amazingly when she'd been alive. She wouldn't have fought in public with a friend.

Heck, even Gia's mother wouldn't do that. For her current station, the woman had class, and while Gia didn't remember much of her life in Australia, she knew their family certainly hadn't been anywhere close to as rich as the Grimley's were. Class was clearly something you acted and dressed. Gia wanted so badly to prove that. She she held her tongue and simply shook her head. Adrianna may well have gotten the refusal to accept the idea of modelling from Gia's thoughts, but they wouldn't be said out loud. Killer looks were not something Gia could believe she had.

This time, on the other shopper's orders, Gia resisted the urge to look at the price tags, and just grabbed what looked nice on the nearby mannequins. A couple of shirts and a dress. With the dance coming up, she'd have to come back anyway to find another dress. Might as well figure out what worked for her now. That was, she'd have to come dress shopping if Craven asked her. He had enough people throwing themselves at him that he could ask anyone in the school. Gia was pretty sure she'd get the bid, but there was always that lingering doubt that the pair of them couldn't work, that Craven's father's anger and his brother's teasing would eventually win out and he'd take someone more "suitable."

She shook the thought from her mind and grabbed one more dress before following Adrianna into the dressing room and into one of the changing stalls. So much to try on, and she still couldn't look at the prices or she'd chicken out. Why couldn't clothes all just be amazing looking and exceptionally cheap?