Bizarre Roommates Ch. 05

The afternoon sun's light beamed across Haven, shining throughout the city as the bustling sounds of its denizens trotted to their place of work or gathering. Standing in the eastern part of town was the Haven City Shopping Plaza that towered about 20 meters in height while casting a shadow that engulfed half of the area. The building's exterior was beige in color with a large glass dome on the top that could rival the Hagia Sophia in size and a parking lot with enough room to fit half of the city's population. The inside was capacious with a chain of business on every corner, along with a series of kiosks stationed on the first floor between each store near the entrances and a large Romanesque fountain with three cherubs placed in the center of the mall.

During the city's construction, the government built the plaza as a means to further the social experiment for various liminal cultures to exchange goods with one another and observe the behavior of how they would react. Strangely, it appeared to be one of the few institutions in the city to be a major success.

"Wow, this place is, like, so big and has everything we could ever need!" Standing at the entrance, Cristina was awestruck by the wonders that stood before her.

Dressed in a teal buttoned crop top with dark jeans and brown booties, she couldn't wait to get started on her shopping spree as her eyes became wide while stars glimmered in her pupils.

Her friends, however, were less enthusiastic than she was. Jessica and Ryu stood behind the werewolf girl with plain expressions on their faces.

"Chris, it's is a mall. Not the Roman Coliseum," Jessica stated. Putting a hand in her ripped jeans, she glowered before walking up to her friend's side.

"Remember," said Ryu with a stone face. "We are just here to look around and help you buy what you need, but that doesn't mean we're going to let you blow your trust fund on useless crap and that goes for you too, Jessica."

The boy quickly received glares from both of the girls. His spine tingled. He was taken aback while making sure to remain as impassive as possible.

"How do I blow my money on crap?" Jessica questioned, crossing her arms in consternation.

Flashing a deadpanned look, Ryu didn't hold back as he explained her vice. He said, pointing at an imaginary thought bubble, "Do you recall the time when you blew almost all of your money on that expensive electro-acoustic guitar? That was all on the third day."

Her head fell in defeat as her arms hung low. She murmured sullenly, "You're right. I do go a little overboard."

Unbeknownst to the boy, Cristina quickly grabbed him by the hand and dragged him close to her. However, before she could proceed to dash, she looked back and said with an enthusiastic grin, "We can, like, talk about our spending problems later. Right now, we're going to shop until we drop!"

"I didn't agree to any of that!" Ryu protested with a shock expression.

The three soon powerwalked into the mall, going into any building that caught the werewolf girl's eye. Jessica and Ryu made sure she restrained her from performing any unnecessary spending. Cristina was able to find a replacement dress, but pressed on forward and finally stopped at one particular building.

"No! No, no, no, no! I am not going in there!" Ryu refused.

"But, Ryu! You have to come with me!" no matter how much Cristina pleaded, the boy would rebuff in a stubborn way.

Right in front of them was a Victoria's Secret store and the werewolf girl was determined to go in. however, she needed both a boy's and girl's opinion, which was why she continued pestering Ryu to go in with her and Jessica.

"Please! I'll, like, owe you something if you do this one thing for me!" she begged persistently.

"Why do you even need lingerie?!"

"I heard they're comfortable to sleep in and make you look even more sexy when going out."

Ryu remained as defiant as a stone statue, rebuking every offer Cristina made. Nothing was worth soiling his pride.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Jessica mused with a smile,

"Come on, Ryu. It won't be so bad. Besides, there are probably a lot of cute girls in there."

Ryu smiled at the idea, imagining a gallery of girls behind those doors. Cristina, on the other hand, glowered at the idea of the boy looking at other girls besides her, but managed to shrug it off before the vampire girl could notice.

"Okay, fine. I'll go in with you and, yes, you're going to owe me," I said with a petulant smile as I pointed at her.

Right before they walked in, Jessica and Cristina couldn't help but flashed a bothersome scowl at the boy. It wasn't because of his arrogant demeanor that angered them, but how he easily he accepted the offer.

Inside the store was an array of clothing and other products for women, but the one thing that caught Ryu's attention were the patrons that moved throughout the store. It wasn't just human women; there were also liminal women inside, as well, and even product to cater to them.

For the pass thirty minutes, Ryu and Jessica stood outside of the changing room, waiting for Cristina to step out once she was ready. During that time, the two conversed about their surroundings.

"You know, I never understood the point of gussying up in laces and silk just to amplify sex appeal. I thought lingerie was all for comfort, but they keep making it more revealing and provocative," Jessica pointed out critically. She sat in a chair next to the boy with her legs crossed.

Ryu shrugged his shoulders, rolling his eyes as he smiled. He complimented, "honestly, I think you would look good in an outfit like that."

Pointing my finger, he directed Jessica's attention to the mannequin wearing a red lace bra, panties, and stockings with a garter belt, taking delight as the vampire girl's face flushed before she shied away.

"I-idiot! D-don't be ridiculous! I c-cold never pull something like that off!" she retorted with a stutter.

"Why not? You have the legs, the curves, and the breasts to match that."

Jessica didn't reply. Instead, she avoided eye contact as she twirled a finger in her hair like a schoolgirl. Every comment the boy made only caused Jessica's face to turn redder than before. If he didn't stop, then she was afraid she would explode in bashfulness.

"Alrighty! I'm coming out! Be prepared because I'm about to blind you with my beauty!"

The two heard Cristina from behind the curtains, flashing impassive looks at each other before turning back. She puts one outfit and already her ego is boasted. Ryu and Jessica thought the same thing at the same time, but when the curtains flew open, their jaws immediately dropped at the sight before them.

The werewolf girl stepped out dressed in lavender lingerie that hugged tightly around her breasts and hips, showing off her flat stomach on her midriff and smooth legs that were wrapped in purple stockings.

"So, how do I look? Sexy, huh?" she said as she struck a pose.

Jessica and Ryu were able to put their jaws back into their mouth. In their eyes, it was like staring at a supermodel during a runway performance. Standing up and walking over, Ryu smiled and replied sheepishly, "Yeah, you look amazing. You look like Aphrodite after arising from the foamy sea and being born from a clam shell." That reference was lost to Chris.

"Yeah, or like when Branwen stepped onto the battlefield between Wales and Ireland as she cried for her loved ones," Jessica added. Both Ryu and Cristina looked at the vampire girl perplexingly. She realized that was the wrong reference to go and moved back in a meek manner.

One after another, Cristina showed off the lingerie she had picked to her friends and no mater how much Ryu tried to hide it, Cristina could tell he was excited and aroused by the show. Once it was all over, Cristina and Ryu were at the checkout counter, watching the cashier scanning each of the items they gave to her, including a few scented candles and perfumes.

"Thanks for helping me pick out these. I totes owe you for this one, Ryu," Cristina reassured, grabbing the boy by the arm and hugging it tight.

"Yes, and all it took was half of my dignity just to make you happy," Ryu jested mildly, tensing up a little from Cristina's touch.

Suddenly, they noticed the cashier's smile as she awed. She said earnestly as she waved her hand, "You know, it's so nice for a couple to do everything together. I could barely get my boyfriend to do everything with me and, sometimes, it's a hassle on our relationship."

Ryu and Cristina's faces contorted in embarrassment. Waving her hands, she explained with beads of sweat on her forehead, "No! No! You got it all wrong! He's not my boyfriend! He's just a friend!"

The cashier flashed a bewildered look before saying, "Oh, I get it! He's your gay friend!"

"No, I'm not her gay friend. I'm just her friend," corrected Ryu irately.

The cashier's expression changed to one of disgust as she handed Cristina's purchases back to her. The two merely shrugged and walked out of the building. Jessica had already left and was waiting for the two on a bench as the two came walking towards them. After they had gotten together, they proceeded to their next destination.

They had sauntered down to the eastern sector of the mall; walking passed a candy store and an AT&T stand. Just then, Cristina stopped at her tracks and turned to a pharmaceutical store.

"Why did we stop here?" Ryu asked as he arched a brow.

"Oh, like, I just remembered that I needed a new shampoo bottle. I used up the entire bottle of my old shampoo and it's totally empty," Cristina lied as she explained with her hand at the door handle.

"Then why didn't you just buy the shampoo at Victoria Secret?" Jessica questioned skeptically with brows furrowed.

"Um...because they didn't really have my brand. Those shampoos would be supes dangerous to my follicles and the only brand I like is, like, in this pharmacy." Right before Ryu and Jessica could respond, Cristina had already moseyed into the store while waving goodbye.

"I have a bad feeling that she's got some ulterior motive for going in there," said Jessica cynically with both hands crossed.

"Agreed," Ryu nodded.

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Cristina strolled through isle to isle, scanning each shelf for what she was looking for.

Like, where the hell are they? She scowled in aggravation. It had been five minutes and she was beginning to lose patience.

Finally, standing in the fifth isle, her eyes glowed in exuberance while smiling gleefully. Reaching in, she grabbed a box from a certain shelf and rushed over to the counter. She was lucky that it was a slow day or else, she would have wasted too much time waiting for her turn and she didn't want to keep her friends standing outside for long.

"And are the birth control pills all you're purchasing, miss?" the cashier inquired.

Looking at the werewolf girl up and down, she retained her smile, but tried her best to hide her own displeasure. Then she thought: more like you don't need them, you slut.

"Of course. This is all I need for someone special." Cristina smiled as she paid the cashier.

I hope these will work. Like, those cooling pills won't be enough. While they help bring down heat, they don't help with preventing pregnancy, which is totes ridic. Walking towards the front door, she noticed how translucent the bag was, which caused her to panic. She quickly took the box out of the plastic bag and placed it discretely in her purse, throwing the whole bag in the recycling bin on the side before walking out.

"So, did you get what you needed?" Ryu asked.

"Nope. Turns out they ran out of my brand, which means I'll have to like, go to the store up the street when we get home." Despite her quivering lips, she managed to get away with such a lie. However, by the gazes her friends were giving her, she could tell they were seeing through her fib. "So, any of you guys hungry? I'm like, supes starving!"

Jessica and Ryu were both flabbergasted, but shrugged it off and complied, following the werewolf girl as they headed straight for the food court.