Goths in Space (working title)
an excerpt

“Late! Late yet again!” Gwen roared as she stomped around her flat, dressed only in a few towels, which were starting slowly to slide off her, as she flounced into the bathroom to find her hairbrush. “I’m so sorry,” she called out to Nina, her flatmate, “you know me, I’m never on time, always take too long to get ready, always start getting ready too late.”

“It’s ok, it’s ok,” Nina mumbled through her bedroom door, “I’ve texted Steph to tell her we’ll be late. They are on their way to the Fleece, so if we hurry we’ll get there in time.”

Gwen threw the towels to the side, found some clean underwear from her chest of drawers, which she slowly arranged upon her body, and then rummaged around in the mountainous pile of discarded clothes at her feet. She eventually found the skirt she was looking for, a black velvet skirt with ripped purple satin, which she shook out and put on. She then picked through her wardrobe, umming and ahhhing, and eventually decided to go for a black wench style top, with her purple satin corset. She tightened the laces of the corset around her curvy frame, creating an hourglass shape. Not too bad, she thought as she studied her figure in the mirror, considering all that bloody takeaway we’ve been eating recently. Mmm pizza… burgers… ooh and don’t forget chips!

“Is Kev already there?” Gwen bellowed as she tried to do her delicate make up with shaking hands. I really shouldn’t have had a glass of wine with dinner, she thought, as she attempted the finishing touches, and then began straightening her dyed bright purple hair, with black streaks.

“I think so, I haven’t heard much from him today though. Are you almost ready in there?”

“Yep, just got to find my earrings now.” Gwen dashed out of her room, dangly bat earrings in hand, as Nina opened her bedroom door, swishing back her pink, purple and blue dreadlocks and with a slight look of surprise on her face, as Gwen was almost ready.

“Good! Then you can help me with my corset, Miss I can put my own corset on!” Nina grumbled as Gwen span her round and started lacing her ample figure into the restricting but rather flattering corset.

“Practise, you know!” Gwen stuck her tongue out as they both laughed, bouncing into the kitchen, each grabbing their respective handbags, similarly stuffing all and sundry into them.

“Seriously though, it’s almost nine o’clock, we’d better call for a taxi, it wouldn’t be that much between the two of us, would it?” Nina suggested as Gwen stuffed her face with nibbles from the fridge.

“Ummhmm” she mumbled with a mouthful of food, as Nina picked up the house phone and dialled the taxi number.

The pair flounced out of the taxi, and pranced into the quaint little pub called “The Golden Fleece”. It had signs outside proclaiming to be “The Most Haunted pub in York” and “One of the oldest pubs in York”, but the reason they went there was the nice friendly atmosphere, and the fact that they provided drinks such as fruit wines and mead, which, to be honest, are just “so goth”.

“Hello!” They both exclaimed joyfully as the saw the rest of ‘the group’ sat there. “Sorry we’re late, Gwen here didn’t get in the shower til half seven, silly girl!” Nina scowled mockingly.

Gwen answered light heartedly, “Well, sor-ry! I was busy. Bu-sy.”

“It’s ok, you didn’t really miss much, we did only just get here,” interjected Stephanie, who was currently wearing cyber falls in luminous green and yellow, with a matching UV green and black cyberdog top and trousers, not to mention luminous green eyeshadow and fake fluorescent yellow eyelashes.

“Yup, although we were at the Rook beforehand.” commented Pete, who was sitting next to Steph, holding her hand gently and looking into her eyes longingly. Gwen pondered to her self, their clothes are even more similar today than ever! Well, I guess they have been going out with each other for a good year now, and its kinda cute, them matching and all!

Kevin was also there, dressed in his usual ‘some obscure death metal band’ t shirt, as was Brains, who was really called Edward, but no one ever called him that. His attire was strictly trad goth. His flouncy, frilly shirt in either white, black or purple, and his long, exquisite frock coat, were a must. His top hat was optional (with or without fancy feather or ribbon), depending on his mood, but never went out without his intricately detailed make up.

“Right, time for a drink!” stated Gwen, as Nina agreed, and they floated off to the bar, money in hand.

The conversation flowed, and next week’s group Whitby trip was the main topic of interest. They had rented a cottage where all the group would be staying for the whole week (well a Wednesday to Wednesday week anyway), and they were discussing excitedly who would be in who’s car, who had or didn’t have a spa ticket, and suchlike.

They had just begun frothing about this week’s happenings in the local LARP system, when the door swooshed open with a burst of cold air, and Rose swanned in, dressed in a stunning black and red pvc corset and black pvc hot pants with suspenders and fishnet stockings and the biggest boots ever. She chimed, “Hi guys! Sorry I’m late, I’ve been with Dan, he just dropped me off.”

“Heh hey! You are even later than Gwen and Nina!!” Kev cajoled, “Dan ey?” and then laughed manically at the thought.

“Oooooooh!” Mocked the group as one, as Rose blushed bright red, and she murmured, “Well, he does have a car!” Everyone tittered away as she sat down and the excited conversation resumed.

Eventually Brains suggested the group should move on, and the group hustled and bustled out of the door and wandered down the street to the Black Swan. It was a fifteenth century coaching inn, which had been recently taken over by a goth couple they knew, and they had converted it into a ‘goth pub / club’, so it was now ‘the’ place to go in York.

The drinks flowed, the group danced to their favourite songs, and before long it was time at the bar. They filed outside, looking decidedly more bedraggled and exhausted than when they entered. There were mutual sighs of agreement to the “Takeaway anyone?” question that Nina raised, and they started to amble significantly less gracefully, down the street.

They were almost at the kebab van when Steph perked up and exclaimed “Hey! Where’s Brains??”

Everyone jerked out of their semi drunken slumber and started looking around frantically.

“Oh God, he’s not here, is he?” Pete whimpered in shock.

“Well, I last saw him outside, in the beer garden, with some girl.” Kevin offered, as Steph started to dial on her mobile.

“When was that though?” Gwen pondered anxiously.

“Uh, about midnight? I’m not sure, I can’t really remember.” Kev murmured as Gwen glanced at her watch, and saw that it was a quarter to three.

“I can’t get through, his phone is turned off.” Steph grumbled, “I’ve left him an answer phone message though.”

“Well, he should be ok, maybe he went home with that girl?” Nina commented, “I mean, it’s not his kind of thing, but maybe he got lucky?”
“Yeah, good on him!” shouted Pete, as Steph scolded him for his brashness.

“Well, even if he didn’t, I’m sure he’s a big enough boy to get home on his own now, isn’t he?” Rose cackled, “I mean, it’s not like there’s aliens walking the street now, are there?”