Don't Feed the Plants

Grow For Me

Seymour didn't understand. He'd given the strange little plant all the things plants usually required, and then some.

He'd tried all levels of sunlight and moisture; he'd put it in high grade dirt; he'd given it plantfood and potash and mineral supplements. He'd named it. He'd stroked it and whispered gentle encouragement. Hell, he'd even brought in a tapedeck to play Mozart in hopes it might do something—anything—to help the plant recover. Still, nothing.

"I don't understand, little plant. I've thrown everything I have at you, and you still won't grow for me."

He knew he'd go crazy if he kept at it. He was already talking to a plant, for God's sake! He took to tending the other plants to distract himself. Still he couldn't get his mind off the Audrey II.

"What do you want from me? Blood?"

As he said it, he accidentally pricked his hand on the rose bush. Audrey II instantly responded. The pod opened slightly, and it made a suckling sound.

"What?" He looked back and forth between the plant and his cut finger. "You actually want it?"

The Audrey II kept sucking at the air.

"Well, I guess a few drops couldn't hurt. Just don't make a habit of it."

Wincing through the pain, Seymour held his finger over the plant and squeezed a single drop out. The pod opened and snapped the droplet up like a puppy, begging for more.

"I think that's enough for now," Seymour said, and he stroked the pod gingerly like he was petting a cat. "Just grow for me, okay?"

The plant rubbed back against his palm in what Seymour assumed was an affectionate gesture until it snapped at him. Its beak-like mouth closed around his finger, and sucked more blood from his cut.

"Hey!"

Seymour jerked his throbbing finger back, instinctively raising it to his mouth to suck it. But to his surprise the pain was gone, only a dull tingle in his place. It kind of felt good, actually.

The nectar Audrey II had left on his finger tasted sweet. He felt oddly buzzed.

It became a daily ritual. When no one was looking—usually at closing—he would prick his finger to give the plant a little blood and let it suck the pain away. He came to enjoy the feeling, and probably more than he should have, but not nearly as much as he enjoyed the little high he got from licking the nectar from his hand when Audrey II was done.

In time, the plant began to change. What had originally looked like a beak curled back at the tip, revealing the soft pink inner flesh of the plant. They became plumper, more feminine—more like human lips. Audrey II's leaves grew broader and longer too, and tendrils curled out from the base.

Seymour started to notice there was something mesmerizing about the way Audrey II's lips kissed the air when it begged for blood. It only did it when no one else was around, and that excited him in a way he wasn't sure he was comfortable with. As much as he tried to shake the thought from his head, he couldn't.

The voluptuous pout looked so out of place on the avocado-shaped body. Even Audrey and Mushnik had commented on it. He couldn't let them know the sinful thoughts that those lips inspired in him when they sucked the blood from his finger.

"Feed me," she sighed.

He couldn't have heard that right. He could've sworn he heard the plant talk. Soft, sensual. Definitely hungry. Definitely... aroused.

"I... I beg your pardon?"

"Feed me!" she moaned.

The sound washed over him, and he felt the same buzz he had when she'd sucked his finger.