Love Bites: Horror Icon Scenarios

VALENTINES SPECIAL: When They Give Gifts

Carrie:

You sit on the edge of your bed, your heart pounding with nervous excitement as you unwrap the gift Carrie gave you. She'd been a blushing, stuttering mess all day and you finally found out why when you started packing up your locker after school.

The gift is small but feels heavy in your hands, sunset-pink wrapping paper crinkling softly as you tear it away. It's a beautiful, handmade scrapbook. The cover is adorned with delicate, hand-cut paper flowers. They're so vivid it's like they could bloom right off the page. In thick Sharpie, Carrie wrote out both your initials inside a glittery heart.

With slightly wet eyes, you take a deep breath and flip through the pages. Every time you do, you fall a little more in love. 

Delicate vines wind their way across the border, hand embroidered, and their leaves shimmer with tiny clear beads that catch the light. There's a page dedicated to when you met at church camp with cartoon stickers of s'mores and campfires. Another page captures your first date with a library book pocket holding the receipt. All along the margins are messy doodles and little notes in pretty cursive.

You run your fingers over the pages, feeling the textures of different materials Carrie used – soft fabrics, pressed flowers, and even a few plastic rhinestones here and there. You briefly wish there was more than two pictures of you two - one being the church camp's group photo and the other a blurred selfie of you holding up bunny ears as Carrie sleeps on a school bench - but you understand. Her mom has a lot of issues, and you hope to help her through them, to give her some form of normal. 

As you reach the end of the scrapbook, you hug it tightly to your chest. It's clear that Carrie poured her heart and soul into this gift, showing you how important and meaningful your relationship is to her. You can't help but feel a deep connection to the incredible woman who put so much into making something special just for you.

Queen Akasha:

Late at night, Queen Akasha retreats into the darkness of her chambers, disappearing behind the heavy velvet curtains. She subtly reaches out to you with a small, delicate vial. The flickering torchlight catches the glint of the glass, casting dancing shadows across its surface.

"For you, my protector. Let this be a reminder to accompany you through the night, a whisper of my presence when the shadows grow long." No louder than a careful whisper, the queen's voice is like silk, smooth and seductive as it brushes over you.

You take the vial from her with a curious glance. The glass is cool to the touch, smooth against your fingertips. As you bring it closer to your face, a heady aroma wafts out, enveloping you in a cloud of scent.

It's like nothing you've ever smelled before - a rich blend of exotic spices and floral notes, mingling with hints of musk and sandalwood. It's intoxicating, filling your senses with a warmth that seeps into your very soul. You can almost feel the heat of the Egyptian sun on your skin, hear the rustle of palm fronds in the desert breeze.

Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath, letting the fragrance wash over you like a gentle tide. It's as if Queen Akasha has captured the essence of the ancient land itself and distilled it into this tiny vial. With each inhale, you feel a sense of calm and peace settle over you. It quickly becomes your most prized possession as you wear it every day, a secret shared between you and the queen right under the public's nose.

Lori Spengler:

Lori always had a knack for finding the perfect gift, but this time she truly outdid herself. As you awkwardly unwrap the box she hands you, it's covered in layers upon layers of tape and the school newspaper, Lori grins and giggles to herself. It rips loudly as you peel it away with eager anticipation. You're greeted with a vintage Polaroid camera, the nude leather casing rough and worn in your hands.