The Art of a Monster

CH. 20July/4/2009

Screams and laughter surrounded Stefano and Valeria as they wandered through the park. It was finally the Fourth of July and the carnival was full of people. Stefano and Valeria stayed close so that they don't get separated. The two of them went on a few rides before the lines started getting too long. Stefano was glad to see Valeria smiling again. He once felt like she would never recover from those days in hell. But now, she is herself again.  It was starting to get dark and the fireworks would be going off in a couple hours. Valeria still had a couple things she wanted to do with Stefano before it gets too dark and everything closes. They sat down in the photo booth  with hats and other accessories. They made faces and had different poses while wearing a couple accessories. The 2 of them decided to kiss without anything for their last picture. They spent several minutes looking and laughing at the printed pictures before leaving the photo booth.

"Looks like almost everything is closing up. Was there anything else you wanted to do before the fireworks mia cara?" Stefano asked as Valeria put the pictures in her purse next to the camera. Valeria smiled.

"There was one more thing I wanted to do." She replied as she lead him to what looked like a hair salon shelf with a mirror and a seat. Stefano was confused when he saw all the makeup sitting on the shelf.

"Valeria, I don't understand. Why do you want a makeover? You look perfect already." Stefano said. Valeria laughed as they reached the lady by the salon seat.

"It's not for me Stefano,        it's for you." Valeria said as she tried to control her laughing. Stefano's eyes widened.

"No.     No no no no no." Stefano said as Valeria took out some cash. Valeria and the other lady started giggling slightly.

"Come on Stefano. Please?" Valeria begged as she playfully fluttered her eyelashes. Stefano sighed and gave in.

"No pictures, ok mia cara?" Stefano said as he sat down on the chair. Valeria smiled with excitement.

"How much do you want?" The lady asked. Valeria talked to the woman about what to put on him, but all that Stefano could hear from them was lipstick and nail polish.

"Lord what have I walked into?" He thought to himself as the woman started applying makeup on his face. He could hear Valeria laughing quietly. He wanted to open his eyes, but he was scared of what he now looks like.

"Are you done yet?" Stefano asked as the lady finished his nails.

"Almost.   Hold your hands up and have the nails face forward.    I want to see if they work with the eyeshadow and lipstick." She replied as she took a step back to look at her work. She smiled in satisfaction.

"Ok you can open your eyes to look at the mirror.   This is probably my best work." The lady finished before Stefano opened his eyes.

"Jesus Christ." He whispered from the overwhelming shock. Valeria covered her mouth as she tried to hold back her laughter.

"Could you please get this off?    I'll give you twenty dollars extra if you remove the nail polish as well." Stefano begged. The lady smiled before she started to remove the makeup and polish. Valeria continued to laugh as she started blushing for some reason. Stefano didn't think too much about it. He just wanted the stuff off.

"Blue suits you well Stefano." Valeria said while laughing. Stefano chuckled slightly at her comment. The two of them wandered around the part a little to try and find a good spot to watch the fireworks. They found a bench along the sidewalk looking out toward the plains. Valeria sighed as she rested her head on Stefano's shoulder. Stefano wrapped an arm around her to keep her close. Valeria wanted to tell Stefano that Beth and Stela would like to hang out and get to know him sometime after they get back from vacation, but then the fireworks started. They were entranced by the noise and the colors. Stefano thought about combining a person and a firework as an art piece but then immediately changed his mind. He lost interest in using people for art ever since he got to know Valeria.

"The fireworks were fantastic. They were better than last year." Valeria said as they stepped into the living room.

"Indeed they were.      Some of them I've never seen before." Stefano said as Valeria put away her purse and took out her camera. Stefano was curious why she was taking it to his studio. He didn't remember her taking any pictures of the fireworks. He shrugged it off and went to the kitchen to get some water. He could hear Valeria giggling quietly several minutes later. His curiosity was driving him crazy. He walked into the studio and found Valeria by the computer and the printer. She walked over to a mirror to check her hair. Stefano stood behind her to see what was in her hand.         She had a printed picture of his caked face and nails. Valeria looked at Stefano through the mirror and knew that he was up to something as he got closer with each predatory step. He smirked before lunging towards the picture to grab it. Valeria dodged while smiling before she started to run out of the room. Stefano grunted in slight frustration for not grabbing the picture. He then smiled at the sound of her laughter and then ran after her.    He was going to enjoy the chase. Valeria ran around the studio with Stefano close behind her. Whenever he reached her, he would miss. He eventually decided to take a shortcut. When Valeria turned a corner, Stefano appeared in front of her and lunged towards her. Valeria shouted in shock before laughing as he grabbed her and they landed on the floor. They wrestled a little while laughing and smiling. He eventually pinned her wrists down and looked at her eyes while smiling teasingly. Valeria laughed a little while fighting back until she gave up. She was breathing a little heavy from slight exhaustion. Stefano scoffed and smiled in victory. He then kissed her. Once he parted from her lips, he immediately snatched the picture from her hand.

"That's not fair." Valeria wined between breaths. Stefano chuckled a little as he helped her up.

"Tell you what,       I'll give this back to you when I get a picture of you for my blackmail.        Deal?" Stefano said as he stuck to picture in his pocket.   Valeria pouted a little, but she couldn't hold it back any longer and it turned into a smile.

"Deal." She replied before kissing him.