Selena Frost & Deanna Frost vs. Colleen & Aisling

[SnowQueenSCW]

The Witches of Alden

”Showoff”

Black Arrow Neighbourhood
Manhattan, New York
October 11th, 2022
2:02pm

The dark blue Jeep liberty pulled into the long driveway, the gates remaining open (decorative as they were). The sound of the wheels going up onto the driveway from the sidewalk was pleasant and not the least bit jarring, which Selena was grateful for as her and Deanna’s home pulled into view quickly. Stopping in front of the garage doors, the Snow Queen parked the car, opening the doors (ensuring Deanna’s was unlocked as well by pushing a button on her own side) and stepping out. 

“We can keep everything in the garage till we decorate.” She remarked, reaching back into the car to push the garage button hanging on the visor attached to the interior. Immediately, one of the large beige-colored doors began ascending, opening to reveal the large garage. Yes, it was much larger than it needed to be for their car. In fact, it was large enough to accommodate their Jeep, the small ‘Galaxy Car’ Selena had purchased in her first few years in SCW, and the Snow Queen’s motorcycle, while still having enough space for the children’s ‘outside sports toys’.

Out of the corner of her eye, Selena spied her wife nodding, the dark-red mane that was Deanna’s hair bobbing with the shorter woman’s movements. Together, the pair moved around to the back of the vehicle to open the trunk, revealing their ‘assorted treasures’ they had picked up.

“What about a sort of ‘monster world’ concept?” Deanna offered. “I mean, we have Drac and Frankie and the Wolf Man’s on the way. What about using the trail from our ‘part’ to visit the different horror stories?”

That idea actually appealed to Selena. She loved the Universal Horror Monsters, part of me even ashamed they hadn’t been able to get their hands on a figure of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (she was still looking…). How many times had she spent the Halloween season, or even just a rainy day, curled up on the couch and watching back to back black-and-white horror pictures from Universal, RKO, and Paramount? Too many, and she would be damned if she didn’t do at least once this season too! 

“I actually like that idea…” she answered as she leaned into the truck to pull out a set of rather full large tombstone. They had gotten lucky on their first store, stumbling onto a set of poly-resin stones rather than the cheap plastic or foam ones that were sold in the stores like Abracadabra or Halloween Spirit and Deanna had, with some cajoling, purchased most of them to decorate the yard. The upside? They were far more ‘authentic-looking’ which made Deanna beam. The downside? They were quite a bit heavier, a fact the redhead knew as she helped Selena pull the first stone out, the pair working together to carry it into the garage. “I don’t really know the rules of this, Deanna.” Selena said as she held the ‘stone’ in her hands. “Don’t they just count ‘the house’ as the competition and not any trails or whatever?”

“Technically…” Deanna replied as she carefully adjusted her grip so as not to cause Selena to drop her end. “It’s a ‘property’ competition, so anything that is on your property can be decorated. They just prefer the name ‘house-decorating’. Sounds more fun, I guess.” She gave a slight shrug as the two moved the stone into the side of the garage, placing it up against the wall securely. The redhead had grabbed some ‘haunting messaged’ tombstones like ‘R.I.P’ and ones with cameos/portraits on them but she had also picked a few of the ‘funny message ones’ like ‘Izzy Dead’ and ‘Emma Goner’. Selena’s favourite was the one that said ‘For Rent. Neighbours are quite dead.’ 

If only that were true for one specific case. the platinum-blonde hummed to herself. Then we wouldn’t have to worry so much about this-

“SELENA! DEANNA!” It was like summoning the devil just by thinking of him! Selena was sure of that and she mentally cursed herself for it! Looking up, the older Frost saw Deanna roll her eyes and clench her jaw.

“Can’t we just pretend we didn’t hear her?” Deanna looked up, her emerald eyes almost pleading with Selena. 

“We still have to get the rest of the stones.” Selena sighed, dusting her hands off before walking out of the garage and back into the afternoon sun, her eyes only wincing a little as they adjusted to the light levels. To her, and Deanna’s dismay, their hearing had been accurate, but worse still, the source of the voice had not bothered with any waiting but had sauntered onto their driveway and was leaning into their Jeep, touching the tombstones.

“Well, aren’t these so cute!” Leslie remarked. “Oh the kids will love them! That one’s funny!” she pointed to one of the top ones that read, ‘Lose Weight Now! Ask Me How!’. 

“Please move.” Deanna remarked, pressing Leslie out of the way and, with some irritation, pulling out the next tombstone out of the Jeep, Selena joining in.

“Well, I think it’s cute that you’re going local with the decorations.” Leslie remarked, moving her hand to blow across her fingernails. “Paul and I thought it be more creative to outsource. Bring some new art into Black Arrow, ya know?”

No, Selena did not know, and she was pretty sure that Paul probably didn’t ‘know’ either but was just leaving his credit card where Leslie could find it and use it – probably a nice way to keep her quiet while he slept around with that secretary.

“We really don’t know.” Deanna remarked. “But we like to work with local businesses.” 

“Well…some prefer quality…” the pair heard Leslie mutter under her breath, the Frost wives choosing not to remark on the comment, which only caused the older woman to change topics. “Why didn’t you hire someone to deliver these and move them?”

“Why would we do that?” Selena asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s just a bit of work. Not that hard.”

“Besides…” Deanna cast an emerald glance at Leslie as the couple placed the stone into the garage next to the first one before rejoining their neighbour on the driveway. “You may be shocked to know, but married couples like to do stuff together. Not just sit at home and spend their cash on deliveries.”

The shade was not lost on any of the women and Selena almost smiled over the fact that Deanna had been having similar thoughts to Leslie’s remarks as she had. Speaking of which, the oldest woman of the three merely bit the inside of her cheek, adjusting her polka-dotted blouse and shook her head to adjust her hair a little.

“Well, to each their own. Personally, I couldn’t lift my purchase.” She gestured down the driveway and a few houses to the right to where her house. It was a rather large house, larger than the Frost’s ‘forever home’, and just as gawdy-looking inside as it was outside. It was all flash and no substance, Selena had seen that the first time she had spied the house when she purchased hers and Deanna’s, a fact that was confirmed every time she had been invited to the ‘neighbourhood parties’ the Sandersons hosted. 

Still, the true focus Leslie was indicated were the workmen and the decently-sized van that was in Leslie’s driveway. Three men in jeans and white shirts were carrying something large, the Snow Queen unable to make out some kind of claw and wing in-between the workmen.

“OVER THERE ON THE PORCH, BOYS!” yelled Leslie, making her voice ten times more unbearable, like a siren, by increasing her volume to a yell. “DON’T YOU DARE DROP IT! IT’S WORTH MORE THAN YOUR YEARLY SALARY!”

Both Selena and Deanna remained silent at Leslie’s defamations, instead focusing on the large object that was placed there. Despite the workers being careful, the figure made a loud, scrapping sound as it was placed on the porch, stone placed on stone, that was heard even from where the Frost women stood.

“Isn’t it breath-taking?” Leslie remarked. “Ugly as hell but perfect for the occasion.”

To both Selena’s and Deanna’s eyes, a large, possibly taller than Selena, gargoyle now stood on the porch. It had long horns jutting out of the sides of his head towards his back, a tail of hair between the horns, a beak for a mouth and wings and claws that took up a good chunk of the porch space, almost reaching the door to the house.

“I specially had it ordered. The sculptor, Pierre Holsten, has done countless statues like that for churches and castles! World-renowned!”

Despite herself, Selena tilted her head, taking in as much detail of the statue as she could from her distance away, though she refused to step towards it and give Leslie the satisfaction of knowing of her intrigue. “Ugly” wasn’t the right word for the Snow Queen in regards to the gargoyle. If anything, it looked charming to her, but then again, she had always had strange tastes and she knew it. She enjoyed snowflakes and winters when everyone else loved spring and summers. She like ice-cold baths while everyone else preferred hot showers. In SCW, she valued integrity and protecting people, like Nicole Kinneck, while others would step on each other just to get ahead in their careers. 

Even so, she could not deny how fascinating the gargoyle looked from where she stood.

“If you thought it was ugly, why did you order it?” came Deanna’s voice, gaining Selena’s attention. “Or pick a design you liked?”

“Silly, Deanna.” Laughed Leslie. “It’s not about ‘liking’ it.” She turned her head back over Deanna, her brown eyes boring into Deanna’s emerald ones. It was unnerving. “It’s about winning. And ‘ugly/scary’ gargoyles work for Halloween.”

The two stared each other down, the implication clear in Leslie’s voice. A growing desperation to help her wife overtaking her, Selena crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think it looks scary. I think he looks pleasant.”

The remark caused a flash of irritation on Leslie’s face, the black-haired woman turning her head to regard the Snow Queen. “Well… I’ll trust the man I paid five thou on what is ‘scary’.”

“Wait…” Deanna’s eyes widened. “You spent five thousand dollars on one gargoyle? Just to win this competition?”

“Paul had that lying around in a change jar somewhere.” Leslie shrugged. “We weren’t using it.”

“Wow…” Deanna breathed. “You’re an idiot.” Her hands flew up to her mouth to stop herself a second too late.
“Excuse me?!” Leslie asked, her eyes going wide.

“I believe Deanna was remarking that such a purchase seems… a bit much for such a simple neighbourhood competition. I mean…” she gestured towards the tombstones still in her Jeep. “We got this whole set for a few hundred.”

“And it’s cute.” Leslie remarked. “But don’t be mad that I’m putting more of an effort into this than you. Just means I want to win more.”

“I think we have differing opinions of ‘effort’, Leslie.” Selena countered. “Considering all you did to get that gargoyle was use a credit card. Someone else carved it, someone else moved it, someone else just now put it on your porch.”

“Potato pototoe, Ms. Frost.” Leslie half-hissed, half-shrugged.
“Mrs. Frost.” Selena shot back. “I’ll happily show you the marriage certificate again in case you forgot about it.”
Leslie answered back dismissively. “You can lug rocks into your garage and I’ll…I’ll bring art and nuance to this competition. We’ll see who Black Arrow really appreciates in the end.”

Without another word, Leslie turned on her foot, laughing a little as she made her way down the Frosts driveway.

“Hey, Leslie!” Deanna called out, regaining the neighbour’s attention as she turned around. “Make sure you tell your ‘guidance counselor’ hubby about the statue. Last thing you want is for him to get lost looking for the house after his late night visits with his secretary!”

Again, that familiar look of disdain, the clenching of the jaw, and the fire in those dark eyes as Leslie glared down Deanna. "He's not a 'guidance counselor." Leslie fired back. "He's a psychiatrist."

"Hey…” Deanna shrugged. “Potato…potote.” She grinned back at Leslie, taking Selena’s hand and bringing it to her lips, kissing the palm and sending a small shiver down Selena’s spine, though she hid it well.

Miffed, Leslie marched away, never looking back as the Frost women stood in the driveway until Leslie had entered her house, slamming the door shut with a thud.

A sigh escaped Selena. “Petulance…” she eyed Deanna. “Such a turn on.” She added before turning back to her Jeep and working another tombstone out of the trunk.

“Oh come on!” Deanna smiled playfully, moving over to her wife’s side and nudging her with her shoulder. “She deserved it. And weren’t you the one that referred to Xander’s ‘kingdom’ as a ‘fancy roof’ on Twitter the other day?”

“Doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do with Leslie, Deanna.” Selena sighed. “You know I was cheated on too, right?”

Deanna’s head turned back to Selena, emerald eyes wide. “Yeah…but… I mean that was different. Ryan’s a bastard. I don’t blame Paul given how Leslie treats him.” She tried to explain. “And besides! You make fun of her about it too!”

“Yes, I have.” Selena sighed. “And I shouldn’t have. Because I think about how I would feel if someone threw my past relationship errors in my face… Whether she deserves it or not, there’s no justifying cheating on your partner.” That last part was cold and directed at no one, but it held a certain pain in Selena’s voice. She had tried many times to not speak her thoughts on the Sanderson’s worst-kept secret aloud, but she would be lying if Leslie’s annoying and disrespectful behaviour did not, at times, cause it to slip out – the Snow Queen as desiring as the Queen’s Guard to get the last word in on the irksome woman.

“We need to stop using that for our arguments.” Selena decided, pulling the stone out and waiting for Deanna to take the other end before moving it completely out of the Jeep and towards the garage with the others. “Cause, whether we like her or hate her, she’s clearly hurting over that and it’s…” she sighed. “Unfair to be cruel to her over her husband’s unfaithfulness.”

She saw Deanna bite her lip, more out of thought than exertion of moving the tombstone, this one reading the simple ‘I Told You I Was Sick” etched along it. 

“Great…now I feel guilty.” Deanna sighed. “Thanks a lot, Selena.” She huffed, half-irritated, half in understanding. “Way to spoil my good mood.”

“That’s what marriage is, pet.” Selena grinned as they placed the tombstone with the others. “Growing old, loving each other, and getting jollies from ruining one another’s fun.”

“Remind me of that next time you’re in a good mood, minx.” Deanna grinned wickedly, though it faded as her eyes turned to gaze out the garage towards the gargoyle. “It’s a gorgeous statue.” She added wistfully.

“RIGHT?!” Selena breathed. “I thought it was just me that thought so! It has character.” She bit her lower lip to gaze at Deanna. “You realize that she might win this way, Deanna. If she’s willing to throw away that much money just to overwhelm us…”

“You think she’ll bury us with sheer numbers?” Deanna asked, earning a nod from Selena.

“I won’t buy you this competition.” She added sternly. “That isn’t winning.”

Slowly, Deanna nodded her head. “I wouldn’t want to win that way anyway. It’s…it’s shallow. I want to earn everything we win.” Her eyes lifted to Selena’s. “Like when we become tag-team champions one day…”

A tired, but genuine smile came to Selena’s features as she shook her head. “Baby steps, darling.” She reminded, her eyes turning to the tombstones. “Start with one piece and build up to a bigger picture. Remember, it took Regan and I seven months to get there when we did it with Frozen Hell.”

The redhead gave a nod of her head. “So not only do I have to be more ‘noble’ and ‘understanding’ around Leslie, but we’re taking the slow path for a chance to be tag-team champions?” She gave a huff again. “Any good news today, wifey?”

Smiling amusingly, Selena checked her phone, her eyes going wide a little. “Yeah, we need to hurry up. The kids will be out of school in less than an hour.”

Eyes widening as well, Deanna pulled her own phone out to check the time. “Holy cats…” she breathed before rushing out of the garage and back to the Jeep. “Come on!” she called out. “There’s still three or four more stones!”

With a knowing smile, Selena gave one more shake of her head. She had no desire to tell Deanna that it was her that had put the bug in the ear of SCW management to consider them teaming them up more often as ‘The House of the Frost’. The last thing she wanted to do was get her wife’s hopes up…

Still… Selena cast her eyes out the way Deanna had run… her smile changing to one far more hopeful. Still, her and Deanna as tag-team champions… she felt her heart flutter at the thought, something she had not felt since teaming with Regan Street.

Whether it takes a year or a month… I’ll make it happen… she silently vowed before exhaling and walking out to join her wife, the task at hand needing to be completed. “You know we’re going to have to talk to the children about not knocking these over or climbing on them, right?”

“Yep! You can be the buzzkill for that!” Deanna called back. “Seems to be your thing today.”
“Oh come on, Deanna.” Selena laughed. “You know I’m right about what I said.”
“Yeah…but if it ain’t broke?” Deanna raised an eyebrow. 

“Fine.” Selena huffed. “But you gotta tell them not to go climbing on Leslie’s gargoyle. Cause you KNOW David is going to want to.”

Emerald-eyes went wide at that fact. “I would like to reconsider my position in all of this-“
“No takebacks!” Selena shot quickly.
“Dammit!” Deanna cursed as the two continued to work to get the stones into the garage. “He’s going to be so mad at me.”
“Yep.” Selena smiled. “And I’ll be the ‘favorite mom’ today! Mwuhahaha!”

The redhead gave an eyeroll as the wives worked the last stones into the garage, both taking a moment to stare at the gargoyle as they made their way back to their Jeep and opening the doors.

“You know…I feel sorry for him.” Deanna remarked.
“Him?” Selena asked. “You sure it’s a he?”
‘Pretty sure.” Deanna shrugged. “But he’s gotta live with Leslie…”
“Well…let’s hope he’s got rocks in his head and gravel in his ears.” Selena teased. “Cause I don’t think even Xander Valentine could endure that for too long.”

The two shared a laugh before re-entering the Jeep and starting it up, the pair departing to pick up their children for school…