Love Of A Fan
2014 © All Rights Reserved
Nineteen year old, Mora has an obsession of a celebrity. He isn't a musician or actor, he's an artist with an unique technique.
Mora sprawled across her bed, hands placed behind her head as she stared up at her ceiling. Her brown, doe-like eyes fixated on her favorite paintings she recently purchased. She didn't want to hang them on her walls where they wouldn't get attention from her she felt they deserved. On the ceiling was the ideal spot they needed to be, that way she could stare at them before she fell into a deep slumber and wake up to them, still as beautiful as the day before.
The sun shining into her room, striking her eyes with a brutal force made her roll to her side, avoiding the cruelty of the sun. The brightness and time on her clock reminded her she couldn't lay in bed any longer.
The day was starting without her, as it always does. With a loud groan, Mora slumped out of the warmness of her bed, throwing the blankets off of her and onto the bed. The cold took her by surprise, goosebumps on her skin rising like cookies being baked in an oven.
She walked into the living room, reminiscing on the noise that used to play through the house when her mother was still alive. Her father was never in the picture and she had no siblings to share the big space with. The old photos of her mother were taken down. They were a painful reminder of the only thing she cared about being ripped away from her when she was just starting her life last year. In their place was paintings from the man she admired more than anyone. Niko Vincent.
While her favorite paintings were nailed into the ceiling of her bedroom, the ones down in the living room were still adored by her.
Mora gazed over them, all unique in their own way with only one thing in common. They were made from his own blood. The darkened red popped against the white background. She looked at her first painting she ever bought from Niko. It was a butterfly, the wings had an effect of dripping. She didn't know whether it was intentional, but made the theory that the butterfly was melting into the puddle of blood that helped create the haunting, but beautiful photo.
The watch on her wrist started to beep, causing her to jump and stun her in place for a second until she realized why her watch was beeping. Mora raced over to her little radio, turning it to her favorite station.
Mora sat on a kitchen stool, strands of dark hair falling in front of her face while she stared at the radio sitting on the marble kitchen counter.
"As most of you know, today is the day we give a free ticket to the exclusive art show of the amazing blood artist, Niko Vincent! Be the sixth caller and answer two questions correctly for a free ticket," the radio host, known as Jeb spoke words that made Mora's heart want to burst with excitement.
Mora wasted no time calling up the station for a chance to see the man she looked up to and helped her when she was going through a rough time in her life.
When the phone picked up, her heart picked up it's pace, "Hello?" She spoke eagerly into the phone.
"You are the sixth caller, congratulations!" Jeb shouted into the phone with his deep, raspy voice.
Mora squealed with happiness, knowing all she had to do was answer two questions for her free ticket. "What are the questions?" She was unable to keep herself still in her seat.
"Well aren't you an eager one," Jeb joked while Mora awaited for him to get on with what could be her possible way into the art show. "Here's the first question," He paused, trying hard to give the dramatic vibe.
"Okay," Mora chewed on her index finger's nail even though there was barely anything there left to chew on.
"Where does Niko cut in order to obtain his blood?"
"His arms." She said without hesitation. Mora remembered reading an interview he did with the same question.
"Correct!" Her heart fluttered knowing she was so close to winning the ticket. "Next question, are you ready?"
"Yes," she smiled.
"Who did Niko Vincent dedicate his first blood painting to and why?" He asked.
Mora's heart dropped. She had never recalled reading or watching any interview where he talked about dedicating his first painting to anyone or why. "Um, his mom?" She went for the generic answer, hoping she could get the answer partially correct.
"Ooh," Jeb made a sound that sounded as if he was being hit in the gut, "I'm sorry, that's not the right answer. Thanks for playing though!"
Mora hung up with a crushed heart. "Fuck." She whispered under her breath, a burning hatred towards herself rapidly growing with each second.
"Hello?" A woman's voice came from the speakers of her radio.
"Same question as I asked the girl from before along with a new question. How much did his first painting sell for? This is your chance for a free ticket to an exclusive art show featuring work by Niko Vincent who will also be attending the event."
"That's an easy one!" Mora screamed at her radio, "It sold for $1,500."
"To answer the price of his first painting, I believe it was $1,500."
"You're right," he paused, "what's the answer to the next question?"
"It was dedicated to his niece, Maddie." She said with confidence.
"Correct." Mora's heart tore. "And why was it dedicated to Maddie?"
"What happened to her is what inspired him to start doing blood art. He was broken hearted ever since she went missing and he's been doing this art as a way to cope and hoping she will be found one day."
"Yes!" Jeb yelled with joy, "You have just won a free ticket to the art show on Friday! What's your name, young lady?"
"It's Katy!" She exclaimed with enjoyment.
Mora couldn't stand it anymore and threw her radio on the hard floor in the kitchen, watching as she destroyed it into pieces, parts bouncing off of the ground then hitting the floor once again. She walked away from the mess, not in the mood to clean it up.
In the midst of madness, an idea popped up into Mora's mind. Without thinking too much about the consequences or what could go wrong, she logged onto her laptop and typed furiously across the keyboard Niko Vincent's address into the search engine bar of a website she used when she was curious where a certain celebrity's house was.
Lucky for her, Niko had stayed a town away from her and not a state away.
19034 Pathway Road
The address displayed across her screen next to a picture of Niko and a new hope filled her chest. She got out a piece of paper and wrote down the address in sloppy, but legible writing.
"Why would I want to wait until Friday to see you at some stupid show where other people will be fighting for your attention?" She asked while staring at the picture of him. Mora kissed her fingertip then touched the screen where his cheek was, "I'll see you soon." A grin flashed across her face.
She grabbed one thing she had around the house that her mom gave to her as a gift before she passed away. Then she got into the car and made the journey to his house after typing the address into the GPS.
~
The trip consisted of thinking about what she hoped would play out once she arrived at his home. He would graciously invite her in and they would talk about their drive and passion about art. She would tell him about all of the art she's collected of his and how she had always been a fan of his even when in the beginning of his career a vast amount of people viewed his work as "disgusting" and "morbid".
Her car was already driving down his road. The knuckles of her hands turned white as they gripped the steering wheel. It wasn't out of nervousness, she was not nervous at all, she was happy.. No, ecstatic. Mora experienced a high without any drugs, but only the excitement of seeing her idol.
She parked in the lot of a children's park, planning to walk the rest of the way. It was about a couple minute walk and the cold would do good to calm her down before she reached his house.
A small .32 caliber revolver rested nicely in her big jacket pocket. Her hand gripped it the whole way to his house.
Mora reached the dirt pathway with trees lining down the way to his brick home. Her pace quickened until she was at least ten feet away from his door. She wanted to walk slower, take in the smells and the looks of everything. She wanted to remember this exact moment. The air filled with a smell she recognized. The scent before it would rain. She looked up to see the dark clouds indicated she was right. The darkness of the clouds casted darker shadows and gave the surroundings an ominous look.
"A girl with a gun, showing up to a celebrity's home when it's about to storm," she chuckled, "fitting." She then walked up to the door and knocked.
The seconds were agonizing as she waited to see if he was going to answer. When he did, her heart stopped, taking in how more attractive he was in person. His dark green eyes looked at her with curiosity. "Can I help you?" He asked, his brown, dreaded hair blowing in the wind.
Niko looked down at the innocent looking woman in front of his home, wearing an oversized jacket and tight pants.
Mora pulled out the gun, a spark in her eyes, "Yes you can."
Niko held his hands up in defense, eyes becoming wide at the sudden actions of Mora. His eyes never left the gun as he spoke to her, "Woah, I'm sure whatever it is you want, we can settle this without having to hurt anyone."
"I'm sure you're right," Mora giggled, "Get inside." She demanded and he obeyed, walking into the living room then turned around.
"What do you want?" He asked, his hands trembled.
"I just want to talk." She then put the gun away back into her jacket pocket and lounged on his couch. "I've loved your work for so long and wanted to meet you Friday, but some other girl stole my ticket. So I decided to come see you for myself."
"I could.. I could give you a ticket if that's what you want."
"Do you not listen?" She scoffed. "I just want to talk, it's better that we're alone and not interrupted by other people." She noticed how he was still standing while she was relaxed. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
His shoulders became less tense, "Okay, good." He tried to act cool, but couldn't help but imagine what would happen if he said the wrong thing to this young woman who forced her way into his home.
"I'm thirsty. Can I bother you for a glass of water?"
"Um, sure." He got up, heading to the kitchen.
"Hey," Mora called out to him. He turned around to acknowledge her. "No funny business or else I will hurt you." She then sent him on his way with a smile.
"So I'm guessing you already know my name, what's your name?" Niko asked from the kitchen as he filled a glass with ice and water.
"It's Mora." She answered back, "so I heard about what inspired you to make blood art."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah." She nodded her head though he couldn't see. "Is it true?"
"Is what true?" He asked, his right eyebrow arched. He walked into the living room with a glass of iced water.
"The story about your niece. How she was kidnapped and you do this art in a way to cope with her disappearance." Mora explained.
"Oh, that.." He handed her the cup. "It's true. She went missing and we were always close. With every problem, Maddie would come to me because I was the cool uncle. There was no trace of evidence left behind and the trail has been cold for years. In my heart I know she is still alive out there. One day I have hope she will be returned home."
"Any theories about what happened to her?"
Niko nodded his head, his eyes becoming glazed. "I suspected my sister which is Maddie's mom had something to do with it. The police called my allegations crazy after they questioned her. They don't think she had anything to do with it, but I know she did. But I can't prove it." Niko looked over at the groggy looking, Mora on his couch. "Oh great Mora, it already kicked in." He brushed the hair out of her face and carried her nearly unconscious body down to the basement.
~
Mora woke up, still out of it. She wasn't chained up, just placed in the middle of the basement. Her eyes stared up at Niko who smiled huge. Her eyes went to his arms. He wasn't wearing a jacket like he always had. Something had surprised her, there were no scars or cuts. "I thought.. I thought you cut, cut your arms for blood."
Niko snickered, crouching down to eye level, "No sweetie. I'd never hurt myself for the blood in my art, I use the blood of others."
Mora lifted her head up then moved the hair away from her neck. It was something that shocked and took Niko a minute to understand what she was doing. With a weak, soft voice, she whispered, "Make me into something beautiful."
Niko placed a bucket in front of her then grabbed the newly sharpened knife. He held it to her neck, taking a moment to stare into her eyes. He pressed the knife into her skin, piercing the flesh. A few dribbles came from the wound with a warm, burning sensation. Then he glided the blade across her neck, a curtain of blood spilling into the bucket below her.
~
It's Friday night. Niko Vincent is at his art show, walking around and talking to his fans. He's standing next to a covered piece of art with everyone watching him with eager eyes.
"This is a new piece of mine, something I was recently inspired to make." He removed the covering. It was an angel, each wing gave the illusion as if it was in flight with the dress detailed beautifully. The bystanders stared in awe.
"It's gorgeous!" Katy, the winner of the radio contest commented, "Does this painting have a name?"
"Yes it does," Niko nodded. "It's called Mora."
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I hope this makes up for it! What'd you think? Suggestion for a story about a fangirl was given by @JustKeepSwimming4712
Question: Did anyone remember someone who was mentioned in this story who was from a previous short story?
ALSO! This is my 50th short story posted!