title: the flavor
series: 好きっていいなよ say i love you
summary: because aiko has experienced every single one
note: sukitte ii na yo is an unlicensed japanese manga by hazuki kanae; the lyric introductions are from various artists
sweet
you don't get something for nothing - it could be sweet
She sticks the last bobby-pin in her red, red hair. This is a new look for her and the feeling is thrilling. The color resembles something akin to her namesake and she smiles demurely at her reflection staring back at her from the mirror.
It's still a shock to her fourteen year old heart that some boy - a handsome nineteen year old at that - would ask her, of all people, out. It's like a dream, has to be a dream and she looks back down at all the newly purchased cosmetics on the bathroom counter. She's spent nearly a fortune on these and new clothes, her trip to the beauty salon... but it's all going to be worth it! She just knows!
Applying eyeshadow isn't too hard, but blending it is somewhat tricky. Aiko's secretly grateful that she shelled out a few extra yen to have the esthetician demonstrate how to properly use all the products at the time of purchase. The liquid foundation disguises any imperfections and the new flawless pale appearance of skin makes the roundness of her face seem a little more elegant. Likewise, the mascara she struggles to brush over her lashes is worth all the effort in the end when her hazel eyes appear twice the size.
Perfect. Well, maybe not quite, but pretty close! She thinks the more she does this, the better she'll soon get. He likes cute girls, he told her so. So she'll become the cutest girl he's ever seen!
She dumps all of the cosmetics into an empty bathroom drawer and rushes out to her bedroom to finish getting dressed.
When she's finally ready to leave she passes by one last mirror at the entryway of her home. She stops and admires the person she's created. Make-up, clothes, hair dye... all of those things finally overcame the awful ugly person she felt she was before. Chubbiness aside, this beautiful earnest girl staring back at her... is not someone she readily recognizes. And that's exactly how she'll have him see her for their first date.
Aiko walks out of her front door with a lip gloss in hand, something she threw into her purse before she began this whole self transformation process; the make-up artist had said that glossy gorgeous lips were the most important finishing touch to any new look.
She wants to be all of that and more.
As she applies the gloss, smoothing the lacquer over her lightly chapped lips, some of it accidentally gets into her mouth. She's still a bit clumsy it seems, but she certainly can't be seen having anything mar her pretty smile. She hurriedly licks it off and marvels at how the cherry flavor is faintly sweet even though the product was never designed to be ingested.
She hopes he'll kiss her tonight.