I'm back! I know it's been a while, but I've been so busy with school, and I just got a new job, so life hasn't left me with much time to write. I know I haven't updated "Hollingstwins" in a while, but I promise, I'm working on it!
This was based on an ask somebody asked me on tumblr, the ask being essentially "What would Frankie do if Miles threw away all her makeup?" I got inspired, and this was born!
Miles had only been looking for his earbuds.
He'd looked in Hunter's room already, but it had been a lost cause. His little brother lived in a world of organized chaos, with everything only making sense to him. In addition, Hunter had his own pair of gaming headphones that he used, so he would make fun of Miles's simple earbuds every chance he got. So, Miles hadn't been surprised when he hadn't found what he was looking for.
Naturally, he checked his sister's room next. Frankie was more likely to have his earbuds anyway. The two were pretty good about sharing possessions, and neither one got upset about the other taking the other's things.
Thankfully, Frankie was much neater than her twin. Everything was perfectly placed in her room, to the point that Miles wasn't sure if she actually lived here. Fortunately for him, he was able to sought out the missing item in seconds. The earbuds had been neatly rolled up, sitting on her nightstand table. Great, mission accomplished. Miles slid them into his pocket and was just about to exit when he saw something intriguing on Frankie's vanity. A large bag.
Being the big brother that he was, Miles felt the need to check it out. Make sure everything was okay. He had no idea what could possibly be in a vessel so large. He walked over to the vanity and opened up the bag, surprised at the contents.
Makeup. And lots of it.
Miles was no secret to women. After all, he had attracted many ladies in his time. Having been in many girl's rooms, he'd seen the amount of makeup some of them owned. He'd just never imagined Frankie owning all of these products. He wasn't dumb, he knew she wore makeup, but this seemed excessive. He pulled some of the products out, questioning why she needed them. His sister was very pretty, Miles couldn't deny that. And he knew he wasn't just biased because they shared the same genes. Many a time Miles had had to ward off boys who were looking at Frankie in a way that made his stomach churn.
Miles made his decision, taking the bag with him as he exited the room.
Frankie noticed the missing object the moment she walked into her room. Her attention to detail was very good, and when a bag as large and important as her cosmetic bag had been taken, she was bound to notice. She was confused as to who the culprit could be. The bag had been there in the morning when she had gone out with Shay and Lola, meaning somebody must have taken it.
Her parents weren't around enough for them to be realistic suspects. She thought about Hunter, but she was able to rule him out right away. Hunter had no need for her makeup bag, and Frankie couldn't think of a single reason why he would even touch it. But if it wasn't her parents, and it wasn't Hunter, that left only Miles. Frankie wasn't quite what Miles would want with her makeup bag, but he better have a damn good reason for touching it.
"Miles!"
He knew when he heard Frankie's call for him that she was annoyed. He sighed as he got off of his bed, reluctantly going to his sister's room for the second time that day. He wasn't sure what he'd expected. Obviously she was going to be pissed at him. But he was determined to stand his ground. He was the older brother after all. He shouldn't be scared of his baby sister- who wasn't really a baby anymore.
"Yes, my favorite little sister?" Miles said, poking his head into her room, an over exaggerated smiled on his face. Frankie, however, wasn't having any of his act. She glared at him, arms crossed.
"Get in here," she demanded, and Miles had no choice but to follow her orders. He stepped in her room, looking around.
"I love what you've done with the place. Very nice."
"Cut the shit. Why did you take my makeup? You didn't steal it for Zoe, or Maya, or Tristan, did you?" Frankie asked.
"What- no, of course not! Someone stole your makeup? Did you ask Hunter?" Miles said, continuing his charade. Unfortunately, Frankie knew him just as well as he knew her.
"Miles. We both know you took it." Miles knew he wasn't going to get out of it, so he might as well come clean. He sighed as he admitted defeat.
"Fine, it was me."
"What did you do with it?" She asked, looking at his hands expectantly, as if she expected it to magically reappear.
"I threw it out!" He told her quickly, protecting his face in case she decided to punch him. "But I have a good reason!"
"That reason being?" Frankie countered, still pissed off at her older brother. What reason could he possibly have that would warrant taking her makeup. She had spent a long time building up her collection of various cosmetic products.
"Because, Frankie⦠you don't need it." The statement took Frankie by surprise and she felt the anger flee from her body as she stared up as her older brother. Miles looked completely genuine, not a hint of sarcasm on his face.
"W-what?" Frankie said. She was still confused as to what direction this was going in.
"That bag- there's so much in it. And you didn't need any of it, Frankie. You have such a natural beauty- and I'm not just saying that because you look like the female version of me. You just are. And I've seen girls obsess over their appearance, and I don't want that to happen to you. You know? Today maybe it's makeup, tomorrow maybe it's plastic surgery, or skipping meals. Point being, I don't want this to be a downward spiral for you. You had a lot of makeup in that bag, Frankie." Frankie couldn't help but be touched by Miles's declaration. She felt bad for even thinking that he had stolen it for a malicious reason. Instead, it had been out of love.
She couldn't help but be insecure about herself. She was a teenage girl, after all. But hearing Miles's words made her feel better. Like she actually believed it.
Frankie stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Miles, who returned her hug, putting his head on hers.
" Hey Miles?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you take me to Sephora?" Miles pulled back, looking at her in confusion. Had she learned nothing from their talk?
"Frankie-"
"I'm not going to stop wearing makeup altogether. I like how some of it looks on me. But maybe I'll tone it down a bit." It was really all Miles could ask for. Just as long as she didn't look like a prostitute, or didn't feel a need to cover up any secret insecurities, Miles was content.
"Fine. I'll take you."
"And you're buying, since you trashed all of my old makeup." Miles sighed, but knew it was the right thing to do.
"Deal. Just, one more minute," he said, locked in embrace with his sister.
Miles rarely got this kind of affection from his family, and he was going to soak up every second of it. Frankie, meanwhile, was all too happy to stay where she was. She sometimes forgot that Miles truly had her best interests at heart, and it was moments like this that reminded her just how close the two had become recently.
"Thank you, Miles," she whispered into his chest. Miles rubbed his hands up and down her back.
"You're welcome, Franks."
Just to be clear, I'm not saying that makeup is bad, or that it takes away from beauty! I'm just trying to write Miles in a way that I think would be realistic. I myself wear makeup, and I think if you like it, you should wear it!
Title comes from lyric in Alessia Cara's "Scars to Your Beautiful." The full line being "You should know you're beautiful just the way you are."
Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, or favored! All are greatly appreciated.
