Chapter 2: Mascara

Marinette stared at the floor with wide eyes. Her entire body felt on edge as she waited for Alya to run the thick black brush through her eyelashes. She's never worn any makeup in her life, and this was perhaps the scariest part of it. Alya had already plucked and filled in her (already full) eyebrows as well as added a touch of lip gloss to her pale lips. She didn't bother with foundation since she was at least three shades darker. Plus Marinette already had a nearly perfect completion.

"Oooh, your mom got the good kind," Alya said while examining the wand.

"C-can you hurry up? I'm getting nervous," Marinette stuttered.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Alya replied and carefully ran the bristles through Marinette's full and thick lashes.

"Oh my god you're eyelashes are perfect. I'm so jealous," she whimpered while gently coating the black hairs.

"R-really? I never liked them because they always point down," Marinette muttered, trying to hold her breath.

"That's why we curled them," Alya informed her.

"God, that was scarier than this. I've never seen one of those before."

"I'll admit they look scary as fuck at first, but the more you get used to stuff around your eyes the less intimidating it is," Alya assured her.

"I don't even know if I wanna wear makeup that often. I probably don't pass very well."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm flat as a board and my hips are negative inches wide," she replied dully.

"Honey it's all about wardrobe and confidence. Plus there's body shapers out there you can try," Alya pointed out.

"What could I wear that would make me pass? My hair isn't even at my chin," she questioned.

"You could French braid your bangs, and never underestimate the power of a nice skirt. You're already pretty small, it's not like you're above average make height. Even I'm taller than you."

"True…ugh, estrogen is taking to long. It's been two weeks and it feels like nothing has happened, I've just been crying a lot," she complained.

"Aw, why are you crying a lot?"

"Literally no reason."

Alya laughed.

"Don't worry, Mari. I'm sure it's just a slow process. Besides, I think you already look like a gorgeous girl without any hormones needed," she said as she finished applying the mascara and returning it to the bottle.

"I know that you're lying, but I'll accept your compliment anyways," Marinette replied looking up from the floor.

"Holy shit you look so pretty," Alya blurted. Marinette blushed.

"R-really?" She stuttered.

"Totally! Hold on, let me get a mirror," Alya said looking around for a mirror compact.

When she found one she held it up for Marinette to see her reflection. Big blue eyes looked back at her when she gazed at her reflection paired with clean looking eyebrows and light pink lips. Her hair has grown over her ears so it looked like an over grown pixie cut. She blinked at her surprisingly soft features. Her Chinese side blessed her with full lips and a round face, and the mascara made her eyes look huge.

"Holy shit, my eyes are ginormous!" She exclaimed with a smile forming on her lips. Alya giggled.

"Yup. Like I said, your mom got you the good stuff," she winked and handed her the tube.

"Where do you get those eyelash curler-thingies? I need to get one," she asked with her eyes still locked on her reflection.

"You can take mine. I never really use it anyways because it makes my eyelashes hit my glasses," she told her and handed her the contraption.

"Really! Are you sure?" Marinette questioned.

"Totally. You should wear this tomorrow at school. It's so cute on you," Alya encouraged. Marinette's smile turned in to a fearful frown as she shook her head.

"N-no way, I-I can't do that. Everyone will think I-I'm a freak," she stuttered nervously.

"C'mon, Marinette, it's not a crime to wear mascara to school. Besides its becoming normal for anyone to wear makeup nowadays. Just try it. I'll bring some makeup wipes if you wanna take it off sometime during the day, but you should really try it," she assured and coaxed her. Marinette sighed.

"Okay…"

Marinette shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She felt like everyone was looking at her, and it made her feel uncomfortable. That morning she spent a good ten minutes trying to curl her eyelashes and applying the mascara. Thankfully her mom helped her successfully apply the sticky black makeup and she was ready. Unfortunately it was a lot more noticeable than Marinette and Alya had thought. Up close it did make her eyes look bigger and cuter, but from far away the difference was as if she had doe eyes. It was incredibly endearing, but the attention made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

"Try to keep it on a little longer, class hasn't even started," Alya told her after she had begged to take it off.

"I-I feel like everyone is staring at me. I don't like it," she whimpered and looked around the room. She made eye contact with at least two different people.

"Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe they're noticing how pretty your eyes look," Alya suggested.

"Maybe it's a bad thing. Maybe they're thinking 'oh my god that boy looks weird'," Marinette hissed.

"But you're not a boy," she pointed out.

"They don't know that!"

"You don't know what they're thinking. It's best to think positively because you honestly do look super cute. Especially with that haircut."

"I haven't had a haircut in over a month," she grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're voice sounds higher," Alya noticed.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like, you already had a pretty high voice, but now it sounds more feminine," she said. Marinette smiled at her friend.

"I didn't even notice," she said happily.

Just as her smile widened in to a grin at the sound of her own voice, the door opened and Adrien and Nino walked in to class. The blond noticed the radiant smile upon Marinette's face, and felt his heart race and his cheeks turn red. He tried to look away, but his eyes were glued to her. There was something different about her, and he couldn't quite place his finger on it. He knew that she had started taking estrogen, thanks to her trust in Chat Noir, so maybe she was just happier. Her sparkling blue eyes shifted over to his and he realized he was still holding open the door for Nino…who was asking if he was alright. He finally shook his gaze from Marinette and cleared his throat.

"I'm fine," he said and released the door.

"You sure? You were kinda dozing off there," Nino continued. Adrien couldn't resist another glance at Marinette, instantly taking in to account her flushed cheeks and embarrassed expression.

"I was just a bit distracted. Thinking about my schedule," he lied as they approached their desks.

"Oh damn, you have a busy one this week, don't you?"

"Yeah, kinda. Nothing too crazy."

"That's good. Hey, Alya, did you get my text last night?" He asked turning his attention to the girl behind him. Adrien took this opportunity to sneak another peek at Marinette who was currently poking at her eyelashes. Maybe…she was wearing makeup?

"I did, and I brought the notes," she replied and shuffled through her backpack.

"Thank you so much! You're a life saver," he grinned and looked over at Marinette.

"Whoa, Marque, you're eyes look huge," he commented. Marinette blushed and cringed internally at the use of her birth name. Adrien felt the familiarity of the name, but knew it was wrong. Still, he was thankful for Nino's outburst considering it gave him a good excuse to look at her closer.

"Uh…u-um-"

"I hope you mean that in a nice way, Nino," Alya scolded.

"Of course I do! It looks great, but I've just never seen your eyes like this. What did you do?" He asked.

"I…uh used some mascara," she muttered nervously.

"You look pretty," Adrien spoke calmly despite his internal excitement. Marinette looked at him with wide eyes and blushed deeper than a rose. Alya smiled at the boys comment, and Nino was almost as surprised as Marinette was. Only when Alya nudged Mari's elbow did she realize she should probably respond.

"Oh, um t-thank you," she replied. Adrien smiled.

"I agree, Mar looks so pretty," Alya added. Adrien nodded.

"Alyaaa," Marinette whined. Alya laughed.

"Get over it. You're pretty."