x-

Give me chaos

When there's nothing inside

Pull me into your untamed sky

x-

Erica had made a point of not mentioning anything related to the secret they happened to share on the trek over, instead loudly commenting on Lizzie's clothes, lack of fashion sense, and eventually, her "raging dykey dedication to the environmental cause" because, in her opinion, cruelty-free was simply not synonymous with looking good.

But, she thought to herself, I may or may not be saying that because you insulted me by calling me a bottle-blonde.

Honestly, did the girl think she have such low standards that she would do such a thing?

Lizzie's jaw simply clenched and she edged out, "We're here, you…you…heathen."

"Heathen? Really?" responded Erica dryly, clasping a hand to her chest, "I am incredibly wounded."

Then she looked up at the building and curled her nose. "Well, this will have to do, I suppose. I forgot you were poor, on account of that…blended family of yours."

"I've used Barbie too many times as it is, but you really do have the empathy of an inanimate object so I suppose if the name fits…" the slightly-built brunette muttered, walking inside.

"You've forgotten I don't particularly find that insulting," the girl said with a smirk, following her.

"I'll be sure to come up with something, then. Just to ensure you scowl enough to get wrinkles one day." Lizzie promised distractedly, searching for the makeup aisle.

"Here," Erica said suddenly, suddenly all business, marching up the aisles and pressing one finger to her lip, considering the options. She picked a few bottles, her gaze still intense as she pressed the bottles against the shorter girl's cheeks, comparing the tone.

"You are like, disgustingly pale." She said finally, "I thought for sure a 305 would be all right. You should—"

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'get a tan,' I swear I'm not going to take your advice on makeup ever again," Liz threatened, and the blonde shot her a nasty look, leaving the bottles on a shelf.

She went over to the same section she'd come from and picked out different ones, repeating what Lizzie figured was a very, very weird trust exercise.

A half-content look settled on Erica's lips, "That'll work, I think. Now we have to find some cooling cream, and some powder…" she trailed off, disappearing behind the next aisle, leaving no choice to follow, the touch of the bottle having left a tingle on her face.

"I thought cooling cream was for when you go to sleep," Lizzie said in confusion.

Rather than rolling her eyes at her clear lack of knowledge, the blue eyes lit up in what appeared to be excitement. "Ooh, good idea, I'll find some of that too."

The brunette rolled her eyes, taking a vow a silence until after they had paid and left the store. Erica didn't seem to notice, quite happy in her little world of makeup powder and weird bottles of green cream.

After they'd paid, the price of which compelled Lizzie gave her a murderous stare, she asked the man behind the counter, "Can we use your restroom?"

He looked at them suspiciously, like he wanted to know why they weren't in school, but having spent a tidy sum on the makeup, and apparently influenced by the smile Erica shot him, he grunted and pointed to the sign.

"Come on, I'm only going to show you how to do this once," she warned as she took her hand, "So you better pay attention. And usually, you should put moisturizer on your face before you start this, it's better for your skin."

The first thing to apply, apparently, was the oddest.

Lizzie eyed the green cream with distrust. "What the hell is that?"

"Diminishes the redness, so it's easier to cover up," responded Erica, her voice sounding all-business again as she squeezed a small amount onto her palm, "You should only need a bit, like this," and then began putting it on her face.

Okay, the weird trust exercise just got weirder, Lizzie thought, feeling the girl put her other hand on her chin, moving her face for better light. She decided looking up at the ceiling to avoid staring at her was best.

"Hey, weirdo, look in the mirror. Memorize this routine." Erica said, rolling her eyes, digging around for the next layer of makeup.

She did, and out of surprise, saw that the cream faded into a pale hue when applied, effectively muting some of the redness she saw.

"Don't look so surprised," the blonde muttered, her lips glinting in the light, "I've had a lot of practice with this." She squeezed some foundation in her palm next.

"I have to say," she murmured, as she applied the foundation in dabs on the girl's face, before moving two fingers in circles, "as grossly pale as you are, you've got those cheekbones working out for you, so I guess that's something."

"Gee, thanks," Lizzie responded sarcastically.

"It wasn't a compliment, I was just stating a fact," Erica replied coolly, "You've got the gist of that part, you can finish putting it on."

The other girl followed her example, finishing it quickly.

"Missed a spot," the blonde murmured, swiping beneath her eyebrow, "those eyebrows are out of my control, though."

Lizzie rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Last thing she needed was the girl buying a pair of tweezers and attacking her face.

She took the girl's chin between two fingers and moved her head over again, pressing a soft, pillowy-feeling pad to her face.

"Powder. Keeps things in place. All right, should be easier, now," Erica said with a nod, running water under her hands, "I'll explain the other stuff on the way back."

To say the least, despite her absence, homeroom was educational for Lizzie. Erica's knowledge of beauty products was ridiculously thorough.

She stopped Lizzie from rounding the corner to the school with a hand on her shoulder.

"You are going to stand here, and wait two minutes. I don't want anyone getting ideas." Erica commanded.

"Oh, no, not ideas!" Lizzie droned in mock-horror, "Just in time, I was about to thank you."

"Well, you better not have the wrong idea, either. This was a one-time thing, got it?"

"Aye, aye," came the sardonic response, with a mock salute, "No contact with Bottle-blondie ever happened."

"I'm not a bottle blonde!" she snapped, stalking away, "You fucking albino."

If she heard Lizzie laugh, she didn't show it.