The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25 dot com
Prompt: Fabricate
Main Character: Bella
Rating: M
Word Count: 499

"You know what you should do? With your mum?"

I've had enough run-ins with Victoria's GHD to know not to move my head while she's straightening my hair. She secures another section of my hair between the heated plates and slides them down. I feel the tug in my scalp.

"Start swimming every morning?"

"Pfft, no. Just start wearing shoulder pads." Her reflection grins at me. "Seriously. I'd play it up. Accentuate the fuck out of them."

I love Victoria, and I love that she's got my back, but there is no way I'm going to wear shoulder pads. Ever. Even for an Eighties dress-up party. "Yeah, no. I think I'll pass."

She shrugs one shoulder and keeps working on taming the frizz that is my just-washed hair. She pokes her tongue out and bites down on it with every slide of the iron through my hair.

It's kind of a funny story, with Vic's GHD. She saved up for ages, putting away all her birthday and Christmas money until she could afford it. And then, after all that, she used it once and absolutely hated the result. She said it was too weird, looking in the mirror and not seeing the riotous curls she's used to. "I looked like a pinhead," she told me. I doubt she did, but anyway, the only time she uses it now is when does my hair.

"Speaking of my mum…" I shoot her a text, telling her we lost today, and reminding her I'm going to Alec's then sleeping at Victoria's. She replies quickly, making no comment on the hockey but asking me to say hi to Maggie (Alec's mum). I don't reply, don't tell her that Maggie and Liam are up in the Blue Mountains for the weekend.

Victoria rubs some serum stuff through my hair and then squeezes my shoulders like she's giving me a massage. "All done."

In the kitchen, Garrett leans against the fridge, frowning, while Peter give us the spiel. The "stick together and we'd really rather you didn't drink but if you're going to drink please don't drink something mixed by someone else in fact just don't drink anything unless it's handed to you in an unopened bottle and no matter what happens you can call us and we'll come get you straight away" spiel they've been giving us before every party since we were in Year 9.

Peter tosses Garrett the car keys and for some reason the metallic jangle has my insides quivering. Parties can make me kind of nervous, but this… this is something new.

I rub my sweaty palms on my dress as we follow Garrett out to the garage. Vic nudges me, asking me with her eyebrows if I'm okay. I nod, feeling like the butterflies invading my tummy might come rushing out of my mouth if I try to speak.

"All right." Garrett always insists on opening the car door for me, and I always blush. "Buckle up, girls."

Thanks so much for reading, and for the lovely reviews! Shell x