They entire way there, I drove wordlessly, enjoying this as much as I could. Rosalie and Alice gave me directions to the nearest mall, which was not, of course, in Forks. It was cloudy, so we had the windows rolled down. I know I enjoyed the jealous looks from passerbies, but I'm sure they did too. This was a nice car, no doubt about it.
Once at the mall, we headed straight for the clothing stores. Alice insisted on buying me an entire new wardrobe. She said that while I lived in her house, I would wear clothes that she had approved and paid for. I didn't argue. Hey, why look a free shopping trip in the mouth? Besides, what else would she do with all that cash?
When all of our arms were covered in shopping bags, we went to the hair stylist Rosalie recommended. I protested, saying it would just be ruined the next time I went flying, but they would hear none of it. Alice was persistent in my new make-over.
I felt a little uncomfortable in the chair of Rosalie's hairdresser, my hair dripping and being prepared to be cut. We had already died my hair brown and put blonde highlights in it. It was like my natural colors, just more pronounced.
"Ooh Max, it looks great already!" Alice gushed. I smiled nervously as the woman with the sharp scissors near my head began cutting and trimming my hair.
I closed my eyes and relaxed while she fixed up my hair. I could hear Alice and Rosalie behind me oohing and aahing exaggeratedly. I was a little anxious, but not too much. Alice had style, no doubt, but Rosalie was just oozing with fashion sense. They were definitely the best people to shop with, even for someone like me who doesn't usually enjoy shopping.
"All done," the woman said, swiveling my chair around so I could look in the mirror.
I was amazed. I really, truly, honestly was. I felt like I was looking at another person entirely. Sure, she had my face, but her hair was darker, with light streaks running through it. Her hair was straight, but it had volume and flowed down in layers.
I ran my fingers through it, not really believing that it was me. After all, a girl's hair is a good part of her over-all-image. Sucks, but it's true.
"Do you like it?" Alice asked, a little nervous when I didn't say anything. I looked up at her and grinned.
"I love it," I said, and I really meant it. Rosalie and Alice slapped high fives and pulled me out of the chair and out of the salon.
"Alright, now for the face," Rosalie said, leading me into a huge department store. I gulped and looked frightened. She and Alice laughed at my expense as we wound our way through the store.
"Here, sit," Alice ordered, pushing me lightly into a make-up chair in front of a booth selling a ton of cosmetics.
"Leslie, if you would just work with her, we'll see how it goes," Rosalie said lightly to the girl behind the counter. She nodded quickly but didn't respond. I wouldn't' either. Rosalie, at a cosmetics counter? Intimidating for anyone who needs make-up to look pretty.
"Now Max, just sit back, do what Leslie tells you, and relax, wearing some make-up won't kill you." Rosalie winked. "You know what would," she whispered. The three of us laughed at our disturbing inside joke.
While Leslie put the make-up on me, I wanted to blink, but one look from Alice warned me not to. It was excruciatingly… awkward. I just sat there in the middle of a department store while random people walked by, occasionally stopping or slowing to watch. I hated every minute of it.
When Leslie was done primping me, I stood up and faced them. Alice laughed and clapped excitedly while Rosalie grinned and began picking out bottle and jars of the make-up Leslie had used on me. I looked in the mirror, a little afraid. I shouldn't have been. I looked good. See Max, you can enjoy yourself in ways you were not aware of.
The eyeliner accented the green and blue in my eyes, making the colors really pop. The foundation and blush made my skin clear and smoother looking than normal. She had done some other things with mascara, lip gloss, and eye-shadow that just topped everything off.
"Max, you look amazing," Alice gushed. I blushed and let her lead me out of the mall. We had gotten a few guys to carry our bags behind us while we walked to our car. We didn't even have to pay them. They just like the attention they got from us. I loved my new-found power, I am extremely guilty to say. I said as much when we got back into the car.
"Max, you have nothing to be ashamed of," Rosalie said simply. "Being beautiful gives you power. It's not a crime to enjoy having power." Alice grinned.
"If it was, Rose would've been arrested a long time ago," she said, giggling. We all laughed and talked about our trip to the mall the whole way home.
"So how was it?" Esme asked when we walked, laughing, through the front door. "Max! Wow, you look great!" I blushed and mumbled thanks.
"We gave her a complete make-over," Alice said, smiling as brightly as if she said she had just won the Nobel Prize.
"I can see that," Esme said appreciatively. "You looked beautiful before Max, but this just makes you stand out and really pop." I smiled, grateful for that comment.
"Thanks Esme."
"My pleasure dear." Esme smiled one last time before getting up and going into the kitchen. "I hope you like chicken Max," she called over her shoulder.
"Yeah, chicken's great. Thanks," I replied.
"C'mere Max," Alice said from the door. "We need to bring all this stuff inside. It's gunna start raining in a few minutes."
"How can you tell?" I asked, looking up at the clouds. It looked as if the clouds might just blow over us.
"Psychic, remember?" she said, laughing. I blushed, grinning, and helped unload the bags. Obviously, they didn't really need my help, but it gave us a chance to get everything set up upstairs together.
Just as Alice predicted, the rain began just as we had gotten everything upstairs to her room. I laughed and shook my head. Boy, would she have been useful when the flock had nowhere to stay. We could have at least found a place out of the rain. Ah well, what can you do?
The next twenty minutes was spent clearing a space in Alice's ginormous closet for my clothes. The eight bags full of clothing didn't even take up an entire eighth of her closet. It was overwhelming to say the least.
They chose one of the outfits for me to wear for the rest of the night. Oh, they had also bought a bag full of sleep wear. Not all of those, most of them actually, weren't suitable for a comfortable, warm sleep, if you catch my drift. I blushed, but they were cute, so I didn't complain. I was told, ordered to be exact, to wear one of the scantier black pieces to bed tonight. No idea why, but I planned on just doing what Alice says. Things go easier when you do.
When we had everything perfect, meaning my hair was in perfect order, my make-up was neat, and I had on the dark blue jeans and white baby tee that they had chosen, they escorted me downstairs. The rest of the Cullen's were situated in the living room, so I was a little embarrassed when Rosalie and Alice rushed down the stairs ahead of me.
Rosalie slyly nudged Emmett, more like punched him with her elbow actually, and he catcalled and whistled. I laughed when Jasper and Edward pretended to be mesmerized. We had a good time with it, surprisingly, and I felt right at home with them. I was really starting to love this place.
After I ate dinner, we played a rousing game of Go Fish. Alice cheated, Edward cheated, Rosalie cheated by forcing Emmett to show his cards to her, causing Emmett himself to cheat, and Jasper cheated by making us feel that the card we had called him out for was the wrong card. Damn cheating vampires. I am sure Esme, Carlisle, and myself were the only honest players there. Not surprised, actually.
It was all in good, fun though. Besides, the guys wrestled each other every time one of them cheated, which was often. It was funny to watch. Emmett would grab Jasper by the head and twist him around, forcing him to reach out and punch Edward in the stomach. It was hilarious, and Alice, Rosalie, Carlisle, Esme and I were on the floor laughing by eleven.
Abruptly, Alice held up a hand. I felt like shutting-up was a good idea, and I was right. She just smiled though and pointed to the stairs. I pouted, not interested in going to sleep just yet. I was having such a good time with her family.
"Go," she said forcefully. I stuck my tongue out and made a big show of stomping up the stairs. Emmett's loud, boisterous laughter followed me all the way up to Edward's room.
I reached Edward's room and found a blanket and a pillow on the couch. Taking the lingerie out of its' bag, I slipped it on. I felt a little ridiculous in it, since it wasn't even that warm, but Alice had insisted.
I opened the window, not liking the silence caused by the absence of the wind. Actually, the window was really a large pane of the glass wall almost as large as a door. I sighed, content at last and lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket up to my chin. I had too many thoughts rolling around in my head now, but I somehow managed to fall asleep anyways.