Look at me, pumping out another chapter so fast, meheh. This is pure fluff based on a passing thought I had, so enjoy.
overlordred: your comments are a constant delight, I definitely have stuff planned, oho
marlastiano: All I'm going to say is that it's Edward, of course he's going to goof
MysticEm: a ship name?! Amazing, thanks! Also if you want Rose and Alia, you're gonna have to stick around cause I might have some stuff planned
...
"You gave me your word." Alice said with delight, looming over her with a terrifying grin with weapons in hand. "You can't back out now."
Alia stared at her nervously. Alice had asked for a favor and Alia had agreed immediately, not suspecting that this was what she had planned. Edward snorted from where he was leaning against the bathroom door with crossed arms. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Alia."
Alice in turn gave him an obscene gesture without turning. "Not your problem, Edward. Go away."
He only moved when Alia gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I can take whatever she has to offer."
"That's the spirit!"
Edward rolled his eyes. "Call me if you need to dispose of the body." he said to Alia before walking away.
Now alone with her, Alice turned her critical brown eyes upon Alia. "I'm thinking a natural look to start out with… Unless you want to get crazy right off the bat."
"Nothing crazy at all please." Alia said weakly. "I'm new to this."
"Really?" at her nod, Alice pouted. "Fine."
It really wasn't all that bad. Alia watched as Alice dug around the gigantic suitcase of makeup she had on the granite counter of the Cullens' bathroom, until she had a whole cache of different products laid out.
She began with some watery lotion that smelled like roses, which put Alia at ease as Alice spread it over her cheeks and neck with cool fingers. Then came out a whole host of brushes and sponges that Alice used to apply foundation and concealer that matched Alia's skin tone. How Alice had a variety of products in her shade, she didn't know.
As Alice set the liquid stuff with a powder that looked white, but showed up clear on her skin, Alia could already see the effects of the makeup, smoothing out her skin and removing the dark circles that were always present even with an abundance of sleep. It was a little weird, actually.
Then came the eye stuff, where Alice used a combination of brown eye shadows to add depth to Alia's eyelids with some black eyeliner on her upper and lower lids, making them look huge. "I just love your eyes. You have so much to work with." Alice commented as she added mascara, indicating to her own delicate Asian eyelids with frustration. "And your eyelashes are so long and curly."
"Thanks." Alia said, a little embarrassed at the compliment, especially when it came from someone as gorgeous as Alice. "I grew them myself."
Alice stopped mid sweep and laughed before clearing her throat and continuing with a grin. "Deflect all you want. I think you're really pretty."
Alia smiled shyly at that comment. No one had really called her pretty before. Her mom was always a pragmatist and tried to make sure that her daughters cared more about their brains than their looks, so she was careful not to give them any compliments. She failed spectacularly with Avantika, but Alia took her approach to heart.
Beauty was subjective and all, but she knew she wasn't conventionally pretty. Her nose too long and non-European, her cheeks round and not at all chiseled, the little stubborn bit of fat under her chin. She supposed the closest she could get was 'cute', but appreciated Alice's compliment all the same.
"Pick a lipstick!" Alice said, once she had applied a subtle coral color to her cheeks gently and something shimmery on the tops of her cheeks and under her eyebrows. Alia frowned and looked over the selection of neutral red-browns.
Her eyes were drawn to a shade that Alice wasn't holding, and Alice noticed. "Ooh." Alice immediately abandoned the neutral tones and reached for the dark berry color Alia had glanced at. "Good choice."
"Oh, I wasn't actually— I mean, isn't it a little too much?"
"Makeup," Alice said sagely, beginning to apply the color to Alia's lips, "is about having fun. And this is a way more fun color. See? Wow!"
The glossy, deep berry shade worked with the minimal makeup Alice had put on her eyes, making her look particularly vampy, but not like she was a full on goth. "Wow." Alia echoed, memorising the final product. "You did good."
"Naturally." Alice grinned.
Alia smiled, watching the cooler girl across from her in the mirror do the same. Maybe if she was more confident, she could wear makeup like this in public. But that was a long way off. "I'm really grateful, Alice. But I don't think this is going to last in the weather outside."
Alice nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But before we take it off, let me take a few pictures." At Alia's horrified look, Alice clapped her hands together and batted her lashes. "Please? Just for my own record to remember all my hard work?"
Alia blanched at that look. Alice had convinced her to do this by bringing up her dream of becoming a makeup artist. "Well… when you put it like that… I guess a few pictures couldn't hurt. As long as you don't share them or anything."
"Yay!" And Alice was off in a flash, leaving Alia sitting on the stool inspecting herself from different angles. Yeah, I look kind of hot. I get why people do this.
"So you're done?" Alia jumped and turned to see Edward back. He was inspecting her appearance with slightly wide eyes. His eyes fluttered down to her lipstick then back up so quickly, she may have imagined it. Did she really look that different?
"We're done." she suddenly felt self-conscious. She wasn't planning on displaying the make-up, but only putting it on for Alice to have her fun. "It feels like a lot for everyday, but it was actually pretty fun. How do I look?"
"Beautiful."
Alia couldn't help but smile at that exaggeration. "Thanks."
Edward opened his mouth, but was pulled back by a tiny Alice, who then took his place. "Stop hogging my model. Begone!"
He rolled his eyes and offered one last soft smile to Alia before disappearing again.
Alice insisted on taking ten minutes worth of pictures with her fancy, big camera, making sure to get several angles and adjusting the lighting. "Okay, I'm done. Let's clean you up."
When Alice had wiped off the makeup with a rag covered in some sort of fragrant oil, Alia was relieved to see her normal face again. "Keep these." Alice said, handing her a small bag with eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, and that berry lipstick. "No arguments. It's thanks for letting me doll you up, okay?"
"Okay." Alia conceded, taking the bag. Alice was a force of nature that she wouldn't risk defying.
Over the next few weeks, Alia found herself experimenting. She never wore all of it at once, especially in public, but it was fun to play with. No one seemed to notice when she did wear makeup, to her relief, when she did occasionally wear mascara or lip gloss to school, but it felt kind of nice for her to know it was there.
She knew she would never be able to commit to wearing full heavy makeup every day. While she admired girls who could do it, it felt too much like deception to her. Not even to others, but to herself. She remembered how Avantika was always so self critical of her face when she removed her makeup in the evenings and didn't want to cause herself any additional self-esteem issues.
Alia had enough things to worry about. Makeup would remain an occasional bout in art for her, nothing more.
