Rumpleteasza: I feel the need for some glomping.

(glomps Hauntress)

(glomps Enchntress)

(glomps Callisto)

(glomps Tani)

(glomps Wolfie)

(glomps TaioraCrazedGirl)

(glomps IloveTai218)

(glomps Lina)

(realises she has no arms left)

I'm almost certain there will be more glomping to come as you lot are quality, quality people. Big snugly minks for all your lovely reviews, especially those people who did their best to cheer me up after my bad mood earlier this week.

Soooo, this chapter is a bit meaningless, it's entire purpose is to give you an idea of how the girls actually look after all this pampering hoo-ha. It's also short (Non! Quelle surprise!) So I'll put up another one right afterwards. Ok, I'll leave you to it - enjoy!

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Chapter Thirteen – Et Voila, Les Femmes Fatales!

"Where's my bag?" Mimi shrieked, digging through a pile of clothes on a nearby chair. "I need my bag! It matches my shoes! I can't go without it!"

"Calm down Mimi, it's on the dressing-table," giggled Sora, holding up a tiny, silvery beaded satchel and handing it to Mimi.

"Oh my god," breathed Jun in an odd strangled voice, "look at me! I don't even recognise myself! This is just – I can't – I've never looked anything like this in my whole life!"

"You look fabulous, Jun," beamed Kari. "We're all going to have such a fun time tonight. I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see you!"

"Neither can I!" said Jun, shaking her head in wonder. She looked around shyly. "Do you think Matt will notice?"

"Notice?" Sora guffawed. "He'll faint on the spot! Don't you worry about him not noticing, Jun!"

There was a knock on the door. "Girls? Are you ready?" Mrs Tachikawa peered round into the room. "Oh my, you all look so pretty!" she gasped. She called out into the hallway, "Darling, come and look at them!"

Mr Tachikawa appeared at the door and smiled. "There'll be five lucky gentlemen tonight! Do you all have dates?"

"None of us have dates, dad," Mimi told him disapprovingly. "That is so passé. We're all going in a big group, it's more fun that way because we're not tied to any one person."

"Well, you're not leaving before I take a picture of you all," he replied, ducking back into the hallway to retrieve his camera.

"Cool!" Mimi squealed. "C'mon, you guys, everyone ready? Let's get downstairs for a photo!"

Chattering happily, they made their way downstairs and stood in the Tachikawa's beautiful living room. "Ok everyone, get into position!" Mimi yelled. Giggling, they all posed.

Snap. "Perfect!" called Mr Tachikawa. "I'll have copies made for all of you. Now you better go, or you'll be late! Go and knock Odaiba High off its feet!"

It was true, the five girls looked pretty spectacular. Mimi, leading the group out of the door and through the garden, looked like a faery princess. Her silky, light pink hair was piled on top of her head and fixed with a mass of sparkly butterfly grips, leaving a few candyfloss strands falling loose and framing her pretty face. Her sugary pink lips co-ordinated perfectly with her eye-makeup, which the stylist had particularly enjoyed doing; two shimmering shades of blue and lilac blended into each eyelid, and cheeks tinged with a fine glittery powder. Mimi's dress naturally fitted her like a glove – floaty layers of delicate material in pearly shades of coral pink, sea green, sky blue and silver seemed to melt over her curves and left her back completely bare.

Next came Kari. Her hairdresser had used a semi-permanent hair-colour for the occasion; a rich, dark plum colour. She'd also added a few choppy layers to give it a little more volume. The colour went well with hernatural makeup. The soft, short-skirted baby-blue halterneck dress she'd bought was a little more daring that she'd have normally worn, but showed off her creamy skin perfectly.

Yolei had chosen a floor-length Chinese-style dress in pure satiny white, and a trip to the opticians before the girls arrived at Mimi's house earlier that evening had awarded her a pair of contacts instead of her usual owl-like glasses. Unlike Mimi's, her glossy lilac hair had been left loose to cascade over her shoulders, going nicely with her pretty, pale pink makeup.

Yolei was followed closely by Sora, who was still not sure this girly look entirely suited her. Like Yolei, she'd picked out a floor-length dress, but hers was slightly retro; strapless, in a rich, dark shade of crimson with a daring split all the way up to her thigh. Her hair, newly glossy and smooth, instead of being tucked behind her ears as per usual fell about her face in choppy strands, and on a whim she'd fixed a small clip studded with garnets on one side. Her wine-dark lipstick matched her perfectly filed and polished nails, and her eyes were brushed with a soft, earthy-brown shadow.

Last of all came Jun. The transformation was incredible. After the aid of two whole bottles of Frizz-Ease serum and more than half an hour under the blow-dryer, Jun's stubborn, bushy hair had finally submitted and now fell down to her shoulders normally. When it wasn't sticking straight out from her head it was easier to appreciate the dark, fiery-red colour, which had been made shiny and silky by the 'miracle workers' at Toni & Guy. Her eyes were smoky and dark, the eyeliner drawn out into a tiny pattern at the corner of the lid. Her lips burnt the same deep red as her hair. As for the clothes, Jun had never so much as touched anything like them in her whole life. On Mimi's advice she'd opted for a simple short black dress with wide shoulder straps and a diagonal skirt, teamed with plain black kitten-heeled sandals. She was smiling – nervously, it was true – but the amazing improvement in her image seemed to be giving her a healthy amount of self-confidence at last.

"Hey, Jun," Sora said softly, falling into step beside her. "You look a little nervous. Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Jun replied, who kept glancing at her hair out of the corner of her eye as if she couldn't believe it, "but it's going to take a bit of getting used to. I've never come even halfway close to looking like this in my entire life. It's kind of weird."

"I know what you mean," Sora said, fingering the fabric of her dress. "I still don't think I'm cut out for being a girly girl. I had a blast today, though."

"Me too!" Jun smiled. "I just can't thank you guys enough for bringing me along. It's so nice to have such good friends and feel popular and…" Jun broke off, looking slightly overwhelmed. "Whenever I talk to people, especially Matt, they usually just run away."

Sora felt a wave of sympathy. "Well, that's their loss. You're a great person, Jun, and we like you a lot."

Jun's eyes welled up. "Thanks, Sora," she sniffled.

"Hey, you'll smudge that eyeliner work of art," Sora joked.

Jun laughed, and stood up straighter. Then she looked nervous again. "What should I say to Matt tonight?"

"Just play it cool," Sora said firmly. "Don't follow him around or gush at him. He doesn't like that. When he's on his break, just stroll up to him, say hi and congratulate him on his music. Don't be too adoring or go over the top, just keep it nice and simple, and when you've finished, tell him something like 'Well, see you around' and come to find us again. That's all you need to do and he'll come running."

Jun's glassy, smoky dark eyes widened. "You think so?"

Sora smiled. "Sure. Just remember, golden rule – be confident and nice, don't be OTT. We know what you're really like, Jun, it's just a shame you seem to lose your confidence around Matt."

Jun drew herself up higher. "Not tonight. I know I look better than normal, and I feel better than normal too. I'm on a roll."

"That's the spirit," Sora grinned.

"C'mon, you two!" Mimi whined from the car. "We'll never get there at this rate!"

Sora exchanged a look with Jun. "What happened to fashionable lateness?"

"We're already fashionably late, and we're not even there yet," Mimi complained. "Get a move on, you're being slower than a Chibimon on treacle."

"A what?" asked Jun in puzzlement.

"Nothing," Mimi said quickly. Then she whooped and threw her arms in the air. "Alright! Tai, Matt, Joe, Izzy, TK, Daisuke and Cody, you better watch out! Odaiba high half-term dance, here we come!"


Rumpleteasza: (sigh) I want a night out. I feel deprived.

(cue dozens upon dozens of offers to take Rumms out and get her utterly sozzled)

(cue Rumms waking up and looking wan/longing)

(cue sad violins)

Good grief.

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