Blush
Willow wasn't sure how she had ended up here. One month, she was a graduate student in frozen Hell-hole that is New Jersey whose only notable achievement was maintaining a Tumblr so witty that Dan Howell and Phil Lester BOTH followed her. That should have been the high point of her life, sad as it was, until Dan private messaged her an invitation to visit the boys in London for a week over the summer. Willow had begged her parents for early birthday and Christmas money and supped on many a cup of ramen noodles to afford the plane tickets. She tried to act cool meeting Dan and Phil at Heathrow, but couldn't stop smiling the entire Tube ride back to their apartment. All of that had led up to this moment..
"So… This video concept was rather ill-conceived, since while I am female, I rarely wear make-up, but here we are…" she intoned awkwardly to the camera. Dan and Phil had surprised her as soon as they arrived home.
"We're making a video to celebrate your arrival!" Phil crowed. Willow's eyes widened and her jaw dropped; she could only imagine she resembled a stunned goldfish.
"Yeah, we figured you could put make-up on us; it'll be hilarious," explained Dan as he rummaged through the bag of cheap cosmetics he'd picked up at the drugstore earlier. "Eyeshadow primer? What the hell is that?"
So now Willow had her thick red hair tied up in a bun, some basic mascara and lipstick applied so she would at least look somewhat attractive on camera, and straightened her glasses as she admired her ready canvases. Hipster glasses, Dan had called them, upon their first meeting two hours ago. Phil had settled for complimenting her purple skinny jeans. Neither of them seemed to mind that her ramen diet had added a few pounds to her already purportedly chubby figure. Thank God I'm funny, she thought. Truly funny people are rarely held to the expected standards of physical beauty needed to catch the eye of two strange boys living across the globe via a well-timed gif posted to Tumblr.
"So… we'll start with this foundation," she began, smearing "pale ivory" over Dan's face. It was a bit light for him but would suit Phil perfectly, and since the boys refused to buy two tubes for one make-up tutorial, this would have to do.
"What is the foundation for?" Dan asked helpfully. Poop, I'm supposed to be prattling on like some make-up guru right now.
"It's to even out your skin tone…" she murmured as she smoothed the cream over Phil's clearly monotone skin. "And, uh, protect your pores… from the make-up." I always heard that but it doesn't really make sense now that I say it out loud.
"Ooh, it's cold." Phil shivered and made a cute sound. Willow smiled. She could do this; she just had to relax and pretend she was hanging out with friends, instead of face-painting two of her favorite Youtube celebrities. "So what's next?"
"Well, Phil, the next step can be a little scary…" She reached into her own bag and produced an eyelash curler that her sister had once gifted her. She used it on special occasions.
"That.. looks like a medieval torture device…" Dan observed.
"Yeah, it can hurt. But it shouldn't," she added quickly, noting Phil's expression of unease. "Just hold still and uh, let me know if it.. pinches.." Dan and Phil acknowledged the unintended innuendo to the camera, and Willow inwardly facepalmed. The first eye went fine, but Phil yelped a bit when she curled the second set of lashes.
"Right, I think I'll skip the curling bit, Will," Dan decided.
"Fine, in that case, it's time for eye shadow!" Willow brushed a cool silver onto both of the boys' eyelids. She wasn't creative enough to give them smoky eyes or any thing like that. "Next, meet your new best friend: eye-liner!" She was getting the hang of this.
"Isn't it called guy-liner for men?"
"Right you are, Dan, now hold still. This isn't some cat whiskers; it's a very delicate process."
"Don't diss the whiskers, sister," Dan scoffed, but he obliged and kept still.
"I'm lining your tear lines so your eyes might water a bit," she warned.
"Isn't that a bit raccoon-y?" asked Phil.
"It is my personal opinion that you can never have too much eyeliner," Willow bs'ed with the talent she usually reserved for exams. "You just look more rock and roll." She finished with some mascara, and then did the same to Phil, the boys bantering all the while. And flirting a bit, if she was honest. She tried not to notice since hot boys never flirted with her and surely this must be a trick of her imagination, but when Willow told Dan to purse his lips gently as if he was going in for a slow, passionate kiss, he smirked a bit and cocked an eyebrow.
"Am I not?" Willow applied the lip-stick without liner, as Dan hadn't realized that was a thing.
"Aren't they pretty? Really, you two are prettier than I am, it's unfair," Willow only half-pretended to pout. She reached in the bag for the last compact and announced, "And finally, the blush!"
"Ooh, it tingles a bit," Phil laughed as she brushed the pink powder over his cheekbones. Really, it's ridiculous that he still looks attractive. It's like the Joe Walker effect… She almost didn't recover from her daydream about the marvelous arms of AVPS's take on Umbridge in time to hear Dan joke terribly,
"Or you could always give me a natural blush."
"That's right, I could," Willow purred, taking Dan's face gently in her hands and fixing him with the closest look to seductive that she could manage. "But you'll have to close your eyes…"
Dan did as he was told and Phil looked on in stunned silence. Willow waited a moment, and then…
*SMACK* "OWW!" Dan flinched away from the contact of Willow's palm on his cheek. She hadn't hit him that hard, really, but a red flush rose nonetheless. "What was that?"
"A natural blush," she replied with mock innocence, over the sound of Phil chortling and literally rolling on the floor. "Now, I have to get the other cheek." She reached out and struggled with the resistant Dan.
"No, they don't have to match!" he whined, half-heartedly swatting her hands away. He knew this was Youtube gold, and few had gone to such lengths for their viewers as Daniel Howell.
"Come on, I'll be gentler this time," she promised.
"All right, but just one more," Dan sulked. She raised her hand and he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the hit… which never came.
Willow leaned in and quickly kissed him on the cheek. Dan opened his eyes, face awash in a mix of bemusement and relief. "There, now you match," she said with a mischievous grin. settling back down between Dan and Phil.
"Well," Dan turned his charming smile back to the camera. "There you have it. A make-up tutorial from our new friend, Willow."
"I look quite pretty," Phil admired himself in the blush compact.
"… I am not going to comment," Dan sighed. "Like this video if you want to see more of our adventures with Willow this week, and please subscribe!"
"Bye!" The three waved goodbye and Dan went to turn off the webcam. Phil turned to Willow with a grin.
"Is it too late for me to try the natural blush as well?"