Ugly Secrets, Pretty Lies

S i x

I started digging through Harper's closet, looking for something nice to wear. Lily pulled a dress off a hanger and held it up in front of her, examining it. Harper was rummaging in her drawers. I finally found some clothing that didn't look to revealing and just right for a party, and starting stripping. I wasn't afraid to do it in front of Lily and Harper. After all, they are my best friends.

I finished dressing. I wore a deep crimson knee-length dress with a sweetheart neck line. Tiny blood-red rubies lined the edges of the dress, traveling up to the waistline and down the front, parting to the left and right. It had a few sparkles and would glint when it catches light. I like it. It was simple, yet beautiful. Lily wore a long lavender dress with a slit at the side, showing off her long legs. The dress was decorated with jeweled white pearls at her throat and covered with enough sparkle for a mermaid's tail and had one strap, but it was beautiful and suited her. Harper wore a pale grey mermaid dress. Off-shoulder straps, very thin. The dress was slightly ruffled and shimmered when she moved. It brought out her eyes, which are sterling grey. 

"My mother has masks and she told me we could borrow them," Harper announced, sitting down in front of her makeup table. 

"Great! I always love Cadence's things,' I said. 

And it's true. Harper's mother had so many beautiful accessories, masks, dresses, and clothes. I'm surprised that she isn't a full celebrity, considering her mother is a famous fashion model. Her name is Clemence and she still lives in Paris, France. I love her dresses. But to be honest, Cadence is well known everywhere and in multiple countries, the US, France, Scotland, Britain, basically the whole United Kingdom. When she isn't home, she's usually modeling dresses in one of the greatest modeling company in the entire United States and has appeared on-screen multiple times. Harper is lucky to have such a mother.

"Let's do our makeup," Lily said. She took a tube of lipgloss from Harper's makeup table and uncapped the top. I sat next to Harper and took the eyeliner. I looked in the mirror and lined my eyelids carefully, making sure not to go out of line. I lined both eyes and batted my lashes, looking at my eyes in the mirror carefully. Then I turned to Harper, who brushed my cheeks with very pale pink powder. She brushed them out with her makeup brush, then started on her own cheeks, but used a silver glitter one. I applied dark red lipstick on my lips. 

Lily said, "Done!" 

I finished with my own lips and turned to look at her. "You look gorgeous!" I gushed, admiring her pink glossed lips, bronze eyeshadow and deep purple eyeliner. Her cheeks  were dashed with pale pink blush. Lily's short black hair were spiked up with a light kind of gel and smoothed. 

"And me too! Lily, you look absolutely beautiful. And you too, Quinn darling," Harper exclaimed, turning to face us. Her lips were applied with a regular red lipstick, her eyes with a glittering silver eyeshadow, a single white streak through the middle. 

I giggled and struck a pose in Harper's full body mirror. Harper let her curly blonde hair down from their ponytail and brushed her hair before tying it up again very high. I let my own hair down and brushed it down. I raked a hand through my hair and made sure to get all the tangles out, though there wasn't much. Then I sprayed my hair with some water, fluffed it up a little and grabbed my phone, sliding it into the inside pocket of my dress.

"Let's go get our masks!" 

Lily and I followed Harper to Cadence's room where she walked to the far left of the room and opened a drawer of a tall cabinet made out of ebony and polished until it shone. 

"Pick the mask you like," Harper told us. 

The drawer was very big since the cabinet itself is very big. I bent down carefully, smoothing my dress around me and started looking, as did Harp and Lily. None of the masks really got my eye until I saw one of them. It's absolutely beautiful, simple, and I'm sure it will fit me perfectly; deep crimson, like my dress, and smooth with a little glitter freckling a small part of each half. A dark red feather was attached to the left on the top. It's a bit furry and feels soft in my hands. A dark red strap fitted itself behind the mask. I lifted it out. I pulled the strap and put the mask on, making sure the strap didn't hit too hard behind my head and pulled it down. I was right; it does fit me perfectly. And I love it. I stood up. Lily had put her masks on, a purple one with white streaks across it and bronze sparkle. Harper closed the drawer and stood up, beaming at us. She wore a plain silver mask that shone as if the lone color ripples. 

We walked downstairs. Cadence was waiting in the front hall, 3 shoeboxes at her feet and a soft smile on her beautiful face. 

"I 'ave soom shoes of mine for you," she told us.

 I looked at the boxes. "We can't possibly wear them, Cadence, they're yours!" I said.

 She laughed a little. "And now I am giving zem to you," she said. Before I could say no, a box was thrust into my arms and I quickly caught it so it did it fall. "Zat one will suit you very well, Quinn," Cadence promised me. 

Lily and Harp both had boxes. Lily already had her shoes on, a pair of pretty lavender heels with a small lilac on the back of her heel.

 "It's beautiful, Cadence, thank you so much," she said, hugging Cadence. 

Cadence returned her hug. "Of course, my dear." 

Harper slipped her feet into her own ones, which were a dark silver with silver leaves.

 I opened my box and gasped at mine. 

Cadence smiled at me. "Zey were my grandmuzzer's. I wanted to give zem to you." 

I didn't want to cry and bit my lip. My throat was a bit tight. "They are so beautiful," I said hoarsely. They were a beautiful dark crimson pair, with rosy swirls everywhere and glimmered like the light of heaven. And they were small, which were perfect because my own feet where small. I slipped my feet into the heels carefully. 

"Now zey are yours," Cadence said, wrapping her arms around me.

 I hugged her back, careful not to smudge my makeup. "Thank you," I said.

 "De rein, mon cher," she said. 

I smiled, smoothing my dress again.

 "Now get to zat party."

 I laughed and hurried out the door. Harper and Lily had ditched me and were already in Harper's silver BMW. Harp loves silver. I slid into the backseat, smoothing my dress again, for the millionth time.

"We all ready?!" Harper shouted. 

"Hell yes!" Lily and I answered. 

*

De rein mon cher means You're welcome, my dear in French. Oh, I really do love French. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to ~ v o t e, f a n, c o m m e n t, and s h a r e!