The New KISS High School

Ch 30: Makeover (Eric S)

I looked at my reflection, running a shaking hand through my hair. "Ohhh shit. Oh damn. That's...damn," I whispered to myself, trying not to look at the mess I had made of the countertop. "Oh my parents are gonna be surprised," I mumbled, fumbling for my phone and dialing Gene's number. 

"Hey Eric what's up?" "Hey so what if I cut my hair and dyed it back to my natural color?" I asked casually. "I mean...I like the blond but you do you. Why would you do that?" he asked slowly. "Welllll Tommy's never dated a blond so--" "Eric come on. Don't change yourself for him," he said. 

"What if I told you it was too late?" I asked sheepishly, looking at the inches of long blond hair strewn all over the counter that I had just chopped off, hands still slightly stained with hair dye. "Eric!" he cried in exasperation. "I know, I know, I'm sorry! I-I was gonna get dye anyway because my roots were growing out but I was gonna just stay blond and...and I don't even know, it just all snowballed from there. Oh my gosh my mom's gonna kill me," I choked, unable to look away from my reflection.

"Why?" he asked. "Why?! Because I just chopped a foot off of my hair!" I cried. "A foot?! How short is your hair?!" "Uh...to my shoulders?" I said, and I could hear him let out a long sigh. "Oh my gosh Eric. Why on earth would you do that?!" "I told you! I went to the store to get some more bleach to touch up my hair and I was looking at the hair dyes and then I started thinking about Tommy and how he had never dated a blond but he had gone after brunettes so I started looking for dyes that matched my natural hair color and I mean I wasn't gonna do anything but next thing I knew I had dyed my hair and cut most of it off," I said in a rush. 

"Eric, come on man. I'm worried about you taking things too far. I think you're...you're too into him. Like you're changing your appearance for him, you're bending over backwards for him, you're doing his homework and buying things for him and I just...think you need to seriously reevaluate your relationship with him. I think he's using you," he said.

"I know you think he's using me, but he's not like that!" I snapped, finally walking out of the bathroom. "He's a nice guy, he wouldn't...he's not like that! We're friends!" "Then have him come over and tell him how you feel about him, dammit." I frowned, thinking it over. "Uh...you busy right now?" I asked. "No, I don't meet up with Peter for a few more hours. Why?" "Can I come over so you can be there for moral support while I call Tommy and ask him if he likes me?" I mumbled in a rush. There was a pause before Gene let out a sigh.

"Yeah, fine. Go ahead and come over," he said in an exasperated voice. "Hey! Don't sound annoyed! You're the one who wants me to tell him!" I said, looking back at my reflection again. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Just come over," he said, and I could practically see him rolling his eyes. "I will. Uh...lemme clean up everything. There's...kind of a lot of hair on the counter of my bathroom sink." "No surprise, since you cut off a foot of it. Damn Eric I just--" "I know! I know, I know, I know! You don't need to tell me!" I said, cutting him off, hands starting to shake as I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm gonna go, I'll call you when I'm leaving," I said, hanging up.

I felt a bit sick as I cleaned up the cut hair and dye, regretting what I had done immensely. But at the same time, if it got me Tommy, it would be worth it. "Damn the headbands don't even look good with the short hair," I mumbled, looking at the purple one on my bathroom counter that I had been wearing earlier in the day. I grabbed it with a shaking hand, putting it in my pocket before scrubbing the last remnants of dye off of my hands, texting Gene I was coming over and driving off.

His eyes widened when he opened the door. "Oh my gosh Eric what the hell did you do?" he asked, letting out a stunned laugh as he reached out and touched my hair. "Made a mistake," I said quietly, already missing my long hair. He let out a long sigh, putting a hand on my shoulder and pulling me inside. "Alright, call him and tell him," he said, sitting me on the couch. Nodding, I pulled out my phone, putting it on speaker and waiting for him to pick up. 

"Hello?" "Uh...hey Tommy! I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get together tomorrow night and hang out? My uh my parents are out of town though just as a heads up, if that...if that matters to you," I said, feeling my mouth grow dry with panic. "Sure sounds chill. What time?" "Oh whenever works for you, just-just stop by! Glad you want to hang out," I said, fumbling over my words and ignoring Gene as he tried to signal for me to just tell Tommy how I felt. He laughed and I nearly melted at the sound. "Why wouldn't I? I like you a lot," he said, and my heart leapt. "Haha yeah I like you a lot too! Anyway I'll see you tomorrow bye!" I said, hanging up before I could say anything else and turning to give Gene a smile.

"See?? He likes me!" I said gleefully, but he didn't smile back. "He didn't say how he likes you. I like you a lot too, and if someone asked I'd happily say I did, but I don't like you romantically or sexually or anything like that," he said, and I winced. "Look, I'll talk to him tomorrow. And all I care about is that he likes me romantically, I'm not trying to sleep with anyone until I'm older, like in college or something." Shaking his head, he ruffled my hair. "Just stick up for yourself, alright? Don't bend over backwards for him. A good relationship has compromise. And let me know how tomorrow goes," he said.

"I will," I mumbled, playing with the ends of my hair.