Cinderella's Shadow

Isobel Blythe stared into the mirror. Her normally poofy hair had been dutifully curled and pinned so if formed a lovely twist at the nape of her neck. She had worked on her skin for months, and she could finally say she was acne free. Her face was positively glowing with the fresh splash of foundation and blush, not the usual for her. Instead of glasses, she endured the torture of contacts. She finally had a chance to wear an impulse-buy silver dress that perfectly complimented her blue eyes and fair skin.

So it wasn't the way she looked that had Isobel frowning. It was the fact that her identical twin sister would be attending the party. Isobel was too shy to admit that the only reason she dressed that way was so people could tell the difference between her and Kendall. 

"Frowning creates wrinkles you know," Kendall told her, suddenly appearing next to her in the mirror's reflection. Her hair was curled too, but it looked wind tossed as it flowed down her shoulders. Her bright red lipstick collaborated nicely with the wisp of smokey eyeshadow placed across her eyelids. It also matched her red dress with a sweetheart neckline that left little to the imagination. On anyone else, it would look desperate. Kendall's natural charisma and perfect stance, it just made her beauty radiate off her in waves of light. 

Isobel didn't have to worry about looking like her sister. No, now she had to worry about not being seen at all. 

Kendall misinterpreted her sister's fretful look as nervousness for the party ahead. She put an encouraging arm around Isobel and held her close. This just put the differences of their two appearances clearer in Isobel's mind. Kendall was a professional firecracker and Isobel was the $1 party popper you give to the toddlers on New Years Eve.

"You look fabulous. Every guy will be looking at you tonight." Kendall promised with a grin. She had let go of Isobel and was deciding which shoes she could lend to match Izzy's dress.

"Not every guy..." Isobel looked down at her nails, as if examining them. Her blush was not entirely from the makeup.

"Matthew Johnson will be looking at you tonight." Kendall said, partly teasing her sister for her crush.

"No he won't. He doesn't know I exist. The famous Kendall Blythe has a sister? Since when?" Isobel complained. She was slightly pouting, but Kendall rolled her eyes. 

"He knows you exist. Everyone knows you exist. If you would come to more parties with me then you wouldn't feel so awkward!"

"I don't like being a third wheel with your multitude of boyfriends!" Isobel protested. She didn't mean it as an insult to Kendall and Kendall didn't take it as one. She liked guys and she liked dating them. Some people might call her a slut, but the sisters didn't see it that way.

"I found your shoes!" Kendall announced, jumping up from the pile of shoes she had built. She was holding up a pair of simple sandals to go with the short, silver dress. Isobel bit her lip and tried not to look disappointed.

"What about those?" She pointed to a pair of short, black boots with a heel. Kendall shook her head.

"Those aren't.... you." she told her.

"What do you mean?"

"These sandals are more simple and pretty. Those boots are kind of... dangerous? No. That's not the word. Risk takers. Trust me, the sandals will work better for you!" Kendall promised.

Isobel took the sandals and put them on without another word, though she never stopped thinking about her sister's words. Obviously, she wasn't a risk taker. She knew that. But the way she said it... like only Kendall was allowed to take risks. She had implied it was Isobel's job to play it safe.