Dancing On The Razor's Edge, Together

XI. Epilogue: A Dance Shared, A Love Strengthened

3pm, the Madison household, 2 weeks after the end of the Goode's curse. Shay sat in front of the mirror in her room, leaning on her vanity, sighing softly. 

"Deena, I think I'm fucked." 

"No, you're not. You just don't know what to wear. It's not the end of the world, y'know."

"This isn't just any dance, though! It's senior prom, and all of our first ever! I want it... I want it to be special." She sighed, looking to her friend with a frustrated glance. Deena gave a light chuckle, patting her on the shoulder, as she looked around at the different pots of eyeliner, and different shades of foundation.

"I know, Shay. I think we all want it to be special, especially after all of the shit we've been through. But if you try too hard, you're only gonna end up burning yourself out. Remember, it's exactly what it is; it's prom, not a job interview. You don't have to treat it so seriously, you know? Just relax. Besides, you really think Ruby isn't struggling herself with what to do?"  Shay chuckled at the thought; deep down though, she knew that Ruby was, admittedly, the better between the two of them when it came to preparation. Whether it was for dates, where to eat, plans for the day, Ruby was always organised. At least, more so than Shay.

"Yeah, you're right. About me trying too hard, anyway. But me and you both know that Ruby is handling this much better than me. Hell, she has two time periods to choose from!" This earned a laugh from Deena, who punched her friend playfully in the arm.

"Oh, give her a break! Look, you're more than capable of this. You already at least have the dress you wanna wear, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

With that, Shay stood up from her vanity, before opening her closet, reaching into a part she rarely got her clothes from. When she came out, she held a sky blue dress, sequinned across the chest, that tied gently around the back. Looking down, Deena saw that the hem flowed down, and looked a little tighter, similar to a pencil skirt. Reaching back in, she pulled out an artificial orchid accessory that was to go on the left side of the front. The flower itself had its petals dyed sky blue, albeit a lighter shade to stand out from the dress.

"So... What do you think?"

"Shay... Oh my gosh, it's gorgeous! Why were you even remotely worried? You'll look stunning in this!"

"I guess. I'm just apprehensive. I know I have to try not to, but I guess I'm trying a little hard." She took it into the closet with her, smiling at Deena.

"I'll be out in a sec."

                     ~

"Alright, Ruby. Just the finishing touch on your makeup, then I'd say we're good."

Sam said, smiling as she applied some lip gloss, over the scarlet red lipstick that had already been put in place. Looking up at the mirror, Ruby smiled at her new look; her hair on top was tidied up and put in a nice bun, whilst the rest below it was braided back into two big chains across the sides of her head. Her usually pale face now had complexion and colour, with some foundation on her cheeks, a mix of red and black eyeshadow and eyeliner around her eyes, and some pure black mascara on her lashes.

"Oh my, Sam! It... It's perfect! You really don't know how much this means to me... I'll admit, make-up now is definitely better than it was 30 years ago. But I'm surprised. Where did you learn to get this good at it? You could do this for a living, you know."

This earned a chuckle from Sam, whose cheeks went red at the compliment.

"Heh... Thanks, Ruby. But it's honestly nothing. I just happen to play with quite a bit of make-up. That, and I do it for Deena quite a bit. Whether we're just playing around or if we actually wanna go on a date. Trust me, this is the basic stuff. Make-up has come much further than you think."