Visible Ghosts

13

Zane's idea of making me 'pretty' was finding my most revealing clothing and trying to stuff me in them. I was not having that. I wasn't going to the party to draw attention to myself. I was going in as recon for our mission.

"But, Sannnggg." Zane whines, "You've never been to a college party don't you wanna dress up and be a party girl for once?"

"No, I do not." I say back as I'm flipping through different things in my closet. "We had to dress up for Luca's parties all the time. I never enjoyed it then and I probably won't enjoy it now." I find a black skirt in the back, one that has an elastic waist and flares out to the middle of my thighs. "How about this?" I hold up the skirt in hopes Zane will finally agree upon something. We've been at this for 20 minutes now and it's getting closer and closer to 5:00 o'clock.

"Aah. That could work." He ahh's then starts throwing clothes off the bed that he piled there, all over my room. The little shit won't clean up after himself either. "You should wear this top with it." He brings up a cropped shirt that is a light pink. The back is open and has a bow tie in the middle to keep it together and the sleeves go 3/4 of the way down the forearms. I wouldn't be able to wear a bra with it.

"Maybe. Let me try it on." I grab the shirt from out of his outstretched hand. "I don't even know where this came from, I've never worn it before." I muse to him.

He shrugs his shoulders and lays back on the bed as I head to my ensuite bathroom. I try the skirt on first and it slides on perfectly. The elastic band makes it snug but not tight. It's a little bit longer than what most girls wear these days but it's comfortable and lightweight. I try on the pink shirt next, it shows more stomach than I would hope, stopping right above my belly button. The open back allows some of my scars to be visible but I've grown to accept them. It should be relatively dark at the party anyway and no one should notice them. I'll bring a light jacket with me to cover up though.

Walking out, I call to Zane. "Whatcha think?" I give him a twirl and then head back to my closet to find a jacket and a pair of shoes. "I think I'll fit in, I'm going to wear a jacket though since some of my scars you can see."

"Damn. Maybe you shouldn't wear that." Zane mutters. "You look too good. Maybe you should just wear sweatpants and a hoodie."

I laugh. "What happened to fitting in and being a party girl?" I finally find what I am looking for and pull out a pair of black sandals. Not uncomfortable but if I had to run, they would be strapped to my feet and not fall off. I also pull out my very worn black leather jacket.

"You can be a party girl without showing so much skin." He scolds. "Cover up."

I slip on the sandals and shrug the jacket on. "Better?"

He mumbles something and I put a hand on my hip. "Yes, better." He scoots off the bed to stand up. "Are you doing anything to your hair or makeup?"

Scoffing, I grab a clip from the top of my dresser and twist my hair up. Then I do a quick swipe of mascara. "Ta-da. Done. Now drive me to the safe house."

"Wait, not yet." Zane tells me, holding a hand up in a stopping motion as he runs out the room. I hear him run down the stairs and a door open and close. Then he's rushing back up the stairs and slides to a stop in front of my bedroom door. "Don't forget these." He hands me a gold bracelet with a tiny little pink gemstone heart inlaid in the center, a pair of comms, and a barette.

"Thanks." I put the earpiece in and adjust it until it feels snug and slip the bracelet on next to my watch. Carefully, I pin the barrette to my head, slightly off to the side to hold back some escaping hairs. "Let's go. We only have 30 minutes until James is supposed to arrive."