Falling in Lust

Chapter 2 - Glow up

"Oh my God!" Chloe exclaimed. "You know what we forgot?"

"What?" Marinette asked, racking her brain and coming up empty.

"Your outfit! You need to borrow some of my clothes. And lose the pigtails." Chloe pointed condescendingly to everything she didn't like about Marinette's outfit, which was the entire thing.

Marinette scowled. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she demanded, folding her arms across her chest.

"Is that a joke?" Chloe asked, seriously confused. "Uh... everything!" She shrugged her shoulders like it was supposed to be obvious. "Come on. I have a dress I want you to wear anyway."

"What if I don't want to wear your dress?" Marinette asked, glaring at her. Chloe merely rolled her eyes, unwilling to accept 'no' for an answer.

"Does it look like I care? I will officially uninvite you to this party if you wear that." She jutted out her bottom lip, something she did unconsciously when she was either pouting or irritated. It was currently the latter.

"Fine," Marinette sighed, not in the mood to argue. "Let's make this fast." Chloe clapped her hands together in excitement and practically leapt out of her chair. She grabbed Marinette's hand and yanked her from her seat, dragging her across the roof.

"I've got this beautiful red dress!" she squealed excitedly. "It's just perfect for you! Red really is your color."

"Er... thanks. I think." Marinette trailed along behind her, hoping all this trouble was worth it.

"You're walking so slow!" Chloe whined, forcing her to move a little faster. Marinette almost tripped over her own feet, struggling to keep up. She grit her teeth, annoyed with her awful coordination.

"Do you want me to fall?" she asked Chloe sarcastically. Although she was looking at the back of her head, she could practically hear her eyes roll.

"Well, it's past time for you to learn to walk properly."

"Tch," she huffed, unwilling to admit it was true. She was unbearably clumsy, but that didn't mean she wanted Chloe to throw it in her face. "I walk just fine."

"You almost ruined the macaroons," Chloe reminded her. Marinette pursed her lips but couldn't conjure a clever response. "And yesterday," Chloe continued, "You fell on your face on the sidewalk. And the day before that you tripped getting into the bus. And before that-"

"Alright!" Marinette snapped. "I get it! I can't walk. You win." We've been spending waaay too much time together, she thought, but kept it to herself.

Chloe pushed open the door to her room and pulled Marinette inside. It was lavishly decorated, as prestigious as the rest of the house, save for the miserable looking teddy bear situated on the bed. Marinette could have easily mocked Chloe for it, but she bit her tongue against the temptation and kept her mouth shut. Just because she spent time with Chloe didn't mean she needed to sound like her too.

"Stay right there!" Chloe ordered her, jabbing her finger in her direction. She dashed into the closet, her skirt bouncing. Marinette, instead of complying, moved across the room and sank onto the bed.

"Ugh! Where is it?" Marinette heard Chloe's muffled voice from the closet. After a minute or so, she returned, clutching a vibrant red dress by the hanger. She hung it on the door handle and ducked back into the closet.

Finally, she found everything she needed. She returned to Marinette and tossed the dress at her. A pair of black strappy heels dangled from her other hand. Marinette raised a brow skeptically.

"Heels?" she questioned. "You really think that's a good idea? Weren't we just talking about how clumsy I am?" She stood up, the dress in hand.

"Yeah, and it'll be hilarious if you fall down," Chloe told her bluntly. "But that's not the point. These match the dress. Besides, you'll end up tripping anyway."

"Fine," she sighed, slightly curious to see if a simple change of clothes could transform her appearance. She headed into the bathroom and swung the door shut. For a moment, she admired the dress. It was short, with layers in the skirt and a halter top.

A few minutes later, Chloe barged into the room while Marinette was only halfway into the dress.

"Chloe!" she shrieked, her face burning red.

"Are you still not ready? Why are you so slow?"

Marinette quickly slipped into the outfit and bent down on the floor, sliding the shoes onto her feet. She wiggled her toes. The shoes were a little tight, but they would do.

"Come on, I have to do your makeup before people arrive!" She pushed Marinette into a chair and rummaged through the drawers of her bathroom vanity.

"I didn't think you were supposed to share makeup," Marinette pointed out, not sure if this was actually true. Either way, she couldn't imagine Chloe being happy to share with her. This was all quite a surprise.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I bought this yesterday. It's yours."

"Oh," Marinette replied, lacking anything better to say.

Chloe got to work, deliberate and efficient. She dusted her cheeks with blush in a shade to compliment her skin tone, added eyeshadow on her lids, and enhanced her already thick and long lashes with mascara. The final touch was lipstick.

When the makeup was completely applied, Chloe stepped back to admire her handiwork. Marinette was actually... pretty. Who was she kidding? Marinette was really pretty. And it was all thanks to Chloe.

"Now to fix that hair."

Marinette had been admiring her own face in the mirror, but whipped around, glaring at Chloe after that remark left her lips. "What's wrong with-"

"Shut up," Chloe commanded. "It's pretty obvious. I shouldn't have to explain it to you." She released Marinette's vivid blue locks from their ugly pigtail prison and set about giving her a new style. Letting her bangs hang gracefully over her forehead, she swept up the rest of her hair, braiding it into a ponytail.

"There," she announced triumphantly, her hands resting on her hips. "Now let's go." Marinette slid out of the chair, slightly unbalanced in her heels. She stumbled after Chloe, who had no trouble walking in her six-inch stilettos.

She couldn't deny how pretty she looked. She wondered why Chloe had wanted to help her, imagining they had grown closer than she'd realized.