Peri

Chapter 9: Girls' Night

Though doubt and fear were still eating away at the back of my mind, her words made it clear that I had deeply upset her, and that was the last thing that I wanted.

"No, please, I'm sorry. You're right; I was letting my anxiety get to me. Obviously, everything that happened last night was just a dream. I was being an asshole for trying to grill you like that. Please, don't go. I really want you to stay here and keep hanging out with me. Yesterday was a mess, but you were responsible for all the best parts, so I know that, without any outside drama, we can have a lot of fun hanging out together while you look for a job and a home.

With a sigh, she dropped her aggressive demeanor and said, "I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just that how I got this wound is a bit of a touchy subject, and I came here to get away from all that stuff, not relive it. And I shouldn't have threatened to run off, especially not after I promised I'd always be there for you."

"Are we cool?"

"We're cool. Are TV dinners really all you have to eat though?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess give me your slimiest, limpest hamburger steak. You know, the ones with the obviously fake grill marks."

"Aye aye, captain."

With a pleasant chat over a mediocre dinner, it looked like we had well and truly moved past our little spat. We didn't fight often, but I always hated it when we did; having grown up around constant fighting while my parents were still together made sure of it. Because of that, I was glad that we'd made up so quickly. In the future, I needed to try and control myself a little better, even when I was panicking, because I knew that Peri kept parts of herself well-guarded for her own personal reasons.

Before I could get too deep in my own thoughts, Peri looked up at me from her food with a devilish fire in her eye. "I just had the best idea," she said.

"Best for both of us, or best for you and worst for me?"

"Both! Come on, at least hear me out."

"Fine."

"What if... I gave you a makeover? Like, we just vibe, have a little bit of a girl's night, and I can teach you a thing or two about putting on makeup in the process."

The thing was, that sounded kind of nice. I had been trying to muster up the courage to buy a little bit of makeup to practice with, but, up to that point, all I had done was watch a few YouTube videos and fantasize about what kind of look I would try.

"Wow, you actually thought of something I might enjoy for once."

"Oh, don't act so surprised. I'm gonna go grab my shit; head on up to your bathroom and I'll meet you there."

Peri walked through the bathroom door with a massive, lumpy makeup bag that she set down on the toilet lid with a solid thunk.

"We're gonna have to clear most of this shit off your counter first or else we won't have enough room."

"Oh, sure," I said and began quickly putting toiletries in whatever random place they would fit around the bathroom.

After pulling my hair out of the way, I washed and moisturized my face. She had to let me use some of hers since I didn't have any moisturizer or face wash of my own. I felt a little bad about not having even basic skincare products, but that's just kind of how it is when you're raised as a guy.

"Alright, so now that we've got everything ready, it's time for a little primer." She grabbed a clear tube of beige cream. "My skin is a little on the dry side, so my primer is built to help on that front. I know your skin is decently oily, so you'd want to pick a primer for oily skin when buying your own product. For now, though, this should be good enough. I'm just going to put a dab on my middle finger and blend outward from the middle of your face, is that alright?"