Together We Stand

CHAPTER ONE

a little sick

Blaire Marjorie Everly

unedited

BLAIRE TOOK A DEEP BREATH, looking at her face in the mirror. Her nose was too big, her mouth was too small, her eyes weren't pretty enough. The thoughts kept pointing out every part of her that wasn't perfect, and she shuddered. Why couldn't she be pretty like others? Why couldn't she look like Addison, but with the personality like Lucy? Or just look like Lucy all together?

She grabbed her foundation and other makeup products and began on a full-face makeup look. She made her nose appear smaller, and she lined her lips to make them appear bigger.

After her makeup was done, she curled her pin-straight golden hair, and moved over to her closet. She picked out her favorite skirt, which was short and a little tight, and it was brownish pink and white checkered. She grabbed a white crop top and a matching checkered jacket. Blaire hoped that Addison would like her look today. She wasn't sure if she was up for more teasing.

She looked into her full-body mirror and sighed. She didn't like what she saw in the mirror. She wished she was skinnier, she wished she was taller. The list goes on and on.

"Blaire, you're beautiful," she heard a soft voice chuckle, and her head shot up.

Her twin sister, Ruth, was standing in her doorway, her arms crossed casually. She was wearing black fishnets with a black skirt, and a black and grey striped cardigan with combat boots. Her brown hair, which she had dyed that color, not wanting her blonde color, was styled nicely, and Blaire was envious. Blaire just had straight, a little past-the-shoulder hair. Not much else would be accepted in her friend group, unless you were Lucy. But what she envied was Ruth's ability to not care what people thought of her, and just be herself. Her butterfly cut was styled beautifully, and Blaire couldn't help but feel a little sad.

"Darling, cut your hair how you like," she murmured. "Stop worrying what those snakes of yours think about you."

"They're not snakes," Blaire muttered, knowing damn well that wasn't true. The only person in her group who wasn't a snake was Lucy Lovelace, Lovie to Blaire. She ran a comb through her curls, to loosen them up a bit before spraying hairspray on them once more and saying, "Lovie is not a snake."

"Lucy isn't a snake, that is correct," Ruth smiled. It was Blaire's thing to call her Lovie, and everyone knew who she was talking about, and would just use her first name. Ruth frowned, watching her sister scrunch her stomach in. "Fine, you need me to list it, baby sis?" Ruth chuckled with a grin. "Your eyes are stunning, your nose perfect, your lips are beautiful, your hair is jaw-dropping, and you are perfect."

"You're three minutes older than me!" Blaire gasped, finally a smile escaping her lips. "Thanks, Ruth."

"Of course," she nodded, coming into her bedroom and giving her a tight squeeze.

"Get your boots out of my room!" she screeched, hugging her back for half a second before shoving her out of the room. "You look great today."

"I always do, darling," she said with a fake accent, which made Blaire laugh. "Car's leaving in 20 minutes, don't be late."

"I won't!" She said and then started packing her bag. Blaire had failed her driving test, so Ruth had to drive her everywhere.

She took one more look in the mirror, sighing. Turning sideways, she looked at her rather thin body, which to her was too fat, and sucked her stomach in. She remembered her friend telling her that she was fat, that she had too much stomach and she should feel ashamed. Her best friend, Addison, would tell her she looked like a cow. Blaire now always kept her stomach sucked in. Even though to others she had the build of a model, her best friend's comments got to her, and she couldn't help to believe them. She just had to eat less.