Keeper of the Lost Cities - The Prequel

Chapter Five- Jolie

Jolie and Lina sat on Lina's big canopy bed, eating mallowmelt. Lina's room at her Atlantis house was even bigger than the one at home, painted a soft, pale yellow, with large windows that overlooked the ocean.

"So. Brant." Lina stared at Jolie, as if she could see right through her.

Jolie laughed nervously. "Um. What about him?"

Lina rolled her eyes. "You like him, he likes you..."

Jolie raised an eyebrow. "And..."

Lina laughed. "And... I don't know..."

Jolie shook her head, trying to brush off the conversation. "Lina, what's your point?"

Lina sighed, exasperated. "How are you not getting this? You guys should totally be... a thing!"

Jolie shook her head, feeling the awkwardness rise. She really didn't want to talk about this. "Let's just... go shopping or something." She knew Lina, being the girliest girl she knew, could never resist a shopping trip—or so she had thought.

But Lina jumped up and blocked the door, her love for shopping was NOTHING compared to this. "Jolie, you aren't going anywhere until we actually talk about this! What aren't you saying?"

The truth was, Jolie did want to be with Brant, but she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. She wasn't the type to put herself out there—unlike Lina.

People often joked that they had no idea how Lina and Jolie were best friends, given how opposite they were.

Lina had long, straight chestnut hair with natural highlights, while Jolie's wavy blonde hair was often swept up in messy buns. On rare occasions, she left it down, but even then, it would always fall into her face.

Jolie's turquoise eyes sparkled with life, while Lina's ice-blue eyes could deliver one of her signature glares, perfected after years of dealing with Sonya.

Lina was incredibly girlie, with half her bathroom covered in hair elixirs, makeup, and other beauty products. Jolie was also girlie, but her makeup and hair collection barely filled one shelf in her bathroom. (Though it would grow A LOT over the years!)

Lina was boy-crazy, crushing on a new boy almost every week—though she'd been stuck on Myrin for a while now. Jolie, on the other hand, had liked Brant for at least two years.

Jolie knew there was no way out of this conversation. Lina would somehow force the truth out of her, so she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"The truth is, yes, maybe we should be a couple. But I'm just not into putting myself out there. I literally can't. And... I don't know if he'll ever put himself out there either."

Lina grabbed her hand. "Jolie, we already know he likes you. What's the worst that could happen?" She then dragged Jolie into the bathroom. "We're going to give you a makeover, get you all glammed up, and then hail Brant to see if his parents will let him come for the day. Then you guys will talk, Brant will see you, and he'll HAVE to ask you. You'll look gorgeous!"

♪♪♪♪♪

One agonizing hour later, Jolie could barely recognize herself. Her lips were a soft pink, lined with pale lip liner, her eyes were dolled up with blue shadow and a light coat of brown mascara. Her wavy hair had been brushed thoroughly and was now braided in the back.

Lina had dressed her in a short baby blue dress with silver high heels and accessorized with a silver necklace and matching dangling earrings.

Jolie stared at her reflection, shocked how good Lina had made her look. Then she sat down on the bed again, overwhelmed. "Lina, thank you, but I don't know if I can do this."

"I'm not going to force you, but I really think you'll regret it if you don't." Lina said. "You obviously really like Brant." 

Jolie knew there was a lot of truth to that, and that she definitely would regret it. So, she found her imparter and hailed Brant. 

Hey guys. This is a shorter chapter, but the cliffhanger...  more tomorrow! 

Word count: 660 words