downpour / mileven au.

sixteen.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN;
CHAOS DESCENDING.

el's eyes traced her reflection.

dean would be here in half an hour, and el was only now finishing her makeup. of course it didn't take her too terribly long considering the light amount she wore. tonight, she had opted a bit out of her comfort zone and chosen a soft pink lipstick.

the girl tilted her head, scrutinizing her appearance. she sighed softly to herself before tugging the lime colored scrunchie out of her hair. she fluffed her short wavy hair to get rid of the post-ponytail hairstyle.

her outfit was laid out on her somewhat-made bed. she chose an off-white sundress paired with her thick jean jacket and sneakers. she feared she'd be underdressed. knowing how luxurious lexor's home was, she imagined his parties were as extreme in style. shaking her head to dismiss her concerns, el changed into her outfit.

she couldn't help but feel extremely ordinary as she assessed the girl who looked back at her. being the humble person she was raised to be, el never thought too highly of herself -- especially as far as looks go. despite that, she never felt ugly. she never compared herself to others. she knew beauty has much more than what meets the eye, and this kept her content with her appearance for so long.

but, like many other things in her life, this contentment changed. she knew it wasn't fair to herself to think such things, but the thoughts haunted her. what did shelly have that she didn't? what does brooke have that she doesn't?

it's not like either of them are incredibly humane individuals, especially shelly. but they were both model-pretty cheerleaders. they both looked like they could be on the cover of a tiger beat issue with their long blonde hair and brightly colored eyes.

meanwhile, el gazed at herself with her regular brown eyes and plain brown hair. she didn't even fight the sigh that fell from her lips before turning away from the mirror. she gave her bedroom one last look, deciding it was sufficiently clean for her to leave until a later time.

walking down the hallway, she passed will's open door. she saw him also getting ready to go somewhere, "hey, you going out?"

will spun around at her voice, "yeah, i have a date, but if mom and dad ask i'm going to lexor's party."

el frowns. "will, i hope you know you can tell mom and dad. they won't love you any less. you know that right?" she asks, leaning against his doorway.

he shrugs, "look, i know you're trying to help, and i love you for that, but i just need a little more time. even if they aren't mad, things will be weird and i'm just not ready for that." el nods, understandingly. "are you going to the party with max?"

"actually, i'm going with dean."

"dean? who's dean?" will questions, the name not ringing any bells.

el shook her head, "a guy max set me up with. she thinks i need a rebound to help me get over my fake relationship."

will laughed, fixing his hair. "that sounds like max thinking." el nods in agreement. "well, have fun. whoever this dean is, make sure he keeps his hands to himself."

before she could respond she heard the doorbell sound from downstairs. "that should be him. see ya, willy," she heads downstairs with a small smile, glad things between her and her brother were finally fixed. she pulled the door open, relieved that her parents were on a date instead of here. "hi," she greets dean.

he grins, "hey! you look amazing, el."

surprised by the forward compliment, she softly giggles. "oh, thank you. you look great, too," she returns. he was dressed in a plain shirt with a sporty blazer. "should we go?" he nods, and leads her to a red thunderbird parked in front of her house. "i like your car," she says, hoping to make small talk.