Touch of Darkness

Chapter 17: Balls, Pumpkins, and Witch Hunters

It was the day of the dance, and all I wanted to do was stay home and in bed. Unfortunately, that was not an option. I already agreed with Alice and Alessia that we'd go to the dance together. A lot of guys find Alessia scary so no one was fighting to ask her to be their date, and I felt a little bad, so we agreed that we'd go to the dance as each other's dates. Alessia would never show it, or admit it, but I think it made her feel like part of the group. Tensions were still rocky between everyone and the twins, but I'm hoping the dance eases that tension.

I heard the doorbell ring which prompted me to get out of bed and come face to face with an overly excited Alice. Her big blue eyes seemed bigger than usual and her mouth was plastered in a great big smile, "This is so exciting!"

I nod, moving to the side letting her in. Alessia stands behind her with her arms crossed, her face showing doubt. I give her a smile to which she half smiles back and enters in as well. We head up to my room where we start getting ready. Our first step is hair, as having good hair can make or break how you look. I used to do hair and makeup a lot when I was younger so it made sense that they'd want me to make their hair and makeup look nice. I decided to do Alice first while Alessia looked through what kind of hairstyle she wanted.

For Alice, I had the perfect style in mind. I curled her light blonde hair, and ran my fingers through the curls so they would look more natural. I took bits of her hair, twisting in a small circle and pinning it to the middle of the back of her head. I did this until it made a curled low bun. I left parts of her hair at the front, pinning them to where they wouldn't get in her face, but they would still look cute. As for her makeup, I brushed a shimmering gold shadow over her lids, and did a thin eyeliner so as to not darken her face too much. With some blush and a little bit of dark red lipstick for the finishing touches, Alice could only stare in shock as she saw her reflection in the mirror.

"I love it," she whispered, her voice could barely hide the glee she felt. While Alice goes off to get dressed, I glance at Alessia who walks over sheepishly.

"I'll be honest, I'm not quite sure what hairstyle to do," she tells me, "I haven't ever really been to any dances."

"Don't worry," I say, smiling, "I think I know the perfect style." I took my straightener and began curling Alessia's hair. I usually prefer straightener curls over curler curls because they tend to look more natural and free. After I curl her pitch black hair, I part it in the middle, splitting it in two, and pinning it. I leave a couple strands to brush the front of her face so it looks better. I choose a nice sparkling silver eyeshadow for her and line the outer corners of her eyes with gold to really makes her dark eyes pop. I apply a simple winged eyeliner, and dark red lipstick to tie the whole look together.

Alessia's eyes go wide but she quickly composes her face, "This is...different."

"A good different?" I ask, and she shrugs. I know she loves it, but Alessia would never admit it. When Alessia moves away from the vanity table, I begin to work on myself. I was going for a very basic look today. I straighten the bird's nest that is my brown hair. Then I tease my hair a little, flipping it over to make a little bump at the top of my head. I pin the back part of my hair, breaking away a few strands to let fall on my face. For my makeup, my favorite thing is a smokey eye. So I begin by applying black eyeshadow to my eyelid, and a light brown-gold to the crease of my eye. I make sure to move the black eyeshadow to my lower lid as to even out the look. I don't decide to do eyeliner as my eyeshadow is dark enough already. I apply a little bit of mascara to volumize my eyelashes, and apply a plum color lipstick.

Just as I finish my own makeup, Alice emerges in a spaghetti strap low cut gold dress with silver sparkles on the hem of it, and gold strappy sandals. She borrows my bedroom mirror to see how her mask matches with her outfit. Her mask has a pearl colored base and gold vines decorating it, along with rainbow gems lining the edge set in more gold. Large white feathers grew out from the middle, held in place by a white polished stone. The smile on her face made the whole ensemble look even more radiant.