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She looked up at me with those pleading eyes, a face that was almost identical to my own. We shared the same blonde hair—though I usually wore mine up, while Audrey curled hers almost every day—and the same general stature, standing at five foot five. The major difference was our eyes—I’d inherited the crystal blue of our dad’s, while hers were a brown that appeared almost violet, a color she’d gotten from our mom.
When it came down to it, I’d almostalwayscave for whatever she asked me to do. I was only thirty minutes older, and yet, she still had the little sister act down pat.
“Okay, okay!” I threw up my hands before moving to my closet.
The dress I’d designed was hanging up inside, waiting for me. Light blue—of course—and shimmery silk. It was some of the most beautiful fabric I’d ever seen. The smooth fabric practically slipped through my fingers when I ran my hands over it. When I’d found it at a fabric store, just enough yards for the dream dress I’d had in mind, I hadn’t been able to resist. Even if the price tag was more than I normally liked to spend on fabric. With each cut, each stitch, I’d practically held my breath, only giving myself a moment to admire the garment once the whole thing had come together.
Our days of matching costumes were in the past,however, because, unlike Audrey, I wasn’t dressed as a witch. My accessories were tucked into a drawer, hidden away in case I’d changed my mind. Because as much as I protested, I still loved dressing up. Still wanted to spend the night with my sister, and to see our friends.
“Yay!” She clapped her hands. “It’ll be so fun, I promise.”
I blew a strand that had escaped my blonde messy bun and into my bangs off of my forehead. “Want to do my hair?” If I was the crafty, seamstress sister, Audrey was the one with a talent formakeup and hair. At least one of us had inherited a proficiency in it.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she answered, eyes sparkling with excitement as she grabbed her kit.
In another life, I thought she would make a phenomenal stylist, but ever since she was little, Ro had always known her end path. While she shined on stage, I preferred to hide in the background, working on sets and costume design for our school’s theater department.
Even when she’d encouraged me to audition for musicals because of my voice, I’d never wanted the spotlight. I’d gladly stick to my spot behind the curtains.
Except… in the last year, I’d wondered if maybe I wantedmore. Not being on stage–because knowing me, I’d trip and fall flat on my face (and Ihad, in the past), but I didn’t really knowwhatyet.
Wielding her makeup bag and a curling iron, Audrey sat me down at her desk as she went to town on transforming me. It was like this every time I let her do my makeup, like she was making me into the most spectacular version of myself. The shimmer she brushed over my eyelids made my blue eyes pop, and her perfect cat-eye never ceased to amaze me.
After brushing a coat of lip gloss onto my lips, the bobby pins came out, and my hair was styled into an elegant bun before I could even blink. She curled the front pieces and my bangs before tying a blue ribbon in my hair.
“What do you think?” Audrey asked, as we both looked at my reflection in the mirror.
“I swear, you’re my Fairy Godmother,” I laughed, touching my blushed cheeks. “Your transformations are likemagic.”
My sister gestured to her costume with a flourish and a wink. “Well, you made methis, so I guess you’re mine as well.”
“The perfect pair,” I said, a grin on my face.
Truthfully, I couldn’t be more grateful for her presence. When we’d both been applying to colleges, it had been obvious thatwe’d go together. The easiest decision I’d ever made. I was equally happy to have her as my best friend. Even if she was constantly dragging me to parties when I’d rather stay in my room with a new project and my favorite Taylor Swift album.
“Come on, go get dressed!” She laughed, poking at my shoulder. “It’s getting late.”
Rolling my eyes, I unzipped my Castleton University sweatshirt and wiggled out of my leggings, leaving them both in a pile on the floor.
“No one gets there when parties start, anyway,” I grumbled, grabbing my dress and pulling it on over my hips. My bra had to go, because of the neckline of the dress, but I’d sewn cups into the bodice. “Zip me up?”
Audrey nodded, wordlessly cooperating.
Smoothing my hands out over the skirt, I stared in the mirror. I pulled the silver strappy heels out of my closet, shoving my feet into them. “Happy?”
“You used to dream about these parties, you know.”
Ro had never stopped loving them, loving the attention and the socialization of fluttering about. Seeing all of her friends from other sororities and throughout campus.
I’d loved them too, once. Before. But she knew exactly why I’d no longer enjoyed them. I just shrugged. “Dreams change.”I’dchanged.
Now, I was more focused on mydreamsfor the future and how I was going to achieve them. Even if we were only juniors in college, graduation loomed like a giant reminder in my brain. There was so much left to do before then. An internship, a job. The rest of my dreams for the future… Those could wait.Wouldwait, if I had any say in the matter.
“Come on, not all guys are like that.” Her voice was quiet. “You know it.”
I sighed. I did. It was hard not to let one rotten apple ruin the bunch, but that was what I’d been doing for the last year. I wished I had her optimism, but seeing the guy you’d been goingout with going down on another girl at a party really left a foul taste in your mouth.
But maybe what I really needed was to let loose. Hook up with someone in a meaningless fling and forget all about it by the next day.
