Duplicity (Luke Hemmings AU)

Thirteen

My fingers fiddled with the ends of my hair. For once it fell flawlessly styled, framing my face in the nicest way possible. Katherine had done a fine job in taming the wild beast known as my hair. I took a self-conscious glance at the mirror, blushing when I realized how short the dress looked in comparison to my legs. In preparation for the fast approaching Halloween party, Katherine had convinced me to attend one of Ashton's senior parties. Ashton swore on his life that I would not get in any way of trouble, so I assumed if I wound up drunk, Ashton wouldn't be able to escape any torture I deemed appropriate.

"Raelynn, you look flawless!" Katherine gushed over her handiwork. The only part of my outfit I was probably going to redo was my lipstick. Deep red was not my preferred color, and frankly, it made my golden skin look paler than it really was. I was surprised at how Katherine reacted, nonetheless, as she never made any comments on my appearance other than to insult my choice of clothing.

It was hard, having someone like Katherine by your side constantly. As if I didn't take enough crap from her, I was well aware I was the fat friend. Katherine looked like a model. She was a size zero, with skinny thighs and a small rib cage. My thighs were alright, but my ribcage was wider, so it was impossible for me to be as petite as she. But tonight, I had to admit, I looked every bit as her in figure, if not better. My black bodycon dress left my back open, except for the strip across the top that hung loosely on my shoulder blades. The three-quarter length sleeves were made strictly of lace. I felt hot. I was hot.

"Thanks. You did wonders." I commented, turning around to give her a half smile. "But I'm going to change my lipstick.

"Nope." Katherine said, pulling me away from my dresser. "You could get anywhere with that outfit, and that lipstick is perfect. Trust me."

"Fine." I groaned, tilting my head back. "Still, thanks for the wardrobe."

"Consider it a favor." She shrugged, smirking.

"You witch! You practically forced me to!" I scoffed, pushing her arm lightly.

"Come on, I owe you, like, thirty favors! Please?" She pouted, making me dramatically sigh.

"Fine." I groaned, running a hand through my hair. She was so stubborn, even more than me.

"Stop, you're ruining your hair!" She slapped my hand away from my head, scolding me. Someone cared way too much about their cosmetics.

"You're such a worrywart." I rolled my eyes, although I was the one worrying earlier. It was almost ten thirty at night, and we were just now going to the party. After Ashton had snuck out my window, Katherine informed me he had been running the party the whole time from behind the scenes, but left one of his friends in charge. For some reason, even though my parents weren't aware we were going, I wasn't afraid of being caught. I guess every good girl had their bad side.

"Says you, Miss 'I got an 89 on my homework, now my life is over'" she mimicked me, flapping her arms in my face. I scrunched up my nose.

"Aren't you the same person who freaked out because you couldn't find your fake eyelash glue, which may I remind you, was in your hand the whole time?" I put on my best Katherine impersonation, "O-M-G, Raelynn, I lost my eyelash glue! The entire school is going to avoid me for the rest of my life!" I fake sobbed.

"Oh shut up, as if you would go to school with only one fake eyelash on."

"I wouldn't go to school with any fake eyelashes on." I sassed. It was the truth, I honestly didn't need any more length or volume to my lashes, everyone would be able to tell they weren't real.

"Whatever. Let's leave now, we're already so late." She decided not to argue any further. I guess the whole worrywart/fake eyelash debate really wasn't all that important. I walked over to my window sill, slipping out of my heels and setting them to the side. The task of pulling up my window was tougher than it looked. Ashton was only able to pull it up so easily because of his arm muscles, but I unfortunately was not as gifted. The window slowly (with a lot of effort) inched upwards, eliciting a styrofoam-like squeak with each tug. I hated windows.