Fading Boundaries Again

Chapter Twenty-Three

LIV

Jace: All set for the party tonight?

Jace: And if you're having second thoughts, we can totally only stay for less than half an hour.

Jace: We can leave whenever you want.

Liv: It's fine.

Liv: Or, we will see.

Jace: So you are feeling up to it now?

Liv: For now.

Jace: Oh, I've been asking. But what costume did you decide on?

Liv: You'll just see it when you pick me up tonight.

Jace: We are going as a couple, and yet we don't know each other's costumes?

Jace. What if you show up in something way different?

Liv: You think I have enough self-confidence to be an outcast?

Liv: Don't worry. My costume requires you to wear it.

Liv: Okay, let me finish getting ready.

Jace: Pick you up at 8?

I like his text, setting my phone up on my vanity as I finish off my makeup. I was doing a heavier makeup look, wanting to look way different than I did then on a normal day. My base had a foundation for a change, and I wasn't hating the way it was turning out. I'm doing my eyeshadow, adding blue to my eye as I say, "Okay, now I'm kind of getting nervous."

"Don't be!" Sloane shouts at me from my phone. "Jace said he would be with you at all times. And being with him is comforting, right?"

And that was the scary part. I was so reliant on him, using him to ward off my psycho ex-boyfriend. I didn't deserve to drag Jace along for so long, especially considering it was starting to get worse. Regarding my feelings for him. He is a very nice man, but I'm— I'm not sure when I'd be okay at all with wanting to be with him. For now, I don't want to be. But I still cannot help myself by noticing all the small things about him.

He was very considerate, which I liked. He was forcing me to come to this party, but judging by the texts, you wouldn't even know it. He was very nice in that sense.

"Yeah," I answer, finishing off the eye look. I don't speak for another five minutes— that's how long it takes to perfect my winged liner— before I grab my phone. "How is it?" I ask my friend, and unsurprisingly, she is gassing me up. I'll never know if it's genuinely good because Sloane is nothing but supportive to me even on my worst plans. I guess that's what it meant to love someone so much. I was never more grateful to have a best friend than in these moments.

"It's almost eight!" Sloane tells me after a long time of complimenting me. "Finish off your lips."

"Yeah," I say hurriedly, putting the phone back as I grab the makeup I set out. In no time, I am done with my makeup, and when I stand in front of my mirror , the entire outfit comes together so well.

"You look so hot, Liv!" Sloane shouts from my phone. "Definitely everything we were going for."

I fidget with my ring, angling my body in the mirror to see if everything was looking good. "Yeah?" I ask, still skeptical. "Are you sure it isn't too much?"

"It's Halloween!" Sloane shouts with a laugh. "And look at my outfit! I chose any opportunity for me to go all out."

She was dressed as a pirate, with her long hair cascading down her shoulder. She was wearing a corset, a long skirt, and everything pulling the outfit together. I don't know how she will manage with the corset all night, but I was proud of her anyway. It was such a good look; she did amazing. "Yeah, you look so hot!" I tell Sloane before I hear the knock on our dorm room.