Before Euphoria, There was Dawn

Chapter 19- The Museum

After sitting on the bathroom floor in disbelief for over an hour, I finally texted Kelsey to come over. I cried for about thirty minutes of my time in the bathroom, then tried to reassure myself for the remaining time. Kelsey was a pro at hair and makeup. I was positive she could make it not look as bad as it did right now.

I stayed clear of the mirrors, scared to look at my reflection. The lack of hair around my shoulders and back was taking some time to get used to, but I was getting the hang of it.

I heard someone barge into my room from the bathroom. "Tess?" Kelsey called.

I took in deep breaths and perched up, trying to gain confidence. I walked out slowly, my eyes locking with hers.

She gasped. "What the hell? Who did this? I'm going to kill someone," she threatened, her eyes red with rage.

"No, no. It's okay. Let's just fix it first," I whispered.

All the rage I felt at first was gone. I just didn't want to be scared of looking at my own reflection anymore. She crashed into me, holding me tightly.

"I'm so sorry this happened. I should have stayed last night. I should have-"

"You couldn't have known," I said, cutting her off.

She only held me tighter. "Who could have done this?"

I laughed sarcastically, "Who else but Nicole? She was at the party last night. This was probably some payback for being close to Josh."

"I don't understand her concern, though. They're cousins. It's not like she's in love with him, and you're stealing him away."

I let go of her and shrugged. She took me over to my desk and got out all the things that she would be using on my hair. She took in a deep breath, the scissors in her hand.

"You ready?"

I shut my eyes. "Just do it."

We cleaned up and trashed all my hair that was on the floor. Kelsey had corrected the jagged lines. Washed, conditioned, dried, and curled my hair. When she was done, I had to admit that I looked beautiful.

"If anything, I think you look more beautiful and way more mature. It's sexy."

I touched my curls, feeling strange. "You think so?"

She nodded in encouragement. "How do you think the guys will react, though?"

"Let's find out," I said, walking out of the room.

Kelsey linked her arm around mine. "You know I'm still going to get revenge, right?"

I laughed. "Could I stop you?"

"Nope," she stated.

I heard the loud banter coming from the kitchen. Since it was Saturday, I'd assume it was a full house. We walked into the kitchen, and immediately five pairs of eyes turned to us.

"What-" Brandon.

"The-" Bryan.

"Actual-" Jason