UNDER THE INFLUENCE

chapter 8

THIS IS GONNA BE HALIE'S CHAPTER
—
TWO YEARS AGO..

"So do you want a holographic highlight or a more natural one?" Halie held up two different palettes to her phone. Brandon pointed to the triangle palette and nodded.

"That one has blue and I like blue so.. that one. It'll go with my shirt too." "Wowwww is my bro actually interested in makeup! Oh my god!" She laughed and bought the Kat Von D products. Brandon rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"I may have lost a bet, but I might as well make the best of it. I want my face to be beat, contoured and... snatched?" Halie's smile grew as she heard her brother use the familiar makeup terms. It was like music to her ears.

"You have no idea how happy this is going to make me. It'll give us a good bonding moment, we haven't had one of those in a while." She looks away from her phone as she walks to another booth at BeautyCon.

She had bought an eyeshadow palette, brow gel, contour kit, highlighter and a new brush set. Halie didn't need any new products except foundation for her brother, she had everything she needed at home. But she used this an excuse to add some new things to her collection.

"Yeah.. I've really missed you Hal.
We're always busy and I haven't seen you in like what, two months?" "I think so, I'm almost done with my makeup internship. Then I'll move from Florida and back to LA."

Brandon gave her a content look as he ate Doritos and turned his attention back to his TV screen. "You know, you're really gonna go far with makeup, sis, I know it. The passion you have for it, and all the creative shit you think of." Halie felt her cheeks heat up and a smile graced her face.

"I could say the same thing for you, hot shot. You're so passionate about your music, and you finally got this opportunity with Simon and these other boys. You were literally the missing piece to their boyband puzzle."

She smirked as she bought her last product and shoved it into her tote bag before making her way out of the convention center. "Why are you smirking like that?" "Oh no reason, just found the perfect final touch for you."

His eyebrows furrowed before they raised in alarm. "No. I told you I wasn't gonna do lashes. You promised that I didn't have to wear them." She shrugged and snickered. "Well I don't recall that promise. Plus you can't have a look without some fire lashes."

He groaned and she giggled at his frustration and looked around for Nick's black Range among the cabs and other vehicles in the pick-up and drop-off area. "Nick's still not there?" She shook her head and craned her neck to look for his personalized license plate among the other black SUVs— NM 97.

"But back to what I was saying, this opportunity is a blessing, B. Nick, Zion, Austin and Edwin are like your brothers now. The music you'll make in the future is going to impact so many people in so many ways. When you guys are working in the studio, show 'em what you're made of. Don't hold back on letting your gift shine, okay?"

All Brandon could do was smile at Halie, and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Aww, don't get soft on me right now," he teased. She laughed and stuck her tongue out.

"I just thought I'd tell you that since I never had the chance to. And when you get famous, don't forget about me or the people who helped you get there, okay? Especially the boys." He held his pinky up and "linked" it with Halie's.

"I'll text you when I get to the house." "I'll be waiting. Love you, loser." "Love you, four-eyes." She ended the FaceTime and sighed. While she waited for Nick, she watched in boredom as the cars crawled and honked through the traffic.

She checked the time and huffed. 10:37pm. Nick is always late, but he's never this late. He was supposed to pick her up almost 40 minutes ago and her patience had grown thin.

She ordered an Uber and shot Nick a quick text before reviewing her driver's info. It arriving in 2 minutes and she'd rather meet the driver than have him playing Where's Waldo.

By the time she reached the street, a blue Toyota Prius pulled up. She opened the door and was met with a red haired girl with lots of freckles and piercings. She had Beyoncé playing and greeted Halie with a smile.

"Are you Halie?" She nodded and got into the car. "Awesome. I'm Lola. I've got an aux cord and a charger if you wanna use it. Oh, and gum's in the seat pocket." Halie put on her seatbelt as she felt the car pull away from the curb.

"So how was BeautyCon?" She looked up from her phone and met Lola's quick gaze in the rear view mirror. "It was great! Kat Von D was there and so was Michelle Phan. I had to get some products for my brother."

"Oh?" She laughed and elaborated that it was for a video. "That's so cute, I could never get my brother to allow me to fill in his brows, let alone beat his face." Halie let out a light laugh and looked at the city lights whizzing by.

"Yeah, my brother's pretty amazing. We've always been there for one another and I never realized how lucky I am to have such a strong bond with my sibling." Lola nodded her head as she looked to her right before switching lanes.

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without Logan. He was the only person who was willing to talk to me at any time of the day when I struggled with depression and anxiety. He's such an angel."

"Guess we both got blessed." "I guess so. I like you, Halie." She smiles and looked at the driver as they reached a red light. "I like you too, Lola. Not every Uber driver is nice enough to leave gum out for their passengers."

The ginger let out a light laugh and car fell silent, only the melodies of Beyoncé's Flawless flowed through the speakers and out of the cracked windows.

The light turned green and Lola inched forward so she could complete her turn. Once it was clear, she turned her steering wheel and pressed the gas. What she didn't see was the green Lamborghini and purple Maserati drifting around the corner, racing one another.

The driver of the Lambo lost control and Lola gasped as the car skid towards them. Halie let out a shriek and everything slowed. While her brain was processing what was going on, the memories started to mix themselves in.

The bubble baths she took with Brandon. The shattering of the window. The summer camping trips they took with their mom. The skidding of the tires. Her first talent show. Her body being flung to the other side of the car, jerked back into place by the seatbelt. Her first high school dance. The flipping of the car. Her first kiss.

Her life flashed before her eyes and her breaths fell shallow as the car skidded on its side. Her vision started to fade and a tear fell out of her eyes as the last memory filled her ears.

I'll be waiting. Love you, loser.

"I'll see you later, Brandon." The words fell out of her lips, barely above a whisper, before the world and sound of sirens faded.

—

a/n: HEY Y'ALL.

So I guess I should get better with my scheduling, I try to update by midnight but we never specified whether it should be 12am pacific or eastern lmaoooo

(I'm in CA while Gabe's in FL)

So yeah, how was this? Hope u were lowkey sad lmao.

like/comment
-azlynn