The Artist's Secret

Chapter 3: Familiar Face

I stepped out of Jessica's car as carefully as I could, not wanting to trip in my new heels and possibly ruin my dress.

We had had a blast at the mall, going through every store and laughing the whole time. Jess had done as my father predicted, though, she had no problem helping me spend my money. I opened the back door of the car to grab a few of the million bags filled with what she had convinced me to get.

"Ivy, don't bother with those right now, we'll grab them later," Jess said as she got out of the car.

I looked at the mountain of bags. "Are you sure?"

Jess closed the back door and linked arms with me. "Yes, I'm sure, now let's go show off our new outfits!" She had picked herself out some new stuff too, but she refused to let me pay for it.

"Who exactly are we showing these off to?" I asked as we made our way to my house.

Jessica smiled. "Your parents, of course, silly."

I looked down at mine and Jessica's outfits. "Are you sure this isn't too much? I mean, we're just walking in the front door, not down the red carpet."

 "Ivory, what are you talking about? Don't you remember when we were little and we'd play dress up? Or when we were sixteen and we'd try on all of your mom's fancy outfits? It's just like that. It's called having fun," Jessica smiled as she said this.

I nodded, there was no point arguing with her. It was fun, and we did look good.

Jess was in a bright blue dress that flowed over her flawless frame and worked well with the tone of her tanned skin. Her long blond hair was sleek and straight as it fell down the sides of her face and her elegant but simple make-up made her pale blue eyes stand out. The hem of her dress came to her mid thigh, but it was loose from the waist down, creating a whimsical look instead of what most girls our age tried to pull off. The dress was strapless with a thin line of small rhinestones on the sweetheart neckline. Her shoes, however, were what made the outfit scream, "I'm here, time to adore me!" They were four inch high, ice blue stilettos with a strap that came around the ankle and narrowed at the toes.

She was known for dressing up, I was not. Jess had taken complete advantage of me letting her choose what my new outfit for tonight would be.

I was in a black velvet dress that clung to my body and, unlike Jessica, it was not loose. The hem was a little bit longer than hers, only about five inches above my knee (which still seemed too high for my comfort) and the neckline hinted at my chest, but did not reveal anything. The sleeves were off the shoulder and went straight down to my wrists.

It was an elegant dress, but it did not hide my figure, it complemented it, and I was not sure if my father would burst into tears or flames at the sight of his not-so-little little girl.

The smooth black of the dress created a striking contrast with my pale skin and the way Jessica had insisted on doing my hair and make-up was nothing less than glamorous. She had brushed my natural waves until they held extra bounce and let them fall, reaching my lower back. I refused to allow her to put my make-up on as drastically as she wanted to, but by the end of it I allowed her to apply a thin line of black eyeliner with a little more mascara and a soft, pink lip with light gloss over top. Lastly, she had put me in a pair of black, opened-toe, strap stilettos.

The only thing that irritated her was that, while she was fine with my locket from Miss Miller, I refused to take off my little brother's bracelet.

As we came to the front door, something caught my eye. No, not something, someone; I watched as a young man in all black quickly drifted from my eyesight.