"It's okay to want me, 'cause I want you, been thinkin' it over, but I'm through."
Like I Would — ZAYN
A/N: references for jordyn's outfit & their halloween makeup and costumes is attached at the top! ^
"Holy shit, Jordyn." Thalia gapes at me, her eyes widening as I step out of the bathroom, doing a small twirl for her, Faith and Bella.
"That good?" I ask, smoothing out the soft material of the dress over my thighs, looking at my friends for approval.
Faith puts down the mascara wand she's in the middle of using on Bella and throws me a look. "Are you kidding me? All the other girls, us included, shouldn't even bother going to the party in the first place when you show up wearing that."
"You look great, Jords." Bella smiles, tossing a curled strand of hair off her shoulder. "Jace will be tripping over his own jaw on the floor."
I crinkle my nose. "Shut up."
"Listen girl, I'm the last person that would encourage you to be with a dude," Thalia laughs. "But you two are incredibly attractive together. And that's coming from a bisexual."
Grinning, I wave her off, before turning towards the lifesized mirror and looking at my outfit. The dress I'd picked out with Faith and Bella a few days ago when we went shopping for Halloween outfits is a bold, black bodycon dress that rests against the top of my thighs, showcasing my legs proudly.
The scoop neckline drops down in between my boobs, showing the swells of my cleavage, and there's a cut out on the left side of the dress, running from right under my arm to my thigh where the dress ends, held together by thin straps and revealing a strip of my bare skin. It's an eye catching dress, the midnight black colour of it contrasting sharply against the blonde of my hair.
A dark smidge of thought rises in the back of my head, and before I can stop myself, I look at the mirror again, studying my hips, my stomach. The rising panicky feeling subsides as quickly as it came and I exhale deeply, closing my eyes for a moment.
"Jordyn? Makeup?" Thalia's voice grabs my attention and I turn, looking at her properly since I stepped out of the bathroom.
My eyes take in her outfit, the little red glittery dress that barely reaches past her upper thighs and the devil horns perched on her thick black hair. A curl of attraction spins inside me and I smile lightly down at her.
"You look great." I say, licking my lips and raising my eyebrows appreciatively.
Thalia blinks, catching onto my subtle attempt at a flirt, before returning a seductive smile. "Thanks babe."
Giving her another toothy grin, I plop down on the chair in front of my mirror, patiently waiting for Thalia to get started on my Halloween makeup.
She'd already shown me her reference when we went shopping, a ghoulish fallen angel kind of theme, which I like.
I glance at Bella and Faith through the mirror, where they're seated on my bed with Faith finishing off Bella's zombie makeup, which she completed with a navy green mini dress and white eye contacts. Faith is dressed as a sexy version of Elsa from Frozen, a sparkly light blue wrap-around dress and white strappy stilettos, her hair done in Elsa's signature french braid.
Smiling to myself fondly, I turn my attention back to Thalia as she continues on my makeup. A gruelling twenty minutes later, my makeup is done.
"Holy shit," I breathe when I turn to the mirror, my eyes taking in every delicate detail that Thalia has expertly painted onto my skin. The bottom half of my face is painted to resemble the mouth and jaw of a skeleton, with white skin and black bones over my lips. She'd also painted black diamonds over my eyes, sort of like what clowns have on their eyes.
It's amazing work, and I'm in awe as I turn to Thalia. "This is fucking amazing!"
Thalia grins, sending me a wink. "I know."
She gets to her feet, picking up her purse and gathering all her makeup. "I have to head to Jace's early to do his makeup to match yours. I volunteered after all."
I narrow my eyes at her. "What did I ever do to you?"
Thalia shrugs indifferently, leaning down to kiss my cheek and giving me a good view down the neckline of her dress, making my heart skip a beat. When she leans back up, there's a mischievous spark in her eyes, telling me clearly that she intended to tease me.
"Bitch." I grunt, grinning as she hugs both Faith and Bella goodbye as well, promising to see us at Jace's before walking out. I turn back to the mirror, smoothing out my already straightened hair, fluffing it up a bit to give it volume.
"Jordyn, pass me that curler?" Faith calls, and I pick up the curling iron and pass it over to her, before walking to my closet and surveying my mini shoe collection. My eyes land on my knee-high black leather boots, and I know immediately that's what I'm gonna wear.
Sitting on my bed, I pull them on, the long heel making me a few inches taller. Faith whistles in approval before picking up the black angel wings that Kai dropped off a few days ago as he promised from the bed and coming up behind me.
When Kai said he'd find wings, I expected small ones, but these are almost as long as my arm, made from a matte-looking material that blends perfectly with my dress. They're lightweight and made to easily clip onto the back of my dress securely. Faith helps me put on the wings, and I look at myself in the mirror again, feeling good about my costume.
"Ready?" Bella asks, wobbling to her feet on her thick ruby red platform heels.
"Fuck yeah." I grin.
• • •
"Fuck no." I groan, palming my phone in my hand as I stare blankly across the room, wishing the ground would crack open and swallow me up.
The booming music playing from somewhere in Jace's living room is loud, but less so in the kitchen, which is where I am right now.
"Why are you surprised, Jordyn? It was a bet. Thalia literally did his makeup." Faith shakes her head, picking up a beer can and popping it open.
"I didn't actually think he'd go through with it." I mumble, leaning against the counter.
We'd arrived at Jace, Micah, Ty and Kai's place twenty minutes ago, and the place is packed. It feels like the entirety of CSU is hoarded into the boys' million dollar penthouse apartment.
There are multiple kinds of booze lining the kitchen counters, beer kegs. A mini DJ set up in the living room, and there's people on the rooftop terrace, some people even in the pool. Every single person is dressed up in Halloween customs, some of them painfully basic and minimum, and some all out.
The person in my attention right now, who's standing across me in the kitchen next to the fridge, laughing with some guy, also has on an impressive Halloween costume.
An impressive Halloween costume that's twin to mine.
Jace Parker is donned in a black shirt that's unbuttoned, boasting his perfectly sculpted chest and torso covered in ink. Black pants with rips on the knees hug his long, lean legs, sneakers on his feet to match. His hair is tousled, a dark brown mess on top of his head.
The silver chain that hangs around his neck matches his rings, and a lone chain bracelet around his left wrist. The wings on his back are what mainly connects his fit to mine, big and black just like mine, attached to the back of his shirt.
I haven't seen his face yet, because his back is to me, so I don't know what Thalia has done with his makeup.
Huffing out a breath in irritation, I glare at the back of his head, willing him to burst into flames or something, anything to get him out of my sight.
I let my eyes flutter down his body, coming to a halt by his hips. Something curls in my stomach when I notice how the kitchen counter is the same height as his hips — perfectly aligned.
My throat suddenly feels like sandpaper, and I swivel around, plucking Faith's beer can from her hands and taking a swig. My best friend throws me a look but doesn't question me, and I'm about to hand her beer can back when Bella sharply inhales from next to me.
"Holy shit, Thalia did a great fucking job with his makeup."
My head turns on instinct, finding Jace in a matter of seconds and that's when I see his face. His face is split into two, one side plain except for the same black diamond design I have over his eye, and the other side is completely painted into the skull makeup that matches mine, completely white with bone details done delicately in black.
And it all looks devilishly good on him.
Thalia has presented our makeup in a way that it's similar, but it also compliments each other. Anyone who sees the two of us will instantly know we're matching.
God damn it.
Exhaling, I tear my eyes away from Jace, meeting Faith's eyes. "Wanna get some fresh air?"
Bella goes off to dance with Micah, and Faith and I find ourselves in the boys' rooftop terrace within minutes. There are more people here, and the music can still be heard, but it's way less crowded and stuffy out here.
The cool wind brushes my cheeks, and I lean against the glass railing, admiring the spectacular view of California's skyline. If I lived here, I would camp out on this terrace every night to watch the stars. At the thought of stars, I'm reminded of my family back home. My parents would take me and Nico camping once a year, and we would stargaze all night right up until the crack of dawn.
Mom and Dad were far from perfect, but they always did their best for me and Nico.
I feel a slight throb in my chest, realising how much I actually miss them. We speak on the phone pretty often, but hopefully I can go visit sometime soon.
My train of thoughts is interrupted when I hear Jace's voice, and I look up to see him stepping out into the terrace, deep in conversation with Ty and Kai. I'm not the only one who notices their presence, because a few people around me pause whatever they're doing to glance their way as well, and I can't help but notice how the girls eye Jace down.
As I watch him walk towards the pool at the opposite end of the terrace, I realise that more than his looks, Jace's appeal roots from his aura. He carries himself with unapologetic confidence, with an air of power. Like he's untouchable. Jace Parker draws and demands attention without even trying or asking for it.
Faith pushes a few glasses of shots in my direction and I grin, taking them from her. The two of us simultaneously down the shots together, laughing and bumping hips when we finish.
A voice calling my name drags my focus, and in the haze of the alcohol, it takes me a few seconds to spot Nathan in the pool, shirtless, waving at me. "Jordyn!"
Faith follows me as I walk to the pool, smiling down at Nathan. Fake vampire teeth poke out when he grins at me, and there's blood smudged around his mouth. "Hey! When did you get here?"
I shrug. "Awhile ago. Are you some sort of marine vampire or—"
Nathan chuckles, shaking his head and coming closer to the edge of the pool. "Nope, just a usual vampire. Until someone dared me to jump in."
We're interrupted by some guy yelling cannonball! and leaping into the pool, almost drenching me and Faith. There are a couple dozen more people in the pool, girls in their bras and guys shirtless. I spot Jace a few feet away from me, talking to a girl who's in the pool.
He senses my gaze on him and looks up, meeting my eyes. I visibly see him do a double-take at the sight of me, and his eyebrows raise slowly, a smug smirk tugging at his mouth. I'm about to look away when he straightens up, approaching me.
Jace holds my gaze right until he's standing directly in front of me. Sharp green eyes survey my outfit, from my hair to my boots. "Aw. You decided to dress up as me on Halloween."
An irritated noise escapes me, and I cross my arms over my chest. "I honour my bets."
"Very noble of you, Rivers." Jace's voice drops a tone and his eyes study my outfit again.
"Shut up, Parker."
Jace steps closer to me, the green in his eyes glistening in challenge. "Make me."
I grin. "Gladly."
In one swift movement, I reach over, tangling my fingers in his chain and pushing him backwards into the pool.