Tara's POV
Kelly works frantically on my hair and make up. She keeps me away from the mirror so I can't see what she's doing. But from what I can tell, she has my hair in a high ponytail that is curled. Kelly put light pink lipstick on my lips along with strawberry lipgloss. I'm not much of a let's-dress-up-all-pretty-for-a-boy because I grew up with Jack. And Jack's friends were never very cute. Then, I met Hunter. He's the first boy I've ever actually felt the need to look good for. All the other dates I've gone on, Josie forced me in to a dress just to impress them. I decide to tell Kelly about Josie and all her crazy schemes to get me a boyfriend.
"Josie sounds awesome," Kelly says whilst applying some eye shadow. I let a soft snort slip from my lips when I hear this. "What? Are you guys not talking or something?"
"Mm, you could say that. I mean, she and I had an argument back in May and we haven't exactly had a normal conversation since then," I say. Kelly stops painting my eyes and steps back. I open my eyes and look up at her.
"Well, I had that same problem when I was in college. Her name was Linda. We were best friends and everything. We could talk about anything for hours on end without getting bored with each other. Then, Linda got a boyfriend who...wasn't the greatest guy out there. I decided that by telling Linda about my worry, I would be doing the right thing. Instead, she took it as me being jealous or something. We got into a huge fight and haven't spoken since," Kelly says, looking through her make up bag for something.
"That's horrible!" I exclaim. Kelly nods her head sadly.
"Yeah." Kelly wipes her eyes with the back of her palm. "Which is my point. I lost my best friend over a guy. I don't want you losing your best friend because of a relationship. Promise me you'll at least try talking to her?"
I nod my head in response. Kelly lets out a shaky laugh and tries to smile. It's a sad smile, but I know she's actually happy.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
Kelly smiles down at me and backs up. She nods her head and starts packing up her make up.
"Okay. Stay there and DO NOT look in the mirror. Got it?" Kelly commands. I nod my head and pull out my phone. Kelly shakes her head and snatches it up.
"Crap!" Kelly yells. "Your phone just cut me."
I shake my head apologetically and try to grab a towel behind me. Kelly shakes her head and quickly turns my head back to her before I can look in the mirror.
"No. Just stay and don't move," Kelly says. She waves her hand in the air to stop the stinging from the cut. The room gets quiet as Kelly leaves the bathroom to find me an outfit. I am tempted to turn around and look in the mirror but I don't want Kelly to catch me peeking.
Kelly comes back a few minutes with my grey, knitted crop top where the sleeves hang off my shoulders; thankfully, there are noodle straps on my shoulders to keep the shirt up. In her other hand is a pair of pink, high waisted shorts. She throws the clothes at me and tells me change. I stand up and put on the clothes. My ponytail whips me in the face and gets stuck on my lips because of the lipgloss. Kelly smiles widely as she looks at me.
"Great! Now, for the finishing touches," Kelly says, handing me my black heart ring, caged gemstone necklace, and my charm bracelet. I put on the gold heart studs and white sandals. Kelly still won't let me look in the mirror. Even though I haven't actually seen what I look like, I can tell I look good.
"Okay! Now," Kelly grabs my shoulders and starts turning me around, "be amazed!"
I gasp as I see my reflection. The mirror must be broken because the person I see isn't me. I had figured I would look better than usual but this is incredible. I, honestly, don't know how Kelly did it.
"Wow," I breath. "How did you do this?"
Kelly shakes her head.
"T, I hardly did anything. All I did was tweek your already flawless face. Seriously, I did barely anything," Kelly insists. I shake my head. The person in the mirror cannot be me. I don't even recognize the girl in the mirror.
Kelly and I walk back to the bedroom and I grab my phone off the dresser. We head to the door together when Kelly stops and throws her arm out in front of me. I barely miss being beheaded by Kelly's outstretched arm.
"What?" I ask, suddenly getting really worried.
"Let's make a dramatic entrance!" Kelly says, her eyes lighting up. I laugh and nod my head. Seriously! This girl is awesome! I think. Kelly opens the door just enough for her to slip through. The door shuts behind her and I hear her talking through the door.
Niall's POV
"Let's talk about my little sister," Jack says. My heart quickens at the mention of Tara. The first and last thing I want to do is run because 1) Jack is huge and 2) he's Tara's older brother. Older brothers always look out for their little siblings, especially when they have a younger sister. Greg always made a point to check out any girl I was seen with. If she was related to someone he knew and pinned as a "bad person", he wouldn't let me hang out with them. I guess they do it out of love or something but I've never actually been the person being interrogated.
"You're a nice size. Not too big to seem threatening. You look like your strong enough to fight off any guys who try hurting her. From what I know about you, which is close to nothing, I do know that you haven't had a girlfriend since before the X Factor. You claim you're waiting for your princess to come and don't want to be taken when you find her," Jack says, looking me up and down. I straighten up and look him in the eye. Wait, I'm not even dating Tara. I'm dating Liv, I think.
"Um, Jack. I'm not dating Tara. Her boyfriend's name is Hunter," I say. Jack's head snaps up from inspecting my attire and his eyes narrow in on me.
"Hunter?" He asks. "As in Hunter Brinx?"
I shrug my shoulders. I, honestly, don't know anything about Hunter.
"I don't know anything about him. I've only seen him from a distance," I respond. Jack shakes his head.
"I know Hunter Brinx. His family is bloody rich. And just like every other rich kid you hear about, he's a spoiled, self-centered brat. I remember him always playing with girls' hearts. He'd lead them to believe that he's some kind of gentleman. And then he'd attack and do some pretty horrible things to them. Some of the girls even end up in mental hospitals to help them deal with what he did to them."
"That's horrible!" I exclaim. Jack nods his head sadly.
"If it's Hunter Brinx, I want her as far away from him as possible. Which is why you're going to tell Tara to invite him to the fair with us. I want to meet this guy before I allow her to see him any longer," Jack commands. I obediently nod my head and turn to go.
"Wait," Jack says. I turn around, and I see him holding his hand out in a traffic cop position. "If you and Tara aren't dating. Then what are you guys?"
"Um, I like to think we're friends," I say, smiling crookedly. Jack nods his head in a thoughtful way.
"Then do me a favor: help Tara lift her self confidence. She's always been shy and giving, never allowing herself to accept compliments. So, I want you to help find her confidence," Jack explains. My mind starts to spin and throw questions at me, but I just not my head and walk out the kitchen.
The second I enter the living area I see Kelly in front of the doorway with a proud grin on her face.
"Gentlemen, I present to you today the even more beautiful than usual and amazing Tara James!" Kelly announces, waving her arms at the door. When nothing happens, she repeats her introduction. Again, nothing happens. Kelly walks in the room and I hear her whisper something. Someone, I'm assuming Tara, argues back just as softly. Finally, Kelly comes back out and puts on her smile again.
"I think Tara needs some extra encouragement. Would you please help me welcome Tara?" Kelly asks sweetly. Liam, Louis, Harry, and Zayn stand up and gather around the door. They start clapping and whistling and whooping. I laugh and go along with them. Kelly smiles widely and, this time, Tara comes walking out the bedroom. The noise dies down so quickly that it's almost like there wasn't any noise at all. I feel my mouth drop as I see Tara.
Tara is wearing a grey crop top and pink shorts. Her hair is in a high ponytail and is curled. The make up on Tara's face only magnifies her beauty. I've never been much of a fan of make up but Tara looks even better than usual.
Tara's POV
I walk out after being verbally abused by Kelly. Okay, so, she didn't really say anything mean. But, I didn't want to go out for the boys to see. It was fun and all to get all dressed up, but I'm not the most confident person in the world.
The worst part is, the boys' reaction is exactly what I was afraid of. I see each of their mouths drop. I mean, I'm wearing a freakin crop top. Of course they're gonna be stunned. They are seeing my fat stomach for the first time since I've met them. I've avoided so many swimming trips and tickle wars just so the boys wouldn't see my stomach.
Zayn is the first one to make a human sound. I want to think that he said that I looked fine, but I'm pretty sure he told me to go change. I turn around and start walking back in the bedroom when Jack whistles behind me.
"Wow, sis. You look great! I haven't seen your stomach since you were fifteen," Jack says. It's true. I haven't shown anyone but my mom and the doctors my stomach since I was made fun of by some girls at school.
"Um, I was just going to change," I say, pointing behind my back. Instantly, all the boys start protesting.
"Tara, you look amazing. If you change, I'll...I'll...I'll tell Niall your secret," Kelly says after looking around at the boys. My eyes go wide and I shake my head frantically. I glance at Niall and see he's got a confused look on his face. Why did she have to say that!? I think.
"Okay! Okay. I won't change. I'm just going to grab my phone," I say. I walk in the room and grab the phone I dropped whilst fighting Kelly. I sigh and examine the even worse looking iPhone.
"Hey," Niall says behind me. I spin on my heels and hold my phone close to my chest.
"H-hi," I nervously sputter out.
"Um, I just wanted to tell you that, uh, if you want, you can invite Hunter," Niall says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. My mind starts going into overdrive. I don't want Hunter coming, though!
"I don't think that's a very good idea," I say slowly. Niall tilts his head in confusion. "It's just that Hunter is, um... he's busy tonight."
Niall doesn't look very convinced and shakes his head. He grabs my phone and opens it. I really probably should've put that passcode on it...
"There. If he's busy he won't show up. If he isn't, and you're lying to me for some odd reason, then he'll come."
I let out a long sigh and look down. I can feel Niall's eyes on me. The room grows warm and stuffy, even in my crop top I feel the air around us heat up.
"Yeah. Okay," I say softly.
A/N:
Heylo! Okay, so the only reason I'm updating tonight is because my friend Wing1t basically begged me to. The special occasion? I painted two dogs' nails. Very hard but very fun.
Anyway, if you like my story, please comment, vote, and/or follow me! Thank you! Love ya!