Agnes sighed.

She looked the bathroom counter, eyed the various make-ups, lipsticks, blushes, eyeshadows, compacts, skin creams, moisturizers, and…

…

…Agnes sighed.

“Really?” she asked herself. “All this…REALLY necessary?”

Agnes was beginning to get a little exasperated. It was not that she did not appreciate the thought, but simply that she really had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to be doing here. Make-up was definitely not something that her mother ever allowed her to so much as look at, let alone try on. She always saw her “friends” in high school dabbling with it, caking it on, making themselves look like “harlots” in her mother’s eyes, but it was never something that she had every willing wanted to seek out on her own. But now…times were different.

Maybe that was why she decided to do this. That was why she was standing in here, wrapped in a towel, her hair still drying, and staring completely and utterly lost at the make-up that her other friend Liz had let her borrow for the evening. She grumbled and shook her head.

It was her date tonight. The date that she had promised Gina to let set up all by herself. Agnes could not believe she was actually going through with this. She had promised Gina that she would let her set her up with someone, but it seemed like it was so long ago that she was sure her little sister would have forgotten by now. But apparently to go with her gargoyle mutation, Gina also had the power to of the memory of an elephant. She’d make sure not to underestimate her next time.

Standing in front of the steamy mirror, Agnes reached out and casually wiped away the fog from smooth surface and look at herself. Maybe she could claim sickness? After all, her stomach did fill a little topsy-turvy, but that could simply be because she had actually agreed to go out on a date with someone she had absolutely never met before.

But Gina seemed so sure about her pick. So sure in fact that Gina would not even let her know the name of the girl that she had asked out on Agnes’ behalf! She tried, but damn that Gina, she had kept her lips sealed and did not divulge any information about who she was going out with.

She groaned as she took another look at the rows of make-up. How do normal girl’s DO this?

Rolling her crystal blue eyes, Agnes squeaked a little in helplessness as she took a breath, walked to the bathroom door and peeked out to see Gina sitting back, eagerly awaiting her entrance. Agnes sighed, and cleared her throat to get Gina’s attention. Once she gave it, Agnes stepped out to reveal that she was STILL not dressed and not a single spot of make-up was on her face, nor was her hair done, nor had she picked out what she was going to wear.

“Help,” she meekly asked her little sister in probably one of the most helpless voices that ever came from her lips.

Agnes had been in the bathroom a long time. So long, that Gina was beginning to believe that her sister had taken up residence in there. Gina was patient. She was flipping through a teen fashion magazine, engaging in an internal dialogue about what would be "in" in the coming months, and whether outr not Gina could alter the style to work for her mutation.

At the moment she was not dressed to go out. She write a big, red shirt that declared "I am the Evil Twin!" and a pair of ratty, cutoff jean shorts. She was only here for support and nothing more.

Agnes had gone into the bathroom rather assuredly. Gina had even left her makeup out. Could she remember the last time she saw Agnes with makeup on? No. But, to be honest, Agnes was pretty enough without it. It was probably for the better that she didn't always wear it, or else she would be in serious trouble with her admirers.

Or maybe it was out of nervousness that Agnes had holed herself up in the bathroom? Gina hadn't told her who the mystery date was, largely because she worried that Agnes wouldn't like her, and might turn her down, had she known who the girl was. Thus, when the question was sprung, Gina deflected it by saying that it would defeat the purpose of a blind date to tell, and Gina knew that they would like each other.

Or so she had hoped.

Gina looked up when the door swung open, eyebrows arching as she closed the magazine.

"So, how is it going?" was the casual inquiry, Gina's tail adopting a humored, inquiring curl. It was hard to tell, with Agnes hiding behind the door. Agnes stepped out, clothing unchanged, with hair and makeup undone. Gina smiled.

>> "Help."

Agnes sounded as pitiful as a wet kitten, and she wasn't yet ready. Gina sighed and smiled.

"Okay," Gina agreed, getting to her feet casually. She grabbed a desk chair, dragging it along with her, then lightly guided her sister by her arm, back towards the bathroom. It was the least she could do, especially with how trusting Agnes was being. Such a trooper, "Let's see if Sissy can work her magic, hm?"

>> "So, how is it going?"

Agnes eyed that questioning look, that curl in her sister’s tail…and she was completely at a loss as to what to do. She squeaked a plea for help, stood there, look small and meek as she shook her head. She really had no idea how to respond after that. She felt like she was lost in a forest of compacts, make-up, and lipstick. She simply did not know how to navigate any of that because it was simply not her forte. The world of fashions, accessories, make-up, they were completely lost upon her because of her upbringing and life on the streets.

She sighed as she stood there and offered her sister a pleading look. She got her into this mess, she could get her through it.

Thankfully Gina smiled and seemed to agree with the notion. She stood up, looked sympathetically at her older sister and agreed to help.

>> "Okay…Let's see if Sissy can work her magic, hm?"[/color]

Agnes felt herself dragged away and Gina brought a chair with her. With a nod she complied with anything that Gina said and followed her back into the bathroom. When the seat was placed down, she sighed as she gratefully took a seat. It was not hard to see that she was still nervous.

Her stomach was slightly in knots at the idea that she was going to be going out on a date, again. She was of course thankful for her sister’s help, but part of her still was slightly against the idea. Dating only made her slightly light of Rhythm, who was not completely gone from her life now. But Agnes felt that she would unfairly be judging anyone she went out with, with Rhythm. Looking for those same flaws that lead to her disastrous break up. She didn’t want to go through it again.

But she knew that Gina would not accept that as a valid reason to cancel. And deep down Agnes knew that as well. She knew she could generalize everyone and that she had to eventually allow herself the risk of being hurt again. That was love, after all.

She said as she watched Gina bustle about her, trying to follow her movement but ultimately unable to do so.

“G-Gina,” she said as she wrung her hands nervously. “Um, are you sure you think I’m ready for this? I mean, I’m not trying to get out of it, well, not entirely, but you know,” she shrugged. “I-I’ve never really been on a date. Not…even with Rhythm. Not…proper like this, anyways.”

She sighed and blushed at this. Just…not…her…day…

Gina made sure that Agnes had seated herself before she began humming around the bathroom, getting various supplies in order. She was a woman on a mission, and and she was rather unstoppable when it came to her missions. Particularly ones such as dolling Agnes up. Gina plugged in one of the irons, and went about regarding the makeup into "going to use" and "not going to use" gatherings on the counter. Agnes's hairbrush and comb... and... yeah, they looked to be just about ready. This was going to be fun! Liked dressing-up a living doll!

>> "G-Gina... Um, are you sure you think I’m ready for this? I mean, I’m not trying to get out of it, well, not entirely, but you know... I-I’ve never really been on a date. Not…even with Rhythm. Not…proper like this, anyways.”[/i]

Gina glanced at Agnes, ceasing momentarily in her enthusiastic him. They had never gone on dates? Ever? And, on top of that, she was second-guessing herself. Butterflies in the stomach, much?

"More than ready," Gina corrected assuredly, "Agnes, this date's supposed to be fun. A causal date. If you like the Mystery Girl, great! But, if not-" Gina shrugged, "-No sweat. But, I'm pretty sure you'll like each other.."

Gina went back to the counter, continuing to buzz about. She did the finishing touches on her arrangement, before turning to look at her sister again, her hands placed playfully on her hips.

"Are you ready?"

Gina looked a little shocked at the revelation that Agnes had never been on a date before, not even with Rhythm. Well, it was not like they were never seeing each other outside of the bedroom. Agnes and Rhythm had gone out and hung out before, but there was really little else to it. The majority of the time they were silent since Rhythm was always embarrassed about how she talked. Agnes, on the other hand, simply said nothing because she was never really sure what to say. Maybe that was the first indication that their relationship was doomed. God how she wished she had listened to it back then.

She would make sure to have to clarify that to Gina. But her younger sister fluttered about the room like a fly in a glass case. Nudge, nudge, nudge, she bounced in-between cosmetics and hair accessories and Agnes simply stared dumbfounded. She needed to take her mind off of what she was doing tonight.

Maybe that was why she asked Gina if she was ready for this. In any case, her sister had a typical Gina-esque response…

>> "More than ready, Agnes, this date's supposed to be fun. A causal date. If you like the Mystery Girl, great! But, if not--No sweat. But, I'm pretty sure you'll like each other.."[/i]

Fun, she thought. Gotta remember that. For fun. It was a simple enough idea: No commitments unless she really liked her. Though she knew Gina felt like this was a good match, the runaway just wished she knew SOMETHING about this mystery girl. Maybe Gina will be generous and let something slip about her.

“Sounds like a simple enough plan,” she responded with a nod. Have fun. She sighed as she watched her sister separate cosmetics and gather everything ready for use. God she was glad to have her here. “So, wherever did you even meet this girl?” Agnes suddenly asked. Gina had to drop something…she just had to…

>> "Are you ready?"

Agnes looked up to see that hands had her hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face. Her sister was going to enjoy this faaaaaar too much. But…she promised…

Agnes took a shaky breath. Gulped. And the nodded.

“Do it…”

Gina danced over to the counter, bringing her first items to the front. Makeup first, then hair, then clothes. That was her plan of attack. She would of course walk Agnes through it, that way her sister wasn't totally in the dark, left wondering what sort of bizarre materials Gina was applying to her face. She surveyed the counter with a hum. She didn't have any foundation-- foundation only came in normal, human skintones, and Gina was grey. There wasn't really much a point in buying foundation if they didn't have your skintone.

>> “So, wherever did you even meet this girl?”

"School," Gina sang cryptically, turning to her sister once again, tilting her gaze towards Agnes once again. She wouldn't have trusted any outsiders with her sister. And, if they did anything to hurt her sister? Well, the protective little sister would know where to find them-- not that Gina believed that this girl would do anything to hurt Agnes. It only made sense that her choice be from Xavier's.

Agnes inhaled shakily as Gina popped the question, as if Gina were asking her if she were about ready to jump out of a plane for skydiving, or to bunjee jump off of a bridge. Tension mounting, Gina waited, until finally, Agnes buckled.

>> "Do it..."

Excellent. Gina switched on to teacher mode, first, and explained to Agnes about foundation.

"Okay, I'm going to start with the makeup first," Gina warned, smiling, "Normally, the first thing you do is put on foundation, concealer, or powder-- all of them flatten out your complexion, make's it one consistent tone, hides the blemishes, before you put on everything else--" Gina paused, to see if Agnes was following her, "--I don't have any of that. Because, usually, they're specific to skintone. Human skintone. So, no grey foundation. I didn't think to buy any for you."

Not that she thought Agnes minded. She didn't wear makeup, and foundation was such a bear to take on and off-- she'd probably appreciate not having to wear it, even if Agnes didn't know it. Gina shrugged, and assured Agnes, "You have a good complexion, though, so I wouldn't lose sleep over it."

Gina stood before her sister speculatively, as if she were da Vinci, speculating over the block of marble that would become David. Gina bit her lip.

"I think I'll go for something... mild," Gina explained, rubbing her chin with a hand, "Cute. Understated. Elegant. Don't want you looking a like a lady of the night, or any such thing," Gina murmured, chuckling, "Or a raccoon-- no, wouldn't want that... less is more, after all."

Her dialogue went from informing her sister to a verbal train of though, but she turned the question to Agnes. It was Agnes's face that Gina was doing-up, after all, "Does that sound good to you, Agnes?"

School? Agnes mentally rolled her eyes. Could her sister be anymore vague if she wanted to? She sighed. Of course Gina was keeping the whole thing a secret. Maybe it was a test to see if Agnes was going to snap or something? No. Agnes trusted her little sister. She deeply did.

>> "Okay, I'm going to start with the makeup first…Normally, the first thing you do is put on foundation, concealer, or powder-- all of them flatten out your complexion, make's it one consistent tone, hides the blemishes, before you put on everything else--I don't have any of that. Because, usually, they're specific to skintone. Human skintone. So, no grey foundation. I didn't think to buy any for you…You have a good complexion, though, so I wouldn't lose sleep over it."[/color]

It might as well have been clicking noise or a completely foreign or dead language that Gina was speaking, Agnes managed to pick up a word or two that she recognized but in all honesty, it was just lost upon her. Suddenly she felt herself flashing back to the days when she was in high school her friends would go on incessantly about the latest make-up they got and sharing it around with one another. Agnes never got it. She once allowed them to put lip gloss on her but she quickly washed it off before she got home.

And on top of that, it just felt…weird and unnatural. Maybe that was just her mother’s influence but Agnes liked the feeling of not having lip gloss on, even if it was candy flavored. But, this was a new era and she wanted to make an attempt to feel normal. That usually meant that when going on dates, it was not uncommon to want to dress up just a little.

She followed as best she could, but she was going to have to completely rely on Gina in this case. Hopefully some weekend when they have absolutely nothing to do she can ask her to teach her a little more closely. After all, Agnes if anything was a model student.

>> "I think I'll go for something... mild…Cute. Understated. Elegant. Don't want you looking a like a lady of the night, or any such thing…Or a raccoon-- no, wouldn't want that... less is more, after all."[/i]\

Agnes snickered at the thought. Lady of the night. That was exactly what her mother would have called her had she been here to see her actually putting on make-up. She could practically see her face and that waggling finger of judgment.

She giggled and shook her head. Thank god. The laughing seemed to help her out to untie the knots in her stomach.

>> "Does that sound good to you, Agnes?"

Agnes watched Gina finally turned back around to address her, asking for her opinion. The runaway had attempted to absorb the conversation as best she could and listened to both Gina’s commentary to her as well as her self-dialogue. She was still a little confused but she meekly nodded her head. She trusted Gina. She was going to have to keep reminding her of that.

She was glad that Gina did not want to make her look like a raccoon anyways…

“Sounds perfect,” she smiled appreciatively. She sighed. Once Gina got to work, she looked at her earnestly. “Thank you, Gina. For all your help. Can’t help having a sister who was clueless as me.”

Agnes laughed, either at the "lady of the night" or the "raccoon" cooment. Gina smiled, and in a light, jokingly defnesive tone, she said, "Just look at how some girls do their makeup! You'll see what I mean..."

When Gina asked for Agnes's opinion, she was met with a recognizable blank stare-- a stare that told Gina that Agnes had no idea what she was talking about. A small smirk grew on Gina's face, but she didn't say anything. She wanted to see how here sister would react. Agnes hesitantly bobbed her head.

>> “Sounds perfect.”

That was all the permission that Gina needed. Perhaps she should have re-explained what she'd just said? Well, it was irrelevant that she didn't have foundation or concealer, or any of that jazz... it was just extra stuff that she wasn't going to put on Agnes's face. The important part was what sort of makeover Gina was going to go for, what style... miled, cute, understated, and maybe even elegant... hopefully Agnes had understood that much. Gina hummed as she returned to the counter, picking up the next item on the agenda.

>> “Thank you, Gina. For all your help. Can’t help having a sister who was clueless as me.”

"Agnes, it's no problem," Gina assured her sister, shrugging her shoulder, "What else are sisters for?" She held up a small thing of eye makeup casually in her grasp, gesturing at Agnes with it. As a bit of an afterthought, she admitted, "I'm kind of glad that you aren't a make-up pro... If you were, I'd be in serious trouble. I'd be beating ladies and gentlemen back with a stick..." A saying, which Gina clarified by saying, "You'd be a total knockout."

Gina paused, and then observed, "I should probably clip your hair back before I do anything else."

She grabbed a fat hair clip and meandered over to Agnes, "--Sit still, don't wanna pull your hair out--" Gina warned before combing Agnes's hair back as if to do a ponytail, then twisting it and curling it into a bun. She took the clip, clipped the messy bun to her head, and exchanged glances with Agnes in the mirror.

"I like to start with the eyes," she informed her, before bustling to the counter, "First comes eye primer, keeps the other eye make-up in its place." She retrieved a tube of the eye-base and held it up to Agnes, for her inspection. All the tubes probably looked exactly the same to her. But, this was all for the sake of Gina's lesson in make-up. She had to walk Agnes through it. Gina smiled, and said, "Okay, close your eyes, but lightly-- so I can get to your eyelids."

>> "Agnes, it's no problem…What else are sisters for? I'm kind of glad that you aren't a make-up pro... If you were, I'd be in serious trouble. I'd be beating ladies and gentlemen back with a stick..."

Agnes blinked in confusion.

>> "You'd be a total knockout."

“Oh! Agnes snorted and laughed at Gina’s comment. A knockout? Her? That’ll be the day. Agnes never cared much for her looks but it was always commentary she heard in high school. Her friends were jealous but Agnes never knew why. She always just shrugged it off that she looked how she looked. That was it.

She sighed a bit as she watched her younger sister flutter about the bathroom like a hummingbird, setting aside items and make sure that others were in perfect grabbing distance. Agnes tired to follow Gina’s lesson as closely as possible but she was just getting lost. She really knew absolutely nothing about make-up because it was never something she put a lot of stock in studying. She always saw her friends in high school plaster it on and shoot Agnes dagger-like looks because they had to work twice as hard to get the complexion that she had.

But the runaway always had a blissful unawareness about her looks. She really just didn’t care. The only reason that she was trying so hard now was because she really did want to try this. It was her decision, especially since she had yet to be on a proper date, and this was a proper date. So why not try to go all out?

So long as she didn’t look like a prostitute…

>> "I should probably clip your hair back before I do anything else--Sit still, don't wanna pull your hair out--"[/i]

Agnes did her best to sit still but it felt kind of funny to have Gina standing behind her, combing her hair as if she were some living doll. Then again maybe that’s exactly what Gina thought. Agnes was, after all, a complete blank slate in all this. Gina could probably dress her up or plaster as much make-up on her as she wanted and Agnes would go along with it simply because she had no idea about this kind of stuff.

But she trusted Gina. Gina would do that to her.

Right?

>> "I like to start with the eyes…First comes eye primer, keeps the other eye make-up in its place. Okay, close your eyes, but lightly-- so I can get to your eyelids."

Agnes nodded as she lightly closed her eyes and waited for Gina to get started. She flinched at the first sensation of the make-up on her eyelids but after being reprimanded she quickly calmed herself. It was…odd to say the least. She sighed and then she snickered.

“Maybe when I become rich and famous I’ll hire you as my make-up, slave, err, I mean, assistant,” she chuckled, trying to use levity to ease the butterflies in her stomach. Ever since Gina told her about the blind date, Agnes had been in denial but as each day came upon her, she found herself growing more and more nervous. What was she going to say? Do? Even act like? Herself? Herself was an emotionally and physically scarred individual who barely managed to reach some normalcy. She couldn’t really say something like that to whoever this girl was she was meeting. She grumbled. “I still can’t believe you got someone to go out with me, Gina. If I found out you paid someone off, you’re so going to get it,” she muttered but quickly regretted it. “S-Sorry, I..didn’t mean that. I’m just…my head’s everywhere right now…”

She really did feel scatterbrained. How much time was left before this girl was supposed to show? Was she going to look okay? Would they even get along? Breathing! What if she forgot the breathe?

Gina picked up a small makeup brush and leaned in close, breath mingling with Agnes's. It was weird putting makeup on someone else. Gina had only ever done up her own face, and once (on a dare) her next-eldest brother. This was what she was missing out on, with no woman other than her foster-mother.

>> "Maybe when I become rich and famous I’ll hire you as my make-up, slave, err, I mean, assistant..."

"You wouldn't be able to afford me," Gina chuckled, applying a thin film of eye base to Agnes's eyelids. That being done, she set the base aside, and picked up a tray of an iridescent assortment of eyeshadow, "Next comes the eyeshadow... It colors your eyelids and makes your eyes stand out... Since you have green eyes, I'll probably go for a purple or a brown"

Whether or not Agnes opened her eyes was up to her, but Gina gave the perfunctory, "All right, close your eyes," before starting once again. She opted for the browns, since they were more natural-looking, and began with the lightest shade (only slightly darker than Agnes's skintone first). She spread this tone across almost the entire surface of Agnes' eyelids.

>> "I still can’t believe you got someone to go out with me, Gina. If I found out you paid someone off, you’re so going to get it-- S-Sorry, I..didn’t mean that. I’m just…my head’s everywhere right now…"

"I admit, it was difficult to find a girl, since normally this kind of thing is so hush-hush," Gina murmured. Even in a mutant-school, it wasn't something that was really spoken of, "I just had to ask the right people," she chuckled at the threat, "No worries, I didn't pay her... if anything, I should be the one getting paid."

The girl was far too shy to ask Agnes on her own, but Gina didn't say that. She left her clue as vague as possible, so vague that even Agnes may have missed it. Gina went on to a medium-tan, applying it to the center of Agnes' eyes, before she took her thumb and lightly smeared the color outward. It was like being an artist, and painting a masterpiece.

Finally, Gina took up the darkest shade of eyeshadow, and dabbled it along Agnes's lashlines, until it hit the outer eye socket, at which point, Gina made a check-mark shape. The eyeshadow was complete-- two-thirds of the eye makeup battle had been fought.

"Want to see what I've done to your eyes so far?" Gina inquired, setting the palette of eyeshadow down.

Agnes was mute as she closed her eyes and let Gina experiment with the make she put around her. She nodded her head slightly as she pretended to understand exactly what Gina had said. She was slowly beginning to understand the concept of using the right colors, of how it was used to bring up certain aspects of her features to light. She began to understand and was thankful to have Gina here to explain the whole thing. Though her sister was much younger than her, she proved to have far more information about life than she could dream of.

She remained still as Gina continued to work her magic. It felt so had to have make-up be placed upon her skin. For a second she had the briefest tightness in her chest, as if her mother was going to pop up any second and call her a harlot and condemn her soul. But Agnes quickly recovered when she realized that such a thing was never going to happen.

Slowly she began to relax and smiled happily as Gina continued her work. She wondered exactly what Gina was doing to her but she didn’t have the heart to spoil the surprise and peek at the mirror.

But her curiosity about her date got the best of her. That was why she began to mutter on about her again. Who was this girl?

>> "I admit, it was difficult to find a girl, since normally this kind of thing is so hush-hush…I just had to ask the right people…No worries, I didn't pay her... if anything, I should be the one getting paid."

Agnes arched a brow. She smirked slightly at her sister’s comment.

“Gosh, Gina, you make it sound like you’re a pimp,” she giggled. “I suppose I’ll have to pick you up a nice big hat and platform shoes now?”

She had no wonder that her sister must have worked hard to arrange this date. After all, Agnes was gay and that only added to the things not spoken about in schools. You couldn’t just go up to a random girl and ask if they wanted to go on a blind date with another girl. Things just didn’t work like that. Agnes was not sure how Gina pulled it off, but she had to admit that she must have worked hard to do it. Maybe she would get her a nice gift while they were out.

Agnes stopped holding her breath when she realized that Gina had stopped.

>> "Want to see what I've done to your eyes so far?"

The runaway nodded and then slowly, carefully, she opened her eyes and turned towards the mirror in the bathroom. It did not take long for her to notice the make-up that Gina had done. After all, Agnes’ skin was very pale so it was difficult to not see make-up on her skin. But looking closely at her reflection she had to smile and nod in an impressed manner. The make-up was on but if was done with such subtlety that Agnes actually liked the way she looked. She didn’t look too overly made-up, nor did she look underdone. It was a nice middle range.

She grinned as she nodded to Gina. “I love it. You are a wirzardess with make-up!”

>> “Gosh, Gina, you make it sound like you’re a pimp-- I suppose I’ll have to pick you up a nice big hat and platform shoes now?"

Gina let out an uncontained giggle. Had she really sounded like a pimp? Perhaps-- but the notion was simply ridiculous. Gina pushed Agnes lightly, as if to say, "Get out of here", but not so much that her sister lost her balance.

"Oh, no, no, no," Gina sighed theatrically, "Essentials, first-- I need a nice little pimp cane and a purple suit, first-- pimps normally go for suede, right? Oh, and one of those cars... you know, those pimp cars!" She couldn't quite recall what a pimp car was, but Gina was relatively certain that pimps didn't drive Honda Civics...

Agnes leaned forward as she surveyed the job thus far. She didn't look mortified, nor totally confused-- success, Gina foresaw, before Agnes even commented on it.

>> “I love it. You are a wirzardess with make-up!”

"Gracias, señorita," Gina sang, smiling, "I still have eyeliner and mascara, but I'm glad you like it so far... then, the rest of your face!" Gina set her tray of eye shadow down, and hands roving absently over the counter, she skimmed through the scattered make-up until she found what she was seeking. Gina plucked a single item off of the counter, which looked like a little black pencil.

"Eyeliner," she explained shortly, holding the pencil out for surveillance, "Exactly what it sounds like-- I'm going to have you close your eyes, first, so I can do your upper lids... then open them and look up, so I can do the lower-- got it? 'kay, close 'em."

Gina smiled and came closer once again, ready to put the eyeliner on. The upper lids were easy, because Agnes had to close her eyes, just as before-- upper eyelids were old news. Gina traced along her eyelashes carefully, before stepping back. Now, came the lower eyelashes.

"'kay, now open your eyes, and look towards the ceiling, but with your eyes alone," Gina instructed patiently. It had to be intimidating to have someone essentially drawing on your eyelid with a pencil so, as an after-thought, she added on, "Try not to flinch, okay?"

Agnes had to laugh at the comment of being a pimp. She so knew what she was going to force her little sister to dress up as for Halloween. Just the image of Gina dressed up in an extremely large, felt hat with a suede, leopard-print suit made her giggle. She would definitely have to figure a way to get Gina in that costume. It was too hilarious to not do.

>> "Gracias, señorita…I still have eyeliner and mascara, but I'm glad you like it so far... then, the rest of your face!"

Agnes had to smirk. Gina was have WAY[/b] too much fun with this. But she would allow her to do so. Besides, she was learning something new and Agnes had to like that.

>> "Eyeliner…Exactly what it sounds like-- I'm going to have you close your eyes, first, so I can do your upper lids... then open them and look up, so I can do the lower-- got it? 'kay, close 'em."

At first sight of the sharpened pencil that Gina brandished at her, Agnes tensed up. What the hell was that? But instead of letting herself get worked up, she calmed and remembered that she was trusting Gina with this. Besides, looking at all the make-up and items needed for beautification, she had to admit that they were ALL terrifying. But she had to keep her wits about her. She relaxed, closed her eyed, and gently let Gina do her work.

Before she knew it, her sister had once more given her instruction.

>> "'kay, now open your eyes, and look towards the ceiling, but with your eyes alone… Try not to flinch, okay?"

Agnes cautioned a look up to the ceiling and awaited the next phase.

“Please be careful,” she whispered hoarsely.

She tried to ignore the sight of the eyeliner coming closer. It was easier with her eyes closed because she did not have to see it coming. But now that she could, she had vastly tensed up again. She looked the sky, praying to herself that there was no earthquake or a sudden urge to sneeze for either of them. But she had to admit that Gina was a pro. Despite Agnes’ fears, she managed to remain calm long enough for Gina to finish.

Once she did, Gina blinked twice before she focused on her.

“How does it look? Do I look silly?” she muttered. After all, she had never worn make-up before…

Gina's tongue curled over her upper lip in focus, carefully and lightly outlining Agnes's upper lash-line. She did both eyes, without stabbing Agnes in the eyeball or smudging the eyeshadow, and gave her second instruction. Agnes lifted her gaze towards the cieling, as if uttering her final prayer before being subjected to some ancient torture.

>> “Please be careful.”

Gina smirked, her only reply being a simple, maternal, "Trust me."

Not "Don't worry," or "There's nothing to worry about." Agnes was already anxious enough, so it was counterintuitive to tell her to calm down... Gina didn't think that her older sister could calm down.

Agnes sat stock-still, as if Gina was holding a needle to her eye, and her eyelids fluttered slightly as Gina drew closer. It was a reflex-- something pointy was coming closer, so she almost blinked, but resisted. Gina carefully drew a line along her bottom set of eyelashes, She finished the lining the first eye, and announced it quietly, before moving onto the second. Gina was focused, but found time to mutter a faint reassurance or two in amidst all of this. She drew back, once done with the liner, and announced, "Congrats! You survived the eyeliner!"

>> “How does it look? Do I look silly?”

"I hope not," Gina huffed teasingly, puffing her cheeks out at the dazed-looking Agnes, "That would be an awful lot of work to make you look silly-" Lest Agnes wasn't in the mood for teasing, Gina smiled and sighed, "You're looking stellar, Agnes."

She paused, looking at Agnes' eyes speculatively, murmuring more to herself than to Agnes, "Yeah, I did well-- don't need to curl your lashes, because they're naturally curly... lucky break, because I've got curly lashes, and haven't got a curler-" Gina rose her tone, now addressing Agnes, "Do you want some mascara? They make your eyelashes thicker and longer, but yours already kinda are..."

Agnes sighed in relief. Gina announced that she had finished with the eyeliner. Thank god that ordeal was over. Agnes did her best to remain calm, but it was a little difficult when someone was stabbing at your eye lids with a sharpened pencil. Thankfully Gina had demonstrated a lot of control and managed to pull off this part of the make-up procedure with barely a hiccup. Thanks to her talking her down, Agnes was able to survive it without so much as a scratch. It was definitely good that she had Gina to do it and didn’t dare try it herself on the first try. She was sure by this time she could have been blind.

Blinking, she smiled up at Gina and looked at the mirror to inspect her sister’s work…

>> "I hope not…That would be an awful lot of work to make you look silly--You're looking stellar, Agnes."[/i]

“Oh hush, you,” Agnes said with a giggle and shy blush across her cheeks. It was obvious that she was not one to receive compliments well, but she was doing better at accepting them. Instead of arguing she simply smiled and said a hearty thank you, even if in the back of her mind she still argued with them.

Unfortunately Agnes still had some self-consciousness about her looks. Underneath her clothes, err, towel, she could still feel the scars from her exorcism. Few people knew about them, but they only knew because it was either out of accident or her temper. But now here she was, about to go out on a date, and this person knew nothing about her! Nothing about the fact that she lived on the streets as a runaway, or that her mutation consisted of bugs living inside her body, or of the scars that riddled her body.

In that instance she began to feel self-conscious again.

>> "Yeah, I did well-- don't need to curl your lashes, because they're naturally curly... lucky break, because I've got curly lashes, and haven't got a curler--Do you want some mascara? They make your eyelashes thicker and longer, but yours already kinda are..."

Shaken from her thoughts, she shook her head.

“Oh, ugh,” Agnes meekly shook her head. “N-No, thank you. I don’t think I’ll need that.”

She sighed as that creeping feeling of self-consciousness came over her mind again. She pulled the towel a little tighter around her body, as if sensing that Gina could see the scars underneath. Meekly she turned her eyes to the tiled floor as thoughts of whether or not she should actually go through with this bounced around in her head…