"Zara, where do you keep your makeup?" Aurora yelled. She combed her fingers through her hair, testing it for knots. When she came across a few, she pulled a brush out of her beauty bag and sat down in front of a cracked mirror, dragging it through her hair and detangling it. Her face felt bare and sallow without any makeup, and the dark circles under her eyes looked even darker under the weak light. The light brushing on her cheek was slowly healing, but it contrasted greatly against her pale skin. She hadn't had a wink of sleep for two nights straight, so hopefully if she got drunk enough tonight she wouldn't have to resort to taking the sleeping pills she had packed.

In the bathroom, Zara was twisted into an uncomfortable position in the shower in the attempt to shave the back of her thigh. She had stripped and jumped in the moment she got home from work; the lukewarm water had immediately woken up her senses, which before had threatened to shutdown from exhaustion.

As she finished one leg and started to shave the other, she couldn't help but think about Max. Although she tried to think of the upcoming party, the thought of him kept coming back. His eyes, his smile, his laughter; they were all branded against her mind. A part of her hoped that he would be there, at the party, but the other hoped he wouldn't. Drama always seemed to follow him like a dark cloud—her nerves were already pulled taut, so one more incident and they would snap. All she wanted to do was have some fun with Aurora, without any guys, and without their problems. She wanted to get smashed—and for a couple of hours forget about how fucked up her life was—but tonight she would have to take care of not only herself, but also of Aurora, who was hopeless when she was drunk.

Zara scampered into her bedroom, her hair leaving a wet trail behind her. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you, what did you say?" She sifted through the drawers for her intimates, an arm across her bust to keep the towel in place.

"Your makeup. Where do you keep it?" Aurora must've had her shower while Zara was away, because she was sitting in front of the mirror, straightening her hair. She wore a black body con dress with matching platform heels. They had silver studs, which comforted Zara—in a weird, twisted way—as if the need ever arose for her to kick someone in the nuts then they would cause twice the physical damage.

While her friend's back was turned, let the towel drop and quickly slipped on her bra and panties. "It's in that box you gave me for my birthday. The pink one on the dresser right in front of you."

"Oh— I hadn't even seen it, but still good that you have it," Aurora said absentmindedly, and spun around on the stool, straightener halfway down a strand of her hair, "Because, you know, mine wouldn't work on you."

Zara pulled out a pair of jeans and momentarily froze at the last phrase. "What—"

"You're, like, my complete opposite. You're skin tone is darker than mine. It's like covering your face with baby powder, you'd look like a clown! That's why I bought you all that stuff in the first place," She giggled, then turned her head from side to side to check herself out. "Have you picked something yet?"

"Uhm...yes?" Zara had a pair of jeans and a decent-looking shirt laid out on her bed. She had already first-handedly experienced the frigid night air, and wasn't planning to reach the place looking like a human popsicle.

Aurora made gagging sounds, earning herself the look from Zara. "Are you serious? We're going to a party not to...to...I don't even know where anyone would go looking like that!" She stood up and went through her own luggage to pull out an emerald green dress almost identical to her own. "There! I thought of you when I brought this with me, it would look perfect on you. You can keep it by the way."

She was being a little too cheery for Zara's taste, but after only ten minutes of arguing—a new record—Zara reluctantly slipped the dress on. It was a little too tight around the butt, but it would have to do for the time being, unless she wanted another scolding. Aurora also graced her with a pair of heels.

"So tell me, how was work today? Wherever you work. You still haven't told me," Aurora wrestled with Zara's hair, groaning and moaning for the effort. Zara sat with her hands in between her thighs, biting the inside of her cheek.

"The diner? It was hell on earth, like always, but you'll never guess who came in today," She bit her lower lip, almost certain that Aurora had ripped a chunk of hair off her head.

Aurora remained silent for a moment as she rested her arm by her side. "I don't know... could be anyone. Can I straighten your hair? I've never seen you with straight hair before," She already had the heat-resistance spray-can in hand, ready to apply.

"Yeah, whatever, go for it," She really wanted to get on with her story, but Aurora had this bad habit of changing the topic of conversation often and in the span of a couple of minutes, giving anyone about two seconds to say whatever they had to say.

Zara managed to recount the whole event without being interrupted. Not even once, strangely enough. It felt good to be able to vent to someone other than to her herself.

She finished speaking, just as Aurora finished with the straightener. "Damn, you look fab with straight hair!"

Zara passed a tentative hand through her hair, feeling how silky smooth it was between her fingers. It was so much longer now and looked much neater. She was about to do it again, but Aurora slapped her hand away, "Stop it, you're ruining your hair! Now turn around so I can do your face."

"So...you have nothing to say? Nothing at all?"

"Well..." Aurora opened the cosmetics box, wiggling her fingers as her hand hovered the wide array of choices. A thought had just occurred to her: she had forgotten about the pact she had made with Robert, but it was too late now. She couldn't just just un-invite Zara, they were both in too deep now. "Remember what Orion said? They're just a bunch of assholes, the whole group of 'em. But you know what I think?" She squirted some moisturiser in her hand and began lathering Zara's face with it. "I think that Max was the one that kicked Sebastian under the table."

"Really? I thought he was only responsible for that petty excuse. Wasn't paying too much attention to the rest, I was too annoyed," Her words were muffled when Aurora slapped BB cream onto her face.

"Yep. I also think that someone has a little crush on you," Aurora winked, picking up a foundation brush, "if he didn't, then why did he save your ass?"

"Okay, yeah. Sure—"

"So what? Bad boys can always be tamed, sooner or later," She was contouring Zara's face now, making sure that she brought out the best features in her face. She's reading this all wrong.

"Not Max. He's hooking up with Samantha now...that slag." Zara's brows furrowed, and Aurora tapped her chin so she relaxed her face.

"Wow," Aurora burst into laughter, "Someone is jealous! Didn't think you were capable of liking anyone other than 'as a friend'. It's a nice change."

Had Saffron told her about their little exchange back at his place? How could she know? Zara had thought that it was an unspoken agreement to not speak about that with the others. She decided to ignore Aurora's last statement—of course she was capable of liking someone. It was just one of those feelings that were hard for her to express, especially since it always backfired. She had experienced enough of that pain already in one lifetime.

The two continued chatting away until Aurora squealed, "Done!"

Zara slowly turned back around, her eyes lighting up when she saw her reflection, "Wow...I...I can't even right now."

"You did not just say that," Aurora giggled. Hands on her hips, she felt pretty good about her masterpiece.

"You look even better than me now. " She patted Zara's shoulder and Zara stood up, giving Aurora the space in front of the mirror so she could do her own face. Zara sat on the bed, feeling like an easily damageable piece of artwork. "Can you get the vodka out of my bag, please? I'm feeling a little thirsty," Aurora instructed.

Zara hesitated, but did as she was told. She handed the bottle over to Aurora, who took a swig. "Aaah! It burns! Do you want some?" At the shake of her head, Aurora shook the bottle, "Come on Zara. You can't party if you're not tipsy. Besides, I'm not even sure that they'll have alcohol there."

"I said no. We can't both get drunk, what if something happens?" Zara stood her ground, but Aurora wasn't having any of it.

"At least a sip? Come on. A sip won't hurt," She did those doe-eyes again.

"One sip," Zara snatched bottle from her and also took a swig. It was like she was swallowing liquid fire; her face contorted into all sorts of ugly expressions, "Fuck that was strong!"

She took another sip.

-:-

Zara felt her knees knocking together as she stood in line, regretting not having brought at least a woollen sweater with her. Aurora was in the same situation beside her, but she was buzzed enough to just stand there with a smile on her face.

The party was at an abandoned warehouse, similar to the one where the lair was located, but it was in a location more densely urbanised. The girls had caught a taxi and got dropped off about a few hundred metres away from it, covering the rest of the way on foot as to not bring any unwanted attention to themselves. The cold had been tolerable while they were walking, but now it was beyond freezing—Zara thought her nose would fall off from frostbite.

Finally, after what felt like ages, they reached the entrance, blocked by an angry-looking bouncer. He was so tall, and his body so wide, that he could be the door. Take the idea of attempting to sneak in and throw it in the dumpster; there was no way this guy would let you through if you were underage. A sultry smile on her face, Aurora pulled out the flyer from her purse along with her ID card, and Zara did the same. The bouncer looked the two girls up and down—Aurora made sure to angle herself so her breasts were as exposed as possible—and he read off the cards.

Of course their IDs were fake, as both girls were only eighteen, but Aurora had paid a fortune to get them forged by an expert, and were hence virtually identical to the real ones. Despite her constant reassurance back at the apartment, Zara still felt anxious, so she tore her eyes off from the giant and to the small gaps between him and the door frame. The techno music could be heard from the outside, but the action inside couldn't be seen, as you had to descend a staircase to gain access to it.

The bouncer licked his lips and handed back the cards, giving a wink to Aurora. She winked back and ran a provocative finger down his bicep, before she grabbed Zara's hand and pulled her out of her trance. "I'm so excited," Aurora whispered, grabbing onto the handrail as she made her way down the steps, her other arm looped around Zara's.

The warm air from the room seemed to beckon them towards it, carrying promises of an unforgettable night to come. The moment they stepped in, it was as if they had tapped into a completely different universe. The music was much louder now, so loud that Zara couldn't hear herself think, and it blasted through four large speakers on a makeshift stage. On the middle of it, behind complicated machinery and under a mesmerising green hue, stood the DJ with one fist pumping against the air and the other turning knobs. There must've been hundreds of people, with more gushing in from the outside, and their bodies moved as one to the sound, waving glow-sticks and neon bracelets in the air.

It was absolutely exhilarating, and Zara could feel the base thumping against her chest in tune with her heartbeat. The two girls immediately tottered over to the mob and pushed their way through to get to the heart of it. There, they closed their eyes and began to dance, their hips oscillating, their arms in the air, and their hair in their faces. Zara allowed herself to get carried away, her soul floating just outside of her in an out-of-body experience, her head feeling lost amongst the clouds.

Around her, a couple of people began to notice her moves—her emerald-green dress, which contrasted greatly against the blacks, metallic, and other dark colours, mesmerised them. Although Zara could feel their eyes on her, she didn't care. She was on cloud nine.

After a while, she opened her eyes to look at Aurora. Or at least she thought it was Aurora, because it was too dark to really see anything. Her arms were wrapped around the neck of a complete stranger, her lips meshed against his, while he had one hand groping her ass and the other tangled in her hair. Zara watched them, the magic of the moment vanquished, instead replaced by annoyance and envy. She reached out to detach the two, but they did so on their own accord. Aurora turned towards her, grinning like a madwoman.

"Are you having fun?" Her voice sounded like it was in a vacuum. Far far away. Zara wrinkled her nose, casting a smouldering glare on the guy who had wrapped his arms around Aurora's waist and was now smooching her neck.

"Who the fuck is this?" Zara yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the disturbance. She hadn't come here to hook up with anyone, and certainly not third-wheel Aurora, so she was going to make herself be heard, even over the deafening music.

Aurora must've missed what she had said, because she giggled in response, then bit her lip and turned her head to lick the guy's ear. Zara's eyes widened in horror when she saw his hand up her dress, touching her in a place where he shouldn't have been. Zara, her throat filling with bile from revulsion, was about to rip the guy's fingers off when she felt someone's arms wrap around her own waist. A second after, hot breaths against her neck and the smell of cologne and alcohol filled her nostrils, sending shivers down her spine.

"Hello, mamacita." That voice...she could recognise it anywhere. 

-:-