skinny || h.s. au [Rewrite Now Up!]

sixtyfour

The mall is massive. Marley has never seen anything like it. White stone floors and high arching pillars. Two floors of at least forty shops each and that's just this wing.

Shiny signs above the stores declare their branding with great pride. Some Marley has never even heard of. Some she knows only from hearing people at her new school toss them around like they're a status symbol.

It's all kind of overwhelming.

"So first I thought we could go to some of my favorite stores." Fiona says beside her. They both look at the mall in wonder. But Fiona has more admiration in her eyes than Marley does. "And if you don't like anything there, I might know a few others we can try."

"This is going to take ages." Marley's voice is nearly lost in the chatter of the mall.

Fiona looks over at her. Despite their age difference, they're the same height. And she smiles. Because she has a sister to finally be able to share this with. And she can't wait.

"C'mon, we don't have all day." She says. Pulling her sister along.

Marley lets her hold onto her hand as she follows. Eyes wandering around at every store they pass in curiosity.

She thinks this is what her life would be like if she grew up with her father instead of her mother. Her afternoons after school could include spending her parent's money on overpriced lipgloss and pretty things she couldn't wear to school due to the uniforms. Fiona has the life Marley could have had.

And for a short moment, she envies her. But if it weren't for her awful mother and her public schooling, she wouldn't have met Harry. And no fancy clothes or overpriced shoes would ever be worth giving him up.

"So, this is where I always come to get makeup." Fiona says as they stop outside of a particularly trendy-looking shop. "Do you want to go inside?"

"I... never really wear makeup." Marley shrugs. "I don't really know how."

Her little sister's eyes light up. "They can show you." She says, suddenly excited. "And--and you can look pretty for when your boyfriend visits."

The thought of looking nice for Harry makes Marley's heartbeat quicken. Just the thought of seeing him does that. And then she thinks of how he looked at her the last time she wore makeup, which was Homecoming. And she finds herself smiling. "Okay."

Fiona calls over one of the workers and the next thing Marley knows, the lady is leading them around the store. Handing her things and rambling off their names.

Eyeshadow. Eyeliner. Mascara. Primers. Foundation. Tinted moisturizer. highlighter. Contour. Brow pencil. Setting spray. Finishing powder.

It's all suddenly very overwhelming.

After her arms are full, the lady leads them to a small beauty counter to show Marley how to apply everything. Occasionally Fiona butts in, offering her expert opinion on shade or coverage or other terms Marley doesn't understand.

And by the time they walk out of the store, Marley's makeup looks angelic and she's already shaking from how much they spent.

"I didn't know makeup was so expensive!" She whispers as they walk down the mall corridor.

Fiona is already leading them to their next stop. "Oh yeah, beauty isn't cheap."

"Maybe we shouldn't spend any more." Marley says.