Living With Agreste

Chapter 21- Empathie

Genevieve stepped in the room, her eyes glistening at the sight of Marinette in her first modeling outfit.

"Oh Mari, you look great! Just your hair needs to be done now-"

"And makeup." A voice from behind her spoke. Genevieve moved out of the way to allow the person behind her to enter the room. It was a girl who looked a tad familiar to Marinette, with long brown locks and delicately applied makeup.

"We kind of briefly crossed paths earlier. I'm Rebecca, one of the finest beauticians." The woman bowed her head and pulled a makeup case she was hiding from behind her back, winking.

"And I'm here to make you look superb!"

Genevieve smiled at the makeup artist and turned to face the flustered teen who was blatantly uncomfortable with as much attention as she was getting.

"We don't have much time, but I was able to put together a few things." Rebecca continued, motioning for Marinette to sit in front of one of the mirrors.

"You've got a completely different colour palette than Brielle."

The new model sat down in her chair, staring at herself in the mirror with bright red cheeks. It had to be one of the most awkward experiences in her life; sitting there in quiet while the woman sorted through her things. Why? Because what the hell was she supposed to say or do? Was she supposed to wash her face beforehand like she's seen models do before?

"Marinette? You okay?"

Genevieve leaned down to make close eye contact with the girl, who was turning pale from all the confusion.

"Y-Yeah... I just have no clue what to do right now or when I go out there in a few minutes." She looked down, trying to think about what Ladybug would do in this situation. But the thing is...

Ladybug would never be in this kind of situation!

"Don't worry. The less you use your brain, the better." Rebecca said with confidence, blowing some makeup off her brush. She leaned towards Marinette's face, rubbing the bristles against her cheeks. Immediately, the dark-haired girl let out a giggle, flinching backward. Both women stared at her, Genevieve with one of her hands already wrapped around one of Marinette's ponytails.

"Uh... Are you okay?" Rebecca asked, not sure what exactly happened.

Marinette cleared her throat, straightened her back, and parted her lips to give a dry answer.

"Yes. I'm fine."

But as soon as she went back to covering the young girl's face in the powdered substance, Marinette resumed her fit of giggles.

"Marinette, what is going on?" Genevieve asked, a tad of frustration in her voice.

"It.." Marinette looked away, "It tickles."

"Oh for Christ's sake-" Genevieve turned the chair Marinette was sitting it forward towards the mirror and began pulling her black hair out of the pigtails, in a firm, yet gentle, manner. Rebecca sighed and pulled out a piece of cloth, tapping the makeup on that to apply it to the embarrassed girl's face.