Chapter 8: Muse

I'm grateful to Alex for introducing me to Kathryn and Julio. Alex had a large number of friends, many of whom were gorgeous. However, I was unable to socialize with the majority of his well-known friends. They were wonderful people, but their personalities were far too extroverted and too loud for me. I enjoyed the quiet crowd, where people talked less and listened more. I wasn't sure if I was being self-centered. Of course, I didn't want to be the center of attention; all I wanted was for people to genuinely listen to what I had to say and consider and respect my thoughts once in a while. Or just to share the things I love with them.

It just so happened that Kathryn and Julio and I had a lot in common. We all loved anime, anime songs, Cosplay video games, and literature. Alex, Kathryn, Julio, and I used to hang together a lot and had a lot of same interests and hobbies. Cosplay was something Kathryn, Julio, and I all enjoyed. We experimented applying makeup and dressing up as our favorite fictional characters. Alex, on the other hand, was not a fan of cosplay, which disappointed me. But at the very least, he had friends with whom I could hang out and cosplay. We entered a Cosplay competition named "Floral Gods and Goddesses" in Meraki City's Neon World convention center.

We had no way of knowing if we would win the competition, but we had to try. Kathryn and Julio bought their costumes at a costume shop, while I bought fabric and other materials at a sewing shop. I purchased low-cost heels, jewelry, and accessories. I sewed my dress for two days and two nights. To be sure I wouldn't have an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction, I tried on the dress and walked around in it. I even leaped, danced, and swirled to see if the dress would hold up. Nothing negative occurred. When I showed Kathryn and Julio my dress, they both remarked it was pretty. They asked where I purchased it. I stated that I had just finished sewing my garment. They were impressed.

Because she realized I wasn't wealthy and didn't have any cosmetics, Kathryn gave me makeup as a gift. I gratefully accepted her present. Julio and Kathryn showed me how to apply makeup and style my hair. They taught me a number of skills. Kathryn also gave me a hair curler and a blow dryer.

"Oh, Kathryn, don't give me any more," I told her. I’m so embarrassed.”

"It's all right, Daphne," Kathryn reassured me, "I have plenty of it at home. This is for you.”

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"I'm sure," she said with a nod.

"You're the best!" I told her. We exchanged hugs.

Kathryn, on the other hand, was much more. She was the most giving, caring, kind, and wonderful friend I'd ever met. Julio, on the other hand, was the funniest, most talented, and most understanding friend. I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet these two amazing people

We talked about Alex while Julio was teaching me how to fix my hair and Kathryn was teaching me how to do makeup.

Julio asked, "How are things with you and Alex?" He was smiling.

"We're fine," I assured him. "Why?" I asked. I fixed my gaze on him.

"Hey, just stare in the mirror straight," he said.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. He was using a heated hair curler to curl my hair.

"It's all right. "I was only being cautious so that this hair curler didn't come into contact with your face," he said.

I confirmed to him, "Yeah, I know."

He said, "I'm just interested whether he was wooing you."

“What?” I asked, my gaze fixed on the mirror.

"Or if he's ever courted you and we didn't realize it," Kathryn added. "Did you say no to him?"

“No!” I explained to them. I finished my statement, "I mean, he never courted me and I never rejected him."

"Oh, too bad," Kathryn expressed her disappointment, "we were hoping you and him would make a great relationship."

"What makes you think that?" I asked, laughing.

"It's because you're both gorgeous and intelligent, and you share a lot of interests," Kathryn explained.

"You two are incredibly cute together," Julio acknowledged. "Here, try curling your hair," he advised. I curled my hair outwards to create the look of beach waves.

"Ooh, that was great," he said gently. "Continue doing it in some portions of your hair," he said.

“Perfect! Now that you know how to curl your hair," he said, "please return the hair curler to me. I'll just finish curling your hair," he said as I handed him the hair curler. He continued to curl and brush my hair until he was finished.

"Alex and I would never be romantically involved. We were from different planets. I am poor, while he is wealthy,” I told my friends, "That kind of connection isn't going to help you."

They glanced at me with dissatisfied expressions simply because of what I stated. Was this some sort of pity party?

Julio said, "Honey, love doesn't cost a thing."

Kathryn said, "I agree."

"I'm sure it makes no difference to Alex whether someone is rich or poor. I mean, you are friends with him; if the person's financial status was an issue for him, you wouldn't be friends with him. Heck, you wouldn't even be able to talk to him. I know a lot of rich people, and most of them are kind. Alex is one of those people who accepts you for who you are," Julio continued.

"Alex is incredibly kind, and he's also a true gentleman," Kathryn added.

"I get that, but what do you think other people would think? They might make fun of me if I date an attractive and wealthy guy like Alex," I countered.

Julio asked in a high-pitched tone, "Who cares what other people think? It will be difficult for you to feel pleased for yourself if you focus on what other people think. You must engage in activities that will make you happy. It doesn't matter what other people think."

With her mouth, Kathryn made a clicking sound. "That's right!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, that sound should have been made by me!" Julio grumbled.

"I know," Kathryn chuckled. “I'm just imitating you because it sounds cute."

Kathryn began instructing me on how to apply makeup. She gave me the following instructions:

"Sis, pay close attention to my instructions and make a mental note of them. I'm going to apply Moisturize Me, a sunscreen moisturizer with SPF 40, on your face, which you can get at Princess' Castle. This would hydrate your face, making it less dull and giving you a more youthful appearance.”

“Next, I'll use a pea-sized amount of the primer Pores Out, which is also from the same store, to diminish the size of your pores and small breakouts. I'll use Princess' Castle's Eye See You Primer to keep your eye makeup in place for a long time. Then I'll apply the Flawless BB cream to your entire face. This BB cream was purchased from Beautiful Me. Your face will appear flawless and bright as a result of this.”

“Then I'd hide your dark circles with concealer. This would cover up all of your skin's flaws. This concealer is Beautiful Me's Almost Perfect. I'll softly dab this so it doesn't seem cakey. Next, I'll apply some loose powder to your high points of your face. Your cheekbones, cupid's bow, top of your nose, and chin are examples of high points. These are the areas where the light would normally hit your face, making it dewy.”

“This loose powder is called Lights On! from Bedtime Stories. Let's put this on your face and bake it. This means we had to wait five minutes for your face's skin to soak up all of the substance before we could mix it in. Baking your face with makeup extends its wear time, allowing you to avoid retouching it throughout the day. As a result, you'll have less cosmetics in your makeup bag. What is your favorite song?”

"Umm, it's Jeff Buckley's Everybody Here Wants You," I said.

"Wow, it was a great pick! That's a wonderful song. It is also almost five minutes long. According to the official music video on YouTube, it's four minutes and six seconds long. So, let's go ahead and play this tune."

Kathryn pressed the phone's button with her fingertip and a long pink nail. Her brown hands had a delicate feel to them. Jeff Buckley's Everybody Here Wants You was playing on her phone.

Kathryn used a pink egg-shaped blender to blend all of the products on my face after five minutes. “Cuties Forever made this blender. I'll just dab it on your face until it's completely blended. Let's start by applying a light pink lipstick to your lips. Put your mouth open."

As Kathryn deftly applied lipstick to my lips, I opened my mouth. “This is Bedtime Stories' I'm In Love lipstick. After that, I'll apply a coral blush on your cheeks. Rosy Cheeks from Princess' Castle is here. I'm going to use Princess' Castle's eyeshadow Life in Pink to create a dramatic pink makeup look. Blend this eyeshadow with an eyeshadow brush. Apply glitter to your eyelids. Shine On Me from Bedtime Stories is the glitter makeup I used here.”

“Then I'll draw a wing on your lids using a winged eyeliner. This eyeliner is called Meowliner from Cuties Forever. Draw a line between your lashes and your eyes. Then, to simulate a cat's eye, add a flick to the ends of your eyes. With the Live Long Lashes mascara, you can lengthen your lashes! This mascara is from Girl Secrets. Beautiful Me's Contour Stick Supermodel can help you contour your oval-shaped face. To produce a defined jawline, contour the borders of your face, the hollows of your cheeks, and your chin. But not too much. Because you already have a slim face, all you need to do is a modest contour.”

“Using the highlight (white) part of the contour stick, apply some highlight to the high points of your cheeks. That is all there is to it. Now you have a doll's face."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so beautiful! Thank you very much! " I exclaimed loudly.

With a smile, Kathryn said, "You're welcome, sis."

So I lost the Cosplay competition we Kathryn and Julio joined in. But, I suppose, it was all right. It's because there were a lot of others who modelled better and wore nicer costumes than me. Julio made me happy and proud. He took first place in the male division of the competition. He was given a large sum of money as well as a one-week plane ticket to Hawaii. That’s ample time, and I'm sure he'd have a great time on that vacation. It would be his first visit to such a lovely country. He'd be leaving the country for the second time. And he'd be sitting in first-class with Celestine Williams, his new friend and fellow winner.

Isn't it a great name? Her name was so regal, and she was gorgeous. Of course, I don't want to be unfair to my friends. However, she was, in my opinion, the most attractive candidate in the competition. It was clear that she came from a wealthy family. Her aura, her attire, and the way she walked and moved were all very elegant. She had a high-end appearance. She had the appearance of a princess or an actress. Her hair was beautiful, and her skin was immaculate and radiant. She shone like the moonlight. Her name is a perfect match for her attractiveness.

I'm not sure why, but I was drawn to her. She had a wonderful scent. She smelled exactly like cotton candy. I wanted to sniff her repeatedly. I longed to bite into her lovely, perfumed, and delicious skin. It's strange how I was enchanted by her spell and I assumed we were all enchanted. I'm sorry, but I can't help myself. She had the celestial beauty of a goddess. She was quite gorgeous. I was completely lost in her eyes.

I imagined kissing her beautiful mouth and brushing my lips against her swan-like neck. By letting my tongue run around her hourglass figure, I was able to taste her complete hourglass physique. I hadn't attempted being in a sexual relationship with a lady before, but if I had to choose someone, Celest would be the one. When I dreamed about performing these things with her, I felt my body sweat. Right now, my thinking was becoming filthy. I desperately wanted to undress her and make love to her at the table.

But, of course, I've never done anything like that. We were obviously in public, and there were a lot of people dining. That was merely a wild and insane fantasy of mine. I couldn't tell if I was bisexual or just bi-curious.

I couldn't take my gaze away from Celest. She realized I was staring at her and just complimented Kathryn and me. She complimented us on our appearance. From the perspective of others, it may appear that we were both nervous around a really beautiful girl like Celest simply because it was common for girls to feel that way. It may appear that we were both nervous around her. But I didn't feel insecure in her presence. To be honest, I liked Celest. However, I could see she was uninterested in me. I had the impression that she had already rejected me before I had even asked her out.