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“Try to keep still!” Isabelle said with a laugh as she tried to line Clary’s eyelids without messing up.
“Hey, I’m trying over here. It just feels…weird,” Clary replied, squirming a bit every time the point came in contact with her lash line. With a sigh, Isabelle tried to fix up the crooked black line as well as she could.
The group had a hunting mission at a high-end party located in Manhattan. Considering they already had to dress their attire up anyway, Isabelle took the opportunity to help Clary get ready. While Clary had worn makeup before, she tried to steer away from objects that came a little too close to her eyeballs, so eyeliner was new territory. However, she had ventured into the area of face makeup and mascara, and even a little eye shadow if she was feeling adventurous.
Isabelle was much more experienced in the field, having tried pretty much every possible makeup method and trick out there. While Clary’s routine took about fifteen minutes, Isabelle’s was closer to forty-five. Though Isabelle had to admit Clary looked quite pretty regardless of the amount of makeup she wore (okay, maybe more like really pretty), she still wanted to use Clary as a canvas of sorts.
So, there the two sat, Isabelle in deep concentration as she flicked Clary’s eyeliner out to one side in a wing. Clary had finally gotten more accustomed to the unfamiliar sensation and was now peering out at Isabelle with her other eye. She saw Isabelle’s eyebrows furrowed with a little bit of her tongue sticking out, the sight causing her to giggle.
Isabelle paused for a moment, putting the eyeliner pen down, “Is it feeling weird again? I’m almost done.”
Clary shook her head and smiled, “No, it’s fine. I just thought you looked silly when you were all focused, like this.” She proceeded to imitate the face that Isabelle had previously made.
“I so do not look like that,” Isabelle crossed her arms, pretending to look offended.
“Aw, Izzy, don’t worry. I actually found it pretty cute,” Clary teased, and Isabelle couldn’t help but blush a little bit. She quickly regained composure, however, as she knew that Clary was only kidding.
“Well, let’s get back to finishing up your look. Then I’ll pick you out something to wear,” Isabelle said, returning to Clary’s eye makeup. Afterwards, she picked up a bright red lipstick and twisted the tube, allowing the pigment to move up. She focused on Clary’s lips and felt a bit shy applying the color. Isabelle had felt quite a few butterflies in her stomach while doing the previous portion of Clary’s makeup, due to the close proximity between the two of them. Still, she was able to mask her nervousness for the most part. But now, looking at Clary’s lips and then seeing her bright eyes looking at her made her almost self-conscious.
“Hey, you okay, Izzy?” Clary reached out and placed a hand on Isabelle’s shoulder, concern in both her voice and eyes. The contact almost made Isabelle jump, but she simply nodded.
“Yeah, totally! Just trying to see the best way to…shape your lips,” Isabelle responded, laughing nervously before honing back in on Clary’s mouth. Clary still seemed a little worried, but took Isabelle’s word and went back to her original position.
Isabelle traced the outline of Clary’s lips with the red, then went back to fill them in. She worked a bit to perfect the shape, then sat back and grinned up at Clary, “All done!”
Clary looked in the mirror with surprise, then happiness. She turned towards Isabelle, “You did such a good job, Izzy! Even with me not being able to stay still.” Clary leaned forward and hugged Isabelle, startling the girl as she slowly wrapped her arms around Clary.
“You’re welcome! Glad you like how it turned out, but now let’s get you into something ‘upper class’,” Isabelle said jokingly, walking towards her dresser to pick out an outfit. She was still reeling a bit from the hug. It really wasn’t that big of a deal – they hugged all the time – but for some reason it felt different now. Being around Clary made Isabelle feel both elated and nervous, and the turbulence of emotions was leaving her lightheaded. Nevertheless, she pushed on and retrieved a deep blue, knee length dress, along with white high heels. Isabelle handed the items over to Clary, who took them and went to change into the dress. She immediately began to take off her shirt, causing Isabelle’s eyes to widen a bit.
“Oh! Did you want to use the divider I have over there to change?” Isabelle pointed over to the ornate screen on the other side of her room. She felt rude staring at Clary undressing and tried to subtly glance in the other direction.
Clary laughed, shaking her head, “It’s no big deal! Plus we’re pretty close by now, so it’s not awkward or anything.”
“Right, not awkward. I was just making sure you felt comfortable and everything,” Isabelle tried to sound nonchalant, but even she could hear the slight shake in her voice.
However, Clary seemed not to notice as she went back to taking her clothes off, leaving them off to the side in a pile. She then slipped the dress on, trying to grasp at the zipper in the back. “Sorry, Izzy, but could you help me zip this up? I can’t really reach the zipper.”
Isabelle took a deep breath and sauntered over to Clary, holding the dress taut with one hand and seamlessly gliding the zipper up with the other. She did it so coolly that she almost had herself fooled. That is, until Clary turned around to face Isabelle, their noses only inches apart. Isabelle glanced at Clary’s lips for a split second before hesitantly meeting her eyes.
Clary stared back at Isabelle, her expression suddenly more gentle. Or maybe that was just Isabelle’s imagination. “Thanks…I’m glad I have you here to help me,” Clary said softly, eyes peering into Isabelle’s.
A million thoughts were swirling in Isabelle’s mind, but she managed to get out some words, “No problem, I’m glad I have you here too.”
For a while, Clary and Isabelle stood silently looking at one another. It felt right at the time, almost like they were communicating with their eyes. Then, Isabelle turned her body towards the wardrobe again, “Well, I guess I’d better get you a necklace or something to go with your dress.”
As she began to walk away, Clary reached out and grabbed her hand. It wasn’t rough or harsh; in fact, the gesture in itself was rather tender. “Izzy, hold on.”
Isabelle didn’t want to let go, so she turned back to Clary. “Yes?”
Clary pulled Isabelle as close as she could without them touching each other completely, still holding a light grip on Isabelle’s hand. “Can I kiss you?”
Rather than responding with a yes or no, Isabelle cupped Clary’s face with her hand and gingerly placed a kiss on her lips. She pulled away, still maintaining eye contact with Clary. Right as she was about to apologize, Clary smiled and swooped her in, kissing her again.
“I’ll ruin your lipstick though,” Isabelle said after they made a quick pause.
Clary shrugged, and the space between them closed once more. Isabelle felt herself sink into Clary’s warmth and placed a hand on her shoulder while Clary’s hand fell to Isabelle’s waist.
The kiss was sweet, something Isabelle had never truly felt with other people in the past. Sure, she had felt some form of attraction to them, but it was nothing like the pure bliss she felt with Clary. It was just them, alone, and it made Isabelle feel the most carefree she had felt in her life. Like she had been craving something she didn’t even know she wanted.
Someone cleared their throat, breaking the two girls out of their moment and bringing them back to reality. “Glad to see you two getting ready for the party.”
Isabelle glanced up to see her brother, Alec, smirking at them while leaning in the doorway. She felt her cheeks flush a bit and looked over at Clary, who seemed equally as embarrassed. “Sorry, Alec, we were just…finishing up,” Isabelle said.
“No, please, don’t let me interrupt,” Alec replied.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Don’t you need to be getting ready? That look doesn’t exactly scream ‘elegant’,” she said, looking his outfit consisting of a plain T-shirt and jeans up and down.
“Yeah, yeah, I got the memo. I’ll leave you guys to yourselves,” Alec said before glancing back at them one last time and heading back down the corridor.
“Well,” Clary finally spoke. “That was interesting.”
Isabelle got worried, thinking Clary had a change of heart. “I’m so sorry, Clary. Did I come on too strong? I did, didn’t I?” She started to walk towards the other side of the room, but Clary stopped her.
“Of course you didn’t, Izzy. I am the one who asked after all,” Clary said, smiling fondly. “I was talking about your brother. He sure knows how to make an entrance.”
Isabelle peered up, relieved, “Yeah.” Clary reached out and stroked Isabelle’s cheek.
“I don’t regret the kiss. At all. In fact, I’m really glad we did it. I honestly didn’t think you felt the same way,” Clary admitted.
Isabelle’s face filled with shock, “And here I thought I was being too obvious.”
This, in turn, caused Clary to look back at her with astonishment. Upon seeing each other’s expressions, the pair burst out laughing.
“Wow, who knew we were so unobservant? Especially being shadowhunters and all,” Clary said after she settled down a bit.
“We should definitely work on that. And the party is the perfect place,” Isabelle reached her hand out to Clary as she headed toward the door.
Clary leaned her head to the side and beamed at Isabelle. She quickly put on her heels and stood upright, taking Isabelle’s hand into her own and allowing the girl to lead her out of the room. The joy that radiated off of them as they walked down the hallway was almost infectious, even gaining a smile from Alec as he saw them with their hands clasped together.