Forced Withdrawals [Nox's Building]

[Sterling]

Sterling was excited to get to play with make up that wasn't just a game witn Rana. But this was different and Elyse could help.

"I don't care. I can do my own." though she wasn't sure what to do. "We should do stuff first that just is subtle, then we can play later if we want."

[Marta]

Marta was feeling kind of excited. She had never worn make up before, so this would all be new. It sounded like Sterling had done it before. That wasn’t surprising because Sterling had a normal childhood. It was something most teen age girls had never done.

They were still “wearing” the dresses. Marta didn’t want to turn off the projection yet. She had told Sterling it was the first time she had thought of herself as pretty, and Marta was realizing that she liked feeling pretty.

”Thats a good idea, Sterling - starting simple - and you can try it on your own. I’ll help you as I need to - walk you through it.” Elyse gave a smile. ”What about you Marta?”

Marta shrugged. ”I’ve never worn any before. You can do mine. I’ll learn how to do it another time.”

Elyse nodded and took a look at both of them before pulling out two different containers. She gave one to Sterling. ”This is your base. These are good colors for you individual skin tones.” Elyse got out some sponges. ”I’ll do Marta’s and walk you through the steps, Sterling. she got out a mirror and set it up so the could look into it.

Marta sat quite still as Elyse put some of the base onto the make up sponge and began to apply it. ”The base will cover the whole face. Make sure to apply it evenly.” Elyse began to do so, instructing Marta to close her eyes to get the eyelids too. ”The thing to keep in mind about make up is that what we wear on stage is different than your everyday job. At Kallisti, make up is used partially to make sure our faces don’t look washed out in the lights. Still - we use it as a form of art too. Usually it’s worn to accentuate features. You’re both pretty girls. You don’t need a lot of make up. The best make up jobs look like you’re not wearing much or any at all.”

As Elyse continued with different steps - adding blush, eye shadow, and eyeliner, Elyse would explain everything and check on Sterling, fixing small mistakes and answering any questions the girls had. The eyeliner was the hardest part, but Elyse told her it’s easier to put on by yourself. Marta got brave enough to try to put the eye liner on her second eye. Elyse was right - it was easier to do the eyeliner yourself. Then Elyse put on some lip gloss (Marta had asked for this instead of lip stick) and some mascara.

Elyse smiled and moved out of the way so Marta could take a look. The difference was amazing. Marta could tell she was wearing it, but it was light. She noticed the way the blush accentuated her cheekbones and the way the eye shadow and eyeliner brought attention to her eyes and made them pop. It was incredible. ”Im so pretty…” Marta said again as she felt Elyse take a seat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

”You’re very pretty. Both of you are.”

Marta smiled. It was nice to feel that way and nice to hear it too. Sterling had told her so earlier. Marta’s confidence was rising exponentially. She got close to Sterling and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close before getting her wallet out and aiming for a selfie. ”Selfie time! Don’t worry - I won’t post it to social media so your parents don’t see it. Smile!” Marta took the picture. This was a memory she wanted to keep.

[Tatyana]

Tatyana didn’t try to hold back the sobs. If she had, she wouldn’t have been able to. They came from deep inside. Her gut ached, but it wasn’t nausea. It hit her then - this is what it felt like to be depressed. She had heard of it. The pills had always kept it buried. The physical symptoms were still muted, presumably from whatever Liv had done with her magic.

She leaned her head against the wall of the shower as the tears began to subside. Inside she still felt the emptiness along with a myriad of emotions that couldn’t figure out which one was in control. Eventually she stood and exited the bathroom, not attempting to hide that she had been crying. There didn’t seem to be a point to hiding it. Kids were still playing here. She considered going back in the room to lay down, but had a feeling sleep wouldn’t come. So she went upstairs.

She could hear the noise of conversation on the floors above where the Kallisti people were hanging out. Tatyana wrapped her arms around herself as she tentatively took a step onto that floor into the open. She looked around and saw several people. Some like Juls she recognized, but most of them she didn’t. She had no idea if they knew her, but so far anyone she had come into contact with had known she had been taken in by Ashton once.

Tatyana took another step forward towards the crowd, unsure if she was welcome or even if she wanted to join in on their revelries. Part of her wanted to be around people. Part of her wanted to be alone. She had no idea which one she really wanted. Some looked her way as she took another step and wiped her face to try to take away the signs she had been crying. Her eyes were still red from it. The attention made her want to run and she took a step back, but didn’t turn around. Her hands clenched at her shirt nervously as she stepped forward again. She hadn’t committed yet. She wasn’t sure if she was going to.

[Sterling]

Sterling smiled as they took the photo. "I don't mind if you post it. I can always tell my mom it's a filter. She'd believe me." Her make up was subtle too. It wasn't overwhelming and it could have been a filter.

Sterling sat down on the edge of the bed and manipulated their projection screen. People didn't like the cameras in their rooms, but how else was Sky supposed to see things. The bedroom cameras only projected though -- no seeing. It was a feature Nox had insisted upon. And Sage while not happen had related. It was a very interesting coversation to listen to one sided.

But she opened up a planning board. "I'm going to plan us a little soire. Just for friends and family. A fancy ball. We'll have to find a place to do it cause we don't want to do it here. Nox would have a fit if there was any glitter in the house." She grinned at Marta. "You wanna help?"

[Hayden]

Elyse came down and someone plucked Lily from her arms. It was good that everyone wanted to help, but when it came time to change her there was a omg, where are all the kids moment. Hayden chuckled and took the little one. He watched as Tatyana made her way up to the adults and was glad she had joined them.

Juls didn't say anything as she brought the woman a drink, nothing overly fancy -- but a mimosa would do anytime, and why Nox had champagne in the house was beyond him. Though he actually doubted it was champagne -- more like sparkling water that would work in a pinch. With a little vodka maybe. Didn't matter. Juls didn't say anything but included Tatyana in the rousing conversation about one of the other's dancers favorite missteps with dating other men. They were all laughing and falling over drunk. A thing they'd not be right now if it weren't for the snow outside.

It was probably a good thing all the kids were elsewhere, the adults were far rowdier than they were. Hayden made eye contact with Tatyana and nodded his head in the direction he was going -- if she wanted to join him and Lily in the other room -- where it was quieter. He sat down in the rocking chair with the little bundle of joy and cooed and let her play with his fingers while he rocked and let her rest on her back. She was still so tiny -- it amazed him that Nox was responsible for this little thing -- even if he almost seemed to never be around. Though Hayden knew Nox would rather be right where he was -- but everything else took over his life and he hadn't been helping much on that front.

[Marta]

Marta smiled at her response and posted the picture, sending one to Anna too. They hadn't talked in awhile, but Marta knew she was okay. She had posted a picture of Cade kissing her on the cheek. She wondered if that friendship was blossoming into something. It had been a surprise to say the least. She smiled thinking of that.

Sterling's idea was also a good one. "That is a good idea! It should be a lot of fun! Just for us teenage ones I'm assuming - or you thinking everyone?" Marta asked before she turned to Elyse. "Can I get winged eyeliner?"

Elyse smiled. "Of course," she said, getting out some additional make up. "How about double wings - one on the bottom and one on the top - black on top with some color on the bottom?"

Marta nodded and Elyse began to work. Maybe she would do it to Sterling too. "What all do we need? Venue, DJ, snacks," Marta didn't move much as Elyse worked, she didn't want the woman to mess up. "How prom-like do we want this? Do we want a meal there or do we go somewhere else?" She laughed gently. "We're going to have to come up with a plan to get the boys to dance instead of sulking."

[Tatyana]

Juls approached Tatyana and at first she was worried that she did something wrong, but the woman handed her a glass of what looked to be a mimosa. She blinked before quietly saying "Thank you."

Suddenly Tatyana was in the midst of them. They didn't vocally invite her into their group, but she was there and they weren't pushing her away. Tatyana held the drink in her hand, debating whether or not to take a sip. It surprised her that it wasn't a trust thing. It was that mimosas usually had alcohol in them. She was trying to not use drugs. Then again, she wasn't addicted to alcohol so much. She did drink, but usually it included her medicine as well. At the same time, she didn't want to appear to be ungrateful and become ostracized for that. Tatyana took a sip, avoiding gulping as she usually did.

Hayden caught her eye and nodded towards a side room. It wasn't a command, simply a way out if she got overwhelmed and she appreciated it. She gave him a nod of thanks, but for now decided to stay with this group of dancers. One of them was telling a story of her missteps in dating. Tatyana took another sip. It was odd being the one in the group that wasn't inebriated. The story was entertaining though - it was even funny. The others laughed. Tatyana didn't, but she felt lips curl up in an amused smile. Deep in her gut, there was still pain there. It hurt, but it was being tempered a bit in the crowd. It had been a very long time for Tatyana. It felt nice to be included.

[Tatyana]

The dancers kept conversing and Tatyana listened as she stood next to Juls. Juls didn’t seem to mind her presence and that made Tatyana think at the very least she didn’t hate her. The other dancers clocked her presence too.

The dancer who told the story introduced herself. ”Nice to meet you. We’re talking about dating mishaps. Do you have any good stories to tell.”

Tatyana blinked at being talked to directly. She hadn’t expected that. She looked at Juls who didn’t force her to say anything, but at the same time didn’t discourage it. ”Tatyana,” she said, starting with her name. ”Not really. I had a few flings in high school, but since then haven’t really been with anybody.”

Dates were never really a priority for her. Juls might put together that would have been the case because Juls knew she was homeless. She’d had sex - mostly to get money. Her “partners” were never good and didn’t last long. She was always left wanting, but she figured it was probably not best to say that.

The conversation continued and Tatyana chimed in a little more. Glad to be included. It was nice until whatever Liv had done wore off. The cravings came back full force and then some. At least she didn’t have the headache or nausea. Probably from her pill earlier. With the cravings came the emotions.

”Excuse me,” she said to the ladies and left their circle.

Tatyana went into the room Hayden had indicated. He sat in a rocking chair with the baby. Tatyana closed the door and sat just inside the entrance on the floor and as she did, the floodgates opened. She began to sob as her body screamed for her drug. All her emotions flared. Tatyana hugged her knees to her chest.

”I want my pills,” she said, merely stating the fact. She wasn’t begging for them, just telling Hayden the cravings were back. They felt stronger too.

Tatyana buried her face in her knees and sobbed. She felt she should apologize for interrupting. Besides the drugs, she knew what she wanted. She wanted someone to hold her. It wasn’t about intimacy or even sex. She just wanted to be held and feel safe and like someone cared. She wouldn’t ask though. She couldn’t ask. They might misinterpret what she wanted.