oliviahvssan:
livy knew better than to blush when eden mentioned caden. she had, after all, just brought him up voluntarily to avoid this very reaction. yet there she sat, ducking her head in an effort to mask her expression until the heat warming her cheeks would start to dissipate. “ yeah. he’s… he’s a good friend. ” so why then did that phrase feel like a lie? well. not an official lie. a certain version of the truth – just maybe not the version livy was secretly hoping for. “ i don’t really think that would qualify me as brave, i just… ” livy shrugged. it had been expected for her to follow in her older siblings’ footsteps, and every so often the press liked to circulate bogus stories about her being shy, or unsure of herself, or incapable of associating with hollywood elite. truth be told, livy simply never caught an itch for the spotlight – she preferred operating behind the scenes, being part of the cogs and wheels that kept zenith productions in motion. so she could argue that it shouldn’t be chalked up to bravery so much as practicality. she could argue that courage had nothing to do with it. but honestly? it felt nice to receive eden’s support, and though fact-checking was one of livy’s greatest skillsets, she knew better than to debunk something positive. so rather than attempt to change the narrative, livy tucked her hair behind her ear and cast her sister a grateful smile. “ thanks, e. that means a lot. ” the young hassan watched as eden pulled her makeup supplies into view, letting out a subtle whoosh of air at its sheer volume – and the vast array of possible outcomes said sheer volume might provide. “ none? at all? even zenith knows to give their audience a little bit of bait. withholding that from me? well, that’s just cruel. ” she punctuated her argument with a light laugh. “ can i at least get an adjective? something basic? ”
“oh, honey.” eden shook her head knowingly. clearly, she had her work cut out for her. after all, she was smarter than she sometimes let on, and really--it was blatantly obvious how much caden really meant to her sister. if that was the case, she really needed to make her sister look like a knockout. olivia had always been a natural beauty, and eden envied that, having been caught up in the life of glitz and glamour. she rifled through the contents of the makeup supplies, tapping her fingers to her lips in thought. at her sister’s question, she could have sworn that she was suffering whiplash by how quickly she locked eyes with the younger girl. “no, no. not even an adjective, but it sure as hell won’t be basic and it also won’t be extravagant. i’ve had way too many trials and successes with makeup for you to doubt me.” she tossed her hair over her shoulder and paused, mulling over all of her color palettes. “but i’m feelin’ extra nice, so i’ll let you pick at least one of the eyeshadow colors and then i’ll go with it.”
