Chapter 13.1
Several weeks earlier
"Okay, I think I'm happy with my eyeshadow." Chloé said, "But it's always the eyeliner that throws me off. What do you all do?"
"Want me to do it for you?" Vee asked, rolling out her brush kit.
"No! I need to learn to do it myself!"
"Well, I'm about to do Amara's, how about you come watch."
"Ooh I like that!" Chloé moved in front of Amara. "I just never know where to start. Outside? Inside? How big should the wings be?"
Amara watched as Vee moved closer, kneeling in front of her on the bed. "Don't make me look too slutty, alright Vee?"
"If you don't want to be a slut, then why are you going to a party?" Tessa said from the other side of the room. It sounded like she was digging through a bag, but Amara couldn't turn to look with Vee holding her face still.
"I just want to get out! Dance with my friends! And sure, maybe if I meet a cute guy, I'll give him my number or something."
"What about a cute girl?" Chloé asked, giggling along with Vee.
"That would be great too! I just... I dunno, I haven't felt like dating recently."
"Hey," Vee whispered, "less talking, more holding still. Chloé needs to see what I'm doing."
Amara closed her mouth, giving Vee a snarky look, but they both smiled after a moment.
"So, I like to start from the outside. Keep your eyes open, since that's what most people will see, and make a little dot where you want the wing to end." Vee pushed the eyeliner closer, making a small dot on Amara's face. "From here, it's almost like coloring within the lines. Move from the dot to the corner of your eye, then swoop over the eyelid."
Amara closed her eyes for the second part, Vee holding her cheek while drawing the rest of her eyeliner. Her hands were cool to the touch, and she appreciated the help; she was a nervous wreck, and really wanted tonight to go well.
"All done!" Vee said.
"How do I look?"
"Just the perfect amount of slutty and sexy. You're gonna have everyone tripping over themselves to try and dance with you." Vee smirked as she slid off the bed, joining Chloé back on the floor as they finished their own looks for the night.
Amara felt her phone vibrate, and pulled it out of her bra as she stood up.
Nick: 8 PM right? Your place?
Moving to her mirror, Amara finally saw what her makeup looked like. It was much more dramatic than usual, her day-to-day look normally rather understated. The eyeliner was heavy, the eyeshadow bold, and it took a while to get used to. She broke from the reflection for a moment to text Nick back.
Amara: Yup! You gotta see what the girls did with me, I barely even recognize myself!
She tossed her phone on the bed, looking back in the mirror. She smoothed out her dress, turning to look at herself from different angles, but her eyes kept drifting back to her face. She almost thought she saw something wrong, but every detail on her face was immaculate. Maybe something was missing?
She kept staring at her reflection, wondering what she was looking for. She adjusted her hair, cleaned her earrings, but nothing she did made a difference. The girl in the mirror kept looking back, and Amara felt like she was staring at a completely different person.
"Did Vee fuck up your makeup? Or are you just appreciating how hot you are?" Tessa's words startled her, as she was much closer than expected. "Cuz, damn girl, if you want to change your mind about the party, we can just head back to my place now."
Amara's face turned bright red, "Tessa!"
"Tess, leave the poor girl alone, she's nervous enough without you trying to jump in her panties." Vee said, pushing Tessa out of the way. "Amara, ignore her. She's just trying to get a rise out of you."
Tessa stuck out her tongue at Vee, and seemed about to say something, but got cut off by Chloé.
"Um, how'd I do?" She was now standing, and had moved closer to the rest of the girls. Her eyeliner was finished, and Amara was genuinely impressed by it.
"Chloé, it looks amazing! I don't know why you were so worried!"
"Well I just... don't have a lot of practice..."
Amara pulled Chloé in for a hug, then moved so they could both look in the mirror. Chloé smiled wide seeing herself, and her joy was infectious. Soon, Tessa and Vee had crowded in as well, everyone looking at themselves eagerly.
"Well, ready for your first college party?" Vee asked.
"Let's do it!" Amara said, smiling. In truth, she was just happy to be with her friends tonight.
---
Amara pulled her second boot on, the top of it resting just beneath her knee, and zipped it closed. This pair was one of her favorites; all black, slightly ruffled, with a thicker heel that was quite comfortable to walk in. Standing up, she looked at herself in the mirror, letting her eyes take in the final outfit.
Black fishnet leggings emerged from her boots, showing off her shapely legs. They soon vanished into her bodysuit, a single piece of faux leather that sat high on her hips. Her cleavage was on full display underneath the lacing on the front, which was pulled tight so as to not come undone at the party. Two small straps traveled from the top of the bodysuit to her neck, where they met a simple black collar.
The back of the outfit was practically non-existent. Quite a bit of her ass was visible, and she felt like she was wearing an exceptionally revealing swimsuit. Her entire back was exposed, save for a single strap that held everything together.
The belt had been fitted over the bodysuit, and she was happy that it didn't seem to chafe her tail. The fake succubi wings were strapped to her shoulders, the contacts were comfortable, and they'd successfully drizzled fancy glue around the base of her horns. As skeptical as she'd been, she could no longer deny that Nick had put together something ingenious.
She turned to him, her tail twitching with excitement. "Maybe I should drape my tail over my arm? Then I don't have to worry about people stepping on it."
"I could see that working. I was thinking either that or wrap it around a leg."
"I think I'll just hold it, that feels easier." Amara moved her tail to the crook of her arm, draping it like a fancy scarf before letting it fall limp. "Still wish I could have my wings out, but that would be such a bad idea..."
"I know it's not ideal, but you still look fantastic without them." Nick jumped off the bed, standing briefly in front of the mirror to adjust his black and white striped suit. "How about me? Looking good?"
"You look great! I still think you should have let me do some face paint."
"Eh, I just really don't want stuff on my face. I've got the green wig though, isn't that good enough?"
"Hey, if you're fine settling for good enough, that's on you." Amara turned back to the mirror, smiling as she admired herself. "I could never, and thankfully I don't have to. I look fucking amazing!" She checked her phone, noticed she had just gotten a text, and got the rest of her things together. "Alright, time to head out! Tessa and Chloé are here!"
They left the apartment, Amara taking a moment to lock up, then headed for the entrance. She paused at the front door to the building, looking at her friends outside.
Chloé's never seen me like this before, but if anyone were to notice, it would be her, right? She's always drawing, I've seen her sketch me before, what if she sees right through the costume? Can I tell her? No, idiot, Tessa warned you about that. Just go outside, be confident, sell the outfit. Remember, tonight you're not Amara the Human, you're Amara the Succubus. Not that there's any difference, but they don't know that.
She felt Nick grab her shoulder, giving her a knowing look. "Hey, you ready? It's not too late to turn back."
"No. I want this. I'm... I'm ready." She moved her tail to her arm, let it go limp, and left the building.
Walking down the sidewalk, Amara took a moment to admire her friend's costumes. Chloé was wearing a simple long white dress that ended around her shins, showing off her comfortable brown boots. A short sleeved, red leather jacket covered most of her upper body, though it hung open to reveal the dress underneath. Her hair had been braided, and a bright pink ribbon had been clipped to the base of the braid.
Tessa's outfit was much less elegant, and Amara was hesitant to even call it a proper costume. She wore her usual black combat boots, with intricate stockings covering her legs. An incredibly short skirt left little to the imagination, and a frilly black bra was doing its best to put her cleavage front and center. She'd done nothing with her hair, save for a black hairband that held a tiny, off-center witch's hat.
The two girls seemed to be bickering about their outfits as Amara moved closer.
"Look, all I'm saying is that guys want to see skin, but you're covering most of it!"
"Tessa, not all of us are here to get laid. Maybe I just want an excuse to go out in a fun costume!" Chloé protested.
"Yeah, Tessa, there's more to life than sex." Amara said mockingly.
Tessa turned to face her. "Oh, that's rich coming from yo-- holy shit Amara, you really... went all out, didn't you?" As she talked, Tessa nervously looked at their other friend.
Chloé's eyes were wide, darting between all the pieces of Amara's so-called costume. After a few seconds, she finally spoke up. "Wow! Amara, you look incredible! Are you... a tiefling?"
"What? No, I'm a succubus, what's a tiefling?"
"Ohh that makes sense. I'm used to succubi having thinner tails, but this one looks so real! Where did you get it?"
Amara looked at Nick nervously, "I, uh, Nick actually took care of that."
"Gotcha, I'll bug you for the link later, okay?" Chloé said to Nick. She immediately jumped into a lengthy explanation about what tieflings were, and Amara gathered they must be from one of her games.
They took off for the party, which required them to walk across most of the campus. Chloé's rant about tieflings soon gave way to general gossip, with Tessa still trying to push her into showing off more skin. Amara, on the other hand, had little to say. She kept glancing around, curious if other people were looking at her. Whenever she did catch someone staring, she realized that most people were much more eager to see the revealing outfit than her tail.
After passing the first few groups, Amara's nervous energy vanished. She began walking with more purpose, thrilled that she could just be herself tonight. She looked up at the sky again, remembering last night's talk with Nick.
He was absolutely right. I should be proud of myself.