Kyla frowned. Of course she'd dress up all pretty and cute this early! she thought bitterly. In front of her stood little old Sarah, staring up at her with those huge, frightened puppy's eyes that her already fully-applied makeup and thick-lensed glasses opened up even wider. She looked even better than she had last night; she'd obviously put more care into the makeup and the hair styling now that she had the time to spare for it, adding a simple thin hairband to the face-framing braid thing she'd done the night before, and the outfit... well, it definitely came out of the former Kyla's wardrobe, but Sarah, as usual, had somehow made it work, taking a plain, white, baggy t-shirt and tying a knot in the back of it to better show off her bust and abdomen, then matched that with some old jeans Kyla could have sworn were a size too small. There was no need to guess what bra she was wearing; the knot in the shirt had pulled it tight enough that you could see it through the fabric. All told, the sum total effect was to make Sarah an adorably cute, yet very subconsciously fuckable, seemingly helpless little nerd of a girl. Who'd dare hurt such an adorable, innocent little flower like Sarah?
Me. I'd hurt it. And dammit, I'd laugh while doing it! Kyla thought in frustration, as much with herself as Sarah. The jealousy she'd felt last night was flaring up again, badly, and they weren't even in public yet! Unbidden, thoughts raced through her head that this bitch didn't deserve so much as a kind word from her, much less an apology! They found themselves in competition with other thoughts that said no, that was wrong, Sarah hadn't even done anything, apologizing was still the right thing to do, and Kyla needed her fashion sense besides. They, however, were not nearly as gut-wrenchingly loud as jealousy's ugly voice, in her head.
"H-hey," Sarah spoke up at last, meekly and awkwardly. Kyla abruptly realized that she hadn't done anything but glare at Sarah since she'd answered the door a long moment ago.
"Hey." Kyla backed out of the doorframe and invited Sarah in. "Come on, let's get this over with," she said curtly.
Sarah just kinda silently shuffled on inside, and only took in for a moment just how similar Kyla's new home was to her old one. That silence persisted through them finding a mirror, a seat, and Kyla's suddenly expansive makeup kit, and Sarah starting work on Kyla's face and hair. There wasn't even a question asked about how Kyla wanted to look. Sarah just started work, and Kyla let her.
It was only sometime after the ice had become frostbitingly cold that Kyla made a first attempt at breaking it. "I'm guessing your night was just as terrible as mine?" she said abruptly. "Could barely sleep a wink."
"Huh? Oh, uh... yeah, it... was... I..."
"You don't have to finish that," Kyla cut her off with an annoyed huff. "I always hated small talk, before yesterday, anyway."
Something in Sarah flared up at that. "N-no, it's okay!" she squeaked. "I-I just..." Sarah McMillan is charismatic, she reminded herself. "I r-really need the practice... with your voice... I never knew, you... couldn't..."
"Sarah, just stop," Kyla snapped. "I was never good with words, and now you aren't either. So don't embarrass yourself trying. The magic took that away, and that's that."
"Don't say that!" It was the loudest verbal outburst Sarah had made since the Cloud, which frankly wasn't loud at all. "That isn't true! I won't believe it!"
Kyla would have raised an eyebrow if Sarah wasn't working on it right then. "Oh yeah, Sarah, and why isn't it true?"
"Because it can't be!" Sarah whined. "Because... B-because I still have something to say about it!"
Kyla rolled her eyes. "In case you've forgotten, Sarah, not a lot of people cared what the old me had to say. Least of all some inexplicable personality-swapping force of nature, and second least of all, you."
"That one's definitely not true! A-and, (gulp) and I think you know that now!"
Kyla turned from the mirror and glared at Sarah, a thousand volts of jealous anger surging through her once again, this time unchecked. "What I know, Sarah, is that you were a jealous, sadistic piece of shit that delighted in the misery of everyone but you and your worshippers! You're a bully, and an awful fucking excuse for a human being, and you know what, if I could have traded places with anyone else in the world, you are the last person I would've chosen!"
There it was, again. The hurt. It was written all over Sarah's face. Kyla knew it all too well, and yet internally, the first thing she regretted about it was that she might have just scared away her makeup for the morning. It didn't even register that that might have been yet another thing she'd have to apologize for, at least not yet.
Somehow, though, Sarah stood her ground. Not again, not again! she thought, trying to fight it. Face your fears. Sarah is confident. Don't run. Face her and say something. Anything. Sarah stayed right where she was, looking right at Kyla's half-finished face and stammering, but words would not come.
Kyla sighed and turned back to the mirror. "You know what, forget I said anything. Let's just finish up here and go."
Don't just leave it, Sarah tried desperately to tell herself. Face your fears. Keep staring at the abyss until the abyss looks away. It wasn't until she had restarted work on Kyla that Sarah found her voice again. "Y-you... you really don't think you can change?" She asked eventually. "There isn't anything, th-that... that you could do?"
"Of course n-" Kyla began, but stopped midsentence. That was my big cue to apologize, wasn't it? she realized, cursing herself internally. "Of course not," Kyla finished the thought. "It's magic, Sarah, it always wins."
"It doesn't have to..."
Kyla sighed. "Maybe it doesn't. But you do have to finish my makeup. So can we just move on, please?"
That's exactly what they did. Silence fell over the pair like a weighted blanket yet again. Sarah did what she could with Kyla's look, confirmed that Kyla was happy with it for the morning, and started packing up the makeup. Kyla helped out a bit, put a selection in her purse for touchups later that day, and lead the way out. Neither of them dared breathe a word to other about anything, as they did.
There came a moment where it might have been appropriate to say goodbye, for then. Neither had any desire to show up at school with the other, and Kyla wanted to scarf down a quick breakfast before leaving anyway. It might have been a wordless farewell, if Kyla hadn't seen it as a last chance. Sarah was leaving, but Kyla stopped her for just a moment.
"Hey, I'm, uh..." she swallowed hard. The words hadn't caught in her throat like this since the Cloud. "Sarah, look..."
Sarah was all confusion. "Yes?"
Kyla took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. About last night, and earlier today. It's just... it's overwhelming, being you, you know?"
The surprise on her face was evident, but her nod was full of understanding. "Yeah... I think I do."
"Yeah..." Awkwardness again. "And thanks for the makeup, too. I'll see you at school."
"Mhm. See you at school," Sarah nodded by way of farewell, and then was gone.
