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Mindy carefully applied eyeliner beneath the bottom row of Silvia’s lashes, her own eyes open wide in sympathetic concern. Letting Silvia do this on her own would have been safer, but it was more fun this way. Sort of like the “Make Me Pretty” Barbie she’d had as a child, which was just a plastic head on a disturbingly thin neck that was designed to be experimented on. Mindy had learned quite a bit since then. Thankfully, or else Silvia would look like a deranged clown about now. Instead, as she leaned away from the vanity they were huddled around, she considered her work and concluded that her best friend was enviably gorgeous.

“Here,” Mindy said, offering a tissue so Silvia could dab at her watering eyes. “Let me know what you think.”

“You went a little thick,” she said when gazing into the vanity’s mirror.

“I was aiming for an Egyptian princess look.”

“Which explains why I feel so regal.” Silvia grabbed the curling iron and brandished it like a scepter. “Loyal servant, bring me my favorite cat so I may pet her! Along with more of these strange olives to delight my royal tongue.” She plucked a peanut M&M from a nearby bowl and popped it in her mouth.

Mindy laughed. She loved seeing her friend like this. Silvia was always tightly-wound when arriving for one of their sleepovers, but once they were safely shut in Mindy’s room—like they were now—she would slowly relax and start acting like a teenager, instead of an adult burdened with too many responsibilities. Silvia seemed to rely on these nights, as if she needed to disappear for a while. That was the opposite of how Mindy felt. She worried more about being invisible, always standing just outside of her older sister’s spotlight, never the girl that boys chased after.

“You would make a great Cleopatra,” Mindy said. “Are you sure you don’t want to hang out tomorrow? Me and Whitney are going to dress up, even if we don’t go anywhere.”

“Sounds fun, but I have to take Hugo trick-or-treating.”

“Oh. Well I think your eyes look amazing like that. Omar would be sorry if he could see you now.”

“He’s already sorry,” Silvia said, grabbing a berry-hued lipstick and motioning for Mindy to come closer. “Anthony was in the store the other day. I’m pretty sure Omar asked him to test the waters.”

“He wants to get back together?” Mindy asked, pulling away just before the lipstick touched her.

Silvia puckered up until Mindy did the same before she replied. “He never wanted to break up. I didn’t tell you what he said when it all went down. I felt too guilty.”

Mindy raised her eyebrows in question as the lipstick slid across her bottom lip.

“He said that he loves me.” Silvia winced at the memory. “I thought it was a ploy to keep me from breaking up with him. But now I think he meant it.”

Mindy sandwiched her lips together before responding. “It was probably a last-ditch effort to get into your pants.”

“I don’t think so,” Silvia said. “He’s always patient with me about that. And he’s gentle when he’s allowed to touch me. It’s very sweet.”

“Omar Jafari?” Mindy asked in disbelief. “He’s the very opposite of sweet!”

Silvia nodded, as if in agreement, but her words didn’t match. “He has a softer side to him. You’d be surprised.”

“I hope I never find out!” Mindy said, still shaking her head. Then she sighed. “You’re so lucky.”

Silvia made a face. “You just said—”

“I know. But at least you have a boy who’s lovesick for you. I can only dream about such things.”

“Relationships are a pain in the ass,” Silvia said. “I don’t want to hurt him. More than I have already.”

“Who cares?” Mindy said. “That’s how all the good love stories go. Youalwaysget hurt. Otherwise it’ll just be boring, like our parents. But you need someone who makes the heartache worth it.”

Silvia got a funny look on her face. “You’d be so much better at this than me.”

“Iama bit of an expert,” Mindy said with a giggle. “But only if the romance novels I’ve read are based on fact. Which I doubt.If I ever get kidnapped by a swarthy pirate captain with a heart of gold, I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Have you given up completely on Anthony? He’s nice.”

“We don’t have any chemistry,” Mindy said, handing her a pair of heart-shaped earrings to try on. “Although thereissomebody.”

“Oh yeah?” Silvia asked. “Who?”

“You can’t say anything.”

“Of course!”