Peri raised a finger, the pad of it at Odilie’s lid even before she felt the first tear. She caught it, licked it. “Because I see something in you. Those people, they’re so boring. They aren’t excited about anything. They’re so jaded by their wealth, by their excesses, that they aren’t curious anymore. You—You, I can have fun with. You, I can be myself with. All the goofy, weird, stupid parts of myself.” She smiled slowly. There was a lipstick smear on her teeth, the same fire-engine color she’d worn last night. She was wearing the same clothes, in fact, like she’d never gone to sleep at all.

“How did you get in here, anyway?” Odilie asked, taking in Peri’s face, the makeup washed out and leaking like she’d been swimming. She probably had been. And yet, on her it looked glamorous, a woman caught in the rain.

“I banged on your door until your roommate woke up and let me in,” Peri giggled. “She was not happy. What a curmudgeon that girl is. She has such a stick up her ass.” Odilie didn’t disagree.

“I want to be less like her,” Odilie said softly. She wondered what time it was, how long Peri had been stretched beside her. How long Peri had watched her sleep.

Peri licked her tooth, the one with the lipstick stain. She’d known it was there. “You know what we could do? What could be quite fun, actually?” She raised her eyebrows, a silent salute. “Let’s treat you to a fresh new look. Then, next time I take you to a party, you’ll have the gumption to talk to people, to know your worth.” She clicked her tongue in anticipation. “I know the right people around here. We can even get you some fillers, too. On my dime. Well, my boyfriend’s, of course, but you know what I mean. It’ll be fun!”

Odilie squinted, had to stop herself from stretching her face out the way she did last night. “Okay,” she whispered without thinking, because thinking too hard about this would be something the old Odilie would do.

Peri leaped out of bed at that moment, jostling Odilie. “Anything you want fixed, we can make it happen. I promise.” She smiled that bone-white smile.

Peri held Odilie’s hand as the needle went into her lips, plumping and shaping them, even though Odilie’s mouth was numb so she couldn’t feel the pricks. Back at home, she sat with Odilie and applied ice packs to her swollen lips on the couch in the apartment, periodically getting up to crack open a fresh instant cold pack.

“What happened?” gasped Kitty when she came through the door, took a look at Odilie’s face.