The two weeks until the party flew by. The first snow had already fallen, I had opened twelve doors on my advent calendar, Stacy was still watching me from afar, Hiccup and I were still good friends, Elsa, Jack, and I had had a snowball fight a few days ago, and I was making progress in figure skating. Everything was going great, for the first time since the diagnosis. I felt good, wanted, liked. It still hurt to see Hiccup and Stacy together, but I had gotten used to it. He wanted her and that was okay. He should be happy. As long as he didn't shut me out of his life, I was fine with it.

"What are you thinking about that makes you smile like that?" Elsa asked, standing in front of me as she picked a color for my eyeshadow.

I shrugged. "That I can finally say with full confidence that I'm okay. I'm not down or sad or angry. I'm happy, I feel normal for the first time in a long while."

"Aww, sweetheart, don't make me cry now," said my grandma, who was joining us again over FaceTime while Elsa got me ready for the party. She was already fully dressed. Her light blue tank top was cropped and trimmed with lace, and her black leather jeans stopped at her navel, showing off her piercing. Black eyeliner framed her light eyes, making them stand out, accentuated by her purple eyeshadow. Her hair was left down in waves over her shoulders.

"Don't make me cry either, it'll ruin my mascara," she said with a laugh and dabbed carefully under her eyes. "But Granny, what do you think of this color?" She held the palette up to the camera and pointed with the brush to a glittery gold-brown.

"Ooh, I like that. It matches the Christmas lights."

"That's exactly what I thought," Elsa said with a big smile. "Astrid, close your eyes." I did as told and a second later, I felt the brush stroke over my eyelid.

"I can't wait to see the result," my grandma said. "From what I've seen so far, you have great taste, Elsa."

"Thank you." I could practically hear the genuine smile in her voice.

"Have you picked out a lipstick yet?" my grandma asked.

"Yes, she's getting a nice burgundy red."

"Sexy."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but Elsa would have killed me, so I just let out a deep sigh instead, which made them both laugh.

"That's how you dress for a party," my grandma insisted, and I heard her take a bite out of a cookie. She always baked trays full of them during Christmas time and didn't stop until after the holidays, meaning she ate some every day.

"Open your eyes," Elsa ordered and I didn't keep her waiting. She looked at my face from different angles, nodded, and picked up the eyeliner. "Close your eyes."

My grandma laughed. "You'd make a great dominatrix."

"Grandma," I warned and tried not to move while Elsa drew a line across my lid. She only laughed.

"Maybe, but not my dream job."

"What would be your dream job?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Hm," she said, probably because she was focused on the makeup. "Open your eyes." She checked me again, told me to close them again, and fixed something at the angle of my right eye. "I've been thinking about becoming a journalist. As you know, I love to talk and finding interesting stories sounds adventurous and exciting to me. You can open them." I looked at her. She smiled and nodded. "Looks amazing. Right, Granny?"

I turned toward the camera. My grandma's eyes went wide. "Who's that? Is that my granddaughter? My little one with the resting bitch face?" Elsa and she laughed while I could only roll my eyes. "I'm just teasing. You really do look great. Now slap on that lipstick and get dressed, I want to see the whole package."

Elsa laughed again, already holding the lipstick in her hand, and showed me how to position my mouth. She was very gentle with everything and patient, as if she did this often, which I couldn't imagine since she was an only child. She probably just practiced a lot on herself. I was really glad to have her as a friend. Not just for this, she was there when I needed her, talked with me, laughed with me, wanted to do things with me. She was a true friend, the first one I'd ever had.

"Now rub your lips together, like this," she said and demonstrated. She fixed a few things and nodded again. "Your face is done, your hair should be curly by now, time to get dressed."

Oh right, I'd had curlers on my head for two hours. Apparently, they were better than a curling iron. I trusted Elsa completely with that stuff since I had no idea what I was doing. As long as I didn't look like a scarecrow in the end, I was good.

"So, Granny, this is the outfit," Elsa said and held it up for my grandma to see.

It was a short-sleeved burgundy shirt with a wide V-neck, a tight dark brown skirt with a slit on the left side, and thin black floral-patterned tights. You could only see the pattern up close though.

My grandma whistled. "I repeat: sexy. What shoes go with it?"

"The ones I'm not going to wear," I said, but Elsa grinned and held them up anyway. Black knee-high boots with eight-centimeter heels.

"Oh, you're wearing those," my grandma said instantly. "Guys love that kind of thing, trust me. Hiccup will literally fall at your feet."

"Grandma, we talked about this."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving her hand. "I know, don't meddle and all that nonsense. But those shoes are gonna give Hiccup a big nudge your way, so wear them."

"I can't walk in them," I tried to protest, not even bothering to mention Hiccup anymore.

"It's easy," Elsa said. "They have thicker heels, easier to walk in. We'll practice a few rounds, don't worry. But first, say goodbye to that oversized shirt and put on this bra." She held up a black, lacy push-up bra with a V-cut. "The cut fits the shirt and gives your boobs a nice shape."

I stared at her, mouth open. "You're kidding me."

She shook her head with a grin. "Nope."

"Are you trying to get me laid or why are you dressing me up like this?"

She exchanged a look with my grandma, and suddenly it all clicked. "You're not serious. You want me to hook up with Hiccup? The one who is taken, in case you forgot."

"He won't be taken for long once he sees you in this," my grandma said, munching on another cookie.

I looked at Elsa, who was smiling and holding out the bra expectantly. "You two are absolutely crazy if you think that'll work." Still, I took the bra and turned around. We were basically best friends, but this was still too intimate.

"We'll see," she sang behind my back.

I rolled my eyes and carefully pulled my shirt over my head. After putting on the bra, I turned back around so Elsa and my grandma could judge. I had to admit, it didn't look bad. I'd never worn anything so close to lingerie before.

"I knew it, it fits perfectly," Elsa said and held out the top. She helped me put it on since it was tight and the curlers were in the way. After that battle, she handed me the tights and then the skirt.

"It looks so great on you, sweetheart," my grandma said, eyeing me from head to toe with a big smile.

"From now on, you're only allowed to dress like this for parties," Elsa said and pointed at the chair.

She spent the next half hour doing my hair. Meanwhile, my grandma kept snacking on her cookies, and I couldn't stop nervously bouncing my leg. I had never worn shirts with deep necklines, short skirts, or heels. This was going to be a disaster, probably some idiot would make a stupid comment just because he could see part of my boobs. If anyone touched me, they'd be going home with broken bones. Or straight to the hospital.

"All done," Elsa said, placing a curler on my desk. "That should be all of them." She ran her hands through my hair to loosen the curls.

"You look like my mother when she got up in the morning," my grandma laughed. "She used to wear those things overnight.

I raised an eyebrow. "How did she sleep with them?"

She shrugged. "I never asked."

Elsa finished my look and then forced me into the shoes. Under their supervision, I took my first steps in my room, very awkwardly, almost twisting my ankle and falling into Elsa. After that, she held me by the elbow until I was more stable. I didn't exactly look graceful or model-like, but I managed to walk without breaking anything.

"See?" my grandma grinned. "Easy. Now go get your man." I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop grinning.

She hung up, Elsa and I both went to the bathroom one last time and she applied her lipstick. She hadn't done it earlier, knowing we'd be drinking water while getting ready. After we put on our jackets and she also her high heels, the doorbell rang. Elsa opened the door while I shoved my wallet into my bag.

"Ooh, who's this beauty?" I heard Jack say, our driver for the night. They kissed, which I only heard, still trying to fit my phone into the tiny bag. "Hey, Astrid."

"Hi, Jack," I said, finally managing to close the snap. I looked up with a smile. "Your girlfriend forced a tiny bag on me." She stuck out her tongue at me.

He laughed. "It's either small for one thing, or huge to carry your whole apartment."

"That's not true," Elsa said, mock offended. "Don't listen to him. He has no clue. Plus, that bag matches your outfit perfectly. You don't need to carry everything."

"It has my wallet, phone, keys, and lipstick in it."

She lifted her shoulders. "That's enough."

Jack laughed again at my eye roll, and the two of them headed down the steps. I followed, turned off the lights since my dad was on night shift, locked the door, and walked with them to the car. It was preheated and smelled like vanilla. On the ride, we joked about things that might happen tonight while Jack's pop music playlist played in the background.

"I bet Hiccup is going to change his mind tonight," Elsa said with a grin in my direction. "Don't you think so, Jack?"

"I hope so," he replied, turning. "Stacy's no match for you, especially not in that outfit. Not that you're ugly without makeup or anything, you look good even without it. Just, this is on a different level."

"I get what you mean," I said, laughing lightly. "Still, I doubt he'll give up everything with Stacy over one night."

Jack raised his eyebrow at me in the rearview mirror. "Trust me, it wouldn't be the first time he's thought about it. He just needs a push, a big one, maybe one that leaves bruises, but then he'll get it."

Hopefully, I can't take this much longer, I thought to myself and sighed again, watching the darkness outside the window, broken only by the glow of a few streetlights. It wasn't long before we arrived at Mitchell's. The street and driveway were packed, so Jack parked the car at the corner. The music was already audible, at least the rhythm of the beat, though we couldn't make out the lyrics.

"God, it's freezing," I cursed and hugged myself. "Why exactly did I wear only a leather jacket?"

"Because it's going to be warm inside," Elsa grinned. "You'll be glad to be rid of it."

The front yard was filled with smokers, vapers, and people needing fresh air. The music was so loud we had to shout to talk, and as soon as we crossed the threshold, the sudden heat hit me like a wall. Elsa had already taken off her jacket on the way in and was hanging it on the impossibly long coat rack attached to the hallway wall.

"Told you," she shouted at me with a wink.

Grinning, I took off my jacket too. As I was pulling my second arm out, she nudged me and gestured toward the open living room. There stood Hiccup, staring at me like he'd never seen me before. For the first time, his eyes weren't on my face. My heart started pounding hard and I felt my cheeks flush red. The two of them had been right, because that look said it all.

He had taken the bait.