Chapter 5: Posed Naturally

Originally, Ginny planned to stay over at Lily's apartment so that they could get ready and travel together to the Convention. Unfortunately, there was a change of plans because Ginny was suddenly scheduled to work for a late shift. She tried to discuss the issue with her supervisor, but was unable to change the shift.

Annoyed by the random work arrangements, Ginny cursed after the phone call ended with her supervisor. Since her shift ends around two in the morning, Lily didn't want her to rush back to the apartment to do her makeup and dress up for the event.

"Sorry, Lily! This was supposed to be our girl's night and early morning makeover." Ginny apologized as she wore her sneakers and tied the shoelaces into a tight knot. When she stood up and turned around to face Lily, she realized that Lily had already packed her outfit with the Convention ticket inside a tote bag.

"It's alright. Get to work and home safely. I'll text you in the morning when I get ready." Lily gave her friend a tight hug before waving good bye to her. At first Ginny was still hesitant to leave Lily alone like this, but when she saw the time on her watch, she gasped and rushed to her car.

Once Lily saw that her friend had entered the elevator, she smiled and went back to her apartment. Right after she had locked the door, her cellphone started ringing from the living room.

"Hmm? Did she leave something at my place?" Lily wondered as she hurried over to the living room to answer the call thinking that it might be Ginny. When she picked up her phone and saw the caller ID, her body tensed up slightly. On the third ring, her finger swiped to receive the call.

She took a deep breath before saying, "Hello? Hawk?"

"Lily." His voice sounded the same as always. After a minute of silence from his side of the call, she let out a quiet sigh and continued the conversation.

"Did you need something?" Lily tried not to reveal any disappointment in her voice when she spoke.

"Ah, I just wanted to see if you found someone to fill in my part yet." He stuttered as if he knew he was at fault for once. Hearing his unsteadied tone, she felt a little better that he at least thought about his wrong this time.

"Yes. I've already found someone. Is this all you called to ask?" She felt like if she didn't follow up with a question, then he would never speak up. Her fingers twirled the tips of her hair as she sat on the arm of her couch.

He paused for another few seconds to finally spit out what he wanted to say. Hawk responded, "Oh.. That's good that you found someone to go. Are you doing anything the day after the Convention? If not, then do you want to go out with me?"

Her smile didn't reach her eyes when she listened to his words. It was as if a part of her was voicing inwardly about how awkward he was in asking her out on a date when they've been together for many years. Still, she didn't point out this issue out and said, "Sure, I'm free. I also want to talk to you about something when we meet up."

"Okay. Then, good night and have fun tomorrow."

"Night." She said and pressed the end call button on the screen. Leaning backwards on her couch, she sighed heavily, "Is it that hard to communicate with me? Why do you sound so awkward and unwilling to talk? I hope you don't run away this time."

Her eyes slowly shut and she fell into slumber.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already five in the morning. A minute later, her alarm rung loudly and woke her up instantly. She slapped her cheeks and stretched, "Time to get ready for the event!"

"Oh right! Text Ginny first." She didn't forget about her friend and sent a cute bunny gif to her. Within a minute later, Ginny had replied with a kitten sticker with droopy eyes.

Message from Ginny: "I'm awake! Rise and shine! Getting ready to see you later, beautiful."

Reading her friend's response, a relieved smile appeared on her face and she responded, "Okie."

After washing her face, Lily sprayed toner onto her skin, went into her room and ripped open a face mask package. Her skin was naturally pale with light apricot colored cheeks, so she didn't need to do much coverage.

Her skin wasn't perfect as she had some freckles on either side of her cheeks. The areas around her nose showed small pores, but it wasn't her main concern. Although she was naturally pale, her skin was very sensitive. In order to prevent her skin from dehydrating, she decided to use a face mask for fifteen minutes.

During the mask time, she didn't sit lazily or play on her phone. Instead, she went through her drawers to look for products that she needed for her makeup. Then, she took out her outfit and soothed out the wrinkles.

In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes had passed, and it was time to remove her mask. Before tossing the mask into the trash, she used the remaining essence to moisturize her arms and legs. She rinsed her face once more before going through her regular skincare routine.

"Yes! On schedule! Let's see~ Let's listen to Sailor Moon's theme song hehehehehe." Hearing the excited opening of the anime made her more motivated to be the cheerful character. Within half an hour, she finished putting on her makeup and getting dressed.

Before leaving her apartment, she triple-checked that she had everything she needed. On her way to the Convention, she texted Ginny to let her know her estimated arrival time and where to meet up.

Ginny responded very quickly and said, "Alrighty, I'll see you, my Usagi-chan. If anything, you guys could go in first and I'll find you eventually. I might be running a little late."

Lily texted back, "No problem, my Tuxedo Mask. I'm sure you'll find me like always hehehe."

Around half an hour later, Lily arrived at the location and found the other girls. Everyone was dressed up as one of the Sailor Moon characters. They took group pictures with each other and posed while waiting for the entry time. There were a lot of people, and it was very easy to get lost.

Worried about Ginny, Lily checked her phone multiple times to make sure she didn't miss any of her calls or messages. Finally, the gates were opened, and people started entering the building. Seeing that Ginny was still not here yet, Lily went ahead with the rest of the group.

Not far from where Lily was standing, a group of guys were dressed up as different characters from various animes. The guys chattered excitedly and took multiple photos. Since it was such a rare chance to have Lin Que dress up as an anime character, Alan didn't let this opportunity go.

"Lin Que, look over here and smile! Yes, yes! Now, relax those tensed shoulders and cover half of your face with that mask. Perfect!!!! Tilt a little towards the left and then look down at me as if I am trash! Trash me!" Alan went from standing at different angles to kneeling on the floor.

The group waited for most people to enter first, so that they wouldn't need to squeeze through the crowd. Members from Alan's Fanboy Anime Club were amazed by how natural Lin Que could pose like a big boss and show the best angles of his face in front of the camera.

'What a waste of cosplay material!' Alan and the members from the group thought to themselves as they witnessed his smooth movements in changing from pose to pose. After a while of playing around and taking pictures, they decided to go inside to meet other cosplayers.

Lin Que sighed in relief that the photoshoots were finally over. When he turned his head, he saw another Tuxedo Mask. They exchanged a nod before walking separately into the building.