The transformed goth watched a smile slowly form in her reflection's face. It took her a second to realize she really was smiling.
"How is this happening?" she asked Lola.
The green-eyed woman grinned proudly. "Magic, my dearrrr!"
"No, seriously. Did you spray something in the air to make my skin like this?"
Lola shook her head. "Nonono, magic." She spoke the word in a gleeful hush, sweeping her palms through the air. "That costume fits you perfectly, doesn't it? But we only had one of them, in one size. Hell of a coincidence, huh? All the costumes here have enchantments of one type or another."
"Wuh... why?" Jennifer wasn't fully convinced, but she wasn't coming up with anything to refute Lola's claims.
"For fun. They're costumes. Some of them just alter your hair and makeup a bit. Some make you act a little like the character you're dressed up as. The doll costumes like the one you picked out, though, those are extra special." She gave the confused girl a wink. "They assume you're up for some rrrreal cosplay. Their enchantments not only adjust your form and tweak your behavior, they do it constantly, based on your situation. They help you slide naturally into the persona you want to portray, and then ensure that other people buy into it and want to interact with you. A living doll, essentially."
That word again. Jennifer knew that "doll" had many different meanings, depending on the context. Here, that meant getting decked out in a fancy costume for a party. That seemed pretty simple. And she was happy to feel more natural in the dress and wi-- hair. She'd worn a wig a couple times before and they were the cheap kind. Very itchy, and hard to keep the fake hairs in place. The glossy black curtain she now sported was nothing like those. It felt like her real hair -- if she'd dyed it, straightened it and grown it down to her mid-back.
Seeming to pick up on Jennifer's doubts, Lola purred and eased herself close to Jennifer, taking her hand. Until now, Jennifer hadn't noticed that her fingernails had become covered in black polish. They looked longer, too, extending slightly past the tips of her fingers. "It all reverses once you take the dress off. You can go right back to the changing room and see for yourself. What would you like to do?"
Her smile was more genuine than the playful expression she'd worn before. Seeing it made Jennifer more at ease. "Can I wear this just a little more, before buying it? I'm still considering it but this is a lot to take."
Lola gave her black-clad arm a squeeze. "Certainly!"
A shuffling sound in the distance caught Lola's attention. "I must attend the store and see if anyone else needs help. Are you okay for now?"
Jennifer nodded. She felt her hair slide much more smoothly over her shoulders than her original curls. It was nice and slick.
"If you need anything, come to the front and ring my bell. If you don't see me around, that is. Do enjoy yourself, Jenniferrrr." With that, the saleswoman slipped her fingers away from the goth's arm and she slinked out of sight.
Now that she was alone, Jennifer took the opportunity to collect herself. She realized she was still clutching the earrings and choker she picked out. She first quickly put the onyx pendants in her ears and the cameo choker around her neck. With these alongside her pale complexion and subtle touch of dark eyeshadow, she looked convincingly gothic. "I need some black lipstick, though," she remarked to nobody in particular.
Suddenly, a smoky darkness swept across her lips. She gasped and blinked her eyes, but it was still there. It seemed to be spreading inside the lips themselves. By the time she closed her mouth again, her lipstick had changed to a rich black, with a gloss evoking black licorice. She testily licked her tongue across her top lip, tasting nothing peculiar. The color didn't run or rub off on her tongue.
"Woooah." She blinked again, and another thought came to her. "My eyelashes should be longer... and nice and thick." No sooner had she blinked once more than she felt a faint tugging at the edges of her eyelids. She watched in amazement as her lashes obeyed her words, growing a touch longer and thickening to a luxurious black border around her eyes. She thought she couldn't achieve such perfect lashes even if she used all the supplies in her makeup kit.
"Okay, this is very cool." She smiled... in a very un-gothic way, she thought to herself with amusement. "Wait til the others see me." Speaking of, what was taking Cliff and the others so long? Oh wait, could that have been them that Lola had just gone to help? She hadn't even considered that. She was about to take off in the direction Lola went, but first she took a last look around the jewelry aisle. Was there any last thing she wanted really quick?