Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Ugh, another dumb day." 

Mandy groaned as she get up from her bed, her bed hair was all over the place as she gets herself cleaned up and ready for class by herself. Her own two best friends moved away for their studies, leaving her alone without any other friends, friends who actually cared about her. She looks herself at a mirror and sighed, brushing her hair before getting her lipstick only to realize that it's empty. 

"Huh? Since when this one was empty?" She asked herself before groaning and going to class without any makeup. She still looks very pretty, but not as usual. Mandy sat down in class, scrolling her phone and opening an online shopping app to buy some makeup, but the delivery price is crazy. Exhausted, she shuts her phone and started doodling in her book. 

She has a small fascination with doodles, but nothing major. She goes through her her doodles before the class started, swiftly she took her notebook and studies. She might as well start off fresh now that her friends aren't around for a while. While she's writing, three girls behind her was looking at Mandy surprised. Who else if it's not the secret spies?

"She's actually studying?" 

"Maybe she hit her head or something?" 

"Girls, just let her be for now. We'll talk to her later." 

Mandy sighed at their words, but it's somewhat true. She's not really the studious type, so she tends to either lay around or get someone else to work for her. Right now, she just needed a distraction. After class ended, she went to the cafe and grab some food to eat. A hot dog, some ice lemon tea, it tasted mediocre but it's good enough or her. As she sat down, she got messages from her friends in the group chat, asking Mandy how she's doing. Mandy admits, she's a bit jealous that her friends get to study somewhere far and nice, but she's still okay with this college. She replied anyway, at least they can still be close friends. 

After her meal, she decided to take a walk in the city, and might as well pick up some makeup as well. She went to the mall and looks at the makeup, but none of them peeked her interest. Most of them are cheap ones, and she's more concerned with quality over them. As she looks through the lipsticks, she noticed one specific brand of lipstick that she's heard about. 

Vrai Moi. 

She looks at the color of the lipstick. It was more softer in color compared to the other lipsticks, where the color can be bold or dark. She rarely seen a lipstick with such soft, gentle tone. Mandy was about to put the lipstick away before a handsome voice caught her hearing.

"Oh, I see you've been eyeing that lipstick." The voice said. Mandy turned around and was surprised by what she see. 6'6 feet tall man, tan skin, a mole under his left blue eye, wearing a simple clothing that feels comfortable in her eyes. She was surprised, but she shook her head. 

"Oh, I was just eyeing it, nothing major." Mandy replied. The man chuckled before holding the lipstick for her, as if he was offering for her to try it. 

"Here, I think it'd looks good on you. The gentle color will surely make you look more young." He commented. Mandy gulps a bit before testing the color on the back of her hand. She noticed bits of sparkle in the lipstick, making it more cuter. She held the color near her lips in front of the mirror. The man wasn't lying. The color seems more suited to her than she thought. 

"I never knew this is my color..." She admitted. The man chuckled before handing her another lipstick of the same brand. 

"Here, you can have this. Don't worry, it's still new and unused." He smiled before walking the other way. He was about to walk towards an intersection before Mandy calls him. 

"W-what's your name?" 

The man smiled. 

"Call me Michael. Michael Loris." 

Chapter Text

Mandy looks at the lipstick she had just bought on a cafe table, still in its package all neat and fancy, yet still affordable to anyone. That man just now, he was her type. Beautiful blue eyes, that cute mole, and he looks charming. She couldn't help herself from daydreaming. Is this what love was suppose to be? Someone who genuinely wants to help her, and she felt swoon by his kindness. But what if he was just saying it as a passing thought? That made her felt a bit down.

Mandy grabbed the lipstick, unsure whether to use it or not. She was tempted because the color suits her, but the memories were precious. Ah, what to do, she thought. She looked around the cafe, trying to think for a bit for inspirations. What if she won't see that guy again? What was his name again... Michael Loris? She gently caress the lipstick before taking the packaging off. Well, it was just a one off thing. Maybe it was just a coincidence. She might not see that man again, so might as well use it. As she was about to put the lipstick on her lips, Clover squealed nearby, causing her to jolt in surprise. What the heck?!

"Ugh, Clover! I was about to put on my makeup!" Mandy yelled, her voice was filled with annoyance. Clover huffed before placing a compact mirror for her.

"Ugh, how can you even wear makeup without a mirror? You can borrow it for now, I need to grab myself a drink because I have to ask about that brand!" Clover ranted before rushing inside the cafe. Mandy looks at the mirror and saw the reflection of her, Sam and Alex. With a heavy sigh, she puts the lipstick away and looks at the two girls in annoyance once more. She really doesn't like the girls, but not as much as she used to back in high school.

"What do you guys want?" Mandy asked. Sam chuckled slightly, seeing how awkward things are. 

"N-Nothing, sorry, Mandy. Clover was excited to try out the new Blue Coral flavor latte that just came out so... Yeah." Sam explained, wanted to respect Mandy's boundaries. Mandy sense the awkward and decided to do something she never thought he would. Just this once, she thought.

"Just sit down, I'm gonna leave later anyway." She said. Sam and Alex looked at each other, surprised before taking the offer. They have their guards up, but seeing how Mandy was having her own time made them feel slightly more comfortable.

"Thanks, Mandy. That was really nice of you." Alex smiled, her cheerful expression made Mandy felt a bit weird in a good way. Huh, nice? It does feel good, but maybe for now. Clover came back with 4 drinks in her arms. Hold on, 4?

"Are you a glutton or something, Clover? Why did you buy 4 drinks?" Mandy smirked, trying to be her old self but it hurts her inside. Why is she feeling like this? Clover was about to complain before Alex and Sam looked at their friend, shaking their head to not cause a ruckus at a public space. Defeated, Clover place a drink in front of each of them.

"Well, I just got my paycheck so I wanted to treat my girl friends here (friends who are girls, not a couple). Since you let them sit, I might as well get you something to drink." She explained, drinking the blue coral latte. Oh, this is pretty weird. Mandy looks at the drink, surprised. Have they always been this nice to each other? She looks at the drink sticker to read the order. A cold chocolate shake with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and some wafers on top. This sounds yummy.

"For me?" Mandy asked, confused. Clover laughed.

"Of course, silly. It's the least I could do." She said while Sam and Alex enjoyed their drinks. Mandy felt like something just stung her eye. It felt so nice yet so heavy to receive something nice like this, especially coming from the girls she had bullied so long ago. No, Mandy. Don't show it.

"W-whatever. You should be honored I let you sit here anyway!" She said, trying to push away these feelings. Clover shrugged before looking at the lipstick Mandy had bought.

"Isn't that the new brand that came out? How is it? Is it nice? What's the options?" Clover asked, her question was like rapid fire. Mandy shrugged before opening the lipstick to them. The glimmer from the glittery lipstick was beautiful, and the color is still just as soft as she remembers. And that man... She couldn't forget about him.

"I don't know. I was browsing through and this lipstick looks nice. It has glitter on it. Someone... told me I'd look nice in this." Mandy replied, slowly her cheeks started to  warm up from the memory of the encounter. It made her smile without realizing it, and it was a genuine, happy smile that made the 3 girls surprised.

"Say, Mandy. Why are you smiling like that?" Alex asked curiously. Mandy realized what happened and immediately tried to hide it. She stood up and picking up the drink and her stuff, embarrassed by what is going on.

"N-Nothing, bye!" She said and ran off back home. The trio looks at each other, slowly smiling and giggling at a new idea that could make Mandy be more kind to others and herself.

A crush.

"Girls, I think we all know what to do this weekend." Clover smiled as Sam and Alex nodded. They were about to get up before Clover noticed the compact mirror she placed down.

"Oh yeah, can't leave this one. Hm?" The compact mirror glowed slightly, and immediately triggered an alarm in the girls' head. This was their spy gadget, not the normal mirror! Luckily it looks normal. The girls huddled together as the mirror showed a screen of information. It scanned the lipstick brand that Mandy bought, and their eyes fell down surprised. It popped up 4 man. One is his late 60s while the other 3 seems to be his sons, all in their mid 20s to late 30s. They seem suspicious.

But why did the compact scanned it in the first place?

"Girls, alleyway, now." Jerry's voice can be heard from the compact. Ah, of course, Their mission. The trio walks to the alleyway, hidden from the civilians before the wall next to them opened, sucking the girls in before closing the wall as if nothing happened. The girls fell down into the secret headquarters of WHOOP, where Jerry still look as fine as ever.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your day, girls. But we just receive quite an intel from that compact of yours." He said. Clover was fixing her dress, Sam was fixing her hair while Alex stretched her legs from the pain. They're still not used to this.

"What about them, Jerry?" Sam asked. 

"The compact detected some strange chemicals from the lipstick Miss Mandy bought. It won't cause any danger from what we can tell, but we needed the makeup sample in order to fully understand what is going on." He explained, revealing the information on the screen. The brand reveals the 4 man from earlier.

"The only reason why we took action is because of these men are wanted from the WHOOP international database. According to the data, one of these guys caused many health problems to the consumers and causing them to have severe hive and acne all over the world in the good old 1990s. I need you girls to investigate the brand, and send in the sample as soon as possible." He explained again. The girls smiled before turning on their compact, putting them on their spy outfit.

"We're on it, Jerry!"