Inside Track Pt. 01

"You do Timmi. But how much have you spent? I mean, the whole point of us doing this damn science thing was to-"

"Hush! Hush." Timmi said, getting up to sit on the side of the bed. "You're getting all worked up, Bro. Come here. Let me show you something."

Reluctantly, slowly (and probably with one of those trademark Jones scowls on my face), I stood up and went over to Timmi's bed. He patted the sheets beside him and I sat down. He selected a tube of lipstick from the box of cosmetics and held it up to me.

"This," he said, with exaggerated care, like it was very important for me to remember it, "is Midnite Ochre. It's just about the darkest red lipstick you can get. Very goth." He dropped it back into the box and picked up another one.

"This," he continued, twirling the tube in his fingers, "is Dusk's Kiss. It's a kind of pastel red, shat shimmers light and dark. It's beautiful. My favourite." To add to the effect, he pouted and blew me a kiss.

"And this," he said, picking up a third tube, "is Pink Sunrise. It's, like, a bit 80's but great for being all pink and fluffy."

He dropped that back into the box and pouted at me.

"Three little tubes of cosmetics. Just three little tubes costing a few dollars each. But," he held up a finger as if to accentuate the point, "each one of them can turn me into a different person. If I'm wearing the stuff I've got on now - the pink frilly stuff - I can wear Pink Sunrise and feel, I don't know. Can feel all teenage and girly."

I was about to add in with a 'har har' voice that he already was pink and girly, but managed to stop myself.

"But if I wore my Dusk's Kiss, I can dress up a little more. And if I wore the Midnite Ochre, I can put on a leather miniskirt, pvc top or whatever and be a super-vamp. Do you see? Each of these little tubes is another person for me."

He was clearly trying to get a profound point across to me, and thought I couldn't get it, so picked up a tube and held it up.

"Midnite Ochre." He said, with exaggerated care. He took off the top and twirled the lipstick out of the case. "Pucker up."

I looked at him, then realised what he wanted to do.

"Hey, hey! I don't want that gunk on my f-"

"Pucker up, dickweed. It's not gonna hurt you or anything. I'm trying to prove a point."

I quietened down and sat still (secretly intrigued to see how it felt having the sticky cosmetic on my lips). Timmi laced his hair behind his ears and sat facing me, serious and businesslike. Using one hand to lightly hold my chin, he reached forward and drew the lipstick over my lips.

"Open a little" he said, and I complied. He brushed the lipstick over my lips gently, then sat back.

"Now do this" he said, pressing his own lips together. I copied him then fell silent. Timmi stared at me for a long while, then grinned. He turned - only for a moment - and fished out a small mirror from his cosmetics bag. He held it in front of my face and I looked at myself, seeing the dark, dark red lipstick framing my own mouth.

"See" he said, lowering the mirror and leaning in to me. "You can look pretty too."

He leaned in further and kissed me on the lips. I felt the squash of his lips against mine as his Dusk's Kiss met my Midnite Ochre. I closed my eyes as my brother kissed me.

It was another slo-mo moment.