Marked (Hosie Fanfic)

[06] Wasn't That Expensive?

Hope POV

   Shit. I only have 3 days to figure out what to wear, and what to give Josie for her birthday because I'm sure as hell not giving Lizzie a gift. I look at Penelope who's looking at me with the same panicked expression. "I don't know what to give her and I don't have anything to wear."

   I nod along. "Well, looks like we're going shopping today." We both stand up and as we head back to our room we run into Mg, Raf, and Landon. Like we literally run into each other. I help Raf up while Penelope helps Mg up. Landon cleans his pants off as he apologizes. 

   "Sorry." I shrug. "It's fine, but may I ask where you're going in such a hurry?" The boys look down. "We forgot about the party so we were just on our way to go shopping." Mg rubs the back of his neck. "You forgot your friend's birthday?" Penelope asks with her eyebrow raised. They all nod slowly. "Well, that's just a shitty friend move." "Oh shut up, Hope. You don't have any friends." I glare at Penelope playfully and I just mutter, "Whatever."

   "Anyways, we didn't know about the birthday so we were just going to go shopping as well." Landon looks up. "Oh, you wanna go together?" I look at Penelope. She nods. "Yeah, we'll go. Let us just grab our stuff and then we'll meet up with you at the front. Sound good?" "Yup, see you guys there," Mg says brightly before the 3 boys walk away.

   We get to our room and we grab our things. We both grab our wallets and then we're out. We walk towards the front of the school and then out the front doors. The boys are standing by a black van and I stare at it. "That's what we're driving?" "Well, it's the only car on campus that students can use unless you have your own car," Mg says almost sheepishly. Penelope sighs. "Alright, let's go." She gets into the back of the car and I follow her. Mg gets into the driver's seat and he starts the car. Raf and Landon get into the middle row and then we're off.

    Mg drives us to a popular mall. The ride is silent with nothing said. Mg silently parks and he unfastens his seatbelt. Everyone gets out and we walk into the mall. We stop at the plaza. "So, do we split up or..." Landon trails off. "I'm pretty sure men's clothes are in a different store so we should probably split up," Penelope says. 

   "Right, well we'll meet back here in, say 2 hours." We all nod at Raf's statement and we split. The boys enter a Men's Warehouse and they disappear into the crowd of people. Penelope and I just walk around looking for any stores that catch our eyes. "So, what are you planning to give her?" Penelope starts. "I honestly don't know. How about you?" I ask. She shrugs. "Same. Oooo look at that store." She interrupts herself to point at a store that has very fancy dresses in the window. I nod and we enter.

    The atmosphere changes. The walls are dark and the light is dim. Dresses line the wall and some are put on display. We walk around and browse the dresses, pointing out pretty ones as we pass. We pick some out to try after checking out the whole store. We go into the fitting room. It's pretty big so there's plenty of space for both of us to change.

   She tries on a simple sage green dress and she gives a little twirl. She tilts her head. I shake my head. "Too simple. You look like a skinny bush." Penelope rolls her eyes and slips out of the dress. 

   She puts on a scarlet dress that's so short if she sneezed she would flash the world. She spins and I kind of enjoy the show I get. "Nope, too short. Wouldn't want any creepy guys lurking around you." She pouts. "What if I want creepy guys around me?" "You look like a hooker." "Aww, thanks." I sigh and shake my head. "Just... try on the next dress." 

    She undresses and puts on a navy blue dress that has lace around the shoulders. It's long and it trails behind her a little. She twirls and I smile. "Not bad. I quite like it." She smiles as she looks in the mirror. "I like it too. This is a maybe, but I have one more dress."