Only because you asked // Rafe Cameron

Chapter Twenty One - Perhaps not then.

"I look like a fairy vomited on me," Lana exclaimed, grabbing a tissue and trying to lessen the glittery substance on her eyelids.

"What are you talking about?" her mother expressed, fluffing her daughter's hair with her hands, spinning her around to face the mirror. "You look dashing darling, I wish you could see that."

"I'm removing these flowers from my hair or I'm not going," she moaned, plucking the daisies and daffodils out and placing them on the table.

"You must keep at least one in my lovely," she pleaded, snapping a fresh Daffodil from the bouquet of flowers and neatly clipping it onto the side of her head. "It is midsummers, after all."

Lana threw her head up to face the ceiling, groaning loudly as she returned her face to examine her dress; it was tinted a fetching lavender as the straps crossed over from her neck.

"This is humiliating," she expressed, grabbing her purse and storming out of the room and into the front garden as impressively as she could in heels. Her father had wanted a family photo before they left, arguing with Cole about the appearance of his incorrectly worn tie.

"Ward!" he called out as he sighted him exiting his own house. "Come take a picture for us."

"Happy to," he answered, walking over to grab the camera from her father. "Don't you all look classy tonight," he complimented, squinting one eye as he began to take the photo.

They put on their best smiles and posed for the picture.

"Could say the same about you guys," Mr. Alexpoulos replied, referring to the rest of the Cameron family exiting their house.

Lana ran to the car door and yanked it open, throwing herself inside.

"Dad, come on. We're gonna be late," she nervously cried out, slamming the door shut. Her mother took a seat in the passenger seat, the rest of the family following.

"What's got you in a rush?" she asked her, strapping her seatbelt on. "Not five minutes ago you had been dreading going."

"I'm hungry," she reasoned, fully aware that she had eaten not long ago.

She felt a wave of relief consume her as her father had started the car, and began to drive off.

The truth behind her panic was that she felt so hideous she couldn't fathom even thinking about letting Rafe sight her like this; this caused a slight predicament seeing as they were bound to bump into each other tonight.

The entire car ride was spent thinking about ways to avoid Rafe; there was actually no one she had wanted to see more at the time, but for her own sake she tried her best to stay clear of him.

In actuality, she looked unexplainably beautiful that night; like she was a feather made of glass, prone to extreme fragility. Everyone perceives themselves differently than how others tend to, and in her head she was a walking fairy-explosion.

Nothing terrified her more than the view of her father parking his car and whispering 'show time' under breath before hurrying the entire family out of the car.

Her mother had demanded stillness from her as she smoothened her dress from any creases, pushed all her hair back apart from a little bit she let lay on her shoulder, and straightened the flower in her hair.

"Mom, I think I'm fine," she begged as she began to walk after her father who had made his way inside the building. The chatter and laughter indicated that they were arriving fashionably late as her mother had planned to, wanting to be the centre of attention at all times.

Despite not having a care in the world, moments like this horrified her; 'all eyes on her' usually made her want to disappear to practically anywhere but the current place.