I hated you

Chapter six

The dress^

At six pm, I finally manage to drag myself off of my heavenly bed and into the bathroom to get ready for dinner. I'm supposed to have maids get ready but that's not going to happen. I'm used to getting myself ready.

I wash my face and check the time. It's six fifteen already so Alaric will be here soon. I do some light makeup and brush my hair. I decide to straighten it because I don't have enough time to curl it.

I'm on my last strand of hair when I hear a knock at my door. I set the straightener on the counter and walk out of the bathroom. When I open the door, Alaric is standing there leaning on the door frame with a single red rose in his hand.

"Come in," I tell him. "Hello to you, Stormie." he says with a smile. I roll my eyes and he walks in. I still haven't put my dress on and I'm only in gray sweats and a white crop top.

"This is for you, my dear," he teases. I scoff and take it but a thorn stabs me. "Shi- '' I mutter. "Oh shoot, are you okay?" Alaric asks. "Mhm uh, in my bag next to my bed, there's a few band-aids. Can you grab me one?" I ask while walking into the bathroom to wash the blood starting to dot on my finger.

Alaric walks in a moment later with a pad between two fingers, arched a brow. "You're not funny." I tell him. "I'm confused. This is a huge band aid." He says with a laugh. I take the pad from his hand and set it on the counter.

He pulls a band-aid from his pocket. I reach for it but he pulls his hand away right before I can grab it. "You seriously suck." I tell him. He laughs and gives it to me.

I put it around my finger and check the time. Six thirty six. "Okay, what do we need to talk about?" I say. "Well, for starters, I think it would be a great idea if we got some practice kissing in," "Um, no." I huff.

"You know we're going to have to kiss right? All couples do." I take in a deep breath. "Sure, but we don't need to practice. I've kissed before." I say. He pulls his eyes away from mine and rubs his head.

"You've never kissed anyone?" I ask him with a laugh. He looks embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just," I begin. "You're the prince. I thought you would have girls lining up at your feet." I say, still laughing. "Oh trust me sweetheart, I do. I just, I don't know." he says. "Wanted it to be special?" I ask. "Well, if we kiss right now, it wont me special but I guess you have a point." I tell him.

I walk over to him and raise my eyebrows, as if asking for consent to kiss him. He takes a deep breath and puts a hand behind my neck and lowers his lips to mine. I put my palm on his cheek and kiss him back. He has surprisingly soft lips.

I pull away. His eyes stay softly shut for a moment longer. He clears his throat. "Uhm, thanks." he says awkwardly. I chuckle.

"I should change so can you wait in my room?" I ask. He nods and leaves, shutting the bathroom door behind him. I go to the closet and grab the green dress.

I reach to zip it up but I cannot reach.

Am I really going to have to ask Alaric to zip me?

I don't want to be that girl who needs their 'boyfriends' help with their dress but I have no other option.

"Hey, Rick?" I call. "Yeah?" "Um, can you come in here real quick?" I ask him. A moment later he walks in. "Can you zip me up?" I ask. "Oh, sure." He moves my hair and starts slowly zipping my dress. "Must you be so slow?" I laugh. "I don't want to pinch you, love." He says sweetly. I roll my eyes. "I'm not your love." I remind him.

"We have about ten minutes until we should go." He says as he finishes zipping me up. "Okay," We walked out of the bathroom and I sit on my bed. He stands in front of me and I pat beside me, signaling for him to sit.

"So," he starts. "So," I echo. "We need a plan." He says. "Yeah," I say. "Well, tomorrow there's some news reporters coming to interview me about our relationship but you should come with me." I nod. Our relationship has already become public, but it makes sense for people to hear me two.

We sit in silence for a minute or two. "What time?"

- - -

When Alaric and I are done talking, he escorts me to dinner. While walking out of my

room, Alaric says, "Um, you should probably take my arm while we walk." I roll my eyes and take his arm.

We walk to the dining room in silence. When we walk in, everyone is already seated around the unnecessarily long table. Suddenly, all eyes are on us. I smile and look around for where I should sit.

A butler walks to us and says, "Over here," We follow him. Alaric and I sit next to each other. My mother and Isabella are sitting opposite to us and the king and queen are sitting at opposite heads of the table.

We are served a salad for appetizers and red wine. "so, Stormie, how are you settling in?" Emily asks. I have a mouth full of food when she asks so I have to swallow it quickly. I hate when that happens.

"Great! My room is beautiful, thank you so much." I tell her. It's too bad I'll have to part with it in not too long.

We eat, we talk, we drink, we answer questions about our relationship. When dessert is brought out, I'm too full to even think about eating anymore. "Um, may I be excused? I fear that if I eat anymore, I may pop." Maybe that wasn't appropriate. Emily looks at my mom and then to me. "Of course sweat." She says with a smile.

As I stand to leave, Alaric stands with me. "I'm going to head out if you don't mind." Alaric says to his parents. "Sure." Charles says. I notice that those are the first words I've heard from him since I've been back.

I walk out of the room and Alaric follows. He catches up to me and grabs my wrist. "Yes Rick?" I ask in annoyance. "Are you alright?" He asks me. "Why wouldn't I be?" "I don't know, you just seemed off in there." He aches a brow. "I'm fine. I'm going to take a bath." I tell him and walk away.

GUYS!! THE ZIPPER SEEN! Okay so I know that's kinda cliche but I still think its so cute!! Anyways, you guys should def comment and vote to help this reach more people! Much love!