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come lunchtime, clay was bored out of his mind. he couldn't stop thinking about the family dinner he was supposed to attend in a couple of hours. meeting a friend's parents was just as intimidating as, say, a romantic interest. he'd gone through his closet maybe twice at most before deciding on a simple forest green button up and khakis. but when he made his way downstairs to iris's room, horror instantly flashed across her face.
"i'm not one to tell you what to wear or not to wear," she began, "but my family's going to rip you apart if you wear that."
"what's wrong with this?"
"clay, you look like a christmas elf."
"it's just a green shirt!"
"no, no." she pushed him back upstairs. "change. i think you have decent clothes taste but i'm trying to get my family to like you."
"what if they don't like me?"
she thought for a moment before shrugging. "then i guess we'll just never see them again. it doesn't matter that much to me, but i also don't see them often, and... i really like their validation." at his look, she rolled her eyes. "come on. put on a fashion show for me."
he narrowed his eyes. "you realize how that sounds right?"
she arched a brow. "cmon." she sat down on her bed, crossing her legs and giving him a smile. he rolled his eyes, but went back to his room and looked through his closet. she said dressy casual. but he would either be too dressy or too casual.
he frowned. what was wrong with what he'd wore?
he grabbed a plan white shirt and blue jeans, though he hated it so much he could only imagine what iris would think. sure enough, as soon as he stepped into her room, she shook her head.
"if you're this picky, i'd let you go through my closet and pick clothes yourself," he muttered.
she shrugged. "cmon. worst case, we overdress."
"we?"
"why do you think i'm so picky? my parents judge what i wear every time i visit them. if we were still in colorado, they'd have a different opinion." she stood up. "cmon. maybe just find a black dress shirt and black pants."
"i'll look like i'm going to a funeral."
"then unbutton the top. it's too scandalous to be for a funeral." she smiled crookedly. "okay, okay, we have an hour. i'll see you at the front. whatever you wear will likely be fine."
"whatever," he huffed, even though he liked playing this game as much as she did. he went back upstairs and sifted through his closet, until he found a silk-like black shirt. he put on the darkest pair of pants (that weren't sweats) he could find and tied his shoes before going back downstairs, praying iris wouldn't make him change again. he didn't care about her dressing him up, or how big of a deal she made it. it was her parents, and the relationship itself sounded strained.
