Desolate - h.s. ✓

° sixty-three ° *

     There were about two weeks until prom, and I hadn't even started looking for a dress. Harry and I had been making time for one another, making sure that we had dinner at least once a week, if not twice. He was becoming overly busy with school, and college, and baseball, and simply preparing for what was to come after this upcoming summer. It was nerve-wracking to think about, but I was positive my boyfriend would be fine. At least, he appeared fine, so I had no doubt.

Ella was driving the three of us to the mall, saying something about how I needed to really get a dress before all of the good ones were picked over. My father had given me one of his credit cards, claiming that this prom was important because it was my first one, and Harry's senior one. Rolling my eyes at the thought, we headed straight for the department stores, the first two picked over, but the third one having an astounding selection.

"So, what color did you say?" Ella asked. "I got a red dress."

"Oh yeah. I think you showed me a picture of it about a week or so ago. But I want a light blue dress. That is what Harry and I decided for the color scheme we wanted."

She nodded, Blair and Lex saying they wanted to look at some dresses even though they also already had their prom dresses. Ella and I picked some out, finding most of them to be cute. Normally, there were not nearly this many to pick from, but I was thankful for the larger selection this year.

"You said light blue?" Blair asked.

"Yeah."

"Shit, this is so cute, Nikki. Look at this, it looks perfect. It's the only one left too. I was thankful that it was my size, heading to the fitting room with the several dresses that I wanted to try on. The first one I attempted didn't even make it up my thighs, but I realized it was because the tag said one thing, but the dress was actually a size smaller. Setting it aside, I tried on another one, glancing at my self in the mirror before opening the door.

"Here's this. The back isn't fully zipped, but I think it looks cute."

"It does!" Ella agreed. "You look stunning."

"Thank you!"

She nodded, unzipping me so that I wouldn't have to struggle taking the dress off. I tried on another, both of us laughing at the way the outfit appeared on my figure. Blair and Lex came to look, also laughing at the dress. It was probably the ugliest thing I had ever tried on, leaving me to take it off quickly. I tried on several more before the one that looked the most promising. It had super thin straps, the dress being embroidered beautifully. There was also some three-dimensional things going on, but I ignored it, pulling on the dress quickly. It fit wonderfully, and I opened the door, my cheeks flushed when Ella nearly gasped.

"That's the one. It has to be. You look perfect, Nikki. Like a princess. Hold on, let me grab them."

Ella called for Blair and Lex, the two asking if I was in something ridiculous again, but seeming shocked at the sight of me. They both said I looked beautiful, and I smiled, glancing at myself in the mirror. It definitely looked perfect one me, and I couldn't believe that it had been my exact size. Looking at the price tag, it was even crazier to see that it was marked down to about a hundred dollars, my friends nodding.

"That's a keeper. There is no way you'll get anything better," Lex told me.

Ella and Blair both agreed, Ella unzipping me once again. I grinned at myself in the mirror, extremely thankful that in about forty-five minutes I had found exactly what I was looking for. Once I put the dresses back on the rack, I paid for my dress, my friends grinning as we headed toward the food court. The four of us ate, chatting about what we were going to do after prom. I simply said that I wasn't sure what Harry would want to do, but my friends said they were probably going to the party that was after. We headed to the car after lunch, a call coming in from Harry. I raised an eyebrow, confused at first. Honestly, I liked when he called me randomly, but I felt awkward only because my friends were in the car.