Until Then. // denis shapovalov - sascha zverev

5.6 - gala

Alex's POV

"Wait they lost her luggage?" I ask Mischa, immediately tucking my phone away in high alert.

Mischa motions to shush me and brush me away as he assures Willow on the phone. After another sentence, they say their goodbyes and he hangs up the phone.

"Wh- what happened," I ask. "Is she okay? Should I call a cab to pick her up? The airport is only 9 miles away, I could bike over and get her."

"No, no" Mischa shakes his head. "Not in your suit. And she's on her way over, I already called her a cab, it's just that her luggage was put on the next plane instead of the one she was on so she won't have her stuff for another 4 hours and her stuff for the Gala is in there, so she'll just miss our meeting to buy a dress."

"Wait, will she have time? To do all that?" I ask.

Mischa shrugs. "She'll have to. Our car leaves hear at 5 exactly," Mischa responds.

"Are you serious?!" I say, checking the time on my watch. She only have forty minutes, that's hardly enough time.

Mischa just sighs and shakes his head, "That sucks."

"Wait okay, okay. I'm gonna go run out and see if I can find her something," I say.

"Bro, are you sure? It's about to rain and your hair is already done and you have your suit on," Mischa says.

I shake my head, "No, no it's fine. Okay, I'll be back in twenty, I promise." I turn and sprint out the doors of the hotel.

"You don't even have her size!" Mischa calls after me but I'm already running down the street.

My eyes are darting all around me, looking for a clothing or dress store.

Café, restaurant, bookstore, café, boutique, clothing store... a little too casual... restaurant, ice cream... I'll have to take Willow here later to try, another vintage clothing store, bridal store... BRIADL STORE! SCORE! I think to myself, darting towards to shop.

I stumble into a quiet, pastel floral shop with dresses hanging from every wall. I look around, extremely overwhelmed.

"Hi sir, may I help you?" A middle-aged woman says, walking towards me.

I nod my head, "Yes, yeah that would be great... um... I'm not necessarily looking for a wedding gown, but do you guys have any, like, really fancy, long dresses, that you would wear to a Gala for Formal?" I ask.

"The closest thing I have to that is in our bridesmaid and prom sections around the back. Follow me," she says. She walks me back and as I follow her she asks, "Do you know what size you're looking for?"

"Shit, um..." I tried to hold my hands out in a circle in front of me, pretending that I'm hugging her to somewhat measure her waist mentally.

"Or a photo of her will do," the lady chuckles.

"Right, yeah," I say. I quickly pull up her social media and hand the woman my phone. She scrolls through her posts and nods.

"Alright, now this section over here should work for you, but if the dress is a tad big, just bring it back and we can alter it for you," she says. "Let me know if you need help finding anything else."

"Oh! Wait," I respond before she walks away. "Um, I also need shoes, do you have shoes here?"

"Like, heels?" She asks.

"Uh... yeah, like dress shoes," I answer.

"Yes, we have an assortment of wedding heels on the wall back in that corner. Just let us know what size you're looking for and we can bring it out for you from the back," She smiles.

"Cool, thank you!" I answer and go to searching for a dress.

I avoid the super bright colors; I don't think Willow would like them. This blue dress is nice but it's a really low cut... No, no, no, no... I sigh walking over to the next rack of dresses. Maybe this one... no, no, no, maybe... I stop at this dress, immediately pulling it off the rack to hold out in front of me. It's this mauve/lavender color, with lace and floral, and it's flowy and... this is the one. I know it's the one. I never thought I'd be one to be dress shopping right now, but I get why people feel awe when finding the right dress. Because this is it. This was Willow's.

I lay the dress over my arm so it's not dragging on the ground, and I walk over to the wall of shoes. I immediately walk towards a simple white heel. It's the only one without any extra jewels or sparkles or buckles on it.

"Um, hi," I say to the same employee helping me earlier. "Do you think I could get these in like... a... maybe 6... 6 and half? Which ever size is more common," I ask, having no idea what Willow's shoe size is. "She's like... this tall," I say, holding my arm out lower in front of me.

The employee chuckles and says, "I'll say a size 7. You'd rather have a slightly larger shoe than a slightly smaller shoe."

She ducks into the back, and I stare around at the people around me who are also glancing back at me. A couple seconds later, she returns and hands me a shoebox, "These should be alright. If not, throw them in the freezer and they'll be easier to stretch out."

"Thank you so much, you're a life saver!" I thank her.

-

I wait, stressed, for Willow's cab to arrive. I keep checking my phone, seeing that she's running extremely low on time.

"C'mon," I silently chant to myself, impatient. Suddenly, a yellow cab pulls up to the front of the door. Without confirming who's in the car, I sprint out the winding doors.

"Willow!" I yell and she immediately turns around to my voice with a huge smile. She runs over to me as we pull each other into a hug. "There you are!"

"Oh my gosh, hey! You look so nice! I like the color of your tie!" She says, letting go.

"Thanks! How was the flight?" I ask.

"It was good... long." She looks around and then at me, "Hey, it's really great to see you and I'd love to catch up during the Gala or afterparty but I'm so sorry, I really have to get going. I don't have my stuff and I gotta go buy a dress before our car gets here!" She says.

I chuckle and shake my head, "Yeah about that... Um, I was there when Mischa picked up your phone call so I might've grabbed you something so you wouldn't have to worry," Alex smiles.

Willow immediately starts shaking her head in disbelief, "No you didn't," she says.

"I did. C'mon, it's in your room," I say, offering my hand for her to grab.

"Alex, no you shouldn't have!" She says, taking my hand and allowing me to lead her into the hotel.

-

I wait, stressed, for her to come out of her room with her dress on. I hope I got her the right size and fit for both the dress and shoes. I pick at my nails, nervous about seeing her.

What if I just leave...? Will she be upset? What if-

The door clicks open and I immediately let out a gasp, unwilling to come to turns of how beautiful Willow is. She looks absolutely unreal. I am at a lost for words. For thought. For breath.

"It's... perfect," she beams, doing a quick spin for me.

I hold out my hand to her in silence and she takes it. I then guide her hand up and her body follows, allowing her to do a full, perfect twirl.

"Alex, I don't know what to say," She looks up to me in admiration. "No one's.... no one has ever done this for me."

I shake my head, "Then I've gotta do it more often," I say, reaching behind her to close her room's door. "Ready?"

She nods, "As ready as I'll ever be."

I smile and hold my arm out for her to wrap her hands around and we walk back towards the elevators. "You have no idea how beautiful you are," I whisper.