Stalker

Chapter 9- Homecoming

Maria

I examined myself in the mirror, frowning at my appearance. Lauren was smiling happily next to me, looking at us in the reflection while holding onto my shoulders.

"Maria you look great!"

I did not look great. I managed to find a red dress, but it was short and sparkly and almost too small. The glitter itched and I felt like if I sneezed the whole dress would rip right open. It pushed my breasts up in a way that made me feel like a hooker, and there was no way I was going to homecoming looking like this.

Except for the fact I had no other choice.

Lauren had helped me with my hair, despite her constantly insisting I keep it natural. We left it down but straightened it and then used a curling iron, dousing it with hairspray and heat protectant to the point where I almost didn't need perfume because my hair was so potent.

Lauren also let me borrow a pair of black heels, the tallest ones she could find because she wanted me to 'strut my stuff'. I appreciated how encouraging she was, but I knew my feet would be killing me later because of it. I opted for no jewelry due to it being a school event, that felt far too fancy.

I also chose to keep the makeup pretty practical, my usual routine but with eyeliner and red lipstick to match my dress. Lauren was dressed in a green dress to bring out her eyes, joking that together we looked like christmas.

I checked the clock and it was 8:02, so I filled the time by taking pictures with Lauren. These were the pictures that I could post. I had Lauren take a few as well, the two of us laughing throughout half of them, especially the .5's.

At 8:08 Lauren and I made our way downstairs, a black bag on my shoulder for my phone and wallet, and a white bag on hers.

"Okay, he's late." Lauren announced, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall closest to the front door.

Lauren's date was Jackson's close friend, so they would ride in the back of Jackson's car while I was in the passenger seat next to Jackson, who would be driving.

The deal was that Jackson would only be taking us there, and we would call Lauren's mom to pick us up after, as Jackson was under 18 and it was still illegal for him to drive late at night.

Lauren's mom was a relatively relaxed parent. She simply told us not to do any drugs or hook up with any random guys, and was fine with the after party. She was more relaxed at 40 than my 21 year old brother is now.

There was a knock on the door at 8:10, and I opened it to see Jackson smiling back at me, Lauren's date waving from the car. Lauren didn't seem to care as she strutted out to the car confidently, hopping into the backseat. Jackson offered me a hand as I closed the front door, stepping out into the cold September air and taking his hand.

"You look hot Maria." Jackson said, giving my body a long look up and down. "Like, wow."

"Thank you." I tried not to blush at his compliment as he led me to his car, letting go of my hand to go around to the drivers side.

I pulled open the door of the black car, knowing it was probably a nice model since Jackson's parents were loaded. I climbed in cautiously, being careful to not hit the curb with the door.

Once I was in, Jackson began driving, and I hurriedly put on my seatbelt, glancing around the car to make sure everyone had theirs on as well.

"Hi Maria." Evan said, arm wrapped around Lauren who was looking at him with hearts in her eyes.

"Hey Evan, it's nice to meet you." I looked at him through the rear view mirror, giving him a polite smile.

I had never formally met Evan, as all the football guys sat on their own during lunch and I had no classes with him. All I knew was what Lauren told me, which was mostly about his muscles. I'm sure Evan was a fine guy, after all, he liked Lauren, so that was a green flag.