lacuna

Chapter Forty

Fallon's pov

I really hoped Wren was physically here with me right now instead of over the phone but I was grateful for her nevertheless. She'd been speechless when I'd shown her the dress. And I couldn't even believe I was going to wear it either.

"Holy mother of god, amare. You're going to look so hot in that" her voice giggled through the screen and my cheeks burned as I gazed down at the dress I was holding up to show her on Facetime.

"Does Eli know?"

My eyes widened, "N-no. It's a surprise"

"Oh, man. He's going to faint when he sees you, deliciae" she cooed. 

I shook my head as I laughed, turning to the mirror and observing myself as I placed the dress in front of me, trying to imagine what it would look like. A small wave of doubt started tickling my feet but I ignored it. Prom was in less than seven hours and I had to start getting my things ready. So far, my dress was the only thing I had in mind. There were shoes and accessories to add. As I shuffled through my closet for a matching pair of heels, listening to Wren talk about one of her travels, my mind wandered for a brief minute to the conversation I had with Mum. I'd felt obligated to let her know that I was going to prom and I made sure to mention that Eli was my date. But she hadn't replied. Barely even looked at me from her place at the kitchen counter as she poked at the salad she was eating. I hadn't pushed and had walked back up to my room. I knew that she'd already told Dad from the way he kept giving me judgemental glares occasionally but every time he tried to open his mouth to say something, I'd managed to sneak away.

"...and there was this really cute girl there"

My mind pulled itself back into the present moment and I smiled, looking at the phone screen, "A girl?"

I noticed the faint blush on her cheeks. Wait. What?

Was she...?

"You know, I had a massive crush on you ever since that day I saw you at Fine Feathers. Ever since you've told me how amazing my dream job was." Wren said and my neck almost cracked when I jerked my attention to her, fully.

She laughed at my expression, "Seriously? I thought it was obvious. I was so close to asking you out".

"W-wait, I thought you had something going on with Ash or Eli?" I tilted my head.

She snorted, "Those two dunderheads? I don't even like men, amare".

I couldn't help the smile that made itself onto my face, my cheeks warming, "Aw. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?".

She gave me an eyebrow raise, "With Eli so hopelessly in love with you? I couldn't do that to him. Plus, I knew I probably wouldn't be able to make it work with you", she shrugged, "I travel too much to even consider something like that".

"You aren't coming back?" I finally chose the pair of heels and placed it near the dress so I wouldn't misplace it. Now I moved on to accessories.

"Not anytime soon. I actually got a call from this magazine to do a small photoshoot of a few fashion designs, but-"

"Wren, that's great!" I gasped, excited, "That could be a good first step"

She looked hesitant, "You think?"

I nodded, "Yup. One step at a time"

"You're a good person. A person everybody needs in their life" she said.

For the next half an hour or so, Wren helped me choose suitable accessories. I was simply thinking of having my hair down so it wouldn't be much of an issue. Wren liked it too.