Forever Won't Be Enough

The One that got away

Two days later Rose was simply staring at the notice board when she heard a voice behind her. This time, she knew who it was.

'Hey, Rose.'

She turned around feeling a tiny little ball of pleasure glowing in her. 'Hey.'

He handed her a heavy black box and waited for her response. She simply looked up at him.

'You know what? Open it in your room. I know that you don't want to come to the party but I hope that you'll change your mind after looking at this.'

He walked backwards, smiling at her, and then turned around and walked away.

 She went to her room, Peaches greeting her with her wagging tail as usual. She sat on her bed and started opening the box. There was a pair of dark brown lacy, stilettos. She kept them aside and inside there was a vintage brown flower charm slave bracelet.

She took out the last thing in the bag, which was another white bag, inside which there was probably the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen. It was a brown, three quarter sleeve gown completely covered with lace detailing till the waist. The lower part was of brown satin with lace looming over the edges.

Curiously, she changed out of her regular clothes and tried on the gown. It fit perfectly. It had a deep neckline with three chains hanging behind on her back, connecting the sides of the dress. She definitely liked what she saw.

'Wow.'

She turned behind, not knowing when Melissa had entered. Melissa's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open as she looked at the dress. Rose hoped that her jaw wouldn't fall to the floor.

Finally she recovered. 'I thought you weren't going.'

'Yeah but Pretty- I mean Alan sent me all this.'

Melissa went to the bed, dug in the white bag and produced a brown mask from it. 

She made Rose wear it and started walking around her in circles to examine her.

'I am sure it is designer,' Melissa mumbled. 'Anyways,' she looked up at Rose, 'you aren't going to say no to this, are you?'

'I don't know.' Rose was uncertain. 'Honestly, I hate receiving gifts. It makes me feel like I am in debt or something.' She shrugged. That wasn't exactly the case with Alan, but still....

*****

'Please, I don't want any of those hot things near my hair,' Rose begged as she tried to evade the curling iron in Melissa's hands.

'Stay still. Do you want to get a burn mark on your forehead?'

'Fine. But no more accessories.'

'Okay, just this one.' Melissa gently placed a glittery silver sticker below her collarbone. 'My masterpiece,' she added proudly.

Melissa was wearing a black dress and had straightened her hair, so it looked like they had exchanged their hairstyle.

Alan knocked the door and waited. He watched Rose as she came out of the room. She looked impossibly pretty. Her hair was in thick soft waves and a major part of her face was covered in a mask. He nodded to the blond guy who was her roommate's date, and walked along with her. He had chosen the gown for her because almost everyone would be wearing dresses, and she was way too special for that.

The party was being held on the fourth floor and apparently, the room was locked up most of the time and used only for parties. The ceiling was very high and the room was modestly decorated. Even the waiters around were wearing masks, which was the only thing that saved the party from becoming boring, at least for Alan.