Sugar Across The Hall | J. H.

VII.

♫- Even Though You Said So Easily, Blue, Circle, Only

You hold up two sweaters of identical cuts, switching them back and forth in front of your chest as you scrutinize your reflection.

"Ugh, I can't decide," you groan, stressing the last word, and a laugh emits out of your cell phone.
"What colors are they? That's important," Karina asks, painting her nails black on the other end of the line. Normally she'd be helping you get ready for such an event in person, but she was one of the few people you knew that decided to fly back home.

"I've got yellow and red."
"Girl, I graduated from FIT. Is the red scarlet, or burgundy? Be specific."
"It's uhhh..." you tilt your head, not used to thinking about colors so critically. "It's like a wine red, I think?"
"No. That's too reminiscent of Christmas."
"But that's like a month away!"
"I'd excuse it if it was a holiday party, but this is a 'Friendsgiving?' Is that what he called it?"

You sigh, taking the yellow sweater off its hanger and throwing the reject onto your bed. However upon putting it on, you notice a very obvious, blob shaped problem around the hem.

"Hey, yellow sweater is out," you sigh, pulling the top off over your head. "I forgot to take it to the laundromat this week."
"Red sweater it is!"
"What about what you just said-"
"Forget what I said. Red is bold, red is fierce, red is sexy," she says excitedly, and you giggle at the horrible rendition of a meow coming through the receiver as you pull the winning sweater over your head.
"What if I don't feel like any of those things?" You laugh, and she scoffs, blowing off your concern.

"Please, this is all about perception. The sweater will do the dirty work for you."

You turn back to the mirror, holding your hair back in a mock ponytail.
"Should I have my hair up or down?"
"How many shoulders are exposed?"

You slide the sweater to one side, showing off the strap of your lacy brown camisole.
"One."
"Wear it down, but push it to the side that isn't exposed."

You follow her instructions and assess your appearance, but can't shake the feeling that something is missing.
"Any jewelry ideas?" You ask, picking up some bangles from your mom's jewelry box.
"Any statement necklace will do."

You settle on a simple gold locket, clasping it around your neck right as you hear someone knock on your front door.
You whip your head around to your alarm clock. 6 pm.

"Crap, oh my god Karina he's here," you whisper yell, putting away any open makeup and scrambling to find your shoes. "Oh my god, I'm literally not ready-"
"Yes you are, don't be silly," she scolds, excitement leaking out of her tone.
"What if I say something dumb in front of his friends-"
"You won't, now go, before he thinks you stood him up."
"Okay...okay I'm going. Love you!"

She cheers and sends flying kisses through the phone before hanging up, and you quickly shove your phone into your pocket before running to the front door.

You can do this. It's not a date, it's just a Thanksgiving party.

You open the door and pray that your pupils aren't shaped like hearts when you take in his appearance.

Joshua stands in the hallway, carrying a pumpkin pie(you're not even a little bit surprised) in one hand like it's an accessory and twirling his keys in the other. He wears not one, but two thin beaded necklaces(it was a special occasion, after all), an olive crew neck sweater covered by a suede jacket, classic blue jeans and...converse?
"Look! We match," you blurt out, kicking out a foot to show off your identical black chucks while he beams at you. How you were able to put them on so quickly, you still don't know.