ugly duckling

slow and steady

Mira and you meet at the center of the shopping district. She's dressed in a pair of jeans and low casual slippers, a cropped sweater that almost covers her whole torso, and a plain t-shirt underneath. She looked as nice as she truly was so in this instance you would understand if people judged her based on that alone.

"(name)!" she calls out excitedly, waving her arms around with a massive grin, her eyes shimmering brightly in excitement "Where do you wanna go first? I was thinking of just shoes but I figured we could take advantage of the day off and have fun!"

you nod stuffing your hands in your deep pockets "If I'm being honest I was thinking of checking out some new lenses, my frames are kinda..." you trail off, tapping the side of your bulky glasses

the girl gets the hint, leaning in to look at your frames closer "they're not bad, but I get what you mean. I think they're cute though" she sighs, you begin walking in the direction of the store where she plans on buying her shoes

"if I didn't know any better I'd say you think everything I do is 'cute'" you tease, referring to the many, many compliments she's given you since the beginning of your short friendship.

the girl jerks, almost tripping over her own feet before waving her hands around defensively "Wha- No! I mean, yeah! Of course I do but- well..."

her reaction makes your gut stir, feeling oddly attracted to the girl's now obvious admiration she poorly his "Ha- okay, okay... calm down," you reassure her smoothly, opening the door for her to enter first "I was just teasing..." you giggle

Mira huffs leading you to the back of the store "You're so mean..." she whines

you retort back with a peel, time flies by quickly when you're with Mira. again, it was so easy to relax around her the errands didn't even feel all that forced since she was so easy to talk to.

it's in the 3rd store where she finds her new shoes "Perfect" she sighs happily, walking up and down the aisles of the store before doing a few jumps and lunges "I found them! I'm taking these"

nodding you collect the box the shoes came in and hand it to her as you collect the things you left strewn around while looking for shoes for her to try.

when you approach the front, Mira begins paying for them, the clerk flirting with the girl despite her disinterest. he doesn't bother glancing at you, something you don't even notice since this was a common occurrence that Mira was growing irritated with

when you leave the store, Mira grabs your wrist roughly "huh?" you grunt, wincing at her surprising strength

"come on, we're getting your new lenses and some clothes!" Mira says sternly, turning to smile at you over her shoulder

"Sure but- wait!" you're forcefully dragged behind the chestnut-haired girl, following her into a nice shop filled from wall to wall with different glasses frames, styles ranging from classy to big and dramatic.

the girl observes your expression, her hand coming up to brush stray strands of hair out of your face with a hum "I was right..." she smiles, a soft pink dusting her cheeks

"Right about what...?" you ask timidly, almost melting into her touch, the way she held you was so gentle like she was handling the most delicate piece of china

"You're beautiful" she beams, her eyes glimmering in excitement "I wish most people could see it but if we have to help them, so be it! You're a painting that was born to be admired!" she says proudly, letting you go as she marches into the store confidently, radiating excitement in waves

you're stuck in place, trembling in your spot, still trying to understand what she said, looking for any deeper meaning "what? wait, Mira..." you whine, following her slowly "what's that supposed to mean?"