Destined to be?

Chapter 16

Brayden

Six hours and four stores later and we still weren't any closer to figuring out what kind of guy amara would be interested in having ask her to the dance. It seemed like every time we asked her qualifications would change.
One second she wants someone that can hold a conversation, the next second she wants someone who can dance really well, then she wants someone who's tall, then someone who's short. Someone who is funny but also someone serious.
I was beginning to think that the girl didn't even want a date at all.
Unless she was just messing with me which could very well be a possibility. Could have caught onto what we were doing and now just wants to see how far she can take it.
With amara I could never tell. The girl was a mystery and it was frustrating sometimes but she was the type that was always there when needed. Even at times when she wasn't.
That was a whole nother issue though.
At least each of them had found their dress.
Though I had been shood out of the dressing room and banned from coming back in so I had no idea what either of them had gotten.
They seemed happy at least and I was just glad that this was all over.
"Not quite yet chauffeur boy. Now that we have the dresses we need shoes to go with them and purses."
"Relax." Sarah said as she shook her head at her best friend. "We already know exactly which store we want to go to. Just one more, promise." How could I say no to those puppy dog eyes that she was giving me.
Holding up my arm in defeat motioning fo them to lead pursuit as i followed them all the way to the other side of the second mall that we have been to today.
After this i'm never going to another mall again in my life.
Noticing how we passed multiple other shoe stores on the way but keeping quiet. Not even wanting to put the bait in the line because at this moment I did not want to catch a fish.
Meaning i did not want to take the chance on having to go into more stores than i had to.
Besides amara seemed to knwo just where she was going.
Has she been here beofre or do girls just have like a sixth sense when it came to malls and shopping.
Thankful that Sarah was not the type of girl that lived at the mall. I'm not too sure I could handle that if it were the case.
"OMG. These are the shoes I want!"
Not knowing which pair she had been talking about before she practically ran past the window display into the store and right up to a worker pointing to where we were still at as we continued on our slow walking path to follow her in.
As the worker brought out a box for Amara I stayed by Sarah's side as she eyed all the shoes displayed on the wall shelf.
Finding myself actually interested in which pair she would pick. Not on the style, I didn't care for that at all but I knew that girls liked to match their shoes to their dress and I was genuinely curious on what color her final choice had been.
I hadn't even been able to sneak a peak because each of them had their bags with them and had completely blown off my offer to carry the shopping bags for them.
Clearly they wanted them to be a surprise.
If I had any hopes of getting a corsage that was going to match, I at least needed to know that bit of information.
Seeing her pick up a silver shoe with the skinniest heel, reminding me of pasta noodles. Wondering how something so thin could hold any weight at all without breaking. Besides they couldn't be comfortable to wear, imagining bending my foot in a way that it would need to go just to put that kind of shoe on.
Unnatural.
Coming to the conclusion that girls' feet had to be different from guys. Somehow their bone structure had to be put together in a way that would actually allow them to wear shoes like this.
"These are perfect!"
Hearing amaras happy squeak as I turned around to find that I was looking directly into her eyes.
She wasn't short actually she was just slightly taller than sarah but with these shoes she matched my six foot height with ease.
Catching her one raised brow. Some of her hair grazed my face as she flicked it over her shoulder while she turned and walked away giving us a show of just how well she could handle the heels.
Catching sight of how her hips rocked from side to side with each step.
"Those will look so good with your dress."
Shaking my head as I turned to 'my girlfriend', hoping she hadn't realized what I had been watching.
"What, you don't agree?"
That was when I saw Sarah turn to me with a quizzical look on her face and I realized that the question had been meant for me.
"Well," stuttering on my words as I scratch the back of my head. "I don't know what your dress looks like." I say with finality. That was 'a' truth.
"Well you don't need to see the dress to know that these shoes are absolutely gorgeous."
To me they just looked like black torture contraptions with a lot of unnecessary straps. But hey, if she liked them then that just brought us one more step closer to being done.
"Ok you have your shoes now i need to get mine. Just give me a sec to look around."
Nodding to my girlfriend taking my que to find a seat, luckily there were plenty of options.
Noticing how amara had added a small black purse on top of the box of shoes, handing it back to the sales rep who had a rather big smile on her face. They must receive commission from the sales and that one was no doubt a pretty penny.
"Now you got everything for prom all you need is."
"Everything. Please I still need to figure out how to do my make up and my hair and ...."
"Find a date." I placed in before she could continue.
"Ok, why are you all of a sudden so stuck on trying to set me up. That's what this whole day has been. Asking me questions, trying to persuade me to choose someone. What's the deal?"
Right hand on her hip popping her leg out in front as she looks down on me since I was sitting on one of the cushioned seats. Staring at me like a rattlesnake about to launch itself. Knowing that I had to be careful with what I was going to say, considering how well she could smell bullshit. Well I could either tell the truth or just make sure my lie was convincing and even still she'll probably still call me out.
Truth it is.
"It's just that. I really want Sarah to have a good time at the dance and I know that if you have a date too then she won't be worried the entire night about you being alone or left out."
Watching her hand drop, all the attitude in her stance drained away catching just a slight bit of unease as her eyes landed on Sarah who was still fully committed to searching the walls for her shoes.
"I want her to have the best night too. If you think that me having a date will make that happen then i will make sure that i do."
Resignation in her face but there was more than that her eyes were blank but i could tell that they were filled with tears. Tears that she wouldn't let fall.
This was a completely different amara than I was used to.
The one I knew was strong and never backed down. One who would completely push off anything negative said about her but one who would pummel anyone down who had anything bad to say about sarah. Closest i've ever seen her to being sad was when she was worried that sarah wouldnt forgive her when she went behind her back and was talking to that crap hat detective that was working the case.
Now she just looked broken down and all I found myself wanting to do was wrap my arms around her give her comfort even though i wasn't even entirely sure why she was so close to tears.
Moving over as she sat down next to me, the seat so small that her legs brushed up against mine.
Gulping as I thought about giving her some space but also not wanting to move away.
"Trust me. No one wants her to have a better night than i do." Noticing how her words were shaky as if she was working really hard to keep her emotions in check. "Last year. Last year we were supposed to go to the homecoming dance. We were making plans, talking about what we were going to wear, who we thought were going to ask us and then." Wiping away at her eyes as I saw a single tear escape down her cheek, I already knew what she was going to say but there was no way I was going to make a single noise and interrupt her.
"I knew something was wrong. She hadn't shown up for our usual meet that morning. I texted her but I didn't get a response. I tried calling but all the calls went directly to voicemail. My first thought was maybe that she was sick and turned off her phone but I knew that wasn't right. She would have let me know if she wasn't coming to school. It wasn't even the end of the first period when I had left class and called her mom."
Again she paused another tear coming, falling down her other cheek.
"When she had told me that Sarah wasn't home and when I told her that Sarah wasn't at school. I think that both of us knew at that moment but neither of us wanted to believe it. Sarah was gone. No one could tell us what happened, hell the police could only give us an estimate on when she disappeared. Days passed, then weeks, then months. My best friend was gone and with the more time that passed i found myself wishing that she was dead because thinking about her about what she might have been dealing with. Death seemed like a more pleasant option. I didn't think that I would ever see her again. Let alone have her back in my life, back in school, to be able to go to a dance with her. So to answer your question, if me having a date will make her feel even just an ounce better then i will have a date no matter who i have to take."
Nodding my head. Ignoring the strain I felt in my neck from how hard I had been clenching my jaw the entire time she spoke.
I would never fully understand just how much all of this has affected her. Mainly because I never had the chance to meet Sarah or any of them before all of this happened.
One thing I knew was that Amara was a true best friend.
I realized right then that even though I had friends before that I thought I had been close with none of them even came close to her and how much she cared for sarah.