Faded

Chapter 2: Blush

Peyton's POV
Tonight I will pick my dress to wear to the Soulmate Choosing Ceremony!!!
"Peyton, hurry up, " I hear my Mom holler from down the stairs.
"I'm coming."
"Are you ready? "
"Yes."
The choosing ceremony is tonight.
"Peyton, are you nervous? "
"No, I know my soulmate is Adam. "
My mom has blonde hair that falls to her shoulders and blue eyes from what they've told me. We walk into the dress store, it's called Allure.
"Hello I'm Jared, I'll be your dress major today," says a young man that is probably in his twenties.
"Let's go," I half scream excitedly
I run down the aisles and try to touch every dress in reach. The silk between my fingers just feels right.
Then it catches my eye.
It's a long form fitted and lace dress, it looks like a wedding dress. It looks perfect.
"That one is the one."
"Are you sure?" my Mom asks
"Yes it's perfect."
Jared takes it down. He must see the color.
"Jared, what color is it? "
"It's plum. It will look great in you."
"Go try it on!" Mom shouts
As I walk to the dressing rooms, I see Riley. Riley is Julian's girlfriend. Julian's my best friend. I never thought that Riley was good enough for him.  So, I keep walking with my head down but,
"Oh my god! Peyton is that you?"
Oh God, she found me. I look up to see her beaming at me. I'm 5 foot 6and she's 5 foot 4. I tower over her. Then I see her family. The Grants are the richest family in town. They are nice but they think they're superior. They reach up and grab dresses. Then she gasps and runs over to Jared
"How's the baby, Jar?" she asks excitedly
"She is doing good! Thanks Riley." Wow, Riley gets around, I think to myself. I see my chance and I run to the change rooms. I hear her running after me but my strides are longer so I can get away. I get changed into what Jared called the "plum" dress. I step out and my mother smiles.
"You look beautiful, baby," She croons.
"Thanks, Mom," I say.
My mom, Lorraine Hall and my dad, Anthony Hall both say that I look exactly like Mom. My brother, Ashton apparently looks exactly like my dad with brown hair, green eyes, freckles and fair skin. We buy the dress and I head to school. All the girls get a half day to get ready for the Soulmate Ceremony, but the boys don't. I stop by Julian's locker for a conversation, we don't get far in our conversation, when Adam interrupts us. Adam is my boyfriend. We kiss and Julian (of course) had to make an obnoxious gagging sound to throw me off. I head to my math class as Adam goes and talks to Julian. I suddenly look down feeling so stupid. I brought the first class of the day textbook, not my math textbook! I head back to the hall and as I reach the end of it, I see two boys fighting. One is pinned against the wall and the other is yelling fiercely. I look closer and see that the figures are Julian and Adam. They are arguing, saying that Adam had a fling with another girl in New York. I was shocked when Adam admitted to it. I ran away but I wasn't quick enough. They had noticed me. I sit down in a corner and just cry because I couldn't help it! Now I hope I am not paired with him. He is the biggest jerk ever! Then Julian sits down beside me. He is my best friend after all
"Are you okay?" he asks.
I can see a split in his knuckles, so
he must of hit Adam.
"Well, as good as I could be right now" I manage to stifle through a sob.
Then he grabs my face and kisses it fast and looks away
"Julian,"
I say and grab him and kiss him back first gently then fierce. He is amazing. Then as soon as we came up for breath Adam came by.
"See you have no problem moving on."
"Just like you had no problem kissing other girls."
"Not other girls in relationships." he glares at Julian and leaves us in silence.
We smile to each other.  Then we go to class. But I can tell that he doesn't want this right now. He is still great! I feel so small compared to him because he's 6 foot 4, muscular and he is good looking but we couldn't be Soulmates could we? I doubt it. I know that he likes Riley and I think I should just accept that. But I know I won't.
"I can't do this, Peyton," He said.
"Why not?"
"Because, I have a commitment to Riley and I like Riley," He said.
"What?"
"Look, I don't want to hurt you like this again but I could be Soulmates with someone else," He said.
"Look, there's no need to explain, I totally understand, but I would like to talk about what just happened and what it meant to you and what it meant for me," I said.
"It means that I am committed to Riley Grant and I can't do this!" He whisper yelled.
"Fine, but don't come begging to me when it doesn't work out with her," I said.
"I won't because it will work out with her."
"Fine."
"Fine."
The ghost of a smile crossed my face. I knew that Riley was just a distraction for him. I would soon get to him and when I do, we will be together.

I don't mean to sound mean or anything. Riley is an awesome person! So is Julian. I understand if he doesn't pick me because all I want for him is the best for him. Hopefully, that's me.

Hey guys!! Hope you are enjoying our story!! My chapters may seem short on a tablet or computer but we write in my phones so it seems a lot bigger and there are about 800 or more words per chapter!! Have fun reading!