Half Hearted

Chapter Thirty Three

| Teresa |

The day came, and Oria decided it best if we went shopping for a new dress instead of digging out an old one. She told me she ran through my closet and saw nothing, and then tried lending me her best dresses, but I didn't fit.

She had legs the size of venus, and also the curves of a goddess. I couldn't do the dress enough justice.

So we had a day of shopping to ourselves, with Steven at his meeting, and Claire still grounded.

"This is so refreshing, you know?" She commented, walking into Forever 21. It was sad, since I had just turned 22. "We get to buy you a bomb ass dress, while I get to buy lingerie for tonight."

"That's too much information."

The next few hours consisted of me trying on dresses of different styles, sizes, and colours. After a while, my arms got tired of having to pull dresses over my head all the time, so we took a break and grabbed ourselves a cup of coffee.

While we were sat at the tables, I noticed a familiar face not too far away from where we were. "What?" Oria asked, turning around to match my gaze. "What is it?"

The light bulb went off, and I remembered the light brown hair with the red streaks. "It's her," I hushed, pointing my chin at the girl. "The one at Starbucks."

Oria's eyebrow raised, and she stood from her seat. "That girl, huh?"

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

"She's like ten, Oria, relax."

"Just because you're ten doesn't mean you don't deserve to be taught a lesson."

As Oria walked away, I was about to get up to stop her, but then another figure came into view. It looked to be the girl's mother. The both of us paused, watching as the lady sat in front of the girl and stealthily pinched her arm. The girl winced, but didn't seem to be alarmed.

What was going on? Was this woman her mother or some not-so-care giver?

"Oria get back here," I ordered, and she finally obeyed. We sat back down at our seats, and she brought her chair over to my side so we could keep watching what was happening. Although we weren't very subtle, we were able to observe without being caught.

It seemed that the girl was being scolded, and every time she spoke - which didn't even look to be a sassy remark - she got pinched. It was a pinch so short that no one around could have noticed. But we did. And suddenly I lost all the anger I had from that day.

"Asian moms," Oria sighed, pulling her chair back to where it originally was. "I'm so glad I didn't have to deal with strict parents."

"Can't say the same for Steven," I stated.

"Yeah, but Steven's dad doesn't hurt him like that."

The girl and the woman left shortly after they ate breakfast, and we left as well. The perspective opened up my eyes to a different world that day.

After window shopping and storming through random stores, I finally found the dress, and Oria finally found her undergarments. We headed for home, but then got hungry so we went to McDonald's instead.

My stomach marvelled once I got the taste of fries again. It had been a while since I ate a burger with fries, so I basked in the glory. All I'd been having lately was noodles - which Steven gladly provided for us. It was something Oria and I couldn't understand about him.

Out of all the foods he could choose for himself, out of all his gourmet chefs, he always chose ramen noodles from superstores. Funny, really.

When we got back to my apartment, I got myself ready, and Oria helped me out with the makeup. I never really used anything other than eyeliner and mascara, so the use of all those bronzers, and foundations was new to me. 

Once she was done patting something on my face, I turned around to face the mirror. Honestly, she made me look gorgeous.

My freckles were concealed, and my eye bags also looked like they were gone. The pinkish-red lipstick gave my face a little colour, and the brown powder she applied to my cheeks made me look like I had Scarlett Johansson's cheekbones.

"Eek!" She shrieked, getting excited for me. "Don't come home tonight, all right? Whatever you do, go and get laid. I can't use this makeup on you for nothing."

I smiled, checking the time on my phone. "I should be heading there soon. I'll see you guys later."

"Not later," she corrected me, ushering me out of the apartment. "Tomorrow morning."

Giggling, I headed out and she shut the door behind me.

| Ash |

Ash was nervous. And if he couldn't admit it to himself, his sweaty palms would be the evidence. 

He got to the party at about six, and so he had enough time to spare until Teresa would get there. Peter had told him that she would arrive at around seven or so, but he didn't know anymore. Peter was all over the place with schemes.

"Ash!" His ears perked at the sound of Maudie's voice. He turned his attention towards her, but then noticed that she had a girl looped in her arm. "I want you to meet someone."

Getting closer, he saw that she was some sort of Asian, with a peaceful kind of beauty. Still, he wasn't heightened with attraction. "I'd like you to meet Jen. She's Korean, but she grew up in the US. Jen, this is Ash, the model I told you about."

"Hi," Jen greeted, her eyes were a natural flirt. "Nice to finally meet you."

They shook hands, and Maudie smiled like a proud parent. "Alright, well, I'll be over there doing my own thing. The two of you enjoy."

The two of them nodded her off, and Jen tried some small talk. "So, Halloween huh?"

"Hmm?" He asked, barely paying attention to her. Ash was still on the lookout for Teresa.

"Halloween," she repeated herself. "It's odd, since no one was told to wear a costume."

"Yeah." He was fazed out hard.

"Uhm, is there someone you're waiting for?" The Korean girl spoke, looking around for a clue as to who the boy with tattoos was anticipating.

"Huh? Oh, no, I was just distracted. Anyways, go on."

The small talk went on like this, with Ash barely listening to what she was saying. She was enlightened on some topic about some band member named Luke, but he didn't bother asking. His main motive for the night was to find Teresa, keep her drink safe, but stay out of her sight.

The night went on, and he checked his watch and saw that it was already seven. She still hadn't walked in.

Starting to get curious, Ash tactfully dodged Jen by introducing her to the bartender, and then left to head outside of the building. A part of him wanted to grab a cigarette pack from the closest convenience store, but he thought better of himself. It was a fight he had to win.

While kicking around some stones, a cab stopped right in front of him. There were only seven yards of sidewalk that were between him and the cab. And then a heel came out, and another. Six yards of sidewalk that separated him and the woman.

His eyes trailed up, noticing the slightly revealing, yet slightly concealing dress. Then, his heart skipped a beat.

There was Teresa, wearing a dress that was an odd colour of green. 

Ash remembered the time he thought that she would be poked fun at due to her fashion sense, and then he chuckled. She looked like a goddess compared to all of the girls in there.

Suddenly, their eyes met, and he was too drawn in to look away.

Well, so much for staying out of her sight.