Ruffled ~ H.S

Thirteen

"Oh God, Deidre, what are you doing..?" I muttered to myself anxiously in the mirror, "you are insane. In. Sane."

"Oooh, guuurrrl!" I heard a cheeky voice come from my bedroom door, "Somebody looks especially hot & classy tonight."

"You think?" I turned to look at my roommate doubtfully, "I mean, this dress was the best fit, but...d-do you think it'll be too much..?"

"Hell no!" Charlie promised, "Harry's mom sounds like some sort of dragon lady that's obsessed with shiny things, and you need to be dripping with diamonds before you can impress her. So that dress seems perfect to me."

I smiled at her softly. "Thanks, Charlie."

I then took a deep breath and tentatively turned back towards my mirror to take another look at myself. The dress Harry had hired for me was one of the most expensive on the racks...but undoubtedly one of the most beautiful, as well. It was nearly all-black, but the skirt had been slit so that the creamy-white under-layer showed underneath. To match that, there were also some petite creamy-white beads sewn around the dress' outline from the shoulders to the hips, and I had clipped some small silver hoops into my ears just for an extra touch of elegance. Charlie also did the front of my hair up into a braided crown while the rest of my mid-length locks fell loose around my shoulders.

"You look beautiful, Deids," Charlie spoke up with a smile as she came up to me and draped her arm around my shoulders, "Harry really knows what suits you."

"Yeah. I guess he does," I chuckled softly, "Char...d'you really think that I can pull this off..?"

"Of course you can. With this dress, you'll look like one of the richest people there."

"But...I'm not," I lowered my eyes slightly, "...and Harry's mom knows that."

"Who cares? You look great, and that's all that matters. Don't let Mrs Styles' hawk-eye stop you from having a good night. And besides – I'm pretty sure that with this getup, Harry will completely refuse to leave your side – because what kind of man wouldn't want someone who looks like you attending a classy dinner party on his arm?" She smiled at me again, "I bet you my whole years' salary that no matter what his mom says...Harry will be more than proud to show you off to the whole party."

I let out a giggle. "Well...here's hoping," I bit my lip, "he should be here soon."

"I'll keep an eye out," said Charlie, "just finish collecting your bits & bobs and I'll holler if I know he's on his way up."

"Thanks, Char," I smiled at her.

"No problem," she smiled back before starting to leave the room, but she suddenly stopped in her tracks & turned back to me, "er...by the way...are you planning to come home tonight?"

"I presume so," I said with a nod, "why?"

"Oh, nothing," a smirk began to play with her lips, "it's just that I've invited Niall to come over later. I just thought you should know," she winked at me.

"Oh," I rolled my eyes, "thanks for the heads-up. Like, seriously – thank you."

"Anytime," She let out a giggle before leaving my room and shutting the door behind her.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes at her again before I collected up my phone and some makeup and chucked them in my black clutch bag – clipping it up and holding onto it nervously with both hands.

"You can do this," I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, "you can do this, Deidre."

"Hello?" I heard Charlie's voice faintly from the direction of the living room, "Oh, hey there, Harry. Here for Deidre, I guess?"