Without A Trace

Chapter 1~We're Gonna be Late

CHAPTER 1

"Jayden!! Are you ready yet?" Chloe's voice echoed throughout her house. I rolled my eyes, as I tried to fix the tight skirt of my night gown. The skirt was too narrow and I was having trouble walking. "JAYDEN!"

Giving up on it, I turned out of Chloe's room and half hobbled half walked down her swirling, two story staircase. By the time I got to the first floor, I was out of breath from trying to not trip and fall down the stairs. Standing by the foot of the staircase, I scanned the room looking for my petite bestie who I knew was cladded in a deep, red ball gown. Not spotting her in the living room, I made my way to the adjacent kitchen. Walking in, I immediately spotted her as she delicately stuffed her face with a huge bite of sandwich. As soon as she saw me, her eyes sparkled and she clapped her hands giddily.

"Finally! I thought we would never head out!" Chloe exclaimed as she spun on her toes and grabbed her black clutch. It matched her dress and makeup beautifully. "Well? How do I look?" Her question was rhetorical, since we both knew that she was gorgeous, no matter what her outfit was. Currently she was sporting a blood red, short princess sleaved gown,  that left her shoulders bare. It had a tight bodice and skirt. Unlike my mermaid dress though, (that's what she had called my dress when she gave it to me) her skirts fanned out as soon as they passed her mid thighs, and gathered loosely around her feet. Her jet black hair was loosely curled and hung around her shoulders, hiding the fact that her dress was backless. Her makeup was precisely put on, and her smoky eyes once again reminded me of how much I envied her almond shaped eyes and Asian heritage. 

"You look beautiful," I told her truthfully, "I'm the one who looks like shit." Immediately her eyes narrowed and her mouth pulled into a deep scowl.

"Jayden Winter Alan, you look beautiful and you know it. Now stop giving me that pouty face and grab your jacket. We're going to be late!" Chloe glared as I dramatically humph out a sigh and hobble towards her.

"But Chlooooo," I stretch out her name in a nasally voice I know she hates, "I can barely move in this dress! Why can't I wear something like you?"

"Cuz," she smirks, "Girls your height look good in mermaid dresses-not trumpet ones." She's right. It's practically impossible for me to find any dresses that look good on my 5'8" frame. She skips towards me, an evil grin gracing her lips, making me wonder if she's just trying to rub her ability to move in my face. "Besides, how much do you want to move anyway? We're going to a party, not a hike." She runs her hand over my bare shoulder as she pushes a stray strand of my wavy hair off of it. My dress is strapless, while my red wine colored hair is twisted into a high bun.

"We're going to a party where my sole purpose is to find the guy who is stopping me from getting my damn job." I respond as I gently push away her hand and turned towards the kitchen door. Walking as gracefully as I could on my 3 inch spike heels, I headed to the front doors. Standing next to the thick oak doors, was a clothes closet easily twice as wide as me and about a foot taller. I could feel my excitement bubble and boil as I reached inside the closet and grabbed the first thing I saw: a neon green parka with black stripes running down its sides.

I heard a muffled shriek just as I was putting it on. I waited a second and rolled my eyes as I felt Chloe tear the parka out of my hand. Shooting daggers at me, she turned and stuffed the offending article in the closet as she murmured something along the lines of over my dead body. Finding the thing she was looking for, a black shawl that I doubt would protect me from the strong Chicago winds, she smirked at me and said,  "If you want to talk to the guy really standing in your way for that damn dream job of yours, you should try going to the station. I'm sure your dad would be more than happy to see you."

"You know what I mean!" I glared at her before I gave the offered piece of clothing a suspicious look. She must have seen my unwillingness to take the shawl, because she sighed and just simply draped it over her arm before she turned around and found a more sturdy wrap for me. This time she offered me a jet black, drape front jacket. Grateful for the upgrade, I took it and gave her a wide smile, flashing her my twin dimples.

"Your such a child," Chloe sighed, but she couldn't stop her own grin from spreading across her face.

Careful to not mess up her hair, I casually draped my arm around her neck and steered us out the door and towards my white Toyota Fit. "But you still love me," I sang. "Now come on. We have a multi-millionaire jewel thief to find."

***

Hey guys! How was it? srry about any mistakes ;-.

Please comment, vote and critic! <3

(PS. the image at the begining is the staircase in Chloe's house)