Happily

Chapter Six: Moments

(Juliet King)

            It had been a week and a half since I arrived in Los Angeles. I was getting the hang of the city. It wasn’t very different from Miami – except that no one walked around shamelessly in their bikinis and swim shorts. 5 Seconds of Summer had been especially busy going between writing sessions, recording sessions, and gigs. So I had been hanging with the One Direction crew in the meantime. Eleanor and I had gone shopping around Los Angeles several times together, tried interesting but overpriced coffee shops, and even attended a fashion show – courtesy of Harry Styles. Eleanor and I hit it off. The fact that we were both normal girls, attending college, who so happened to date famous musicians was the basis of our friendship. Eleanor’s a cool girl. My first impression of her was she was reserved and quiet but as we hung out more, I realized I was more than wrong.

            “I think that dress looks cute on you,” she told me as I held the flowy, flower printed dress in front of me.

            “You think so?” I faced the mirror and tried to imagine myself wearing it. I was beginning to be recognized by fans and the media. I figured it was time to up my wardrobe. Eleanor knew all the right places to shop in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, they were all outside of my budget. Although Luke made a surplus amount of money, I made it a point to never leech off of him. He’d offer to pay for things when I took him shopping with me but I mostly said no.

            “How much?” she asked. I had turned down four dresses prior to this one because of the price.

            I took a look at the price tag then felt my heart break. “Two hundred fifty.” I slowly put the dress back on the rack. “You know, I think I’ll just go to Macy’s or something.”

            Eleanor sighed; probably exasperated I wouldn’t just buy something. Harry and Louis walked into the boutique with hot dogs in their hand. “Still not finished?” Harry asked, eyeing me.

            I shook my head. He handed me a hot dog and I took a seat beside Eleanor. “This is our third hot dog. We also stopped for some ice cream along the way,” Louis teased.

            “Juliet’s being hard-headed,” Eleanor stated to Harry. “She’s in Los Angeles with a budget the size of a peanut.”

            Harry laughed and said, “What’d she want to buy?”

            Eleanor pointed to: the mini, body-fit black dress with a V-cut back, the hi-low hem white skirt and black, laced cropped top to match; the coral, chiffon spaghetti strapped dress; the navy blue peplum dress, and finally the flower dress.

            “Where’s Luke when you need him?” Louis threw his hands up in defeat. “Call him and tell him to buy them for you.”

            I didn’t respond. Unlike Eleanor, my boyfriend didn’t give me a “budget”. He only paid for some of my expenses the first few months we dated. After, he became accustomed to it and assumed I never wanted him to pay for anything ever again. The only thing he paid for now were our dates. Gifts weren’t Luke’s thing either.

            “Okay, go try another store,” Harry suggested. “Louis and I will hold hands and lie down in the middle of the street like they did in ‘The Notebook’.”

            “Lord, help us,” Eleanor said under her breath. She grabbed my hand and dragged me out the store.

            We visited two more boutiques. The last one was more affordable. Not cheap. Just affordable, in the sense that I’ll need to work over time when I return home. I bought several dresses for the sake of Eleanor’s sanity. I also bought a few dresses for Stephanie and Katie. We told Harry and Louis we’d meet them at Maggiano’s, an Italian restaurant. On our way to the, a few fans spotted us. They recognized Eleanor immediately. I, on the other hand, took more time. On a side note, being spotted with One Direction gave me thousands of follows on Twitter and Instagram. Uncomfortable with the sudden attention, I turned my Instagram private.