Falling For Ms. Popular

Celebration

Nathan immediately ran up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he nuzzled his head into my chest.

"I'm so happy, Ava! I can't believe we actually kicked mom and dad to the curb finally! Mrs. Cross is inside now, whipping us up some sweets! Come on, come on, dear sister!" He shouted cheerfully. I sighed, walking on into the house with Mari in hand. Mr. Cross wasn't home at the moment, since he had to go in early to manage his business, and so it was just us four at the moment. I snuck into the kitchen to help Mrs. Cross out, and at the same time ask some particularly important questions.

"Mrs. Cross—"

"Mom is fine, dear, you are part of our family now." I sucked in another deep breath to, once again, prepare myself.

"M-mom... I was just wondering... What are your thoughts about Mari and I being together?" She stopped baking and looked at me. A grin spread wide across her face, and she stepped closer to me and wrapped me in a tender hug.

"Ava, I truly see the connection you two have. You make a great couple, and I vowed to always support her decisions. You've grown on me, Ava, and for whatever reason you are asking this for, just know that I trust you and your actions." I chuckled softly and smiled.

"Thanks mom... That really helped me make my decision..." She nodded, and soon we continued on baking. Time flew by in the blink of an eye and it wasn't long before the clock struck 12:00 am. Mari was noticibly tired, so I took her on upstairs and tucked her in before returning downstairs to mom. She saw me in the corner of her eye and turned to me with a smile as if she knew what I was going to ask already.

"You still have something to ask me, Ava?" She asked, smiling with confidence. I nodded and turned my head aside, nervous and giddy and my question.

"Mom, may I have your blessing? Next month is the last month of school, so I was planning on prom night to propose to Mari. Before I do that though, I want you and Mr. Cross's approval and blessing..." She walked over to me by the staircase and grasped my hand.

"Nothing would make me happier than you marrying my little girl, but are you sure this isn't a mistake of some sort?" I shook my head, feeling a heat spread across my face.

"Of course not. Mari is definitely the one for me, and hopefully I am the same to her. I promise to make her happy, you have my word, mom." She nodded and sent me back upstairs without another word. Mari was fast asleep in my bed, so I carefully maneuvered into my spot before falling asleep as well, holing onto Mari as I drifted off...

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I awoke with a start as I noticed that Mari was no longer in the bed with me. Of course, it was almost 11:00 when I got up, so it would make sense that she's awake before me. The house was generally quiet, which is odd because this family is everything but quiet, so I hurried to take a shower and get dressed. Afterwards I headed downstairs to an empty room.  No one was in the house, but rather outside to chat by the pool. The only one not there was Mari, which again was odd. I took this chance to head outside and speak with Mr. Cross about that, and he had the same reaction like mom did.

"I don't mind you at all, Ava. In fact, I honestly rather you than some other person who would honestly just use my daughter because of the amount of wealth we possess. Just make sure you and her are happy together and it stays that way, and quit being so formal! We are pretty much family now, and we will be soon enough, so please just call me something more endearing." I still had no idea where Mari was, so after my chat with Mr— I mean dad, I looked throughout the house. She was nowhere to be seen so I asked mom and dad where she went off to. They both said that she headed out in her car to the mall, or at least they think so. Instead of chasing after her, I took the chance and went out on my own to look for a nice dress for prom along with a corsage for Mari because, of course, I'll be taking her.

~~~At the prom shop~~~

"Do you need any assistance, miss?" One of the assistants asked. I nodded and gestured her over to me.

"Ok, so my girlfriend and I are going to be going to prom together—"

"Ah, do you mean your boyfriend, miss?" She interrupted me, dyeing me up and down to make sure I was "joking". I glared at her and pulled out a phone to show a picture of Mari which had been taken a while ago.

"No, I mean my girlfriend, but anyways, miss, I would love to have your help right now. Mari is your classic blonde beauty. She has these deep blue eyes that shine like the darkest sapphire and her hair is naturally curly. I think something white or red would suit her to make her hair and makeup pop, but I can see her in a yellow or like a pink color too, what do you think?" She eyes me once again, but simply turns around into a back room without uttering a single words. Soon, she returned to present me a elegant white single strap dress with a nice white ribbon around the waist.

"What do you think? I suppose you will be wearing either a black or red gown to fit your hair, so I picked a dress that would more than likely fit those two categories." A smile spread wide across my face as I slowly reached for the dress and hugged it.

"It's perfect. I know shes going to look absolutely gorgeous in it. I just need to get my dress now and a corsage... Oh! Can you see if they have this in a 12? I can fix everything else, but I just need a slightly smaller size." She nodded and left me to look around for my own dress and corsage. I decided to go in a black dress, so that I match a little better than with red, and so I could maybe even find a nice black and white corsage to represent us both. After a while, all three items were in my hands. A nice black maxi dress with sleek black strings on the back. It was quite lovely, almost as muchbas Mari's. It took me a while, but soon after I found my black and white corsage. The flower was onyx while white frills and ribbons surrounded it to make a comforting and hopeful feeling. It was all too perfect, but why complain when there's nothing to complain about? It was a long trip, but soon I was out and able to head back to my stunning new home...