Something Beautiful (An Aaron Carpenter Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

**Cali's POV**

That Saturday evening, I went to the mall with Hayley and Maia to get a dress for the formal. Hayley's older sister dropped us off.

"Pick you guys up in a few hours." She told us. We thanked her and started our shopping. Maia found a dress really quickly, and Hayley followed in buying hers shortly after.

Maia's was emerald green with a form-fitting skirt. It really complimented her auburn hair, and it matched her eyes perfectly. Hayley bought a soft pink dress with a flowered belt. She told us she was going to curl her soft, blonde hair on the night of the dance. But me? I was being pickier than usual. I wanted the dress to be perfect.

"Cali, we've gone in 7 stores already. There's only a few places left to check." Maia said. Hayley held her stomach as it grumbled.

"And I'm hungry." She added.

"One more store." I told them. "Then we can eat." They nodded and we walked into one of the last dress stores that there was in the mall. As soon as we walked in, I saw it. I saw the dress. I ran over to it and picked it off the rack, showing my friends. They laughed at my enthusiasm and nodded in approval.

It was strapless and royal blue on the top, with a form-fitting white lace skirt. I ran to the fitting room to try it on. As I slipped it on, I could already tell that I loved it more on me than on the rack. I smiled, zipping it up, and then examining my body in the mirror. It showed off my curves perfectly, and it was my favorite color. I'd always thought royal blue made me look tanner with my dark brown hair and eyes.

I pushed the curtain of the dressing room aside and struck a pose for my friends. Maia gasped and Hayley squealed a bit, jumping up and down.

"Cali it's beautiful! You look great!"

"You have to get it!"

I giggled and spun around, finally making my way back into the dressing room. I took it off and put my regular clothes back on, then went to the counter to pay for it.

"That'll be $80.75 please." The lady at the register said. I pulled out the money my mom had given me, plus some of the money I had saved so that I could go shopping, and payed. The lady carefully put the dress in a bag and handed it to me. "Here you go, have a nice day!" I thanked her and we walked out of the store, all finally satisfied with our purchases. Hayley texted her sister to ask her to come get us, and we all left the mall together laughing.

When I got home, I had some texts from Aaron.

"From Aaron: hey babeee"

"From Aaron: oh whoops. I forgot you're dress shopping."

"From Aaron: text me when u get back! I wanna see what you got!"

I laughed reading his messages, and then texted him back saying that I was home. He sent me a reply a second later.

"From Aaron: did you have fun? Can I see your dress?"

"To Aaron: I had fun. But you can't see the dress, it's a surprise! Love ya. Night! 😘"

I smiled and carefully hung my dress up in my closet, thinking about next week. I couldn't wait to go to the formal, and I was so glad that I was going with Aaron.

Just like I had ever since that night when he asked me out, I feel asleep smiling.