never be the same | grayson dolan

thirty one

-One Month Later-

Madison's POV:

I sit down on the large bed that was covered in a light purple comforter. This room is a lot smaller than mine, but it was also a lot neater than mine.

That's Ava for you. She always keeps things perfectly clean and hates being in any messy atmosphere. We live in the same apartment complex and despite knowing each other for several years, we didn't get close until school started a few weeks ago. After everything that's happened, I try to distance myself from as many people as possible.

"Okay, let's see what we can find."  Her shoulder length shiny brown hair is always perfectly straight, and she always wears plaid skirts with a button down blouse. Our school doesn't require uniforms but if it did I'm sure she would be thrilled. She opens up her walk in closet door and steps into it with a smile.

"How long is this going to take?" Our friend Christopher groans while taking a seat next to me on the bed.

"Until we find Madison the perfect homecoming dress, we aren't leaving." Ava calls from inside of the closet.

"Why can't you just buy a dress at Saks or something?" He looks back over to me.

"Because I don't need a brand new dress for a dance I probably won't even be attending." I sigh and look back at the brown haired boy.

"You have to attend." He jokingly hits my shoulder. "The whole graduating class needs to go."

"It's not mandatory so technically I don't have to do anything." I mumble and look down at my bubblegum pink nail polish.

"There is no way you're missing your last homecoming." Ava stands in the doorway of the enormous closet. "Plus it is mandatory for you, you're our student body president."

"Yeah, you're stuck going to every event the school offers." Christopher smirks at me with a chuckle.

I groan in annoyance and stand up from the bed. "Fine, what are the options?" I walk toward Ava standing in the closet.

"What about this one?" She holds up a elegant cream colored dress that has a gold pattern in the front.

"Too fancy." I shake my head.

She places the dress back on the rack and searches for another. "This?" She pulls out a sparkly short sleeved mini dress. "It would look great on your figure."

"Yes! You totally have the body for that." Christopher calls from Ava's bed. He is laying on his stomach with his head propped on his hand for support.

"It's not really my style." I say and turn back to the piece of clothing in front of me.

"Fine, how about this?" She hands me a maroon dress that has lace around the chest area. The bottom is poofy and stops above your knees.

"No." I hand her back the dress with a groan. "This is pointless."

"Great, so we're done here." Christopher sits back up. "Let's go get frozen yogurt."

"I promised Madison I would find her a dress by today." Ava places her hand on her hip and looks back over to him.

"The dance is toward the end of the month, October just started." He peers over to me. "Why the sudden urge to find one now?"

"Because I'll be too busy working that I won't have time to go shopping." I state.

"Working?" He asks surprised. "You have a job?"