A Certain Not-So-Bad Boy

{twenty-three}

Maya's dress^ Enjoy! :)

After school, I walked out to my car where Amber was already waiting with Noah. "Hey," I mumbled, feeling even more drained because of a pop quiz in APUSH. That was just mean.

"Try and stay awake for me, yeah? We have some outfit creating to do!" Amber's voice was drilling into my skull.

"I have a headache," I groaned.

"Take some medicine," Amber ordered.

I slid into the driver's side and started the ignition, Amber beating Noah to the passenger seat. He crawled in the back and I reversed out of my parking space and towards the road.

"Do you even have a gown?" Amber asked.

"No."

"Are we going shopping then?"

"No."

"Try again."

"No thank you?"

Amber sighed. "Come on, we'll drop off your brother and go to the mall! The sooner we start looking, the better."

She had a point. Shopping with me was difficult because I was really picky. "Fine."

"What's this even for?" Noah asked, looking up from his phone.

"Carson's parents are having a rich people party and forcing him to go, but he doesn't want to be alone," I summarized.

I noticed my brother's smirk through the rearview mirror but he didn't say anything. We pulled into the driveway and I parked the car.

We all went inside, and Amber and I headed straight upstairs to my room.

I put my things on the ground and turned around to face my best friend. I had to tell her about last night.

"Amber, I have to tell you something." Now or never. "Last night, I was with Carson. That's when I told him about Sawyer and my mom. But remember the breakdowns I used to have?" I continued when she nodded at me. "They weren't just breakdowns or episodes, apparently they were panic attacks."

I saw her eyes widen at my revelation. "I'm so sorry! If I had any idea, I would've called someone-- Maya, I love you so much, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I promise. And don't even think for a second that you did anything wrong. You had no idea! It was just... scary." I reached over to my nightstand and opened the drawer. I had split the bottle of pills into different sections and put them into tiny containers. I pulled one out and handed them to her. "In case it ever happens again when I'm with you, I have two inhalers and I have to take one of these pills after."

She took the pills from my hand and hugged me fiercely. "You're my bestest friend in the whole world."

I laughed at her childishness, but I didn't know what I'd do without her. "You're mine too."

We pulled away and I said, "All this stuff is making me sad. I'm gonna change and then let's go shopping."

Amber cheered. "Yay, Let's go! Hurry up!" She was a major shop-a-holic. Like, she had a problem.

I grabbed a pair of grey sweats and a plain red t-shirt(that was Noah's) to change into. After I had changed, I grabbed my phone and car keys and we headed down the stairs. Noah was in the living room.

"We're leaving, see you at dinner," I told him.

"Okay. Lacey's coming over in a bit," he said, his eyes glued to his phone.

I paused, remembering Lacey's confrontation on the night of Dad's work dinner. "Fine. But don't do anything I wouldn't do."

He scoffed and waved me away, and Amber and I were out the door.

The drive to the mall consisted of singing very off-key to mainstream pop songs and receiving a few dirty looks from middle-aged drivers beside us. By the time we got there, even I was pumped for shopping. I let Amber drag me to the first store, where she immediately knew where to go.

She began looking through racks of colored fabrics, piling them in my hands. By the time she was done, I had at least fifteen.

"Let's try them on," she smiled.

* * * * * *

Nothing. None of them were any good. They were too loose, or too tight, or too revealing, or just plain ugly.

The next store didn't work either. Or the one after that. We'd been at the mall for three hours and were currently sitting at the food court with coffee.

"One more store, please," Amber begged. She pouted and gave me adorable puppy eyes.

"But my legs hurt!" I protested.

"We'll just look okay? And if you see one that you want, then you can try it on, okay? Only if you like it."

"Fine," I agreed. We got up and threw our empty cups away before linking arms and walking to the final store.

"Hi, I'm Nicole! What can I help you ladies with today?" a woman asked. She seemed a bit older than us, in her mid-twenties, and she had bright red hair.

"My friend needs a dress. A gown, actually," Amber told her.

"Sure thing, any preferences?" Nicole asked me.

"Umm... No pink or yellow. Nothing too bright, I like to keep it simple."

"Yeah, and she likes to keep it picky. Prepare yourself," Amber told Nicole. I rolled my eyes as Nicole laughed.

"No problem." She started showing us some, but I turned them all down. She finally picked one up, and I smiled.

"That one is amazing," Amber breathed, and I had to agree.

It was strapless and completely black, and from the waist down was covered with a flowing layer of transparent fabric that had black flowers on the bottom. "That's gorgeous. Can I try it on?"

Nicole nodded and led me to a small room with a heavy curtain. I changed into the dress and zipped it up on the side before turning around in the mirror. I nearly gasped. Perfect.

"Show us!" Amber shouted.

I smiled big as I pushed aside the fabric of the curtain, awaiting their reactions. Both girls' jaws were agape, and Amber's morphed into a smile to match my own.

"You look amazing. I think I'm going to cry," she whispered happily. I laughed.

"That really does look beautiful on you," Nicole said.

"Thank you," I murmured, looking into the mirror again. The lace layer was a bit longer than the rest on the dress, giving it a sort of train that emphasized the lacy flowers. "I'm definitely going to buy it," I told Nicole.

She nodded. "I'll be up front when you're ready."

I slipped back into the changing room and got my old clothes on. Amber and I took our things and the dress up to the counter.

"So guess what?" Nicole said. "I just realized this dress is vintage. Someone brought it in about a month ago. So that means the price is marked down fifty percent!"

I smiled and looked at Amber. "Awesome!" she exclaimed.

We paid for the dress and thanked Nicole before exiting the store. Now with my outfit mostly prepared, I only had one thing left to wonder. What would happen with Clark, Faith, and Brooke next Saturday?

{a/n}

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Vote, comment, all that jazz.

QOTD: How many countries have you been to? I've been to nine, but one was when I was really little so I don't remember it at all.

I love you guys, mwah! xx

-Seagull