One Way Out (Degrassi FanFiction)

Chapter 5: Never Zip And Tell

"I've never really been to any serious dances before." I shrug and look to the ground as I step out of the changing room stall.

"This isn't just any dance, this is semi-formal and Valentine's Day! All in one night!" Becky sits cross-legged and claps in excitement. "Mmm, I think something brighter would look amazing on you."

"If you say so..." I step back into the changing stall and close the curtain, unsure of what would look good on me. Or if anything would look good on me, for that matter.

Clare, Becky, and I are all here at Sona's Boutique in the local mall, trying out dresses for the dance in a couple days. I'm the only one who hasn't found an outfit yet, predictably. Drew and Dallas are somewhere else off in the mall doing God-knows-what. I hope they're not getting themselves into too much trouble. Connor had to take a slight detour-- his uncle called and insisted that he come home.

Becky tosses a peach-hued dress over the top of the stall. I hold it up in front of my body and it's absolutely stunning. After wiggling into the ruffled mess, and strapping on the matching peach wedge-sandals, I open the door to the stall and immediately hear Becky gasp.

"Clare come take a look!" Excitement is pouring out of that red-head like a waterfall. She's smiling from ear to ear. "Isn't that so picture-perfect?"

Clare pops in from around the corner, carrying two full shopping bags over her shoulder. When she notices me, her eyebrows raise and she looks impressed. "June, that color was made for you."

"Uh, o-oh? Thanks guys." I stammer. "Looks like this is the one I'm gonna be buying then." I close the curtain behind me once more and smile wide before reaching for the zipper to take the dress off.

"Clare and I are going to be sitting by the check-out. Meet you there." I hear Becky inform me. I hear their footsteps die down to a silence and that's when I know they've left the changing room area.

Unfortunately, I've just realized that I can't get this dress unzipped. Oh, dear. Not today. Why today. My fingers fumble around with the zipper but it refuses to cooperate with my tugging. I'm reluctant to call out Becky's name; there's an immense chance that she won't even hear me anyways, considering that she's waiting by the check-out. "Can I get some help in here? Anyone?" I sigh when I hear footsteps making their way towards me. A sigh of relief and fear-- not knowing who would come to my rescue, but at that point I just wanted to get out of this damn dress and find my friends.

"Zoe is that you?" Miles Hollingsworth calls out, rather impatiently.

I catch my breath and don't respond. I cannot believe Miles is here. With Zoe Rivas. I can't show my face. Just keep the curtain closed and wait until they leave.

There's a moment of silence before I hear Zoe's voice ring out from a couple stalls over, "What? I didn't say anything. But now that you mention it, I could use some assistance."

"Well, which stall are you in?" he asks.

"How am I supposed to know?! I'm wearing the peach-wedged sandals. Look under the stalls." she replies.

In that moment, I'm pretty sure my heart stopped. To confirm my current dilemma, I peer down at my feet and my toes curl up at the realization that I am wearing those exact sandals. The same exact sandals as Zoe Rivas.

"Hold on- I think I found you-" Miles pulls open the curtain to my stall and takes a step back when he sees my face, and not Zoe's. He eyes me up and down and gives me a half-smile. Maybe it was an apologetic smie, for barging in on me. Or maybe it was an I'm-Checking-You-Out smile.

He's about to turn around and leave to find Zoe's stall. But before he leaves, I stop him. I tuck my hair behind my ears and mouth the words to him: Wait, can you help me? I can't get the zipper down.

The boy bites his lip and glances down at his watch. He mouths back to me, Yeah, sure.

I turn around and hold my hair up over my shoulder. Miles is standing behind me, slowly puilling down the zipper in the back of my dress. His chin is practically resting on my shoulder and I feel his breathe tickling my neck when he whispers in my ear, "All set?"

"Um y-yeah, thank you." I stutter and feel my face fluster.

"Miles? Miles! How hard is it to find me? I told you- peach wedges. Come on." Zoe calls out for him, impatiently.

"Sorry. I was caught up in a..." Hesitating to finish the sentence, Miles winks at me then steps out of my stall and shuts the curtain. "I was caught up in a waiting line. These stalls are packed."

"Okay well just hurry up and come. I need to know if you think I look good in this....."

I take the oppurtunity to slip my regular clothes back on, and rush out to the check-out. I can actually breathe in my grey tank-top and cargo shorts. As I turn the corner, I place the dress and sandals back on a shelf; shaking my head as Becky and Clare walk up to me.

"June what took you so long? Everything alright?" Clare asks.

"Yeah I just had some trouble getting out of that dress."

"So... you're not going to buy it, huh? Well that's okay. You're so welcome to come over my house and try on something of mine."

I give the girls a meek smile and walk with them out of the Boutique. We sit together on a small bench in front of the candy machines and wait for Drew and Dallas to meet up with us at the center of the mall. Clare calls Drew's cell and I stay silent. I hug my knees tightly to my chest and focus on breathing.

The real reason I didn't buy that dress isn't because I couldn't get out of it. I could get out of it, if someone else unzipped it for me.

I didn't buy it because I knew that Zoe Rivas was going to buy the exact same outfit.

And there is still a part of me that wants the Little Miss Queen Bee to like me.