I'll Be Happy For The Both Of You

chapter 1: dress try-outs

"Do you think he'll like this dress?" Ruby asked cheerfully as she ran into the room. Me and Jane were sitting on her bed, waiting for her to finally come. Now, she was standing in front of us, wearing a mid-length light pink dress with giant puff sleeves. I could only dream of such a dress, but I still felt happy that my friend owned such a divine piece of clothing.

"You look like a princess, Ruby!" I stood up to hug her and looked at the dress from up close. "It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen!" I touched the silky fabric gently.

"He'll be so amazed, he'll want to marry you that very second!" Jane Andrews, our classmate, squealed and grinned at Ruby. The mention of the marriage caused me to look down on the floor, but I quickly shook off the weird feeling that came with it and smiled. "I'm sure anyone will want to marry you when they see you in it!"

Ruby fell down onto the wooden bed, on which me and Jane were both sitting, and touched the pink bow of her dress. "I've bought this one for Gilbert and Gilbert only! I've heard he loved Alberta when he visited it years ago with his father, so I begged mother to take me there and we picked the most beautiful dress they had!"

Wrong! I thought. He's actually never visited the district of Alberta before. He was only talking about how much his father had loved it when he visited it on his travels. And even if Gilbert did love the place himself, I wasn't sure he would be at all interested in Alberta's dresses, of all things. But Ruby seemed to think otherwise, and I wouldn't be the one to ruin the poor girl's happiness like that. However silly and illogical the whole story she made up in her head seemed to me.

"Fall Ball is close and I have to get as much of Gilbert's attention as I can!" Ruby screamed out dramatically and she let her hands fall on the soft mattress of the bed.

Fall Ball? Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that. Every September, as the fall started, the city organized a ball for all its residents to celebrate it. I can't believe they'd pick such a name. Fall Ball is too literal! Why couldn't they call it "The Ball of the Falling Leaves" or "The Ball of the Autumn's Fairies." It would sound much more appealing and spark up people's imaginations immediately. Or was it all because of the rhyme? The simplicity?

"Don't worry, I'm sure he will, Ruby! Why wouldn't he? You're the prettiest of all girls, and he is the prettiest of all boys. You belong together!" Jane said loudly and I looked down again. It must feel wonderful to be called the "prettiest of all girls." Even a simple "pretty" must feel amazing. But how would I know?

"Diana is the prettiest! Everyone knows that. That's why I fear he will ask her instead," Ruby cried, "and if that happens, I might as well die of sorrow!" Tears were falling down Ruby's now red cheeks as she sobbed dramatically.

"You are both gorgeous, Ruby! Don't be ridiculous! He'd be lucky to have you. Any of you! And I believe it's the character that matters." I said passionately, but immediately regretted it, because both girls started laughing. I was used to having different opinions than other people, and I wasn't afraid of fighting for what I believed in. It wasn't the nicest feeling in the world, however, to have your friends laugh at you.

"I mean it!" I said more urgently than I meant to, "I'd want to be noticed for my personality!"

I stood up, but then sat right back down. "Of course, I wouldn't mind looking nice too, but.." Ruby chuckled and held my hand.

"You do look nice, Anne! Even more so when you wear your hair down. That suits you especially well!" The golden-haired girl smiled at me reassuringly and I immediately felt better.

I loved Ruby. She was so innocent and adorable, and I could laugh with her for hours. To see the world through her eyes was so refreshing. Through her eyes, the world was much more simple. And I don't mean it the way it may sound. Not exactly, anyway. Her world only revolved around school boys and expensive dresses, with her golden curls and blushing cheeks, she thought of nothing more than who will be the next boy to ask her on a date, who will compliment her, kiss her, fall in love with her, who will marry her one day. Her world was so very different from my world.

I, too, was a romantic, to put it lightly, but for me, love was always something sacred, something serious, something not to be spoken of in simple terms. Something which could only be described in noblest of words, something birds sang about in the morning, something hidden in the light of the stars and the moon, something poets and writers are trying to uncover for ages, something you could only truly find once in your life. If once.

But even though me and Ruby looked at the world differently, we always got along, we were always there for each other. Ever since that rocky beggining passed and our frienship began, it bloomed and sparkled and everything was sweet and harmonious between us.

And Ruby was so loving, so fragile...

I would never, could never, do anything to hurt her. Never.