Something Right

Chapter Two

Three weeks later...

"Ellie!" a voice whisper-yelled into Elle's ear. "Wake up!"

She groaned heavily and rolled over in her bed, trying to block out the piercing voice of her roommate, Jeannie.

"Wake up, damn it!"

Elle sat straight up, hammering her head into the ceiling by accident.

"Ouch," she said, rubbing her temples. "I keep forgetting how close the ceiling is."

"Ellie!" Jeannie stated again, quite urgently this time.

"What do you want?" she grumbled. "And for the last time, I go by Elle, not Ellie."

Jeannie rolled her brown eyes jokingly before continuing, "I need your help, Ellie! I have a date tonight."

"A date?" Those words perked her up from her sleepiness. "With who? And what time is it?"

"It's 4. I don't even know how you sleep that long, Ellie!"

Elle, she was about to say again, but decided to keep it to herself. There was absolutely no hope with Jeannie. She was as stubborn as a mule.

"It's with a guy I met in my Journalism class!" Jeannie said excitedly.

There was nothing in the world that could take the exclamation points out of her tone. She was probably the most hyper college student in the world, and of course, Elle got stuck with her as a roommate. Not that she was perpetually mean or anything. She wasn't. She was quite intelligent, too, helping Elle with her studies multiple times. And it was definitely no surprise to Elle that Jeannie had a date. How could someone not want to date her? She was beautiful, with long, toned legs, bright hazel eyes, and shoulder-length golden-blonde hair that turned eyes everywhere.

"Well, what do you need my help for?" Elle asked. She literally had no experience with dates before in her life. The closest thing she had to a being asked on a date was when 8-year old Collin Spriggs asked her if she would come away to a castle with him in third grade, whatever that meant. She said no, of course, being utterly confused since there were no castles even close to where she had lived. That was as "far" as Elle had gone with a guy.

Well, besides the nightmares. The nightmares which happened in real life first, and then travelled to every part of her being, including her subconscious sleeping mind. The nightmares where she desperately cried for help, where she couldn't escape. The nightmares that haunted her for the rest of her life and brought her terror and torture every time she recalled them and--

"Ellie? Did you hear what I said?" Jeannie was waving her hand in front of Elle's glazed eyes. "I need help choosing an outfit."

"What? Oh. I'm sorry. Yeah," she stuttered in reply. "I can help you. Though I'm not sure we have the same sense of style..."

That was an understatement. While Elle was a floral-patterned, lace kind of girl, Jeannie's style was what Elle liked to call "go big or go home," with bright, attention-getting colors and sequins. Lots of sequins.

"It's totally fine!" Jeannie insisted. "I need a second opinion."

"Okay," Elle said, reluctantly complying with Jeannie's request.

-----

After an hour of Elle suggesting dress after dress and Jeannie turning them all down, she finally decided on a sequin-covered blue dress, to "match his eyes," referring to Jeannie's date.

Elle didn't even know why she asked for her help in the first place if she was never going to wear what she suggested.

"Ellie! What should I do with my hair?" She heard Jeannie's voice ringing from the bathroom where she was changing.