Falling in Love with my Best Friend

Chapter 16: The Victoria's Secret Disaster

She brushed a stray tear off her cheek. "Oh it's nothing, I, I don't mean to be all worked up over-" she cut herself off, shaking her head.

"Catherine, what is it?" I asked, gently.

"My mom called me this morning and told me that my cat Bluebell got run over by a car." Her big blue eyes glimmered as she fiddled with the hem of her coat, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Aww, Catherine," I said. "I'm so sorry." I reached out and pulled her into a gentle hug.

She sobbed gently in my shirt for a moment before pulling herself back, sniffling slightly.

"Seriously, I understand," I assured her. "My cat passed away when I was fifteen. He died of old age. I cried for days and I still get sad about it sometimes."

She nodded sorrowfully, brushing away stray tears. "Thanks, Stacey. You're a true friend."

I smiled at her, happy to have been able to help in any way. "We can stay home if you want," I offered. "We don't have to go out."

She shook her head. "No I wanna go out. It'll be fun."

"Okay," I agreed.

We drove to the mall and walked through until we reached Forever 21. I was definitely out of my element, especially stepping into the store to find that clothes were literally everywhere.

"Uh..." I paused in the entrance, taking in the racks and walls and tables of clothes. Every surface was covered in material. It was almost like how my room looked at the moment expect everything was clean and neatly folded.

"What? Have you never been in a Forever 21 before?" Catherine asked.

I shook my head. "Never been much of a shopper."

She linked her arm through mine. "Well then we best get started," she said with a playful grin.

We wandered around the store. I trailed behind Catherine with a heaping pile of clothes in my arms as she continued adding on to the stack.

By the time we got to the dressing rooms my arms were getting tired and I was ready to take a seat.

The employee gave us a snotty look. "How many?" she asked, eyeing the mountain of clothes in my arms.

Catherine got very flustered. "Uh..." She started to reach out and try to feebly count the clothes. I stopped her, walking over to a table and dumping the pile out. I picked up a couple items.

"I can come back out and get more after I've tried the others on," I offered. The employee rolled her eyes subtly and led me to a dressing room giving Catherine a sneer as she shyly moved to the side.

I decided not to mention the rude employee as it seemed Catherine hadn't noticed.

"Hey Catherine, I don't think these are my size..." I said, awkwardly arranging the black material on my body. It was a little bit too fitting for my taste.

"What do you mean? What size are you?" she asked through the door.

"Medium," I responded.

She scoffed and laughed. "No way, you're definitely a small, Stacey. Trust me."

"Are you sure...?" I trailed off.

"Come out and show me."

I sighed and peeped out the door, noticing a couple people waiting in line. They were watching our encounter curiously. Catherine waited for me expectantly, her arms crossed as she stared at me.

I stepped out of the room, feeling very uncomfortable with all of the eyes on me currently.

"Stacey," Catherine said. "You look hot."