The Soulless Prince | Ethan Dolan

when the clock strikes...

"Ariel, I can't even afford the air inside this store."

Y/N's Sunday started off with a text from Ariel asking about her date with Ethan, and then getting excited when she told her that they're going to the homecoming dance together (excluding the details of their intimate moment together, of course) then suggested that they go dress shopping - which now brings them both to an overwhelmingly fancy dress shop down the street from Dolan Academy. Ariel practically had to drag her inside when her feet stayed frozen to the ground, a bit intimidated by the pretentiousness of it all.

"The air is free, silly," Ariel giggled, eyeing a nearby mannequin that wore a ruffled turquoise dress. "And you don't have to worry about affording anything, I'm buying your dress."

Y/N's eyes widen and she immediately begins to protest, "Oh no, Ariel, I couldn't let you-"

"Y/N, you've become a really great friend of mine, better than most of the fake people at school I pretend to tolerate," she chuckled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Seriously, this is nothing. I want to buy you a dress, you deserve one night of being Cinderella."

Then Ariel proceeds to explain, while they explored several aisles, that after Ethan snatched Y/N away Grayson moped around for a bit then after feeling better, asked her to the homecoming dance. She informed her that he initially wanted to ask Y/N to the dance - which she was totally clueless about - but hadn't realized that her and his twin brother are dating. Y/N felt a tinge of guilt for not telling him sooner... but it's not like her and Ethan were purposefully hiding their relationship, they just were typically never ones for PDA.

"Ooh, Y/N!" Ariel sang, suddenly stopping directly at a silky dark red gown. "This one is totally you!"

Y/N eyed the gown, it was beautiful but she wasn't sure if it was something she could pull off. "I don't know..."

"Try it!" her friend encouraged, picking out the dress in her size and shoving into her arms. "What have you got to lose?"

Y/N sighed, then walked into the fitting room where she hung the dress on the hook and stared at it for a while before willing herself to try it on. She really didn't want to look at the price tag, but let's just say it was $300 overpriced. She would never dare to spend above thirty dollars for a dress, let alone something for over $100. But damn, when she slipped into the gorgeous material she couldn't help the bursting of her heart when he looked into the mirror. She felt as though it fit her just right and wasn't too flashy; the dress stopped at just above her knees, and it only hung by thin spaghetti straps where the upper area of the dress showed a bit of cleavage but not too much. This might have been too much for a homecoming dance (where Y/N's from, kids just showed up in t-shirts and jeans then left after an hour of boredom), but this was Dolan Academy after all. Rich kids took everything seriously.

"Did you put it on yet?" Ariel asks from outside, her voice laced with anticipation and excitement. "Let me see!"

Y/N took a deep breath and opened the door, where Ariel immediately gasped and started jumping up and down a little too excitedly. She grabbed both of Y/N's hand and squeezed them tight, before uttering, "You look so stunning - you should definitely get this one!"

"I really do love it, but Ariel it's just too expensive," Y/N admitted, feeling even more guilt at the thought of her friend paying.

"Nonsense," she waved her off, not seeming to mind. "Ooh! And I have the perfect red heels at home to match! I think we're the same size."

After spending a few more minutes of persuasion, Y/N eventually gave in and decided to go for the red dress. They spent another hour in the store looking for Ariel's dress, which she decided on a black maxi strapless dress that looked fantastic on her along with some heels, and the pair went to the cash register to pay (Y/N nearly fainted at the mention of the total cost). While paying, Ariel spun around and gave her a peculiar look before bringing her fingers to the side of her face and wiping something off, "I think you got some glitter on your face."