Bullied and the Bitch

Chapter 22: Fashion is Overrated

I flourish the tickets in El's face. She stares at it, almost going cross-eyed in the process.

"That's-"

"Prom tickets," I finish for her with a grin.

"When did you-"

"Just now," I answer. "That's why I told you to go ahead to lunch without me." She gapes at the tickets, and her hands clasp mine, holding them close to her face.

"Is this... Is this why you worked so hard?" she asks, licking her lips. I nod. "You shouldn't have," she says, and my heart sinks a little. "But thank you. Thank you so much," she says. Then she throws her arms around me, hugging me fiercely, even though our table was watching us blatantly by now. I stroke her cheek and kiss her on her left temple. I guess I still had a thing for public displays of affection.

"I've still got money left over for your dress and my tux rental, too," I say. She pulls back and stares at me. "But not that much. But I think we could still get you a great dress."

"I'm fine with second-hand," She says, nodding.

"I'm not," I say flatly. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I have enough."

"You've got to be kidding me," I say.

"What?" She glances down at the dress she had chosen. We were dress browsing since I was off for a week before work starts up again at the next job next week. Just the both of us, without Em or Pris. Which was the way I liked it. "I don't think it's that bad."

"It's off the clearance rack."

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?"

I sigh, and take the dress from her, putting it back on the rack. "It's the rejects. The fashion no-nos. It goes without saying that you shouldn't get it."

"But it's cheap."

"That's not a good thing in fashion, El."

"Fashion's overrated."

"Just get your butt over here," I say, dragging her with me to the new arrivals. Not the best designs, but I guess we could make some work. "Try this," I say, handing her a dress. "And this too. And this. And this."

"Um, I think you're overdoing it, Ian," she mutters. I stare at the talking pile of clothes. I can't even see her head anymore. So maybe I am getting a little too excited. Can you blame me? I've been wanting to dress up El for a while now.

"Just try these on for now," I say, pushing her towards the dressing rooms.

"For now?" she sounds genuinely horrified. I roll my eyes and thrust her into the dressing room.

We go through dress after dress, but none hit me as 'the one'. El starts to get tired and exasperated.

"Dresses are dresses!" she exclaims. "And besides, no one's going to look at me. Especially if I'm with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She gives me a sarcastic look. "As if you don't notice all the stares you get from the girls in our school. You're hot – regardless of gender."

"Maybe," I admit. "But that's the more reason to get you one that looks perfect."

She sighs, giving up. I hand her another dress. In the end we have to visit another store. And another.

"We're never going to go home, are we?" El's starting to get whiney. She's that tired.

"Just one more, alright?" I say, dragging her to another store. It's actually my favourite store in this particular shopping mall, but I'd avoided it on purpose. The clothes are good, completely unique, pricey – an extra incentive to shop there – and the dressing rooms are awesome. The moment I step into the store, I see it. It's hanging on the rack, no duplicates of this dress. As is normal for this boutique.