euphoria. [ rini au ]

chapter twenty-two.

Nini was lost in hell. She was surrounded by rhinestones and lace and glitter and flowers that got caught on her bracelet as she pushed aside dresses in the hopes that something suitable would lay hidden in the depths of the racks of dresses. Kourtney's voice could be heard from a hidden recess of the room, chattering away to Ashlyn, who merely nodded evenly and went back to pretending she was listening.

"Miss, your friend suggested you may need help?" a petite woman with greying hair cut short asked Nini, stepping out for a pile of dark blue sparkles, startling Nini.

"Um, I'm not sure," Nini replied, unsure as she delicately picked up a hideous olive green dress with a black underskirt and let it drop with a sigh.

"Try me," the woman insisted kindly.

"I want something, . . . . elegant and simple," Nini started, knowing half the girls in the store had probably used the same words, "Okay, I'm going to be really blunt," she warned.

"Makes my life easier," the lady responded honestly.

"I'm MCing a charity event, so I don't want to look like a disco ball on stage. I don't want to reveal half of my boobs to the school and I would prefer if it didn't make swishy sounds or tinkle. I want simple. Plus, my boyfriend is the co-host so I would appreciate knocking his socks off, considering that the last week has had me in a sweaty basketball uniform and sweatpants." Nini raised an eyebrow at the saleswoman. "Now, how impossible is that?"

"I can do that," was the reply and then she disappeared amongst the overflow of dresses to appear a minute later with a single hanger draped over her arm as she ushered Nini into a changing room.

It was perfect. The woman was like a fairy godmother, swooping in to save the day. The dress was a deep navy blue, reminding her of the lake in Colorado and it gathered under her bust before cascading over her curves in waves before ending just above her knees. It wasn't Hollywood or Prom. It was completely Nini.

"We'll take it," Kourtney announced from behind her.

"Yes, it's fantastic," Nini told the lady. "Thank you."

"Now will you be needing anything else?" the saleswoman asked.

"I suppose I need a dress for the ball itself," Nini started. "I was thinking something yellow, but nothing too crazy."

"We have yellow."

Nini watched as she vanished amongst the racks again, searching for the perfect dress. Behind her, Ashlyn grinned and gave her an approved look that Nini was grateful for. Pulling a twirl, she gazed over her shoulder and smiled. The auction had been her baby for the past two months and everything was expected to be perfect. Every detail was planned down to the second, the auction candidates prepped and the buyers encouraged and riled up. The basketball teams were on fire and tomorrow night, she would step onto the court as Captain. Ricky would follow her the next day and she was prepared to cheer him on like any proper girlfriend instead of grudgingly clapping like last year.

Unzipping the dress and making certain it didn't catch on anything as it fell to the ground, she stepped out of it and smiled softly. Everything would be perfect as long as the look on his face was nothing short of astounded.

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Nini held the orange sphere between her hands, the noise of the crowd surrounding the basketball court having been lulled to dim vibrations as she concentrated. Around her, in the home end of the court, the East High girls' team dribbled and shot and passed while the minutes of pre-game warm up ticked by. Ricky clapped his hands once and called out her name before she grinned and turned to send the ball hurling through the net just as the ref signalled for them to find their positions.