Second Chances

Chapter 26

Ava's POV:

It was the day of the Summer Ball and I was a bundle of nerves and excitement. I hadn't ever been to anything as fancy as this so I had only thought it would be appropriate to go all out. Fi and I were sat in the salon. The stench of chemicals wafted throughout the parlor, invading our nostrils. It was strong, but as I got used to it, I grew to enjoy the smell. There was the sound of chattering between stylist and client being muffled by a hairdryer that was also drowning out the radio.

My entire head was currently covered in silver foils, half an hour into the colour developing. I was browsing through my pictures to help pass the time. There were some really cute ones of me and Leon from the other weekend and I smiled as I swiped through them. Fi was sat in the salon chair next to me, reading a trashy celebrity news magazine whilst her stylist was taking her hair out of foils.

I was experiencing a lot of firsts lately, and I loved it. Being out of my comfort zone and doing new things was good for me. I had never dyed my hair. I had been scared to because my hair was naturally blonde and I didn't want to ruin it. Plus, I knew people would kill and spend a lot of money to have hair like mine. But I couldn't stop thinking that my hair was starting to look a little dull, so I thought some lighter highlights would liven it up a little. I knew Leon loved my hair; he was forever playing with it, so I didn't take much off the length, only a couple of inches.

He had been acting rather strange the past few days. He seemed so distant and I didn't know what to do. I had an unshakable feeling that I was tied to his change in mood and attitude. Whenever I asked him what was wrong, he would brush me off, saying that it was nothing, that he just had a lot going on. I didn't want to keep harassing him and make him feel any worse, so I had just dropped it.

He had been so brilliant with me and my nightmares and panic attacks and was there for all of them. He pulled me out of them, seemingly rescuing me from the abyss of my unconscious. He held me protectively in his arms until I was calm. He rubbed me soothingly until sleep took me over. After my second night of no nightmares, I knew I would be alright so as much as it pained me to, I told Leon to go home. I felt bad that he had spent a whole week with me. I could only imagine how tired he must've been from waking up with me every night and only going to sleep himself once he knew I was in a peaceful slumber.

I missed him being next to me in bed. I missed his presence, his reassuring touch, his calming scent. He had become my safety net; I had been falling into the darkness of my past, but he was there to catch me every single time.

My stylist came over to me with a big welcoming smile on her face. I smiled back at her through the tall rectangular mirror. She stood tall and confident. She was a beautiful thing. Not much taller than me, but she was a few years older. She had auburn hair that was naturally wavy and emerald green eyes that had sparkled with excitement when she had taken one look at my hair. She had complimented it endlessly, her hands running through my tresses like she was touching gold, and when I said I wanted it cut, she freaked.

"No! Your hair is beautiful, don't chop it all off!" I had laughed at her and assured her I only wanted a couple of inches taken off to neaten it up. She had sighed with relief and swiftly got to work.

The colour had developed perfectly, and I was thrilled with the outcome. It looked so fresh, so bright. I still looked like me, but a me who had made a little more effort than usual. She had offered to style my hair, but I already had an idea for how I want to do my hair for the Ball tonight, so I just asked for her to straighten it for me. Fi had finished before me and was patiently waiting in the waiting area for me. Her hair looked a little extra amazing than normal. She'd had her balayage touched up and her hair looked so much more vibrant and glossy.