He's Just A Player

Chapter 5: The Perfect Dress

Chapter 5: The Perfect Dress

      Dress shopping. Quite possibly the greatest form of torture known to man. Or in this case, a teenage girl.

      "Carter! I absolutely love this dress!" Katie squealed, modeling a black, skimpy dress.

      I scrunched up my nose in distaste, shaking my head.

      "You've said that about every dress so far. Plus that thing makes you look easy," I said.

      "Does not! Come on Carter, I love it!" She said, twirling around.

      "Whatever. It's not my decision. If you want to get pregnant at your first party.....fine by me," I shrugged, resting my head on my hands.

      "I'm not going to get prego," Katie rolled her eyes, "besides, I think it flatters me in all the right places."

      "Okay, but if you do happen to get pregnant, don't say I didn't warn you," I said, pointing a finger at her.

      "Oh, Carter. Even if I did end up having sex, I so wouldn't be stupid enough to get pregnant. Children are gross," She shuddered.

      "May I enlighten you that you once were a child?" I asked, tapping the fuzzy chair I was in.

      "But I was a cute child. Not annoying," She stated, walking back into her dressing room.

      "Sure you weren't," I muttered, leaning back in my chair.

      I was definitely done for the day. It had taken Katie approximately 3 hours just for her to find this black dress. She still had to find the "perfect" pair of shoes. Not to mention the tons of jewelry she liked to wear.

      "Ready?" She asked, popping out of her dressing room.

      "I've been ready for 3 hours," I replied.

      "Oh don't be so grumpy! Your dress is up next!" She said excitingly.

      "And I'm literally jumping for joy," I replied sarcastically.

      Katie ignored my comment and instead went up to pay for her dress. When the cashier rung up the amount, I was sure my eyes fell out of my head. The price for that dress was $200! My whole wardrobe wasn't even that much!

      "Here you go," Katie said, handing the woman her debit card.

      Katie I knew was well-off, but this well-off? And she handed the woman the card without even thinking!

      "Have a nice day ladies!" The woman chirped, obviously happy she'd conned Katie into buying that thing for so much.

      "Holy crap. That cost a fortune!" I shook my head in disbelief.

      "Eh, not really. Besides, it was designer," She shrugged, slinging the bag over her shoulder.

      "Which designer?"

      "Beats me. But it's a hell of a good one," She replied, directing us to a large store.

      "More shopping? Can't we just go back home?" I groaned.

      "After we've found you the perfect dress we can. But that has yet to happen. I'm sure this store will have something extra cute for you!" Katie said enthusiastically.

      Who knew dress shopping could make one so happy?

      "Really, Katie. I'm fine. I have shirts and jeans I can wear," I reassured, trying to back out of wearing an actual dress.

      "Oh, no you don't. You're getting a dress, and you will wear it! I want to make sure this is your best party ever," Katie stated, dragging me into yet another girly store.

      I coughed when I smelled the overwhelming aroma of perfume. Seriously, did they use 300 bottles of that stuff?

      "It smells gross in here," I complained.

      "I think it smells nice," Katie said, making her way to a rack.

      "It amazes me how we're friends," I said, following her.

      "Well you know what they say. Opposites attract.....which is another reason why you should give Connor a chance," She said, tossing three dresses my way.

      "Him again? Katie, if I didn't know better, it'd be like you liked him yourself," I replied, making faces at the dresses she'd given me.

      "I'm just talking about him because he's in your best interest..... I mean, come on. Aiden is always with other girls. Doesn't that get tiring?"

      Of course it did. But I wasn't about to tell her that now.

      "Whatever. I don't want to talk about that right now," I sighed, looking through a separate rack.

      Katie was relatively quiet after that, with the exception of telling me what I should buy. So by the time I went to try on the dresses, I had at least twenty of them.

      "Don't you think this is....overdoing it?" I asked, eyeing the mountain of dresses sitting on the chair.

      "Not at all! We have to find THE perfect dress for you. I'm not settling for anything less," Katie replied, pushing me into the stuffy dressing room.

      I decided against arguing with her, because Katie was a sure fire winner in arguments. But, she's always been like that. Even when I'd first met her in our kid years she was headstrong.

      I spotted the first dress Katie had chosen for me, which was green and sequined. After throwing it on, I unlocked my door to show her.

      "Eh. It's too.....green," Katie shook her head, pushing me back in my box.

      Alright. One down, nineteen more to go. Yay......

      I picked up a random dress Katie had also chosen, which was blue and had ruffles everywhere. The sight of it made me want to gag, but I decided to try it.

      "Oh God. You look like a blueberry!" Katie laughed, shaking her head. "Next!"

      After stripping myself of the hideous item, I saw a dress that I'd picked out. Maybe I should try something that I like. I mean, Katie was a fashion guru and everything....but her style was a lot different from mine.

      The dress I liked was simple, yet still eye-catching. It was a strapless, white dress with a denim colored bow. I thought it was subtle enough.

      As I stepped out, Katie choked on her spit and her eyebrows shot up.

      "It's awful isn't it?" I groaned, heading back in.

      "Carter, it's....super adorable!" She squealed, getting up to examine it.

      "Really?" I asked.

      "Totally! And you were worried about ME getting prego.....Psh! You might be the one getting lucky tomorrow," She winked.

      "Yeah, don't even say that. I'm not even going to think about doing that. Especially at a party," I replied seriously.

      "You say that now, but once you get there, I bet you'll be going crazy!" Katie laughed.

      "Whatever you say Kate. I think I'll buy this," I stated, going back to get into my regular clothes.

      When I came out, I quickly went to pay, to which I felt good. The price was only $25! Now this was how Katie should buy.

      "25 bucks? That's.....that's pretty cheap," Katie commented, gawking at the bag I now held.

      "That's how you should be shopping," I replied sternly.

      "Yeah, yeah. Sorry mom," She grumbled.

      "You should be," I laughed, bumping her hip.

      "Can we go now? We have school tomorrow and all...." She trailed off, walking ahead of me.

      "Oh NOW you want to go home! What happened when I wanted to leave?" I asked.

      "Well....that was different. I'm actually tired now," She replied, shrugging.

      "Yeah, whatever. We can go home now," I sighed, slinging the bag over my shoulder.

      "Yay!" Katie skipped away happily, receiving a few stares from by-passers.

      "How embarrassing...." I grumbled, jogging to keep up with her.

      As I tried to catch up to Katie, I accidentally rammed into someone. And it wasn't one of those small bumps, it was an actual full on push.

      "Oh my gosh! This has happened too many times! I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy sometimes and I don't know, sometimes I bump into people and-"

      "It's fine, really. And we have got to stop meeting like this," The person cut me off, standing up.

      Thank my lucky stars. It was Connor.

      "Oh. Sorry Connor. I'm really....klutzy," I said, cautiously getting up.

      "I've noticed," He laughed, running his fingers through his hair.

      His laugh was really.....cute. Grr, stop it Carter! You like Aiden! ....Right?

      "Again, sorry. I'm probably the klutziest person in the world," I sighed, picking up my dropped bag.

      "No, it's fine. And you can't be the klutziest person in the whole world. I bet there's people who're worse," He smiled.

      "I highly doubt that. But hey-I've gotta run. It was nice talking to you Connor," I smiled back beginning to walk away.

      "Wait! You going to that party everyone's talking about tomorrow?" He asked abruptly.

      "Oh. Yeah. I actually was just forced into shopping for that party," I laughed.

      "Cool. I'll see you there then," He said, winking.

      "B-bye," I replied, turning on my heel and fast-walking back to Katie's car.

      Gosh, I hated how awkward I was around him. It was so embarrassing!

      "Took you long enough," Katie said, getting off the hood of her car.

      "Sorry. I got held up," I replied, getting in the passenger seat.

      "Held up by who?" She asked, her head shooting up.

      "Just.....Connor," I whispered, staring out the window.

      "Who?" She asked, cupping her ear.

      "Connor alright?! I bumped into him and he talked to me! You happy now?" I grumbled, crossing my arms.

      "Very." Katie flashed me a smile and started up her car.

      "You're a demon," I replied, rolling my eyes.

      "Why thank you! I try," She laughed, driving away.

      "Just keep your eyes on the road Katherine." 

     "Brought out my full name I see. I'm so scared now," Katie said.

      "You should be. I can be scary when I use peoples' full names," I replied seriously.

      "Yeah, sure. Now back to Connor....."

      "No! I don't want to talk about him," I whined.

      "Too bad. I do. So what did you talk about?" She asked, a smile forming.

      "He asked if I was going to the party."

      "And what did you say?"

      "Yes....and he's going too," I sighed.

      "That's not a bad thing," Katie said.

      "Yeah, it is. Because he's going to stalk me," I complained.

      "You should be flattered someone as hot as he that is stalking you!" Katie replied.

      "Stalking is a crime."

      "Only if they're unattractive."

      "What if I think Connor is unattractive?" I questioned.

      Katie practically swerved into a tree.

      "What?! If you thought that, I'd need to get your vision checked! He is sexy, hot, gorgeous-"

      "Okay, okay! I get it! I know Connor is hot, I was just saying..." I cut her off, rolling my eyes.

      "Good, because if you thought he was unattractive.....I'd seriously have to lock you in a room with thousands of pictures of him until you noticed his hotness," She replied.

      "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were obsessed with how hot he is," I said.

      "I'm just taking a note of his looks, so you can date him and have his children," Katie shrugged, pulling into my driveway.

      "I'm not dating him, nor am I having his children. But thanks anyway," I smiled, getting out.

      "You'll see one day how sexy he is, then you won't be able to resist! Later Cart," Katie waved before backing out and driving away.

      Yeah right I would.

      I quickly made my way back in my house, needing to get to sleep. I'd need to rest for that crazy party I'd be going to tomorrow.


Aiden's P.O.V:

      "I had a nice time with you," Stacey smiled.

      "I....did too," I replied seriously.

      "Great! So that means you'll take me out again, right?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

      "About that....I don't know if I can do this-I mean us. You're a sweet person and all, but I'm not. I'm really sorry Stace," I replied, running my hand through my hair.

      "You're kidding, right?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes.

      "I'm sorry...I'm not. Please don't cry," I begged.

      "How can I not? I really liked you," She replied, wiping the tears falling from her face.

      "If it's any consolation....I liked you too," I said.

      "It's not." She hissed.

      I stood there awkwardly, watching her cry hysterically.

      "Well...I'm going to go now," I stated, slowly walking away.

      "Wait!" Stacey called out, pulling at my shirt.

      Great. She was about to ask for me to take her back. Probably something along the lines of, "What can I do to make this work?" Or "Can I change?"

      "Yeah?" I replied, raising an eyebrow.

      "Kiss me."

      "What?" I asked, not sure if my ears were deceiving me or not.

      "Kiss me. One last time before you leave," She stated.

      "I don't know if that's the best thing to-"

      Before I could finish my sentence, Stacey's lips attacked mine. As she kissed me, I didn't really feel anything at all. Like, you're supposed to feel sparks or something, right? Well, I felt nothing. But that's how it always was. Nothing.

      "Uh. Okay. Bye," I said, walking back to my car.

      That was unbelievably awkward and weird.

      I started up Shelby (Carter's name for the car, which I actually liked) and began driving home. I needed to sleep after this.

      After a few minutes of driving, I finally pulled into my driveway. It's too bad Carter couldn't live right next to me. I'd be yelling at her to come talk to me. That reminded me.....I hadn't talked to Carter in awhile. I'd call her before I went to bed.

      I swiftly opened my door and headed up to my room, dialing Carter's number. After a few rings, she finally picked up.

      "Miller, what do you want?" She asked.

      "Someone's a bit cranky, eh? I just wanted to talk to you," I replied.

      "Well....we're talking," She stated.

      "I know that. I'm the one who called you!"

      "Right. So how was your date with Stacey?" She asked.

      "Okay, I guess. I broke up with her when I brought her home," I responded casually.

      "Oh. How did she take it?"

      "She was crying a lot-but then she kissed me."

      "She what?!" Carter yelled, forcing me to hold the phone away from my ear.

      "Kissed me. Don't worry, it wasn't like we made out or anything," I replied.

      "Wouldn't be surprised if you did though," Carter scoffed.

      "Excuse me? I do not always make out with girls!" I said defensively.

      "Yeah....keep thinking that player."

      Player? I wasn't a player! I was.....just a teenage boy who enjoyed dating girls. Different girls.

      "Well at least I go on dates, unlike Miss I-stay-at-home-all-day-and-study," I retorted.

      "Actually, I'm going to party tomorrow. So hah!" Carter said.

      "Party? Who's party?" I asked, growing curious.

      Carter (no offense) never got invited to parties! It was kind of suspicious she was getting invited to one now.

      "Kyle Mason's. Well, actually Katie got invited, but she decided to invite me too."

      "Kyle Mason? He's kind of a douche bag," I said.

      It was true! Kyle Mason was the biggest douche bag in history! Well, okay. Maybe not the biggest douche bag, but he was pretty close. And why would he invite Katie? Not to be rude, but she wasn't exactly his type. Kyle dated easy girls.

      "I've never heard that about him before," Carter replied.

      "Well, he is. So if you do go to that party, I want you to steer clear of him, okay? Not that you should go anyway..."

      "You don't want me to go?" Carter asked.

      "Not really," I responded honestly.

      I really didn't. What if something happened to her? I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Carter was my best friend in the whole world, so of course I'd want her to be safe!

      "Well, I'm going. One, Katie begged me to go. And two, I NEVER get to go out. I stay inside like a loser and do work. Well you know what? Tomorrow I finally will get to be cool for once. Cool like you and your friends! I'm not going to sacrifice a once-in-a-lifetime party just so you can be happy. What about my happiness? Do you care about that? Oh, of course not! You're too busy hooking up with girls! And you even have the nerve to call Kyle a douche bag? At least he's going steady with a girl. You'll never change. Good-bye Aiden," She hissed, hanging up on me.

      Woah, okay. How did we go from having a normal conversation to her berating me? I swear, sometimes she was bipolar or something.

      Whatever. I'd just talk to her tomorrow.



(A/N) I think this is a pretty long chapter......YEAH! I've been wanting to write a long one, but I haven't had the motivation or ideas to. But....it's up! Woo!

So, why do you think Carter had that outburst at Aiden? Because she likes him? Or because she's tired of his behavior? Either way, she was pretty angry at him.

Thanks for reading! It's pretty awesome of you! Keep them up!

Song of the day: Oath by Cher Lloyd. This song describes not only Carter and Aiden's relationship, but Katie and Carter's too. Katie is a really good friend who is there for Carter when she needs it. This song is good, and describes the whole book. Friendship.

Anyway, thanks again guys! :D

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