Dark Passions

Chapter Three

I watched as Ally twirled in her pink dress, the dress coming just above her knees and the one strap decorated with pinks flowers. It was the evening of the Crimson Crow banquet, and all of the raffle winners and their guests were supposed to attend. It was a formal banquet, and the festivities were to continue until midnight. The main hall where the banquet was supposed to take place was already decorated, bright chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, tables with crystal vases and satin fabric lining the tables. A large crystal swan was in the center of a long table, waiters stocking the table with delicious sweets. Ally and I passed by the hall on our way from the pool, and I knew deep down, I wasn't going to attend. Fancy parties weren't for me. Ally gave me a nasty glare as she looked away from the mirror.

"I can't believe you aren't going."

"Ally, you barely got me to go to our high school banquets. Do you honestly believe you are going to get me to go to this one? I already don't like this place and Mr. Tenger—"

"Mr. Tenner,"  corrected Ally.

"—and I would prefer to stay in my comfy clothes. I'll probably head out to the batting cages or something while you're off talking with the other winners." I stared at her as she poked out her lower lip. I huffed and rolled my eyes. "Do not start pouting on me."

"But we were already at the cages this morning," Ally whined, stomping her foot. I tried to hold back a smile as she began to rant. "We went to the cages and the pool. We were out all day in comfy clothes. I think now is the time to show how pretty you can actually be. Don't you think you can dress up once?" I gave her a hard look. "Just for 10 minutes? You can handle that."

I shook my head and half-smiled at her. "These things aren't for me. I'll be up here when you get back." Ally gave me another look, and an idea popped into my head. "If you drop it and let me stay here, I'll go to the spa with you tomorrow." Ally's eyes brightened up like a Christmas tree and I saw the thought of me going to the banquet vanish from her mind.

"Really? You promise?"

"I promise," I said as I smiled. Ally thought about it for a moment and then agreed. I gave a sigh of relief as she returned to the mirror to continue to evaluate herself. I had to hand it to her, she had the energy to look cute every day. I never knew exactly why I had a hatred for dressing cute. Probably because I raised myself and I loved looking comfy. I huffed through my nose as the real reason came floating back into my head. A part of me felt like my mother dressed cute, so I wanted to make sure I looked the complete opposite, in hopes my father would talk to me again. So far, it hadn't worked out.

"So, how do I look?" I looked up and saw Ally fix a curl in her hair before putting her hands behind her back.

"Fabulous," I approved with a reassuring smile. Ally smiled brightly at me and giggled.

"One day, I will get you into a dress!" she stated as she grabbed her phone.

"Yeah, that day will never come. Just like you passing English," I countered as I handed her the room key. She gave me a disbelieving expression.

"Jess!" she exclaimed and I rolled onto my pillow laughing. She snatched the key from my hand and narrowed her eyes at me. "We all know why I failed. That professor hated my guts."

"Because you handed in a paragraph for what was supposed to be a 10 page paper," I said snootily as I stopped laughing.

"It was close," Ally muttered as she headed towards the door. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"I can order pizza for us," I said. "When will you be back?"

"Oh, probably around 11:45," Ally said as she looked down at her phone.