𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓸

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻

𝓐𝓵𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓸 𝓟𝓞𝓥

I carefully crept through the ailes of clothing, keeping my head down. A few people glanced at me curiously, but Giulia pulled me along before they could get a good look at me. I especially tried to avoid the gaze of the girls in the store, keeping my eyes glued to the floor in front of me.

"Giulia," I hissed, causing her to pause and glance at me, "Why did you have to bring me? Couldn't you just pick out an outfit for me on your own? I didn't have to be here," I said. Giulia glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening, then pulled me close. "I brought you because one, you need to get out of the house more often, and two, if you didn't come to pick an outfit out yourself, I would've gotten you that." 

She pointed over my shoulder to a lacy black dress, studded with dark blue sequins. I barely managed to keep from laughing. "You never know, that might be more comfortable than the suit," I said jokingly. Giulia rolled her eyes and pulled me towards the suit section of the store. 

"Alright, since you obviously don't want to do this yourself, you stay right here and I'll go pick out a suit for you. I know your clothing sizes, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem," she said, pushing me into a small section between two racks of clothing. I nodded obediently, glad that she wasn't making me do any of the shopping. 

She bounced away into the maze of clothing racks, and I let out a sigh of relief. While she's busy, I can slip out and get back home, I thought. I started to slip out of my hiding spot, but froze when I spotted a girl with long brown hair and olive green eyes making her way down the ailes towards me. Ah, come on, not HER!  I thought in frustration. 

I pressed against the wall, hoping desperately to turn invisible, but of course that was impossible. Lila stopped in front of me, giving me her sweet, simpering smile. "Ciao, handsome! Fancy meeting you here!" she said, her voice echoing painfully through the store. I winced, but forced a smile anyway. "Hey, Lila," I said, my voice deeper than usual. Stupid nerves, I thought. 

"What are you doing in a place like this? Getting an outfit for someone?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at me. I shook my head. "No, actually, I'm getting it for myself," I said, glancing in the direction where Giulia had disappeared. Sorella, come and save me from her! I thought pleadingly. Why is it whenever I actually need you around, you aren't here?

Lila cocked her head, her eyes widening innocently. "Really? From what I know about you, you don't dress very fancy," she said. I shook my head. "Well.... this is different. I need a suit for one night, and that's it," I said. 

Why the heck do you keep talking to her?! Just tell her to leave you alone! She's a lying, fake little cagna, as Giulia would say! 

Shut up, Bruno! I don't want to hurt her feelings!

SHE HAS NO SOUL! It won't hurt her if you say no- imagine how many other times she's been turned down! One more time won't hurt!

No, I'm not about to reject her! True, I may not like her, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to break her heart!

BREAK HER HEART ANYW-

"Al? Are you alright? You kinda zoned out there." Lila's voice snapped me out of my mental battle with the ever-present Bruno. I mentally pushed Bruno to the side, but when Lila took my hand and began gently tracing it, I started to feel uneasy. 

"You didn't answer my question," she said, not looking up from my hand. I felt a little queasy, so I decided to use that to my advantage. "Uh- actually, Lila, I'm feeling a little nauseous... I'm gonna go outside and get some fresh air," I said, pulling away. I ignored her hurt expression. I knew it was fake.