Hide Your Fires

22: Let's Go

"Matthew!" I shriek down the hallway. "Let's go!"

"I'm coming!" He shouts before I hear him running down the hallway and then he's standing in front of me, wearing the suit that I had picked out for him earlier in the morning. "I can't figure this thing out," He admits, tugging on the loose tie that's now tangled around his neck.

"Tate can figure it out in the car, we have to go," I insist, urging him out the door. Taylor has already packed up all of the dresses, Tate is waiting in the car with Jude and Riley, who I still haven't met yet because once she got here, it was right on time to go so Matt ushered her to the car while I was still inside grabbing my purse and then Matt forgot his tie, so he had to run back in to get it.

"Okay," He sighs. "We're going, we're going. You're still breathing, right?"

"Vaguely," I mumble once we get outside. I lock the door behind me and hurry to the car with Matt. He squeezes into the back seat with Riley and Jude and I get in the passenger seat beside Tate, who insisted on driving due to my reckless nerves. Riley, sitting in the back conversing with Jude, is really pretty. She has thick wavy red hair and bright green eyes with a thin-lipped smile.

"Okay, so Riley, this is my sister, Hallie," Matt announces as Tate pulls away from the house and starts following Taylor in the Mile High truck down to the convention center. "And this is my... uh, girlfriend, Riley."

"Hi," I offer her a polite smile as I'm tying my hair into a messy bun. I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt at the moment because I'm going to be running around backstage for a while to get my dresses ready so I don't want to be dressed in my nice dress and heels to be doing all of that running around so I've packed my dress with me to wear later for the real show. "It's so nice to meet you."

"You too," She replies. "I've heard so much about you. And thanks so much for letting me come to the show with you guys, I've never been to a real fashion show before."

"This is itchy," Jude whines, interrupting her as he starts tugging on his clip on bow tie.

"Lean forward, sweetie, I'll fix it," I say, twisting my body around so that I'm leaning into the back and reaching toward Jude to adjust his bow tie so that he'll stop pulling at it.

"I'd like to inform you that your ass is in my face right now," Tate pipes from the driver seat.

"If you touch my butt, I'll kick you in your family jewels," I threaten jokingly, still trying to work on the bow tie.

"I'm driving," Tate reminds me.

"Well then I hope you can drive with a busted sack," I tell him, fixing the bow tie and then sitting back down, facing the front again in my seat.

"That's disgusting," Matt mumbles from the back.

"That's self-defense," I correct, rolling my eyes at both of them. "Anyway, when we get there, you guys can go ahead to the seats but I'm going to have to go into the back. I'll come out and sit with you guys after the show but I'll be behind the stage through the whole show. And then once the show's over, I'll come sit with you guys while the judges talk and everything and announce the winner."

"How are we going to give you a last minute pep talk if you're going to be back stage the whole time?" Tate asks me with raised eyebrows.

"Well, considering your version of a pep talk is trying to get me to make out with you, I can live without it," I mumble and he just laughs.

"That's also disgusting," Matt mutters from the back seat. "Jeez, I really don't need to hear that."

"Cover your ears then," I say with a small, nervous laugh. I've been nervous for the past few days but now that we're actually on our way to the convention center, I'm seriously freaking out. In just a few hours from now, my life could be absolutely changed. "Anyway, just be on your best behavior. I know that you guys aren't actually into this stuff but really. Behave. Do you hear me, Jude?"