LIMINAL || 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙚 [1]

𝟟 | 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕡 𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕

"I mean, at least he's good looking," Angela tried to offer positively. "But he's barely said three words to you, hasn't he?"

I nodded, deciding to start in on my story.

"I don't know what I've done or said to piss him off so badly, but trust me, he was pissed," I concluded after a few minutes. Angela nodded at all the right intervals while Jessica surfed the radio for a good station.

"Who knows? The Cullens are super weird," Jessica sniffed.

"Mhm, weird because Edward turned you down? Or because he did it in front of the whole school?" Angela taunted playfully with a coy smile. I didn't know that Jessica had a thing for Edward. It was hard to imagine anyone having a thing for him when he was up Bella's butt all the time.

"Puh-lease, that was when I was young and dumb. I didn't know what I wanted."

Last year, Angela mouthed at me, hiding her mouth with her hand, and then leaning back to avoid a swat from the driver. Thankfully, Jessica took the opportunity to start running through date options for the dance, starting with getting back with Mike. Jasper's anger aside, I was still perplexed by whatever had happened both times I'd touched him. I had never experienced anything like it before meeting him. I had sensed multiple emotions in people plenty of times; however, when mine and Jasper's skin touched, it was like thousands of emotions were fighting the spotlight in my mind, constantly shifting and changing. I didn't like how it made my head spin, but at least he seemed to be having the same problem.

The scenery on the ride from Forks to Port Angeles was mostly trees and the occasional lake. The sunroof was open, letting in enough cool fresh air to offset the warm sunlight. The scent of pine and lake water wafted in, setting my mood straight and making me wish it was summer time already. I knew the nice weather wouldn't last, and I was getting seriously tired of the doom and gloom already.

I'd never gotten carsick as far as I could remember, but Jessica's driving almost changed that. She was a speed demon, a perfectly respectable trait, but when she wanted to merge, by God she was going to merge. Angela, though, was starting to look green around the gills only three-fourth of the way to our destination.

"Finally," she muttered when we pulled into a parking spot at the first boutique on our list. Jessica simply tossed her hair over her shoulder and sauntered to open the door.

There were hundreds, maybe a thousand dresses in a rainbow of colors, lengths, and styles. Angela had informed me on the ride over that at Forks High, most girls wore short dresses for Valentines and homecoming and long dresses for prom. She instantly gravitated to the cream and white colored slinky, silky, styles, while Jessica bee-lined for a plunging red number. I wasn't sure where to start. There were so many options, and I had the unfortunate issue of never knowing what would look good on me until I tried it on, leading to me trying on about 50 dresses.

Jessica tried on the red dress, which made her boobs look amazing, her number one goal. But, the color wasn't right for her skin tone. Angela grabbed a few lighter, short gowns and started the job of trying them on, looking disappointed after each one. A sales assistant behind the counter idly chewed her gum while reading a book with a Harlequin cover.

"Let's head to the store across town. They'll have a better selection," Jessica suggested after none of us could find a dress we liked, adorning her sunglasses once more with an annoyed glance at the assistant. She didn't stir as the door chimed on our way out.

If it were possible, the next store had even more dresses, some of which actually drew my attention. I grabbed a turquoise sheath that Jessica insisted would complement my color palette, a purple dress with a tiered skirt, and a strapless carnation pink garment that sparkled under the bright store lighting.