The Mall

Chapter 1

⚠️This story contains some swear words at times⚠️

Katie's pov:

We were walking through the mall or, rather, my mom and her friend Catherine were walking through the mall, and Oliver, her son, and i were trailing behind. We were both brought along with our mothers when neither of us wanted to be here.

I've had the biggest crush on Oliver for a couple of years. I think many people did. He was the typical quarterback, really hot ( really, really hot) guy, Jock, and the friends with everyone type of guy. Every school has one.

And I was that mostly unnoticed smart girl that skipped freshman year and is now a 16 year old senior, on track to become valedictorian, 4.0 GPA. You get the point. He's popular, I'm not.

My only friend is my older brother, Brady, who I'm in the same grade as now. He's the wide receiver on the football team, and we've always been best friends. And his other best friend is Oliver.

I get it my life is sad, full of books. That's what the kids that bully me say. Until Brady comes and scares them off or beats them up. Depends on the day.

"Katie, look at that dress. It would look absolutely stunning on you, darling," Catherine said to me. I saw she was pointing to a dress in the window of a store.

"Wow, yes, sweetie. You should try it on," my mom said. "You need a dress for homecoming anyway."

"I don't think I'm going to go to homecoming. There's a test after that in AP Calc, I need to score well on it," I argued.

"Oh honey, you study so much. You're going to be fine. You'll get valedictorian, don't worry so much," both my parents weren't at all worried about my grades, I did very well.

"Besides, there is other stuff we want to look at in that store anyway. Just try it on," Catherine said.

"Ok," I just decided to stop arguing.

We walked in, and my mom found the dress in my size. I admit, it was a beautiful dress. Grey-blue in color perfectly matches my eyes. It had a sweetheart neckline. It was made out of a lacy material and tight at the top but fanning out at the bottom. It ended mid thigh, a little too high for my comfort.

They led me to the changing room, and my mom sent me in with the dress. I slipped it on and went to zip it up, but the zipper was a little stuck.

"Mom? Can you help me, please?" I asked.

I saw the curtain slide open a little, and I looked down and pulled my hair out of the way so my mom could zip up the dress.

The zipper slowly slid up as I felt warm fingertips graze up my back, I looked up into the mirror, and instead of seeing my mom's eyes. I saw hazel eyes staring back at me.

"Oh, it's you, Oliver," I blushed a lot, realizing he basically just saw me in my bra and underwear. Granted, it was only from the back.

He breathed deep, and I think I saw him blushing a bit, too. "Our moms went to go look at other stuff in the store, so I figured I'd help you," He explained. "Sorry if that was weird or something."

"Um, it's fine."

We were both in silence for a minute, just staring at each other.

"My mom was right. You look stunning in that dress. And out of the dress but also in the dress," he blushed deeply after what he said there.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really, you're really pretty. All the guys on the football team talk about you, and Brady threatens to beat them up. Good guy, he is. Good brother also, protective for sure," he said.

We were both in more silence, neither knowing what to say, both blushing.

"You should get the dress. It really suits you." He told me.

"There's no reason to, I'm not going to homecoming anyway, I don't even have a date," I told him. Homecoming was on Friday, and today was Tuesday, and the big football game is on Thursday.

"Um... well, if you want, you don't have to, but maybe you could go with my. I'd love it if you would," he said awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? Why do you want to go with me? Not one of the pretty cheerleaders of something?" I asked.

"You're really smart and sweet and very pretty. I've also kinda liked you a while, like since I first met you. God, this is so embarrassing to admit,"

"Wow. It's also embarrassing for me when I admit that I've also liked you since we first met,"I said to him. "And yes, I would love to go to homecoming with you."

He smiled, I loved his smile. It was so genuine.

"Would you want to hang out with me after school tomorrow, maybe? He asked me.

"Yeah, sure, I'm sure our moms are wondering where we are by now, though, so we should head out," I told him. He nodded in agreement and followed me out.

Right when we walked out, our mom's came around a corner and saw me.

"Oh my gosh, Katie, you look at good. You have to get that dress," Catherine told me.

"You should, sweetie. I'll leave my credit card with Oliver. You get changed, and we'll be in the next store over. When you're done, come over," my mom told me.

"Ok," I replied. "Oliver, do you mind unzipping the dress for me?"

"Yeah, no problem," he said. He followed me back into the dressing room and closed the curtain behind him. As he slowly unzipped the dress, I felt his fingertips move down my back again. I held the dress up with my hand on my chest. It fell slightly at the sides, dipping to show my hips.

I turned around, and he just looked at me for a minute, then he reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. His large hand rested there for a second before he pulled away and left the changing room.

I quickly got dressed and walked out. We paid really quick and met our mom's over in the other store.