Cool Girl

7: Formal Night

I have breakfast on Saturday, the day of the dance, with Adam and then spend the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon with the others at McDonald's where I discover Liam and Ben are wearing matching suits too along with their matching ties.

Ash's date is wearing a red dress and he's worked up about how the color won't suit his olive skin and I end up spending a good thirty minutes using an overlay app to convince him of how good he'll look in a red tie.

At 2o'clock I excuse myself from the boys and head back to my room. I wash my hair and then face time mom.

"Hey Bunny!" Mom says when she answers the call.

"Hi mom." I say as I prop up the phone against some books on my desk and sit down on the chair.

"All set for tonight?" She asks and I nod, "Yup."

I told her about Adam weeks ago, just after our first kiss. We chat about my exams and how Aunt Tess is freaking out because her twin son and daughter start middle school this year.

"Tess is going to go mad by the time Ella and Ethan start high school. I've told her to take it down a notch countless time but she just doesn't get it." Mom shrugs and sighs, making me laugh.

Mom and Aunt Tess's relationship is one of the best that I've witnessed in my life. At times when I see them together, I almost feel jealous that I don't have a sister but I wouldn't replace Seb with anyone else, I love him too much.

Just before we say goodbye mom gets serious, "Hazel, have fun tonight but be careful, okay?"

"I will, I promise." I tell her and then say goodbye before ending the call.

I tie back my hair and get started on my makeup. It takes me almost an hour and by the time I finish, my hair is perfectly dry. I put my hair in tight curls around the tips to make the whole look slightly formal. By the time I'm done with all this, it's half an hour till Adam is to pick me up.

I slip on my dress and pair it with heels that I brought from home with me. I also put on the necklace that mom and dad gifted me on my fourth birthday. I always wear it to special occasions and this is Adam and mine first formal event together.

I decide to forgo a purse since my dress has little pockets at the waist which are sufficient to hold my phone. I run a hand through my hair and then tuck it behind my ear on one side as I approve how I look and leave for the dorm room lobby.

"You're here already!" I exclaim when I step out of the elevator.

Adam doesn't say anything as he takes me in and to shake off my, self-conscious feeling I ask, "Do I look okay?"

He shakes his head, pulling himself out of his daze and he gives me a small smile, "You look stunning."

I feel my cheeks warm as I step forward and place a hand on his suit clad chest and then kiss him. When I pull away, he doesn't let me go far as his arms circle around my waist and he presses a kiss to my forehead.

I melt under his touch as he pulls away his arms from my waist only to take my hand in his as he leads me out of the building to his waiting car. The dance is being held on campus at UCLA's banquet hall and it's just a ten minute walk but I'm thankful for the car since it saves me the walk in my heels.

Adam parks the car in the banquet hall's parking space and holds out a hand to me. The official start time of the dance is still twenty minutes away but there are a lot of students here already.

I let Adam hold my hand as we walk into the hall together. Whoever was in charge of decorations, did a wonderful job with a flower theme. It's subtle but vibrant at the same time.

I spot Ben and Liam just a few steps away from the entrance and I laugh as I take in their outfits. They are indeed matching from head to toe.

"You two look gorgeous." I call out when we near them.

"Hazel! Hey..." Liam trails off when he looks at me, "Wow! You look beautiful."

"I agree." Ben nods, "And now I can see what you meant by all of us matching." Their ties and my dress, consequently Adam's tie too are all the exact same shade.

"Thank you very much." I smile at them as Adam asks if it's okay if he heads over to say hi to some friends.

"Call me when you're done." I tell him and then he walks away after kissing my cheek.

"Refreshments?" Ben offers.

I gratefully nod, "I haven't eaten anything since the coke and fries at McDonald's."

When we get to one of the refreshments tables, I help myself to a few mini sandwiches, chicken nuggets and then gobble down a chocolate cupcake. By the time I'm chewing on my last bit of the cupcake Ash finds us and brings his date over to introduce us.

"Gina, this is Hazel, Ben and Liam. Friends from Rushmore Academy."

"Hi Gina. It's nice to meet you." I say, embracing her as the boys mumble 'heys' too.

"Where's Adam?" Ash asks just as Adam joins us, "Right here."

"And Gina this is Adam. Hazel's boyfriend." Ash further introduces but my heart melts at the word. This is the first time someone has used it and it makes me want to pull Adam into a kiss but I control my emotions for the sakes of everyone else.

Adam turns to me, "May I have a dance?"

"Of course." I smile and we leave the others as we head to the dance floor.

By now the dance is officially in full swing and the banquet hall is filled with chatter and songs from the DJ's system.

The song playing is a slow song so I let Adam pull me close to him as I place a hand on his shoulder and he holds my other hand in his as we sway to the music. As the song fades into the next one, I step forward and wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder.

When the slow dances end and the DJ announces that he'll be playing more upbeat songs, Adam pulls me into a kiss and then leads me off the dance floor to find the others.

They've found a table and are all there, including Gina. I sit down next to her to rest my feet and we begin talking. I find out that she's an exchange student from Canada and will return home once the summer program ends next week.

"Adam, can you take a picture?" Liam asks, holding out his phone.

"Sure." Adam says as the boys stand up and Ben pulls me out of my seat and we, the Rushmore gang smiles for our first picture of the night.

Next I have one taken with Adam and Ash has one taken with Gina, then we take a mock picture of Liam kissing Ben's cheek. Finally, we ask a girl standing nearby to take a picture so that we can all be in it together.

When we sit back down, Liam shares the pictures in our friends WhatsApp group and I forward the one of Adam and me to the group that mom, dad, Seb and I have, The Aarons.

About two hours into the night, UCLA's Dean takes the stage and officially bids us farewell since we'll all receive our results on Monday and leave for home the same day. Somewhere during the Dean's address Adam wraps an arm around my shoulders and I lean into him as we listen together.

So, I've added a picture of Hazel's dress to the chapter but of course as always, clothes and looks are up to you all. Whatever you want the characters to look like, it's up to your individual imagination ❤️

-T