Were We Ever Meant To Be? (rewriting)

Oddness

Jack had said she looked good.

And that was weird.

Something completely out of character for him. She wouldn't've ever expected that from him, or anything along those lines. She lay spread out on her bed, staring at her ceiling, mulling it over. She had other things to be doing, she could be looking at dresses for the ball thing Jupiter had forcibly invited her and Jack to go to. "It's a League of Explorers celebration," He had said. "Very formal event. Full of fancy, rich people. And you're my plus twos!" He flashed a wide grin at her and Jack. "Isn't it plus one?" Jack had asked dubiously. "Well dear nephew, I'm quite special and am allowed two because I'm a very big deal! Unless you don't want to go?" Jupiter replied, raising an eyebrow. "How formal is 'very' formal?" Jupiter thought about it. "Like button down and dress pants." Morrigan snorted. "Don't laugh yet, Mog! I'll get Dame Chanda to help you pick something!" Morrigan groaned and slid down in her chair. Jupiter just smiled. Morrigan sighed and sat up on her bed. She might as well go see Dame Chanda now, she only had two days to pick or Jupiter would pick for her, and that might be the worst moment of her life.

She knocked on Dame Chanda's door and waited. The soprano opened her door and beamed at her. "Morrigan! Jupiter said you would stop by. I have some lovely dresses that would fit you just right. Come in!" Chanda ushered her in and shut the door behind her.

Over the course of two hours, Morrigan tried on about fifty dresses. The first 12 were all knee length layered dresses in shiny pinks and ugly yellows. "Chanda, please tell me that you don't just have pink and yellow dresses that come to my knees. Please." Morrigan had said, looking disapprovingly at Dame Chanda in the mirror from the round platform she stood on. "Morrigan my dear, if you give me some guidelines I can give you some different things to try on." Morrigan bit her lip. "Something floor length would be nice." So Chanda gave her about 15 dresses that all fell to her feet. Morrigan got to one with a neckline so deep she was afraid to even look at it. "Uh, Chanda, I'm seventeen. Not a harlot." Chanda frowned. "I suppose so. Straps?" Morrigan nodded so vigorously she was afraid her head would fall off. Chanda took all the ones without straps and gave Morrigan a new pile that all had Spaghetti straps. She sighed. There were quite a few in this pile that she was fond of, but none of them she really really liked. She got about halfway through the pile when she found one that she really liked. It was dark green, came in at her waist and fanned out into a small circle around her feet, with gold flower embroidery on the hem. "I like this one." She said, fidgeting with her hair. Chanda looked up and clapped excitedly. "Yes! Morrigan, please take it or else I will kill you for not taking it." Morrigan placed her hand on her neck and smiled at herself in the mirror. Someone suddenly knocked on the door and Dame Chanda opened the door. "Jack! What a lovely surprise. I was just helping Morrigan here pick something for that League of Explorers thing. Do you want some help too?" Jack shook his head. "No thanks, Dame Chanda, Jupiter just asked me to drop this off to you sometime today. Mog-" He trailed off as he looked past Dame Chanda to Morrigan on her little platform. Dame Chanda stepped aside with a little smirk so Jack could see her fully. "Wow. You look...nice. Really, really nice. Wow." Morrigan blushed and looked at the ground. Chanda thankfully stopped Jack's parade of awkward compliments. "Right Morrigan, you can have that, please for the love of the divinities, keep it for your whole life. You need shoes, take Cadence with you to get them. That girl has good style." Morrigan stood up straight and saluted. "Yes ma'am. Whatever you say ma'am." Chanda smiled and handed Morrigan her clothes. "Very good. Out you go!"

Morrigan walked very fast out of Chanda's room to her own room to avoid Jack and the possibility of more painfully awkward compliments. She successfully skirted around him, shutting her own so she could get changed and go get Cadence through the station. She threw on shorts, a t-shirt, socks, sneakers and ran through her door to the station, knocking on Cadence's door. The mesmerist opened the door, looking dubiously at her. "Yes, Morrigan?" Morrigan caught her breath before speaking. "Can you come shopping for shoes with me? Chanda said you have good enough style." Cadence smirked. "What's the magic word?" Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Please, Cadence, will you come with me?" A satisfied smirk painted itself over Cadence's face. "That's more like it."

After over an hour at the local mall and countless pairs of high heels Morrigan had drunkenly stumbled around in, Cadence came up with a genius idea to try kitten heels and flats. After another half an hour grinding the shoe shop, they finally agreed on a pair of gold ballroom shoes, the heel only rising about 5 centimetres from the floor that Morrigan could comfortably walk around in. She thanked Cadence, agreed to meet again sometime over the holidays with Hawthorne, and dropped her at her door. Morrigan walked over to her own door, the shoebox in her hand. As she packed her clothes for the trip, she couldn't shake the feeling that something monumental was going to happen while they were there.