"Alright, alright, full permission to tell me if this dress makes me look stupid." Leonora called from inside the dressing room, pulling aside the curtain and stepping outside to where Lark and Alicia waited. "How do I look?"
Leo wore a navy blue dress that went down to her knees with a v-shaped neckline. It hugged her body closely, showing off her figure while still looking effortless.
"I think you look awesome," Lark assured her, studying the dress. "You look hot."
"Yeah," Alicia added with a smirk, "Jared will never know what hit him."
"Oh, shut up," Leo fought the smile that threatened to form as she turned to the mirror behind her, studying herself in it and no doubt picturing herself dancing with Jared at the reception for Sam and Emily's wedding that next weekend. "It's not too tight? Too revealing?"
"Not at all," Lark said. "It's perfect."
"Cool," Leo breathed with a smile before turning back to her friends. "Alright Lark, it's your turn. Let's see what you've got." she said, lifting up the two dresses Lark had draped over a chair in the viewing area and pushing her best friend back into the now-empty dressing room.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," Lark chuckled as Leo pulled the curtain shut behind her, separating Lark from the two friends on the other side, and she hung the dresses up on the hook, first changing into the long-sleeved purple one.
Lark looked herself over in the mirror in the dress, tensing a little at how stiff the fabric felt against her skin, and with a sigh, instead began to wriggle back out of the dress, trying her best not to rip it in her efforts.
"How's it going?" Alicia's voice rang from the other side of the curtain.
"Definitely not this one," Lark called back, instead reaching for the black skater dress with gold designs woven inside it.
Instantly, Lark felt much more comfortable in the second dress than she had in the first, which she took to be a good sign. She could definitely breathe much easier in this one, anyways. She pulled the curtain aside with a smile, revealing Leo and Alicia still waiting outside.
"What do we think?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe of the fitting room.
"That's the one," Alicia said adamantly. "You look amazing!"
"You do," Leo agreed as Lark stood next to her, admiring both their dresses in the mirror. "Alright, Alli, your turn."
"Here I go," Alicia said, disappearing into the fitting room, and Leo reached into her purse, pulling out her phone as it began to vibrate.
"It's Jared," she said, flipping it open to read the text message before typing back frantically on the small keyboard. "He said they're about done and are wondering where we want to meet. I guess the smell's beginning to give them a headache, though I told him it probably won't be much better back home."
With the number of vampires beginning to pass through the Forks and Port Angeles areas to come bear witness for the Cullens, the members of the Pack were wary about letting the girls wander off on their own, especially as the vampires' stench was beginning to grow stronger and stronger for them as more arrived in the area. While they were considered to be safe around the Cullen family, the majority of vampires hadn't adopted the same diet as the family had, as well as those that might not want to listen to the rules Carlisle had put in place about hunting in the area during their stay. Simply speaking, none of them had wanted to find themselves as the vampires' next meals, regardless of the werewolf stench that most likely coated the three girls from the amount of time they spent with the Pack.
"They can meet us here in fifteen." Lark suggested, and Leo nodded, continuing to type. "We should be done soon, then we can get going."
"Okay," Alicia said, pulling the curtain open and giving the girls a twirl. "How do we feel about this one?"
Alicia wore an off-the-shoulder red dress that reached her knees, her hair cascading around her shoulders. The skirt swished slightly as she twirled, and Lark nodded with a smile, grabbing Alicia's hand and pulling her over so the three girls stood together looking in the mirror.
"This is definitely the one." Lark said. "That color looks amazing on you."
"You think so?" Alicia asked, smoothing the dress out as she stared at their reflection in the mirror. "It's not too much?"
"Absolutely not." Leo said. "You look gorgeous."
The girls returned to their respective fitting rooms, changing back into their clothes before heading to the registers to pay for their dresses. As they left, they found Paul, Jared, and Embry waiting outside, their tense expressions lightening as they noticed the girls finally coming to meet them.
"I see you all were successful?" Embry asked, taking note of their shopping bags, and Alicia nodded.
"That we were," she confirmed as they began to walk back to where Paul's truck was parked, Lark climbing into the middle of the front seat between Paul and Jared, and Leo, Alicia, and Embry all took their seats in the back.
"What'd you three get up to?" Lark asked.
"Well, after we set you three loose after lunch, this one got hungry again." Jared explained, gesturing to where Paul sat in the driver's seat, causing Lark to chuckle in response. "So, naturally, we went to go get a couple slices of pizza, and then went out for ice cream."
"Did you see any of them?" Alicia asked. "Vampires, I mean?"
"Not here, no," Paul said. "Stench was pretty strong not too far from the pizza place, though it got fainter. My guess is they were here, but once they realized we were, too, they took off. Probably wanted to get to the Cullens' before they got in trouble with us."
As the conversation began to fade, Paul reached for the knob on the radio, turning up the volume as a rock song began to play through the speakers. Lark leaned her head on Paul's shoulder as they drove back to the reservation, stopping first at Leonora's house to drop her off, before dropping off Jared and finally dropping Alicia and Embry off at the Call residence where Alicia had left her car that morning.
"So," Paul said after Alicia and Embry had jumped out of the truck, leaving the two alone as he began to drive back to his house. "What would you like to do tonight? There's pizzas in the freezer, and I do have Star Wars on DVD if you'd like to watch that again for the hundredth time."
"It's the two hundredth time, thank you very much." Lark said with a smirk. "I think that sounds great."
Paul pulled the truck into his driveway, which was empty except for where Lark's car sat in the spot his dad's usually occupied, as he'd mentioned earlier in the day that his father was away for the weekend on a work trip. Lark grabbed her purse and the bag containing her dress, carrying them as she followed him into the house.
"Do I get to see your dress?" Paul asked as they walked inside. "It's just that the groom doesn't get to see the bride's dress before, right? I can see yours?"
"You want to see it?" Lark asked, and Paul nodded. "Well, in that case, why don't you start the pizzas, and I'll be right back."
Lark quickly slipped into Paul's bedroom as he walked into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her and proceeding to change back out of her sweater and jeans and into the black and gold dress. She slipped it on over her head, smoothing it out as a knock sounded at the bedroom door.
"Lark?" Paul called. "Pizzas just went in the oven. You ready?"
"Ready," she called back, and Paul opened the door, a smile gracing his face as he studied his girlfriend twirling in her dress before him.
"Wow," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "You look beautiful."
Lark couldn't help the blush that began to heat up her cheeks as Paul crossed the room to where his stereo sat on his dresser, turning it on so a slow song began to play through the speakers.
"Dance with me," he said, holding his hand out for hers. "Maybe you can teach me how before the wedding."
"What's this?" she asked, taking his hand and feigning surprise. "You mean you'll actually dance with me at this one instead of just running off?"
He chuckled softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands resting on her waist as they began to sway. "If you're lucky."
Lark stood up on her tiptoes, kissing him as they continued to dance around the room. She knew if she told anyone that the dance happened, Paul would deny it, thinking it would go against his reputation as the tough guy in the Pack, but Lark didn't mind. She liked having the moment as a secret of theirs, anyways.
"I love you," he said with a smile, their foreheads resting together.
"I love you too," she said before furrowing her eyebrows together slightly. "You're sure you've never slow danced before?"
He shrugged. "Not unless you count me practically begging Jacob's sister to slow dance with me at homecoming freshman year. I accidentally stepped on her foot thirty seconds in, and I don't think she's ever forgiven me."
Lark smirked softly, hiding the chuckle building in her throat as the song came to an end, and another began to play, taking its place. "Well, I think you're a fine dancer. Now come on, let's get into our PJ's, we've got pizza and Revenge of the Sith waiting for us."