"Are you going to tell me anything at all?" I questioned as I stood next to Kyla who was barking commands at the people who was helping us to fix up the gym for the prom.
My best friend turned to me with a tight lipped smile, giving me a happy yet annoying reply, "Nope."
When she saw my pouting expression, she grinned before wrapping an arm around my shoulder, giving me tight squeeze, "Oh come on, don't give me that look."
"Fine," sighed, "I trust you."
"There we go," she cheered before releasing me from her grasp, "Now after this, come with me to look for my prom dress."
Don't even remind me of that stinking prom dress. In the end, I left empty handed in that chain of stores that Jasper brought me, it wasn't because they were all horrendous, but it was because nothing was better than the dress I saw in the first shop.
God damn it, I wanted that dress!
She noticed the frown and her face also fell. I told her about it, and even though she was sweet enough to tell me that she would loan me the money so I could buy it, I quickly reminded her that she needed her own money for her dress.
And that placed us back to square one.
"I'm pretty sure the mall is a cheaper place," she said, walking to the bleachers where she left her bag.
Nodding I adjusted the strap of my own bag on my shoulder before turning to the students who were just finishing up with the cleaning for the day, "Good work, everybody, we'll see you again tomorrow."
We received their collective goodbyes before the both of us started to walk out. The two of us paused in our steps when we were in the parking lot as we saw Jasper and Tristan, leisurely leaned against my car as they chatted without a care in the world.
When they noticed us standing like idiots right there, they gave us each a smile, "Took you girls long enough."
We exchanged looks before giving them a questioning look, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Overheard that you two were going to the mall," Tristan replied, scratching the back of his head, "We were wondering if we could go along since we also have to buy our tuxes."
Kyla lifted a hand and allowed it to zoom really close to her boyfriend's face before giving him a flat, "No."
Certainly, Tristan was not expecting that rejection from her as his jaw slowly dropped open, "What?"
"Our prom dress is a surprise from you boys so there's no way you're coming along with us," she explained, crossing her arms over her chest.
Tristan groaned in exasperation before gesturing to Jasper and I, "But Savannah allowed Jasper to come with her when she was scouting for dresses."
"And that's why she didn't buy anything that day," she pointed out before shooing them, "It's a girls' shopping spree."
I held back a laugh as I saw Tristan's face turn into a childish pout, before sullenly turning around and slowly walking back to wherever his car was. Jasper chuckled openly at his best friend, shaking his head before approaching me, "I'll see you when you get home?"
Nodding, I showed him a small smile, "You better go and cheer him up."
"Got it," he grinned, leaning down to give my cheek a kiss - evidently making me blush - before he started to follow Tristan who was already halfway down the parking lot.
Turning to Kyla who was now staring at her boyfriend with amusement, I gave her a look. She noticed and shrugged, "I want to surprise him."
"Poor boy," I muttered, walking around to reach the driver's side as I unlocked the vehicle, "I'm pretty sure he's currently troubling about which colored tie he would get for you."
From her cheerful disposition, it's obvious that she was touched with his gesture even after she gave him the cold shoulder. It doesn't matter if they're already an official couple or not, both of them act like before they were dating. With Tristan acting all chill in front of her but a complete wreck when she's not looking, while her on the other hand, still acts like a fangirl behind his back.
As a normal person, I envy their relation but why would I when I have my Jasper?
When we reached the mall, I felt like we suddenly entered a marathon. It was definite that it was prom season and even though it was a school day, that didn't stop the many seniors from going into the mall to shop for their outfits for the dance.
If this was the situation on a weekday, just imagine it while it was on a weekend.
But of course, the amount of people and competition only fueled my best friend's fighting spirit as she cracked her knuckles and smirked, "You ready, Savannah?"
"I think," I mumbled, unsure if I was going to make it alive or not.
She was ready to barge in and when I meant barge in, she was pushing and shoving people to get to shops. But this was Kyla we were talking about, I'm betting that she already knew where to go.
She grabbed my wrist and didn't even bother with the escalator, she went straight ahead to the stairs. Well, looks like I'll be getting my cardio done for the day.
We reached a particular shop on the third floor and it was fairly packed, but you could still walk around and pick out the dresses and gown you would like to try on.
She certainly had her target locked on as she didn't even bother to say an apology to the few people she bumped into as she walked up to the employee. Even though the woman's patience was already running thin with the costumers, she still mustered a smile, "May I help you?"
"May I know if I could try on the dress that was on that mannequin?" Kyla questioned, pointing to the dress that was being presented on the shop window.
The employee frowned and shook her head, "I'm sorry ma'am that design is sold out, and we only have that display piece left."
Darling, you don't say that to Kyla Bailey.
"Then I'll buy that display piece," she said, her eyes reflecting desperation. From the sigh the woman released, it was obvious that she was told the same words a lot of time, and as always, she rejected it.
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
"But..." she trailed off, staring back at the dress like the same way I looked at the dress back in the shop Jasper took me into.
"We'll pay extra if you allow us to get it," I jumped into the conversation, giving Kyla a supportive smile. There's no way am I allowing my best friend to be as disappointed as I was.
Still, she shook her head, "I really am sorry, ma'am."
I don't really like using my brother and his wife's influence, but if it's for Kyla, I can bear the guilt for one day, "I'm Savannah Everett, Celeste Graham-Everett's sister-in-law."
The store manager that was passing by stopped when I said her name, she instantly knew the name, and how could she not? Half of this mall belongs to Celeste's family, but as I always say, I never like using their power.
"Excuse me," she said, slightly pushing the saleslady to the side, "How may I help you?"
I almost snorted at the sudden change of attitude. These people who treat people with power with an extra service should just go down, because just like the other people shopping in this store, we're just costumers.
"We would like that dress," I informed, pointing back to the same mannequin that Kyla was practically worshipping.
Who knew that in just a few breezy minutes, we would be walking out of the store with the dress inside a box that was now wrapped in Kyla's arms? The smile that was gracing her face was really something else, she was practically glowing with happiness.
"How about you?" she asked as we were waiting for the elevator, "What store shall we scout first?"
"I'll pass for today," I told her, "I can just ask my parents for some money so I could buy what I wanted."
I guess she noticed that I wasn't in the mood so she nodded and followed me to the car. Surprisingly, it was already dark when we got out. Maybe the dress buying was fast but from the line to the crowd, it did took us some time to get in and out of the mall.
The drive to her house was filled with nonsense chit chats and before she got down when we stopped in front of her house, she released her seatbelt and leaned forward to hug me, "You're the best."
Returning the hug for a brief moment, she smiled at me as she pulled back ad opened the door, "Pick you up tomorrow morning."
Waving goodbye to her, I started to drive back to my house. The second I parked the vehicle in my driveway, Jasper emerged from the house next door.
"Finally!" he yelled into nothingness, he reached out a hand for me to take, "Come on."
"Why?" I questioned, giving him a skeptical look.
"I want to show you my tux," he replied, taking my hand and pulling me along with him inside the house.
If we reach his room again, I'm hoping he has prepared me that cereal bowl he promised the last time. Thankfully, we just stopped in the living room and he walked out to get his suit.
Looking down on the coffee table, there was huge white box and even though it was wrong to snoop, I was tempted to look inside. Because hey, if you see a huge box that was occupying the whole surface area of the coffee table, of course you would get curious.
I plopped down on their couch, still staring at the box. That was until Jasper emerged, even though he only had his t-shirt on, the suit jacket and pants combo rocketed his hotness ten times more.
Did I really just say the word hotness? Oh god, Savannah, we should stop.
When he did that spin, I allowed a small giggle to escape my lips. He slid through the slippery floor of his living room, before digging into the inside the pocket, "The best has yet to come."
He then pulled out the tie he was going to wear, and my eyes widened at the color. It was the same lavander color of the dress that I was eyeing. Of course, I didn't want to put my hopes up so I took a deep breath before raising an eyebrow, "So I have to match your tie now?"
"Well, originally I planned a nice dinner to cheer you up because Kyla told me about the dress," he said. That girl is dead to me for telling Jasper about it, "But I thought that this could be better."
"What?" I asked, and that was when he put down the tie to lift up the cover of the box. I gaped as I was now staring at the same gown that I saw last week on the shop Jasper took me. My first instinct was to jump into his arms and give him the biggest bear hug for how much I appreciated it, but I balled my hands into fists to control myself, "How?"
"I called up Macy to see if she can do something about it," he started to say, "Then I learned a valuable piece of information," he told me, taking my hand and placed it gently on top of the fabric, "Your brother and Celeste is a good friend of Jessica Smith, the designer of that dress."
Look at that, I also got my own prom dress from her influence. Oh great, my pride is getting stabbed right now.
"Jessica Smith actually gave this as a gift to you," he informed, "I was surprised she was willing to give up an expensive piece for free."
"Jasper, I can't accept this," I gasped, quickly scrambling around to find the box cover. I need to shield my eyes from this beauty, before I start regretting it, "You've done too many good things to me and I can't even spend the summer with you."
To my shock, I felt his hand on my head and stopped all of my movements, making me look up at him, "Calm yourself please."
I clamped my mouth shut as he released me, sitting down on the sofa next to me, he gave me a gentle smile, "First of all, I've always said that I don't give a damn if you spend the summer with me or not, because I know what you're doing is something very important to you."
Doesn't he know that he much more important to me?
"Second, I enjoy treating you right," he stated, making my heart melt with his words.
Dear heavens, what did I do right that made me deserve this amazing human being?
"And third, I also have that nice dinner on its way here."
What?
As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Jasper quickly ran to the door. When he came back, he had a large pizza box in his hand, lifting his other one to give it that exaggerated gesture, taking a whiff of its delicious scent.
It's because this girl has no time to go on diet before prom. There's a Jasper with pizza currently standing in front of me.
"I'll go get the drinks," I muttered, standing up as I walked into their kitchen. The fact that I've practically grew up with jasper makes me feel like this like an extension to my house. When I opened the fridge to see what they have in stock, I reached in to grab the large bottle of Coke.
I filled up two glasses with the soda before walking back to the living room. Unfortunately, that was the same time Jasper was on his way to the kitchen to grab some plates, and well, you could imagine what happened next.
We ended up crashing into each other, causing the coke to splash everywhere. The only good thing was the glass came in contact with the carpet so even though they slipped from my hands, they didn't shatter, they only showed some cracks from the impact.
I cringed at how sticky I've become because of the Coke that spilled all over me. Well, looks like I'll need a shower as soon as I get back home.
Looking up at Jasper, I gasped at his white shirt. He looks like he took more of the damage than I did, "I'm so sorry!" I started apologizing, crawling up to him as I tugged on his shirt, "You need to take this off, it would be horrible if it stains."
"Are you trying to get me naked?" he managed to joke. And even with the blush coming up, I gave him a dirty look, before telling him in a commanding tone, to once again, take off his shirt.
Thankfully, he listened to me and pulled up his shirt to remove it. You can say that the only thing I was able to do was stared at his shirtless figure.
Damn, those muscles look fine.
"But now I'm a bit cold," he started once again to tease me, "How about you come here to give me a hug?"
"Jasper Dean," I growled under my breath, showing him a fist to make him stop.
But we all know that I'll be oh-so-willingly to throw myself to a shirtless Jasper any day.
If your tiny little girlfriend decided to give you a threat, of course you wouldn't take it seriously even if this said petite girlfriend used to be the terror of the school.
He reached out and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him, "Nice and warm."
"Release me!" I demanded, trying to break free from his grasp.
What came next made me stop in my movements, rendering me frozen in spot in his arms, "I love you, Savannah."
Darling, you cannot say that out of the blue!
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Finally updated, I was staring at these file for days with only the first five paragraphs in it. I was so close to crying because of writer's block.
But we got this up, and thankfully, it hasn't been two weeks yet!
Question: If you're on the receiving end of Jasper's confession, how would you react in this current situation?
Love you guys, and for those who are also readers of FFTO, please keep an eye out on my profile because I'll post something related to this chapter. Or you could also come back within the week since this will have an external link as a treat for you guys.
Edit: go to the external link right now.
Now before we part, as always, I hope you comment, vote, and follow. I shall see you all next chapter!