"Kara, c'mon." Aru tried again.
A whole week, and the TTSST still hadn't stopped.
Three minutes later, a time duration Aru thought was oddly specific, Kara sighed. "Fine."
Confused, Aru posed a question. "Fine, what?"
Kara sighed again, this time annoyed. "Fine, I forgive you, Aru. Yeah, it wasn't your fault he paid more attention to you and none to me. You're the model, not me."
Aru hugged her sister. "Oh my god, you finally got it."
Said sister rolled her eyes. "Only because I miss annoying you."
Aru nodded. "Obviously. Not like you didn't annoy me when you were giving me the TTSST."
Kara flicked Aru's forehead, and Aru stepped back. Kara spoke, "Anyway, I need you to help me choose a dress that will make Aiden ask me to dance with him."
Was it wrong that Aru missed the TTSST a little bit because there was no Aiden talk?
Don't get her wrong, Aiden was hot, he was crushworthy, but was he worth a whole verbal paragraph dedicated to his greatness?
Definitely not.
"Sorry. You know about me and my fashion sense."
"Ugh, I'll just borrow one of Cami's dresses. She's got such good taste in clothes, y'know?"
"Who's Cami?"
"She's one of my roommates and gods, she's so pretty. Her fashion sense is great, so I'll find something there."
"Kara, that honestly sounds like you're gay for her."
'Though that wouldn't be a problem.' Some part of her mind whispered.
'Yeah, because then she'll stop talking about Aiden.' Another part retorted.
'Obviously, it's just that.' The first voice said, sounding too snobbish for a voice in her head.
Aru silenced the voices in her head with a harsh 'shut up'.
She put her hand through the dresses in her closet, flicking each one until she found a suitable dress.
The red one? Nah, it seemed too bold for a spring formal dance.
Ironic, because she was supposed to be 'go big or go home' for the spring formal..
The day of the Spring Formal was a day where you just lose your past self and become someone completely new, before you revert back to your crusty, boring self.
Too bad the campus didn't allow dressing up as someone else.
She settled on a dark green dress which was breezy and flowed around her ankles.
And of course, the pitch black cord to tie around her waist.
The prettiest ensemble she'd ever worn.
"Ready to go, Aru?"
Aru hummed, before taking out her phone and reading the text Mini had sent.
"Mini says she's already there at Brynne's dorm."
"Well, at least someone's punctual. We were supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago, so hurry."
In the dorm, there was chaos.
Hira was screaming at everyone to get their shit together, and Brynne was buttoning up her baby blue suit.
Which matched Hira's baby blue dress.
Aru raised an eyebrow at that. There was something going on between those two.
The other roommate, who Aru assumed was Cami, was painting her nails with a bright yellow nail polish, and winked at Aru and Kara when they entered.
Mini, Hira said, was dressing in the bathroom.
Classic Mini.
By the time everyone was dressed and had calmed down at least a little bit, Brynne finally said something.
"So, I got a girlfriend."
Kara dropped her lipstick. "WHO. WHAT? HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS?"
Aru dived to catch the lipstick because, hey, it was some expensive lipstick.
Then she had an appropriate reaction to that statement, something that perfectly described her shock and emotion. "Huh?"
Well, maybe not that appropriate.
Mini, who was standing in the small hallway between the bedroom and bathroom, let out a squeal. "Who is it?"
Hira raised her left hand, using her right to apply a small coat of lip gloss. "Me."
Cami squealed too. "About time, babes. You two are so cute together."
...babes?
"Camilla sure is something," Mini whispered in Aru's ear after she got closer.
"Her name's Camilla?" Aru whispered back confused. "I thought it was Cami."
"No?"
Aru made a mental note of that. Then she responded to Mini's question, "She really is something."
Brynne clapped her hands. "Let's get to the dance, then?"
Kara, who had borrowed Camilla's sun yellow dress, nodded aggressively. "Can't keep them waiting."
Aru furrowed her brows. "Can't keep who waiting?"
Brynne waved a dismissive hand. "Rudy's waiting for Mini at the bottom of the staircase. Don't freak out when you see him, but he's wearing a purple tie and he gelled his hair."
How Rudy was so blind to not see Mini's blush every time they were near each other amazed Aru.
They went out of the room, locking the dorm, and went down the staircase. Brynne had placed Hira's hand at the crook of her elbow, making it look like she was Hira's escort.
Aru had to admit, they were cute together.
And Rudy was actually at the bottom of the staircase.
His hair had the phantom traces of gelling, but was haphazard because of the amount of times he'd run his hands through it.
To his right, stood Aiden.
Black pants, black tie, black coat.
Aru's breath caught before she dismissed it.
But she wasn't going to deny that he looked the hottest he'd looked from the many times she'd seen him.
He smiled at her, looking careful and weary, and she smiled back.
Why were her hands feeling clammy?
Also, what was she supposed to do with her hands while she walked?
Rudy let out a squeak, his cheeks a bit too red, and his birthmark on his temple darkened.
He gave his hand to Mini, and she took it, an identical blush coating her cheeks.
"Y-you look very beautiful." He managed.
"Thanks." Mini said, flush darkening.
When were these two going to start dating. A statement, not a question, by the way.
Rudy nudged Aiden after Mini's hand was safely in his.
Aiden sighed. "Don't think too much of it, Shah, but Brynne dared me to escort you to the auditorium." He extended his hand, and Aru's brain lagged.
She placed her clammy hand in his.
She didn't dare to look at Kara's face.
Aru's hand was in the crook of Aiden's elbow, and she looked everywhere but him.
In the auditorium, he didn't let go of her hand, and Aru didn't pull away either.
She felt guilty, but it felt natural to have her hand in his.
Unlike Aru and Aiden, Mini and Rudy had jumped apart as soon as they'd reached.
Aru nudged Rudy with her shoulder subtly, and Rudy, with a frightful expression, went ahead and asked Mini if she wanted to dance.
She said yes, obviously.
"I saw that." And Aru felt Aiden's breath on her cheek, his voice directly in front of her ear.
"You saw what?" Maybe she was not as subtle as she thought. Her blush wasn't subtle either. She blinked up at him innocently. "You didn't see anything."
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "I always see you, Shah."
They stood in silence, and Kara was nowhere to be seen.
Aiden broke the silence. "Do you want to dance with me?" He asked.
She was about to say yes, and she would've, if it weren't for a call from her phone that rang at that very moment.
He sighed, letting go of her. "Another time, then."
Before he left, Aru blurted out a question. "Was that part of the dare too?"
Quietly, almost too quiet, as though Aru was never meant to hear it, he whispered one word that Aru was hoping would be the answer to her question.
"No."