It's time for the one chapter you've all been waiting for. THE SNOW BALL!!! I'm so excited for this! Hope you enjoy! Molly's outfit is above.
Molly
At the moment I was waiting to get out of school, so I could go home and get ready for the Snow Ball. I was excited, yes, but all of my friends had dates, and I didn't. It's not like I wanted to go with just anyone. I wanted to go with Dustin, but I was too scared to ask, and he hasn't asked me.
"Ah," I sighed in relief as the bell rang, shaking me from my depressing, hopeless romantic thoughts. I gathered my things, and walked to my locker to put my books away.
"Hey Molls," Dustin said walking up to me as I shut my locker.
"Hey Curly Fry," I said poking him on the cheek, which caused him to blush a little.
"Where are you headed?" he asked lacing our hands together.
"Home. It's Snow Ball tonight dummy," I teased.
"Yeah I know. Still no date?" he questioned as we picked up our bikes, ready to head home.
"Nope," I replied kicking my kickstand up, "Well I'll see you tonight."
"Bye Molls, see you tonight," he waved as I biked off. I smiled and waved back at the boy.
When I got home, my mom was there waiting for me.
"What's up girlfriend!" she exclaimed hugging me. I hugged back and smiled, happy to see her.
"What's up girlfriend," I said back.
"Now the Snow Ball is in two hours, and I need at lest forty five minutes to get you ready, plus you need to pick up El. Do you have any homework?" my mom asked.
"No, I did it during Study Hall," I answered.
"Good. That gives us a bigger time window. Alright go take a shower. You're going to smell fresh for this dance," she ordered, and so I did.
I walked up the stairs, undressed, and stepped into the shower. The hot water felt good, and I sang a little as I washed my hair with coconut shampoo and conditioner. I dried myself off, put on a bathrobe, and walked downstairs again.
I was met with sight of my mom holding a comb, hairbrush, bobby pins, a white beaded flower pin, and some light pink lip gloss.
"All right, mom's salon is open for business!" my mom exclaimed, sitting me down in a chair.
"You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?" I asked giggling at her actions.
"Yes! Now hold still!" she commanded, and I listened. I sat as still as I could as she french braided my hair, and pulled the braid into a bun. She pinned the hair at the base of my neck, and added the little white beaded flower pin.
When she showed me, I just sat there it shock. The french braid curved around my head, and the braid was so nicely done. For once in my life I felt like a pretty girl.
"Your hair looks great, but shut your eyes we need to use some hairspray to make sure it'll hold," my mom said as she sprayed my braided hair with the hairspray.
"Thanks mom. I feel pretty," I admitted hugging her.
"Well, you should because you look amazing. Even in a bathrobe, silly. Put on your dress," my mom replied. I walked upstairs to put on my blue and green floral dress.
When I put it on, I felt like I was floating. The dress was bright, and it fit me perfectly. I twirled a little, and the skirt flowed around with me. I felt really pretty wearing it, and I felt like a million dollars.
I walked downstairs once more, and mom gasped when she saw me.
"Oh look at my daughter. You look great dear. Dustin won't be able to keep his eyes off of you!" she said and I blushed.
"Mom," I whined, but I didn't really care.
"What shoes are you going to wear though?" she asked, and I shrugged.
"My Converse," I replied, sitting down to put them on.
"You can't wear those dirty things to the dance!" my sister exclaimed in horror.
"Wendy it's fine. If your sister wants to wear her converse she can," my mom told my sister.
"Ugh," my sister huffed as she walked up the stairs.
"I almost forgot!" my mom yelled brushing some lip gloss on my mouth. It smelled and tasted like chocolate covered strawberries.
"Thanks mom," I chirped happily. "Thanks for helping me get ready. I don't know what I would do without you."
"You're welcome. I always want to help my daughters!" my mom replied. "Oh! Can I get a few photos before you go get El?"
"Sure," I said smiling as she snapped some photos with her camera.
"Aw, my baby is growing up," my mom gushed, wiping tears from her eyes.
"No mom! Don't cry," I said squeezing her hand.
After a few minutes she said, "I'm okay. Now go grab El, and have fun at the dance. Give me all the juicy details when you get back."
I kissed her on the cheek and grabbed my bike, ready to pick up El. I didn't exactly trust Hopper to help El get ready. Heck, the guy could barely take care of himself, much less help a middle school girl get ready for a dance!
When I got to El's house, I could see some lights on, so I knocked on the door with the secret code.
"Hopper!" I called, and he opened the door.
"Molly! Thank goodness you're here! I'm going to need some help," he said, ushering me inside.
"What do you need help with?" I asked politely, hanging my jacket on a hook by the door.
"Well, you see, I've never had to deal with a middle school girl and dances before," Hopper explained.
"It can't be that bad," I started to say. "I'm sure El looks." I never finished my sentence because El walked out, and to put it nicely, she looked like a clown. Hopper was right, he did need help.
"Hopper, how is this pretty?" El asked, and Hopper looked at his feet.
"Look kid, I'm not good at this sorta stuff, so Molly's going to help you, okay?" Hopper explained and El nodded. We walked into El's room to see a few dresses laid out on the bed. They were clearly old and a size too big for El.
"You look pretty," El said, and I blushed.
"Thanks El. That means a lot," I told her. "Alright let's make you pretty now." El nodded and I set to work.
I brushed El's hair, pinning some of it back, with the hair clips Hopper had found. I tried to pin this one curl back, but it wouldn't stay, so I just left it.
I found this one dress that was blue with pink polka dots that seemed like it would fit El. I told her to change into it, and she did. The sleeves fit nicely around her arms and the skirt was a good length. It didn't fit too nicely around the waist though, so I took at pink belt Hopper had found, and cinched the fabric at her waist. I gave her some flats to put on. She looked very pretty.
"Hey Molly. I found this," Hopper said holding up a container of makeup. "What can you do with this?"
"Here, let's take a look," I replied taking the box of makeup from him. There was a good selection there, some pink eyeshadow, some blush, a little mascara, and some lip gloss. "I can work with this."
I began applying some of the eyeshadow to El's eyelids, and brushed some mascara on her lashes. Her eyes seemed to pop against her pale complexion. I added some blush to her cheeks, and smeared some lip gloss on her lips. When I had finished, El looked pretty good if I do say so myself. I held up a mirror and El's eyes widened.
"Pretty," she said at last.
"Very pretty," I told her and she smiled.
"Thanks Molly!" she exclaimed hugging me.
"You're welcome," I replied returning the hug.
"Girls let's go, we going to be late!" Hopper called, so we walked out of El's room.
"Look what Molly did Hopper," El said twirling. Hopper looked at her and smiled tears welling up in his eyes.
"I forgot what it feels like to be a parent," he choked out, but he quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Let's go we're late. You girls look great. Get in the car."
We hopped into the car, and drove to the school, El occasionally saying something to Hopper. The two of them weren't exactly conversationalists.
"We're here," Hopper announced, and we walked got out of the car, and walked to the gym.
It was covered in silver decorations, and music was blasting from the speakers. There were some kids dancing, some talking to each other in small groups.
I could see Will slow dancing with Katie. Their faces flushed. I saw Lucas dancing with Max. Max giggling as Lucas tried to remain calm. I turned to look for El, but discovered that she had walked up to Mike, who was looking at her like she was the only one there. I couldn't see Dustin anywhere. He said he would be here.
"Hey Nancy, have you seen Dustin?" I asked walking up to the high schooler who was helping with the dance.
"Yeah I saw him on the bleachers. A few girls rejected him. I was going to go dance with him, but I think he'd like to see you more. You look stunning by the way," she replied smiling at me.
"Thanks," I said hurriedly, going over to the bleachers where Dustin sat, tears rolling down his cheeks. It broke my hearts to see him like this.
"Hey Dusty," I said sitting down next to the poor boy.
"What? Oh hey Molly. Wait! Molly?" he exclaimed after he realized that I was there.
"Yeah, it's me," I said wiping the tears off of his face with my thumb. He just sat there, open mouthed, staring at me. "Dusty why are you staring at me?" I asked worried there was something wrong with me.
"I just didn't think you could get any prettier, yet here you are," he said dreamily.
"T-thanks," I replied blushing. After I said that he seemed to realize what he said because he blushed and looked down at the floor.
"I mean, I meant, you look amazing," he stuttered.
"Thank you. You look great too. I see you took Steve's hair advice," I told him, standing up, and holding out my hand to him. He grabbed my hand, and stood up.
"W-would you maybe want to dance or something. You don't have to, I just don't know if-" Dustin stuttered but I cut him off.
"Yes," I replied just as the song "Time After Time" started to play.
"Well then. Molly Miller, shall we dance?" he asked holding out his hand, officially asking me to dance.
"We shall," I said placing my hand in his. He lead me to the dance floor, and I smiled at him.
"I don't really know how to dance," Dustin admitted.
"It's okay. I'll show you," I said. "You put your hands on my waist, like so," I said taking his hands, and wrapping them around my waist.
"Then I put my hands here," I said, placing my hands on Dustin's shoulders. "Then you just sway to the music," I said moving with him.
"Molly," Dustin said, looking at my eyes.
"Yes?" I replied, staring at the pools of blue in his eyes.
"I like you," he said, so quietly it was almost a whisper. My heart stopped, and I froze. "I understand if you don't feel the same, it's just that you're so pretty and sweet. I'm sorry for telling you thi." I cut him off by placing my lips on to his.
For a second, he froze, but after a a moment he kissed back. His lips were soft and warm. My heart was beating a million times a second, and the feeling of his lips on mine turned my brain to mush. I wanted the moment to last forever, but sadly, it couldn't. I pulled away, pressing my forehead to his.
"Sorry, but I needed to cut you off because I really like you too," I replied breathlessly. I opened my mouth to say something else, but I was met with the sensation of Dustin kissing me once more.
My hands moved from his shoulders, to the back of his neck, and my fingers got tangled in his curly hair. His hands moved to the small of my back, gently pulling me closer to him.
I melted as he pulled away slowly, softly whispering, "You're beautiful."
"Remember when I told you that sentence in French when we were dealing with Dart. I said, 'I love you as more than a friend.' I was too scared to say it in English," I admitted, my heart rate slowing down, and my brain becoming less fuzzy.
"Yeah, but that's not important right now. What's important is that you're here with me, and I just really want to keep kissing you," Dustin said plainly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, smiling at me.
"You can kiss me all you want," I told him, pecking him quickly on the lips. "Just not on the dance floor since the song's over." I let him lead me off the dance floor, over to the bleachers.
"You're perfect Molly," he whispered, touching our foreheads together, leaning down and pressing his soft lips to mine.
I put my hands on his neck, and he placed his on my waist. My brain was starting to go fuzzy again, and I melted at the feeling of his lips on mine. I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach, and I felt tingly all over. I pulled away, looked into his eyes, which stared right back at me before they closed, and he kissed me again. I pulled away, breathing heavily.
"We need to stop. We need to find our friends," I said holding Dustin's hand, trying to calm the urge of smashing my lips to his.
"Yeah," he breathed. "You're just so beautiful."
"Thank you, my Curly Fry. Let's go find our friends, I'm sure they're looking for us," I said getting up, and intertwining our hands. We set off to look for our friends. My head leaning on his shoulder, and I couldn't be happier. The Snow Ball was perfect after all.