I turned and riffled through the dresses on the racks around me. They were all very... Well, they were more Lydia's style. She liked being showered with attention, so her clothing was always very modern and 'in'. I mean, she dressed like a goddess, but it just wasn't me. I liked simple. I found three dresses that I wanted to try on then looked up to find Allison.
My stomach dropped when I saw her standing with Peter. Alone. I listened in, and he was talking about her skin and how beautiful it was. Buffalo Bill, or what? I quickly walked to her.
"Allison, there you are," I said. She seemed positively filled with relief, and I looked over at Peter, glaring at him. "I found some dresses, and I need a second opinion. You mind?"
"Of course not," she smiled. Peter chuckled and I took her hand, pulling her towards the dressing rooms.
Behind me I heard Peter speaking to me. "You win again. You won't always be there to save everybody, though. And when you aren't, I'll be right there." I didn't give him the satisfaction of letting him know I heard him as I pushed her into a room with me.
"Thank you," she sighed. "I was getting a little freaked out."
"Yeah, what was that about anyway?" I asked, pulling off my shirt. I could try on dresses with pants, so I left those on.
"I don't know. It was so weird, he started complimenting my skin and telling me to pick a lighter color because I was fair. Ugh, I was so uncomfortable. Thank god you got me when you did," she said, laughing lightly.
"Anytime. So, what do you think?" I did a little twirl as she studied me. After a second, she squinted and shook her head. "Yeah, I thought so, too." I took it off and hung it back up, then pulled another dress off.
It fit snugly across my chest, making me look like I had a lot more cleavage than I actually did, and I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to decide if I liked it.
"So, is there anyone else? Someone specific you want to dance with tonight?" Allison asked, eying the dress.
I thought about it for a minute. "I don't know. You know that kid on the lacrosse team? I think his name is Isiah? No... Isaac! That's it. Yeah, him. He doesn't talk much, I think he's shy. He's pretty cute. And sweet from what I gather." She shook her head at the dress, so I took it off to try on the next one.
"Lydia might've introduced me to him. You think he'll be there tonight?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I can't get a read on him. He's such a private guy. I'm even kind of surprised he's in lacrosse. Violence seems to make him kind of nervous. Like he's always scared or something. I don't understand him," I mused. My musings were distracted when I looked at myself in the mirror.
"That's definitely the dress," Allison said.
"You think so?"
"If you don't buy it, I'm buying it for you. You look amazing in it." We grinned at each other, and I did a little happy dance that she laughed at. I changed back into my regular clothes and we set out to find her dress, and this time I stayed close to her.
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I had showered, shaved (twice, just to be sure everything was smooth), pampered and painted. I was determined to get someone's attention tonight, even if it wasn't Stiles'.
I let my hair air-dry as I laid out my outfit for tonight. I had two hours left. I could definitely do this. I knew exactly what I wanted in my appearance, I was determined to make it happen.
Once I was done, I stared at myself in the mirror. I had my hair in loose waves that cascaded down my back. My makeup was done in neutral shades, browns and pinks on my eyelids. And cat-eye liner, a given. I only wore a gloss because no shade of lipstick I had seemed to feel right. I had on diamond studs in my ears and a little pearl bracelet around my wrist.
My dress was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline (I was more than a little obsessed with sweetheart necklines. They suited everyone.) and it ended a few inches above my knees. The dress was white and lace, but the lace was a bunch of little flowers. The top part was fitted, and about at my waist, it cinched and then the skirt poofed out a little. The dress made my boobs look awesome, which made me happy. I chose to pair the dress with a nude heel that rose my height about three inches.
With me, I had a white clutch to store my phone, house keys, lip gloss, and ticket to get in. I felt stunning as I walked into the dance. Stiles came up to me a minute after I entered, and I couldn't help imagining that he was going to hold out his arm for me and tell me I looked beautiful.
"Hey, we're sitting over here. I saved you a seat," he smiled, waving me to follow him. I guess that was the only moment I was going to get.
Jackson, Allison, and Lydia were sitting at the table when we got there. Jackson looked bored (and slightly intoxicated?), Allison looked more than a little peeved, and Lydia, well she also looked bored. Allison perked up when she saw me, and she stood to hug me.
"You look gorgeous, Allison," I smiled.
"So do you! Look at you. I knew you'd kill in that dress, but I didn't know how much." She winked at me. "Someone is going to be a lucky guy tonight."
Stiles popped between us. "Woah, what do you mean? No one's lucky tonight. Especially not you." Stiles pointed at me, reminding of something an older brother would do.
Allison giggled and pulled me close to her as if we were sharing a secret. "I saw Scott on the roof earlier. Will you let me know if you see him?" I nodded, finding her blush to be adorable. Jackson dragged her off to the dance floor but didn't dance. What he did was distribute alcohol to his buddies while she stood around awkwardly. Poor girl. If Scott wasn't here yet, he needed to be.
I didn't know what song was playing, but screw it. It was a fast song, so it wouldn't be awkward. I walked up to Allison, who was standing behind Jackson and frowning.
"Let's go dance," I smiled. She grinned back with relief and we went to the center of the dance floor and began to move to the beat.
"I keep trying to get Jackson to dance with me, but all he wants to do is drink. I don't even know why he asked me to go with him," she complained.
"I wouldn't put much thought to it. Jackson can be a jerk."
We let the music take over, smiling and laughing as we blended in with the crowd around us. It was almost hypnotic to be here in the center surrounded by people, almost like I was in a different world. Or high. I didn't even notice when Stiles and Lydia began to dance together.
Jackson must've gotten jealous or felt bad (unlikely) or something because he came up to Allison and started to dance with her. I didn't mind, I was having fun on my own. Then a cute guy who I still don't know the name of spun me around to make me dance with him, which I happily did. His hands were on my hips as we moved as one organism. It wasn't sexual, it was just the music making me forget about my worries.
It was broken by the sound of Coach yelling 'McCall I see you!' as loud as he could. I didn't stop dancing to the beat, but my heart wasn't in it anymore as I looked around for Scott. He was up in the stands, running down so he could get away from Coach.
The song changed to a slow one, and the guy I was with immediately slowed our pace, putting his hands on my hips so we were slow dancing, and I looked around for Scott to find him slow dancing with Danny.
"McCall, you're not supposed to-." Coach cut himself off when he saw the two together. "What the hell are you do-." The music stopped and everyone stared at Coach, waiting to see if he was going to kick out the 'gay guy'. Smart move on Scott's end. "What the hell are you doing?"
Scott took advantage of the people staring and snuggled up against Danny. "Yes, Coach?"
"Okay, ho-ho-ho ha ha." Coach held his hands up in defense and started laughing uncomfortably. I giggled into my hand. "Hold on, you-. I was just saying he's not supposed to-. I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't-. You guys don't think-. Y-you don't-. I-I-I was-... Just dance, everybody. Just dance! Dance!" Coach backed away from the two, leaving Scott be as he tried to dig himself out of a hole of homophobia.
The music started back up again and I laughed. "God, I love my friends." With joy in my heart, I started to dance again, holding on closely to whoever was in my arms. (I really should learn his name.)