Part 37 - The dress

Y/n

"And there's this super cute bakery across the street that we can go to afterwards, this is gonna be so much fun! Oh and cute nails by the way, they suit you!"

Enid's enthusiastic compliment brought a grateful smile to my lips, as our strides stayed in sync while we walked through the halls.

I had to say, I think I might have judged her a little too fast. If I take away the fact that we both liked the same guy, which honestly doesn't bother me at all anymore, Enid was actually a really cool person to talk to. It turns out we actually like a lot of the same things, plus she was pretty funny when she wanted to be, it was nice.

I don't really have many close girlfriends, so finding someone I enjoy talking to about girl stuff is so refreshing after having to deal with two boys for so long. And Enid does have her pack, but I think apart from them, she really only has Wednesday, who definitely would NOT want to go dress shopping.

That was the plan for today. 

Enid, Me, and Bianca had all arranged to have a sort of girls day out together in town to go find our dresses for the gala, since the three of us hadn't had time to get them earlier. So I wasn't too hopeful that our options are going to be that big, but I went on Pinterest last night to give myself a rough idea of what I was thinking, but actually finding something close enough is a whole other story.

But first we had to find our third girly.

Enid and I had already met up roughly 10 minutes ago, soon falling into a comfortable conversation about pretty much anything and everything. And I didn't even have to worry about going down to the fountain and filling up my water bottle before I left my dorm, 

Because I found a brand new one, same as my broken bottle that kept leaking in my bag and ruining my notes almost everyday, sitting on my desk when I woke up, already restocked with precious hydration.

Along with a sticky note next to it that said,

'Have fun today, I'll be here if you need me'  And it had a little hand drawn smiley face underneath it.

Courtesy of my dear Pugsley of course, who seemed to know what I needed before I knew myself. Somehow through what had to be a fucking miracle, he found the exact brand and version of my water bottle, because he knew how much I liked it, and didn't want to get rid of it even though it was doing me more harm than good. 

I was genuinely shocked when I woke up to it this morning, because I had no idea how he did it, and it's not like he could have made it out of thin air, so either he's a fucking genie, or he's not telling me something about himself. But hey, I got a water bottle that doesn't leak now, so I am NOT complaining.

I was a little bummed that he had left before I could say thank you though, so I'll just have to make sure to do it profusely when I get back from this little outing today.

And obviously I pinned his little note to my corkboard so I could take it home with me in my special box at the end of the year. It was also the kind of thing I could look at every day and have it still mean the same every time, I liked that.

And thanks to him, I was carrying around enough water in my backpack to last me the day, and I was 100% going to need it with how much walking we were gonna be doing. 

Thankfully though, I found an old pair of running shoes that I'd buried deep in the bottom of my closet after a very short one day high of thinking I could start exercising more often, that were weirdly still the right size for my feet, even though I got them when I was like 13. But you know, shoes are shoes, and at least these ones didn't give me blisters.

We turned the corner towards the big stair case that led down to the main entrance, where a weird security guard looking guy stood, looking very ominous, and frankly a little creepy. But I guess this is the 'campus security' that Sheriff Santiago had mentioned a couple of days ago when Pugsley and I listened in on her conversation with Dort. I didn't think that she was being completely serious though, I mean we've already got that fucking curfew in place, guarded doors just seemed like a little bit of overkill.

And, oh-

Speak of the siren.

Bianca was quickly heading up the steps, just as we were about to make a move down them, and we stop our talking to catch her before she ended up just walking right past us.

"Hey! B, you ready to get going?"

Her head tipped up when she heard me, and she shot us a bit of a nervous smile.

"Hey guys, uh..yeah just..."

She looks behind her at the other side of the walkway where Principal Dort's office was located, and him along with it, staring very expectingly at Bianca. This guy was officially giving me the heebie jeebies...

Bianca turns back to us as she reaches the top step, moving her body slowly in the direction of Dort.

"Just give me like 10 minutes, I'll meet you guys outside, okay?"

We both give a short nod, and she quickly disappears into Dort's office, and he shuts the door behind them. What did he want with Bianca though? Maybe it was preparations for the gala...

Weird.

I shrug, but when I let my eyes fall away from the closed door, and back to the staircase, an unexpected sight waits for me at the bottom of them. 

Ajax stood on the ground level awkwardly, just staring up at me and Enid. I suppose he never expected the two of us to ever be this close to each other at the same time. Ex girlfriend and girl who everyone knows has a crush on him both looking right at him, gotta be a little uncomfortable.

But, I wave down to him with a smile anyway, I mean we were still friends, even if I may or may not have moved on from him without telling anybody. 

My greeting gesture was left unreturned though, when he just gave me one of those single nods and that insincere smile that guys do when they really don't want to talk to someone, but acknowledge their existence just because they have to.

He walked off pretty quickly without saying or doing anything else, leaving me and Enid unsure of why he would act like that. Asshole.

I scoff and turn to Enid.

"I mean what did we see in that guy, really?"

She lets out a thoughtful sigh as she looks off to where he once stood.

"He's really cute, that faaaace"

I laugh a little at her dramatic statement, although she wasn't wrong, he WAS really a sight for sore eyes.

"He is, isn't he."

She nods and hooks one of her arms with mine.

"Well, he may be cute, but we..are hot. And you know what hot deserves?"

I had a feeling I did know, but I let her continue as she leaned in closer,

"Even hotter."

I nod with a small huff, and the two of us skip down the steps, walking past the eerie security guard and pushing open the doors to outside, where the sun beat down warmly onto our skin, and the fresh air filled our lungs, refreshing our senses.

"Besides,"

Enid starts,

"He's in the past now, for both of us. Right?"

Her question kept me silent for a little bit, really thinking about my answer.

She wasn't wrong. Over these past few weeks, my feelings for Ajax had sort of, I dunno...faded a little bit. And I didn't know how to react to it, because I've liked him for so long, to just not feel it anymore feels wrong.

But at the same time, it feels right not to like him.

Now I wouldn't go so far as to say that my feelings are completely gone, because I know it doesn't work like that, you can't just stop the emotions you feel for someone overnight, it'd be a miracle.

Let's just say, I think my feelings were a little all over the place, but they weren't directed at Ajax anymore.

I smile at Enid, giving her a quick nod.

"Yeah, he's in the past."

««« ♪ ♪ »»»

I think I was actually really liking having girls to talk to.

Guy friends are nice and all, but they always try to offer their opinion even when you don't ask for it, and most of the time it doesn't add anything to the situation, because what you're looking for is to be listened to, not have your problems be solved for you. I'll admit that Pugsley doesn't really do that, thankfully, it's just sometimes it's nice to have different people to talk to about things that you couldn't really discuss with boys.

And with Enid and Bianca, I could just talk about whatever, and they'd listen without judgment at all. And they actually got me in a different way than Pugsley and Eugene do. Sure those two were funny sometimes, and I could be weird around them, but I'd feel uncomfortable talking to them about girl stuff, for obvious reasons.

I'd always thought making friends with girls was so much harder, and maybe it still is to some degree, but I feel like girls just have this unspoken understanding of 'I like you, we're best friends now.' , which made conversation go so much more smoothly. It probably also helped that the three of us sort of already knew each other, even if we hadn't really hung out much before outside of school and shared classes.

The three of us were walking along the concrete sidewalk along a set of shops in town, having caught the bus just in time after Bianca had come back out of Dort's office, seeming a little bit quieter than before, but I didn't want to ask in case it was something too personal. Plus she was slowly starting to warm back up to us, making herself the appointed navigation person while we tried to locate the boutique in the center of town.

"Okayyy, it says we need to take a right up here and then it should be on the corner across the road."

She puts her phone away into her pack pocket, seeing as were close enough that we could probably just look out for the shop itself, and while they keep up their walking pace, a shimmer of something on the ground makes me stop in my steps and I crouch down to see what it was.

Aw hell yeah, a quarter. It looked pretty old too, like maybe it was vintage from the 50's or something. I'm totally a sucker when it comes to collecting old coins, and also weirdly shaped rocks. But coins are much harder to find.

"Y/n! Get over here and come look at this!"

My attention is pulled up to Enid, who wasn't looking back at me, but instead staring over at something in the distance, and Bianca was doing the same. Had they spotted the place we were looking for?

I stand up, shoving the quarter into my pocket as I jogged up to where they were standing.

"What's the matter? Did you guys find-"

And then I saw what had them so dazed.

Holy fucking shitballs.

We were going in THERE? I mean, I knew it was going to be a nice place, but this town is in the middle of fucking nowhere, and the building across the street had to be the most lavish looking shop I've ever seen in my life. And that was just the outside.

Before I could even think of the right words to say to express my pure amazement, Enid excitedly grabs onto my hand, jumping up and down a bit.

"Eeeee this is gonna be so much fuuuun!!"

I could feel her start to pull me along, and I was quick to grab onto Bianca as well so we didn't leave her behind, and we run across the street towards the boutique. The weather today was pretty foggy, the same as it was most days, so the lights inside of the shop were illuminating our faces as we came to a stop outside the windows that had displays on the inner of them.

Those dresses looked...very elegant. Which I guess was kind of the point, but still, they were definitely the kind of thing you wear once and then never have another occasion to wear it again.

But, we wandered in through the front door nonetheless, and we were immediately greeted by an attendant, who frankly, looked like she would work in a place like this. And I don't mean that badly, she was very pretty, but also appeared to be very proper, wearing heals and classy outfit as she smiled at us.

"Good afternoon ladies, welcome, come in come in. What are we looking for on this fine day?"

Enid was practically bouncing out of her shoes at this point, and she grinned at the woman standing before us.

"We're looking for gala dresses!"

The attendant gave Enid a bit of a surprised look at her overjoyed tone, but gestured her hand out for us to follow her anyway.

"Of course, there have been a few other girls in here this week for the same reason, so let's see if we can't find you girls what you have in mind, follow me this way."

She started to walk away, and we tailed after her slowly, as I look around at everything inside, just simply admiring the view.

Because if I thought the outside was nice, boy was I not prepared for the inside.

I mean they had freaking chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, crystal ones that reflected in the light. The floorboards were a lot nicer than the ones I was used to at school, and I almost felt like I shouldn't be walking on them at all, or I'd get in trouble.

There were rows upon rows of racks full of beautiful dresses, just waiting to be bought, and the more intricate ones were on display, put on mannequins to give you the full view of them. 

Everything in here just looked so...expensive. Like I'm pretty sure this store was worth more money than my entire existence, and it was making me feel very out of place.

I had to dig into my savings just to buy a dress today, but now I wasn't so sure I'd be able to. Unfortunately for me though, the thrift store was closed today, and this was the only other place in town that actually sold dresses, so it was kind of my only option.

I didn't want Enid and Bianca knowing I was a little short when it came to funds, because then we'd have that whole awkward conversation of 'oh let me cover you this time I really don't mind'  And I don't want to have to do that, because then I'll owe them money that I don't have, so it's the clearance rack for me today.

The lady in front of us brought us around to the section of the store that held all of the fancy gala dresses and ballgowns like the kind we were looking for, and Enid makes a straight B-line for racks of gowns to look through them, and Bianca follows after her.

Enid told me that she was doing this big dance number that she's been practicing these past few weeks, and needed a dress that she could move around easily in, but I'm sure she'd be able to find something perfect for her.

I slowly walked over to the back corner, where a smaller portion of dresses hung, with a sign stuck up on the wall behind it that said 'Pre-owned 40% off'. And the attendant who was standing nearby gave me a look where I could just tell that she was silently judging me, like I was an alien or something, looking through garbage.

I can see why, the selection of stuff here was barely anything. Either it was a color that didn't go with my skin tone, or it was an unflattering shape, and most of them weren't even in my size. But, I gotta work with what I've got, so this is as good as I'm gonna do. Plus if I leave here with nothing, I'm going to be asked questions about why, and it's just not something I really wanna get in to.

It's not really like I've got time to get a job with all the school I'm doing, plus even if I could, it's almost a half hour walk into town, and bus fairs add up over time. A lot of kids at Nevermore relied on their parents money to get by, but I wasn't as lucky to have that pleasure.

With my mom so busy with her new boyfriend- Sorry, husband. They got married back in April, I didn't want them to. He was such an ass to my mom, but he had money, so she stayed. None of that money ever made it's way to me though, so I lived off mostly what the school provided for me. You know, food, water...an endless amount of homework. But it worked, and I kept any money I got as gifts or found out on the street in a box under my bed, so that when I really needed it, I could maybe have enough.

But after today, most of that if not all of it will be long gone, and instead I'll have a dress that I wear for the gala, and then store in my closet which is already crammed enough as it is, and I probably won't ever wear it again.

I have to keep reminding myself that it's not about the money, it's about the memories. Very, very expensive memories. But if I'm only going to wear it once, I guess it doesn't matter too much what it looks like.

I grab one of the dresses off the rack, it being one of the three that would actually fit me, and I go back over to Enid who had piled 2 dresses over her arm, and had another hanging off her hand.

She turns to me with a grin, and looks down at the piece of clothing hanging across my own arm.

"Hey! Did you find something?"

I look down at the dress I'd picked out. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it would have to do for one night, and at least I could afford it on my own, barely.

"Yeah, I think so. I see you've gathered quite the collection."

She shrugs with a smile.

"I wanted to give myself options you know? Plus everything here is just so cute I don't think I'm gonna be able to deciiide."

"Well that's why we're here."

Bianca comes up behind her, holding a couple of dresses of her own in her hand as she joins us, and the attendant pops out of literally nowhere with one of those fake customer service smiles on her face.

"Are we ready to try these on?"

When we give her confirmation, she turns on her heels, literally and figuratively, 

"Right this way."

Following after her, the three of us make our way over to the other side of the store where the dressing room were, but there was something that caught my eye on the way past that I hadn't noticed when we first walked in here.

My head turned and stayed locked onto it before I even stopped walking, but when I did come to a halt, I just stared. I can't believe something like this actually was real, it was so...

Beautiful. 

It was so unlike the other dresses, the lace and the layers held their shape so perfectly that you'd think it was a photo brought to life. The color changed between different shades with each piece of fabric, and there were bows decorating each strap. The bodice was so nicely shaped, dipping in at the waist in such a way that it reminded me of something a disney princess would wear at the end of the movie when they finally got to marry their prince.

And the matching mask to go with it was rested in a glass case next to it, like it was some royal gem that needed to be kept safe. Although with the price of it, it might as well be.

I mean, anyone who wore it would probably look like an angel on earth, it makes me wonder who'll get to have the honor of doing so. I'd do it myself, but I'll bet it's about several thousand bucks out of my budget, so it wouldn't even be a possibility.

"It's pretty."

The sound of Enid's voice beside me makes my soul leave my body as I jumped back a bit. But I calm myself down after I realize it was just her, and I let out a deep breath as I let my gaze turn back to the gown.

"Yeah...it is."

"You gonna try it on? I think it'd look great on you."

I sigh. I did really want to... But I know I'll end up liking it too much, and then I'll feel sad that I have to leave it behind.

"Nah, I don't really think that I could pull it off."

She shrugs.

"Alriiight, if you're sure. But you totally could if you wanted to. Come on, let's go try these on."

I nod, and while she walks back to the dressing rooms, my eyes lingered for a little longer on the dress, before I pulled myself away from it, moving away so I didn't get too attached.

"Yeah...okay."

««« ♪ ♪ »»»

"I dunno, I feel like this one makes me look weird."

Bianca and I sat on the bench in front of Enid, and we share a look as she turns around in a circle to see herself in the special mirror in the dressing room, as if she didn't look amazing in everything that she had tried on so far.

"Dude, come on. You look beautiful no matter what you put on."

I gesture my hand to the dress she currently had on, and she smiles as she points at me.

"You're so right. But, I think I prefer the second dress, it just gives me that soft look I adore."

She disappears back behind the door into the room where her regular clothes waited for her to put them back on, and I checked my phone for the time, seeing a flash of Pugsley and Eugene on my lock screen as it turns on and off again.

I look down at the photo with a grin, because even if I wasn't hanging out with them today, it was still nice to have a reminder with me. But when I lift my head back up, I saw Bianca in my peripheral vision, smirking at me, and I give her a side glance.

"What?"

She turns her gaze away from me with a shrug and shakes her head, 

"I didn't say anything."

Before I could reply, Enid steps out from the room in the back, which grabs my attention, but it's not like Bianca had to say any words for me to know she was thinking something suspicious about me. If only sirens could read each others minds, then I'd know what was so funny about my phone.

Enid places her decided gown onto the seat, and puts the other two onto the empty rack outside the door for the things that people choose not to buy.

"Okay. Y/n, you go next, I wanna see how you look in your dress. Come on, geeeet up."

I sigh, grabbing my dress from next to me and standing up as Enid took my place next to Bianca on the bench, and I walk into the fitting room, closing the door behind me and latching it so it didn't swing open randomly while I was half naked.

I hook the coat hanger up onto the peg on the back of the door, and I look at it through the mirror one more time.

It's not perfect, but it's the best I can do.

I take a deep breath, and I take my arms out of the hoodie I had on over my tank top, pulling it off over my head and dropping it down onto the floor, before turning to face the dress, flipping it so I could unzip the back for an easier putting on process, and I slide the straps off the arms of the hanger. I lower it towards the ground placing each leg into the middle of the fabric carefully, and then my arms through the straps on either side.

Now for the hard part, the zip. I mean, I feel like dresses should come with little hooks that you can use to pull it up all the way, because not everyone is fucking elastigirl, okay? My arms just can't reach that far behind me. And thus, that meant when I tried to zip this thing to the top, I was not able to, so I had to leave that tiny gap at the very end.

Okay...this dress is definitely...something.

It fits, it's kind of the right length. But if I'm being honest,

I look like a trash bag that grew a set of limbs.

"Y/n come out we wanna seee!"

I lean my head against the mirror stuck up onto the wall in front of me, and I sigh.

"Just a sec..."

This is fine. It's just a dress, it doesn't have to be perfect.

I take one more deep inhale and let it out before standing back up straight, turning the latch on the door to unlock it and I let it swing open, to reveal the exact two expressions I'd expected from them.

Skeptical and a little bit judgey. But, I would do the same thing if I were them, so there's no hate towards them for thinking it looks bad, cause it kinda does.

Bianca was the first to break the awkward silence.

"Well...do you like it?"

I look down at myself and sigh.

"It's...nice enough."

I clear my throat before turning to the blonde, who I think was still trying to process the sight in front of her.

"Enid?"

She but her lip in thought as she looked up at me.

"Yeah...you look uhm..."

I roll my eyes.

"I know, I know, but I think I'm gonna just get this one, I don't know if I really want to spend hours trying to find something absolutely right for me."

They both nod in understanding as I go back into the room, and I unzip and take off the dress and put my hoodie back on over me. I wasn't really sure what I'd expected to find from today, seeing as it was the day before the gala, and I've basically got no money. And that angel dress on display was double my budget...

I walk back out of the room once I put the dress back on it's hanger, and I put it down with Enid's one.

"Okay, your turn B, show us what you found."

I trade seats with her as she disappears back into the same room, and I get comfortable as Enid quickly turns to me while she starts to get up from her spot.

"I'll be right back, okay? I just have to check on something."

She sends me a smile and I nod as she moves out of the dressing area and back out into the dress sections. I wonder what she had to do...maybe she's going to get food or something, we have been in here for a while, perhaps I should do that too.

*ding*

Was that my phone? Maybe Enid really did go out for food and texted me to ask if I wanted anything. I pick my bag up off the floor, and I take my phone out of the pocket on the front to see what the notification was about.

Oh, it was from an unknown contact, that's weird.

I swipe up my lock screen and enter my password before the messages app opened up for me to see what they sent me.

Awwww...

'Hey Y/n, it's Pugsley :) Eugene let me have his old phone, so now I can text you whenever! it's a little weird not having you here today, but I hope you're having a good time with the girls! And make sure you remember to drink your water.'

This is the part where I explode from pure cuteness while reading that.

He was checking up on me even though he didn't have to, maybe he missed me... But I saw him this morning before I left, because I made sure to say goodbye since I wasn't going to see him most of the day. It was still nice that he wanted to see how I was doing.

I could feel the grin spread across my face as I re-read the message, and I replied quickly with my own.

'Hiii, it's going pretty well, the girls have found some really pretty dresses, and we're kind of having our own little fashion show lol. And don't worry, I'm not dehydrated thanks to you :) But I gotta go now, I'll see you guys later. Oh and thank you for the new water bottle, I really appreciate it <3'

I clicked send before I even thought about that last part, and my face dropped when I saw what I'd put. 

I SENT HIM A FUCKING LOVE HEART. 

Oh Y/n you dumb fucking ass bitch piece of stupid shi-

"Hey! Who are you texting~"

Enid smiled at me as she sat back down on the bench, and I immediately locked my phone and dropped it down next to me.

"Nobody, I was just checking the time."

She gave me a suspicious side glance, but she shrugged and let it go.

"Alright. Suuure."

I smiled at her sarcasm, but I noticed she didn't come back with anything in hand, so she didn't go to get food after all.

"Where'd you go?"

She gestured over her shoulder with a dismissive shake of her head.

"Oh I just went outside to check the hours of this place to see how much time we had left."

I thought we already saw them when we came in? But, fair enough, I forget stuff like that all the time, so it seemed like a normal thing to do.

The sound of the door opening and footsteps coming back out here caught our attention, and Bianca appears in front of us, wearing the dress she picked out, and she looked absolutely ethereal in it.

"Oh my gosh...you look beautiful..."

Both Enid and I were nodding at the dress, it was 100% the one she had to wear, it just suited her so well you'd think she made it herself or something.

She smiles and looks down at the dress one more time.

"I think this is the one."

"That dress was made for you."

Enid agrees, and Bianca gives us a final spin before she went to go change back, and Enid fully turns her body towards me, giving me a knowing smile, and I look at her confused.

"...What?"

She raises her eyebrows at me quickly a couple of times.

"Soooo, who are you going with to the gala?"

Oh. Uhmmm, that was not the question I thought I'd be getting today, but alright.

"Uh, I'm going solo, so nobody. No date for yours truly."

She gave me one of those short hums that you give someone when you don't believe what their saying, and I didn't know why.

"Why are you giving me that look?"

She holds up her hands in defense and just grins.

"Nothing, nothing...I just thought maybe you'd be attending with a certain...electric boy."

Electric boy? Who-

Oh.

Oh.

Now it was my turn not to believe what she was saying. Why would she think that me and- we're not...

"Pugsley? Are you serious?"

She nods and smiles like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, I mean you guys are pretty close, right? It only makes sense for you two to go together."

I swallow nervously.

"As friends maybe, sure. But I feel like you're implying something here that's actually a lot more complicated than you may realize."

I get sent an 'oh really?' glance from her, as Bianca reappears from the fitting room.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

Before Enid was able to tell her something untrue, I answer,

"Dates. Or rather lack thereof."

I shoot Enid a quick glare as she just grins at me.

"Oh, you're not going with Pugsley then?"

...

Okay what the fuck. I look up at Bianca who was waiting expectingly for me to say something back to her, but I just stared in disbelief.

These two both thought that...

Nah this had to be planned or something, or a really weird fucking coincidence.

"Wha- you...I- what is happening right now."

They both share a look with each other before returning their eyes back to me, and Bianca speaks up.

"Not even...as friends?"

I sigh. It's not that I didn't want to go with him, because if he asked me to, I would, but... It's just not like that.

"I mean, we'll both be there, and will probably hang out, so I suppose yes... Can we please just talk about something else?"

They both nod, and Bianca places her dress onto the pile of items we were going to buy.

"Yeah sure, we- ...oh my god..."

She went silent as her gaze locked onto something behind me, and I looked over at Enid, though she was just as lost in whatever they were staring at, smiling like an idiot at what it was. What the fuck had them hypnotized like this?

I turn my body around to see what the big deal was, and I could practically feel my eyes light up when I saw it, it looked even more stunning up close.

"Wow..."

"Go on.."

Enid's voice from behind me made me turn to her with confusion.

"What? You- Oh Enid...I can't."

I look back at the attendant holding up the same gorgeous dress that I'd stopped to admire earlier, and the sunlight was hitting it in a way that made the tiny rhinestones on it reflect under it and bounce off the walls.

"You can, and you will. I'm not saying that you have to get it, but you do have to at least try it on. Please? You'd look so beautiful in it, I'll take photos and everything. Aaand, if you decide you want it, I'll pay half."

I look back at her.

"Why would you do that?"

She rolls her eyes at me.

"I'm not an idiot you know. But I am a little offended that you thought we would judge you for being a little short on cash. Trust me, it's fine. If I'm gonna make you wear it, the least I can do is cover for you."

"I'll do the same. I really do think that it's perfect for you."

I look between the both of them, and they just graced me with soft smiles.

"You guys, I can't let you do that."

Enids scoffs.

"We're not asking, now go try it on."

I sigh as I stare back at the dress. Fuck. I did really want to wear it, but...

"Alright, fuck it. Let's do it."

««« ♪ ♪ »»»

Holy fucking shit.

I stare at myself in the mirror for what had to have been the tenth time, because I just truly couldn't believe that it was me in the reflection.

This dress really was perfect. A little too perfect to the point that I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming or not. But alas, it was real, and if I could bring myself to accept the fact that my friends we're willing to pay what I couldn't, it could be mine when we walked out of here.

But I just can't. I don't have the funds to pay them for covering me, and making that money back will take forever, and it'll just be one more thing that I have to worry about.

I wanted it so badly... 

The only thing stopping me is the weight of knowing I can't return what they say they'll give me, no questions asked.

"Y/n! You gotta come out here at some point you know!"

Enid's voice echoed down the hall and through my ears, and I groan as I keep my eyes on my figure in the mirror. Okay so maybe I'd been hiding in here for the past 10 minutes because I was afraid of them seeing me and then insisting I let them pay for half until I cave. Because I know I will, that's how much I wanted this thing.

"Nope, I'll just sit in here forever you guys, I'll be fine."

I hear a scoff from outside the door.

"No you won't, we have to see what it looks like. I'm sure you look amazing."

I sigh, before slowly reaching for the door, and it creaked open to reveal a very impatient looking Enid, whose jaw dropped upon seeing me, and she took a few steps back as I walked out of the doorway.

"That's the problem. I do look amazing, and I think I'm really starting to get attached to this dress, because it's just so perfect for me, and it compliments me so well, I feel like it shapes my figure so nicely and it's doing so many amazing things for me, and it was like I was supposed to find it because it is literally the most perfect dress I have have ever found before, and I really do like it, but what if it doesn't like me? I mean am I just getting too attached knowing that I may have to leave it behind even though it's giving me all the signs that it likes me, but I just don't know because it won't man up and just say that it likes me??"

I feel myself sink down onto the floor in defeat, and the dress fans out beneath me as I stare down at my hands, and Bianca stands up from the bench and walks over to me, crouching down next to my slumped figure and reaches her arms out to side hug me.

"Aw honey...we're not talking about the dress anymore, are we?"

I shake my head softly.

"No..."

She rubs my arm gently, and Enid comes to stand in front of me.

"Y/n, I wasn't really sure if I was going to have to say anything. But I may have some information that will help you decide what to do."

Both of them take spot on the floor around me, and I look up at Enid as she sighs.

"Don't ask me how, because I'm still not really sure how it happened, but yesterday, something made me switch bodies with Wednesday, and I was at their family dinner last night. And...I heard something from Pugsley."

That made my stomach drop. She knew something about Pugsley that I didn't, something that might change things. That piece of weird information also explained the fact that Wednesday was dancing in the courtyard yesterday without a care in the world, and talked like the complete opposite of how she normally does, because it wasn't her in her own body...

But that's not the point right now.

"What did he say?"

She takes a deep breath and glances away for a second.

"I...don't think I should be the one to tell you the details of what I heard, but... You shouldn't give up on him. You have a chance, trust me."

She takes my hands in hers as she smiles.

"But, whatever you decide to do, you have to do it in this dress."

I was about to fight her on it, but she cut me off.

"Nope- Before you say no, it's not a question. You're letting us pay whether you like it or not."

The lady from earlier steps into the space, and sees the three of us huddled together on the floor, but decides to keep quiet about it.

"Uh, are you ladies ready to take home your gorgeous dresses?"

We look over at her, and Enid stands up, pulling me along with her as she grins.

"Yup, we're ready."

The lady walks off again, and Enid spins me around and reaches for the zip to get me out of this thing.

"Come on, let's buy these, and then we can stuff our faces over in that bakery I told you about across the street."

I smile at her as the dress falls back off my shoulders, and I put it back onto the coat hanger, now standing here only in my tank top and leggings, so I grab my hoodie before I froze to death. Bianca carries the other dresses with us as we follow after the lady over to the front counter to pay for them, and the two of them go before me, and the lady puts their dresses into these fancy boxes, wrapping them up carefully before setting them aside, and turning her attention to me.

"Alright, just this one for today?"

I nod in confirmation as I start to open my bag to grab out my wallet.

"Yup, that's the one."

She smiles as she taps a few things on the screen, and she turns to me.

"Perfect, can I just get a name? I need to put it in our system for the records."

"Oh, yeah of course, it's Y/n. Y/n L/n."

She taps another couple of times, and she turns to take the dress.

"Awesome, I'll get this one all boxed up for you."

Wait, huh? I didn't pay yet though.

"Uhm, excuse me, don't you have to take my card? You know, so I can pay?"

She looks back at me, and shakes her head.

"No need for any of that, it's already been paid for."

I glance back the girls standing behind me, thinking that they had gone behind my back and paid for all of it without telling me, but they shrugged, looking just as confused as I was, so I ask the lady,

"What do you mean? We haven't given you anything yet."

She places the dress in one of the boxes, and tucks it in before securing the lid on top.

"Our system says that anything under your name has been pre-paid, you are Y/n L/n, yes?"

I nod.

"Yeah, I am...but that can't be right..."

She shrugs.

"I don't know what to tell you sweetheart, but there was a woman and a young man who came in here earlier today who said they were going to pay for anything you bought."

A woman and a young man? Who the fuck...

"May I ask what the name was, under the payment?"

She pauses for a moment and looks back at her computer.

"Uhhh, says here the name was Addams."

Oh my god.

She places the wrapped dress onto the counter, and I feel a tap on my arm from next to me, and I look to see Enid with a massive grin on her face.

"Looks like someone's got it down baaaad for you."

I felt my face heat up, and Enid said a short thank you to the lady as she guided me away, and Bianca grabbed my dress off the counter and took it with us as we exited the store, and I just felt like I was in pure shock.

It was Pugsley, it had to have been him. But why the hell would he do this, I didn't need him to pay for me, especially on something like this that cost so much. I mean I was beyond grateful, don't get me wrong, but he had no reason to do it, I just don't understand why he'd do something like this without telling me first.

We step out into the brisk air, and Bianca turns to us.

"I don't know about you guys, but I could certainly go for some food a drink right about now."

Enid nods, and she starts to move us in the direction of the bakery she was talking about before.

"Me too. And then, we can talk more about..."

She gestures to me.

"All of this."

I had a feeling I was about to be confronted with a lot of things I wasn't ready for.

-------------

Okay so, as promised, I did make a little bit of a mock up of what I kind of envisage their dorm room to look like. I'm sorry if it completely throws off what you've been imagining while reading, I just figured it might be helpful for people to have a clear image in their mind if they can't think of what it would look like. 

I'm thinking that maybe I'll put it with the introduction, so for people who want to see what I've made, it'll be there, let me know what you think and if I should make any changes :)