Chapter 3

The next few days were uneventful. Jen procrastinated, as usual. Marcus didn't leave. He begged me to let him stay, claiming he didn't know anyone and had nowhere to stay. He muttered to himself a lot, saying he was speaking with his father. I decided against doing my report on Marcus. I told Jen that there would be plenty more interesting deities to write a report over. She carried on about some party that was set to go off Friday night, begging me to attend with her. Parties weren't really my thing, but I told her I would think about it. She called on numerous occasions asking if I decided to go.

On one of the occasions, Marcus overheard. "You should go," he said, entering the room immediately after I had hung up.

"Why on earth should I go to a party? Me, of all people." I glared at him, agitated that he had listened in.

"Because you need to learn to have fun." He was smirking the entire time.

"I do know how to have fun. I just don't enjoy going to parties with people that probably aren't fans of me. I don't want to be the lame girl that was invited by her popular best friend and stand in the corner all night. Besides, I've never even been to a party. I wouldn't know what to wear or anything," I began to depress myself as I realized just how much I needed to get out.

"Exactly why you should go. As for what to wear, call Jen. She'll help you with that I'm sure." After he finished he walked out, not allowing me to respond to him. I rolled my eyes and sighed as I redialled Jen's cell, praying she wouldn't answer.

"Have you decided?" That was her immediate greeting for me.

"Hi to you too. Yes, I decided to go," I sighed, not sure what exactly I was getting myself into.

"Yay! We're going to have so much fun!" She continued to blab with overenthusiastic excitement.

"Yeah, wonderful. Jen, I'm going to need your help getting ready. I don't know what to wear," I struggled to ask for the help I was surely going to need.

"Oh, Sweetie, we are going shopping. I know for a fact that there is nothing you could possibly wear to a party in your wardrobe, especially a New Year's Eve party!" Her criticism causing me to roll my eyes "I'll be there in a few! Marcus can come with us and help!"

"Ha, that's funny. I don't think he would enjoy himself too much." I honestly just didn't want him coming with us.

"Oh, I would love to! I could get out of the house," He burst through the closet door, entering my room.

"Great! I'll be there in a few to pick you guys up!" The click of the end of the call rang in my ears.

I glared at Marcus, doing my best to express my anger through my eyes. "What?" He looked at me innocently.

"I don't like you. At all." I continued to glare at him with all the anger I could muster. He smirked, knowing full well how easily he got under my skin.

Jen pulled into the driveway, blaring her usual hip hop music and wearing her bug eyed sunglasses. We climbed into the car and headed off to the local shopping center. Jen would occasionally screech with excitement and proclaim how happy she was that I was going. We pulled into the parking lot and soon found a parking space. "So, tell me again why Marcus had to come?" My agitation dripping off my words.

"Because we need SOMEBODY to tell us how cute we look!" Jen spoke as if it was a concept that everybody was supposed to know, like some unspoken rule.

"And why couldn't we just ask each other?" I still didn't understand how he was going to be of any help.

"Because we're best friends! Best friends are supposed to tell each other they look good no matter what!" She continued to explain how important a third person's input was on style.

"Oh, so I'm not considered a friend?" Marcus questioned from behind us.

"No, you're not." I was still slightly upset about him listening in to mine and Jen's conversation over the phone.

"You're not still upset with me are you, Darling?" He began to mock me and my anger.

"Yes I am. Don't call me that, please." I tried my best to simmer down, my attempts failing me.

"Whatever you say, Sweetheart," he whispered in my ear, sending a chill down my spine that felt intoxicating. I pushed his face away from my neck and continued to walk to the store in silence, overly disappointed with myself. I shouldn't let him get to me like this. No one is able to get a reaction out of me like he does.

We walked into the store and I gaped at the wide space filled with clothes of all kinds for every personality. Jen grabbed my hand and dragged me into the dress section. She told me to pick out four dresses. Not knowing at all what to look for, I simply stood there. Finally she just led me to the dressing rooms and told me to wait in a specific one while she picked out some dresses. A few moments later, she came back with at least seven dresses in my size. They all seemed to either be a horrifically bright shade of pink or drenched in glitter.

Unsure of where to start, I immediately decided against anything pink. I handed Jen all of the pink dresses and looked back to the remaining four dresses. A deep blue, sparkling gold, deep green floor length, and a short, metallic silver dress all stared me back in the face. I slipped into the deep blue dress and looked at myself in the mirror. It hugged my curves and stopped about mid thigh. I stepped out of the dressing room for Jen to criticize how it did and didn't suit me.

"That definitely is a surprise!" Jen shouted, her jaw hitting the floor.

"What is?" I looked down to see if there was anything wrong with how I looked.

"You actually have a hot body!" She shouted again, this time circling me. That's when Marcus turned the corner.

"What's all the fuss?" He questioned rolling his eyes right before they landed on me.

"What do you think Marcus?" Jen's voice broke the brief silence as it usually does when she's around.

"Wow," he began, "I like it, but the color washes you out a bit. Put it on the 'maybe' shelf." He quickly tried to cover up his shock from his first look at me, but his cheeks remained pink as he turned away.

I reentered the dressing room to decide on the three remaining dresses. I put the gold dress on next, examining my reflexion in the mirror. This one also hugged my figure stopping at my ankles with a slit going all the way up to my hip, just below my pantie line. I stepped out once again for criticism. "Jesus, I am good with picking out suitable dresses for you!" Jen continued to jump up and down and clap her hands.

"Really? Have you seen how revealing this thing is?" I looked at her in disbelief, gesturing to the slit and stooping neckline.

"Alex, you have no reason to be shy!" Jen continued to blab about how well I looked while I scanned for Marcus who had disappeared yet again. Before I could ask Jen where he'd gone off to, he reappeared from the same direction he did last time.

"I'm sure it can't possibly be that bad-" he stopped mid sentence, staring at me.

I put my hands on my hips, glaring at him, waiting for his usual snide remark. "What are you looking at?"

"I uh- you um- you look good, Alex," was all it seemed he could muster as he blushed profusely.

"This is a big option to wear." Jen proceeded to shove me back into the dressing room once again. I slipped out of the provocative dress and into the floor length deep emerald green dress. It draped lightly over the floor, flowing over my curves. It was a strapless dress, and my personal favorite of all the options. I stepped out of the room to only find Marcus standing with his back to me.

"Where's Jen?" I questioned, slightly excited about being left alone with Marcus for reasons unknown to me, frustrating me.

"She went to go pick out more-" he stopped as he saw me in the new gown, "dresses," he breathed. He stared at me, making me feel tiny under his charming and stunned gaze.

"What are you staring at, Marcus?" I grew more and more embarrassed the longer he stared at me.

"You look-" he seemed to struggle to find the right word, "breathtaking," he finished, a small smile playing at his lips. I found myself utterly speechless and embarrassed.

"Oh my God! That dress is perfect you! The color is amazing on you as well! Now you just need shoes and to get your hair and makeup figured out and you will be the belle of the ball!" Jen chirped, pleased with her work.

After the day of shopping had finished and only two days until the party I asked Jen, "Do you think it would be okay if Marcus went to the party as well?"

Jen looked at me, a huge smile spreading quickly across her face. "Of course he can!" She winked at me and I closed the car door and she left without another word. I told Marcus he was going to the party with us and he happily accepted the invitation. I went to bed thinking about he looked at me in the green dress. I thought about how much I wanted him to look at me like that again. I immediately shook the thought from my head and rolled over to fall asleep for the night.