"No."
"Please???"
"No."
"Pretty please???"
"Dammit, Alice. No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will not change. I hate parties, and I'm not going to yours." I sighed exasperatedly. My best friend, Alice Brandon, was determined to get me to go to an end of the year party at her house this coming Saturday. I was determined not to go.
"Come on, Bella, it really will be fun."
"Fun for you, maybe, but not for me."
"Bella, this party could make you really popular, you know, like me." And it was true. Alice was really popular.
"What if I don't want to be popular?" I challenged.
"Please, Bella!" Alice pleaded. "I feel like we don't do enough things together anymore. Since I'm all busy with Jasper and all." Her face lit up, as if an idea suddenly struck her. "I got it! You come to my party, and we'll set you up with a really hot guy. Then we can double all the time. It will be perfect!"
"Alice, I don't recall saying that I would come to your party." She immediately gave me such a hurt look that I felt guilty.
"OK, fine. I'll come."
"Yay!!! Bella, we'll have so much fun! Oh my god, we should go shopping tomorrow, and get you something gorgeous to wear. Wait, I think I'm gonna need some decorations and some pizza and some soda. Well, we can take care of that later. Right now, the main concern is your dress and accessories. But you'll help me set up, right??? I really hope that..."
Her voice just faded away, as I thought about her party with much trepidation. Why did I even agree to go? I knew that I hated these kinds of parties, and so did Alice. I didn't even care about looks or boys all that much. I suppose that was why I wasn't popular. I mean, here in Phoenix, that was all that high school girls had learned to care for. A sharp voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Isabella Marie Swan, are you even listening to me?!"
Wonderful.
-+-+-+-
The next day, Alice drove me to the shopping mall, and pulled me to the most expensive dress store imaginable.
"Alice," I said hesitantly. "I'm not sure if I can afford any of this."
"Relax," she said breezily. "This is your birthday gift."
"My birthday's not until September," I reminded her.
"It's an early birthday present," she told me, rolling her eyes. I swear, that girl can be really annoying sometimes. "What do you think of this one?" she asked me, holding up a skimpy dress that would only just cover my butt, skinny as I was.
I checked the price tag. "Alice, this is a rip-off. It has barely any fabric on it, and they're charging you more than two hundred dollars."
"It's designer," she replied, talking as if she was stating the obvious.
"It's not worth it," I answered.
"Yes, it is," she argued. "Go try it on."
Even though I protested, Alice refused to let me even look at another dress until I went to the changing rooms. After locking myself securely in one of the cubicles, I changed out of my jeans and t-shirt, and put on the dress.
Alice was banging on the door. "Are you done changing yet? How does it look?" she yelled through the wood.
I opened the door, covering myself with my arms self-consciously.
"Grow up, Bella," Alice told me, as she pushed my arms away from my body. As soon as she succeeded, she gasped.
"I know, it looks horrible, right." I was about to go back into the changing room, but Alice stopped me.
"You look perfect," she said.
"Yeah, right."
Alice seemed to have recovered. "Ask anyone's opinion, and they will tell you the same thing. You look great."
I rolled my eyes, but walked out into the store, anyway. A group of boys saw me through the glass and whistled appreciatively.
"See what I mean?" Alice told me.
"Alice, what will your parents think when they see me wearing this?" I asked in a desperate attempt to stop her from buying the dress. "Don't they know me as a good, hardworking girl, not a stripper?"
"Yes, they do. But don't worry about your reputation. They're going to be out of town all weekend, so they won't even see you wearing that."
"What! Alice, I already told Mom that your parents would be at the party. You know I don't like lying."
"Well, technically, that's not lying, because you thought that it was true at the time. And you don't like lying because you're no good at it."
And that was the end of the conversation. Alice bought me the dress, as well as some stilettos, and told me that she'd keep the dress at her house until it was time to get ready for the party. Although she was excited, I couldn't help but feel a bit worried. I would know a lot of people at this party. What would they think of me?
A/N: This is the first story I'm posting on Fanfiction. I have a few others that I'll post in due course...Anyway, please review--I find it very encouraging. Any kind of feedback--positive, negative--is encouraged, accepted, and appreciated. Suggestions, theories, opinions, etc...Reviews inspire me, and I often take suggestions or theories into consideration when I write. Additionally, I like the fact that people take time out of their schedule to respond to my work, so I always reply to all of my reviews. If yo have any questions, you can be sure that they will be answered. Now that you know the way I work, I'm asking you to please submt a review. Your reactions, opinions, and ideas really mean a lot to me. :)
~~SM
