MISTY: 22
ASH: 21
As I finished putting the last minute touches to my makeup, I heard the door to my apartment open and then close. Had he really forgotten that I had plans tonight? Sometimes he could be so dense. Setting my makeup brush back on the counter, I sighed before heading downstairs to confront my forgetful friend.
I found him sitting on the couch, sipping a can of soda and eating chips, having already made himself comfortable in front of my T.V. Was it really that hard for him to just ask for a drink every now and then?
"What are you doing here, Ash?" I asked him, my hands on my hips. "You knew I had very important plans tonight?"
Instead of fighting back with some clever retort of his, he dropped the chips and spit the soda he was drinking out of his mouth. "Misty! You're...you're," he stuttered.
"I'm what?" I snapped, glaring at him.
"You're a girl," he stated.
I can't believe he had just said that. He really could be so rude and insensitive sometimes. He didn't say anything else, though, instead continuing to stare at me. Starting back at him, I followed his eyes as they traveled up and down my body, making me suddenly feel self-conscious about myself. What was he staring at? He never looked at me like that before. What was wrong with him?
"Ash!" I snapped, catching his attention. "What are you staring at?"
"Nothing, he quickly answered, flicking his eyes away. "Where are you going?"
"I have my date with Andrew," I reminded him. "He should be here any minute."
"Oh. That's right." He looked at the ground for a second, but I still caught it. Was he actually sad that I was leaving? Or was it because I was going on a date with Andrew?
"Yeah. So don't mess this up," I told him. "It's really important to me."
He just nodded, grabbing a few napkins to clean up the soda he had spilled. For once he seemed to be deep in thought, staring blankly into space. What was wrong with him? I had never seen him act this way before. He would normally be making fun of the fact that I was wearing a dress, not going all Brock on me. Wait. Why would he be acting like Brock? As I pondered this thought, I felt my face burning up in embarrassment. No. That couldn't be it. Ash would never think of me that way. He was just shocked that I was in a dress.
I didn't have much time to ponder that thought, though, the ringing doorbell, causing me to jump. It was amazing how something as common as a doorbell could be shocking for me to hear. Even Ash looked up, curious as to what I would do next. Turning on my heel, I walked to the door and opened it to reveal Andrew.
"Hi, Misty," he greeted me, handing me a daisy. "You ready for our date?"
"Yeah. I need to grab my purse, though. Can I meet you in the car?"
"Yeah sure thing. I'm a little early anyway," he told me before he walked back to his car to wait for me.
Closing the door behind him, I ran back into the family room to grab my coat and purse. As I walked through the hallway, though, I caught sight of myself in the mirror, suddenly experiencing all these feelings of self-doubt. As I glanced at my dress, I picked up the baby blue fabric and twirled around to see how it looked. Was I trying to hard to impress him by wearing a dress? I mean, they were supposed to like you for you, right? But it didn't hurt to dress up a bit. But did I even look pretty in it?
"Misty what's wrong?" I heard Ash ask me. Ash! He had been so quiet I had forgotten he was here.
"Do I look okay?" I asked him, ignoring his question.
He was my best friend and I knew he would tell me the truth no matter what. In fact, if it looked as bad as I suddenly thought it did, he would relish in being able to tell me how bad it looked, saying something like how hard I was trying to look pretty when I would always be a scrawny runt.
He seemed to pause for a second as he took in my question. I bet he was thinking of some snide remark. But instead of a smirk that I would expect in normal instances, he smiled at me with a famous lopsided grin. "You look really pretty Misty." I think I even saw a tint of red spread across his cheeks.
And as odd as it was to me, it only took his words to cause me to change my mind about how I felt about the dress. I knew he wouldn't lie to me, so I had to believe it myself.
"Thanks, Ash," I beamed. I knew I was lucky to have a friend like him. "I've got to go, though," I reminded him as I grabbed my purse and coat from the family room.
"Have fun," he called before I slipped out the door. I heard him say something else, but I was already out the door before I could ask him what it was.
I would ask him the next time I saw him.
