"Quinn, this was such a fabulous idea! We have to find the perfect dresses for prom! Of course, Noah and I are only going as friends, but still…I cannot miss an opportunity to dress up! Did you say Mercedes was going to meet us at the shop?"
Quinn nodded, smiling at Rachel. They hadn't spent too much time together during the past few months, and she was glad to see that nothing had changed between them. She was going to ask about the Martin situation, but decided against it. She didn't want to ruin something that was supposed to be fun by bringing up something that might be painful for Rachel.
"She said she'd be there around 4," she said. "She just had to go run a couple of errands for her mom first. I thought we could start looking…I already kind of know what I want. I just need to figure out the colour."
Rachel nodded enthusiastically. "I see myself in something elegant and possibly pink," she said. "I would really like it if it had a full skirt."
Quinn grinned. "I think they've got just what you're looking for," she said, as they pulled into the parking lot.
"But you have to try stuff on," AJ said, as Martin pulled into the parking lot at the place they were going to look at tuxes. "Otherwise, how will you know if it fits properly?"
"It'll be fine," Artie said. "I hate trying stuff on. I'm sure they can figure something out without me actually having to put it on. Besides, we definitely don't have time to wait around for me to try on anything," he added.
"We have lots of time," AJ said. "I am not leaving this store until we find something that fits you perfectly and looks awesome. We'll make them stay open late if we have to! Oh…and, you know…until Martin and I are suitably outfitted. Just leave all the talking to me once we're inside. I'll take care of everything."
Artie and Martin exchanged a glance, while AJ continued to chatter on in the backseat. They definitely were not going to let him do all the talking.
"Oh, this is perfect!" Quinn said, looking at the dress Jacqueline was showing her that she said had just come in. It was the yellow dress Artie had liked with the ruffles around the skirt, but in a deep, shimmery purple. "This is EXACTLY what I wanted!" she added.
The woman smiled. While Quinn and Artie had been in looking at dresses, she'd been listening to their conversation, and had ordered the dress in especially for Quinn, with the hopes that it was what she wanted. And she'd been right.
"Girl, try it on!" Mercedes said, peeking out from behind a rack of dresses. She'd arrived at the store earlier than expected, and the three girls had entered together.
"Yes, Quinn, try it on," Rachel said. "And I think I'll try on this," she added, gesturing to the gigantic pink dress that had swallowed Artie's hands on their earlier visit.
Quinn grinned, because she was pleased about the dress, and also because she knew the pink dress would be exactly what Rachel wanted.
While Mercedes continued to peruse the racks, the two girls and Jacqueline went into the back to get the dresses on.
"Call me when you're done," she called after them. "I'm still trying to find the perfect one!"
"So, we're looking for something in black for Artie, to go with the purple shirt he doesn't have yet" AJ said, gesturing to his friend. "And Martin and I need something that will look debonair. What have you got in giant sizes?"
Artie bit his lip, holding back the laughter that was threatening to spill from his mouth, as he watched Martin slowly bring his hand up to his face and cover his eyes in exasperation.
"We've got several things in…tall sizes," the owner of the store said, walking over to a rack and looking through the contents. "This one is very nice," he said. "It comes in several different coloured pinstripes…what did you have in mind?" he asked, directing the question at Martin.
"Green," AJ said, before Martin could say anything. "To match his eyes. Obviously."
"My eyes aren't green," Martin muttered. "But then, I guess I'm such a giant that you can't actually see them, can you?"
Unable to contain himself any further, Artie burst out laughing. "I'm sorry," he said, quietly. He turned to AJ. "I'm shorter than you are, and even I know his eyes are blue."
"Actually, my eyes are brown," Martin said, trying to hide the grin that was spreading rapidly across his features. "It's nice to know my friends pay such close attention to me. Really, guys…thanks. I appreciate it."
"I know your eyes are brown," AJ said. "What I MEANT was…green would complement them. Duh! Come look at these, then, if you don't want my advice."
As Martin headed over to the rack to examine its contents, AJ turned back to the man.
"We need something black for Artie," he repeated. "Can you just estimate his size?
The man nodded. "You said a purple shirt? I've actually got something in a dark charcoal with a black pinstripe that would work very nicely with purple," he said, heading over to another rack and pulling a tux from the middle. "This should be about your size. There's a room in the back where you can try it on."
"Oh, Mercedes," Rachel said, approaching her from the side. "This dress is absolutely fantastic. You MUST get it!"
"I agree," Quinn said. "Of all the ones in the maybe pile, this one looks the best."
Mercedes examined her reflection in the mirror, turning slightly and examining herself. "I do really like it," she said. "But I never wear red!"
"It looks so amazing, Mercedes," Rachel piped up. "You just look stunning!"
Mercedes smiled softly, glancing over at Quinn.
"It's true," Quinn said. "Stunning. Sam won't know what hit him when he sees you in this."
"I think I'll get this one," Mercedes said to Jacqueline, who nodded, smiling at her. She hadn't seen many girls that could successfully pull off a bright red dress, but she did have to agree with the girl's friends. She looked stunning.
"No," Artie said. "Definitely not. I'm sure this will fit, and if not…I'll just bring it back."
"But trying it on is half the fun!" AJ said. "Plus, what if it really doesn't fit, and you're some weird size where they have to do something custom? I have that problem sometimes."
"AJ," Artie muttered, very aware of the man standing behind him. "I told you. Not trying anything on. And I'm not some weird size. I've never had to have ANYTHING altered."
"But what if it doesn't look good?" AJ tried again.
"It was fine when we held it up in front of me," Artie said. "It's fine. It's fantastic. It's going to look GREAT."
Martin, noticing the growing annoyance in Artie's voice, stepped up behind him and made a gesture towards AJ telling him to stop.
AJ ignored him. "You should really try it on," he tried again.
"AJ," Artie said, wheeling closer to him and lowering his voice. "Have you seen the size of that little room? If I go in there, the only that's going to happen is that my chair is going to be wedged in there and I'll be stuck. How are you thinking I'm going to try on pants when I'm stuck in a closet?"
AJ thought for a moment. "Dude," he said. "I've got this. I'll help."
"Um…no, that's fine…" Artie trailed off. The last thing he wanted was to be in that tiny room with AJ helping him try on a pair of pants. They'd both be stuck in there. And, despite the fact that AJ had seen him putting on pants before without it being awkward…there was no way they could do that WITHOUT someone being completely weirded out.
"Seriously, it's not a big deal," AJ said. "We'll just go in, take off your pants, and-"
"Ok, stop," Artie said, holding up his hand. "It's not happening."
"I could give you a hand," Martin said, from behind him. "If you don't want AJ…perfectly understandable."
Artie grinned, and was about to say that he didn't need anyone, because it wasn't happening, when AJ cut in.
"Bro," he said. "You're a giant. How are you and Artie and his chair going to fit in that tiny room?"
"No one needs to fit into that tiny room with me," Artie said. "Because I'm not going in there."
"Then we'll do it out here," AJ muttered. "Not like there's anyone else in the store. Take off your pants. We'll make it fast."
"Oh, I am so glad I decided to go with the first dress I tried on," Rachel said, as they were finishing up at the dress store. "It's so beautiful and I just feel like a princess in it!"
"Hey, Q," Mercedes whispered into Quinn's ear, so Rachel wouldn't hear. "How are you going to fit that dress in your car to get her home?"
Quinn shrugged. "We'll figure something out," she said. "Or…what car do you have?"
"The Smart Car," Mercedes said. "I'm not even sure how my own dress is fitting in there," she added, as Rachel turned to them.
"Ladies," she said. "It has come to my attention that we do not have a safe and proper way of transporting these dresses at this time." She turned back to Jacqueline. "Would you possibly be able to hold these dresses for us until we can find a suitable means of transport?"
The woman nodded. "Of course," she said. "We do that all the time. Here, dear," she said to Quinn. "Take this. It's the same colour as your dress…so you can find a shirt for your young man."
Quinn smiled. "Thank you," she said. "This is great. We'll get the dresses later this week, if that's ok?" she asked.
Jacqueline nodded again.
And, with that, it was time for them to go find a shirt for Artie.
"You're kidding, right?" Artie said, eyeing his friend. He was pretty sure AJ wasn't expecting him to just part with his pants in the middle of the store.
"Well, if you won't go in the little room…" AJ trailed off. "I'm sorry. I just want to make sure you reach your full potential hotness!"
"Would you be satisfied if I tried on the jacket?" Artie asked, unsure of what else to say. He'd been intending to do that anyway, until AJ had dragged him to the back.
AJ nodded. "We can always get the pants adjusted if they don't fit. Will you try them on when we drop you off at your house, so we can see?"
He nodded. "Now, what about you? Aren't you going to try that on?"
"Oh, I already did," AJ said. "I came to see Uncle…I came to the store earlier this week to try it on, because I have weird shoulders and I figured they'd have to change some stuff."
"Wait a second," Martin piped up, from where he was standing beside AJ. "Did you just say uncle?" He glanced from his friend to the proprietor of the shop, suddenly noticing that there was definitely some resemblance. "Wait…are you Uncle Max?" he asked. AJ frequently mentioned his uncle, and his uncle's store, but he'd never told him what kind of store it was, and Martin had never met Uncle Max.
AJ nodded, sheepishly. "Guys, Uncle Max. Uncle Max, Martin and Artie."
Artie just stared at him, unsure whether he should laugh, or say something, or strangle him with the leg of the pair of pants he was holding. He was trying to figure out whether the fact that the shop owner was AJ's uncle made the entire trying-things-on situation better or worse, when AJ spoke up again.
"I may have already been here planning out what we should wear," he went on. "I was just trying to be helpful! And I made Uncle Max promise not to say anything, because you guys think I'm a moron, and I wanted to show that I'm actually not, and that I can plan things without it being a total disaster."
"No one thinks you're a moron," Artie muttered, smiling at his friend. "Or, at least…I didn't…until you tried to get me into that little room to take off my pants. And then suggested I just do that in the middle of the store."
AJ took the smile on Artie's face to mean that he was kidding, and smiled back. He turned to Martin. "I got him to order in some stuff for gi—tall people," he said. "Just so we could make sure you didn't have a pants situation going on like you did that one time. That was terrible."
Martin grinned, unable to be annoyed with his friend, when he was clearly just trying to make sure everything went smoothly. "Thanks, man," he said. He then turned to Max. "I will try the green one."
"This is it," Quinn said, holding up the fifteenth purple dress shirt they had looked at. "This one HAS to match."
Mercedes brought over the piece of fabric they'd been carrying from store to store, trying to find a match.
"Cross your fingers, ladies," she said, holding it up to the shirt.
It was a perfect match.
"So," AJ said to his uncle, after things had been tried on, and adjustments had been made. "Artie will take that charcoal one, Martin will have the green pinstripe with a matching tie, and I want the one with the blue pinstripe," he said. "Do you think I can get away without wearing a tie? I hate them."
"Hey," Martin cut in. "If I'm apparently wearing a green tie, that I knew nothing about, then you're wearing a tie too. It'll match your eyes," he added, grinning.
"But I hate them!" AJ said. "I feel like they're strangling me."
"I'm wearing one too," Artie said. "AJ…you have to. I thought you wanted to match your date?"
"Ok, fine," he grumbled. "I'll also need a blue tie. And you're going to have to show me how to make it as loose as possible without looking dumb, Uncle Max."
The man grinned at his nephew. "Don't I always?" he asked. "Now, boys, I think we can probably do 50% off here, if you're buying. Or, if you were just going to rent, just take them and get them back to me in one piece."
"I'm probably never going to wear this again," Martin said. "But I can't just take it. How much would it be if I rented it and wasn't here with AJ?"
The man shook his head. "Just take it, son. AJ, what about you?" he asked. "I'm assuming you'll be bringing this back when you're done?"
AJ nodded. "I can't be seen wearing the same thing twice!"
Max grinned, turning to Artie.
"I think I'm going to buy," he said. "I kind of like this, and will probably wear it again. But I don't need a discount. And, just to be sure…I can bring the pants back if they don't fit, and we can figure something out, right?"
He nodded. "Of course. And that discount is non-negotiable," he added, punching some buttons on the cash register, and giving Artie the total.
"So, it turns out that he was actually AJ's uncle," Artie said to Quinn later that evening, when they were sitting on the porch at his house, enjoying the cool night air. "Do you need me to model it for you?"
Quinn shook her head. "Isn't it supposed to be a surprise?" she asked, grinning at him.
He shrugged. "Is it? Anyway, it's charcoal. Which, apparently, will go really well with any shade of purple. How're things on the shirt front?"
"I got one today," she said. "I held it up to one of the white shirts I stole from your closet. It's exactly the same size, so I know it'll fit."
"Can I see?" he asked.
Quinn shook her head. "I'll bring it the night of prom. If you see it now, my dress will be less of a surprise."
"Hold up," he said, only then taking in the second part of what she'd said. "You stole one of my shirts? Was it the white one with buttons? Because I've been looking everywhere for that!"
"Artie," she said, grinning and sliding closer to him. "You have fifty white shirts with buttons. You didn't even notice it was gone."
He grinned, leaning over. "You've got me there," he whispered, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. "Excited?"
She nodded, turning her head and slowly inching her lips towards his. "You have no idea," she whispered, just before their lips made contact.
They were going to have the best prom ever.
A/N: I've seriously run out of creativity when it comes to titles. Sorry!
Corresponds to All My Dreams chapter 111 and The Smile on Your Face chapter 93.
Hope you enjoyed! :)