Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis.
This is for Sibuna's No1 Fan's Challenge, but also a spin-off story for my main story Only A Dream? This is the dress shopping section of the story, and I didn't think these scenes NEEDED to be in here.
Oh, and also there are not that many references to Christmas, but one Christmas tradition does tear the house apart near the end, so I think it works.
Chapter 1: Shopping Favors
Nina's footsteps made soft crunching sounds as my boots trampled the snow underfoot. She lifted her chin to see the house in the distance, the destination for this visit from all the way across campus. She exhaled my held in breath into the icy air, creating a white cloud in front of her, but was careful not to breath in too deeply and inhale the frigid air around me.
Anubis House was close, its big windows and tall frame were easy to see over the smaller trees in the area. As she saw it growing larger with each step, my excitement continued to build.
Today she was going to go dress-shopping with Amber for our Winter Formal. Nina's old roommate had texted her, saying that today all of the Anubis girls were going to town and that she was invited, too.
Nina didn't bother asking anyone from Odin to come along, the only person who would have actually given it a thought would have been Charlotte, but she already told Nina that she had to finish her homework.
Or maybe that was another one of her lies. Maybe she just didn't want to come with her; she had no idea anymore.
Nina approached the doorway, knocking once on the door. When she heard a distant "Come in!" she opened the door and walked in. All she saw was a flash of blonde hair before falling to the ground with her old roommate holding onto her like a vice.
"Amber, Amber, Amber . . . Please don't choke me to death . . . I am going to the dance, you know," Nina was able to get out.
"Oh, sorry, Nina!" She let go of Nina, her blue eyes wild with excitement. "So who are you going with?"
"Michael Rizzo, from Odin House," Nina said, smiling.
"Ooooh, that one really nice kid? Awesome! Well, now we have to get a dress for you, too!" Amber trilled.
She pulled Nina inside, and the American girl saw the girls that were there: Mara, Patricia, and . . . Joy. Joy smiled at her, as if they were long-time friends, but Nina knew better. Nina narrowed her eyes at Joy, and Joy glared in reply. They glowered at each other until Mara's voice interrupted Nina's thoughts.
"Hey Nina, are you coming shopping with us?" Mara asked with a smile. Nina turned to her and smiled in return.
"Yeah, I am. I'm going to the dance, too, so I thought why not go shopping now?" Nina shrugged nonchalantly.
"Okay, I just need to grab my purse and shoes and brush my hair and . . ." Amber listed off. She put a finger to her chin. "I guess I'm not ready. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Everyone simultaneously sighed and scattered to different areas of the house. Patricia and Joy wandered into the living room to watch a bit of TV, Mara walked into the kitchen to help Trudy make some cookies, Amber dashed into her room to fix her makeup and such, and Nina drifted over to the hallway.
She traced the lines of the carvings on the banisters that showed the Eye of Horus symbol that were currently strung with Christmas lights, remembering the memories that came along with that symbol. The memories washed through her: the secret Sibuna meetings in the middle of the night, the clues found here and there, the days she would spend poring over books with Fabian as she tried to figure out heads or tails of the mystery. She missed it all; even the hectic, scary situations left a hole in her heart. Who was she, now that there was no mystery in her life? Was she still Nina, the Chosen One?
"I'm ready!" Amber's voice carried through the house. Nina looked up, jolting back her hand as if she was shocked. She hurried away from the banister and rushed over to the chair with the phone on the table beside it. She fiddled idly with the festive, red and green tea cozy that rested underneath the phone, as Amber pranced down the stairs and announced, "I'm ready!" once more.
"Alright, Amber, we're coming!" Patricia's voice yelled from the living room.
Nina snickered, watching Patricia trudge into the hallway with Joy in tow behind her. Mara appeared from the kitchen with an apron spattered with flour and oven mittens on her hands, holding a tray of unbaked dough.
"Are we going?" Mara asked.
"Mara, wait! We still have to put the Christmas cookies in the oven!" Trudy exclaimed frantically, rushing out of the kitchen with a look identical to Mara.
"I'm sorry, Trudy! I have to go! Can you take care of the cookies for me?" Mara handed her the cookies and took off her mittens and apron, draping them on the counter and grabbing her purse from its place on the couch.
"Ah- O-Okay," Trudy stuttered. "Have fun, dearies!"
The girls all went out the door, all glad to finally be on their way to town. Amber hailed two taxis. Patricia and Joy had taken the first taxi, leaving the other three having to cram into the second one.
Because of traffic that the first taxi somehow avoided, Patricia was tapping her foot impatiently when the other three arrived. Joy was nowhere to be found, and Nina was secretly happy about that.
"What took you so long?" Patricia asked snidely.
"Traffic, sorry," Amber said bluntly, putting away her purse after paying the taxi driver. She strode into the boutique called "All She Needs" and the rest of the girls followed.
"Where's Joy?" Mara questioned, looking around for the dark-haired girl.
"She's gone off shopping. We had to wait ten minutes, so after a minute she told me to wait for you three while she started shopping," Patricia reported. She did not seem very happy about having to wait, probably wanting to shop or at least hang out with her best friend until the other girls came.
"Can you call her and ask where she is?" Amber piped up. Mara and Nina walked over to a few racks, looking over some blue and purple shirts while Patricia took out her phone.
"Sure," Patricia muttered, dialing the number. She put it to her ear, pausing for a moment while the dial tone rang, until Joy picked up. "Hello?" could be heard from the other end.
"Joy, where are you? Everyone's here now, so can you tell us where you are so we can meet you?" Patricia asked.
A muffled reply came from the other end, and Patricia nodded, saying a quick goodbye, and hung up. "She's over by jewelry," the red head informed.
The other girls followed Patricia who lead them to a section with glittering necklaces and gorgeous earrings. Right next door was the shoe section, full of heels and boots and sneakers that came in a variety of colors.
Joy walked over to them, automatically moving towards Patricia. They all huddled together, about to organize a plan for the day.
"Okay, wanna split up and meet back here at 3?" Patricia asked everyone.
Nina checked her phone: it was 12:37pm, so she had about two-and-a-half hours to get her dress and shoes and meet back here to pick out jewelry with everyone.
Everyone nodded and dispersed to different areas. Nina wandered into the dresses section, looking through the racks but not finding anything her style. She grabbed a few dresses in her size that were in colors that looked good on her to try on.
First was a purple dress, with thin straps for her shoulders and a loose bodice that was black. A black sparkly top with a dark skirt with several layers of tulle underneath: not Nina.
Next was a long copper gown, which 1) turned out to be longer on her than she thought it was when she was eyeing it, 2) looked like a prom dress, and 3) appeared as if she was Vana White, about to turn the letters for the Wheel of Fortune show. She knew it was not appropriate for the dance, so into the discarded dress heap it went.*
After that was a slim black dress that would be more suitable for a night club than a high school dance. It had spaghetti straps adorned with black, crepe flowers that crept on to frame the low, v-cut of the dress. It was made of a silky material, however, so in a way it was pretty comfortable. But it was just a bit too inappropriate for her style, partly because of its tight fit around her hips and legs, also because of its short length, so Nina put it in the "no" pile.
The second to last dress was a dark blue, sort-of sheath dress that was too tight around her chest but fluttered around her waist and legs with feathery material. Nina looked at herself in different angles in the three-way mirror, but she knew that this was not the one for her.
Nina grabbed the last one of her possible dresses category, and just looked it over. It was all white, the only exception being a black sash that was made of lace and had a lacey bow on the side. She stared at it, thinking that this may be a good one: it was her style, completely appropriate for the dance. Maybe . . .
She slipped it on, liking the feel of the top that hugged her chest, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was long, like a ball gown's skirt with a bunch of tulle, but instead of looking flashy, she appeared more elegant than ever.
She looked this way and that in the mirror, trying to see if there was anything at the back that she could not see that looked bad. Everything seemed alright, there were really no cons.
"Nina! I love it!" Amber squealed.
Nina spun around to face Amber, her widening. "Uh, Amber, h-how long have you been standing there?"
"Not long! I love that dress on you, it is so gorgeous and so your style!" the blonde exclaimed. She grabbed Nina's arm and pulled her away from the mirror, to get a closer look at the dress.
"Well, everything is perfect. Except for the length," Amber remarked.
"I can't really fix that," Nina replied. "So do you think I should look at other dresses or-"
"Nina, Nina, Nina," Amber tutted. "I know someone in town who is a tailor and can fix it for you. No charge, too!"
"R-Really, Amber? That would be great, thank you!"
"No problem. Here, let's buy it first," Amber instructed. Nina went back into the changing room, took off the dress, and changed back into her winter clothes.
She hung the dress on its hanger, opened the door, and went out to meet Amber. Nina checked the price, and her eyes widened. It was really expensive, almost twice the amount of spending money that she had with her.
"I'm not sure if I can buy this," Nina said.
"Oh Nina, don't be silly. How much is it?" Amber said, taking the dress and looking at the price tag.
"It's bad, right? I'll get something else," Nina said. But Amber's expression remained calm, not looking surprised by the price.
"That's not bad. Here, I'll pay," Amber said, whipping out her credit card. Nina frowned and shook her head.
"No, no, no. It's too expensive, I don't want you to pay-"
"Nina, you are going to that dance," Amber said, her eyes glinting.
"No, Amber. It's too much-"
"I am going to buy you this dress so you can go to the dance, even if I have to tie you down and pay for it myself," Amber said, her voice low.
Nina sighed, her shoulders slumping. "You know, under all of those pink and sparkles, you are a really scary girl," she said.
Amber beamed at her, looking like her old self. "Oh, I know. You do not get between me and fashion. That's when the claws come out." Amber formed her hands into claws, her smile turning devious.
Nina laughed, throwing her arms around her Best British Friend in thanks for buying the dress.
"Just think of it as my Christmas gift to you this year," Amber said in Nina's ear. Nina only laughed in reply.
The two walked to the register and Amber passed the dress over to the cashier so the woman could scan the price of it. Amber handed the woman her credit card to pay for it.
"So what dress did you get?" Nina asked, eyeing Amber's translucent bag that only showed a baby blue material.
Amber's eyes drifted down to the dress, her eyes immediately lighting up. "It's gorgeous, Nina. One of my favorite dresses-ever. But I can't show it to you, not yet! It's a surprise that you'll have to wait to see at the dance!"
. . . . .
"Amber, this is amazing. This is spectacular. I can't believe it," Nina gasped. She stared at the dress before her, utterly amazed at how well the tailor fixed it.
"Just wait until you try it on!" Amber squealed. "Your date will love it.
Yes, I know. Nothing happened in it, but drama ensues in the next chapter, which I will give you guys tomorrow! Thanks for reading!
~Ary