Chapter 7

The girls were in an expensive boutique that sold dresses in every colour known to man, of all different lengths and styles. Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako and a distracted looking Usagi had been browsing and trying on dresses for two hours. And finally... finally they had managed to pick out the dress.

For Ami, she chose a simple deep blue long gown with a lighter sky blue for the v-shaped bust. The same sky blue was for the ribbons tied at the waist which overall gave a humble appearance with simple straps to hold the dress in the right way.

Rei decided to go for a bolder number. Her dress was blood red with a light plum colour complimenting the middle section of the front of the dress which covered from the v-shaped bust straight through to the hem of the long skirt. Red ribbons tied the dress to nip in at the waist.

Makoto decided to embrace her femininity and favoured a long leaf green gown. The cut of the dress accentuated her bust and made full use of her growing bosom. The same green was used for roses to pin the material to crease just right from her waist to create the effect of wavy ruffles to fan down her legs. There was a cut to the top of her thigh which showed the lime green underskirt cut in the same way.

Minako settled for a yellow piece which had a simple round cut for the bust. At the top of her shoulders on the thin straps, pastel orange ribbons were tied with long tails which fell to her mid-thigh. Under the pastel orange top was a wide band under her bust which allowed the dress to fall gracefully to the floor. To add interest to the dress, the over skirt was sewn to allow the short front to cascade longer down the back which caused pretty sun yellow ruffles to add volume to the dress.

As for Usagi, she resolved on a strapless long gown. The bodice was snow white with diamante stones sewn into the material. A deep crimson ribbon tied around at the nip of the waist and tied into a ribbon at the back which cascaded down. The skirt stopped at the knee and was straight cut with a slight flare so she could easily move. From under the crimson ribbon, an overskirt ruffled down to the floor. It was a translucent material so the deep pink would complement the underskirt. The material tumbled down in waves which easily brought attention to her fabulous legs.

The girls managed to find matching accessories and they were all ready to go. They had another two days to wait until the dance. Usagi didn't reveal who she was paired with. As the list only displayed numbers, the girls were totally ignorant of the butterflies in Usagi's stomach that were currently causing her inner torment. When the girls asked who her partner was, she simply paled and stayed quiet.

The four intrigued ladies found that they were paired up with guys they'd never met before. The pairings were Ami and Zoicite, Rei and Jadeite, Makoto and Nephrite, and finally Minako and Kunzite. They were excited to find out what these guys were like, but particularly in Ami's case, were they very nervous at the new prospect too.

"Hey man, what's up with you?" Motoki prodded Mamoru as they were getting sorted for the dance. Motoki had settled for a dark blue suit as opposed to Mamoru's odd choice of a white tuxedo. He usually wore a customary black, so it was odd that he chose something completely different.

Mamoru started and looked at his friend with a fallen expression on his face. He opened his mouth then closed it. He didn't really know how to express what he was feeling.

"Out with it. Now." Motoki ordered firmly. And he waited patiently as he watched Mamoru's apparent struggle.

Mamoru sighed heavily and sat down on a nearby stool. He looked at his expressionless friend. "I've been paired with Usagi."

Motoki blinked and thought he called her Usagi. There really must be something wrong. "And what's wrong with that, Mamoru-kun?"

Mamoru frowned in confusion. "What do you mean what's wrong with that? She looked mortified when she found out. I didn't think it'd be such a big deal as this was done for a good cause, which is the only reason we decided to do this. I've never seen her look so upset before. I-I'm not even exaggerating... Her face even paled!"

"Mamoru-kun, you're over-reacting. Personally, I'd say she was wondering how many times she'd get insulted throughout the night. All you can do is be a gentleman; I mean how could you not in your white get-up?" Motoki paused and continued. "Why are you so concerned?"

Mamoru blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously and unbeknownst to him, left his hair ruffled. "I'm not. I just feel like the entire affair will be painful."

"Okay, okay. I'll bite. You don't want to elaborate. That's fine. But remember this: it will only be painful if you make it so. You know how magnets work though and I know my theory about you two is right."

Later in the evening, Usagi was lying down on her bed. She was observing her ceiling while she thought. Her ceiling had the solar system stuck to it and the moon was what always caught her eye first. As she slept, she could always feel it glowing down on her. Her mother decided to buy the glow in the dark moon which would act like a night light when she was younger. She always treasured the shine of the moon more than the fierce fire of Mars or the wild winds of Uranus. She loved how the moon always gravitated around the Earth as if it was the centre of its life... the essence of its being.

As she looked over slightly to look at the Earth, she couldn't help but stare at the serene difference the planet held over the others. When she looked at it, she felt protected. She felt at peace with herself when she watched the moon possessively move about the Earth. Then she felt like her world crashed down back into her bedroom. She thought about Mamoru-baka and how she was going to survive the dance. She so badly wanted to enjoy the event but she wasn't sure how they were going to dance with each other in such proximity. When he touched her, it felt like bolts of lightning shooting down her spine. Her skin felt like it was on fire and her stomach fluttered with the feeling of excited butterflies. She didn't know if she could handle the tension... and these feelings were so new and wrong. Yet she couldn't stop thinking about when she went to get a drink at the fare by herself.

Elsewhere, Mamoru was trying to fill out university applications in hope of becoming a doctor. He was to leave high school in two years. But right now, all he could think about was a blonde-haired angel that seemed to fill every thought process. It was at the fare when he felt it. He didn't know how to put the words in his head, so he didn't. Nothing seemed to make sense to him now as all he could think about was the muddled mess he'd gotten himself into in two day's time. It was painful envisaging her paling face as she turned away from him. He didn't realise at the time that he'd felt a rush of excitement at the opportunity to get closer to her.

Mamoru sat back in his chair and stared out at his balcony. He got up to sit outside and he glanced up at the stars and thought how could I want more? But he knew he could. He wanted her to feel the same way. Still, he had tomorrow to get through before then and hoped that his guardian was helping him through this dilemma.