CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

'This is crazy!' Lily exclaimed as she rifled through another rack of clothes, 'I have no idea what I'm doing! What sort of thing do you wear to an electro club/designer restaurant?'

It was after school on Friday afternoon and the two sisters were pounding the pavement looking for outfits for their 'dates' tomorrow night. They were currently in a store called Destin, a French alternative boutique where every item of clothing seemed to be black. It was the seventh store they had searched, and after leaving six with nothing to show for their efforts Lily was finding herself getting more and more panicked with the whole thing.

'Well, not that for starters,' Holly said shrewdly, nodding towards the outfit that Lily was holding limply against her – a black sequined jump-suit, 'You'll need to undo it every time you go to the bathroom. Jump-suits are the worst thing to wear if you're at a place like Dawsons, the queue for the girls room is likely to be astronomical and by the time you get into the stall you'll be so pissed off you'll curse yourself for wearing something as high-maintenance as a jump-suit.'

Lily gave her sister a look that was half-awe and half-appreciation.

'Ooook then,' She said, putting it back on the rail. 'Thank heavens you're here Hol. I honestly would be lost without you.'

'Well, I'm lost in here,' Holly scowled and took her sister's arm, 'Come on, let's get out of here. I don't think we want to look like French 60s movie stars.'

They made their way back onto the street and headed into the next store.

'Do you know, I can't remember the last time we went shopping together.' Holly wondered, beginning her prowl through the shop in search of something.

'It was the Sunday before….well…you know,' Lily said at once, her memory faultless, 'You, me, Mom and Poppy were looking for something for Poppy to wear to Brice's birthday party.'

'Oh yeah!' Holly grinned, 'We got so annoyed with her for being so indecisive that you and I ended up spending the afternoon in Starbucks while Mom stayed with Poppy. What do you think of this?' Holly took a halter neck hippy-ish denim mini dress from the rail and held it up for Lily to see.

'Hmmm, a maybe,' Lily said, 'Mom always was patient. No matter how mad we all got at each other Mom always found a way to stay calm. Ooh, this would look nice on you!'

Holly looked at the outfit Lily had chosen for her. It was a cream strapless body-con dress patterned with alternate thick neon green and neon blue stripes. It was very out there, perfect for Dawsons.

'Wow,' Holly said, impressed. 'That's quite a find Lil! And only $48 as well!'

She tried it on in the changing room and came out to show Lily how it fitted.

Lily gazed at her sister in wonder. It fitted her like a glove. It came just an inch above the knee, therefore making the dress classier than your average strapless number, and showed off her curves perfectly.

'You look amazing!' Lily grinned, 'Owen won't know what to do with himself!'

Holly gave her sister a slightly panicked look.

'I don't want to intimidate him! Maybe I should wear just wear an LBD?'

'NO!' Lily cried out, 'You love this dress! And why should you change just to impress a boy? You love wearing great clothes and making an effort, if he doesn't get that then he doesn't deserve your time.'

Holly smiled.

'That's sweet. You know I'm just freaking out because he said yes. I honestly thought he'd turn me down.'

It had come as a complete shock to her. The day after she had seen Freddy in Relay Records Owen had sat with her at lunch. Taking this as a good sign, in conjunction to the easy conversation they were having, Holly plucked up the courage to ask Owen out. After staring at her in silence for a few beats, a faint blush broke out onto his cheeks. He had nodded and said that he would love to. Luckily the bell rang to spare Holly and Owen any more embarrassment and they rushed off to their next classes without looking at each other. They hadn't seen each other since but Owen did text earlier that day asking her what time should he pick she had told him that Freddy was picking her and Lily up at nine so he should aim to come to her house a little before then if he wanted to come with them. He'd replied joking about the late time and said that he was looking forward to it. What with Freddy taking her anti-social sister out, and her old bully agreeing to take her out, Holly was having a hard time getting used to it all.

'Of course he said yes,' Lily told her sister gently, as Holly went back into the changing room, 'You guys aren't seven any more, you've both grown up and become different people. I think it's great. Owen seems like a really nice guy. If anything I would say that he's liked you for ages and that because of who you hung around with he was too scared to do anything about it.'

'Do you really think so?' Holly asked her sceptically through the curtain, it seemed a bit far-fetched.

'Yeah. I see the way he looks at you when you're studying in the library with him.'

While her sister finished changing she resumed the search for something she could wear tomorrow night. She reached the back of the store and saw it. On a lone peg hung a beautiful, understated Kimono-style dress the colour of dusky pink roses with a purple, peach, cream and raspberry coloured paisley print embossed into the material. She sucked in her breath as she gathered the dress, it fell like water through her hands.

'Buy it.' Came a voice, and she turned around to see Holly gazing at her determinedly. 'It's so you.'

Lily looked at the price tag and felt her heart sink. $90.

'It's nearly a hundred bucks!'

'So? What are you planning on spending your tutor money on? More books? Come on, you must have saved at least $700 since September. What harm's $90 spent on a beautiful, unique dress going to do to your college fund?'

Lily hesitated. Holly had a point. She earned at least $400 a month, what was one little splurge on something she really needed?

'Come on,' Holly urged, knowing what her sister was like, 'It's late. We've been in millions of shops. If you don't buy it now it will be gone tomorrow and you won't sleep tonight because you know you've made a mistake by turning it down.'

'Okay,' Lily sighed, feeling guilt mix with the joy that was mounting in her chest.

She hadn't been able to sleep for days she was that excited/nervous/terrified about her date with Freddy. Although Holly had warned her, nothing had prepared her for the moment when Freddy had asked her out. She had been helping her Tom, her favourite freshman, out with his geometry homework in the tutor center lunchtime Tuesday when Freddy knocked at the door. Nearly tripping over her chair to open it, Freddy came in and asked her straight out if she would like to go out to dinner on Saturday night. He'd told her that a few of his friends were going to go too, as if knowing this would help alleviate the pressure on Lily and her shyness, and that she was welcome to stay on to see his set if she wanted to. Lily had just nodded, feeling dazed, and exchanged phone numbers with him before he had left her dumbstruck, in a haze of his yummy boy smell – lemons mixed with washing detergent.

'I can't believe we both managed to find something!' Lily beamed as they exited the shop.

'Yeah! What is this place even called?' Holly wondered, and turned around to look at the store sign they had just vacated. Charmed – it announced.

Lily and Holly looked at each other in incredulity.

'Well,' Lily laughed, 'for the first time since I can remember it certainly feels like it.'

The sisters were just on their way to the bus stop when Lily's cell rang.

'Freddy?' Holly asked hopefully. Holly knew he had been texting her a little bit since he ambushed her on Tuesday.

'Great aunt Phoebe,' Lily shook her head and answered, 'Hello?'

'Hey Lil, I'm just fixing up dinner and I realised I forgot to buy salad at the supermarket! Could you please bring some home with you?'

'Yeah, sure, that's fine.'

'Great! Thanks. So, did you manage to find something to wear?'

'Yeah, I did! I'll show you when we get home,'

'Good job! I remember how much I hated shopping with Piper, so much indecision! Dinner will be ready at seven.'

'Okay, yeah we should be back by then.'

'Okay hon, see you later,'

'Bye.' Lily said, hanging up. She turned to her Holly, 'We have to get salad on our way home.'

'That's cool, we'll just get off a stop before our street and head to the deli onHenry Street.' Holly sighed as the bus choked up at the stop, 'I passed my drivers ed this week this week and we still have to take public transport. Something's not right here. God, I loathe the bus.'

'Ha, you sound like Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles.'

'Well it's true!' Holly didn't bother to drop her voice as they boarded and took their seats, 'It's full of Farmer Ted's!'

Lily shot her sister a look.

'Holly,' She said in a warning voice, the same one she used when Holly poked fun at Brice and other fellow 'geeks'. 'You're going on a date with one of those so-called Farmer Ted's tomorrow night!'

'Owen's hot! And he has way too much class to try and steal my underwear.' Holly said unabashedly, 'Ugh, I can't believe we have to go to the store. All I want to do is crash when we get home. What's Poppy even doing tonight? I swear she does, like, no chores,'

'She does plenty,' Lily frowned, 'And I think she's at Brice's.'

'She seriously needs to get to a grip. If she wants Brice she has to tell him, otherwise she's going have no experience whatsoever when it comes to boys. They keep falling out and I'm fed up of listening to her get upset with him over the stupidest things, like his hair!'

'Poppy's fourteen!' Lily cried in alarm, well aware that she herself probably had less experience with boys than her youngest sister, 'Way to young to get into a relationship with someone!'

'I was dating when I was fourteen!'

'Yeah, and look where that got you,' Lily remarked shrewdly, 'a boyfriend you now loathe even more than this bus,'

Holly stuck her tongue out at her sister.

'Hey girls!' The owner of their local deli Vern called as they entered the store twenty minutes later, 'Bit late to do a food shop isn't it?'

'Phoebe forgot the salad,' Holly rolled her eyes as she picked up a lettuce and some tomatoes.

'Now, now,' Vern said, brandishing an authoritative finger in her direction, 'I've known Phoebe since she was a little girl. If my darling Phoebe forgets a salad then there must be something wrong with the world.'

'Is this guy for real?' Holly asked her sister in undertone.

Lily glared at her.

'She's just busy with work,' Lily said to Vern, 'She's writing a new book.'

'Ah yes!' Vern gushed enthusiastically, his black busy eyebrows dancing, 'I love her work! So funny! I have her sign them for me when they're published! I love living near a local celebrity,'

'You should try living with one.' Holly said darkly as she gave Vern the items for the salad. Holly and her sisters always felt the legacy of their Charmed heritage. It was everywhere in the house, from tens of photos of Piper, Leo, Chris, Wyatt and Melinda, Phoebe and her daughters Kim, Isobel and baby Violet, Paige and her children and Prue, to the potion ingredients in the fridge and the spell books, weaponry and crystals in the attic.

'Hahaha!' Cried Vern, oblivious to their witch identity and thus missing the connotation, 'You're as funny as Phoebe was when she was your age, and just as beautiful! Bet you run circles around all the boys like she did!'

Holly opened her mouth to give him a taster of her wit when the door to the deli opened and Eric came in, arm around a buxom red head, wearing matching leather jackets.

'Holly!' Eric stopped dead at the sight of his cousin by the cashier, 'What are you doing here?'

'Picking up some salad for dinner,' Holly replied coolly, giving his companion a once over. She'd never seem Eric with a girl before, but she had a say this one lived up to her expectations. She'd always had Eric down for liking cheap girls like this one, with their fake nails, big hair and swelling cleavage. God was Eric a walking stereotype or what? 'I'm here with Lil.'

Lily, who had been perusing the range of olive oils at the front of the store, was looking at Eric and his friend with an expression Holly couldn't quite identify. It looked a little like hurt.

'Oh,' Eric finally caught sight of Lily and dropped the arm he had around the redhead's shoulders immediately, 'Erm, hey Lily,'

'Hi Eric,' Was it just Holly or did he look a little awkward?

'Uh, Eric,' His redheaded escort moaned, leaning into him, 'Come on,'

'Oh, sorry Darlene,' Eric said, gathering himself and directing his attention to Vern, 'We were just grabbing some smokes. Usual please Vern,20.'

Vern dug around under the counter and handed Eric a pack of cigarettes. Lily couldn't help but notice Darlene's hand running up and down Eric's arm suggestively.

Eric handed Vern a note and thrust the pack to Darlene, who opened the packet with greedy hands and took one out ready.

'No lighting up in here!' Vern cried at once.

'Duh, I know!' Darlene sneered rolled her heavily made-up eyes, 'God, what are you? A narc?'

'No, I'm just someone who cares about his fellow customers, not everyone smokes.' Holly, who didn't even like Vern a minute ago, found herself warming to the guy for being able to stand up to that withering stare.

Darlene, who had opened her mouth again to retort, was cut off by Eric.

'Come on Darl, let's get out of here,' He said diplomatically, taking her elbow and guiding her out of the store, 'Tell Phoebe I won't be home for dinner!' He called over his shoulder to Lily and Holly.

Lily stared after them, feeling confusion mount in her chest. Seeing Eric with a girl, much less a rude confident girl was strange. Lily knew that Eric got around, but seeing it in person was much harder to swallow than the rumours that had hitherto made up his dating history.

As if knowing what Lily was experiencing internally, Holly placed a reassuring hand on her arm.

'We should go,' Holly said, understanding in her aquamarine eyes, 'Phoebe's expecting us. I glad he's not going to be there for dinner! No way do I want to hear about his antics with Darl,'

Lily smiled weakly. She wasn't even interested in Eric but the disappointment coursing through her veins hinted that perhaps she was a little more interested than she had previously allowed herself to consider.

Sorry this is a) such a short chapter, b) lacking in any magic and c) a bit samey with the boy-ishness. I'll update with the big stuff soon, I promise! Please review xx