"Lash," I managed, "What are we doing?" Lash and I pulled apart and he seemed stunned by the realisation of what was going on.
"Oh," was all he could say.
"I think you should leave," I sat up. Before I could say anything else he was gone and I was totally freaked out.
Okay Cassie, process this. He comes back after two years, tries to get it on with you and it's freaking you out. Calm down.
I sipped the remaining part of my coffee and then went to sleep. Crap.
((-----------------------))
The next day Magenta and I got on the bus together. My blonde hair was straight and my thick fringe was growing a tad too long. My eyes looked heavy and hardened as I sat down. Maj gave me a look. The look that can make me tell her anything.
"What happened?" She prodded.
"I bumped into… You Know Who. AGAIN!" I said, frustrated.
"And?" she pushed.
"Let's just say actions of the pelvic variety nearly ensued," I said softly. Maj's mouth was agape.
"Ho-ly shit," she said in a whisper.
"I know! What is wrong with me, Maj?"
After the whole 'Gwen' fiasco I had told everyone about how Lash and I were going out. Warren wasn't surprised. Ethan nearly threw up. Zack said nothing and Layla was all 'Why didn't you tell me?' Whatever. Will was by far the most disgusted, ranting on to me about how this was bound to happen and how it would never last. Blah-di-blah-blahblahblah!
"There's nothing wrong with you," Maj assured me, "But nothing… happened, right?"
"God no!" I assured her, "There was some kissing involved but nothing beyond that."
"Thank god!" Maj exclaimed.
There was a short silence while we both contemplated what had just happened. The rain beat down on the windows of the bus as we took off, but as we reached higher, above the clouds, the rain stopped and we were engulfed in a heavy grey.
"Homecoming is coming up," Maj mentioned.
"And?" I asked sceptically.
"You wanna go dress shopping today after school?"
I smiled remembering the dress I had seen in the store. My face fell, "You know I can't afford anything good."
"Please at least come with me. I need to get a second opinion and Layla will just grind on about how I wear non-organic material."
"Fine," I sighed.
((-----------------------------))
"Remember class, your creative writing assignments are due in two weeks, so get writing!" called Mrs. Siegel over the bell. English is my favourite subject, basically the only one I try hard in. As Maj and I walked out of out final class for the day, we automatically headed to my locker, then to hers.
When we reached the bus Ron let us on and we walked to the back. Layla and Will were sitting together. Ethan and Zack were sitting together. Warren was (as usual) on his own) and Maj and I got an empty seat near him.
"You going to homecoming, Hot Head?" I asked Warren.
"I never go to homecoming. You know that, Cass," he said.
"Just wondering, geesh," I said, rolling my eyes. I knew perfectly well that the only dance he had ever been to was when Royal Pain (Gwen) had turned everyone into babies. It was also the night he first met Misty Frost- not a happy memory to return to.
"How about you Ethan? Got a date?" Maj asked Ethan. We asked this every year because we knew that Ethan and Warren were the only ones without girlfriends.
"I have, actually," Ethan said. I smiled, "Good for you."
Crap. I just realised something!
What?
We are the only ones without a date!
Shit.
I know! This has never happened before. Last year we had Crispy…
And before that we had Seb. This is our first year without a date.
Damn it to hell!
"Maj," I whispered fiercely to my best friend.
"What?" She replied.
"I don't have a date!"
"No sweat, Cassie. Someone will ask you out."
((---------------------------))
Dress hunting was fantastic. I was sad to see the dress in the window was gone, but you can't lose what you never had.
Maj found this gorgeous purple (duh) and black dress with fishnet sleeves. It had a corset-like torso that hugged her curves and she even found shoes that made her legs look incredible.
"You look gorgeous Maj," I exclaimed as she came out of the dressing room.
She spun for me and then gave me a blank look, "Let's pay."
That was just like Maj, being all blank and sarcastic. After we paid for the dress I went home.
"Honey," my mom called from the kitchen, "you have a package."
I gave my mom a kiss on the cheek and looked at the package. It had no return address and was wrapped in simple brown paper.
I unwrapped it slowly to reveal a white box.
On the box was a plain white card that, when I opened it, said;
Dear Cassie,
Sorry about before. I'm a regular prick.
Hope this makes you forgive me, at least for a while.
-Lash
I smiled a bit to myself, but then I became worried. Lash had sent me a package. But then again, he had said he was a prick- very kind of him to admit.
I lifted the top of the box off and…
Holy shit!
It was the dress that I knew I couldn't afford. It was long and black, fading into red at its end. It was the exact dress that Lash had seen me looking at the day before. I ran upstairs to try it on.
((----------------))
It fit perfectly, hugging me in all the right places. It wasn't as long as I thought it was but it was long enough. It had off-shoulder spaghetti straps and a low back. It was cut lower at the front than I expected too, but not in a bad way.
Lash had gotten me the perfect dress, all to apologise for nearly bumping uglies with me.
I picked up the phone and called Magenta.
--"Hello?"—
"Maj, it's Cassie
--"Hey Cass. What's up?"—
"I have a dress for homecoming."
--"How?"—
"There was a package waiting for me when I got home, it was from Lash. He was apologising for last night. And the dress is so pretty!"
--"Wait. Lash sent you a dress? Did he even know you needed one?"—
"He kind of saw me gazing longingly at it before. And it looks great. It's black so I can wear whatever shoes I want with it."
--"Cool. I'm coming over to see it."—
((----------------------------))
When Magenta arrived she let out a low wolf-whistle. "You look great, Cassie. No wonder Lash got it for you. Very sexy," she raised an eyebrow.
"I bet he didn't even know what it was. He just saw that I wanted it and got it for me," I defended.
"Suuuuuuuuure," Magenta rolled her eyes.
Lash wouldn't have gotten me the dress just because it looks nice on me, would he? In any case, I had the dress, the shoes and now all I needed was a date.
And that's going to be easy! (note the sarcasm)
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Hey All! Sorry for being so long with Chapter 39. I'm just getting a feeling for this story again.
R AND R
Love Always,
SlittleA