Chapter 20: The Summer Festival

I sighed heavily in frustration and resisted the urge to hit the full length mirror inside the door of my wardrobe. I twisted left and right, I tried numerous angles but nothing worked. I let out a cry of exasperation and threw the little black dress I had been holding up to my frame to the floor. I stomped my foot in a fit of childish anger and crossed my arms, defeated. I stood like that for a moment, glaring daggers and scowling at my reflection. I placed my hands on my hips and pouted at myself. I narrowed my eyes. Too scrawny, too flat-chested & not curvy enough I thought to myself. With a sigh I pulled myself away from the mirror and with a lot of effort forced myself to look through my wardrobe for the hundredth time. My selection of outfits was scanty, it didn't take long. A modest collection of party dresses and skirts were scattered on the floor around my feet, I kicked at them. Everything I tried looked dreadful and I knew time was running out. I was angry that I hadn't been more prepared. However, the thought of shopping stressed me the hell out and everything had looked so good when I'd tried outfits on in my head.

I snatched my old battered Nokia brick phone from the bedside table and called 'Bestie' on speed dial.

After 5 rings. "Hello." A soft voice answered.

I humphed down the line. "Really Iroha?! You waited five rings?! I'm having an emergency!"

Iroha chuckled quietly. "Volume, my poor ear. Is this an I've run out of ice-cream emergency or I've spilled a whole bottle of wine on the sofa again emergency?"

I scowled. "That was one time!" I protested defensively. "And, no. It's a fashion emergency."

The line went quiet for a long time and I began to worry. "Iroha, you there?" I asked unsure.

"Yes." Iroha replied uncertainly. "But… What on Earth made you think that I could give you fashion advice?"

I sighed and started to pace around the room. "I don't know." I whined. "I'm desperate and my contacts list isn't exactly heaving with girlfriends."

There was a pause before Iroha said. "Ouch. True but hurtful."

I groaned and stopped pacing. I pulled at my hair with my free hand. "I'm sorry." I groaned pathetically. "The summer festival starts in less than an hour and no matter what I try on I look like rubbish. A bin bag would probably look better!"

I pretended to dramatically sob down the phone. Iroha sighed and tutted, I could picture her shaking her head. "Your crocodile tears don't work on me!" She said matter of factly. "Hush, I'll be there in ten minutes."

I immediately stopped and grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You're the best!" I declared, emphasising each syllable.

"I know." Iroha replied smugly. She curtly hung up. Pulling the mobile away from my ear I checked the time on the home screen. Forty-five minutes and counting. Goddess, I needed a miracle. I offered a silent prayer in her name and began to pace the room nervously again.

"It's open!" I called as I heard a quiet knock on the door.

"Yuri! Wait!" I heard Iroha declare frustratingly.

"What the…?! Who the hell…?!" I shouted indignantly as I was attacked by a blur of pink hair and glasses.

"Ouch!" I yelped as sharp fingers pinched my waist, tugged my hair and squeezed my shoulders.

"Turn…" A soft voice commanded. A soft but surprisingly strong hand grabbed my arm and forced me to turn back and forth.

"Promising…" I heard the soft voice whisper to itself. "Slim waist, good height but poor posture… But not impossible… No…"

I stiffened and jerked back violently. I turned around, both angry and kind of scared. A young woman stood in front of me, her posture rigid as she stayed perfectly still just blinking at me. She looked like she'd travelled straight from the 17th Century as she fashioned a frilly white blouse, suspended three-quarter brown slacks, a sleeveless buttoned vest and a red kerchief.

I blinked back at the strange intruder, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open. "I repeat." I said in a dangerously quiet tone. "Who the hell are you?"

The pink haired spectacled weirdo stared at me blankly before muttering "Yuri."

I rolled my eyes, that helped.

I heard a sharp tut behind me. I turned around and gave Iroha an incredulous look. I raised my eyebrows in question.

Iroha gave me a pointed look. "Calm down." She instructed. "This is just Yuri, Emma's daughter."

I looked at Iroha blankly. Iroha sighed and shook her head slightly. "You're in the middle of building her tailor's shop." She reminded me exasperatedly.

"Oh." I said stupidly, I felt my face loosen in recognition.

I slowly turned back to Yuri. "Yuri, right." I said awkwardly, resisting the urge to facepalm myself. "Ugh, sorry about that. You just came on a little strong."

"Can I… Begin?" Yuri asked, slowly blinking at me.

I turned to Iroha and gave her a look that shouted explain! Iroha gave me an understanding look. "Yuri is here to help you with your fashion emergency." She explained.

"Can I...Begin?" Yuri asked again.

"Er, sure." I squeaked. I winced, scared of Yuri's 'help'.

I sat in a kitchen chair whilst Yuri tugged at my hair. I valued my life too much to interrupt her work to ask what she was doing, she breathed down my neck and muttered to herself. My skin tingled and I could feel goosebumps rise along my arms.

"So, Iroha." I said "How did your date with Rod go?" I desperately needed a distraction just as much as I wanted to know.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Iroha look at Yuri cautiously as she sat on the edge of my bed. "Good." She replied hesitantly.

"Details!" I demanded. "I can see a sparkle in your eyes."

Iroha flushed slightly. She hesitated again before gushing. "Okay, it went wonderfully! Rod put together a picnic, he cooked the food himself! We sat by the Goddesses pond for hours, it was beautiful. Rod's so easy to talk to…"

"Silence…" I heard Yuri mutter behind me. I shivered. Iroha trailed off, she bit her lip and looked down at the floor shyly.

"I'm so happy for you!" I beamed at her. Iroha flashed me a brilliant smile, she opened her mouth to say something.

"Silence…" Yuri muttered again. "Hey, ouch" I grumbled as Yuri pulled my ear hard.

"Working…" Yuri muttered.

I mouthed 'help' to Iroha who just giggled. I scowled and sat in silence through the rest of Yuri's torture.

I gasped and frowned at my reflection. The stranger I saw couldn't be me. I hesitatingly reached out and touched a finger to the glass, the stranger copied my actions. I smiled slightly at myself in wonder, it was me and Yuri had somehow made me beautiful. I touched the gold collar of the silken red cheongsam I was wearing, I looked down at the matching red heels. I reached up and touched my hair which was braided into a crown tightly around my head. I turned half towards Yuri. "You're incredible." I whispered in awe, lost for words."Thank you."

"Welcome…" Yuri replied. I waited but it seemed that was all I was going to get.

I checked my watch and squirmed on the spot. Just ten minutes left until the start of the festival.

"Got to go." I breathed hurriedly. I shot Yuri one last appreciative look and waved in the general direction of where Iroha stood.

"Wait." She called but I was already waddling towards the door. I cursed under my breath. Damb, this dress was tight and how could any woman walk in these devil's contraption called heels?! As soon as I cleared the door I made a quick decision to ditch the heels. I quickly glanced behind me, somehow feeling that Yuri was watching me even through the door. I shook the feeling off and waddled as fast as I could over to the festival grounds, my heels dangling from my fingers.

I gasped, the festival grounds looked almost unrecognisable. Fairy lights dangled from the surrounding trees, lanterns adorned the wooden stage, tartan blankets were strewn all across the field and potted summer flowers were scattered all across the ground. I could smell them on the light summer breeze. The villagers had been busy.

"Darling." I heard a voice drawl behind me and I felt my skin crawl. Damb it, Allen. I wondered if it was too late to run. I sighed and reluctantly turned around.

"Allen." I said, throwing him a fake smile. I tried not to make a face. He looked me up and down slowly, I shivered.

I put my hands on my hips and demanded "What are you looking at?" I glared at him. "My eyes are up here!"

Allen tutted and shook his head at me disapprovingly. "Why your dress, darling, your dress."

"Oh." I hadn't expected that response.

Allen lunged forward and rubbed the collar of my dress in between his fingers. "The silk...beautiful…" He muttered to himself.

I groaned and took a step back. Allen followed and took a step towards me. I raised my palms up towards him. "Allen." I warned. "Back off!"

Allen coughed and took a small step back, his eyes still racking over my dress. Okay, this was getting weird. "Apologies, princess." He whispered. "But your dress, I must know where you got it from. It's divine!"

"Yuri, Emma's daughter." I blurted.

Allen's eyes flashed in the semi darkness of the field's entrance. "Emma's daughter…" He repeated and a sly grin came to his face. "I must see her at once."

He turned on the spot and stalked away. I thought I heard him mutter "Lovely Emma."

I shivered, glad he was going to pester someone else. I cringed at the thought of Yuri and Allen in the same room together, that was a company I would not like to be in.

I slowly walked between the rows of blankets, the soft grass tickling the soles of my feet. I stopped and smiled when I spotted who I'd been hoping to see. I made my way over to where I could see a mop of messy blonde hair hiding in a far corner of the festival grounds, half concealed by a large fir tree. I stepped into the shadow cast by the tree. I wrapped my arms around myself, it was chilly.

"You've picked a poor spot." I reprimanded. "You won't see the fireworks very clearly."

Neil flinched, he pulled a pair of black earphones out of his ears. He scowled and looked up at me, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Neil?" I asked confused. What had gotten into him?

Neil's face turned bright red as he looked at my legs, my dress, my face and then back down to my legs again. I squirmed, uncomfortable. Neil opened and closed his mouth like a fish before he blurted "What are you wearing?"

I flinched, not expecting his reaction nor knowing how to respond to it. I immediately felt defensive and on edge. I know I looked different from normal, a lot different but his reaction was unjustified. I glared at Neil, I crossed my arms and jutted out my chin. "A dress! You idiot." I snapped at him. "Do you have a problem with that?!"

My eyes began to sting and I fought the urge to run away. I'd wanted to make an effort to grab his attention but not like this. This moment had played out so differently in my head. I was so stupid, I should have known better.

"B… but Y...you're L... legs." Neil stammered.

I pouted and placed my hands on my hips. "Yes, Neil, my legs." I said exasperated. "Don't tell me this is your first time seeing a girl's legs."

I carried on, absolutely fuming. "Were you born at the start of the 20th Century or do you just like being a sexist jerk?" I spat vehemently.

"Shut up." Neil hissed urgently at me. I shrieked when he grabbed my wrist and yanked me down onto the blanket beside him. Before I had time to react he leaned over my lap and snatched at the top corner of the blanket, he pulled it over my legs and let go.

I smacked Neil roughly on the shoulder. I was so vexed I felt ready to burst. I could feel my skin flush as my blood pounded through my veins. Whatever attraction I had ever felt towards Neil disappeared. My instincts had been right about him from the start. "You'd better explain yourself." I cautioned, seeing red.

Neil grabbed the wrist of the hand I had hit him with, I tried to pull away but his grip was like a vice. Neil glared at me, his cheeks still stained red. "I don't want other guys to see you like that." He admitted.

I gawked at him, utterly shocked. I stared blankly, processing what he had said. A little giggle escaped my lips and then another. Soon I was rolling on the blanket, gasping for breath through ceaseless laughter. The whole thing was just so ridiculous. I could feel Neil glaring down at me scornfully.

"Laugh all you want." He scowled at me. "But guy's easily get ideas."

That made me laugh even harder. I looked up at him as I wiped tears away from my eyes. "Pfft." I said incredulously. "What guys? Allen? Rod?."

"You." I winked at him. Neil's face flushed scarlet and he jumped up from the blanket.

"Whatever." He muttered as he began to walk away. I untangled myself and stood up, I grabbed his wrist before he could get too far. Neil shook me off but I grabbed his arm.

"Wait." I pleaded. "Please. I'm sorry for teasing you."

Neil slowly turned back around. He scowled but then he caught sight of my legs and his face dropped. He pulled away and turned his head to the side, trying to hide the bright flush across his cheeks and nose. Suddenly, Neil grabbed my hand and started to drag me across the festival grounds.

"What're you doing?" I protested but I didn't try to break free.

"Away from here." Neil grunted.

I sighed but decided to go along. "The entrance is back the other way." I reminded him.

Neil looked back briefly and shot me a smirk. "We're leaving through the back way."

Before I could ask we reached the brown wooden fence that enclosed the festival grounds. I squealed as Neil grabbed me by the waist and lifted me over the small fence. He let me go before nimbly jumping over himself. I gasped and felt a warm blush spread over my cheeks, Neil had never been so forward. I'd complain but I wasn't against it. Neil grabbed my hand again and led me quickly through the small patch of trees. I realised that I'd dropped my heels somewhere and reminded myself to look for them later. My bare feet crunched on leaves and twigs as I was whisked away.

I looked up in awe as the sky burst with colours: Gold, silver, red, green and blue. Fireworks boomed & whizzed directly overhead. I lay in the grass with my head on Neil's lap. I'd pulled my hair free from the constricting pins, feeling more like myself. Neil ran his fingers through it absentmindedly, my hair fell in soft waves around me. I stared at the fireworks display enraptured. I gasped as the grand display came to it's big finale and then slowly ended, until the last bright firework sizzled to an end. I closed my eyes, still seeing the fireworks behind my closed lids. I was both satisfied and disappointed at the same time. I slowly opened my eyes again and looked up at Neil. He was looking down at me fondly, his eyes flickered away when his gaze met mine.

I slowly sat up and stretched myself out, I felt so stiff. I looked around, the Goddesses pond shimmered & rippled in the darkness. From the top of the forest hill I could see the whole town stretched out down below me, if I reached out I could've touched the fence. "That was so beautiful." I whispered. "What did you think?"

Neil didn't look at me but stared straight ahead. I saw the side of his mouth twitch up in a wistful smile. "I don't know." He murmured. "I missed most of it."

I frowned, thinking about what he meant. Before I could ask Neil stood up and turned to look down at me. "I'll walk you home." He sighed.

My frown deepened but I took hold of the hand he extended down to me and let myself be pulled up.

I leaned on the door frame, Neil's amethyst coat draped around my shoulders. I shivered, this close to Autumn the late Summer nights had turned chilly.

"Thank you." I said gratefully as I handed Neil back his coat. "Are you sure I can't persuade you to come in for a cup of coffee?"

Neil took back his coat and shook his head firmly. He ran his spare hand through his hair. "No." He sighed. "I should be getting back."

"Right." I said disappointed. "I'll see you soon then." I added more hopefully.

Neil looked down at me, his face as blank and hard as a slab of stone. "I'll see you when you need to buy something from my store." He replied firmly.

I frowned, struggling to understand. "I thought I was more than just a customer." I whispered quietly into the empty space between us.

"No, you're not." Neil said harshly. "I didn't mean to give you that impression." Neil's expression was perfectly composed, his features gave nothing away.

I scoffed, not falling for his poker face. I stared straight into those amethyst eyes. "I know you've been avoiding me since the storm." I admitted. "But you can't say that tonight didn't mean anything."

Neil lost his composure. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "You're wrong." He said sternly. "Stop seeing things that aren't there or you'll get hurt."

I grabbed his chin. "You mean you will." I challenged him. I pulled Neil's head down, forcing him to look at me. "Don't lie to me." I begged. "I can see through you."

Neil stared deeply into my eyes and I saw his gaze flicker, his expression faltered and fell away. My heart leaped in my chest as I saw him waver. But it was over in a second, Neil jerked his chin out of my grasp. His face fell back into that stoney unreachable expression. "Get some sleep." He said dismissively. "You've become deluded."

I sighed, sad and disappointed. "Fine." I rasped through a tight throat. I give up.

Reaching up on tip-toe I placed a hand on his cheek, I gently kissed the corner of his mouth. "Goodnight Neil." I whispered as I slowly drew back.

Neil's face was drawn tight, his lips a rigid line. But his eyes burned as he looked down at me. Longingly, I wanted to think. I sighed and reluctantly turned away, I felt a hot tear run down my check. I didn't look back as I gently closed the door behind me. I staggered half a dozen steps and flopped down in a kitchen chair. I wiped the tears away stubbornly. I looked down at my pretty dress and grimaced. What a waste that had been. As I sat there I knew that Neil had been right. Loving him would hurt me. He'd warned me but I knew I wasn't strong enough to stay away. I refused to acknowledge that he didn't feel something for me, I could see it in his eyes and feel it in his touch. Let the chase begin...