Chapter 13: Yes to the Dress, No to the Stress

Enjoy!

"Oh my gosh, Kasumi. I can't believe you and Rig decided to move the wedding a few weeks ahead. It was so unexpected," Tina claimed. Kasumi simply smiled and kept walking towards the dress boutique. She couldn't believe it either, but she was beyond excited for what might be the best day of her life. Today was the day that the girls decided to search for their dresses since the wedding is almost two weeks away.

"You're not the only one thinking that," Ayane added. Kasumi stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at her sister, who noticed and kept talking. "Don't panic, Kasumi. I didn't mean it in a bad way. I was just agreeing with Tina."

Realizing that she immediately assumed the worse, Kasumi nodded and continued walking. That was something she really needed to work on since it was beginning to happen more often than it should. "Oh. For a second I thought you meant that me marrying Rig was a bad idea."

Ayane shook her head in response while Kasumi opened the door. Two beautiful dresses were on display in the windows, the sight making Kasumi anxious to try some of them on and find the right one for her. After a moment of looking around, Kasumi's eyes landed on her mother and Helena, who were asked to come and give their opinions on all of the dresses. Ayame quickly wrapped her arms around Kasumi before she started talking. "The big day is almost here! But, Kasumi, I have to admit that I am worried about you. You know a mother is always worried about her children's happiness, so I have to know the answer to my question. Are you sure the date change is what you want?"

"Yes, Mom. I've been thinking about what Rig said, and I realized that he was right. We have barely spent any time together since we've been engaged and I have been missing him a lot lately. I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with him. A part of me thinks that I've been ready," she answered. Kasumi didn't like it when her mother worried about something that was related to her past problems, so she tried her best to reassure her about it.

"That's good to hear. Now, let's go pick some dresses," Ayame declared. She led the group over to a woman who was sitting behind the counter. The woman immediately put away the notebook she was writing in before she stood up and shook everyone's hand.

"Good morning! My name is Claire and I will be assisting you all today since there's no one else here. Before I take you to the Wedding Section, I need to know which one of you are Kasumi? I heard she's the lucky bride-to-be!" she greeted, practically bouncing where she stood.

"I'm Kasumi," Kasumi stated, raising her hand slightly. "Hitomi, Tina, Ayane, and Leifang are my bridesmaids. I've decided not to pick a Maid of Honor. They're all too important to me." Claire nodded and motioned for the group to follow her as she turned and walked down a short hallway. A bright smile briefly appeared on her face before she opened the door and entered the large room. There was a floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall that was across from the door with some couches and chairs placed in the middle of the room. A doorway on each side of the mirror also led to the changing rooms and some more dresses were on display along the left wall.

"Here we are! First things first, do you all want to start with the bride's dress or the bridesmaids'?" Clair asked. Kasumi was unsure about that, so she turned to her friends to see what they thought about it. Ayane seemed indifferent about it, Hitomi wanted to see the wedding dresses, Leifang thought it didn't matter, and Tina was ready to choose her dress.

"Well, we can start with the bridesmaids so I can think about what kind of dress I want," Kasumi said.

"That's fine," Claire responded. "I remember you telling me that the wedding colors are white and light teal. Fortunately, we have some light teal dresses in the back, but I need to know what kind of dress I should look for."

"Strapless," Tina quickly responded.

"Are you serious? Strapless dresses do not look good on me," Leifang exclaimed.

"Now that I think about it, I've never seen you in a strapless dress," Hitomi admitted.

"Exactly," Leifang replied, placing her hands on her hips.

Before Kasumi knew it, Tina and Leifang were having a debate about what kind of dress they should wear. Both ladies are very passionate about fashion, so Kasumi wasn't worried about them making a bad decision. Hitomi and Ayane threw in some ideas whenever they could, which surprised Kasumi more than it should have. In the meantime, Ayame and Helena were finalizing their plans for the upcoming dinner party. It was to going to happen two days before the wedding and Kasumi was looking forward to reuniting with some old friends.

Minutes later, Tina turned and gave Kasumi a thumbs up while Hitomi spoke to Claire. "Do you have any short one-shoulder dresses?"

While Claire got their sizes and left to get the dresses, everyone sat down and waited. They talked about the party and random things until Helena noticed Kasumi's silence. "Is something wrong, Kasumi? How do you feel?"

"I'm very nervous," Kasumi admitted. "I know weddings aren't perfect, but I don't want anything to go wrong. It'll be a very important day to me, so I want it to be as great as it could possibly be. Right now, though, there are a lot of worries on my mind."

"You don't need to worry," Ayame stated. "It's okay to be nervous, but the wedding doesn't matter. Although I'm still worried about what recently happened between you and Rig-"

"We all are," Hitomi joined in.

"You two are preparing to – hopefully – spend the rest of your lives together. It's all about the happy days after the wedding, not the ceremony," Ayame continued.

"Don't stress yourself out about wedding details," Helena advised. "That's why I'm here. Just be as relaxed and calm as possible."

"I feel better now. Thank you, all of you, for the constant support." Claire entered at that moment with the dresses that the girls asked for. She purposely handed a dress to each bridesmaid before leading them to the changing rooms. Tina could easily be heard gasping after a moment, making Kasumi curious about what the dresses looked like. "I can't handle the suspense. Come out here so we can see!"

As soon as they all came out and posed in front of the mirror, Kasumi was amazed by the dresses' beauty. The strap went over the left shoulder and nicely complimented the well-fitted bodice while the rest of the dress flowed freely before stopping above the knee. It was the perfect shade of teal, too. Claire wore a proud smile on her face while she watched the girls take turns pretending to walk down a runway. "Do these dresses meet your expectations? Or would you ladies like to see a different kind?"

"I really like this one," Hitomi answered.

"I agree. I didn't think this color would look so great with my hair," Ayane informed.

"What other kind of light teal dresses do you have?" Kasumi asked. The other girls immediately gave her a look of surprise and confusion, so she quickly explained her question. "I'm just asking before they decide to get the first dress they see."

"Kasumi, I love you to death, but don't scare me like that," Tina said, holding a hand over her heart. "For a second, you had me thinking that you didn't like this dress."

"We have strapless, v-neck, and off-shoulder," Claire responded after she finished laughing. "I believe strapless was already removed from the list of choices. We only have two v-neck dresses here; I could order some in the right sizes for your friends today, but I don't think they'll be here in time for your wedding. We have plenty of off-shoulder ones, but they're a shade darker unfortunately."

"Sounds like these are the only option, which I actually don't mind," Kasumi observed. They obviously wanted to wear that dress to her wedding and as soon as she finished talking that dress was officially chosen.

"That didn't take as long as I thought," Ayame surmised. "Now we get to see what the bride wants to wear."

"I've been thinking about wearing a lace wedding dress," Kasumi announced. Claire nodded and went to find all of the dresses that were available in Kasumi's size. Kasumi paced back and forth in front of her family and friends before she sat down and spoke. "The more I think about it, the more I can't believe that I'm getting married in nearly two weeks. I don't know how to feel about this."

"What are you saying, Kasumi?" Hitomi asked. "Don't tell us you changed your mind and started having doubts!"

"I'm not having doubts, Hitomi," Kasumi stated. "After everything that happened since Rig and I started our break, I never thought that we would still be getting married. I'm surprised, but I'm also happy because we managed to move on from our mistakes. I love him so much."

"I'm sure Rig feels the same way. You two have been through a lot and I believe that it'll only make your love for each other stronger," Helena asserted. Kasumi couldn't respond to Helena's statement due to Claire suddenly entering with a dress in each hand. Kasumi followed her over to the changing rooms before Claire gave her one of the dresses. While Kasumi went to try it on, Claire hung the other dress by the doorway and started talking. "We have so many different designs that have lace. I figured it would be easier to bring you more than one at a time."

"That's fine with me. So what do you guys think about this one?" Kasumi asked, walking into the main area. The dress was strapless with lace covering only the bodice. "I like how it feels, but I'm not sure about the look."

"I'm not a fan of how it stops just above your heels," Leifang noted.

"I think it should've had lace on the skirt too," Ayame said. Kasumi nodded in agreement after staring at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. More lace would've definitely made her consider the dress, but sadly it wasn't made that way. Looks like it'll be a little longer before I find my dress. At least I get to try on a lot of them.

With that thought, she went back to the changing rooms and tried on the second dress. This one was also strapless and covered in lace despite having a skirt that was longer in the back than it was in the front. It was pretty although they all agreed that it seemed more like a party dress than a wedding dress. Many dresses made Kasumi set them aside for later consideration while the rest were quickly returned to the back by Claire. Two hours later, Kasumi was standing in a mermaid dress and waiting for Claire. She released a sigh of disappointment then turned around to face her friends and family. "I don't like this one. I like most of these dresses, but none of them feel like the one that I'm meant to wear. Maybe I should pick one of the previous dresses."

"Before you decide to pick from the ones you already tried on, I think you should try this one," Claire suggested, giving Kasumi another dress. Kasumi felt unsure about trying it on, but Claire's enthusiasm was enough to make her decide to go ahead and give it a shot. There's nothing wrong with a trial-and error process, she mentally told herself. The moment the dress was completely on, Kasumi released a squeal of joy then announced, "This is the one!"

Before anyone could say something, Kasumi stepped out to show them the dress. It was a long-sleeved dress that had some of her back exposed. The sleeves were made of lace, which also covered the whole dress. The bodice underneath the lace consisted of a sweetheart neckline and the skirt covered her heels perfectly. A smile eventually appeared on Kasumi's face while she kept staring at herself in the mirror. She kind of wished Claire showed her this one earlier but she won't hold it against her because it's too beautiful.

"That's the best dress I've seen so far," Ayame declared. She stood up and walked over to Kasumi and pointed to the back of the dress. "I really like how it snaps together behind your neck. The lace design is also very creative."

"I like the way it shows some of your back. No one will be able to keep their eyes off of you," Tina commented.

"Oh just imagine the hairstyles that would look great with it," Hitomi exclaimed. Kasumi laughed at her friend's random statement before she went to change back into her regular clothes. As she gave the dress back to Claire, Kasumi told her that was the dress she wanted. She felt relieved now that she finally found her dress because trying on different dresses for two hours was beginning to make her tired.

"Kasumi, I'm happy you found your dress, but I guess I have to be 'that person' and ask this question: Have you gotten your engagement ring back from Hayabusa yet?" Ayane asked.

"I'm honestly surprised no one mentioned it sooner, Ayane," Kasumi began. "No, I haven't gotten my ring back and I know that I have to. I haven't talked to or seen Hayabusa since the morning after we slept together, so I'm not sure how to approach him about getting it. There's also a chance he doesn't know where it is because I threw it behind me when we were in his living room. I'll just call him after-"

The sound of two people arguing made her stop in the middle of her sentence. The voices were slowly getting louder until one voice stopped while the other started talking to Claire. After a few seconds, the two people continued their argument while it sounded like they were at the end of the hallway. The people were coming closer and parts of the conversation could be heard from where they were.

"-you need to listen to-"

"-I can't believe-"

"There's a different way to discuss-"

"-why didn't she tell-"

"Hayate!"

The man behind the name suddenly entered the room. Shiden entered right behind him with a look of anger and disapproval on his face. Hayate ignored everyone else and gazed at Kasumi before he spoke. "Why didn't you tell me that you had sex with Ryu? Twice?"

"I really tried to keep him from coming here. I'm so sorry," Shiden apologized. Ayame laid a hand on his arm and gave it a brief squeeze before they both directed their attention to Kasumi.

Kasumi stood still in shock and confusion while Hayate waited for her to respond. The other female occupants wore similar expressions, but Kasumi was too focused on the hurt and confused expression that Hayate was wearing. After a moment of tense silence, Kasumi gained the courage to speak although it was with a strained voice. "Can we talk about that in private?"

"Every single person in this room knew everything before I did, so I doubt if privacy is really important right now," Hayate replied.

She didn't like the way Hayate came in here demanding information that he wasn't entitled to. He's also wrong about that statement – the only person, besides herself, who knows everything about her affair is Hayabusa. Kasumi wasn't going to waste time correcting him, though. There was something more important that she needed to address. "Who told you about Hayabusa and me?"

"There's a whole story behind that. I was in Ryu's living room one day when I found your engagement ring on the floor behind a loveseat. A bunch of ideas about why it was there began to enter my mind, so I decided to wait for Ryu to come home and ask him about it. He looked like he had a rough night, but it's not surprising once you consider what he does. Anyway, I showed him the ring and made him tell me what happened between you two. He said something about your bachelorette party and the day you went to his house looking for me before you came back there drunk. He didn't go into details after that."

During the time that Hayate was talking, Kasumi could only stare at him in disbelief. "Are you serious, Hayate? Why would I tell you about any of that?"

"I don't know, but all of this is crazy and I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever make sense. Probably not since I've been left out," he replied. "You know, Ryu and Rig met each other at the airport the day of Rig's bachelor party. Now I see why Ryu was so distant the whole time and I wonder what Rig would do if he found out about you cheating on him. He might cancel the wedding and move on."

"Hayate," Ayame called in a warning tone.

Kasumi was getting angrier by the second and she was trying to prevent herself from saying something that she would regret later. She knew Hayate was trying to push certain buttons for an outburst and she hated how it was this close to working. "Rig does know about what I've done. We discussed it and moved on. If there's a point you're trying to make, I need you to get to it."

"Kasumi, Ryu is – maybe I should say 'was' – my best friend and he can be very…indifferent and unapologetic at times. He may think that what he's doing at the moment is right without considering whether or not he's hurting someone else in the process. He's done things like that before and I doubt if any of it has an impact on him. I don't want you to get hurt by him because he chose to make you-"

"I have to stop you right there," Kasumi interrupted, holding up a finger. "I don't know exactly what he told you or didn't tell you, but Hayabusa didn't hurt me or force me to do anything. I was drunk both times, okay? Despite being like that I knew what I wanted and what I was doing, Hayate. I'm an adult, so I can make my own decisions even if they aren't the best ones. I can take care of my own problems and learn from my own mistakes."

It wasn't that she was defending Hayabusa, she was just correcting Hayate where he was wrong in this conversation. Hayabusa seemed to be quite the opposite of what Hayate said he was. But then again, she doesn't exactly know Hayabusa, so she could be wrong. Either way, I know I'm right at the moment, she assured herself.

"You're still not telling me why you didn't tell me any of this," Hayate pointed out. He was so determined to get an explanation for the only thing he cared about that it seemed like he didn't hear a word of what she just said.

"See, Hayate? This is why I didn't tell you," Kasumi nearly shouted. "As soon as you discover a secret, you don't leave it alone until you know every single detail! What happened between Hayabusa and me had nothing to do with you, yet here you are acting like you're caught in the middle of it. Somehow you managed to make yourself a part of it by making baseless assumptions and forcing people to tell you stuff. I understand that you're worried and you care, but that was something I had to handle by myself."

Kasumi closed her eyes then opened them to observe her brother while the silence stretched on. The surprised expression on his face proved that her reaction wasn't the kind that he was looking for. She wasn't trying to hurt him, but sometimes he took 'overprotective' to another level. She was having a good day, but now she just wanted to go home and get away from all of this stress. Hayate quietly removed something from his jacket pocket then held his palm out. Kasumi was no where near surprised to see that he had her ring – not after the conversation they just had. She was too angry to say anything to Hayate, so she simply took the ring and stormed out of the dress boutique.

…

This chapter wouldn't have taken so long for me to write if I wasn't too busy picking some dresses for this story. I hope the part between Kasumi and Hayate makes sense because I was trying to focus on Kasumi's reaction to Hayate bringing that topic to her so directly.

Thanks for reading! Reviews would be nice.