I'm not gonna lie, these were some pretty nice couches. It almost made me wish I was allowed to have my own apartment. That way I could decorate, while also living a mediocre middle class lifestyle, and maybe adopt a hamster or two in the process. Why not?

But my fantasies were sadly cut short by Adrien asking me if I wanted to go into the dress shop at the end of the mall.

"It's a really nice shop that I've been to a few times for the girls in the friend group, you'll like it in there!" He says.

We start to walk out of the furniture store.

"Why not. What's the shop called?" I ask.

"Wang's Shoppe. The dresses there are really well done, and trust me, I know if clothing is well done or not. My dad wouldn't let me go out thinking anything other way." He says with a laugh.

I nod my head in agreement. "I totally believe you. Let's check it out then!"

I shake my head at the familiarity of the shop's name, "Wang's" Shoppe? No... It has to be a different one. Forget about it."

Coming upon the shop, my gut feeling was right.

Same name, and the design was exactly the same as I remember.

The shop was owned by my aunt on my mothers side of the family. I remember all the times I'd hear them talking on the phone as a child, and watching my mother try on cool dresses my aunt designed.

It brings back memories of when I wanted to follow the footsteps of my Aunt and become a fashion designer. Not to toot my own horn, but at my age back then, I was getting pretty good at designing.

Then, a slight life altering change happened and here I am.

Now all I'm questioning is, what are the odds of us coming to this particular mall and it just so happened that this exact store has all of the hype?

We walk through the front door, and a gentle chime is heard amongst the decorated stands.

My first impression of this place was being awestruck. My old "designer" self was resurfacing and I'm not sure if that helps anything going for me.

Not to mention the smell; my goodness. The smell. It smelled like a summer evening in my moms office, getting a package and opening it while she smiled at me, chatting away with her sister in law.

Out of all the things to remember, the smell was the most overpowering. And I'm trained to control my emotions, but in this moment I felt like crying.

"Ellie? Are you okay?" Adrien worriedly asks.

I immediately snap out of my trance and respond. "Yes! I'm totally fine. Just thinking."

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"These dresses, Wow!" I say, to change the topic.

I walk around each mannequin stand and admire the quality of the dresses. "Just wow, Adrien. You weren't kidding. These dresses are beautiful."

We hear a gentle "Hello, Welcome!", and both look over to where it was coming from.

At the end of the store near the cash register, a short woman with dark hair comes out of a back room and greets us with a warm smile. "If there is anything you need help with, please don't hesitate to let me know."

But this wasn't any woman, this was my Aunt.

We thank her and continue looking at the dresses, but I notice after a bit that she chose to stay at the cash register, looking at both of us strangely.

My heart sinks and I don't know why. Maybe it was because of the fact that, yes. I cut my hair. And yes, I am wearing brown contacts.

But quite honestly now that I thought about it, This made me look even more like my Mom.

WTF. I should've dyed my hair, WHYYYY.

The dreaded, "Excuse me, but... do I know you?" was coming. I knew it.

I just have to pretend I don't feel her stare. The only comforting thought I have is the statistic she won't confront me for looking strangely similar to her sister in law that she is best friends with.

"Hey Ellie! Maybe you can go try on a few dresses, see which ones you like." Adrien says. I am once again internally grateful for the interruption.

"I agree!" I pick a few off the rack and slowly walk up to the register to ask for the dressing room key.

"May I have a key for the dressing room? I would like to try on these dresses."

Her stare stays on me for a few seconds longer than anticipated, then she says, "Oh- of course! Here you are. The dressing rooms are right over there."

"Thank you so much."

I walk over to the dressing rooms and Adrien follows suit, sitting in a bench in the hallway of rooms.

With dresses in hand, I let out a breath and say, "Alright, I wont be too long."

I enter the room and start setting down my chosen goods, inspecting each work of art.

Hm. This dress might work. I could hide one knife belt. Wait, no, that would bulge out too much. I don't want to cause suspicion.

Hmmm... maybe this dress could work? No.. I wouldn't have much mobility.

At first, it seemed like no dress really worked for me. Until the final one, which I initially grabbed by accident in my haste to go to the dressing rooms. It was at the bottom of the stack, and a beautiful deep red color.

The fabric was leather-like, but breathable. A slit ran down one leg, and fine artisan glitter easily flowed through each line of thread within the dress. It almost seemed magical; like a coming of age moment in a movie. I slipped it on and it fit snugly around my waist, and quite honestly it was weird for me to say this, but I felt pretty.

A beautiful sheer shawl came with it and I was in awe. My Aunt really knew how to make a dress. And this was stunningly and wonderfully made.

The best part of it all was the easy accessibility for a knife belt on my thigh. The slit would provide smooth access, and the material had wonderful mobility.

I am definitely buying this one.

I walk out of the dressing room to show Adrien my dress choice. The first thing I notice was the progression of his red cheeks, slowly getting redder and redder as I turned around to show him the entirety of the dress.

"Wow... Ellie, I am really at a loss for words. That looks amazing on you, and I mean that."

I don't know why, but for some reason I was taken aback from his comment.

I felt my cheeks go warm. The look in Adrien's eyes was simply irreplaceable.

"Oh—" I say with wide eyes. "Thank you Adrien!"

I go back into the dressing room to quickly change back into my original clothing. I look at my face in the mirror and notice my red cheeks and desperately try to fan my face before I came back out.

What is wrong with me?! Relax Marinette, you're letting your emotions control you.

Geez! I'm using my real name! Pathetic.

Once I'm fully over what just happened, I walk out of the dressing room and place the discarded dresses on the put-away rack.

"Alright Adrien, I'm going to buy this one."

"Awesome choice. I'll make sure to wear a red tie so we can match." He says, a giddy smile on his face.

Meanwhile my stomach is doing flips.

No— make that Olympic dives.

And the dives are getting 1s.

We walk up to the register together, and I hand my dress over to her.

"Do you kids wanna know something special about this dress?" she asks.

Me and Adrien look at each other, then back at her, waiting to hear what she would say.

"Well I originally designed it for my sister in law. And the funny thing is, you—" She points directly at me, "—actually look a lot like her."

I give her a surprised look.

With a smile, she finishes the purchase and hands me my dress inside an intricately designed paper bag.

"Here, take a coupon card for the next time you two decide to come here. Thank you so much for shopping, have a lovely day!" She gives us a wink, and we walk out, stunned.

"Wow, she is really nice. But that's weird she had to mention you look like her sister in law." says Adrien.

"Yeah..." I say.

"Weird."