Chapter Six

(The Next Day... Salem Place)

Chloe plopped herself down in the chair next to Belle. They were still waiting for Mimi to emerge from the dressing room in one of her many choices for Last Blast attire. Chloe sighed softly and Belle looked at her uneasily.

"Are you sure you want to be here, Chloe? I know sitting around watching Mimi do a formal wear fashion show is probably not your first choice of after school activities."

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm fine, Belle. It certainly beats going home and staring at my ceiling. And, since I'm definitely not going to the dance, I can live vicariously through Mimi's fashion choices."

Belle frowned slightly. "Are you sure there's no way I can convince you to go?"

"Oh yeah, one hundred percent sure. I'm just going to stay home, watch some videos and pig out on junk food. I want my last year in high school to end without incident, if that's possible."

Belle nodded in understanding, and both girls turned as the door to Mimi's dressing room opened. Mimi stepped out wearing a long, strapless, purple gown. Chloe and Belle were silent until Mimi waved her hands in frustration.

"Wellllll... What do you think?"

Chloe nodded enthusiastically and smiled. "Beautiful, Mimi... I love it."

Belle chimed in with her opinion. "It's perfect. It was perfect two days ago when you tried it on, and it was perfect yesterday, and it's still perfect today."

Mimi pouted slightly and moved to look at herself in the full length mirror. "Are you sure? Cause... I just... I want to look, you know, hot."

Belle laughed and stood next to Mimi in the mirror, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Meems, you ARE hot. You've tried on every dress in this store, and this is definitely the one. Kevin won't even be able to form a coherent sentence when he sees you in this."

"But... You're my best friend, you're supposed to tell me I look good even if I don't."

"Then ask Chloe... She has no best friend loyalties to you. You can trust her unbiased opinion."

"That's true..." Mimi turned away from the mirror to face Chloe, and looked at her expectantly. "So... Chloe... What do you think?"

Chloe smiled widely at her. "I said it was beautiful, and it is. Belle was right, this dress is perfect. You look amazing."

"Thank you... Thank you both."

Belle grinned proudly and patted Mimi on the back. "Good... Now, go get changed and buy this dress. If you drag me down here again tomorrow, I will kill you."

Mimi laughed and headed back to her dressing room. "Okay... This is the one, I promise..."

Belle took her seat next to Chloe again and was about to speak when she heard a ringing coming from her purse. She quickly grabbed it and answered it.

"Hello..."

"Hey, Belle..."

Belle sat back in surprise. "Phillip? What's going on?"

"Not much... What are you up to?"

"I'm out shopping... with Mimi... She's getting her dress for the dance."

Phillip paused and then asked. "What about you? Aren't you going?"

"I wasn't planning on it. Maybe if there was another single, dateless person I could hang out with, I'd consider it."

"Then we should go. You and me."

Belle nearly choked in surprise. "What? Like a date? Have you lost your mind?"

Chloe's eyes widened in curiosity and Belle shrugged her shoulders in confusion. Phillip laughed on the other end and vehemently denied the implications of his question. "No, not like a date... You want to go, I want to go... Neither of us have dates or anything. So, it's not an actual date. It's just two very good friends who are arriving together."

Belle put a hand on her chest and breathed a loud sigh of relief. "Oh good... You freaked me out for a minute there. I guess that sounds alright."

"Good... I can pick you up at your house at like seven, we can get some dinner and then go make an appearance at the dance. I think we both need a night of fun, something to make us forget about all of our problems... That's why I'm asking."

Belle smiled to herself and nodded. "I think you're right... Sounds like a good idea."

"Alright then, it's a plan. I'll let you get back to your shopping now. Have fun..."

"I will... Thanks, Phillip..."

Belle and Phillip exchanged quick goodbyes and she put her phone back in her purse and looked at Chloe strangely. Chloe's mouth was wide open in shock.

"You're going to the dance with Phillip?"

Belle cringed and sunk down in her chair. "Yes, but it's not what you think, Chloe. I swear."

"Well, what is it then?"

"It's a friend thing, that's all. I want to go, and so does he... So we're just hang out together so we don't look like complete losers. You're not mad, are you?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, I'm not mad. Just surprised... that's all."

Belle furrowed her brow and looked at Chloe uneasily. "Are you sure? It's not too weird, is it?"

Chloe smiled and patted Belle on the arm reassuringly. "No, it's not weird. Like you said, it's just a friend thing. And, even if it wasn't, it's no big deal... I am over Phillip, and completely past that now."

"That's a very healthy response. I am impressed."

"Yeah, well... It's about time that Phillip and I started acting like mature adults about our former relationship."

Mimi emerged from the dressing room with her purple dress over her arm, and her hair in disarray. She went to the mirror and combed her fingers through her hair, attempting to smooth it down enough to look presentable. Mimi grinned and turned to face Belle.

"I guess it's your turn to try on dresses then."

"You must have overheard our conversation." Mimi nodded and Belle continued. "But, I don't need to buy a dress. I already have one."

Mimi looked at her in surprise. "You do? You have a party dress just lying around the house?"

Belle nodded. "Yup. I actually bought it a few months ago when I thought that there might still be a chance for me to go to the dance with... Well, you know. It would be stupid to waste it, right?"

"Right... Of course."

Mimi smiled and headed off to the counter to pay for her new dress. Belle and Chloe stood and followed behind her, but Chloe stopped suddenly when something caught her eye. Chloe moved about six different dresses out of the way so she could get a better look at one special dress. It was floor length and a very unique shade of blue, it was covered in some sort of glitter from top to bottom and when the lights overhead caught it, it shimmered brightly.

Chloe sighed softly and whispered to herself. "Wow... It's beautiful."

Belle stopped in her tracks and turned to see what Chloe was talking about. "What?"

Chloe took the dress off the rack and showed it to Belle. "This dress... I love it. It's amazing."

Belle smiled and admired the dress for herself. "It is gorgeous. You should definitely get it."

Chloe broke her reverie to laugh out loud. "Yeah right... I should buy a new dress so I can sit around my house alone wearing it."

"Now now... You never know when a formal dress might come in handy."

"Right... In case I have a FORMAL emergency, I'll have a spare dress hanging in my closet."

Belle grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh... Besides, it looks like it's the only one here. And, I'm just going to guess that it happens to be your size."

Chloe checked the tag and nodded. "It is my size... But, I can't. I already waste enough of my parents' money on clothes as it is. If I came home with a dress that I might never wear, Nancy would kill me."

Chloe hung the dress back up and Belle shrugged in defeat. "Alright then... But don't complain later on when you regret it. Because you will regret it. Trust me. I've been there."

Chloe laughed and shook her head. "You are certifiably insane, Belle. You know that, right?"

"Only when it comes to shopping, Chloe." Belle winked at her and pulled her by the arm towards the front of the store.

Chloe took one last glance at the dress before she walked away. Part of her wanted to listen to Belle and get it anyway, but she didn't know when she'd have the opportunity to wear it again.

***

(A little while later...)

Belle turned her key in the door and walked into her house. Her mother was standing nearby sifting through a stack of mail.

"Hi, Mom."

Marlena laid the mail on the table and smiled at her youngest daughter. "Hi sweetheart... Did Mimi get her dress yet?"

Belle nodded thankfully. "Yes, and it just so happened to be the first one she tried on two days ago."

"That's good. What about you? Have you changed your mind yet?"

Belle paused for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, actually. I didn't want to be the only single person without a date there, but Phillip is going... So I guess we're sort of going together."

Marlena raised her eyebrows in surprise. "On a date?"

"Well, no... Not technically. Just two friends going together. That's all."

"Good, I'm glad that dress that your father and I spent all that money on won't be going to waste."

Belle grinned sheepishly at her mother. "I know, me too... In fact, I'm going to go upstairs and get it out. I want to make sure it's not wrinkled or anything."

Marlena nodded as Belle headed for the stairs. "You had a few things in the mail today, so I laid them on your bed."

"Thanks, mom." Belle hurried up the stairs and rushed into her bedroom. She threw her backpack on the floor and went to her closet. Belle pushed aside some of her other clothes until she found what she was looking for. It was still covered in plastic and hadn't been unwrapped since the day she had bought it.

Belle sighed as she pulled the plastic away and inspected the dress closely. She had bought it just a few days before Shawn had told her about Jan, intending to save it for the Last Blast. Belle had considered returning it to the store, but something had kept her from doing it. Part of her had been holding out hope that the nightmare would end and she could magically fix things between her and Shawn, giving her the chance to wear it for their final high school dance.

The dress was still in perfect condition and Belle gingerly put it back inside the closet. She walked to her bed and grabbed the small stack of mail that her mother had left for her. There were a couple of graduation cards from family and friends who were unable to make it to her graduation, one from her half brother Eric, and one from her Grandma and Grandpa Evans. Belle stared at the third envelope in her hand strangely though. It was blank except for her first name scrawled in neat block lettering.

Belle sat on her bed and anxiously tore open the mystery envelope. Two pieces of white paper were inside, folded up together neatly. She pulled the papers out and unfolded them, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at what was before her. It was a drawing made by a child's hand, a drawing of a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a large smile on her face. The name written in a childish scrawl in the corner said, "Shawn Douglas Brady".

Belle stared at it curiously for a moment, wondering why he had given it to her. She moved the drawing aside and found the second sheet of the paper, suddenly remembering where this came from. Their fourth grade teacher had written the assignment on the second sheet of the paper. She had asked each child in the class to draw a picture of their best friend, and to write a paragraph about them.

Belle smiled as she read Shawn's paragraph to herself: "This is Belle Black. She is my best friend. She is my best friend because she is pretty, smart and nice to all people, even people who are not nice to her. She always makes me smile even if I feel bad. I hope we are friends forever, because if we are ever not friends then I would be very sad. I love my friend Belle very much."

Belle felt tears spilling down their face and she laid the two pages on the bed next to her so she could wipe her eyes.

Belle shook her head and muttered to herself quietly. "Oh God, Shawn... Why did this have to happen?"

Belle sighed and laid down, bringing Shawn's drawing with her. She must have stared at them for at least an hour, wondering if she could ever get back what she had lost. Even though she had told Shawn that she never wanted to see him again, her heart was telling her something else.

***

Sorry for the slowness again... I've had visitors from out of town, and haven't had much time. Anyway... You can see pictures of the dresses that Chloe, Mimi and Belle pick out in this chapter at the following addresses:
Chloe's Dress (which is about a 100 times more beautiful in person):
http://www.geocities.com/hopegrace24/cdress.jpg
Belle's Dress
http://www.geocities.com/hopegrace24/bdress.jpg
Mimi's Dress
http://www.geocities.com/hopegrace24/mdress.jpg

I was helping my cousin shop for her prom, and saved a few of these pictures from the web. Heck... I almost want the dress I picked for Chloe, because it is absolutely gorgeous... and sparkly.