Hey kids! Sorry it's been FOREVER but I've had some issues with my account. But don't worry! There will be more coming soon I promise. Keep reading!
DISCLAIMER: Yep, still don't own it.
Cory hopped out of the shower. She had spent extra time cleaning herself. She wanted to look radiant tonight—not just for Dave, but for Mark. Right now, she was still mad at Mark for not caring, but she knew she'd eventually get over it. She walked into her bedroom, still in her towel. It was nearly two o'clock. She'd been in the shower for a while. Everyone was supposed to meet at The Space in six hours. Plenty of time, she thought. She dropped her towel on her bedroom floor and looked at herself in the mirror. She quickly pulled on some sweat pants and slipped on one of Mark's old highschool t-shirts. She ran a brush through her hair and twisted the long wet mop of hair into a not on the top of her head, out of the way. Her hair usually took the longest, so she left it to the last. She put on her make-up—dark eye liner, and pretty bluish green eyeshadow that made the gold flecks in her purple eyes show through.
Next, Cory went through her closet and pulled out a short, form-fitted mustard colored mini skirt and a long, dark purple sweater. She paired them with a pair of matching dark purple leggings, gold ankle boots, and a green belt. She her comedy/tragedy acting pendant necklace and three green, purple, and gold bangles. After her make-up was done, and she was dressed, she then had to begin the unruly task of taming her hair. It took twenty minutes to fully blow dry her massive hair. The long, wavy curls of her auburn hair fell off her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. The last thing Cory added was a green scarf around her head and a little spritz of perfume. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. "Perfect," she said. She was going to make Mark sorry for ignoring her. She turned back around and looked at the clock. 4:30.
"Shit!" She yelled. Had it possibly taken her two and a half hours to get ready? Cory ran out into the main room of the loft, looking for her friends. Collins was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper Cory had gotten. She walked over, slung her arms around him, and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Hey Tommy!"
"Hey there little girl," he responded. "You look nice."
"Thanks. Where is everyone?"
"Roger's at Mimi's and Mark is getting dressed. He told me about your date."
"Oh really?" Cory was surprised that Mark had even mentioned it. Maybe he did care.
"Yeah. Some guy you met today?"
"Yeah. His name is Dave. He's meeting us at the protest tonight." Just then, Mark walked in. Cory turned around.
"Hey," he said sounding surprised, "you look . . . great."
The feeling Mark got when he saw Cory standing there scared him a little bit. He wasn't supposed to feel that way about his best friend. Cory looked beautiful. She practically glowed. When she turned around, her smile and her face seemed to brighten a little. "Hey," she said to him, "you guys ready?"
"Y-yeah. I'm ready. Collins?" Collins let out a chuckle. He wasn't stupid. He knew how strongly Cory felt for Mark and he knew how dense Mark could be. But it looked like he was finally starting to notice her as more than just his best friend.
"Yeah. I'm ready. Let's get out of here." Collins, Cory and Mark grabbed their coats and headed for the door. They walked outside of the building and met Mimi and Roger down there. The cold wind hit across Cory's face and sent shivers down her spine. She ran up to Mimi and linked arms.
"I'm so cold!" She cried.
"But you look great! Who are you so dressed up for?" Cory looked away as Collins answered for her.
"A boy!"
"A boy!" Mimi echoed. Roger and Mark both turned around. Roger smiled, and Mark just kept walking. What was his problem? "Who is this boy?" She shouted.
"Just this guy I met today at the grocery store. Well, I technically met him yesterday but, we talked today and he asked me to meet him at Maureen's protest."
"Is he cute?" Roger teased.
"Yes. But that doesn't matter. He's really sweet."
"Aw! Somebody has a crush!" He teased again.
Cory looked at Mark who had been walking ahead of them the whole time. He had stopped to film a pigeon pecking at a used condom on a stoop. Gross, Cory thought. Mark was kneeling down to get a better view of it. Cory laughed. Why was it so hard to be mad at Mark when he was always doing cute stuff like filming a nasty pigeon? Cory jogged up to Mark as he got back up and started walking again. She slipped her arm into his without looking at him.
"I was beginning to think you were mad at me," he said.
"Now, what would make you think that?"
"I don't know,"
"You know how unbelievably hard it is fo me to stay mad at you," Cory said cutely. Mark looked down at her and smiled. Secretly, he was scared. He wasn't supposed to feel this way about Cory. She looked beautiful tonight and he knew it. He realized it as soon as he stepped out of his bedroom and saw her talking to Collins. Question was, what was he going to do about it?
A cold shiver of wind flew down Mimi's back as she kept walking down the cold, musty streets of New York huddling closer to Roger. She glanced in front of her, smiling at Cory and Mark walking arm and arm down the street.
Without looking up, she said, "aren't they cute?"
"They'd be cuter if Mark wasn't such a dumb ass and realized how truly amazing she is," Collins said coming up from behind them.
"He does," Roger put in, "he just doesn't love her like she loves him."
"Oh, he does," Mimi said slyly, "he just doesn't know it yet."
"Come on slow pokes! Hurry up! It's starting to snow!" Cory called from the entrance of the Life Café. Mimi, Roger and Collins jogged the last few yards up to the entrance. The boys went inside and Cory and Mimi stood outside looking at the snow.
"I love the snow," Cory said, "it reminds me of miracles." With that, she went inside. Mimi smiled at her and followed.