Thanks for the reviews! I loved them! Glad I could make you smile/laugh.
There are a couple of you who have offered to be my editor now! I'll email each one of you and then decide. Thank you!
I know my updates are getting less and less frequent, but I'm currently in a play that's downtown so it's very time consuming. But I'm updating as fast as possible!
Enjoy the next chapter.
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Chapter 41: The perfect gift
The girls quickly scrambled into Ami's car, chatting up a storm about what they're going to get their 'special someone's'.
"I have two hundred dollars with me," Ami said as she buckled her seat belt and stuck the key in the ignition.
"Two hundred bucks?" Raye said loudly, her eyes widening. "Isn't that a bit much?"
Ami pulled out and shook her head. "No. He bought me that painting for over a hundred dollars! Plus he's paid for all the dates and everything. I want to get him something really good."
"But good doesn't necessarily mean 'expensive', Ami," Serena pointed out as she dug through her purse.
"Right. It has to be meaningful, not just expensive," Raye added further as she made herself comfortable in the car.
"I know that," Ami said defensively as she drove quickly. "Ohh.. what am I going to get him!"
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Darien and Andrew headed up towards the mall to get a head start on searching for the girl's Christmas present.
This time of year, the malls looked so festive and warm. Green, decorated wreaths hung about. The infamous Christmas colors were strewn across banisters, balconies, stairways, and stores. Lights would twinkle, and the strong scent of a large Christmas tree enveloped the mall's air.
Darien and Andrew walked around the stores, skimming through windows and frowning.
"Should we call Brett to see if he wants to come meet us up here too? He could probably help us out with the whole shopping stuff," Darien said as he stuck his hands into his pockets to dig out his phone.
"Sure," Andrew shrugged as he looked into random store windows.
Darien pulled out his phone, and scrolled down to Brett's number, and called him.
Brett picked up after a couple of rings, sounding happy," Hey!"
"Hey. Listen, Brett, me and Drew are out at the mall near the campus and we're getting a head start on looking for the girl's Christmas presents. We're wondering if you'd like to come help us, along with looking for Ami's present," Darien said loudly into the phone.
"Way ahead of you," Brett said into the phone. "Look to your left."
Darien confusedly obeyed, and turned his head. He saw Brett waving frantically at him with his cell phone up to his ear. Darien grinned and nodded. "You're a smart man, Brett."
"Well, I try," he laughed, and hung up the phone as he started to jog towards Andrew and Darien.
"Why'd you just stop?" Andrew asked as he frowned at Darien.
Darien pointed at Brett who came to a stop in front of him. "That's why," Darien answered, smiling.
"Dude… you're fast," Andrew said to Brett, looking surprised.
Darien smiled and shook his head," He was here before us, you idiot."
Andrew smiled and nodded. "So what's the plan now?"
"Now… we search," Brett answered as he gestured towards all the stores in the mall.
"Yeah. This is gonna be a long day…" Andrew sighed.
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The girls came bumbling into the mall, smiling happily. This was practically their second home. They knew exactly where each store was, and what sales were in which. They were shopping experts, so they felt completely at home when they were in the mall. Of course except for Serena, who was just currently introduced to the wonderful world of shopping, thanks to Darien.
"Alright ladies! Remember, we're here for the boys… not for ourselves, as hard as that may be," Ami said jokingly.
As the girls all laughed and joked around as they went into stores, one of the boys spotted them.
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Andrew was looking around, and his eyes caught sight of the familiar shaping of two meatballs on top of a head. His eyes went wide, and he immediately turned to Darien. "Dude, I just saw your girlfriend," Andrew said as he tapped Darien on the shoulders.
Darien turned around and looked at Andrew. "What?"
"Your girlfriend. I saw her go into Victoria's Secret," he said as he pointed to the store across from where they were.
Darien frowned and looked over there. "What is she doing here? She was just here with Rory!"
Brett turned around and faced the boys. "Something wrong?"
Darien sighed and nodded. "Drew saw Serena go in Victoria's Secret."
Andrew elbowed Darien, and grinned," Hey… maybe she's buying something for you," and he winked mischievously at him.
Brett frowned, and asked," In Victoria's Secret? Don't they just sell thongs and bra's?
Andrew walked over to Brett, and threw an arm around his shoulder and shook his head. "No, Brett. Not just thongs and bra's…. but lingerie. Picture it…."
Darien slapped Andrew on the head and shook his head while slightly smiling," No one is picturing Serena in anything.
"I was going to say 'picture AMI in it'!" Andrew yelled as he recoiled his arm from around Brett.
"You're picturing my girlfriend in lingerie?" Brett joked around, sounding serious.
"No! Alright, I'm going to shut-up now," Andrew said as he stuck his hands in his pocket and bit his bottom lip to prevent from speaking.
The guys focused, once again, on the Victoria's Secret boutique. Sneakily hiding behind a purse stand, and 'casually' looking into the store.
Andrew suddenly saw Raye walk out of the store with a pink bag in her hands from the store. "Raye's here too! Hey… she bought something… I wonder what it is…"
"Stop being a pervert," Darien whispered as he glared down at Andrew, and looked back towards the shop. As he did so, Ami came out.
Brett gasped," Ami's here too! All the girls are here!"
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"Girls," Raye whispered as they walked away from Victoria's Secret," I saw the guys."
"What?" Serena almost yelled. "Why would they be here? When did you see them?"
"Are you sure?" Ami asked quietly, trying not to look back behind them.
Raye nodded, but smiled. "I saw them hiding behind some stand, secretively looking in the store. And I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Andrew looking towards our direction."
"Are they spying on us or something?" Ami asked, wonderingly, frowning slightly.
"So what should we do?" Serena asked, trying to fight the urge to turn around to look for them.
Raye grinned as she swung her bag around," Well lets just see if they're going to follow us first. We obviously can't buy them anything now, not when they're watching."
Serena and Ami nodded, and kept walking along with Raye, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that the boys were slowly trailing behind them.
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Darien, Andrew, and Brett walked slowly behind the girls, making sure to keep a good distance between them.
"Tell me again why we're following the girls?" Brett asked as he walked quickly along with the guys. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for Christmas presents for them? Not spying on them… "
"We're not spying," Andrew quickly replied," We're just…. Following them and watching them."
"Do you know how bad that sounds? Brett asked, smiling.
Andrew rolled his eyes and kept a watchful eye on Raye as they kept following the girls.
Darien came to a stop in front of a jewelry store, looking at the glistening display of diamonds, gold, and silver. It took Andrew and Brett a few steps to notice that Darien was no longer walking with them. They turned around quickly, and found him looking down into a display case full of necklaces.
Andrew and Brett walked in, and stood next to Darien, also looking down into the glass display.
"Is this what you're going to buy her?" Andrew asked Darien as he looked at the variety of necklaces.
Darien had his eye on a simple, yet elegant sterling silver locket necklace. "Maybe," he answered. The necklace would be the perfect gift for Serena. He could take a picture of the two of them, and put it inside the locket for her. The sterling silver heart necklace had little designs that outlined the shape of the heart. On the outside of the heart, the words "True Love" were engraved on it in beautiful cursive letters. There were also small studded diamonds that sprinkled on the surface of the heart. It's perfect, Darien thought to himself.
Andrew and Brett had also looked around the display room, and each of their eyes caught different things.
As the boys all looked, a sales lady came over to Darien, smiling politely, and looking very professional. "How may I help you today?" she said joyfully.
Darien looked up and smiled at the lady," Hi, I was wondering how much that sterling silver heart locket costs" he said as he pointed on top of the glass.
The lady grinned and said," Oh, yes that is very nice. That is three hundred dollars, after tax."
Darien winced when he heard the price of the necklace.
"Ouch," Andrew said when he heard the sales lady.
"I know it sounds pricey, but that necklace was made in Paris. The jeweler only made one, so it's the original," she said matter-of-factly.
Darien took a deep breath, nodded and took out his wallet. "I'll take it."
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After awhile, the girls figured that the guys had given up, since they kept stopping in random stores and spending so much time in each.
The girls decided to take a break, and head down to the food court and grab a bite to eat before they took another stab at the mall.
"You guys go ahead. I forgot to buy my pajama pants at Victoria's Secret! Today's their last sale for them," Serena said frantically, looking at the time.
"Okay," Ami said nicely," We'll save you a seat."
"Thanks," Serena said, and she headed off in the direction of Victoria's Secret.
She wasn't going to buy pajama pants at all, but she was going to do what she had said at the dorm. She was going to buy Ami some lingerie.
Serena came in, and immediately went to look at the sheerest, sexiest, and most seductive things they had in the store. Hmm… it's nearing Christmas… she thought to herself as she went to the more seasonal stuff they had. Serena looked at one of the display mannequins and grinned. The mannequin was wearing a skimpy Santa looking lingerie top, and bikini bottom. White, fluffy material went around the top, giving it that Christmas flare. Serena laughed to herself, and grabbed a set.
