Chapter 13

Alexandra

It should be against the law to drag someone against their will to a large, crowded mall, where they will be forced to try on clothing and pretend to have a good time. Don't get me wrong, I think that it's great that Alice evens cares what we look like, but I was never one to care about fashion.

I had fun in the car, singing along to songs on the radio. Alec, however, after the first few songs looked as if he wanted to jump out of the car.

We arrived at a massive mall, and suddenly I was no longer happy. I mean, last night Bella told me how long mall expeditions were, and how excited and fussy Alice could be. I don't like being fussed over.

Alice claimed me as her first victim, while Alec laughed at me. I laughed on the inside—when it was his turn, he would have a lot tougher time than I would. At least girls could pull of sparkles and stuff like that.

I stood in the dressing room as Alice handed me clothes through the door. She then insisted I model everything for her. I don't know where she thought she was going. She brought me dresses, fancy shirts, and skirts. Half of the dresses I couldn't wear; they showed the marks on my back.

I came out wearing a pale pink dress, and showed Alice how the dress didn't cover the gash across my upper back. Alice pouted and complained how now she need to find dresses that covered my shoulders. She went back and left me in the dressing room. Oh my god, she was a woman on a mission.

I turned and stared at my back in the mirror. I hate seeing myself in a mirror; it makes me feel self-conscious. I know that it's pretty weird for a vampire to feel self-conscious, but I feel it anyway. I hated the memories from the marks and the bites, and I hate when people asked me about them. Their pity and sorrow does no good. An "I'm sorry" doesn't make the marks go away.

Alice came back with dresses and clothes. I actually liked a few of them. My favorites were a brown top with a rhinestone star, and blue top with the tops of the shoulders missing (it still covered my gash marks), and a purple tube-top-like shirt.

Alice inspected everything, allowed me to keep my favorites shirts, but also had me get dresses.

"Hey Alice?"

"Yes, Lexi, what is it?"

"Um… can we go someplace where I can get sweatpants and t-shirts? Like, not fancy ones?"

Alice sighed, "Fine. Yes, we can. We'll stop at Aeropostale and Abercrombie later."

"Kay, thanks Alice." I smiled. Those stores were more my style.

We soon finished up, and went outside the dressing rooms, expecting to see Lexi and Alec there. But they weren't.

"Alec probably tried to escape shopping with you Alice, and ran away. I bet Nessie is trying to find him."

"He can't be too far, he doesn't know this mall," Alice smirked, "I'll send Nessie a text."

Within minutes they were back. Nessie looked a little confused, but the look soon disappeared off her face. Alec looked upset, but tried not to show it. I knew that look he had on his face—he often got it when he was extremely upset and would talk to anybody about what was wrong. He happened rarely, but he kept all his emotions inside him, which is probably why his ability is to numb the senses—he rarely feels anything. I sighed. I really hate when this happens.

Nessie and I were allowed to wander through the mall, and we got my sweatpants and things. I was actually a lot of fun. We went into stores, tried on clothes I would never wear, but it was fun to see what I looked like in them. Nessie was an easier shopping partner than Alice because she actually understood the meaning of the word 'no'. Nessie brought a few things, but she looked great in everything. We met up with Alec and Alice about a half-hour later, and Alec still seemed lost in his own world. We got Nessie something to eat, and continued to walk around the mall, occasionally going into stores. I was so surprised that after the initial torture, I actually had an awesome day!