"Cause I sold my spirit for your soul
I felt it running through my fingertips
I love you more than you will know
And I hope you understand
My strength lies in your hands."
-Boy and Bear
"Okay," I pulled a teal strapless dress out of the rack I had been searching through. "What about this? It would look good with your eyes."
Tenten made a face. "I hate teal."
We were prom dress shopping that week and Tenten had been the most uncooperative of my friends. Ino, of course, had already found her dress - a pretty floor-length aquamarine one that looked amazing on her. Now, I was trying to help Tenten find a flattering one for herself.
"You've hated everything so far," I complained. "Why don't you just go try this one on? It'll look better on you than it does on the rack."
"How would you know that?" Tenten grumbled. "Maybe it'll look terrible."
"Cheer up Tenten," Ino said brightly. She was already holding her dress in one of those special-looking bags. I had to admit, I was jealous that she already found one. I still hadn't found one for myself yet, either. "We're just trying to help you."
Tenten took the dress from me and headed to the fitting room, still mumbling. Since our sleepover, Tenten and Ino had become friends. I even saw Tenten asking Ino for her opinion on some of the yearbook pictures she took last week. I was really glad that my friends were finally starting to get along - it was about time.
"Now we need to find one for you," I addressed my friend Hinata, who was looking at her phone and smiling. Probably texting Naruto or something.
"It's okay," Hinata said, "if you want to wait for Tenten. I don't mind." She smiled at me.
"Come with me," Ino led Hinata off to another section of the store to look for dresses. Like me, Hinata hadn't had much luck yet either.
I waited outside the fitting room for Tenten. I really hoped she was enjoying herself. I knew it wasn't her thing to go shopping, but if we didn't make her she would never have a prom dress.
"Well?" Tenten walked out of the fitting room, looking expectant. "Are you happy now?" The dress was a good color on her, but it was ill-fitting.
"Umm..." I studied her. "It's a little loose. Maybe we should try another one."
Tenten groaned. "I told you it would look horrible!"
I laughed. "Tenten, you look great! It's just the fit of the dress!"
She considered it. "Fine," she said, and stalked back to the fitting room to change.
While she was changing, I perused another rack of dresses until one caught my eye. It was a dark blue halter dress with silver beading at the top. I immediately took it off the rack and brought it back to Tenten, who was still in the changing room.
"Here," I handed the dress to her. "Put this one on."
Tenten tried to object (seriously, why was she so opposed to dressing up?), but I somehow convinced her to humor me. Maybe she was just doing it so I would leave her alone faster.
It took a little longer for her to put it on, despite me asking if she needed any help, but I knew it was worth it when she stepped out.
"What!?" Tenten demanded, seeing my expression.
"Tenten," I gaped, "that's the perfect dress."
"Did someone say 'perfect dress'?" Ino had returned from the other side of the store, holding a few other dresses that she had found. When she saw Tenten, her eyes widened. "Oh my god," she said. "It's the perfect dress."
The dress fit her body perfectly, and it was just long enough that it didn't trail on the floor like some of the ones she had tried on before. Don't get me wrong, Tenten was always pretty, but that dress made her look elegant.
"You look like a literal princess." I told her. It was sort of true, she was wearing her hair in her signature Princess Leia buns today. They were actually handy because it gave me an idea of what she would look like with her hair up.
Ino agreed. "Tenten, you look hot."
Even Tenten couldn't say anything negative. She looked at herself in the mirror like she had never seen anything like it.
"See?" I said. "You're beautiful. We found your dress."
"Tenten, that's beautiful!" Hinata appeared beside me, clutching a dress of her own. "I'm so happy you found one!"
"I guess this is okay," Tenten conceded. As far as I was concerned, she was ecstatic.
"Did you find one, Hinata?" I turned my attention to our friend, who was still smiling at Tenten.
"Yes!" Hinata held up the dress that she had been holding. It was a strapless, floaty lavender dress that was reminiscent of the one she had worn to the football banquet, but even better.
"That's so pretty!" I exclaimed. The lavender would make her eyes pop.
"Now we just need yours," Ino declared, handing me a dress that she had been holding. "This is for you." She hastily placed the other dresses that she had on the changing room rack - those had been for Tenten.
I studied the dress that she had brought me. It was silver and strapless, with delicate beading on the top - pretty simple. I shrugged, and took it to the fitting room. It had taken me longer than the others to find a dress because I couldn't make up my mind. At first, I was set on getting the same dress that I had gotten the last time - it had been lacy and green. Then, after searching for it, I decided that I would rather have a fresh start with prom. After all, I wasn't the same person anymore.
It took me a moment to put on the dress - I had to have Ino come clasp the back for me after I had gotten it zipped up - but once I put it on, I knew it was the right one for me.
"Wow," Ino said.
"I know," I stared at myself in the mirror. It was way better than the green one.
After I had shown everyone what it looked like, we were ready to check out and leave.
"Prom dress shopping - done." I made a mental note. The rest of the preparations would be made on the day of prom when we did our hair, makeup, and everything else. Part of me felt silly for being so excited about it, especially since I had already gone through the thing twice (once my junior year and then my senior year), but the other part didn't care. I had changed, but I still liked dressing up.
Now that I was finished with all of my personal prom planning and could move on to working on the event itself. Prom was a week away and as a result our weekly Student Council meetings had become more hectic. As the person in charge of everything, it was hard to keep calm sometimes.
"What are we going to do?" A freshman that was on the Dance Committee fretted. The Dance Committee had special permission to be at the Student Council meetings now because we were all so focused on prom. "None of the decorations we ordered came in yet!"
I took a deep breath. "Look at it this way," I said, trying not to focus on the negative. "Everything else is done. We have a DJ, a venue, and food already planned out. The decorations should come in in a few days, hopefully."
Sasuke, who was sitting by me, nodded. "I've seen this happen before," he reassured her. "This kind of last-minute planning always comes together." Part of me wondered if he was just trying to get everyone to calm down.
"Besides," Tenten - who had been heading up the Dance Committee - interjected, "it's not like we have nothing. The Art Club has been making Paris-themed decorations for weeks!" That was true, our Art Club had been really excited to help when Sasuke and I had asked them a few weeks before. We had been trying to make more of an effort to involve everyone in our planning - even the French Club had come to one of our meetings to talk about how to make prom more "authentic".
"True," I gave her a grateful look. "We have some decorations." Even though it was a lot of work, I was still happy that I had tried out for the position of Vice President. I realized that I liked being more involved with everyone.
"Is that everything about prom?" Sasuke said, looking weary. We had been talking about everything for about an hour and I could tell he was ready to move on to another topic.
Despite everyone's worries, the prom decorations came in on time, just as Sasuke had said they would. Just seeing them made me excited for that weekend and relieved that they arrived when they were supposed to.
The week leading up to prom, I had been so busy trying to get everything fixed that I didn't have time to worry that graduation was approaching faster than ever. In a way, I was glad that I had the distraction. Sasuke and I had also been getting coffee a lot that week on the pretense that we would be talking about Student Council nominations, but we ended up talking for hours about other things too.
"I'm just ready for this week to be over," Sasuke sighed. It was Thursday evening - prom was only two days away. I could tell that he was stressed about all of the planning, despite his calm demeanor.
"Me too," I agreed. "At least, I'm just ready for prom." I was getting more excited as it approached, especially since the decorations had arrived.
"I'm glad you decided to give the Vice President position a shot," Sasuke looked up from where he had been staring at his empty cup. "It would have been way more of a pain if Suigetsu hadn't dropped out."
"Thanks," I smiled. "I'm glad I did it too - I wasn't sure, at first." I remembered the surprise that I had even been nominated.
"I voted for you," Sasuke said. "Not that you needed it." Was he complimenting me?
"Whatever," I brushed it off, trying not to act like a complete dork. "The only reason I won was because Tenten and Ino helped me on my speech."
"Don't sell yourself short," he replied. "By the way, have you decided what school you're going to go to? Graduation's coming up pretty quick." I had confessed my fears of picking out a school to Sasuke the day before. Sure, it wasn't the biggest thing I had to worry about, but I still hadn't decided on one.
"I'm giving myself tomorrow as a deadline," I said. "I'm not going to be worrying about something like this at prom."
He snorted. "Only you would say that the future is getting in the way of enjoying prom." How little he actually knew, I thought.
I just shrugged. "This could be the greatest night of my life," I was mostly joking, but it was half-true. What if prom was the last time I really got to enjoy myself? I knew that graduation was definitely not going to be very enjoyable.
Despite the development that I had with Sasuke, we were still only friends. While I enjoyed that, it still didn't fit in with the agreement I had made with Konan after the accident. Still, I hadn't had time to think about it that much.
"What about when you go to college?" Sasuke looked amused. "Won't that be better?"
"Who knows?" I answered. "I prefer to live in the moment right now. It's less stressful that way."
"I wish I thought that way," Sasuke admitted. "All I can do is focus on the future." He looked distracted for a second, like he had become lost in thought. I wondered how often Sasuke worried about his future.
"Listen," I told him. "You're Sasuke Uchiha. You're going to do something great, no matter what." I thought back to Konan's words the night of graduation. Sasuke will grow up to be an extremely important person in the future. His early death may affect the world as we know it.
"How do you know that?" He looked skeptical.
"I just know," I shrugged. Plus, the strange lady that brought him back to life told me so.
"Thanks," he mumbled, looking down. "I've been worried too, about a lot of things." He didn't elaborate on it, so I didn't ask.
"I think that's normal," I replied, my voice quieter. "It's a strange time of our lives." Or just the end, I thought.
I'm looking at myself in the mirror, trying to perfect my mascara. I'm already in my prom dress - a strapless green on that I had found about a month ago in one of my favorite stores. To tell the truth, I'm not as excited about prom as I want to be.
"Can you zip me up?" Ino asks. I can tell she's struggling with her dress.
"Sure," I finish zipping up the dress for her and fasten the clasp at the top. "How is that?"
Ino looks at herself in the mirror. "It's good," she deicides. I admire her hair, which I had styled into a pretty up-do.
"Oh my god," Karin says, checking her phone. "They're almost here." Karin and Ami were getting ready at Ino's house with us too. Despite not being very fond of them, I was friendly for the sake of Ino.
"I'm not even close to being ready," Ami complains. She's hastily applying lipstick and looking in her compact mirror.
I look at Ino and she just shrugs. We had been getting ready for at least two hours. I give her an exaggerated worried look and she laughs. She knew I was just humoring her by hanging out with Karin and Ami. I would have preferred it to be just Ino and me, but I couldn't have everything I wanted.
I sigh, and sit on Ino's bed. I had been close to breaking up with Kiba for good the previous week and the only thing stopping me from going through with it was that I wanted prom to be perfect. Now, I'm not so sure if I made the right decision. It was too late to go back, though.
A text from Shikamaru alerts us all that our dates made it to Ino's. Ami and Karin still aren't ready, so Ino and I walk downstairs first to say hello to everyone. Just like the football banquet, Naruto set Sasuke up with a girl he knew from another school. She had already been picked up, and I want to meet her.
"Hey guys!" Ino says brightly. I watch as she walks down the stairs to greet Shikamaru, who looks bored.
From my position on the staircase, I can see everyone. Naruto, talking to Suigetsu (Karin's date, although she insisted that they were only going as friends), and Sasuke's date - a girl with blond hair that has a sour look on her face. Kiba is already downstairs, but he doesn't pay me any attention - he's too busy talking to Sasuke's date.
I sigh, and begin to walk downstairs, when something catches my eye - the door is opening, and Sasuke steps into the room. His eyes meet mine, and he's looking at me with an expression that I hadn't seen on him before. It was almost in awe.
I feel my face flush when I meet his eyes and I suddenly wonder what I was doing there. I give him a small smile, and the look in his eyes intensifies, making my breath catch in my throat.
"What are you doing?" Kiba says, making me snap out of whatever was happening.
I shrug. "Waiting for you to notice me," I say, suddenly feeling lame. My own date didn't even seem to care that I had dressed up more than usual.
We wait for Karin and Ami, who take about fifteen more minutes until they're finally ready to leave. In the meantime, I focus my attention on Sasuke.
"Hey," I say, "you clean up pretty well."
"You look great," Sasuke replies.
"So..." I say, quiet enough so no one hears me. "Where is your date from?" I'm watching her talking to Kiba, who is still not paying me any attention - not an uncommon occurrence, I realize then.
Sasuke just shrugs. "Ask Naruto." Something tells me that Sasuke hadn't been too keen on being set up again, after what had happened at the football banquet.
"I'm about ready to back out now," I whisper. Suddenly, I was having huge regrets of even being there.
Before he can respond, Karin and Ami finally make an appearance and it's time to go. I swallow my feelings of doubt, and turn my focus on my boyfriend. Kiba puts an arm around me and I resist the urge to shrug it off. "You look hot," he says.
"Thanks," I give him a weak smile. "You look great."
The rest of the night is a blur. Like most nights at the end of Kiba and my relationship, it ended it an argument.
"Why do you always act this way?!" Kiba says. We're standing outside of the convention center - the same one that the football banquet had been in, actually.
"You're always flirting with other girls." I'm furious with him. "I just wanted one night, Kiba. I'm so done with you right now! You promised that you would be better and I believed you!" Like an idiot, I want to add.
"Fine," Kiba's voice is low and angry. "If you're so done with me, then why don't we just break up now."
I blinked, trying to keep the tears out of my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was let him see me cry. "Fine," I reply, "but this time, don't come running back to me. It's over." I stalk away from him, quickly wiping my eyes so no one else can see me when I come inside.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke looks concerned when I approach him. His prom date is nowhere to be seen, and I don't even bother asking where she went.
"No," I say honestly, "but I will be. Come on, dance with me." I lead him out to the dance floor, where most of the senior class is. In the corner, I can see a freak with Princess Leia buns furiously snapping pictures. I try to avoid the area that she's in - I don't want any pictures of this failure of a night.
"What happened?" He asks me. It's a slow dance and we're barely moving.
"Kiba and I broke up, for good this time." My voice breaks a little and I have to take a deep breath. Honestly, I was more upset about my now ex-boyfriend ruining my night than actually losing him.
"He doesn't deserve you," Sasuke responds. "You're too good for him."
"I'm glad you think so," I give him a tiny smile. "At least I have you." Sasuke was my best friend. I was so lucky to have him.
We dance for the rest of the night. I know that Sasuke is doing this just to make me happy. He had already confessed earlier that he was planning on leaving as early as possible. The whole night, I think about how grateful I am that he's in my life. When we we're together, everything that I had been worried about before disappears. I find myself not even caring that Kiba is on the other side of the room, dancing with another girl. The only thing that matters is talking to Sasuke and making each other laugh.
If I wasn't so dense, I would be able to see that we were perfect for each other. I would tell him right away that the way I was feeling now wasn't just a result of our friendship, but something different. I would be able to see that the way he looked at me was different from the way he looked at anyone else.
Instead, I say nothing.
Author's Note: So... this chapter might not have been the most exciting, but we're almost there! Also, I'm kind of on a writing spree right now, so hopefully I'll have the prom chapter up in the next few days. :) I'm very excited to share the next part of my story with everyone, we're almost to the end!
Thank you for all of the awesome reviews! I really love hearing what everyone thinks is going to happen. I would like to give a special shout out to Nightpanda123 - your guess about Sakura's plan made me laugh really hard.
Please let me know what you think about the chapter!