Chapter Thirty

Chloe's P.O.V

I sat in my room wondering how I would confess my feelings for Luke. It wasn't long before the Halloween frat party. The Halloween frat party…I could confess my feelings for him there. The more I thought about it, the better it seemed. We would be hanging out the entire time anyway, so perhaps at the end of the night I could tell him. Perfect.

I smiled as I laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling, my hands resting on my stomach.

I heard a rapping on my bedroom door. "Chloe?" Hailee said, her voice muffled. "I have a question to ask you."

I sat up from my bed and sighed, running my hands through my hair. I didn't necessarily want to speak to her right now. I wanted space, but she was my best friend. I couldn't stay mad at her for very long. "Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure," I said.

The door opened, and Hailee walked in uneasily, like she could feel the tension between us. "Sorry about earlier, Chloe," she said and sat on the edge of my bed. "I know it hurt your feelings when I had brought up the Miss Piggy thing."

All of the sudden it was hard for me to swallow. She made it seem like that was the only thing that upset me. "I'd prefer it if you never mentioned it again," I said and stared at the floor.

"Well anyway, I wanted to come in and ask you if you wanted to go shopping for costumes with Chloe Marshall, Heather Bates, and me tomorrow," she smiled, resuming back to her old self as if nothing happened between us.

"NO," I said louder than I meant as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Why would I want to subject myself to such torture? I would be better off hanging out with Prick–and that was saying a lot.

"Come on, Chloe, it'll be fun," Hailee whined.

"Sure it will," I muttered.

Hailee rolled her eyes and grabbed my hands. "Why don't you come with us rather than being all alone in your dorm room?"

I jerked my hands away, not thinking that it could be taken offensively. She knew I hated being alone. Even when I was studying by myself I felt a certain emptiness around the room. Perhaps I was just too used to being around my family all the time. There was always someone nearby but here…I was all alone… "Fine…" I muttered. "I'll go."

Hailee squealed and hugged me. "Great! I'll text Chloe Marshall and Heather Bates that you said yes! Trust me, Chloe, you won't regret coming with us."

I hope I don't, I thought to myself.

––––––––––

"I like your makeup, Claire–if I can call you Claire that is," Marshall said, looking at Hailee and I pile into her car in her rearview mirror.

It was a little confusing since there were two of us, and at this point I really didn't mind being called by my last name. "Thank you, and of course you can," I smiled lightly as I looked outside of the car and watched several college students go to their cars in the dorm parking lot.

"Good," Heather said.

I didn't know how to take Heather saying 'good,' especially since the way she said it wasn't exactly polite, but I guessed it didn't matter anyway as long as I acted unaffected by it. "So…where are we going to shop for costumes?" I asked. "Party City?"

"I thought about Party City, but I also thought about Spirit Halloween, ABZ Rental, or Primadonnas," Marshall said as we pulled out of the dorm parking lot and down the road.

"I didn't realize there were that many costume stores," I smiled slightly.

"Yeah. You probably don't go shopping enough to know," Heather said and looked me up and down disgustedly.

I wanted to say something to her, so I looked at Hailee for approval and she shook her head. Of course, she would shake her head.

"Don't be a bitch, Heather," Marshall rolled her eyes. "Sorry about that, Claire. Heather is just in a bitchy mood today."

Isn't she always?

I sat in awkward silence the rest of the ride to our first destination while Marshall, Heather, and Hailee chatted excitedly about boys and costumes. It wasn't a conversation I could be a part of even if I wanted to, and they didn't seem to care that they were excluding me. I could've said something to butt in, but that would have only made me seem rude.

Marshall pulled into a parking spot at Party City and we got out of her car and headed toward the building.

"Isn't this exciting?" Hailee nudged me with the biggest grin on her face.

Not really.

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Heather said as she and Marshall were about fifteen steps ahead of Hailee and me.

Hailee and I picked up our pace and went inside of the store where Marshall and Heather were impatiently waiting. "What kind of costume are you looking for, Hailee?" Marshall asked as we walked toward the costume section.

Hailee smiled slyly. "I know what I want, but I'm not telling you guys–not until I find it at least."

We were now in the costume section of the store and surprisingly there were still a lot of costumes up for grabs. From slutty nurses to werewolves, this store had it all.

"I think I already found my costume," Heather giggled and sashayed towards the section of slutty nurses.

"Heather," Marshall said disappointedly, "you always pick the slutty nurse costume. Try picking something else this year."

"Listen, Chloe–Chloe Marshall not you Chloe Claire–all I gotta say is if it works, then keep on doing it," Heather said as she picked up the slutty nurse costume and placed it in her small basket that she toted on her arm.

The slutty nurse costume was something I would never have the confidence to wear, considering that it exposed as much leg as humanly possible without completely showing off one's butt. It had stockings that came up to the thighs, and the top was unbuttoned several buttons, which I knew would work for someone as small as Heather but never for someone as big as me. I wished I had a sliver of Heather's confidence.

We looked in every costume section of the store until Hailee found her costume.

"Guys, I found it!" Hailee squealed as she ran to the costume she wanted.

"And what costume would that be?" I asked as she pulled it off the rack.

Hailee grinned mischievously. "The playboy bunny."

Wow. I was a little stunned that Hailee would choose to wear that costume since she never wore anything risqué in high school, but I had a feeling that Heather had a great influence on her. Hailee tended to go for trends that the more 'popular' kids liked or did.

Heather nodded in approval. "That would look great on you, Hailee. Especially since you have the figure for it."

"Thanks," Hailee winked at her and tossed it in Heather's basket. "So Chloe, do you see any costumes that you like?"

I was about to respond, but Marshall responded first, making me realize that Hailee wasn't addressing me at all.

"I don't see anything I like. We'll have to go to another store that I can actually try the costume on," Marshall said with a look of disappointment as she folded her arms and scanned the row of costumes. She then turned towards me. "Do you see anything you like, Claire?"

I bit my lip and twisted my hands nervously. "Eh…I don't know if I want to get a costume."

"I'm sure they have costumes in your size," Heather snorted.

Well dang. I knew I was bigger than Heather, but I wasn't an exactly an elephant. I could still look decent in certain items of clothing. I looked over at Hailee, who knew full well that what Heather said to me was offensive, but of course, she didn't say anything. I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure what to say. Anything I would say would sound stupid.

"Did you want to look in the plus size section?" Marshall asked innocently.

I looked over to see that she was dead serious, and it seemed like there was no ill intent, so I wasn't offended. Plus size was just the polite word for fat. But still, I hated to go shopping. Nothing ever seemed to fit in the right places, especially my boobs. They're so darn annoying.

"How about we just go look at the plus size section?" Marshall asked.

"Sure, why not," I muttered as I grimly followed Marshall to the plus size section.

I looked at each of the costumes, but I wasn't interested in any of them. I didn't want to have a plus size costume that was supposed to be a sexy witch or Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I was better off getting a white garbage bag with a written sign on it saying, 'White Trash.' Hey…that wasn't a bad idea…

"You don't like any of these costumes, do you?" Marshall asked, studying my face.

"How could you tell?" I joked, and she smiled.

"Let's just go to another store then," Marshall said, and we walked toward the automatic double doors while we waited for Hailee and Heather to pay for their costumes.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see who texted me.

Luke: Hey Chloe! I was just wondering what you were doing.

I couldn't help but smile. Luke always seemed to text me when I was busy with something, but I didn't mind. I wanted to talk to him anyway.

Me: Hailee, Marshall, Heather, and I are out shopping for costumes for the Halloween frat party.

Luke: Oh, that should be fun. Have you found your costume yet?

"Who ya textin'?" Marshall cocked her head, her perfectly glossed lips curling into a mischievous smile.

I jumped, remembering that Marshall was right beside me. "I was just texting Luke," I said as calmly as possible.

"Luke Armstrong?" she asked, her face clearly puzzled.

I nodded. Why did everyone seem to question which Luke I was talking to? Then again, even I was surprised at which Luke I was talking to sometimes.

"Okay," Marshall said nonchalantly. "Tell him I said hi then."

That was it? No smart remarks or dumbfounded expressions? This was different… "Sure," I smiled and began texting away.

Me: I haven't found my costume yet, which is a real strenuous process to say the very least. Also, Marshall told me to tell you that she said hi.

Luke: Tell her I said hi back! I hope you can find a good costume because I already know what I'm going as.

"Luke says hi," I told Marshall before snorting. I could only imagine what kind of costume Luke was wearing. He was a pretty simple guy, so it wasn't that hard to figure out some of his options. I just hoped he wasn't going as a football player because that would be cheesy as heck.

We went to several costume stores after that, but I found nothing I wanted to wear at any of them. Luke continued to text me until he felt like he was bothering me, and it took us until the last store for Marshall to figure out what she wanted to go as.

"What do you guys think of me going as Cleopatra?" Marshall asked as she picked up a Cleopatra costume off the rack.

"I think you would make a smokin' Cleo," Hailee smiled.

"Really?"

"Of course, Chloe!" Heather nodded.

"What do you think, Claire?" Marshall asked as she held out the costume in comparison to her body.

"Me?" I pointed at myself stupidly. I didn't think that Marshall would want my opinion. I was just here as Hailee's tagalong.

"Yeah you," she smiled. "So…what do you think?"

"Hmm…" I paused and evaluated her. "Do they allow you to try on the costumes here? I would have a better opinion if you tried it on."

"Yeah they let you try on the costumes here I'm pretty sure," Marshall nodded to herself.

"Okay then, try it on for me," I smiled.

"While you two do that, Hailee and I are going to take a better look around," Heather said, taking Hailee's hand and pulling her away.

I followed Marshall to the dressing rooms and waited outside on one of the couches. I thought about texting Luke while I waited, but he told me earlier that he and Prick would be playing Call of Duty together, and I really didn't want to pester him while he was having fun.

"I'm coming out," Marshall said and slowly opened the dressing room door. Marshall came out of her dressing room with the Cleopatra dress and wig on, and I was stunned to see just how good it looked on her. The dress fit her perfectly, complimenting her perfectly tanned skin and toned body. Even the black wig looked great on her, bringing out her bright blue eyes. It made me wonder if she should dye her hair black.

Marshall stared at herself in the mirror and her bright expression immediately turned dark. "I look hideous," she said flatly.

What?! "No, you don't!" I said a little louder than I meant.

"Don't try to lie to me, Claire," she said and turned around to face me. "I know what I see in the mirror."

"If you're hideous than what am I?"

Marshall sighed and shook her head. "I get what you're trying to do, Claire, and it's not working. I'm ugly."

Marshall was confusing in that moment. It was my first time to see someone 'popular' be super insecure and down upon herself. I didn't think people like Marshall were ever insecure, because in reality they didn't need to be. She was beautiful. Looking at the way she looked at herself in the mirror hit too close to home. I knew that look. It was the look I gave myself too many times when I stood in front of a mirror.

"If anyone calls you ugly give them a hug because you know how terrible life is for the visually impaired," I smiled at my own words as Marshall stared at herself in the mirror.

She turned, her blue eyes filled with something I had never seen before: gratitude. She laughed, her shoulders shaking, "Thanks, Claire. I didn't realize that you were actually pretty funny."

I shrugged, a smile still plastered on my face. "I'm just speaking the truth."

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" I asked and immediately regretted it. "That probably wasn't good to say since you don't know me well enough to know," I laughed uneasily.

"No…I believe you," Marshall smiled and pulled out her phone. "I know this probably seems a little too forward, but can I have your number?"

M-my number? "S-sure," I said and told her my number. Was I slowly becoming friends with Chloe Marshall? The girl who used to be the most popular girl at Willowbrook High School? "You know, you're not as bad as I thought you were," I admitted as I stared at her reflection.

Marshall nodded her head and laughed. "You're not so bad yourself."

"I used to think you were a stuck-up snob who was way too into her looks and hated me," I said.

"And I used to think you were a stuck-up bitch who thought everyone was beneath her. That's why I thought you were friends with Hailee, because she was one of the smartest and richest girls in school. I thought you could only be friends with people like that," Marshall said and walked back to the dressing rooms.

"Really?" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Wow… Marshall and I had such different outlooks on each other, but she used to think that I thought everyone was beneath me? That was so far from the truth. Did other people view me the same way?

"Mhm," I heard Marshall hum as the dressing room door closed shut.

I wanted to ask who else thought that way, but I was afraid of the answer. It was probably about the same for as many people disliked Marshall for being a snob, and there were a lot.

Marshall quickly came out of the dressing room with the costume and wig neatly tucked back in its bag. "I'll be quite honest though, I was a little bit of a snob in high school," she smiled lightly as I got up from the couch. "I would say I'm not one anymore though. Other people liked to say I was mean. Do you think I'm mean, Claire?"

"Do you want me to be honest?" I asked, biting my lip. Most people who asked for my opinion never actually wanted it. They only wanted to feel better about themselves.

"I thought being honest was your thing, so of course I want your honesty," she smiled as we walked to the front counter.

I had to think about it for a minute. Was Marshall really mean? I wanted to say yes but ever since I started college and hung out with her I really had nothing to complain about. She never said anything rude to me, unlike Heather, and whenever Heather was being a butthole Marshall would call her out on it. Marshall wasn't mean at all. "I would say that you're not a mean person–in my opinion at least."

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Marshall asked, squinting her eyes.

"You just got done saying that honesty was my thing, so why would I lie afterwards?" I laughed.

Marshall shrugged. "True," she smiled. After Marshall bought her costume, she turned to me and asked, "Do you want to go to any other stores to look for costumes? I'm sure we can find you something."

"No that's alright," I reassured her as Marshall texted Heather that she was done. "I'm thinking about going as a white garbage bag."

Marshall laughed, almost dropping her phone on the ground. "A trash bag? Seriously? Only someone with low self-esteem would think of something like that."

"Or someone who was trying to be funny," I offered, but then quieted. I didn't really realize it was because I had low self-esteem. She made a good point.

"Regardless, Claire, I think you would be better off not going as a garbage bag. That would be my advice."

"Good advice," I smiled. "But that still leaves me with nothing to go as."

"You're in the band, right?" she asked, looking me up and down.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

"Just go in your band uniform as your costume. You could be a band nerd or something," Marshall said seriously.

"I never really thought about that… Isn't that a little too dorky though?"

"Not to me it isn't. There will be plenty of other people whose costumes will be a lot worse than a band uniform."

"So, you're saying that being a band nerd for Halloween is bad?" I folded my arms, smiling.

"Don't try to be difficult and just go as a band nerd," she smiled.

I nodded. "Fine, but if anyone makes fun of me I'm blaming you for it," I said and we both laughed.