» VI »

On our way to Liv's favorite clothing store, I saw a few familiar faces and shouted to Matt, Kaden, and their friend Shawn. "Boys!"

Matt immediately looked up and grinned when he saw us waving to him. "Hey, ladies," he wrapped an arm around my shoulder loosely, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "What are you doing here?"

Lana shrugged. "Committing mass murder. What about you?" she deadpanned.

Matt just nodded. "The boys wanted some A&W," he smiled sheepishly.

I chuckled. "Well, did you want to join us?" I turned to my girls. "If you approve, of course."

Liv immediately nodded. "Sounds great!" she exclaimed, glancing shyly at Shawn. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on with those two. They obviously liked each other; they had for almost a year, but they never did anything about it. I guess innocent flirting was all they wanted from each other.

Lana nodded. "Cool," she fist-bumped Kaden and the two turned to Allie, who just shrugged.

"Couldn't care less."

I chuckled. "Of course you don't." I then linked arms with Matt and Liv as we made our way toward JC Penney. However, my smile immediately turned into a frown when I noticed three figures standing outside the store. Valeria, Chase, and Brett. I only knew Chase and Brett because they were two of the most popular guys in school, at least, they were when I left. I guess Valeria was a part of their group, now.

I tried to go unseen, but that didn't work very well. Valeria and her group spotted us and made their way over, to my dismay. "I had a feeling I would see you ladies again," Valeria smirked.

Matt frowned, wrapping his arms around my shoulders protectively. "Valeria," he inclined his head.

Valeria didn't return the gesture and instead eyed me with her bright blue eyes. "Oh, so this is your girlfriend?" she asked. "Nice to see you again, darling."

"Don't ever call me that," I snarled.

Valeria shrugged. "What? It's just a nickname." She eyed me with a look that was almost worrying. It was so... hateful. "You remind me of a princess, actually."

I smirked. "Because I'm prettier than you?"

Valeria didn't smile. "The princess has everything. The perfect friends. The perfect boyfriend. The perfect life." She snarled. "But it won't last long, Quinn. Someday, everything will come crashing down and you'll be left with nothing. Nothing." And then she turned on her heel, with Chase and Brett following her like lovesick puppies.

"What the hell was that about?" Matt growled, and I could tell he wanted to go after Valeria. Thankfully, he was smart enough to keep from causing a scene and possibly hurting himself.

"I don't know. I mean, I knew she didn't like me, but I didn't know she hated me," I mused. "What's her deal?"

Shawn shrugged. "I've talked to her a couple times. It seems weird that she would hate you when pretty girls are sort-of her main entertainment."

I smiled at the compliment, but my head was still spinning. Someday, everything will come crashing down and you'll be left with nothing. I shuddered at the thought and Matt wrapped his arms tighter around me. "You okay, sweet?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just a little shaken." He nodded and I turned to the rest of the group. "Well, why don't we head inside?"

Everyone seemed grateful to have a distraction from what had just happened and we made our way inside. Of course, Liv and I immediately make a beeline for the prom dresses, dragging Matt and Shawn with us. Allie joined Lana and Brett, who opted to sit in front of the changing rooms, as 'judges', according to Lana. "Okay, I say we each pick two," I suggest as we comb through the racks of dresses.

Liv nodded. "Okay!" She immediately started looking through the sparkly pink dresses, to my great surprise. I instead decided to look at the blues and purples, smiling when I found a few that I liked. Honestly, we had no reasons for trying on prom dresses other than it was fun to feel like a princess for a little while. At least, that's how Liv usually explained it to Allie and Lana whenever they got confused. Which was often.

I followed Liv toward the changing rooms and we each changed into one of our two dresses. I had picked out a purple and a blue dress, but I decided to try on the purple one first.

It was a long lilac-colored one, with a halter top neckline and silver designs around the bodice and some of the skirt. It was relatively easy to put on, to my surprise. I adjusted the strap in the back and smiled when I saw myself in the mirror. I stepped outside the changing room and dramatically walked out into the common area, where everyone was talking. The chatter stopped when everyone noticed me, though, and I had to say that having everyone analyzing me was a little uncomfortable, to say the least. "You look gorgeous, Q," Matt said after a moment of silence. "Absolutely beautiful."

I blushed, looking down at the dress. "Aw, thank you."

Allie clapped from where she perched on the side of Matt's chair. "You look like a fairytale princess." I grinned. Looking like you just popped out of a fairytale was one of the best compliments someone could receive, in my not-so-humble opinion. I mean, every princess literally looked like a model.

Lana's eyes were narrowed as she studied the dress. "She's right," she said after a minute or two. "But it's not you." I looked down at the dress again. I had to agree; this was too... delicate.

"Yeah," Kaden nodded. "It's way too, I dunno. Soft?"

I was about to say something, but Liv stepped out and I grinned. She smiled, giving a little twirl. "What do you think?" she asked. It was a short, baby pink dress with spaghetti straps and small folds in the skirt. It was very simple, and totally cute on Liv.

"You look freaking adorable!" Allie exclaimed, applauding again. Liv grinned, spinning around again.

Shawn smiled, staring at her with a look that Matt and I shared often. I swear, if they don't get together someday, I might cry. "You look beautiful." Liv blushed, looking down at her feet.

I grinned. "Gorgeous!" She bowed, smiling widely.

Lana nodded as well, smirking. "Well, what are you two waiting for? Go get changed!" She exclaimed, shooing us back into the changing rooms. I quickly slipped out of the purple dress and grabbed the long blue one I had also picked out. After zipping that up, I brushed my hair out of my face and opened the door, finding Liv already spinning around in her other dress.

It was long, baby pink, and had ruffles and folds in the fabric toward the bottom. She looked just like a princess. "Quinny, you look so pretty!" Liv squeaked when she noticed me.

I chuckled, giving a little twirl. This dress was navy blue with small sparkles on the waist that spread up the bodice and down into the skirt. I thought it was much more 'me' than the first one. "Stunning," Matt grinned. "This one's the best."

Lana nodded. "Agreed. And I think the same goes for Liv," she chuckled when Liv squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. Shawn raised his hand and Lana laughed. "What's up, Shawn?"

He frowned. "Why are we even doing this? No one's buying anything."

Liv stomped her foot. "Because it's fun to feel like a princess!" she exclaimed angrily, but was honestly just about as intimidating as a puppy.

Shawn raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Calm down, sweetheart." Liv immediately started blushing and I chuckled quietly.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that we're done!" I announced, heading back into the changing room and throwing on my own clothes again. After putting the dresses away, we all headed for the food court. Seriously, I was worried that Matt might've eaten me if we'd waited any longer.

As we all sat at a large table together, talking and laughing as usual, I leaned against Matt's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around my waist. "I love you," I murmured.

Matt smiled. "I love you too, sweet." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I closed my eyes, savoring the moment. Of all of us, together, just having a good time. And I smiled, because it reminded me that I was really home, and no matter what Valeria had said, I was happy.

i hope this was an enjoyable chapter. thx for reading!

~ bella