Chapter Nine: A French Heroine

Chapter Nine: A French Heroine

"See what you did, Moo!" I scolded my cat who was sitting near the broken vase on the floor. "Mom just sent this for me. It's a Greek artifact and you just broke it!"

Moo regarded me with bright green eyes before deciding she didn't care, getting up to strut away. "Meow"

"Well screw you too, kitty" I huffed, bending to gather the pieces. "I can't believe it, mom hasn't talked to me for days now and the one thing she sends is gone!"

"I have glue if you want some" Dad announced, as he came downstairs, yawning. The sound of the crash must have woken him up.

We'd both slept in today since Dad's restaurant opened late on Saturdays and there was no school for me.

"Yeah, I'll try to glue them together" I said, with a shrug.

"Did your mom forget that cats and vases don't go together?" He chuckled, tying his bath robe at the waist.

"She probably thinks I'm old enough to handle stuff like this" I pouted.

"Don't worry, she'll understand. You have to go for that ball the Franceses are holding tonight, right?" He asked.

I groaned, I didn't want to go to the social event, not today, not ever.

"I have to, I didn't plan to do anything today but hang out with you like we agreed"

Dad smiled as he went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

I didn't dare have any coffee today, my plans were to just laze around throughout.

"Pizza?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"Pizza" he agreed.

We both decided to be lazy slobs.

And couch potatoes. All we did till evening was sit on the couch in a pile of different food and watch TV.

It was one of the best days I'd ever had. Even Moo had a great time just sleeping and eating and watching TV.

Of course all good things have to come to an end.

Hale pulled up at my house with roses in his hand. I startled when the doorbell rang.

"Oh no, I look like a mess" I said, jumping to my feet. "The house is a mess"

"Um…you go, I'll clean up" Dad said, getting up to turn on the light. We both hissed at the sudden brightness.

The door bell rang again but not impatiently. I wished Hale would be rude or something so my dad could tell him off but of course he knew how to present himself as the best human male in the world.

His eye did twitch despite his smile when I opened the door late in my pajamas stained with Kool aid, my black hair mused up and my eyes more red and puffy than hazel from staring at the TV in the dark for so long.

"You look like hell" Hale said through his teeth.

"Um…" I said, taking the roses, "come in"

Luckily, Dad had cleared up our mess and the house looked decent enough.

The instant Hale walked into the living room, Moo arched her back with a feral hiss.

"Whoa! Get that blasted animal out of here" Hale said, stepping back and using me as a human shield.

"This is her territory, you know" Dad said, stepping out of the dark kitchen where no doubt he'd dumped all our trash.

"Mr. Adams" Hale said, letting go of my shoulders. I went to Moo who relaxed when I came over to pick her up. "Good evening, Sir. I came to pick Violet up for the ball tonight."

"I know" Dad said and turned to me "would you like me to come bring you back home?"

Before I could stop myself, I glanced at Hale for what to say. I was used to it and now Dad saw that clearly.

"I think I'll pick you up" he said with a slight frown.

I did a celebratory fist pump in my mind.

Hale took a step forward, "Sir that won't be necessa-"

"At Ten PM sharp" Dad added.

Moo hissed and jumped out of my arms to hide under the couch.

"Of course, sir" Hale nodded with a tight smile. "We'll be off now"

"Bye Dad" I said, making sure I didn't sound like I was heading to my own funeral.

(╭☞•́⍛•̀)╭☞

"What is this?" The makeup artist with a french accent asked, looking worriedly at the fading bruise on my cheek.

"Dodgeball to the face" Hale said quickly before I could talk. "School sports can be crazy"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. It's not like I was going to tell this stranger that my boyfriend hit me or something, I knew how to make my own excuses.

"So sorry, Madame Dumont will cover it up perfectly, mademoiselle" The make-up artist said, going on to work her magic.

"The dresses have arrived, Mister Frances" a muffled voice called from outside and Hale opened the door to let them in.

The person laid out different glamorous dresses on the bed and left.

"This is taking too long, lady" Hale snapped.

"Do not rush me, child. Or I will kindly send you outside." Madame Dumont replied instantly. I cracked a smile.

When she was done, I got up to pick a dress. I looked at all of them and just wished I could go back home.

"You haven't said anything all night" Hale observed aloud.

"Thank you for the dresses" I deadpanned immediately. I think Angelo was quickly imprinting on me.

"I had the best ones at the store picked for you. You should wear this one" Hale said and gestured to the purple sequined one.

I cringed instantly. It had no sleeves whatsoever and I could have gotten blinded by the amount of light it reflected.

"…you know, because you're Violet and it's purple…" Hale was saying.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and summoned courage to make my opinion. "I don't like it" I said.

"What? I didn't get that" Hale said, "for crying out loud, speak up"

"It's fine, I'll wear it" I said quickly. I doubted he'd hesitate to raise his hand at me even with someone else in the room.

I changed into the dress behind the screen and thanked my lucky stars when the dress refused to pass my thighs.

"Um…" I said "I think this is one size too small"

"One size…" Hale said, "that's not possible, I know what size you wear. Just try harder, are you wearing it the right way?"

Of course I was, I'd undone the zip and everything.

I sighed and tugged the dress up harder. First, the sequins scratched my thigh painfully and second, the dress gave way with a loud rip.

"Dammit" Hale cursed. "Violet I warned you not to eat so much now look what you've done. At this rate, you'll be obese before we go to Paris. Start a diet or else I'll…"

"Out! Go out toute suite!" I heard Madame Dumont snap and I tried not to giggle.

"I hired you, you bloody…"

"I have my full payment, so I am telling you this as someone who cares for the wellbeing of her customer and a concerned mother!" She replied and proceeded to curse him in rapid french till he was out of the room.

"Let me help you, mademoiselle" Madame Dumont offered and I let her help me out of the dress. "That is not how a gentleman should behave, mon Dieu!"

"Thanks so much ma'am" I said, offering her a smile.

"Of course, amor. Pick whatever you want, he is no longer here"

I chose a black floor length dress that was actually my size. It was simple and pretty; it was an off shoulder dress with also black but shinier swirly patterns on the material. There was a long slit that I did not mind and…that was it.

I put on a pair of silver heels, since I had no one to help me with sneakers today.

There were also silver accessories on my neck to go with the dress and some in my black hair which was unbelievably soft and silky. I'd told them to pull it back into a loose bun so that several curly tendrils could hang down.

After I let Madame Dumont gush over how beautiful I looked, I told her thank you and goodbye and walked out of the room to join Hale.

He was stony faced and silent throughout as he took my arm and led me down the stairs, into the big hall. Obviously, the makeup artist had done a huge number on his ego.

I couldn't stop myself from trembling though. I wasn't as confident as I wanted to be. Everyone else looked so glamorous and at ease, laughing and clinking drinks.

Amongst them was Franca Frances. She haunted my nightmares.

She was in a blue dress that was as bright as her eyes and with her blonde hair, it made her look like a beacon of light, calling all the attention to be on her.

"Mom" Hale said only smiling when he got to her.

"My son Hale, ladies and gentlemen" Franca said gracefully. "And his girlfriend, Violet"

I shrank back easily in the crowd while everyone bombarded Franca and Hale with everything they had to say.

Soon, Hale thought it best to leave the older people to their discussion, dragging me along with him to where the tiny sized snacks were.

I followed him willingly, because I knew that if Angelo were to be anywhere in this room it would be right there.

And there he was, biting on a samosa and looking around in boredom. He was in a black tuxedo and... goodness did he knew how to wear a tuxedo. His hair was pulled up too but not all the way, so he kept blowing locks of his hair out of his face over and over as he ate.

"He would eat the whole house if you let him" Hale scoffed just before we finally reached him. "Angelo!"

"Hmm?" He said, turning to face us fully with a drink in his hand and his mouth full.

I waved slightly at him when his eyes took in my appearance. He tried to say something but his mouth was still full so he ended up just making a funny sound and shutting his mouth.

I may have burst into a fit of giggles at that.

Hale glared at me then him.

"You look great, kid" Angelo finally said, brushing the sparkling drops of champagne he had spilled on his black button up shirt.

"Thanks" I said with a shrug. It was an effort not to smile and blush like an idiot.

"No I mean… really great" he added, nodding. "Wow"

"Thank you" I said again, finally letting a small smile show.

Hale gripped tighter on my arm and I tried not to wince. "Yes, she looks amazing. Where is your date, or did the almighty Angelo have trouble finding a plus one?"

Angelo finally took his eyes off me to look at his cousin. "No" he replied simply. "I came here with Susan"

At the mention of her name, Susan popped up behind the table with a mouthful of shrimp.

"Hoi gois!" She said.

I was surprised that she was here but I was also surprised at how awesome she looked. She had on a bright, shimmering dress with so many layers. Her dark green hair was freshly dyed and it flowed down her back. There was a shrimp hanging on her glasses though and she quickly flicked it away.

"Susan, you're here!" I said, happily.

"Don't yell, you'll drag attention to us" Hale warned and I lowered my voice.

"You're Angelo's plus one?" I asked. "You nerd, why didn't you tell me? You look like a princess."

She laughed and came around the table, wiping her hands on a napkin. "You look far better than I do right now, and Angel boy here just told me last minute so I broke out the big ol' ball gown. I never thought I'd have a reason to wear it, this place is so fancy…"

"And she owes me for not crushing her phone into pieces" Angelo cut in.

"Yup" Susan grinned, waving Angelo's camera that was hanging down her front.

"Well, I'm glad you're here" I said, meaning every word.

"The best photographer you've ever seen is standing before you, of course you're glad!" She joked and gestured for three of us to scooch closer together.

"Everyone say cheese."