“Without a doubt Serena.” Relena nodded.
“Well, what are you standing around for, try it on!” Serena shooed them away with another salesgirl. While she waited, she began to thumb through the rack of white, cream colored, and off-white wedding dresses that lined the room.
Cream and off-white were out of the question. She wanted a white dress- traditional she supposed. But she didn’t quite know what else she wanted the dress to look like. Maybe she wanted no sleeves. Or maybe she wanted long sleeves. Or puffy. And decoration? She wanted lots of lace and bows and pearls. No, she didn’t. She wanted it to be plain. With a little decoration? She just didn’t know.
Then her eye caught sight of a dress and she blinked. It was…beautiful. A long, white dress, with long, off the shoulder sleeves that ended angled. The bodice of the dress was low, cut straight across, but not so low that it would be inappropriate in a church. At the waist, the dress dropped straight down, the satin material dripping like it was a mile long to the floor. It was a very plain dress; the only decoration being a very soft, thin strip of silver that trimmed the top of the bodice, the angled edges of the sleeves, and the edge of the dress near the floor.
“Do you like that one?” Karen walked up behind her. “It seems to be a popular dress.” Serena’s heart fell. She wouldn’t be an original…
“Popular?” She echoed Karen.
“Yes. But as many women that have tried it on, it never seems to fall quite right on them. It’s the only one we have, and the only size we have. Well, would you like to try it on?”
“You say a lot of women try it on, but none of them has fit it?”
“Yes. But who knows, maybe you’ll be the lucky bride.”
“I’ll try it.” Serena told her. She followed her to the dressing room, and began to change into the dress. As she slipped the dress on, she held her breath for fear that she wouldn’t even be able to get the dress on in the first place. But she managed to easily slip into the dress, and when she thought she had it just so, she took a deep breath. There were no mirrors in the tiny dressing, forcing her to unlock the door and step into the hall to find the full-length mirror to see herself.
The first thing she noticed were her three friends, standing and chatting in their bridesmaid dresses.
“You all look beautiful.”
“Thanks Sere! They have the dress in Sally’s size too, so we don’t have to worry about finding her one. It’s almost…” Mina trailed off.
“Oh Serena!” Ami gasped.
“My god…” Relena drew in a sharp breath.
“Oh, I know! It’s the dress, isn’t it?” Serena cried worriedly. “The saleswoman said it never looked good on anyone, but I insisted on trying it anyway. I’ll go change, and then…”
“No!” Three loud voices cut her off.
“What is… oh my!” The saleswoman Karen had just joined them.
“Is the dress that bad?” Serena asked confused.
“On the contrary. That dress is wonderful on you! Why, it looks as if it grew upon you. It was made for you.” Karen told her nodding, “It has never looked that well on anyone before, and I’ve seen them all. Yes… that dress was most definitely made for you.”
“Made for me?”
“Haven’t you seen it?” Ami asked.
“No, there was no mirror, and I came out to find one.” Serena blushed.
“Well take a good, hard look at yourself, because it’s gorgeous.” Mina told her, dragging her over to the mirror. Serena looked at her reflection and gasped herself. She looked so elegant, so beautiful, so… she didn’t deserve this. She didn’t.
“Serena, it’s perfect for you. You need to get it.”
“I’m not so sure about this. Maybe I should look again…” She said, thinking that she should find the ugliest dress in the place and buy it instead.
“Nonsense. Change quickly, it’s perfect.”
“Well…”
“No. Come on Serena! Let’s go! March young lady!” Mina giggled and pushed Serena back into her changing room. Serena stood a few moments longer, not moving. She could technically just not get this dress. But then Mina and Ami and Relena would worry over her mental health… she couldn’t let them worry… let them… know. She didn’t deserve it, but she was going to get it anyway.
Quickly she changed and met the girls in the other room. They were laughing and smiling, so she put on her smile and let her fears slip to the back of her mind, where they itched away at her brain and memory, eating at her sanity slowly without anyone seeing it. After paying for the dresses, the four women left the shop in high spirits. On their way back to the Government building, they stopped at a street vendor for ice cream, and just as they began to leave, a voice rang out.
“Serena!” She sighed. No… please, no… “Serena! Sere, wait up!”
“Serena? Who is that? He’s gorgeous, and he’s following us for you!” Ami giggled.
“That would be Darien Chiba Ami.” She informed her friend uneasily.
“Oh.” Was the collective answer.
“Serena! Stop! I have to ask you something!”
“It’s over Darien, leave me alone.”
“Are you really engaged? To someone you just met?” He asked, not paying attention to her friends or her request to be left alone.
“Yes, I am. And no, I did not just meet him.”
“So you were in love with someone else while dating me?” Darien narrowed his eyes.
“I was not. I’m not in love with this man either. It’s an arranged marriage I promised my Mother I would abide by while she was on her deathbed. And I always stay by my promises. Unlike some people. Leave Darien, you found out what you wanted to know.”
“But I love you Serena!” He pleaded.
“Yes. You love me so much you were sleeping with that other woman the entire time we dated. You love me a lot, don’t you Darien?” She sneered.
“Serena, I…”
“Made a mistake, lost me, and are paying for it. Now, leave. Get out of my sight you lying, cheating, slob!” Serena’s voice rose as she spoke, until she finished in a yell and stalked off. Without giving him so much as another glance, the other women followed her in suit.
“Wow Serena! You never told me he cheated on you! I thought you left him because he was a soldier!” Mina blabbed.
“So did I.” Relena added.
“I didn’t know why you broke up to begin with.” Ami chimed in.
“Well, now you all know, so please call the press and alert the media. He’s a cheating man.”
“How sad.” Mina sniffed. “But don’t worry Serena, you’ve always got Hiiro!”
“That’s what I’m scared of.” She whispered.
>>>)(<<<
Hiiro knocked on the door gently. It was his first time ever at Serena’s apartment, and he wanted to make a good impression. He knew she and the girls had been out all day shopping, so now would be a good time for him to come over- she’d be too tired to argue.
“Hello Hiiro.” He heard her sweet voice drift into hid ears. When had she cracked the door open? “Come on in.” She whispered.
“Hnn.” Then he remembered. “Thank you.”
“Quatre teach you some manners did he?” She mocked. So much for her being too tired to put up much of a fight.
“You must be tired, so I’ll make this visit short.”
“Goodness, you thought ahead of someone other than yourself. You are improving.” She smirked. He did as well. Hers dropped to a frown. She knew when he was mocking her- she had learned to read between the lines in his usually vacant eyes.
“Yes, well. The old saying, “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Quatre told me about it. Said he gave you the first part of the rhyme, and I was to give you the second.”
“You really don’t have to.” She frowned even deeper. What was he pulling?
“I do.” He grinned this time. She was uncomfortable- this was getting amusing. “Something borrowed. Here.” He thrust his first gift into her hands. He could tell she was appalled by the way he had given it to her, but intrigued as to what it was. Slowly she unwrapped the gift, only to let her jaw drop and let out a low sigh.
“A cross?”
“Mine. It is your borrowed item. And your blue…” *
~~~Ahh! Cliffy! And I know what it is, and you don’t! Lol. Please REVIEW if you want to know what the blue is! Much love, Vixen~~~