Project Daddy || a.i

Chapter 27 || "Trust me honey."

- Pandora -

"Why am I here again?" Michael groaned, watching as I pulled yet another dress out from its rack.

It had been nearly two hours, and I still hadn't found a dress for the Masquerade Ball.

I wanted something that would not only make me look stunning, but would grab a particular someone's attention.

*cough* Ashton *cough*

But with my budget, I was stuck to the sale section - which literally had nothing.

"Because, you're here to help me." I explained, shoving the dress out towards him "Now what do you think?"

He studied the fabric curiously before shaking his head, his lips drawn back into a slight grimace.

"That's worse than the last one."

I let out an exhausted sigh before placing the dress back onto the rack, moving off into another section.

This was going to be a long day.

"What about this?" He questioned, yanking a random dress from its hanger and extending it out towards me.

I studied the pastel yellow material and frowned, shooting Michael a judgemental look.

"You like that?"

"No, but if it means we finally get to leave... Then yes."

I softly shook my head before returning my attention to the clothes, ignoring Michael's failed attempts to put the dress back onto the hanger. He finally gave up and subtly hung it over the rack, whistling to himself as he casually walked away.

I swear, this guy.

"That was literally the opposite of subtle." I snorted, causing Michael's cheeks to flush a soft shade of pink.

"Shut up."

"Can I help you?"

We both spun round to face a man, around my height, with warm brown eyes and a friendly smile. He looked slightly older than us - but that could have just been because of his uniform - with large arrows tattooed up his forearm. He looked kind - like one of those guys you would accidently spill all your secrets to then feel really awkward about it afterwards - but I guess that's why he worked in a shop.

"Um, no." Michael mumbled, awkwardly shuffling sideways to hide the dress he had chucked away seconds earlier.

"Actually, yes." I corrected, shooting Michael a stern glare.

He better fücking behave himself.

"Oh, sure!" The man exclaimed, his smile growing happily. Apparently, he actually liked helping people. "What do you need?"

"Well um, I have this ball at my school." I mumbled, scuffing my shoes nervously against the laminated flooring "And I was wondering if you could help me find a dress?"

"Oh, I see!" He grinned, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet "What style are you going for?"

I sent Michael a questioning look and he shrugged, leaving me to feel helpless all by myself. To be honest, I hadn't thought about what I wanted it to look like. I just wanted to find a dress that suited me.

"I don't really know," I admitted, colour rising to my cheeks "something beautiful."

"Oh trust me, I will only get you the best." The man assured, causing me to let out an awkward giggle. Michael just rolled his eyes, leaning lazily against a mirror. "What is your price range?"