Venom

005

"Your ass looks gorgeous in that dress, girl," Savannah's voice said.

Helen thought the same, but it was a bit too much. "Yeah... but I feel like I could go to a strip club in this thing," she commented, staring at the short lace red dress she had on.

That was the fourth time they used their lunch break to go shopping for the dress Helen was going to wear on Saturday. Fourth time, and they still couldn't find anything. Either they were too short, too long, too loose, too tight, too much, not enough...

Helen loved shopping, so did Savannah, but she was on the verge of a breakdown. "I swear to God, I will go to that party in sweatpants and hoodie if I don't find a dress in less than ten minutes," she muttered, stripping off the thin crimson fabric.

Savannah was outside the changing room with a frown, touching different dresses and gowns to pick out and try. "They all look good, but they're just not it, you know what I mean?" the blonde asked, brushing her hand against a blue velvet dress. Excessive.

Helen sighed, poking her head out of the curtain. "I know, right? It's so frustrating!"

Savannah gave her a nod. "Maybe we should try another place."

"This is the sixth shop we go to! I'm pretty sure we've seen every dress in New York," Helen muttered while she got dressed back up.

"Tell me about it. At least I'm not invited... imagine if we had to look for not one, but two dresses!" Savannah snorted.

Helen laughed, getting out of the changing room and following the blonde outside the shop. "You've got a point there."

They checked out three more shops, furious when they couldn't find anything that satisfied them. And the party was in two days! What was Helen going to do if she couldn't find the right dress?

They decided to take a break and drink something in a warm cafe. December was almost over, New York was covered in snow and Helen's fingers were popsicles. A hot chocolate would help her out a bit.

While they sipped their drinks they decided they would check out one last shop. If they didn't find the dress there, they were going to buy the best they'd tried so far. It wasn't particularly special, and it was a bit tight on Helen's hips, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Look. I know I said we were gonna see the shop at the end of this street," Savannah started saying as they exited the cafe. Cold air immediately hit them, making them both shiver. "But," she went on, "There is a Dior boutique four blocks away from here. I say we go there and see what we find. What do you think?"

Helen blew a breath in her cupped hands, trying to warm up her frozen fingers. "Dior? Are you serious? That's..."

"Expensive? I know. That's the best part," Savannah winked, hooking her arm with Helen's and quickly walking.

It took them about twenty minutes to get to the boutique, shining with golden and white lights. Inside it smelled heavenly. And it was so warm. Helen thought she might as well move in here.

Apparently, the cashier knew Savannah, since they exchanged a kiss on the cheek. The blonde pointed at Helen - sitting in a little couch as she waited for her friend - and spoke to the cashier, explaining what they were looking for, and how desperate they were. The cashier - a brunette tall woman - kept nodding, listening carefully to the secretary's instructions.

The brunette said, "Alright. I think I've got something you might like. Come with me."

Helen followed her, standing like a statue next to her as she picked out three long dresses. A light pink one, which looked like cotton candy, one in blue with golden designs that reminded her of New Year's fireworks, and a very simple one, black with a slit on the left. Despite being so plain, the fabric was clearly expensive, and the neckline quite deep too.