Found Family (HoO, Mortal AU)

RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE

She picked up Reyna, Piper, Annabeth and Hazel. Then the five of them went to buy a prom dress. It was rare that Rachel went dress shopping. Usually she wouldn't be allowed. Her parents didn't have to find out, though. She just had to hide whichever dress she bought then sneak out to go to prom. Easy.

Rachel parked her car outside the first stop, the girls instantly jumping out. Piper was totally in the zone straight away.
"Okay, Reyna, Rachel, you two stay away from each other. Have a colour scheme or something, just no seeing each other until the grand reveal. I was thinking we should get ready together. Hazel, you're amazing at doing people's hair. You up for it? I can do the makeup- oh this is so exciting!" Piper grinned.

"Oookay," Reyna laughed. "Let's take one thing at a time. Ready to buy a dress?"
"Absolutely," Hazel smiled. "Though Piper has a point about keeping you and Rachel apart. I'll go with Rachel. Piper and Annabeth, you go with Reyna."
"Perfect," Annabeth smiled. "See you two in a while! Good luck."
Rachel tossed Annabeth her car keys. "You can go to a different shop. I'll call you in a while. See ya."

• • •

Her and Hazel got to shopping straight away, trying on almost every dress in sight, even if they didn't like it. Doing so gave Rachel a whole load of euphoria. She owned barely any dresses and was never allowed to wear them. Back in freshman year, she planned on not going to prom just so she wouldn't have to wear a suit. Here she was, years later, trying on prom dresses, feeling like a real girl. She was a real girl and always had been.

"Green and red definitely suit you best," Hazel said, circling Rachel. "Brings out your hair and eyes."
"You think so?"
"Mhm! Oo- try this one on! And this-"
"Okay. If you try on this-"
"I wasn't planning on going with lilac," Hazel looked at the dress. "But I'll try it on for the fun."

• • •

Rachel walked out of her fitting room at the same time as Hazel.
"That's the one-" They both said at the same time.
Hazel looked like a goddess. She had said she didn't want to go in lilac but it looked perfect on her. She twirled in it, though Rachel could tell it was perfect just by looking at the front. It was an off the shoulder dress, the back laced. It wasn't too poofy and the design wasn't too complex. It fit Hazel perfectly.

Hazel looked at herself in the mirror. "I didn't think I'd like it but- it is PERFECT!"
"Frank's a lucky guy," Rachel teased.
"Oh, shut up. Reyna's the lucky one here," she pushed Rachel in front of the mirror. "Look at you!"
"You were right about green," she smiled.
"I'm always right," Hazel shrugged, adjusting the emerald green dress to fit better. "You look stunning."
"Oh, stop," Rachel said, though she couldn't help but agree. She did look amazing.

"These are definitely the ones!" Hazel grabbed Rachel's hands. "I can't wait for prom!"
"Which is your birthday, don't forget. But same! You know what, we need to shop for accessories. Get changed quickly, then we'll pay and find a different store!"

• • •

"Hazel," Rachel sighed. "That's enough jewellery. I've been in your house twice and I know you don't need that much. Plus this is for prom- you can't wear that many necklaces-"
"Hush, Rachel. Impulse buying!"
"Not a good thing."
"Okay, fine. I'll not buy any more. Though we do need to get clutches!"
"Exactly!"

• • •

After another half an hour of walking around shops, trying and failing to stop Hazel from buying more jewellery, Rachel got a text from Annabeth.

Annabeth: just done getting everything. We're planning on getting food. Where are you, we'll come pick you up?

Rachel sent the name of the shop. She had the dress in a prom garnet bag so Reyna wouldn't see, though she looked a little ridiculous while carrying it around. On the way out, Hazel stopped to talk to a girl in some of her classes, Chiara Benvenuti, who also seemed to be shopping for prom with a few others. Katie Gardner, Miranda Gardiner and Billie Ng, who were all in senior year.
"Who invited you?" Hazel asked Chiara with a smile. Rachel guessed they were close acquaintances.
"Damien White," Chiara said.

Rachel tried not to look too disgusted. Him having a huge crush on Reyna was one of the reasons Reyna became Rachel's girlfriend. Crazy how things like that happened.
"Oh!" Hazel said, clearly trying to sound as polite as possible.
"I hate him too." Chiara shrugged.
"She doesn't," Miranda smiled. "They pretend to hate each other."
"So do you and Sherman."

Rachel almost cringed. Sherman and Damien? Jeez. She wanted to tell Miranda and Chiara to run, but at the same time, Sherman and Damien seemed to have changed. They definitely didn't bother Reyna anymore. Jason told Rachel that they stopped Octavian from outing him, so maybe they weren't all bad.
"Oh, well, see you at prom!" Hazel smiled, checking her phone. "We have to go, sorry!"
"See ya," Billie smiled at them.

• • •

They waited outside since Annabeth hadn't arrived yet. Hazel lied about having to go since the conversation was awkward. Annabeth finally arrived.
"What are you two doing sitting out here?" Piper asked.
"Waiting on you lot. Now let's go get lunch," Rachel said, putting the dress into the back before giving Reyna a kiss on the cheek.
"Sorted?" Reyna asked. Rachel nodded.

Annabeth stopped the car outside a fancy restaurant.
"We should have girl days more often," Piper said, stepping out of the car. "Those boys are annoying."
"One of those boys is my brother and another is my boyfriend," Hazel laughed. "Yet I still agree."
"Hey, Leo is practically my brother. They're all still annoying."
"Good point. But yeah, girl days often as possible from now on!" Hazel shook Piper's hand.

They went into the restaurant and took a seat together.
"What do you all want?" Rachel asked. "My treat."

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Word Count: 1024

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A/N: just my girls 🥰 also, I know nothing about dresses or fashion (no I'm not being quirky, I'm just genuinely dumb) so ignore the fact that none of their dresses/suits will be detailed. Ah, and happy chapter 70.