STAMP OF APPROVAL - a selection story

a wave crashes down

C H A R L O T T E

written by animationchic/aOK706

round eight ||

March 7th

2:15 pm

"Hey, Charlotte? Do you have a minute?" I spin on my heel, looking for the source of the voice. I'm surprised to find Xander standing there, looking a little nervous.

"Xander, hey, what's up?" I smile up at the young man. He's not much taller than me, but he's still tall. Or I'm just short. It's probably that I'm just short.

"Um, I actually have something for you," his words are hesitant and quiet but I still hear them.

"For me?" I ask him, surprised, excited, and a little nervous all at once.

"Yeah, I uh," he mumbles and ducks his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wanted to have it done for your party, but I wasn't able to finish it in time."

"So it's homemade?" I ask, taking a step closer to him.

He smiles, finally and it lights up his face. "Yeah, it's homemade."

"Well, now I'm even more excited," I tell him and his smile widens. He glances around us, checking for the coast to be clear and takes my hand.

"Well," he says, pulling me down the hall. "Come on then."

Xander leads me all the way back to his room. I hesitate for just a moment outside of his room, a little weirded out. I haven't been to any of the guy's rooms. Well, besides Bard. But Xander seems too excited and completely harmless. So I take a deep breath and follow him inside.

Then I stop dead.

In front of me stands the most beautiful gown I have ever seen. It's regal and fitted and just so... queenly. It's a deep red, a color I rarely dare to wear because it makes a statement, but this dress was designed to make a statement. The top is structured like a blazer with militaristic buttons running down the front. A tapered waist is belted and I just know it's going to make my waist look stunning. And then the skirt. Ugh, it billows out and commands attention but is still so completely feminine looking.

"Xander, it's perfect," I whisper, scared to touch it.

His face lights up as he takes a step towards it. "And look, the top comes off." I marvel as he removes the blazer-like top from the dress form. Underneath it is a simple black corset top. Xander looks at me for my reaction and he must like it because he keeps going, "Oh yeah, and I made the skirt completely detachable."

He unhooks something from the back and suddenly the skirt falls away, revealing a pair of red trouser pants.

"Xander," I say, tilting my head in disbelief. "Did you— Did you build me an entire suit?"

"Yeah!" He moves excitedly now, like a little kid showing off his work. "I figured this way, you can mix and match the pieces. You can use just the top and the skirt or the blazer and the pants or the blazer, top and skirt. It all works together and separately. It was my first time making something on this level, but it was really fun!"

"I'm glad." I smile as I step forward and run my fingers along the hem of the corset stop.

Xander holds out the blazer. "Want to try it on?"

"Do I?" I say excited and step forward. Xander helps me put the blazer on and it's heavier than I thought it would be. I run my fingers over the double breasted buttons and giggle in excitement. Xander pulls my loose hair out of the collar and tickles the back of my neck. I giggle as goose bumps erupt over the back of my neck.