Games of Deception (Hawkeye/Avengers)

Chapter 12 - Lies and Invitations

-Jacqueline's P.O.V-

I halfheartedly scanned the rows of clothing, distracted by the throbbing in my head. The headaches had returned and I knew it wasn't just because of the too-loud crappy pop music playing in the store. Awesome.

Despite my obvious lack of motivation, Mariah returned to where I stood in a near-skipping manner, two dresses still on their hangers and folded over her left forearm. In her right she held another, the same one that she'd chosen for herself a few minutes prior.

"What about these?" she asked, handing the two to me. I glanced down at them, not really paying attention to what they looked like and began to walk toward the dressing room. Again.

"Sure, I'll be right back," I said, half-mumbling, and Mariah made a slightly frustrated huff, following alongside me.

"Why do I get the feeling you're not enjoying this as much as I am?" she narrowed her eyes at me, and I shrugged.

"Well, maybe because you know I don't exactly enjoy wearing dresses that often, or shopping, or letting people buy things for me, yet you insist on--"

"Jacqueline, I told you not to worry about it! Consider it a belated birthday gift, since you were out of town when yours came around."

A slight chill ran over me at her last sentence. The last time I'd been 'out of town' had been during my bithday, but it was also the last time I'd gone on a mission, which caused the most recent images I'd seen to pop up into my head again. They replayed in my mind almost daily, although nothing else had happened since then, which was likely why the headaches had made a comeback. Maybe, I really didn't know anymore. It had been two weeks.

"But isn't a dress like one of these a little...much?" I said, gesturing toward the two I now held in my hands. I knew they weren't exactly cheap, and also that Mariah and her family weren't exactly short on money as I was being owners of multiple businesses in the city, but I still felt a tinge of guilt. She rolled her eyes and turned the doorknob to the dressing room, practically forcing me inside.

"Stop arguing with me dammit, I want you to look nice for my party so you're going to pick something whether you like it or not."

I peeked from behind the door, having not yet closed it. "I don't look nice normally? Thanks." I commented sarcastically, and she pulled the door shut for me in response.

"Stop being a smartass and just try those on!" she chuckled, and I smirked to myself. Mariah was likely the only real friend I'd ever had, but sometimes she was just too easy to mess with, and I refused to pass up the opportunity.

So, maybe I am a smartass. Sue me.

We'd been at this mall for about an hour, and I still hadn't really found anything that I'd liked. Mariah was having her 29th birthday party that Friday night, and I had for some unknown reason promised to accompany her to help her buy a dress for the occasion, since apparently I had decent fashion taste "when I wanted to", who knew? I never particularly cared all that often, to be honest. And to top it off, what 29 year old has a birthday party? I guess when you're practically rich it doesn't really matter what you decide to spend your money on.

I let out a quick sigh and pulled off the tshirt and shorts I was wearing, tossing them to one side. The first dress Mariah had picked out was a light red, almost pink color. I discarded it immediately after assessing the fact that it was strapless, questioning if Mariah had ever actually payed attention to the things I wore. Ugh, no.

The second was better. It was quite different than the first; it was black, with a floral pattern along the see-through sleeves and on the upper portion of the dress. It was a bit longer than the previous ones I had tried on, ending a couple of inches above my knee, but was a bit lower in the chest in exchange. It fit me well, however, and I actually liked it, which was a first for the entire day. I was a bit surprised at my own appearance in the dress; I didn't wear them all that often because they made me uncomfortable, but this one in particular I did not really mind. I decided that this would probably be the only thing that would result in a quick and satisfactory agreement for the day, so with a bit of nervous hesitance I opened the door slightly so that Mariah could give her own judgement.