Alcohol was something benign to me, growing up.
I came to find that in the hands of the wrong person- especially Michael- alcohol could be my worst enemy.
(edited xx).
I chew my lip, examining my surroundings carefully and nervously.
Boo's handiwork is quality; the clothes look as neat and well stitched as if a machine had done the work. That's not the problem; the problem is how the clothes make me feel. Just like Ana's, my skirt barely touches mid-thigh, my shirt clings to my chest, and my vest is so tight, they seem to force my boobs to bubble out of the button-down a little.
It's not only the clothes that have cast me outside of my comfort zone. I've let my hair down today, and I decided to apply a little eye makeup (eyeliner, mascara) along with a bit of lip-gloss. It's no doubt that the makeup compliments me, I just feel a bit out of my league, honestly.
I notice the difference in the way people react to me immediately, and so does Ana as she walks beside me from Film class. Boys do double takes- as do girls, raking their eyes up and down my body as if I'm a piece of meat or something.
In surgery, Michael frowned at me, taking a while to soak in my new look, and then proceeded to ignore me cruelly as he usually does. But he did sneak in a few extra peeks when he thought I wasn't looking.
"This isn't comfortable." I hiss to Ana in a whisper, tugging at the bottom hem of my skirt, as if that would make it any longer. She shrugs, smiling and doing a sweep of the surroundings again (probably trying to find out who's staring at us). "It's not about that." She smirks, ruffling a hand through her poofy hair.
Again, I feel my cheeks heat and I look down at myself as yet another group of boys gawk at us. Sure, maybe I was the only girl walking around with a knee-length skirt last time, but at least I was comfortable.
Someone grasps my arm loosely, and I jump, looking up at them. I stop walking, and smile to see Jay staring at me with gaping eyes. "Woah, Skipper," he half whispers breathily. Ana smirks again. "I'll, uh... see you later." She winks, and I widen my eyes at her. I think Jay's nice and all, but I'm too nervous to be alone.
She wiggles her eyebrows, and tiptoes away anyway, giggling and giving me a thumbs up. I clear my throat, and look up at Jay. "What's up?" I ask, and he swallows hard. "I... wow, I mean, whatever you've done with yourself is great, you look great. Not to say that you didn't look good before, I liked that too, but this... is even better." Flushing, I smile. "Thanks." The way he rambled, like he was nervous around me, was kinda cute, and definitely amusing.
"I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever." He says with another smile, and I realize he's still holding me; his hand slides down to wrap around mine. I shrug. "I've been around." He studies me for a minute, biting his lip slightly. "You wanna... go out some time? I mean, I know there's not a lot of options around here, but... we could make it work." My eyes widen, studying him.
"Are you asking me on a date?" He blushes, which almost makes me swoon like a damsel. He shrugs, l "Well, if you want to make it... that, sure?" I nod, not trusting my mouth to tell him yes. "How about the bonfire." "What bonfire?" He furrows his eyebrows, cocking his head. "The school bonfire... the one they've advertised over and over again for like... ever now?" I swallow, nodding.
"Yeah, that sounds fun." "Alright, Saturday night. Wait for me around 5, outside the dorms?" I hope I'll be back from the hospital by then, but I'll make it work. I look up at him, nodding. "Yeah, of course."
