Oranges And Pastel Plaid Skirts ((ON HOLD))

Writing Sins, Not Tragedies

((A/N: The second time and probably the last time you'll see an author's note. My girlfriend said she saw it taking place in the early 2000's, so I'm going with that. It works. Enjoy this chapter.))

"It's January. Isn't prom in April?"

Gee nodded her head in reply, as Frank's question rang through the thrift shop air. She glanced up at him from behind the store rack.

"Yes, it is. But girl's have been talking about it since the beginning of the school year. It's a big deal, Frankie. A very big deal."
"I know that."
"The whole process takes a lot of work. Ordering the dress, renting the tux, hair, makeup, all of that. It doesn't just happen overnight," she hummed. She looked at another dress, shrugged, and continued looking.
"Yeah, that's understandable."
"And for me, it will take extra work."
"How come?" Frank asked. Gee looked over at him again and gave him a shy smile.
"It just does. Trust me. It's a pain in the ass."

And with that statement, she returned to looking through the dresses, glancing up at Frank ever so often.

"Whatcha thinking?"
"What colour would best suit us both?"
"Red. Black."

Gee giggled, walking around the clothing rack and giving Frank a kiss on the nose.

"You really love that colour scheme, don't you?"
"Well, yeah."
"You dork."

Frank smiled, and the two went back to their browsing. After a few moments, Frank spoke up, slightly startling Gee.

"Hey, Gee?"
"Hm?" she mused, looking up at him.
"I've been meaning to ask this. Don't wanna sound awkward. Is Gee short for anything?"

Gee glanced up at him, smiled, and looked down.

"Giovana Artemis Way."
"That's a beautiful name."
"Thank you. How about you?"
"Frank Anthony Thomas Iero Pricolo Jr."
"You poor boy."

Frank let out a loud snort of laughter and the two burst into a cascade of laughter. They settled down once again, looking through the small assortment of formal dresses. Frank pulled his iPod out of his pocket, putting in one of his earbuds and starting to blare some random music. Gee rolled her eyes at his behaviour, before taking a dress off the rack and holding it up to her body, looking down at it.

"How about blue?" she asked, looking down at the sky blue fabric.
"It's a pretty shade. Looks good on you."
"Thanks. I'm gonna look some more dresses and go try them on."
"Alright," Frank replied, "I'm gonna go look around and shit."

Gee nodded as Frank wandered around a bit, looking through the clothes. Gee had kindly told Frank her size, so he could help look for clothing with her. Frank couldn't help but feel special for that. What kind of girl tells a guy her size? Not most. He had shared his sizes with her too, so both of them could look for clothing for each other. It made things a little easier for the both of them.

"It isn't formal, but how about this?" Frank said, taking a plaid skirt of the rack and raising it up to show her. Gee grinned and nodded.
"I love it!"

Frank grinned at her enthusiasm, proud he could help. With a quick toss from him, Gee catched it and lay it across her arm amongst the dresses. He continued looking. He wasn't a quote-on-quote 'fashion guru', but enough time spent looking into bands, reading comic books, and just being high school gave him a little help in finding coordinating items.

"Have you ever been to a house party?" Frank asked after a moment. Gee shook her head.
"I was never much of a socialite. Too overwhelming. People think it's fun to beat on me. Shit like that."
"How about one out of town? Where no one will know you?"

Gee shrugged, looping another dress over her arm.

"Don't know."
"I'll stick with you the whole time. I've been to a few parties. I know people."
"Still. A party is a party. Loud. Scary."
"I promise, you'll be fine. It'll be fun."

She shrugged again in reply.

"There's one next weekend a few town over if you want to go."
"I guess."
"Hey, we can go for a little bit. If you don't want to stay, we don't have to stay, alright?"

Gee nodded quietly, quickly resuming her browsing.

"I'm going to go try some stuff on. Wait for me, alright?"
"I will. I'll be chilling out in the furniture section."
"The chairs aren't for sitting on, Frank."
"Well, how will I know if they are soft enough for me?"
"Jesus Christ," Gee giggled, "I'll be back, alright?"

Frank nodded, heading over to the household area, popping in his other earbud and flopping on a sofa. He leant back, resting his head on the arm of the sofa and closing his eyes. His foot tapped to the beat as he let his thoughts takes over. He needed to start on his homework and shit, he didn't feel like it at all. Homework and schoolwork were bullshit to him. Honestly, most of his teachers could suck his dick. He didn't give much of a shit about school at that current moment. He was going to start a band and it was going to be awesome. And nobody could stop him. I mean, maybe Gee, if she said it was a bad idea. He listened to Gee. She was smart, she had a good head. She was a good girl. He really liked Gee. She was the perfect girl and damn, what if they dated? They'd be perfect for each other. And he was excited about the party next week. Maybe they'd be able to go as a couple. Everyone was always like 'You'll never get anyone, Frank'. Well, look at him. He found his dream girl. They could all suck it. He was perfectly capable-

Frank jumped at the sudden tap on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and took out his headphones. Gee smiled down at him.

"I picked one out. Lindsey doesn't usually let me make my own fashion choices when it comes to big events like this, but I think I made a good choice."
"Can I see?"
"Nuh-uh," she giggled, holding all the dresses to herself, "I'll tell you; it's pink."
"Yeah, that definitely narrows it down," Frank chuckled, "Well, I have to see it if I'm going to pay for it."
"I'll pay for it. I want it to be a surprise."
"Alrighty. I'll wait here."

Gee nodded and giggled again, scampering away. Frank smiled, laying his head back and chilling out on the couch. He opened one eye, glancing over at another guy sitting on a recliner typing on a phone.

"Hi," Frank said. The guy looked up and glanced back and forth, before settling on Frank. He gestured to himself. Frank nodded.
"Hi."
"You waiting for someone?"
"Yeah," he said, stretching, "Ry is taking a little bit in the changing room."
"Yeah. Gee is pretty quick, so she's already checking out. But, knowing her, she'll get distracted and run back in with a new idea."

The guy laughed.

"I know how that goes. Name's Brendon. Ry and I are up here visiting some friends. They're holding a party next weekend in New York, and they said they wanted some friends from Vegas to 'spice it up'. Guess we're the friends from Vegas."
"Oh, the one around Albany?"
"Yeah, that one. You going?"
"Hell, yeah! Oh, shit, I should introduce myself. I'm Frank. The chick over there checking out is Gee."
"Well, I introduced myself. Ry's in the changing room."
"Hey, Brendon," a small voice squeaked out from the changing room. The door opened and a small person, Frank wasn't quite certain whether said person was a girl or a guy, stepped out. They smiled at Frank, "Oh, hey. I'm Ryan."
"Ryan, this is Frank. Frank, this is Ryan," Brendon said, gesturing with his hands.
"And I'm Gee!" chimed in Gee, who had just arrived back. She tumbled over the back of the sofa Frank was sitting on, awkwardly landing on Frank. The four laughed, as Gee set down her bag of purchases next to the sofa. Ryan lightly sat on Brendon's lap.
"So, you guys from around here?" Ryan asked. Gee nodded.
"We've lived here all our lives."
"So, you guys could show us around and stuff?" Brendon chimed in with.
"Sure," Frank said, adjust himself so he could sit up a little bit while Gee sat on his lap, "There's not much here in town, but if you don't mind travel, I could show you a few places."
"That'd be great!" Ryan cheered. Frank grinned.
"So, first question, anyone here up for some pool?"