Backstreet Boy

|Chapter 58: The Pier Opening|

Isabella

"Is that what you're wearing?" I asked Lizzie as she sauntered into her room wearing jeans and a random top.

Lizzie glanced down at her outfit. "Too casual," she muttered. "I don't want to wear a dress in case it rains like the storm we had earlier this week. But I don't want to be too fancy or too casual. What should I go for?"

Lizzie gestured haphazardly to her wardrobe and in response, I scoured through it. I came across a long grey skirt that had a slit up one side. Taking it from the coat hanger, I handed it out to Lizzie and looked through again to find a top. It wasn't long after until I located a lacy white crop top that if the skirt was waist high, the top would only leave about an inch or so of skin exposed between it and the skirt. I handed that to Lizzie at the same time. She exhaled deeply before trudging back to the bathroom.

For myself, I had already opted for a similar style to Lizzie except my skirt was a lot shorter and came to my mid-thigh. It wasn't tight at all, but pleated. And just in case, I put on one of my designer cardigans. I felt that a leather jacket might have been a bit too much. Today at school it had certainly been quite humid and lots of guys were coming in after lunch after playing sports and perspiring so much that it dripped down their cheeks from their foreheads.

"Where's Jason meeting you?" Lizzie queried, striding back into the room with her jeans and top bundled in a heap. She threw them on her bed.

"Near the entrance," I answered. "You look better like that."

"Thanks," she said, "but I love your skirt."

"Birthday present from Abigail."

There was a pause before, "How do you think your parents are? I mean, with being watched and everything."

"Hopefully okay," I breathed. "They know the act normal and not to draw attention to themselves. They won't act suspicious... they'll be fine. I might see them tonight but I doubt I'll actually get to talk to them if they still are being watched. I hope they aren't, and I hoped they meant what they said when they came here. It could have been Jackson's minions who made them say that. They might not believe a word of it. It's so disconcerting to not know what the truth it." I frowned.

"I think they were sincere," she said softly, perching on the edge of her bed. "They miss you, and they know how much Jason means to you now you've been all defiant and everything." Lizzie had a proclivity for soft tones and consoling in times like these. "Just expel the negative thoughts because it's almost six and it opens in half an hour. We definitely do not want to be late. Have you got everything?"

Stepping to the bed, I picked up my small handbag and threw it over my shoulder. Lizzie did the same, but before we could move anywhere, I virtually grappled her and held her in a tight embrace. She chuckled from astonishment before hugging back. "Thank you," I said. "Not many people would have so understood that I was dating a boy from The District, but you always supported me."

"How many times do I have to tell you? We're best friends, and that means something to me. You're not going to lose me over a boy – it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that." She pulled back and grinned broadly at me. "Now, before you make me all soppy, let's go."

She grasped my hand and basically yanked me out of the room with the echo of my chuckle trailing behind me. My car was left on the driveway to Lizzie's house as she drove us. We met her parents on the way to the driveway. They smiled at us and said, "We'll meet you there in an hour. We want to be fashionably late," they said before waving us off.

"Nothing can go wrong tonight," I breathed, leaning back against the seat as Lizzie utilised clutch control to make her way cautiously out of the driveway. "You never said where you're meeting Matt."