Rise

Chapter 32

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Here's to the nights that turned into mornings

with the friends that turned into

family.

*********************

An hour later, me and Leia meet at the cafe. I've just finished telling her the news about Han asking me to the dance.

The words have just left my mouth, and I watch Leia's face, awaiting her reaction. I'm smiling uncontrollably.

Leia is silent, though. She looks like she's staring through me and not at me, and she's holding the drink that she ordered halfway to her mouth. I see her take a sharp, quiet breath.

I'm still smiling, but I wonder what's wrong. Leia looks stunned. "Leia? Did you hear me?"

She seems to snap out of something, and she abruptly lifts her gaze to meet mine. "What?" Her voice is somewhat cold, and I'm a bit confused by it. "Oh, yes, I did; sorry, I just spaced out." Seemingly aware of her tone, she seems to relax as she gives me a smile. "That's awesome. Seriously! And he just, like, came up to you?" She's grinning as she leans forward, listening.

I'm a bit bewildered, but I brush off my confusion and nod excitedly, my concerns swept away by euphoria. "Yeah! I couldn't even believe it." I'm a bit breathless; my happiness is still pounding through my blood.

Leia laughs a bit, and abruptly looks down at our trays of food. "Are you done with your food? I can throw our trays away, if you want." She offers.

I nod. "Yeah, sure, thanks."

In one quick motion, Leia has the trays in her hands and she's up out of her seat, walking away. While I wait for her, I relive the moment, in my head, of Han asking me to the dance. I know it makes me sound like a little girl, but I'm just so full of excitement and joy.

Leia comes back, and she grabs a napkin from the table, sniffling before blowing her nose. "Are you getting a cold?" I ask. I had some medicine in my room for a cold, if she had one

"Uh, yeah, I think so."

"Do you want me to get you something for it?"

"No, no, no. It's fine. I don't need--" she sniffed again--"I don't need anything."

Her eyes are a bit red, and I worry that she's sicker than she's letting on. But I trust what she says and nod.

After a minute of silence, Leia gets to her feet and says, "Hey, you know what? Let's go to my place and find a dress for you to wear. I have a ton that you can borrow." She says, starting to grin.

I get out of my seat. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously! Come on." She answers, and I follow her as she walks off.

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We walk into Leia's quarters, and I briefly wonder what color my dress should be, what fit, what style. I've never been to a dance before, and I've never worn a fancy dress or done my hair in a fancy style. My typical attire is simple, somewhat dull clothing. Anything I can fight in, really. My hair is always worn down, flowing down past my shoulder blades. I've never been that good at doing fancy hairstyles on myself.

"Here, I'll bring all the dresses I have out of my closet, and bring them into the living room." Leia says, walking into another room. I sit down on the white sofa that's next to me, and I try to contain my smile.