forget-me-nots [h.s.]

ten

Spring 2012 

"So why are you going to this thing again?" Harry asked me as he laid upside down on my bed. His legs hung off the edge due to the fact that his limbs were too lengthy. I looked at him through the mirror as I tried on a third dress. I was getting frustrated, I had this formal at seven and it was now six and I still had no idea what I was going to wear and my hair and makeup was not even done.

"Because Ethan needed a date, and I didn't have plans," I grumbled as I tugged and pulled at the blue fabric.

"Ethan could have taken Talia or something," he muttered tossing a rubber band ball, that he had taken from my desk, into the air. I gave him a pointed look and he stuck his tongue out at me. Harry hid his face as I pulled the blue dress from my body, I pulled on a robe and sat down at the foot of the bed. Harry sat up on his elbows and looked at me. I squeezed his knee and he chuckled.

"You know Talia was going out of town," I began. "She told us months ago."

He huffed. "You know how I feel about Ethan."

We were all friends; Talia, Ethan, Harry and I. We all got on with each other, but Harry and Ethan sometimes had some tension between them. Talia and I chalked it up to the pains and struggles of living with each other. Harry never wanted to cause problems in the group so most of the time he would save his gripes until later when he could get me alone.

I was doing Ethan a favor, that was all it was. He was a member of a fraternity here on campus and wasn't originally going to go this formal but his brothers had talked him into it; he didn't necessarily need a date, but a member rarely attended the event without one.

I smiled at Harry before returning to search the depths of my closet. "What is your deal with Ethan anyway, he is not that bad of a guy?"

"I live with him, Petal." He snorted. "I know what and who he brings home... he is a player and I just don't want your name associated with it."

"My name will be fine," I told him. "Thanks for the concern though."

"Just let me know if I need to beat him up," Harry joked. I stifled a laugh and tugged a pale pink dress from my closet. I held it in front of me and peered into the mirror. I couldn't tell if I liked it. I began to pull the dress over my head and Harry groaned. I turned to see his face deeply buried into pillows.

"I told you that I don't care if you see me in my underwear," I chuckled.

"I care," he groaned, his voice muffled by pillows. "I want to be a gentleman."

"You are a gentleman," I told him as I tugged the pink dress over my head. "But you are also my best friend. I changed in front of Diana and Talia all the time."

"Okay," he said into the pillows. "But Diana is your cousin and Talia is your roommate."

"I'm done, Haz, you can look," I chuckled. I looked at the mirror at the pale pink dress. I've had the dress for a while; I hadn't ever worn it. Every time I tried it on before an event I worried that it was unflattering.

Harry face lifted from behind the pillows and beamed at me. His smile was reassuring and a mild boost to my confidence. I ran my palms over my dress, smoothing the fabric.

"You look gorgeous, maybe I shouldn't let you out of this house, young lady." He joked.

"Okay, Dad," I replied sarcastically.

I examined the look with a scrutinizing gaze. I turned in the mirror and looked at the dress from the side. I sucked in and straighten my back. I didn't like the way the sleeves squeezed my upper arms; the way I could see the curve of my stomach, or the way the dress hugged the dip between my hips and my thighs.