Whatever Happens

Chapter 14

"I don't know..." I watched Taylor nervously. "What if I don't like it?"

I was getting ready for the freshman banquet. It was pretty much our only formal event for the year, and Taylor was practically begging for me to let her cut my hair.

"Becca, I promise, you'll love it." She shoved a magazine at me. "See? Doesn't it look amazing?"

The girl in the picture did look great, but she wasn't me.

"It does," I admitted. "But I've never had my hair that short before."

"Don't you want to have a nice surprise for Dean when he sees you?" she tried.

"Dean already likes me," I said, smiling.

"Yes, but does he think you're sexy?" she said.

Blushing a little, I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Wouldn't you like to?" she raised an eyebrow.

I'd been ready to argue almost anything she might say, but I couldn't think of how to answer that. The truth was, I did want him to think of me that way. I knew he liked me. A lot. And he enjoyed kissing me, but I didn't know if he thought I was just cute or if he thought I was sexy.

"Come on," she said, sensing that I was losing my resolve. "If you show up tonight with this hair, in that dress, he's going to think he won the lottery."

I glanced at the black dress, hanging on the door. It was long and sleek, and I was going to be completely uncomfortable in it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn a dress at all, and this was a very fancy one. I might not have chosen it, but Hailey practically forced me to get it when she saw it on me in the store.

Tonight was one of the rare occasions I was going to stick it out and actually wear my contacts. If I cut my hair too, Dean probably wouldn't even recognize me.

Biting my lip, I looked between Taylor and the picture in the magazine. The girl did look really good...

"Come on..." Taylor pushed.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. "Alright."

Looking triumphant, she took the magazine back and set it on the desk.

"You're going to love it," she said. "I promise."

I moved to the other chair and twisted my hands in my lap, vowing not to give in to my nerves and change my mind. Taylor would do a good job. I'd seen a few other people after she'd finished with them, and they had all looked great. And if she was right about me, Dean would love it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feeling completely nervous, and positive that I looked nothing like myself, I made my way to the lobby of my dorm to meet everyone. Dean and Ben were supposed to meet Hailey and then they'd all come meet me.

It was stupid to be so nervous, but I just felt so different. When I looked in the mirror, before leaving my room, I barely even recognized myself. And I'd known what to expect before I looked. Hailey was the only one who knew about any of it, and that was only the dress.

Rounding the corner, I spotted them and took a deep breath. They were waiting for me where Dean said they'd be. Ben and Hailey were talking, and Dean was looking in my direction, but I knew he didn't actually notice me yet.

I walked a few feet and Ben casually looked in my direction. Even he didn't realize it was me.

Finding it more funny than anything else, I smiled and kept walking. When I was about ten feet away, Dean's eyes widened, realizing it was me. About a second later, Ben did the same.