What if the seven dwarfs never really existed and were just branches of Snow White's personality? Happy for the good days, Grumpy for the bad, Sneezy when under the weather and Bashful around that special someone. What if every time you looked into...
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"Happy birthday, Ava!" I said, as she opened the door.
Upon seeing her outfit, I gasped audibly and she beamed. Clad in combat boots and a short black dress, she was totally pulling off the classy, but dangerous look. I adored it on her. Gazing down at my own black skirt and olive green turtleneck, I could feel the insecurity crawling up my spine.
I'd been planning all kinds of excuses in order to bail on this party, and now I was regretting not using any of them. The reasons I didn't want to come were fairly straightforward. Anything involving parties was first of all completely out of my comfort zone. On top of that, Ava invited all her old friends from school, AKA, the popular squad. That evidently meant a night full of trying to fit in. To make matters worse, Will was invited, and that meant that I had to interact with him, which was possibly the worst part about the party.
As if on cue, I spotted Ted sitting in a corner with his football buddies, undoubtedly talking about things only 'cool' people talked about. There was no place for me to fit in at this party. Or so I thought.
"Lor, my friend Shay came to visit so she could spend my birthday weekend with me. This is her boyfriend, Jace." After introducing us, Ava flew away to ease things out between other groups of people so that the party wouldn't be awkward. She was like an intermediary establishing interaction routes between people who were most unlikely to get along. Great going, Ava.
"Hi!" Jace gushed, and I could already sense that he was the friendly and over-enthusiastic type. Normally, this would annoy me, but the characteristic suited him.
"Ava's told me so much about you,"Shay supplied, subtly looking me over. I tried not to flinch when I saw her taking note of my clothing choice for the day. Ava told me she was into fashion and that she paid a great deal of attention to clothes, so I made an extra effort to look presentable at this party.
There, one more reason why I didn't want to come. I didn't have to have the fear of constant judgement trailing me.
Shay and I had briefly met a few times during theatre practice after school a few years ago. I didn't know much about her then, but now I had to make an effort to know her because of Ava. I wasn't complaining, though. Sometimes it was nice getting to know new people. Sometimes, being the keyword here.
"Weren't you part of the squad before you left?" I asked, motioning to the group of popular kids filling up the end of the room. Ava and Ted were the centres of attention and everyone was fawning over how cute they looked in their colour-coordinated clothing.
Shay rolled her eyes at me. "Clearly I'm not like them anymore. Else, I wouldn't be dating this dork,"Shay chuckled, then swooped in to kiss Jace on the cheek. Jace laughed. "You're a dork yourself, and you know that,"he shot back.
I smiled. Smiling was contagious around Shay and Jace. They tended to have that effect on people. They made you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, not just by their love for each other, but by the acceptance and care they showed others too. In merely five minutes of their presence, my mood had lifted and I felt as if I were truly wanted at that party, even if it was just to entertain the two of them. That gave me enough reason to stay.
