Dangerous Love (Izaya Orihara x OC)

Chapter 9

"Ta-ka-ra!" A curvy young red-head bounced up to the Japanese girl, flinging her arms around the brunette's taller body.

After she was startled for a moment, she returned the hug. The two young women released each other, and shared a laugh. The red-head was only a few inches shorter than Takara, not having grown since the last that she saw her. Her blue eyes were wide with a glimmer of excitement.

"I'm so excited! You're getting married! Ah, I can't believe it!" She squealed in English.

Takara laughed. "I know, right? Thanks for being here, Cole."

The red-head, whose name was Cole, scoffed. "Like I would miss this. Among the top three most important things about your wedding, getting the dress and the bachelorette party are tied for second." She lifted a finger pointedly. "Plus, I need to keep you from picking out something horrendous."

Cole took pride in her sense of fashion. More often than not, the two would go shopping together and the American girl would practically find her a new high-fashion wardrobe.

"Jeez, your sense of style hasn't even changed since college." The girl raised a finger to her chin as she examined Takara's clothes.

"Hey!" The brunette pouted. "My style isn't that bad. It's not like I have the desire to put in all that effort that you do in your hair every morning."

"I definitely don't wake up like this." Cole tossed a perfectly curled lock over her shoulder. "But we can bet this is going to last the entire day. Are we waiting for anyone else?"

Takara nodded. "Lou said he could be here and I'm going to Face-Time my friend in Japan."

"Dang, Takara." Cole grinned. "You've got like the fashion police on your side."

"Who else would I invite?" She responded sarcastically.

At that moment, a flamboyant young man walked through the door in a confident manner. He wore feminine clothes, consisting of a crop top and jeans. His dark hair was styled fabulously as his skin was perfectly tanned. He ran a dramatic hand through his thick hair. "Sorry I'm late, babe." He kissed her cheek as he spoke with a feminine voice. "You're as gorgeous as ever."

"Thanks, Lou." The brunette grinned.

"But babe, lemme see that rock." He lifted her left hand. "Damn, girl. This one's a keeper."

The two girls erupted with laughter before Cole commented, "I mean, if you ever don't want that ring, here's a taker." She raised her hand jokingly.

"It's not like I plan on being with anyone else." Takara said.

Lou and Cole exchanged a look as the red-head exclaimed, "Let's go raid this place."

Lou agreed and looked to Takara. "What's our budget?"

"Well..." She hummed. "Izaya said there was no budget, but I think it would be good to stay under five-thousand dollars."

The two Americans sat her down on a couch with Lou instructing, "Stay here, honey. We'll have every dress you'll need to try in no time."

Half an hour later, one of the women working at the dress store brought Takara white wine and her English-speaking friends brought numerous dresses for her to try. Thus, the girl contacted her overseas, headless friend via a smartphone app that allowed both video-chat and messaging.

She introduced Celty to her friends as a 'mute' character, and while neither friend questioned her eared helmet, they attempted to hide their confusion.

"Okay, dress one." The brunette stumbled onto the platform in front of a wide full-length mirror. The first gown that her friends chose was a tight-fitting ivory dress. It hugged her chest and waist, highlighting her curves. But she struggled to walk and felt extremely uncomfortable.

Lou whistled dramatically. "I wish I had your body, babe."

"It's so tight..." She whined.

"Here's what we need to do." Cole began. "Your body is great, but you're struggling in that dress. Try one of the mermaids or drop-waists."

"What does that mean?" The brunette furrowed her brows in confusion.

A sound emanated from her smartphone where Celty's helmet was shown. The device displayed the words, "Slim-fitting at the top, loose or fluffy at the bottom." It was written in romaji, so only the Japanese girl understood what she was trying to say.

"Thanks, Celty. You speak my language." She grinned.

The next gown that Takara tried on was an all-over lace drop-waist dress. It was slightly off-white to compensate for its very traditional appearance. She felt much more comfortable in it than the previous one, too.

"It's pretty..." She trailed, unsure what else to say.

"... But it's too plain, honey." Lou finished with his index finger and thumb caressing his chin.

"Yeah..." The brunette agreed, and then retreated to the dressing room to put on another dress.

Next, she emerged in another all-over lace drop-waist gown, but this one was pure white and had straps with an open back.

"Ooh." Lou hummed.

"The open back is sexy." Cole added.

Celty typed a message on her smartphone reading, "You look great in the open back. But I don't think the lace is your thing."

Takara nodded, and was immediately demanded for a translation by her American friends. "Yes to the open back, no to the lace."

Cole's blue eyes shined dramatically as if the gears in her mind finally clicked. She rushed in the direction of Takara's dressing room and disappeared behind the curtain.

"And... she's off." Lou blinked.

"I know which one she should try on!" The red-haired girl shouted. Within a minute she emerged with a white gown hanging from her hands. "This one!"

Takara agreed, and minutes later, she stepped onto the short podium with a brilliant smile.

"Ah, you're glowing!" Cole exclaimed.

"Babe, you look gorgeous in that dress." Lou agreed.

Beaming, the brunette twirled in the gown. "Yeah, I think this is the one."