SETTLE DOWN, matty healy

Chapter 36: The Sound

Song Selection: prom dress by mxmtoon

Continuing to run my hands through the various dresses in the shop, I sighed under my breath. "Why so sad then? Haven't felt like a princess just yet?" Ryder asked me worried.

"Well it's all almost over, y'know? And college's should be sending out acceptances any day now and-"

Ryder laughed at my sudden worry over something like this. "I don't think I've seen you ever worry about your studies until now? Give it a rest, Emma; you're doing alright."

Anna suddenly popped her head in, beaming at us from ear to ear whilst holding several hangers to dresses. "I've still not finished yet, how are you both not trying on as many as you can! It's the last chance we've got to impress anyone."

I couldn't help to laugh at her enthusiasm. "Considering you're the one talks to everyone out of the three of us, not much we've got to impress," I joked with her to have Anna huff in annoyance. She continued to hold the dresses in her hand tightly before heading off to try them on. Looking over to Ryder to see she had a handful in her hand as well, I tilted my head to her amused. "You too?"

"To keep her smiling? Definitely."

Noticing the comment, I raised a brow to her interested. "So when were you two planning to tell me you're dating?"

Ryder grew flustered over the comment, laughing nervously. "I'm- I'm going to head over to the dressing room and I think you should find something to come along with us." I laughed at her obvious embarrassment as I continued to scan through the various dresses before me.

Shifting through them, I stumbled upon one for a moment in sweet silence. It looked over my budget, but the tag proved it to be the complete opposite.

Here we go again with the clichés, the perfect dress? C'mon really, my life is already one big YA novel; I don't need this too.

Taking the dress along with me to try it on for myself, knowing that if it fit the dress would've been perfect got for me to go along to the dressing room. Trying it on, I fluffed the ends of it for a moment with a small smile. "Hey Emma come out already!" Anna called out.

Coming out to find the two of them already twirling in their own dresses, they stopped to turn to me. "Ah! Just look at you!" Anna called out in excitement. She stepped forward to host my hands in hers, spinning me herself as I couldn't help to laugh at her enthusiasm. "I knew you could clean up nicely."

"Oh, quit it alright," I joked along with her.

The three of us stepped in front of the mirror for a moment as Ryder nodded to herself. "Christ we're a good looking group."

"The best of course," I told her, holding both their hands in mine tightly. "Now c'mon, let's get some ice cream to celebrate the ease this all proved to be."

***

Having some sort of college day at school proved to be it's as much of a bore as it sounds like. Though many of us were using it as a way to cut class, it didn't prove to be all that terrible in the end. I looked over to see Ryder clicking through Snake every so often, looking around to make sure any faculty weren't around while I continued to make out forms for board applications for Poetry Club this year. "How's your pen pal then? The boyfriend you made at that program this summer?"

I laughed under my breath. "I don't know what you mean?"

"The one you told us about that keeps writing to you like some lovesick Nicholas Sparks book."

"Wow you're really comparing me to a Nicholas Sparks arc I-" Laughing to myself at the joke, she rolled her eyes at my amusement. "He's alright. He's got break from school at the moment so the last I heard of him he was going traveling with his family."

She smiled and raised a brow to me interested. "Did he say where he was visiting exactly?" I shook my head to this and she turned back to the computer screen with a small smile to herself. "Interesting."

Seeing Mr. Healy for a split moment, I continued to look back down to the computer screen. "Did you see a ghost or something, Em? You got all pale," Ryder mentioned over to me with a small laugh.

I shook my head to this nervously. "I think skipping breakfast this morning wasn't the wisest decision, that's all." Trying to avert the conversation anywhere else, I looked over to her art portfolio hanging out beside her bag. "Aren't your pieces due this week?"

"Yea but I've had them done awhile ago. Anna helped me put it together over the summer-" She cut herself short for a moment as I eyed her confused. "By summer I mean spring break."

I raised my brow to her interested. "Spit it out already that the two of you were dating while I was out for my program? It's like you're parents hiding some dirty little secret from your past as to not harm the sweet 5 year old you share."

"Whoever said you were sweet?"

"You get my point."

She sighed for a moment, stopping her computer game to turn to me seriously. "Alright, we've been dating for almost a year as of now. It's not like she's very much of of them closet with her identity so I don't wanna really get the word around about it." I nodded understandingly before noticing her smile widened. "God it felt good to finally tell you though. Just pretend you still don't know though, alright?"

I laughed at this. "Alright, alright. Will do." Ryder then continued her attention back to her games as I went to print out the applications for the faculty. Looking around for a moment again, I could see the faculty in the staff room continuing to buzz around. It's been well over half a year since I've spoken to Matty. Neither of us even said hello in passing to the halls which shouldn't bother me as much as it does but-

Of course it does.

Seeing the papers were done printing, I clipped them together before taking my seat again to try and distract myself on trying to find his gaze yet again.