the secret » david dobrik au

T W E N T Y - F I V E

"You are aware that an hour drive to your aunt's house doesn't really qualify as a roadtrip, right? Why'd you bring snacks?"

"I like snacks," I shrugged, mouth full of cheese-its. He was such a hater. "I didn't eat lunch today."

He frowned at that piece of information and asked, "Well, why not?"

"Didn't have time. Had two exams," I informed him. "I was in the library for the entire time between my two classes cramming. Then, I think I failed my last test so I wasn't really hungry afterward."

"Babe, you need to start eating actual meals," his hand moved to hold mine. It was sweet. He was that kind of boyfriend, always making sure I was taking care of myself. Some days were just off days, and since David became my boyfriend, I'd had many. Something wasn't fully clicking in my brain regarding giving myself fully to the relationship. It was triggering a bit of past trauma the more I thought about it.

David didn't know that was what was bothering me—I'd never tell him the idea of a real, committed relationship scared me so much that I wanted to push him away and run for the hills—but he could tell something was up.

"I'll eat at Lydia's," was all I could reassure him.

The ride was pretty quiet. David's playlist was a mix of top forty radio, rap, and artists like Lorde, Clairo, and LANY that he learned from me. It was almost scary how much I had infected his life, though this had happened way before we started dating. David told me, the first time a Lana Del Rey song came on shuffle, that his playlists were mostly party music, and he liked that I showed him people to alternate with.

I remembered the smile growing on my face as he nervously tried to explain that he actually did like my music, even though he loved to complain about it when he gave me the aux cord. Looking back, I can't believe I didn't know it then. I was so fucking obsessed with him at that point, nothing he could've done would make me turn away.

"This is it, right?" David confirmed as he pulled into the driveway. Lydia's house was nice; she was the only child left when our grandma died, so she got a huge inheritance. We used to cram into a two bedroom apartment, but she wanted a house once she got the money.

It was white and two story with a black door and a big front porch. She put rocking chairs outside for decoration, but I couldn't even remember a time we had used them. The best thing about the house was that Simon and I got our own bedrooms; sharing a bedroom with your twelve year old brother for almost a year was not ideal. A high school aged girl needed room to breathe.

"This is the place," I nodded, sighing as I climbed out of the car. I was tired and a bit hungry and honestly not ready for Lydia's overexcitement. She already had a big personality, but when it came to things she liked (like dressing up), she could be too much. I had experienced it while shopping for my freshman homecoming dress (never again), and I knew I was going to experience it today. "Let's go."

It was going to be a mess.

Lydia was exactly how I expected her to be when we walked through the front door. First of all, she was completely enamored with David; his phone call to get her approval must've put him at the top of her list. She hugged him before she hugged me, then she grabbed my necklace to stare at the lion pendant. She squealed, "I love it! It's just so Evan!"

She sat with him to chat as I tried on dress after dress. I couldn't tell you why she kept so many of these evening gowns instead of selling them or donating them; I was pretty sure she was past the time where she'd get any use out of them.

Strapless hot pink satin-y dress: ugly, too cold, and a bit tacky.

Lilac lacy dress with a slit up the thigh: slightly too big for me everywhere, so it sat like a sack on my body.

Mermaid style black dress with a bunch of rhinestones around the bust: no. I didn't have an hourglass figure, and the mermaid style looked ridiculous.

Vibrant red, off the shoulder, long sleeved dress: sleek and classic, but it just wasn't right. Plus, the shoulder part was a little too tight. If I raised my arms up too high, there was a chance I'd bust out of the dress.

I was sweaty and exhausted by this point in the evening, and I had pretty much given up on finding a dress and attending this formal, which was now only three short days away.

I went to lay on the couch as Lydia rattled her brain. She had many other short dresses to try, but David told her it "wasn't a semi", whatever that meant, and I'd look "out of place", so she vetoed all of those.

She suddenly gasped, getting all of our attention. Even Simon, who came to join us after he gave up on his mansion in Minecraft. It's just not coming together—his words, not mine.

Lydia smiled, "I have the perfect dress for you. Hold on. Oh my god, how could I have forgotten about the dress?"

We could hear hangers screeching against the pole they were hung on as Lydia dug into the depths of her closet to find the dress, whatever that dress may be. After a few moments of searching, she squealed, signaling to us that she found it. "Come here, Evangeline! Now!"

"I'm coming, jeez," I was too worn out to fight. I made my way into her bedroom, and for the first time that night, I smiled at the dress she held out for me. It was a simple white dress, very lowcut, but over top laid a sparkly mesh layer with stars all over it. It was way more me than the other dresses, that was for sure. "Where were you hiding this one?"

"Completely forgot about it! It was a Halloween costume my freshman year. A very fucking expensive Halloween costume."

"You went to a frat party in this?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. The white dress looked absolutely pristine.

"Oh, no, baby. My boyfriend freshman year was a member at a country club, and they had a Halloween weekend ball thing," she explained, passing it to me. "Try it on. That'll be incredible. This is the one, I feel it."

She left me alone to pull it on. As I looked in the full length mirror hung over her bathroom door, I grinned at my reflection. This was the dress.

I made my way into the living room, smiling when David's jaw just ever so slightly dropped. Slowly, his dumbfounded expression turned into a smirk, and he nodded. "Yeah. We got it."

"Yay!" I giggled, honestly just thankful I wouldn't have to try on any more dresses. I wasn't cut out to be a girl.

Lydia made us spaghetti for dinner, and with a hug for my little brother and my favorite aunt, we left, my formal dress slung over David's shoulder.

The dress situation was fixed... I just had no clue how I was going to survive a dance. I didn't go to any school dances past my freshman homecoming because that was a nightmare in itself.

I sincerely hoped David didn't like to dance. My hopes did nothing for me, I quickly came to realize by Saturday night. They really never did.

Hi ive been having good days recently and i hope u have too :)) thats why i havent been writing as often bc im not so worried about it!!!

Also read sharp objects!! Its an actual book not a wattpad book but i just finished it and i really liked it !!!

Xoxo abby