Gone

"Welcome to Dennington State High," Miss Bailey said with a friendly smile.
I glanced up the front of the classroom to see Niall standing next to the teacher. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his faded blue skinny jeans and awkwardly shifted his weight from foot to foot.
"Oh yeah, thanks," he muttered.
He didn't look up as he walked down to the back of the classroom and sat down in the row behind us. Amber pulled at my jumper, her eyes wide with panic.
"He's...he's in our class?"
She rested her head on her hands in frustration. She still hadn't told me how they knew each other. It took me until the end of class to realize it was what she hadn't told me. As soon as the bell rung, Amber rose from her seat and sprinted out of the classroom without even waiting for me.

When I finally caught up to her, I grabbed her arm.
"Is that the guy you met in Bali?"
It was just a guess. When she didn't answer, I knew I was right. I wasn't sure why she didn't want to tell me about it though. He was attractive enough, I guess. The fact she wasn't opening up to me about it only made me more curious. I wasn't going to let this one go. I was her best friend. I had a right to know. Besides, I told her everything. Well, almost everything.

***

Amber looked me up and down with a disapproving look as she circled me like a shark.
"Are you seriously going to wear that to your party?"
"Meh, I can go get my jeans and t-shirt out of my bag if you want,"
I couldn't care less about what I wore. It was going to be just another typical teenage party with people I didn't know and who I would more than likely never see again after tonight.
"No way! Come upstairs, I'll lend you one of my dresses," she continued.
I didn't argue. Although I didn't care about what I wore, I had to admit it was nice to have someone fuss over me for a change. She dragged me up the stairs to her room. She yanked her closet open and sorted through her clothes. Suddenly, she held up a short, green, skin-tight, backless dress. I scrunched my nose.
"Hell no," I protested, "I'm not wearing that,"
"You want guys to notice you, to think you're hot?"
I shook my head. If anything I just wanted to blend in.
"But K, you only have one sixteenth birthday," she whined, "besides, people will be arriving soon,"

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and did her best pout.
"Fine! You owe me big time," I groaned.
As I said, too nice for my own good. She clapped her hands excitedly.
"Yay, I knew you'd cave. It's going to look so good on you,"
I rolled my eyes and snatched the dress from her hands.
"Let's get this over with," I muttered to myself as I locked myself in the en suite.
I forced my body into the dress and stood back to look in the mirror. It was then that I realised Amber was right. I did look good in that dress. As I opened the door, Amber's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

"Oh my God. You look...stunning," she said, beaming.
I stared at the floor and covered my face in my hands, trying to hide the huge grin on my face. For once in my life I felt pretty. I was actually surprisingly comfortable in what I was wearing. A wave of warmth shot up my spine. I couldn't stop thinking about what everyone would do when they saw me in the dress. How people would react. Who would talk about me. What they would say. Was I feeling excited about a party? I guess friends really did change you.

Notes

FINISHED!!!!
Chapter Six time :)