The next week and a half passed by way too quickly for my liking. My fingers were healing well, easing only a small fraction of my anxiety. Nationals was coming up way too fast. And with Paul being told to rest as much as he could, it was almost impossible for him to help me practice aside from standing there and giving me tips on how to transition more easily. And since I was still trying to let my fingers rest, I only played it through once or twice a day, which meant there wasn't much practicing. So we usually just ended up going over the sheet music. But it wasn't like I wasn't ready— I just felt jittery whenever I thought about playing in front of thousands of people for the title of best in the nation.

And I was required to dress up. And on the list of things I owned, a nice formal dress wasn't included. And with the contest two days away, I was cutting it close.

Which was why I was currently in a fitting room at Macy's with half a dozen red dresses hanging on the wall. After I'd insisted Aspen come shopping with me, she'd insisted that red was my color. I followed along with what she said, but the first few dresses were so ugly I didn't even bother showing them to Aspen.

"Come out!" she yelled to me. "You've been in there forever."

I smoothed out the front of the dress I'd just slipped into. It was the second to last one and it was boxy and skintight. I hated it. "Why should I bother showing you if I hate it already?" I asked, stepping out of the fitting room.

Aspen eyed me up and down with a grin. "You're hot."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Please."

"Don't you agree, Elliot?" she said, nudging the young man beside her. He looked at me with disinterest before returning his attention to his phone.

I gave Aspen a flat look. What was she trying to do? There was no way in hell Elliot was going to compliment me. He hadn't even wanted to come along until she had a go at him. She really knew how to press his buttons. Either that or she was just so annoying that he'd agreed to come just to shut her up.

"Try on the other ones," she urged, making a shooing motion with her hands.

"There's only one left, the other ones suck. I hate dresses. I don't look good in them. My legs are too short and—"

"Allie, you look fine," she interjected, shaking her head. "We just need to find you the right one. Now go on."

Groaning, I marched back into the fitting room. It took forever to get in and out of dresses. When I finally shimmied into the last one, I immediately began to take it off. It was poofy and there was no way anyone was going to see me in it. My self-confidence was dropping quickly. I briefly thought about buying a pantsuit.

"Allie? Try this one on," Aspen said, knocking on the door.

Only in my underwear, I stuck my hand out for the dress. "This is going to be the last one."

"I hope so," she replied and I shut the door.

Feeling monotonous, I once again climbed into the dress and pulled it up over me. Then I turned around and faced the mirror. I blinked at my reflection.

It looked awesome.

The dress seemed to be made for me. The top of looked simple— tight-fitted with v-neckline— but it also had fabric at the bottom of the v all the way to the waist, making it look like it was wrapped vertically. Then it tightened at the waist with a thin band, and the bottom was ruffled lightly, a few layers on top of the longest. It felt to just above the knee, a comfortable length. I turned sideways to look at my butt and I grinned. It looked great.

This time I strutted out of the fitting room, feeling confident. Aspen clapped her hands upon seeing me. "Ooh!! Very nice!"

"I love it," I told her, twirling the skit a bit. "Where did you find this one?"

She hooked a thumb at Elliot. "He just walked off and came back with it."

Surprised, I turned to him. "You found it?"

"I just grabbed the first thing I saw," he muttered, staring at his feet.

"Well it was a pretty good grab," I responded, smiling at him. "I thought I'd never find something to wear."

"So did I," he agreed. "I thought I'd die here waiting."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Whatever. I think I'm going to stay with this one... oh god I didn't check the price."

Aspen patted my shoulder. "If you can't afford it, I'll help out. This is a very special occasion."

"I should be okay, but you're the best," I replied, going back into the fitting room to change into my normal attire.

The dress ended up being over a hundred dollars and I felt my bank account cry in pain as I slid my debit card. But Aspen was right— it was a special occasion. I could spend a little bit of money without having to feel bad about it. Plus, the dress wasn't completely formal. I could use it for other occasions too.

"I'm going to run to the ATM and get some cash for dinner," Aspen said as we headed out of Macy's. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

She jogged away and I turned to Elliot, trying to think of something to say. Ever since the accident he'd been quiet and kind of distant. Not that I really ever got to see him— I'd taken work off so I could rest and prepare for Nationals. So I was kind of surprised he wanted to hang out. The rare moments I'd been free, he'd avoided me. Maybe now was a good opportunity to ask him about it.

Just as I was about to open my mouth, he held out his hand. "Give me that."

"Huh?"

"Your bag. I'll carry it."

I gave him a puzzled look. "Why? I can carry it myself."

"Right now you shouldn't be putting any unnecessary stress on your fingers," he explained, frowning at me.

"I'll use my other hand—"

"Give it to me," he snapped.

I quickly went from being taken aback to annoyed. I gave him a dirty look. "Don't snap at me."

He scowled at me. "Just give me the damn bag."

"No!"

"I'm trying to help you!"

"Then don't be so rude!"

We had a mini-glaring contest and after a moment he heaved a short sigh. Then another moment later he lowered his head. "Sorry."

"Apology accepted," I responded, handing my bag over to him. "Thank you for worrying about my fingers. But what's with the snippiness?"

He ran his free hand through his hair. "It's nothing."

"Obviously it's something."

"I just don't want to talk about it."

"Aren't we friends?" I asked him, feeling a little hurt. Why wouldn't he talk to me about what was going on? Did it have to do with what he mentioned the other day at hospital? "You're not dying, are you?" I added, feeling my heart tightening.

This started a snort out of him. "No, don't be so over dramatic."

"Elliot."

"Stop worrying about it. I said I'd tell you and I will," he said, searching around us. Probably hoping Aspen was coming back.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You know, by not telling me you're going to keep me so distracted I probably won't be able to play at Nationals..."

"Nice try."

"Fine. Don't tell me. But stop acting like a dick," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "Got it?"

Fortunately he had the decency to look sheepish. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen him with the expression— it was absurdly cute. "Sorry. I'm just a little stressed out."

"I... uh..." I was at a loss for words. Who knew Elliot could be so cute? "About college?"

His eyes focused on something in the distance. "Yeah..."

"If it's school that's got you concerned, don't worry about it! You're brilliant and talented. And everyone is all applying to the same schools, so it's not like you'll have to make new friends. Not that you really know how to make friends anyway."

I expected at least a glare from my crack, but he just shrugged. "What if I didn't want to go to the same school as everyone?"

I cocked my head to the side. "What? You don't?"

"It's not where I want to be."

My heart fell a little bit. Elliot didn't want to go to the same school as everyone? Not that I could speak, because if I won Nationals I'd probably be putting off college for a bit, but still... I was hoping that when I did eventually get there, Elliot would be waiting. "That's up to you, anyway..."

"Would you miss me?"

He'd asked it so quietly, I almost missed it. "What? Of course I would! You're my best friend, Elliot. But I'd hunt you down where you go, anyway. If you're getting yourself worked up about this, don't. We're all your friends. We'll support you." I lightly kicked his shin. "Geez, have more faith in us."

We fell back into silence again and I looked over my shoulder, catching sight of Aspen heading back to us.

"It really suits you," Elliot suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

He lifted the hand holding the bag. "The dress. You looked cute."

I smiled— it was a little strange when he complimented me. It was rare. But that just made it mean so much more. "Thank you."

"Don't get used to it."

"I won't," I responded with a laugh.

"Look at you two flirty-flirts," Aspen commented when she was in earshot.

I sighed heavily. She really needed to shut up sometimes. Why did she still say things like that? Even when she knew he'd liked me? I glanced at Elliot, but instead of looking pissed, he was smirking. Which was different. I didn't know what to think of it. Maybe he was over it?

"It's too bad you're lonely and don't have anyone," Elliot shot back at her.

"Hey, I could have someone if I wanted to!"

"Until you open your mouth."

"You're a little jerk, you know that Elliot?"

"Let's just go eat," I interjected, sending the two of them disapproving looks. But it was a little relieving hearing Elliot banter with Aspen like that. It felt normal.

After we ate dinner, we all went our separate ways, as it was already late and we had school the next morning. I needed to do some extra homework because Nationals fell on Friday, which meant I had to skip school, which meant I had to turn in the work I'd miss early. I kind of just wanted to not do it at all, but I didn't want my grades slipping right before graduation. It was only a month away.

When I got back to Paul's house, I entered quietly, just in case he was sleeping. I heard his voice from the kitchen and snuck down the hall, ready to try and scare him. I paused right before the entrance, hearing him speak again. It sounded like he was on the phone.

"I'll let you who's replacing me," he was saying, his voice weary. "I'm hoping for the best, but with what the doctors said, I can't be sure. I have the surgery on Friday."

There was a pause.

"I just don't know how to tell Allie."

I went rigid. What the hell was he talking about?

"I know. Yeah. Yeah. I love you, too. Bye mom."

My mind was going in a thousand different directions. Replacement? Surgery? Was Paul hiding something from me? Why did he need to go into surgery again?

"Damn," I heard Paul swear.

That's when I decided to enter the kitchen, swallowing nervously. I wiped my sweaty palms against my pants. "Paul?"

He jumped, twisting around to face me. "Allie! I didn't hear you come back."

"What were you just talking about?"

His face fell. "Were you listening?"

"I just caught the last of it— surgery? You have to have surgery?" I could feel my pace picking up. "Is something wrong with your wrist? What are you not telling me? If you're not doing the tour I'm not either. I'll drop out of Nationals right now—"

"Allie, Allie, wait a second," he cut me off, coming over to me and wrapping me in a hug. "Shhh."

I took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm myself. "What are you not telling me?" I repeated.

He pulled back a bit, green eyes searching mine. "I didn't want it to affect your performance at Nationals."

"There isn't going to be one if you don't tell me what's going on," I snapped. "Why do people want to keep stuff from me? It only makes me more uneasy!"

"I'm sorry, it was wrong of us to lie to you," he apologized, kissing the top of my head. "But first let me get this out here— we're only looking for a backup for the tour in case something goes wrong during my surgery."

I stared at him. "And by goes wrong you mean...?"

"If something doesn't heal properly," he told me. "Or if it doesn't heal on time."

"I thought you said it would be fine—"

"It's not a simple break, Allie," he responded, sighing lightly. "If it was it would be no problem, but it broke in multiple spots. They didn't set the bone properly. I've been having more pain than I should be, so I have to go back and have them straighten it. We're hoping this will make the pain recede. That's why we need a back-up plan— in case there's still something wrong or it doesn't heal on time."

His words did little to make me feel better, but my pulse had returned to its original pace. "Are you going to lose your hand?" I asked, trying to make a joke, but also kind of seriously.

"Well, worst case scenario..."

My jaw almost hit the floor.

"Ah— sorry, I shouldn't joke," he said quickly, hugging me closer to his body again. "I mean, yeah I guess that could happen if my wrist swelled up and cut off the circulation, but no. If it heals wrong it'll probably just be painful to move it too much, like it is now. I'm not that worried. I'm sure they can fix it."

I rested my head on his chest. "I don't want to play without you."

"I know, Allie."

"I'll still play at Nationals... I won't let you or Elliot or anyone down," I continued. "But I won't go on tour if you're not with me."

He rubbed my back with his good hand. "I might not be able to watch you perform. My surgery is in the morning, but I don't know if I'll make it in time."

"Just do your best and I'll do my best," I replied, biting my bottom lip. I really, really wanted Paul to be there. But I wanted him to get better more.

"I love you," he murmured into my hair, sending butterflies into my stomach.

I stepped away from him and gave him the brightest smile I could muster. Now wasn't the time to be sad. There was too much going on. We had to be supportive for each other. "Love you too. If you don't make it to the competition, you won't get to see how good I look in the dress I just bought."

"I mean you could try it on for me now..."

I pretended to think about it for a moment. "Hmm... Nope. I'm going to use it as incentive for you to have a successful surgery and get your pasty ass down to the competition."

He grimaced. "Pasty?"

"Unless you wanna prove otherwise..."

"Allie! No way!" he cried, face flushing.

I grinned evilly. "It'll happen one day."

He looked mortified. "Yeah, maybe after your birthday and graduation."

"Hey! I'll be a legal adult in March..." I stopped. It was March. Somehow it hadn't occurred to me, but my birthday was on the last day of classes. I'd been so freaked out and worried about all the other stuff, it'd slipped my mind! I grinned at Paul. "Well, well, well. That's pretty soon."

Paul's face was completely red, as if he'd just noticed that himself as well. "W-we'll see what happens."

"Why? I really want to duet with you."

If possible, Paul's face darkened even more.

I laughed, feeling carefree for the moment. Maybe, just maybe everything would work out.

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Yay an update!!! I'm using my FB more to keep you guys updated, because messages don't really get sent out on here, so please head on over! It's just my name Jordan Lynde, if you search it. Under writer. I also linked it in the external link!!!

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