I needed a new outfit for my cousin's wedding. I mean, if I was going shopping then I might as well invite Jamia, it would be rude not to. I mean, it's just a kind gesture. We probably won't even talk much, just strangers at the same store.

"Hey," Jamia said, pulling up in her car.

I looked around before getting in nervously. We drove to the mall and walked into a shop that looked nice.

"So, how have your classes been for you?" She asked as we looked through the racks of clothes.

"Oh, it's been good," I said. "Boring."

"Yeah, I get that," she said. "So, you need an outfit for a wedding?"

"Yeah, my cousin's getting married," I said. "I still just don't know whether I want to wear a dress or a suit, though."

"I think you would look nice in either," she said. "Maybe a suit with a cute bowtie."

"Well, if I'm going to wear a suit then I already have one at my parent's house," I said.

"Or maybe a dress would be good too," she said. "You know, I think a beige would look nice on you. Nice and subtle but classy for a wedding."

"Oh, I'm too pale for beige," I said.

"That's why you're the fashion expert," she said. "It's fall, maybe try some fall colors."

"I have always liked maroon," I said. "It's still warm out so the wedding is outside. I probably shouldn't have waited until last minute to get myself an outfit but it's just been so busy between classes and work."

"Oh, yeah, that's understandable," she said. "Are you planning on doing some makeup or anything for the wedding as well?"

"Maybe some eyeliner, I'm not huge on makeup, I'm not really that good at it," I said.

It was a little awkward as we stood there looking at clothes within a few feet of each other silently. She seemed really nice and it was nice being able to hang out with someone other than my roommate or classmate.

"A-are you buying a dress for something specific?" I asked.

"Oh, a-a ball," she said. "No, not a ball. It's like this weird family thing I guess, I don't know what to call it. It's formal, though. Like long ball dresses and everything."

"Wow, that sounds really cool, actually," I said. "I remember my prom, i loved buying my dress. I really love floor length dresses a lot. It makes me feel like I'm really beautiful."

"You are beautiful," she said. "I may need help with a new ball gown. I was thinking sparkles."

"Sparkles are risky," I said. "Personally I would go with a more undertoned sexy dress."

"I don't know, I've never been a very sexy person," she said. "You, on the other hand, must have people begging to date you."

I blushed, shaking my head.

"No, I guess I've always been a little bit more of a loner," I said.

"You've never dated anyone?" She asked.

"Well, I dated this one girl in high school that I took to the prom but not really much else," I said.

"Oh, was she sweet?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah, she was wonderful, we decided to split for college, she was going out of state," I said.

"And your current relationship status?" She asked.

"I have a boyfriend, Andy," I said.

"How's that going?" She asked.

"Oh, he's really great," I said. "He's great. He brings me smoothies a lot and makes me soup whenever I'm sad."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful," she said. "How long have you two been together?"

"Almost a year now," I said. "We met at the beginning of my freshman year, he was a sophomore. It was really cute, I was thinking about rushing a frat and they had all the booths there. His frat had this dart thing set up and I was really bad. Andy helped me, teaching me how to throw darts. I never did end up rushing but we spent more time together. He took me on dates and to movies and yeah."

"That is adorable," she said. "I was thinking about rushing, it's good for making connections."

"It really is," I said. "I just didn't know how comfortable I would be, there's a lot of stuff to do for it and I'm a little shy and stuff."

"It's not for everyone," she said with a shrug.

I pulled out a simple dark blue dress and held it out for her.

"I don't really do sweetheart necklines, never been a fan of them," she said.

I put the dress back and smiled when I saw a cute shorter dress. It was baby blue with a halter top and an A-line skirt.

"That one is beautiful," Jamia said. "You should definitely try it on."

"Well, why don't you pick out a dress and we can try it on together?" I suggested.

She looked around a little bit longer before picking out a gold dress. We went back to the dressing rooms and both tried it on. I stepped out and looked into the full length mirror. The baby blue wasn't too light with my pale skin so I didn't look completely washed out. It also had a nice contrast with my black hair. Jamia came out with her long gold dress with thin straps, gold glitter starting from the top and slowly thinning out as it got down to the bottom hem.

"You look beautiful, Gee," she said.

I blushed. "So do you. That dress is absolutely perfect. Gold is a hard color to pull off but that looks really nice on you."

"I like that it's not form-fitting, I can get a little self-concious of my body sometimes," she said. "Plus, loose, flowy dresses kind of make me feel like a princess."

"Good, that's not just me," I said. "I love flowy dresses."

We stood next to each other in the mirror and smiled.

"You should get that one, Jamia," I said. "It does look really nice on you."

She smiled, giving me a hug.

"And you look absolutely gorgeous in that dress," she said. "You are gonna kill it at that wedding, take all the attention away from the bride. Maybe you'll even meet a cute boy there."

"I have a boyfriend, remember?" I asked. "Andy."

"No, right, I'm sorry," she said. "I forgot. Is he gonna be your date to the wedding?"

"No, he isn't that close with my family," I said.

"Well, I still hope that he sees you in this dress and thinks you're absolutely gorgeous because you are," she said.

"You're the best," I said.

We got changed back into our clothes and bought our dresses. We got into Jamia's car as we went back to campus.

"So, how long have you and Frank known each other?" I asked.

"Oh, basically our whole lives," she said. "We grew up together, our families were super close. Frank was born an only child but, like, not really. I've got an older sister and a younger brother and Frank is only a few months older than me. We lived right next to each other our whole lives, he was always over at my house and it was absolutely chaos. My older sister was a teenager so she could obviously be bratty. My younger brother is still in his first year of high school so he was young when we were raised. And Frank seemed like he was on crack all the fucking time. He was bouncing off the walls."

I smiled softly. "It seems fun there. It's just me and my brother. He's a freshman here, too."

"Oh wow, that's probably cool," she said. "Frank is like a brother but not exactly. But having an actual sibling that isn't the same age as you but being cool with is cool."

"You're not cool with your siblings?" I asked curiously.

"My sister and I fought a lot growing up," she said. "About hair and makeup and clothes and what belonged to who. I guess now that we're living apart and have our own spaces it is a little bit easier. My brother and I don't really fight I guess but he's just younger and we don't have a whole lot in common. Frank gets along with him, they love to wrestle. They have broken so many lamps growing up."

I smiled as we got to the dorm and she dropped me off. I gave Andy a call as I went to my room and he met me up there five minutes later.

"So, you wanna see the dress I got?" I asked.

He nodded, sitting on the bed. I smiled and got changed into it, doing a little twirl for him.

"Oh, Baby, you look beautiful," he said.

"Really? You think so?" I asked.

"Of course, you're always beautiful," he said, pulling me close.

Andy smiled, running a hand through my hair.

"Oh, you may need to touch up your brown roots before the wedding," he said. "You still got that black hair dye with you? I can help you fix it up, I know you have troubles with the back of your head so much. It really doesn't help trying to do it in the school bathrooms here with just the one mirror and trying not to stain the counter so you won't get fined."

"Yeah, that would really help, actually," I said. "I was going to do it before school but I just didn't have the chance to because I was helping Mikey pack and move. What makeup do you think I should do? I was thinking maybe just some soft silver eyeshadow with lip gloss and stuff. Just simple."

"That would look nice, especially with silver jewelry," he said. "But can I have a favor in return for helping to dye your hair and stuff?"

"Yeah? What is it?" I asked.

"I need you to change into your comfiest pair of pajamas so we can cuddle in bed together all day and watch movies," he said.

I giggled, quickly changing before jumping into the bed with him quickly.

~~

@HeyItsLibby suggested Jamia not tell Frank everything at first but only if Gee is in like immediate danger or it gets serious and other people like that so it has been decided