Both Harry and I are too tired to continue much a conversation after we generally settle things between us, so we both go back to bed wordlessly, but this time, Harry returns to the guest bedroom. I think he could sense my apprehension when I saw him walking towards my bed, so he decided just to give me some space and let me sleep alone. I'm thankful he did that; I honestly don't think I could sleep if he were behind me. I love sleeping in the same bed as Harry, but I kind of think that the existing tension between us right now might just keep me on edge all night, and I really don't want to have to deal with that.

Though the present conflict has been somewhat resolved, I find that my evening is spent restlessly staring at the ceiling for far too long. It's stupid, really. When I was talking with Harry about his formal and all that other shit, I was literally about to fall asleep on him towards the end, despite the anger I was feeling. But now that I'm actually in bed again, I can't sleep. I'm too worried about what Harry is hiding from me to sleep, and I'm kind of pissed about it. I hate that he is causing me so much unrest, because it genuinely isn't fair. He's probably sleeping just fine with the ignorant belief that he tamed my crazy and settled his own problems.

Well, to that, I say a big fuck you, Harry... No, I don't, actually. He was kind of sweet tonight, and I shouldn't forget that. Though his idea of me a some helpless child is somewhat offensive, I know that he doesn't mean it to be offensive and that this is just his way of trying to show me he cares. I get that, and I shouldn't hold it against him however much I may want to.

See, that's very rational thinking, right?

However, with that being said, Harry really needs to realize that I'm not someone he should feel obligated to protect all the time. I am his equal and he should see me as one.

The next morning, Harry and I tread lightly around each other. He seems to not want to upset me, and I frankly can't find the maturity to act like a normal human. Part of it is exhaustion, but part of it is the simple fact that I'm currently working through these trust issues.

My parents don't seem to notice though. Harry and my dad get along so famously that my weird behavior isn't really noticed. I mean, my mom probably notices because moms notice everything, but she doesn't say anything about it.

Harry leaves shortly after breakfast, thanking both my my parents and then turning to me as they leave us alone outside to say our goodbyes.

Harry looks at me cautiously, taking his bottom lip between his teeth before forcing his tired eyes to meet mine, "Are we okay?"

I think for a moment before replying, deciding not to cause a thing right before he leaves to go spend the day with his parents, "yeah."

It'd be better if you weren't so damn secretive.

That's the problem with these mysterious boys: they're mysterious because the fucking hide everything. It's intrigung at first, but eventually, being straightforward is much more attractive than any mystery ever could be. The stress really just isn't worth it; trust me.

Harry frowns, unconvinced by my lack of enthusiasm, "Are you sure?"

I sigh and manage to keep myself from rolling my eyes, "Yes, I'm sure. Don't press it."

Harry huffs in frustration, but concedes to my wishes, "Okay, well.. thank you for letting me come here. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," I mumble, crossing my arms and fixing my eyes on the concrete.

A silence falls over us for several moments before Harry clears his throat and speaks again, "I– I'll just be going then. I, um, I'll see you on Monday."

I look up at Harry as he steps towards me and wraps me in quick hug that lasts no more that three seconds. His arms are stiff and he doesn't hold me to his chest like he normally does. Our embrace isn't much of an embrace, actually... It's kind of awkward if I'm being honest.

Harry climbs into his truck and I begin to head back inside before he even pulls away. A few days without Harry will be good for me, I think. It'll give me time to think and simmer down just a bit before seeing him again on Monday. I will spend my time with my parents and my friends who are in town to get a clear head, and everything will be fine.

As soon as Harry leaves, I come to the realization that I must now locate the whereabouts of a kickass formal dress that will slay not only Harry's life, but also the lives of all his friends. I've never met any of them before, and I'll be damned if I don't make an the greatest first impression any of them has ever seen. That's probably a bit dramatic, but whatever, I'm in a mood.

I text Alex and ask her if she would be willing to go dress shopping with me at some point today. Of course, she agrees and tells me she knows of a place that is selling dresses with some bangin' Black Friday deals. Alex picks me up and we head to the store, during which time we chat about our weird families and all the good food.

When we arrive at the dress shop, there are a lot of people crazily sifting through the hundreds of dresses, not giving a care if they push people around in the process. After pulling a few dresses, Alex and I stand in line for the dressing room.

Several minutes pass before Alex finally turns to me with her hands on her hips, "Okay, what's the deal with all this?" She gestures wildly towards me, and I can't help but look at her confusedly.

"You just gestured to all of me," I frown, looking down at my outfit. I mean, yeah, it's not my greatest look, but I really don't think that it warrants a call-out like this.

Alex rolls her eyes, "Oh, come on. Why are you in such a sour mood? Just the other day, you were giddy to talk about Harry, but after spending the day with him yesterday, you're all sad and pissy."

"Wow, tell me what you're actually thinking,"I retort dryly, wishing she hadn't brought Harry up. I was doing a decent job of not thinking about him, but now I am being forced to.

"Well, you're acting weird, so I can only assume it's because of him," Alex reasons, backing me into a metaphorical corner from which I am certain I cannot escape. I don't want to talk about Harry and his secret formal, but I suppose Alex is not about to give me a choice about it.

Sighing, I shift the heavy dresses in my arms and tell Alex of Harry's lack of communication regarding his formal as well as that odd moment last night when Harry neglected to say outright that he wasn't hiding anything from me. Alex listens intently as I speak, and to my surprise, she doesn't say anything even remotely close to "I told you so." Instead, she shoves me inside the newly vacant dressing room and announces that she will be right back.

Confused but accepting of Alex's sudden strange behavior, I begin to try on the dresses we have picked, but to my disappointment, none of them fit me correctly. One is too loose on my waist, another is too tight on my arms, and one of them was way too short to be considered an evening gown. As I'm quite literally peeling off the last of my horrible dress options, Alex opens the door and rushes inside, clutching a dress tightly behind her back.

Looking at her skeptically, I shimmy my way out of the ridiculously tight dress I have tried on, "Thanks for knocking. I could have been naked."

I am reminded of Harry yet again by own words. I didn't really react much when it happened, but I still can't believe he saw me butt-naked after my shower last night. Embarrassed by the memory, I turn away from Alex and begin hanging up the dreadful dresses that didn't work.

"I have something for you," Alex says, and judging by the tone of her voice, I can tell that she is definitely up to something. I turn around to face her and see that she is holding out a forest green colored dress to me. The fabric is shiny like– wait, no. I can't possibly pull that off.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I look at the dress fearfully, "Is that–"

"Silk," Alex answers for me, and I internally wish that I were anywhere else. Yeah, in theory this dress is probably a great option, but I'm literally not hot enough to wear something like that. That's Harry's thing, not mine.

"That's not going to work on me," I tell her, bending down to pick my shirt up from the floor. Alex sighs at me and snatches my shirt from my hands, shoving the green dress into my chest.

"Well, it won't if you don't try it on," she huffs, clearly annoyed at my rejection. "Look, Camryn, if you want to make an impression on both he and his friends, you're going to need a statement piece like this. And besides, didn't you tell me he wears silk shirts or something?"

I nod, remembering the many times I have gushed to Alex about the way those shirts hang so perfectly off Harry's perfectly sculpted chest. He just looks so damn good in them that I can't possibly begin to compare.

"Perfect," Alex concludes optimistically, "then this will be your message to him that you're hot stuff and he shouldn't mess it up. Show him up in his own fabric, honey."

With a sigh, I feel the slick fabric between my fingers and decide that it definitely couldn't hurt to try it on. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

Placing the hanger on the hook, I unzip the back of the dress and step into it. After I move the thin straps up over my shoulders, I turn around and let Alex pull the zipper closed. As she does this, the dark green fabric is stretched snugly across my waist and hips, and to my surprise, I don't hate it. The neckline is low and tight over my breasts and there is a slit up  the left thigh that nearly reaches my hip.

I'm gonna be honest, y'all. I kind of look exactly like one of those girls from the James Bond movies, and I'm kind of loving it. If I end up getting this, Harry is going to have a fucking fit.

I try to fight the ridiculous smile that is threatening to overtake my mouth, but fail miserably. Alex is right once again, and I am just waiting for her to gloat. This time, she obliges my expectations and literally pats herself on the back.

"I fucking knew it would work on you," Alex praises, looking at me with an absurd amount of excitement in her expression. "You're going to slay Harry's entire life when he sees you in this, for real. I think if you could get a few drinks in him while wearing this dress, then you could get him to tell you anything."

Needless to say, this little statement seizes my attention, so I tear my eyes away from my reflection in the mirror and look at Alex, "are you serious? Do you think that would actually work?"

Alex shrugs, leaning up against the dressing room wall, "I mean, I was kidding, but now that I actually think about it, yeah, it might. You look smokin', so I don't know what could possibly distract him from his complicated web of lies more than you."

With a nervous laugh, I turn around to look at the back side in the mirror and see just how open the back is, "I wouldn't call it a web of lies, but there's definitely something to be learned."

"Web of lies sounds good to me," Alex smiles and then twists her facial expression to be one of intense thought. "Or I could say he's sitting on a throne of lies; it's your choice."

We both laugh at her Elf reference, and I study my reflection in the mirror one more time, "I hate to admit it, but you were right. This dress is perfect."

"Damn right it is," Alex gloats with a proud grin. "He's literally going to go insane when he sees you, and so will everyone else for that matter."

Her words make me blush, so I turn away from her and begin to undress again, "do you know what shoes I should wear?"

"Oh, you have to wear your gold heels," Alex states like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "And I have the perfect necklace. You remember that emerald necklace my grandma gave me?"

"Alex," I huff, taking my shirt from her hands and pulling it over my head, "I can't possibly take that from you. It's too much. I'll just wear that Kendra Scott necklace I have."

Alex shakes her head as I pull my jeans over my legs, "no, it's not. I never wear it, anyway. It's too flashy to wear with just a regular dress. But this–" She gestures to the silk dress hanging on the wall. "This is literally what that necklace was made for."

She does have a point. If that necklace was made for anything, it would be for this dress. But what if I lose it? No, no, no... it's too valuable for my peasant-self to even thing about wearing.

Though I intend to turn her down again, that is not what comes out of my mouth.

"Are you sure?" I ask, and suddenly, I realize just how much I actually want to wear her grandmother's necklace.

"Of course," Alex waves me off and opens the door, allowing me to walk out in front of her with the dress in my hand. "I can't have my best friend wearing something like this with no bling."

With that as the final word on the topic of the expensive necklace, I purchase the green silk dress for far too much money and we leave the store. I can't explain it, but with this dress, I have this insane sense of girl power or something. Like, I just feel like I'm going to look so good that Harry won't know what to do. And it's not even that I'm dressing up for him; I'm excited to feel confident in myself, and I think it's going to be a fucking awesome night.

•••

I wish I felt that moment when you go shopping and try on the most perfect dress ever, but sadly I don't think that's ever happened to me lol has anyone had an experience like that?

Sooooo I decided to put yet another thing on my writing agenda, and I have started this thing called "Song Tag" which is like just imagines and one shots that are inspired by songs that y'all request. I'm uploading the first one when I post this, so go check it out if you like "Woman" by HS (which I'm sure you all do) bc that's the first one

Also, I got a Twitter, it's @lipsthatlied and I have zero followers bc i don't know who to follow so pls help

Anyways, thanks so much for reading! (We're approaching 9,000 reads and I'm kind of losing my shit, thank y'all so much!) please vote if you can! :)
-kate💖