"Why don't you wear contacts?" I heard Ginger's distant voice and loud footsteps. I turned around and Ginger snatched my glasses. My eyes widened in alarm and I protested, "Hey! Give me my glasses!" 

I pounced on her and grabbed the glasses before she could pass it to Marya. Anne was still rubbing eye shadow and makeup on my face. She scowled when I disturbed her by chasing Ginger. There was absolute mayhem everywhere. Brushes and bottles of lotions were flying everywhere, hitting and injuring everybody in process.

"Will you guys just shut up and let me do my work!" Anne shouted on top of her lungs, definitely annoyed. Ginger, Marya and I started laughing loudly which made her more angry. She grabbed my wrists and pushed me on the chair.

"No need to be so harsh, Anne," I muttered and scrunched my nose when she applied powder.

"Do anything you want but don't touch my hair!" I slapped Marya's lingering hand away from my wig and she grinned. Anne frowned at us and shoved her sister away.

Finally after applying and rubbing all possible stuff on my face, Anne was satisfied with my makeup. She patted my shoulder. I glanced at the mirror and smiled in content.

"So is this your first date?" Ginger questioned. My eyebrows rose high up at her unexpected question. All three of them stared at me expectantly and I shrugged simply, trying to avoid their gaze.

"Er . . . honestly, it's not my first date," I confessed softly and they gaped at me, definitely baffled.

"What? Then who was your first date?" Ginger asked gingerly while Anne and Marya squealed excitedly. Ginger looked at me with wonder and I rolled my eyes.

"Tell us, who was your first--- "

"Amelia, sorry to disturb you, but here is your dress." Katy barged in the room and passed me the dress. I sighed in relief since I was saved from replying their innumerable questions.

Katy left the room and before the girls could question me, I quickly collected the materials for dressing up and ran into the bathroom.

* * *

I looked at my reflection in the mirror while running my index finger over my makeup. The dress I wore hung loosely at the bottom. It was dull pink in colour, almost pastel, but simple and pretty. The dress was knee length, long enough to be considered appropriate. It was sleeveless and had a cloth belt around the waist. It wasn't the prettiest dress I had seen in my lifetime, but not even the worst one. It was better compared to the other clothes that I was forced to wear during my stay in this small town.

My wig was neatly combed and my face displayed hint of makeup, my face glowing due to the perfect eye makeup and my lips glimmering due to the strawberry gloss. I was always fond of gorgeous clothes and perfect, minimal makeup. I almost hid my eye makeup when I wore the ugly glasses, much to Anne's disappointment.

As I walked down, I could hear Noah talking to Jack, probably about where we were going or at what time we would be back. Noah did not particularly talk about the date earlier this evening. I was excited to see the evening unfold.

Ginger and the twins were watching reruns of Pretty Little Liars downstairs and were eating snacks prepared by Katy. I cleared my throat awkwardly, grabbing the people's attention around me.

"Wow . . . You look really good!" Katy complimented me and I blushed. The twins were grinning at me while Ginger was showering me with more sweet compliments. My eyes were fixed on only one person and that was Noah.

He was talking to Jack and then heard Ginger's sweetest compliments. He looked up at me and his eyes locked into mine. I smiled at him and he returned the smile, his eyes swept over my comparatively small frame.

It was a perfect Cinderella moment which I had experienced a lot before, but today was different. Today I was noticed by Noah.

Noah wore black jeans and a white, linen shirt. He was dressed quite casually and I wondered how he would look in a well-fitted suit. He looked gorgeous and I knew I was falling for him. It sounded stupid since only a few weeks had passed by. But still, I liked him already.

His dark brown hair was falling over his forehead and I resisted the urge to lift them up. I reached the end of the stairs and Noah held my hand. "You look beautiful strawberry, like always." 

I blushed while awkwardly fiddling with my dress and reluctantly tightened my grip on Noah's hand. We were both smiling at each other shyly until Jack cleared his throat and ruined the moment.

"I think you two should go now because I want her by ten sharp. Do you understand, Noah?"

"Yes sir."

"Don't scare that poor child, Jack!" Katy playfully hit Jack's shoulder and I couldn't stop grinning like a fool. 

I slightly waggled my eyebrows and Katy lowered her head. Jack pretended to cough and slipped into the kitchen. We all burst out laughing.

Noah placed his hand on the small of my back and my heart fluttered. He led me out of the house while Ginger and the twins were grinning at me the entire time.

"Come back by ten pm, not ten am!" Ginger shouted loudly and I turned my head. I glared at her while she waved at me. Noah chuckled and opened the car door for me.

"Gentleman, eh?"

He smiled, flashing his dimples and I sat inside. We both buckled our seatbelts and Noah started driving. We did not talk for a few minutes and I already felt uneasiness.

"So . . . where are we going?" I cut off the awkward silence and glanced at Noah.

"To the city," he replied plainly and I just nodded.

I had a feeling that he was mad at me, a tiny bit. Noah's jaw clenched and his smile faded away, indicating that something was definitely wrong. I awkwardly fidgeted with the seatbelt and all possible things I could grab, eagerly waiting for him to start a small conversation. Finally, he opened his mouth and asked distastefully, "Who was your first date?"

"Sorry?"

"I asked who was your first date?" He reiterated and I mentally cursed Anne. She was the one who spilled out all the secrets and talks which are not meant to be broadcasted on radio.

"Erm . . . Anne told you, didn't she?"

He didn't reply, not that I was  expecting him to reply.

"It doesn't matter though, does it? It was my past and just a date," I lied, although it wasn't just a date. "Anyway, I'll tell you. It was with this guy . . . but you don't know him. There's no point explaining."

I quietly looked down as guilt gnawed me in the inside. If I wanted to be with Noah, he should know everything about me which was not at all possible. I couldn't tell him about Zen, not even a bit.

"Hey, what's that?" I pointed at Noah's upper arm which was earlier covered with his shirt, trying to divert the topic. It seemed like a tattoo. I folded his sleeves to take a better look at it. 

"Who's 'J'?" I touched his tattoo that read the letter 'J.' I wondered who it was and ignored a pinching feeling in me which clearly stated that it was someone really special. I meant who would tattoo someone's initials if that person wasn't someone special.

"You wouldn't want to know," He said flatly and my eyebrows knotted in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because it's means Jessica."