“Oh my gosh!! You have to come look at this dress.” Riley could barely breath she was laughing so hard. She opened the dressing room door and stood with her arms on her hips, puckering her lips. Melony stood at the entrance to the room, her hand over her mouth; concealing her laughter.
“What...is…that?” Melony asked, gasping for breath. The dress was a halter, red at the top that faded into a light pink and ruffled at the bottom with a deep red ruby that was the dress’ centerpiece. The color clashed horribly with Riley’s honey-blonde hair and green eyes.
“You don’t really like that…do you?” Melony questioned hesitantly. Riley stuck out her hand and made a come-hither motion with her finger. Her face was serious until she doubled over with laughter at the idea of actually being seen in the hideous display.
Just then, a clerk that had been watching them from the counter began to walk over.
“ That dress is stunning on you, a good choice.” He smiled and began to walk away. She began laughing again at his remark.
“Are you kidding me? I WOULDN’T BE CAUGHT DEAD IN THAT THING.” She smirked. The clerk stopped, turned and glared at the two girls. His smile turned crooked.
“I didn’t like the way he looked at us Riley, come on lets go.” She pushed Riley back into her dressing room.
“So Mel, please tell me why exactly…”
“Yea, yea I know. Why did we wait till the last minute to get prom dresses? Ya know, that’s a very good question.” Riley interrupted. They really had waited till the last minute. Prom was scheduled for that night, a Saturday at 8:00. It was Halloween night and they had no idea what they were going to wear. It was already noon and they were becoming desperate. Finally, dresses were picked and they were satisfied they would look decent at the least.
“Alright, Riley, you’re meeting me and John at the place a few minutes before it starts right?” Melony asked, walking out to her black Volvo from the mall. “ I definantly don’t want to miss the entrance with you and Skyler. You better be there.”
“I will, I will, don’t worry.” She and Skyler, her boyfriend, had been dating for two years now, and were notoriously late to every school function imaginable. Prom was one exception that Riley, however, was determined to make. Nothing but death could keep her away.
The day went by in a flash and soon Skyler was at Riley’s door greeting her father, corsage in hand. Riley came down the stairs, her deep green dress trailing behind her. Her hair was done up with diamonds placed intricately; her hair was illuminated, a halo hung on her head. Skyler’s blue eyes glistened, full of awe as he stared up at her, following her every step down the stairs.
“You look amazing babe.” That was all he could stammer, he was in shock at how beautiful she looked.
“Thank you” she said, glancing down at her wrist as he slid the perfectly matching corsage over her hand. The two walked out the door to the waiting limousine. She had waited for this night her entire high school career and it was finally happening, she couldn’t help but let out a squeal. She was so excited.
“What was that?” Skyler asked, his brow rising at the sudden outburst. She laughed,
“I’m just so excited,” Riley threw her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead. The driver closed the door and they felt the vehicle pull away from the drive. The ride seemed to be taking longer than expected but Skyler reassured her that it was just the anticipation playing tricks on them. They sat alone, in the back of the large limo for some time before he began to fidget, nerves taking their hold.
“Maybe he got lost and we had to turn around or something.” he said trying to act confident. Riley was beginning to get nervous, she could not, by any means be late! Melony would throw a fit.
“Can you just ask him babe? Please.” She sent him a nervous smile before he inched his way up to the sliding window.
“Excuse me, mister, how much longer is it?” There was no answer. Suddenly, the car stopped. He turned around, “See I told you we would get there.” The door opened and suddenly Skyler was pulled out of the car into the night. His scream echoed outside; she couldn’t move. She was frozen with fear. The seconds seemed to go on for what seemed like an eternity. The silence was finally broken with a scuffle in the distance, followed by another scream.
“Skyler?” her voice was shaky, and barely audible. She crept towards the door. Under a lone streetlight she could make out the shape of his body lying on the ground. Her heart began to race as she sped quickly to his aid. She could see nothing except the pale face of the boy she loved coming nearer with every step. The light glistened off a dark puddle under his limp form and she noticed his eyes fearfully staring at point behind her. She turned around at the sound of a snicker, only to meet the glimmer of a red jewel, “I told you this dress was a good choice.”