Totally a Vampire Thing || ONC 2024 ||

Chapter 17. Totally a Prom Dress

According to the web, red was the color of the year for prom dresses. Red would be too on the nose though, and the web comforted me that the traditional pastels were also in. But I didn't want pale blues, rosy pinks and dreamy mauves.

I wanted a color that screamed zest of life, because it was something my boyfriend was losing day by day.

Bartolome, who woke up in the middle of the FBI raid, said it was a temporary symptom of turning. His definition of temporary—Not long, Señorita. Thirty years at most—sent me to the aisle with the dresses normally reserved for far more adventurous, voluptuous beauties.

I felt like a mouse sneaking through it, until breath caught in my throat. That sunset tulle! Oh. My. God.

I snatched the dress off the hangers and dove inside the dressing room before my friends could see my bounty. I mean, it glowed orange.

"Zoe!" Esha called. "Let's see what you have there! Come out!"

"Okay," I said, sticking my head out of the dressing room only as far as my neck. "Two questions. Does it kill my complexion and can I wear this in public?"

"That's not a fortuitous beginning," Esha remarked. "Then again, your parents un-grounded you, so maybe you're on a lucky streak."

"Pfft," I said. "I didn't need any luck. I had Cruz.'

When the Nine Lives' incident hit the news, Cruz told the reporters how his poor, sick grandfather shared his suspicions about Freida on his sickbed. Nobody believed the old man, but his amazing girlfriend did! That was how we saved eight hard-working Americans from the human traffickers. Hurray!

After that, Mom and Dad fell over themselves to tell me how wrong they were about Cruz.

Esha made a face. "We all saw that interview, Zoe. Lena might have recorded it and watched it three more times."

Lena giggled. "Could you blame me? It looked like Cruz was on the verge of tears when he talked about Zoe. So insanely romantic!"

"My point is," Esha cut in before Lena could change the direction of the conversation entirely, "there's no need to rub our noses in how you were right, and we were wrong. He's okay."

"Just okay, eh?" I edged out into the open from the dressing room. "W-what do you think?"

All five of my friends gathered around a small stage area, the kind they use for brides. Egged on by their exclamations of, turn around! Swirl! Walk! Sway a little...let us see it in a different light...I stepped up.

Immediately, I had nowhere to hide, alone and exposed.

"You don't need to worry about your complexion," Esha pronounced.

"Really?" I smoothed down the puffy skirts, and they crackled and floated from the static electricity. Gorgeous!

"Because you'll blind the onlookers in this. They won't care about your cheeks."

"Harsh!" Lena exclaimed, while the rest of the girls giggled.

My cheeks flushed so hot, they probably matched my sunset dress if not surpassed it. "To the abyss with the onlookers! This is only for Cruz."

"Cruz likes giant walking mangos?" Esha inquired. "Why don't you try something in powder-blue? Or sage. Sage would be great on you."

"No stinking pastels!" I climbed down and directed myself to a stand that displayed shawls, throws and scarves. "Bright is on."

I needed one, because I loved the dress, but it was sleeveless, showing off my neck and shoulders.

Esha followed me. "Okay, if you insist on this blazing color, then the only thing that can possibly go with it is white. If this is about Cruz, though, do you even want to cover up his hickey? The guy seemed to put a lot of effort into it."