Why Would I Run? Chapter 3

A/N: Ahhhh, I am so sorry it's been so long you guys. :( I feel terrible. It's just… the end of school. Finals. GAH!

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Two weeks later…

"Naaaminee-!" A sweet, soft toned voice called. I picked up my head from my folded arms which rested on the picnic table in front of me. My eyes had to adjust to the brightness of the sky. I must have fallen asleep? "Namine, you lazy bum! I knew I'd find you snoozing down here." Kairi's voice rang in my ears for what seemed like forever… She was panting, so she must have been running.

"Kairi…" I rubbed my eyes to stall while I came up with what I wanted to ask, "What time is it?"

"Don't do that! You'll ruin your makeup…" The redhead glanced at her phone, "Its 4:30. Come on! We got to get you ready for the party tonight!" She grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the table, dragging me. It took me a few seconds to realize what she was trying to say.

"What party?" We stopped dead. A wave of a furious red whipped around to reveal an astonished face what felt like was staring into my soul. "Are you kidding me, Namine? Check your phone!"

I did what I was told. 3 unread messages. "Oh…"

"Yeah, 'Oh'. For god sake Namine, this party is huge! You know that senior Axel right?"

Axel..."You mean the guy with the spiky red hair? Yeah, I know him." Kairi whipped around and started to drag me again towards town. We were headed towards Gazle Peak Plaza, which meant shopping. It must be a big deal… then again Kairi goes shopping for anything.

"Yeah, well he's throwing a party tonight! At his house, or mansion. Anyway, it's got a weird theme. I guess it's like a private prom for Axels' friends and his friend's friends. So, pretty tight party."

"Wait, so how are we going?" This made no sense; we didn't know any high school kids. Except…

"Selphie! Axel is Selphie's childhood friend! She texted me earlier and invited me. Oh! That's right; I think Roxas is going too." We were at the entrance of the Plaza. My shoulder was killing me. My art bag was getting to heavy. "By the way, do you need to carry that around all the time?"

"Yeah, I do. I get inspired by the simplest things. I need my supplies when it happens, Kairi. Where are we going?" The mall was extremely crowded. People were bumping into me every five seconds. "When does this party start?"

"When it gets dark!" We were shouting because it was so loud inside the cramped space. Finally we found the store Kairi was looking for called Flower Skirts. She shuffled to the back of the dress store in her favorite pink dress and her lilac converse. "I found this dress the other day and I knew it was made for you."

"Wow… big store." I mumbled.

"Hello, may I help you today?" I turned to see a sweet looking girl in what seemed to be in her early twenties or late teens. "My name is Aeris. May I ask what the occasion is?"

"Ugh, sure. It's a party. The theme is like prom… kind of strange but—"

"Hi! Can you help us, Aeris?" Kairi (rudely) interrupted me, but it seemed like she knew Aeris. "The checkered one up top, please." Aeris replied with a nod and Kairi and I followed her. "So, how you been lately?"

"I've been alright, just busy with the flowers and Marlene." Aeris called over another worker for a ladder, as the dress, which I still hadn't seen, was showcased at the top of the store in a window for the entire plaza to see outside. As she climbed the ladder I had time to admire and take in the beauty of the store. There were flowers everywhere, showcased in beautiful vases. The checkout desk was a tank filled with coy and lilies. The lighting was dim and made you feel as if you were a princess in your own little world, surrounded by dresses. "Here we are. Is this for you Kairi, or…"

"Namine." I interjected. I realized I never introduced myself. Aeris replied with a nod.

"Yep, this one is for Namine, but I still need to find one." The dress was being pulled down by a feminine looking man with pale pink hair. "Thanks, Marli! So Namine, what do you think?" She and Aeris both held up the dress. It was phenomenal. The dress had a black and white checkered pattern. It had a sweet heart neck with no sleeves and was fitted around the waist. The skirt draped but it moved with every motion that was made by the user.

"W-wow. I, I can't wear this!" There was no way. I couldn't pull off such a remarkable dress.

"Bull crap! Put it on!" Kairi rushed towards me and pulled me in the dressing room with her. "Strip. Now." I stared at her.

"Jeez, no need to sound so creepy…" My tight fitted white dress came off easy.

"Okay. Are you ready?"

"Um, yeah. I think so." Kairi gave me a warm smile and shuffled over to me, dodging my clothes on the floor. "I think you should step into it…" Kairi bent down and opened the dress wide enough so I could step inside. When I did, she pulled it up over my bust, hooked and zipped up the dress. My back was facing the mirror, "Okay, let's look in the bigger mirror outside so Aeris can see it too." Kairi pulled open the door and we both walked out of the fitting room and over to the more brightly lit area with a much 180 degree mirror.

"Incredible." Aeris' voice came from behind. "It fits you like a glove." She was right. Every part of the dress enclosed perfectly around my body. But there was one thing no one had mentioned yet…

"How much?" About thirty seconds passed by of utter silence. I turned around from staring at the piece of priceless artwork to look at Aeris, "How much, Aeris?"

"Well, it's… its seven hundred dollars."

"Excuse me!" All my mind could think of is why Kairi would show me such an expensive dress. She knows I can't afford a seven hundred dollar dress.

"Wait, wait, wait! Don't freak out, Namine!" Kairi flew her hands up and shook them in defense knowing that I was seconds away from freaking out on her.

"I'll give you the dress, Namine. You don't need to worry about it." Aeris whispered. When I turned my head to her from Kairi, she was staring at my body with astonishment. "I've had a lot of people try on this dress and I've never seen anybody that this dress compliments so well. Please, don't worry about it. It's on me."

"I—" She held up her finger to her lips, signaling me to not say anything more. "Namine, don't fight me on this. The money isn't a problem. I make thousands a day from this store. I'll just mark up a few dresses. I have been trying to sell this dress for 6 months. No one has looked as good in this dress as you do. It just… it was made for you, Namine."

"Yeah!" Kairi interjected, "Come on, Namine! If you say no, you're letting an offer of a lifetime pass by."

"Bu—"

"She can't say no. It's going home with her, no matter what." Aeris walked over to me, making a clicking noise with her heels on the mossy stone floor. She bunched up my hair as if to put it in a ponytail, but wrapped it around itself to make a bun. Although, I guess it looked better down, because she let my hair fall. "I'll be right back. It'll be two minutes." Aeris walked away, back into the store.

Something crossed my mind that I forgot to ask. "By the way, Kairi… what kind of party is this going to be?" I turned to her and looked her in the eyes with a serious stare, knowing she wouldn't lie to me if I did.

"Well, there will be drinking… but Axels' dad is a cop, and he knows about it, so you have nothing to worry about!"

"The theme is prom, and there is going to be alcohol? What kind? That makes no sense…" It definitely didn't make sense to me. Hard liquor at a formal prom?

"Well, the theme is prom, but that doesn't mean its going to be like prom. I guess…" Kairi didn't seem sure as to tell me this. And I could see why. I wasn't into stuff like that. But…

"You said Roxas will be there?" Kairi lifted her head from her hands on the table she was sitting at. "Yes. I think so, why?"

"…I'll go."