|BL∆CK W∆TER|

We followed Harley to the next day. The weather was beautiful this time. Perfect even. The rain from the previous day had soaked into the ground, making the grass glow a healthy green.

It was starting to warm up for the summer, but the breeze that blew past Harley made her hug herself for warmth even though she wore an army green cardigan.

I wish I needed a sweater to stay warm. It's a silly thing to miss, but there's just something about the relief from the cold that a sweater provides. It's a human thing; the need for warmth and the desire for protection. It's just something else that separates me from the living world; something else to remind me that I don't belong there anymore.

Harley and Baylor sat in the swings at the park, watching Cara play. Neither of them had any idea that this was one of their last memories together. They didn't know that this Saturday is the last they will ever spend together. I wonder if they would have changed something if they knew. Would Harley have made an effort towards happiness had she known?

"So what did you and Leslie do yesterday? I didn't get a chance to talk to you about it last night." Baylor asked, obviously trying to break the silence with small talk.

"JT asked me to prom!" Harley blurted out. Not in an excited way, but more of like she was dying to tell someone about it.

Baylor's dark eyebrows scrunched together tightly. He seemed to have no response for once.

"Well he sort of asked me, more like agreed to go with me..." Harley clarified.

"JT? How... How did that even come up?" His words stuttered from shock.

"Well don't seem so surprised that someone is willing to go to prom with me..." Harley said sarcastically.

"No... I'm not. You're great, it's about time someone noticed you. I'm just shocked that it was JT, he's so..." Baylor ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up even worse.

"Popular? Hot?" Harley attempted to fill in for him. "Are you not happy for me?"

"Well yeah, I am, I just wish that it was someone more your type."

Baylor doesn't seem to like the idea of JT very much, although Harley doesn't like the idea of Leslie either, so now he knows how it feels I guess.

"My type? What's my type? Loser, nerd..? I don't have a type because I don't even know what type I am." Harley was getting frustrated again. She seemed happy in the beginning of the memory, well happy-ish.

Baylor quietly watched Harley out of the corner of his eye. After a while, he let out a long sigh. "You do have a type Harley. You like to read, and learn. You're passionate about art and music. You're deep, and JT, he's just a jock."

"So pretty much JT's too cool for a nerd like me?" Harley said sternly.

"No, you're too good for him." Baylor said.

The twins held eye contact for a few seconds before Harley's eyes fell back to the grass. "It doesn't matter anyway, I can't go."

"Did you want to go?" Baylor asked.

Harley took a moment to think. Baylor was the first to really ask her that question; even before herself. "I don't know. I could hate it or love it, I can't know until I go. I've never been to something like that before..."

"Well we could both go then. I'll ask off from work and take Leslie, and you can go with JT." Baylor said. His tone implied that prom wasn't really his thing either.

Harley's face seemed to lighten up a bit. I think she secretly wanted to go this whole time. Her gaze quickly fell back to the ground. "We don't have anything to wear, and you know Ronald isn't going to give us money for prom attire." Harley said.

"I have money." Baylor said.

"No, Bay, we can't spend your money on something silly like prom."

"It's not silly if it makes you smile. I can tell you want to go, so we'll find something to wear."

Tiny tears welled up in Harley's eyes. This time, if I'm not mistaken, they were tears of joy. Even in my ghost form, Baylor's kindness moved me too.

Harley jumped up to hug him.

He held her tight. "We'll go to town tomorrow after school and see what we can find." He said.

"Thank you Baylor." Harley said into his chest.

"Can we skip to tomorrow, when they're shopping?" I asked Josiah. This memory was really making me miss my brother.

"Sure." He answered, then we were in the Jeep.

The Jeep was parked in front of a large building. Several people hauled boxes of clothes into the side door.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"It's a local thrift store." Josiah said.

That explains the boxes.

"I hope this is okay, Harley." Baylor said. Both of them stared at the entrance to the building. "I know they were other people's clothing, but they probably have some nice stuff."

"This is fine. You're right, there are probably tons of dresses." Harley was very fluent with sarcasm, but I believe this time she was being genuine.

"Well, let's go then." Baylor said with a smile.

We all exited the vehicle.

The inside of the store had several racks of a variety of articles of clothing, none seemed to be organized in any sort of way. I guess that's the beauty of a thrift store, you have to look extra hard, but you might find something really unique.

The two teenagers parted ways. Harley headed towards the back wall covered in long racks.

I followed behind her, watching her eyes to see if anything catches them. She walked past a big rack with prom dresses all over it, but didn't even pause to look.

She suddenly stopped so fast, I had to back step to be next to her again. Her hands held a silky, dark purple fabric.

She tugged until the hanger unlatched from the busy rack. It was a dress that hung from the hanger; a very vintage looking dress. Off white lace formed the straps and the chest. Tiny pearls created intricate designs over the lace.

Harley smiled slightly, then ran off to the dressing room.

I thought briefly about her privacy, but then I remembered that she didn't have anything that I haven't already seen a thousand times. So, I followed in after her.

Once the dress hung from her body, she seemed unsure about. She tilted her head to one side, then the other.

It didn't look too bad actually now that it was on her. It fit Harley, like her personality. It was a nice looking dress in its own way. It was unique. It's pretty much guaranteed that she will be the only one with that dress at prom.

Harley turned in all directions, inspecting every angle. I noticed the lace on the back was see through, which was a nice touch. I guess I still have the same taste in clothing as the old Harley.

Harley smiled with approval, which was rare, so I took an extra long look to remember the way it looked when I smiled.

We exited to find Baylor with an arm full of clothing himself. "Find something?" He asked.

"Yes." Harley held up the dress.

Baylor's eyes narrowed, but he smiled wide. "Great!" He said. "I just got this suit and a bow tie. I'll wear my converse so I don't have to buy any dress shoes."

The "suit" he chose seemed to be just a black pair of skinny jeans, but they were nothing short of what Baylor would choose to wear.

He admired Harley's smile for a few more seconds before speaking again. "Well let's go check out kiddo."