Note: Please let me know in case the full chapter doesn't show (faced a few glitches along the way idk why)

-FORTY THREE-

My head was throbbing when my eyes opened to the light coming through the windows. It took me a couple of moments to collect myself. I was so cosy right now that I didn't want to get out of bed at all but my stomach had other plans.

I groaned and turned around to check the time and my eyes almost bugged out of my sockets when I realised that it was way past twelve in the afternoon.

I had slept like a baby. It was like a much needed rest from all the exhaustion of the week because of the dance practices and then my own emotional distress.

I let out a big yawn and decided that it wasn't too late to go looking around for a quick breakfast before lunch. I chucked my duvet away from my body when the cool breeze of the air con brushed my bare legs.

Wait- bare legs?

I looked down to see that I was in a black hoodie that was too big to be mine and under that I wore my dress from the party.

Right. The party.

I bit my lip as the choppy memories of yesterday poured in. I don't remember much but the bits and pieces were slowly making their own story and my eyes widened as I realised whose hoodie this was.

My body's reaction was immediate. I slowly felt butterflies taking over my stomach as my heart beat increased. Was it really Kade or was my imagination trying to mock my feelings for him?

I snuggled into the hoodie and took a sniff of it and that just confirmed it. His intoxicating scent was still strong and I might have been looking like a creep with how I was sniffing it. I bit my lip as I tried to recollect the feeling of being that close to him. Sadly, not everything was fresh in my mind but just the bits that I remembered had managed to make warmth pool in my stomach.

And as much as I wanted to freshen up, I didn't want to take off the hoodie just yet.

So snuggling into it further, I decided a few more moments in bed wouldn't hurt.

***

Sadly, my moments in bed hadn't lasted as long as I'd hoped for. Madison, Allison and Mae had bombarded my phone with calls, making me jolt up awake. They had been planning to go shopping for the ball and they wanted me to come along.

Apparently, Allison's mom designed the dresses for the girls in the Elites every year. It was a subtle way to show off her recent collection to the people all the while making everyone look amazing.

I'd be living under a rock if I said I wasn't aware of the couture brand. It was worn by so many celebrities in the award functions and just the thought of being in one of her designs made me feel like a giddy school girl.

Since all the girls had already placed in their orders months back and we all had conveniently forgotten than I needed a dress too, we were going in her design studio today to see if I could get something off the rack that would need only a few alterations. Plus, the girls had their fittings today.

The ball was next week which is why it was even more important that I found a dress today because otherwise I had no clue what I would do.

My phone pinged with a text and I took that as my cue to go downstairs. I chose to wear a simple summer dress, nothing too fancy but dressy enough to look good. I didn't want to look shabby in an expensive designer boutique.

"Oh, hey darling, heading out?" Aunt Grace's voice reached my ears as I descended the stairs. I turned around to see her coming out of one of the rooms.

I smiled at her. "Hey, Aunt Grace. Yeah, I was planning to go around with my friends. That's okay, right?"

She waved her hand. "Of course! You girls should get out and have fun. You're only young once, after all," she winked and I laughed, nodding.

I hadn't been able to spend a lot of time with Aunt Grace and Uncle Mike because of their busy schedules but it felt nice to have a little chat with her once in a while. They had been nothing but the sweetest to me and I knew I was going to be really grateful for them.

"I'll see you later?" I said, hoping to spend some time with her.

Aunt Grace smiled in response. "Of course, sweetheart."

I grinned at her and gave her a wave before making my way outside where the girls were supposed to be waiting for me.

***

"Wow," was the first word that escaped my mouth when I stepped into the designer boutique of Russel Couture. I had to physically force myself to keep my jaw from grazing the ground because of how grand the entire place was.

Pristine and elegant were two words that perfectly described the place.

The inside was built with textured marble accentuated with gold and massive chandeliers making the room glow. There were stunning pieces go clothes placed aesthetically to bring out the beauty of the room and everything seemed so expensive to touch.

I followed the girls as they lead me to the back of the room where there were two people sitting working on what seemed like new designs.

The lady sitting behind the table looked up and I immediately knew that she was Allison's mom, due to the uncanny resemblance. Had I not known that Allison didn't have any sibling, I would have thought that she was her older sister or something with how young she looked.

She had a petite figure and her black hair came down to her shoulders. She was dressed impeccably just as I would image business woman did. A smart blouse tucked into straight pants. She was really graceful.

The moment she spotted us, she smiled warmly and stopped whatever she was working with and came to greet all of us.

"Hey, Mrs. R," Madison was the first one to greet her, followed by the rest of the girls.

She engulfed them in a warm hug one by one before her eyes fixed on me. "Ah, and you must be Kyra. I've heard so much about you," she smiled and engulfed me into an embrace as well.

I was surprised for a second but returned her hug. She was so down to earth.

"It is really nice to meet you, Mrs. Russel," I greeted and she waved it off.

"It is Elle for you," she smiled.

I smiled at her and nodded.

"Anyway, you three go off to the fitting rooms, Susan will get you your pieces. I'll see what to find for Kyra," she shooed off the three of them and turned to me with a smile.

"Let's hunt for something, shall we?"

***

After an hour of scouring and getting loaded with dresses to try on, I was already exhausted. I decided to take a break and chose to watch the girls sashay in their dresses.

Safe to say, all of them looked gorgeous.

Madison had opted for a bold red silk-satin piece that hugged her curves while exposing her back, giving her a super sexy yet refined look. I already knew that she was going to be the centre of attention at the ball. The dress was a perfect match for her personality.

Allison had gone in with a gold piece that made her look no less than a prize. I bet Max would be floored when he saw her in it. Her gown was off-shoulder with gold dust sprinkled all over the tulle that flowed out into an A-line skirt. She looked magical.

Mae on the other hand had stepped into one of the best floral gowns I'd seen. Her's was a halter neck with a flowy skirt that had 3D flowers stuck on it from waist down. She looked like the prettiest flower in a garden. I loved how it somehow managed to reflect her innocence and beauty all in one.

Looking at all three girls made me want to cry with how stunning they were. You know the feeling where you feel pride swelling in your chest as you look at powerful women, especially your friends?

That was me right now.

"You girls look so gorgeous, I think I'll cry," I spoke out my true feelings, looking at them with so much awe.

Mae had one look at my face and she almost burst out crying herself. She launched herself on me and I had to hold myself from staggering.

"Hearing someone as pretty as you say that makes me feel so happy," Mae muttered and I wanted to immediately deny it but I didn't want to seem like I was fishing for compliments. They were all stunning and I came nowhere near them when it came to grace, charm and poise.

"Aww I also want to join," Allison jumped into the hug and I could see Madison trying her best to seem nonchalant but after a few seconds of eyeing the hug, she couldn't resist.

I smiled as she rolled her eyes saying,"Oh fuck it," and wrapping her arms around us as well.

I loved how despite Madison's tough exterior, she melted when it came to her group. For her to show this side to me meant a lot. It showed how genuinely she considered me a part of her inner circle. Not that I had any doubts anyway.

We stayed like that for a couple of minutes until a gagging noise caught our attention.

"Oh look at all the mush. Why do I feel like throwing up?"

Montana's sniggering voice reached us and we slowly detangled. I looked at her looking effortlessly stylish in the most casual of outfits. I felt my jaw tick as she smirked looking at all of us, keeping her pointed eyes particularly focussed on me.

She was looking at me with blatant distaste and it seemed like all her niceties had vanished.

"Maybe it's because your personality stinks so bad," Allison said, rolling her eyes at her.

Montana rolled her eyes. "Great comeback Allie, I feel so hurt."

"Why are you here?" Madison cut to the chase, crossing her arms defiantly and glaring at her.

"Why do you think, Maddie? I'm here to try on my dress of course, which I'm sure will blow your mind," she grinned smugly and strutted her way to the fitting room as Susan trailed behind her with a packed dress.

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew that she was going to look amazing in whatever she had chosen to wear. She knew how to carry clothes and it was something that I wished I knew how to do as well as her.

All three of us were curious to see what she was going to wear because neither of us moved as we discreetly waited for her to come out. Indulging ourselves in small talk, our eyes kept flitting towards the locked dressing room where Montana had just gone in.

After what seemed like an eon, Montana's room clicked open and my eyes fixed themselves on the door as she exited the room.

Shit. She wasn't lying when she said that her dress was mind-blowing. It was something that seemed like it was made for her body. The dress was midnight blue with sparkle all over. The front of the dress dipped low, showing hints of her cleavage while the open back stole the show. It was a dress made to accentuate all your assets and they way it hugged her curves, it definitely was working in her favour.

I couldn't even bad mouth the dress, that is how good it was.

And it seemed like the girls agreed with me because of their expressions. The distaste was obvious on their faces but there was also a hint of annoyance because of how they couldn't deny the beauty of it.

"What do you girls think? Will Kade like it? I wanna make him go weak in the knees, if you know what I mean," she taunted smugly, winking and I wanted to punch her face so bad.

But there was certainly no doubt that Kade was going to like the dress on her. The thought itself annoyed me more than I cared to admit.

"That is it," Allison turned around with a look of determination. "We need to find Kyra something that will make someone forget about everything else but her."

What now?

"We are not leaving the store until Kyra has the best fucking dress available," Madison agreed, her game face on. Uh-oh. I knew that face very well, that was her captain mode - the try-messing-with-me-and-I'll-rip-you-apart look.

My eyes widened as I looked between them. Why was I getting the feeling that we were going to be in the store all day?

"You're right. I'm so tired of watching these two from the sidelines. It is time for some much-needed intervention now," Mae added in and to say I was left speechless would be an understatement.

What on Earth was going on?

"Guys, I don't think that is necessar-"

"Shut up," all three spoke in unison, making my mouth clamp shut. Looked like I wasn't going to have much of a choice.

They quickly discussed a few things before turning to look at me with devilish grins and I gulped. I could almost feel my doom approaching as they shoved me into the fitting room and began dumping dresses on me.

***

I was huffing and puffing by the time I tried on what was probably my forty seventh dress of the day. None of the dresses were satisfying these girls and at this rate, I was pretty sure that I was either going to go home dead or pass out here without a dress.

Thankfully, Montana hadn't stayed long but that made the girls even crazier.

Each dress I had tried on was either too green, too frumpy, too unlike my personality, too ill-fitted, too sparkly and so on. There had been barely a dress that all three of them agreed on and I was surprised that even Mae was so into the whole process.

She was muttering something along the lines of not letting her ship sink or something but I couldn't be too sure.

The current dress I was trying out was a little too bold for me. The neckline scooped a crazy amount, making me conscious of my chest on display. The hip-high slit was also a little too uncomfortable but I stepped out in the dress nonetheless.

I really hoped that this was not what they chose. I didn't think I could pull this off.

Madison gave a once-over to the dress and frowned thoughtfully. "It is a little too much. We want you to outshine Montana but with more class. This is definitely not it."

"I agree. Plus, you don't look confident in it and unless you own the look, you can't be the best version of yourself," Allison agreed.

I let out a huge sigh of relief at that. Thank God.

But as relieved as I was about the rejection of this dress, that also meant that I had to try on more. I felt like crying at that.

Mrs. Russel or Elle had been MIA for some time in between since she was busy with a client but had joined in a little while back. Just as I wondered where she had disappeared to for the last half an hour, I heard a loud "I found it!"

All four of our heads snapped towards a widely grinning Elle walking with a massive box that looked like it could fit her inside it.

"What is it?" Allison questioned her mother as all of us eyed the box.

She kept the box down with a thump before taking in a deep breath to recollect herself.

"Since the gowns here weren't the one for Kyra, I looked into my designs for an upcoming collection and I remembered a sample coming in this week. This hasn't been showcased and I think it is perfect for Kyra," she grinned, motioning towards the box.

"Is it really okay for me to wear something from an undisclosed collection?" I asked, feeling a little unsure about it.

But Elle waved it off. "Of course. This is the perfect opportunity to give a sneak peek into the collection and check out the response to the dress beforehand. It's a win-win!"

I bit my lip, still hesitant but walked towards the box anyway. Susan helped me unbox and take out the gown and my mind was blown to say the least.

I heard excited gasps from behind me and I knew that the girls felt the same. The dress looked like something out of a fairy tale and it felt so me.

It was a rose gold tulle gown with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline. It flowed beautifully to the floor and the sparkle fading as it touched the ground. It almost felt like the hem of the dress was floating. It also had a slit up to the mid-thigh and had delicate feathers all over, giving the outfit a soft look.

I fell in love with the dress at first sight.

Looking at this one made me forget all about being tired. It was as if my energy came back and I couldn't wait to try it on.

I didn't have to be told to go to the fitting room to put it on. And once I did, I didn't feel like removing it at all.

Thankfully, the reaction of everyone outside the room was the same, if not better.

"This is it!" Mae squealed in excitement.

"This has your name written all over it!" Allison gushed, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Let's see who brings who to his knees," Madison smirked and I couldn't help but blush.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but feel giddy. Even though I didn't want to acknowledge it, my thoughts did wander to what the reaction of a certain someone would be to my look.

Somehow, I couldn't wait for the ball to come.

*********

Hellooo peeps! 

I know this was more of a filler chapter but hopefully the ones to come will be more happening :)

I hope the chapter is coming out as complete. There was some glitching when I tried to preview it and the chapter didn't show. 

Also, I might be changing the update day back to Sunday since Fridays are becoming a little busier than I anticipated.

I hope you enjoyed the girl bonding time though!

Thank you guys for bearing with me! Love you all xx