The Mall

     “Nemi! Get up, let’s go! You said we were going to the mall today!” Vic hollered at me, waking me up. I grunted at her. Being as loud as she possibly could, Vic flung open my bedroom door, and jumped directly on top of me. “Why?!” I groaned. “You said we were going to the mall today!” She repeated. I sighed. “Okay, but you have to get off of me so I can get ready.” I told her, resigned. She got off of me, and turned to go back to her room. I rolled out of bed, stretched, and picked out some clothes. After getting dressed, I headed to the kitchen to grab an energy drink. “Did you save one for me?” Vic asked, jokingly. She didn’t like energy drinks, and liked to tease me about it. “Nope, there’s some fancy coffee in the cabinet though.” I told her. She grabbed a kcup out of the cabinet, and stuck it into the machine. “How far is the mall again?” Vic asked. “Not far, maybe a twenty minute drive?” I respond. This will be the first time that I had ever been to this mall.

     Unlike people my own age, I didn’t really like to go to places like that. Being around a ton of other people has always made me uneasy. Especially after the dream I had last night. I wonder who he was, anyways. “HELLO!!!!” Vic practically yells at me. I jumped, not realizing that I was stuck in my own thoughts. “What is with you? I have been talking to you for like five minutes, and you have just been staring off into space.” She added. “Oh, sorry! I had a really weird dream last night, and I was thinking about it.” I admitted to her. “Oh, well… Spill!” Vic shouts. I spend the next few minutes telling her every detail that I remember about my dream. “Sounds like you were worried about being a spaz in front of a group of hot guys. Don’t worry, I have enough charisma for the both of us.” She said, laughing. With that, I stood up and grabbed my keys. I wanted to get this trip over with. I wanted to come to my new amazing house, soak in the pool, have a cookout with my bestie, and enjoy the last weeks of summer. Vic stood up, and followed me to the main house.

     “Hey mom! We’re going to the mall. Do you need anything while we’re out?” I called out to her. “No, honey! I think we have everything that we need. Have a good time!” She hollered back, in response. I love my parents. They always try to understand me, even when I don’t think they do. I head out the front door of the main house, jump in the car, and drive to the mall. “Do you think that we will actually run into any cute boys?” Vic asked, hopefully. I shrugged my shoulders. “Dude, I don’t know! This is the first time that I have been here. Like, you have literally been with me every single time I’ve been to any mall.” I told her, a little annoyed. She shrugged, and hopped out of the car. Since we arrived at the mall early, we were able to get good parking. When we walked into the mall, I felt like I was being watched. I know that it could just be my subconscious playing tricks on me, but I always tried to trust my gut.

     Vic must have noticed my growing anxiety, because she looped her arm at me, looked at me, and smiled. I have to give it to her, she may be a pain in the ass, but she did care for me in her own way. “Come on, Nemi! They have two of our favorite stores here!” Vic said, excitement in her voice, and tugging on my arm. After practically running across the mall after her, she found the store that she wanted to visit first. “Dude, look at the fall collection!” Vic yelled into the store. We both enjoy wearing alternative fashion. “Hi ladies, is there anything that I can help you find today?” The store clerk asked, after hearing Vic’s excited outburst. “Yes, do you have this black and pink outfit in a 9?” Vic asked. The clerk nodded, and went to grab it for her. “You should get this red and black one, Nemi! It would look so good on you!” She told me. I shrugged. We don’t like the exact same things. Vic usually wore too short skirts and too revealing tops. I am a bit more self-conscious. I like my clothes to fit properly. “Hey, let’s go try these on!” Said Vic, motioning towards the dressing room.

     “When did you grab that?” I asked her, looking at the red and black dress that was she hung on the hook. “When you were off in your own little world. Now come on, try it on!” She insisted. The pink and black outfit she picked out looked amazing on her. I had to admit, the red and black dress looked good on me too. “We should wear these out of the store!” She said. I shrugged in response, knowing any attempt at arguing would be futile. I took the tag off of my dress, and walked out of the dressing room. I walked over to the counter, and sat the tag down. “I would like to go ahead and purchase this.” I told the clerk. “Of course! You look great in that dress! Good choice!” The clerk responded enthusiastically. As I was in the process of making the purchase, Vic walked up and put her tag on the counter next to mine. “This one too!” She said. I shot Vic a look. She just shrugged it off, like she usually does. “That will be 150.39.” The clerk said, smiling at us.

     “Don’t worry, Nemi. Lunch is on me.” Vic whispered in my ear as I paid for the clothes. When we walked out of the store, Vic stopped me. “Dude, he has to be the most beautiful man I’ve every seen!” She whispered to me. I looked on in terror, realizing that this was the guy from my dream! I quickly pulled her in the opposite direction, towards the food court. “Are you hungry already? Why are you acting so weird?” Vic hissed at me. I made another turn, and landed us in a home goods store. “That’s him, Vic!” I said to her. She looked at me all weird for a moment, and then I saw the lightbulb go off. “The one from your dream? He is impossibly hot!” She said. I rolled my eyes at her. She peeked her head out of the home goods store, and looked around. Then she came running back to me, where I was pretending to smell the lotions and candles. “Oh my god, Nemi. He’s coming in here!” She said to me, out of breath. I rushed further into the store, embarrassed and feeling stupid. I stopped abruptly, and Vic ran right into my back. I turned around, and saw an annoyed Vic, Mr. Dark, Mysterious Guy from my dream (in the front of the store.), and all of the end of the summer shoppers looking at me. “I’m going to go break the ice. I don’t want to be weird about it.” I told her.

     “A little late for that, don’t ya think?” She said to me. I pushed past her, and walked right up to him to say hi. It was stupid of me to feel uneasy about my dream in the first place. He seemed nice enough? As I approach him, I still can’t bring myself to look him in the eye. “Hello, I saw you and your friend run in here. I came to make sure you weren’t in any kind of trouble or anything.” He teased, as I was walking up. I laughed, nervously. I finally mustered up the guts to actually look him in the eye. My gaze was met with the most electrifying color of green I have ever seen. There were little gray and silver specs throughout, with a slightly darker green ring around the outside. I stood there for a moment, just dumbstruck. He had sharp chiseled features across his godlike form. My body started to feel like it was on fire! I was sweating, and could feel butterflies fluttering around in my core. I had to take a couple of calming breaths before I could speak again. “Ha ha, Hi! My name is Nemesis and this is my best friend Victoria.” I forced my hand out to shake his. Vic stood there, shaking her head. When he took my hand to shake it, I could swear that I felt a jolt of electricity up my arm. I jumped, and snatched my hand back. “Nemi! Don’t be rude to our new friend!” Vic scolded me. “Nemesis, huh? That’s not a common name.” He said, still looking directly into my eyes. I could feel my face turning red. Just then, the store manager came over to tell us that if we weren’t going to buy anything, to go ahead and leave.

     “Would you ladies like to join my friends and I for lunch?” He asked us. “Dude, we don’t even know your name!” Vic said, winking at me. “Declan.” He responded. “Declan, we would love to join you for lunch.” Vic said, nudging her elbow into my arm. I scowled at her in response. Declan motioned for us to follow him to the food court. Vic was drooling over him. She grabbed my arm, pulling me to walk slower beside her. “Do you want to invite him and his friends to your house?” She asked me. Oh no, I knew what she was thinking. “Vic, we don’t even know these guys. What the hell is wrong with you!” I whispered to her. Declan had stopped walking, and we almost ran right into him. “You could get to know us. We like pool parties.” Declan said, without turning around to look at us. I just glared at Vic. “What would you ladies like to eat for lunch?” Declan asked us, turning and looking at me. “Oh, you can’t rely on Nemi to pick! We’ll all be eating pretzels for lunch, and talking the convenience store clerks into selling us beer after.” Vic told him.

     My mouth hung open after hearing her say that! Declan laughed. Great, now he’s just going to think that I’m a big child. I rolled my eyes so hard, that I thought they might pop out of my head. Vic obviously was trying to make sure she went home with his number. “I actually love mall pretzels. I also happen to enjoy beer.” I heard a voice in my head. I shot a strange look Declan’s way. He was still staring at me. I looked at Vic and shrugged. “If you don’t want pretzels, then you are more than welcome to decide.” She glared at me. “I think we should get some sushi and low mien.” She grinned at me. I sighed and shrugged again in response. She knew I didn’t like sushi, but I would just eat the low mein. Declan picked out a table, and motioned for us to sit. There were enough seats for 6 people. Declan waited for us to sit down before picking his seat. As I suspected, he took the empty seat right next to me. When Vic noticed, she got up and sat on the other side of him. Vic was sending glaring daggers my way. I could tell, she was jealous. She is not the type that is used to rejection.

     Especially not from a guy like Declan. While I can’t say that I wasn’t attracted to him, I’m not going to fight my best friend over some guy we just met. Declan waved his hand over to 2 guys and another girl. They smiled, and started walking towards us. “Are those the friends you were referring to earlier?” Vic asked Declan. He nodded his head. “Where are you guys all from? Are you even human?” Vic asked, being her over-dramatic self. Declan laughed. “Ladies, this is Talia, Seth, and Cian.” Declan introduced his friends. “Nice to meet you guys.” I responded. They had trays piled high with sushi, low mein, dumplings, and roasted chicken. My stomach growled. As if he could hear it, Declan grinned and took the tray that Cian was holding. When I looked at the tray, I smiled. It was piled high with pretzels and cheese sauce! “I heard from a friend that these are the best, so we had to try them.” Cian smiled at me, handing me a pretzel. “So Declan, you introduced us, but not the ‘ladies’.” Seth said through a bite of sushi. “I am Victoria, and this is my friend Nemesis.” Vic said in response to Seth. “Nemes----. I KNOW, uncommon name, right? Story of her life.” Vic interrupted.

     I rolled my eyes, and kept eating my pretzel. “Are you new around here, Nemesis?” Talia asked me. I nodded. “I just moved in yesterday.” I added. “Are you going back to school?” She asked me. “Yes and No. Nemesis is in college. Don’t let that fool you on her age though, she’s still only 17.” Vic answered for me. Talia looked at Vic, annoyed by how she answered for me. “Are you still in highschool, Victoria?” Cian asked her. Vic nodded. “Well, obviously.” Talia added, implying that Vic is immature. Vic scoffed audibly. “Ladies, ladies, ladies. There’s no need for hostility. We’re all just getting to know each other, right?” Declan broke the tension. Vic nodded. “Of course!” She said, shooting him her brightest smile. “Victoria, do you live with Nemesis?” Seth asked her. She laughed, shaking her head. “No, I live in GreenHaven.” Just when I dropped my guard, I felt that same feeling from earlier tickle my thigh. I looked down, and saw Declan’s hand placed there, with his thumb rubbing the exposed skin. Talia’s voice pulled me out of my trance. “Where did you get that dress? I love it!” Talia asked me, complimenting the red and black dress Vic had picked out for me. “Doesn’t it flatter her frame? I picked it out for her!” Shouted Vic, always having to be the center of attention.

    “Have you ever been in that Foxhill place? That’s where we got it.” I told her. Foxhill was a store that Vic and I had been going to since we were like 13. “Well, it looks so good on you!” Talia complimented me again. “So, you mentioned you have a pool?” Declan said, still rubbing my leg. I pushed his hand away, and felt oddly cold after. I turned to Declan, and his eyes found mine. “I do, but I don’t think my mom and dad will be cool with a bunch of people we just met coming over for a pool party. They’re cool, but protective.” I said. Vic shrugged. “What about when they go out of town for their anniversary? I heard them talking about it. They’ll be leaving on the last weekend of summer.” Vic pointed out. “Uhm… We will have to see about that.” I thought out loud. I didn’t like to break my parents trust. I usually could do whatever I wanted, as long as it wasn’t too outlandish for my age.

     “Well, what about a party at our place then?” Seth suggested. “That sounds like fun. When and where?” Vic asked, without thinking. Seth took Vic’s phone and put in the address. “What about tonight?” Seth asked. Talia nodded, and looked at Declan. He seemed unsure, but ended up agreeing. “Well, we will need to go get ready. Thank you for lunch!” Vic said, standing up from the table. “Would you like some company?” Talia asked her. Vic looked at me, like she didn’t want her to come with us. Trying not to escalate what was sure to be an already crazy conversation leading up to the party. “Well, our house is still a complete mess after the move, and I would hate for you to see it that way!” I kindly declined for Vic. As I went to stand up and leave, Declan gently grabbed my arm. I once again felt that electric jolt. I looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Hey Nemesis, I really hope to see you tonight.” He told me, giving me his number on a small slip of paper.