Chapter 1

"Excuse me? Can I order?" Both me and Nance snapped out of our 8 minute long conversation to turn to the customer who was waiting opposite us. I sat on the counter of the cash register, Nance stood still as the customer looked at me and back at Nance again.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted-" My eyes widened as Nance continued to talk to me, completely ignoring the customer as she looked at me like everything was fine. The customer and I exchanged a look of unity, we both were thinking the same thing; what a crazy coffee maker.

"Nance, serve the boy!" I said in a hushed whisper, jumping off the counter and giving the boy an awkward smile before moving to the side so that he could order his coffee and muffin and go on with his day.

"What can I do for you today?" I couldn't help but laugh, shaking my head at her forced smile as I walked over to the free little couch near the window, pulling out my phone. Nance worked in a super cute little cafe named Lava Java; it was more of a hangout spot for me and our friends but for Nance, it was her least favourite place to work. She wasn't entirely a people's person... I didn't blame her, some people who didn't have their morning coffee could be extremely snappy; rude, if you will.

I scrolled through I*******m on my phone, double tapping a whole lot and stopping to stare at the models I came across thinking 'I need that'. I then came across my colleges' football team page up on I*******m and of course, it was almost impossible to not stop and stare.

They were literally all tall overgrown tanned boys who all looked like they were supposed to be on Bae-Watch or something. Not college boys.

And I was not complaining.

"You have got to get yourself a boyfriend miss thinggg" I jumped from my seat, almost dropping my phone as Nance literally slammed her hands down against the leather couch I was sat on. "Dude!" I said, shoving her. "You are literally the daughter of a fuckin boss and you're jumping out of your seat because of me? Look at my damn arms" She laughed pointing at her slim arms.

"You need to stop using those words so freely" I told her, referring to her use of 'boss'. It never sounded normal.

"So what are you here for anyway?" She asked as she sat opposite me, slouching down in the seat as if she wasn't on duty or anything. Her manager also happened to be her mom's best friend so she ultimately didn't care.

"Can't I provide my best friend with the company she deserves and somewhat, needs?" I asked as I put my phone in between my legs. She looked at me like I was crazy, or stupid, one of those. "Okay whatever you need, I'm down" She said jumping up from the seat as her name was called.

"Really?! Because I was literally going to ask you to go shopping with me downtown to pick a dress for the ball my dad is forcing me to go to" I explained, jumping up from my seat as well but with a lot more excitement. "Maybe not" She quickly said, turning to leave which only made me follow her, grabbing her hand.

"Please! You refused to come to this thing with me, all of you did, so this is the least you can do" I pouted, tilting my head to the side in attempt to look 'cute'.

It worked because she sighed/groaned before nodding, "I finish in 10" She commented before she turned and returned to her post behind the register. "I'll wait in Nordstrom, I hear Off White have a new collection dropping" I grinned as she shook her head and laughed at me. I turned and waved goodbye to her before I left the cafe.

You must be wondering why in hell I was attending a ball like I was in a freaking music video but this was just the norm for me. Every year my moms side of the family hosted a ball, I never truly understood why and what the reasoning was behind it but I knew it was an opportunity for everybody in this... industry, to come together and just show off, ultimately. That's what my dad always says. It was only once a year and since my mom was Latina, it was extravagant and well, extra in all the right ways.

I entered Nordstrom, the smell of perfume instantly hit me as people walked past me shopping like their lives depended on it. It was a very big department store so it was bound to be busy. I headed up the escalators and to the brand I was looking for, seeing it in clear sight, I wasted no time in getting to it, raiding its racks in hopes to find something cute. Off White wasn't entirely the best brand for a fancy ball event but who said I was shopping for only that occasion?

I couldn't help but overhear the commotion over by the counter, it sounded like somebody wasn't happy because there were men dressed in black arguing with what looked like the manager of the store. I wasn't nosy but I also wasn't one to miss out on angry customers fighting for no reason.

I took the liberty to change positions so that I could peak over without looking obvious. As I browsed through the racks, I watched as the two men literally towered over the manager who was clearly feeling anxious.

"You know what one mistake can cost our boss." The man spoke, his voice deep and almost unreal.

"Everything will be cleared by the end of the day. He won't even notice it was ever gone." The manager continued, his voice sounding a lot weaker and quieter. I almost felt obligated to step in and help him, it was just a reflex I had because I felt so bad for the poor man who was just trying to do his job. The word 'boss' was the only thing that held me back, my dad taught me many things and I almost would never entangle myself in anyone associated in his business. The word boss just made me feel uneasy, if you know what I mean.

"Make it a little obvious" I heard the loud voice of Nance besides me as she grabbed on to my shoulders, once again making me flinch and yelp in fear. I could feel my cheeks turning pink knowing people had turned to look at me, especially the two bodyguard looking men who were speaking on behalf of their 'boss'.

"I hate you" I whispered before dragging her away with me as she laughed aloud, not nearly as embarrassed as me.

"Let's go shopping!" She exaggerated as she knew she had annoyed me and as we got in to my car, I began hitting her with an empty water bottle.

"Okay I won't make you jump anymore, jheez" She laughed once I stopped.

"What were you looking at anyway?" She asked as she took her phone out, pairing it with my car through Bluetooth. "Nothing, it was just some guys giving the manager a hard time" I told her, reversing out of the space that I was in before driving out.

"Well you a hood bitch! Shoulda done something about it!" She exclaimed before the voice of Travis Scott pumped through my speakers, not even giving me a second to reply. I laughed shaking my head before she began rapping from the top of her lungs, totally butchering the lyrics too.

We arrived at the little boutiques that were downtown, I almost always shopped from here when it came to fancy dresses like for a family members wedding or in this case, a ball.

"Dude, I smell like coffee beans and you're forcing me to go to a place that smells like literal GOLD, give me some perfume." She commented as soon as I pulled up. I grinned before reaching in to my purse that was by her feet, handing her a random perfume. "Happy now?" I teased as she put the perfume back before shoving me and leaving the car.

"Hello Savanna! Your mother told me you'd be stopping by" The chirpy all too familiar red head spoke as she approached us with a big smile on her face. I smiled, "She probably also gave you a lot of orders too right?" I said making her laugh as she hugged me and then Nance.

"She did but I don't expect you to follow all of them, are we shopping for Nance too today or?" Nance was quick to shake her head, "Not today Poppy, after last year's ball, I'm gonna sit this one out" She replied making Poppy laugh but I just walked away, rolling my eyes at her for being exaggerate. So what if she spilled the entire punch bowl down her dress and fell in to an old lady? Accidents happen ALL the time, you gotta embrace them.

"Well can I get you anything to drink? Juice? Sparkling water? A little wine?" I turned back to look at Poppy, raising my eyebrows in amusement as she offered us alcohol despite us being underage.

"Red would be dashing" Nance said putting on a posh British accent making me laugh and Poppy laugh.

"Is this the new collection my mom was talking about?" I asked Poppy who came up to me nodding, "Indeed it is, want to try some on?" Instantly, I nodded before taking whatever she gave me, blowing a kiss at Nance who pretended to catch it and then throw it away before disappearing behind the curtain.

It felt like we were here forever, I was growing tired of trying on dresses that just weren't sitting right. Leave it to me to leave this so last minute that I couldn't even do anything about it, I just had to suck it up and find something; this place sold amazing dresses but you know when you just feel like nothing suits your body despite how pretty the piece actually is? That was my current situation.

"My mom mentioned a grey beige dress that just came in... can I see it?" I asked as I handed the unsuccessful dresses back to the store assistant who kindly took them away with a smile.

"Oh my god how could I forget! You're going to love it Sav!" The sheer look of joy on Poppy's face gave me the hope that I needed making both Nance and I laugh as she scurried away to find the dress. "You having fun over there?" I asked, turning to look at Nance who was pouring herself her third glass of red wine. She looked hilarious chugging down fancy wine with her little barista outfit on.

"Living life girl" she hummed before we both looked over at Poppy who walked back in holding a large garment bag with the stores logo on it. She hung it up before unzipping it revealing the Grey Beige colour that my mom was describing to me. She opened it a little further and I instantly felt this tingle of joy inside of me, I had a good feeling about it.

"This is an 100% all cotton, loosely woven gown that runs all the way to the ground and trails out. It's backless and has some detailing at the back that really will compliment your beautiful figure, almost like a corset!" It was very cute how passionate she was about this all but then again, this was her career.

"Can you just try it on" Nance interrupted making us laugh before I carried the garment bag back in to the change room I was in. I opened it up before stripping off my clothes yet again, slipping on the dress. I turned and looked at myself in the mirror, a smile on my lips as I admired the dress. It was perfect. She described it pretty well, it did hug my waist perfectly but fit perfectly around my hips, showing off my natural curves. The neck was haltered and she was right about it being l backless, holding by strings. Overall, it was beautiful and everything I wanted.

"Oh wow!"

"Hottie alert!"

I think you can guess who said what comment but both made me smile as that meant they approved of it too which only meant I had to get it.

"Imagine you find your Prince Charming at the ball and you do that scene from 365 days!" I looked over at Nance with raised brows, "What makes you think I'll find a Prince Charming in the first place?" I replied challengingly as I looked at myself in the mirror whilst Poppy tied the back for me just so that we could see the overall fit of the dress before I bought it.

"It's about time you find him honey."