Nightfall ✓

Chapter 15

• chapter fifteen •

I took a bath and carried my sandals and comb to Ashley's place. She was super-excited, which meant that she talked a lot. She sat me down on a chair in her bathroom in front of the mirror and did my hair and make-up, then did her own hair and make-up, then brought out the dresses. They were twin dresses, and the most beautiful ones I'd ever seen, too. Hers was red and mine was sapphire-blue, since I had postponed the dress-buying till the last minute and hadn't found a black one. They didn't have straps. I don't know what they're called- tube dresses, maybe. The skirts were long and voluminous.

I slipped into the dress. It was silky-soft. I put on my heels, and then looked at myself in the mirror, grinning. This night was going to be amazing.

I stood and admired myself in the mirror till Ash came and dragged me away, saying that the boys were about to come. We sat on the sofa outside and waited. Pretty soon I heard the roar of an engine outside, and then footsteps, and then the doorbell rang. I jumped up and ran to the door.

It was Liam. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a bow-tie. For the first time, it looked as if he had combed his hair. He looked so handsome.

As soon as I pulled open the door, Liam's eyes popped out like tennis balls. He stared at me open-mouthed, his lips parted slightly, then quickly closed it and smiled. "You look...stunning."

Hearing that from him melted my heart. I put my arms around his neck, and he scooped me up in his arms and kissed me. I'd never felt happier. When he pulled away, I grinned like I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Someone giggled behind me. I turned around. Ash was looking at Liam. "You have lip-gloss on your mouth."

I laughed and wiped it with my finger.

The headlights of a car washed over us. It stopped behind Liam's car, the gravel crunching under the tyres. Zack stepped out. He had his camera slung around his neck.

He walked towards us, and his gaze fell on me. "Oh my God. This girl looks a lot like Reddie, but I'm pretty sure it's not her. And you're very...blue today. I should be calling you Bluey." We laughed. He shut one eye and looked through the camera lens at us. "Say cheese!"

We were about to pose, but Ash heard his voice and pushed us aside and ran towards him. "Zack!" She jumped on him like she was meeting him after years, and then they started kissing and we had to look away, because it was impossible to look at them. "And Ashley should be my Reddie," I heard Zack say.

After a long time, when they were done, we posed again. Liam slipped his arm around my waist and kissed the side of my head. The camera flashed, and I closed my eyes as the flash blinded me, and he had to take the photo again.

Then he threw the camera at me. I caught it. "Take our pictures too." He posed with his tongue out.

"We'll grab something to eat first?" Liam asked once we were in the car.

"Yeah," I said. "Did I tell you that you look hot?"

He laughed. "Thanks, babe. Where do you want to go for dinner?"

That made me smile. I stared out of the window at all the buildings rolling by in a blur, and didn't answer. "Hey?" he asked, but I was too busy grinning, caught up in the fact that he had called me 'babe'.

He reached out and poked me with his finger. "There's a very nice Chinese restaurant I can take you to."

"Nah. I don't really want to go to a posh place. Because there you have to sit and eat like you have a lot of manners and if your spoon falls down or something then people start staring at you like you've committed a sin. Can we eat burgers instead?"