say yes to the dress {charity}

[wendy]

Dress shopping was not particularly Addison’s cup of tea but she did need a dress and she did need to spend some… quality time with Charity Nelson. It had been sort of weird and yet really awesome when Addison had realized Charity and Braxton not only lived in New York, but also attended Baum Academy. It’d been last year when she reunited with them and it had been a little strange because… they were dating. There was nothing wrong with this and they were quite a cute couple. She’d known them back when they were little-ish though and to make matters worse, Addison had been a little more than friendly with Braxton. It was the closest a twelve year old could get to flirting, anyway. Addison knew Charity didn’t like her much for it. Now, though, with the two of them all couple-y and sweet, Addison certainly couldn’t intrude on that. She had to respect the relationship. Well, unless she needed someone to dance with. Braxton could spare one song, right?

Addison folded her arms over her chest and remained standing just outside the store her and Charity had agreed to meet at. Even from her post, Addison could see that the dresses were pretty. The best part? They were well-priced. Not only was she not a huge fan of dress shopping, Addison didn’t particularly like the mall. Well, if she was exploring or running around messing with others, it could be a good time. But mostly, she didn’t like the crowds or temptations of certain stores (she could remember just how many novels she’d bought from a bookstore here). Charity was easy to spot amongst the other shoppers, being so tiny and blonde and exactly how Addison remembered her.

Addison beamed at the smaller girl, all smiles and niceness. “Charity!” Addison pulled the girl into a tight hug, as if it had been too long (it had been too long but there wasn’t really need for a a hug). “Oh, I’m so excited to spend the day with you.” Addison stepped back, holding the girl at arm’s length. “Why, you haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

notes; i hope this is okay~
words; 357

[CHARITY NELSON]

Charity wasn’t particularly happy about her dress shopping partner, but she really had no choice. Addison had been a mutual friend of herself and Braxton back in Bedford, though she hadn’t been too fond of the close relationship between Addie and Brax. Addie had flirted with him. With her Brax. That was not okay in Charity’s book. She had gotten over it when Addie moved, but now that she was back, she worried that it might start up again. She was not about to let that happen.

As she made her way through the mall she reminded herself over and over again that Addie was a friend, though her friend status was tainted. She made her way through the crowds in the mall, searching for the brunette, shrieking once when the girl found her first, plucking her out of the mass of people with a proclamation of her name and a hug. Charity stood stock still for a moment, then gave Addie a small hug.

As Addie stepped back, Charity gave a brief smile, nodding, “Hey Addie… It’s been a long time, yeah?” She bit her lip, “It’s gonna be fun, I think.” Then the last question had Charity keeping herself in check. She had changed. Her hair was a little darker. She… She… Okay, so she hadn’t changed. She put on another smile, “Nope, I guess ya haven’t either.” Subject change. One needed to happen. Right now. “So should we go in an’ see if we can’ fin’ some dresses?”

(( I'll make it pretty later! Gotta post real quick and then crash. ))

[wendy]

Oh, Charity was so small and delicate. It was kind of adorable. Addison smiled at the girl, realizing that she had rather missed her. Even with their strained friendship, Addison had enjoyed having a female friend in Texas. It was the first time she’d had friends for such a long period of time. “Oh, definitely.” Addison tapped a finger against her chin, thinking. “It wouldn’t be such a long time if we had a class together! It’s too bad you’re a grade lower,” Addison paused, her smile turning down into a frown. “I’m sure we’d have fun in an elective of some sort. Have you considered woodshop?” The glint in Addison’s eyes clearly told Charity that she was not kidding. In fact, woodshop could be quite fun. If Charity wouldn’t take it with her, maybe she could convince Matthew.

Addison shifted on her feet, glancing into the store and then back to Charity. “I’ve certainly changed, Charity!” Addison bristled, unable to keep from pointing this out. “I’ve grown,” she said, tilting her head up a bit. “And I’m much more outgoing, if I may so myself.” Addison prided herself on this. Since Texas, she’d become more of an adventurer, exploring New York on her own when her parents told her not to and sneaking into empty buildings to see what she could find (usually nothing as the buildings were in fact empty). Throwing her arm over the smaller girl’s shoulder, Addison led the way into the store, smiling at one of the employees. It was a sort of don’t-worry-about-us smile, insisting that they didn’t need help.

“I’m thinking of wearing blue. It is my favorite color, after all.” Addison removed her arm from around Charity’s shoulders and paused at the first section of dresses she saw. Addison glanced at Charity, tilting her head. “I think you’d look nice in green, or maybe yellow.” Addison pulled a blue dress from the rack, sleeveless and knee-length. She held it up against her body. “What do you think of this?” It probably wasn’t the best idea to ask for Charity’s opinion. Addison had seen movies, or read books, in which two not-so-friendly girls went shopping together and then gave terrible advice or suggested hideous clothes. Charity wasn’t that sort, though; and they were just movies, after all. It’s not like there were girls out there who actually did that.

notes; maybe i'll post a picture of some dress later~

[CHARITY NELSON]

Charity wasn't excited. Really, she wasn't. Still, she smiled, since she had sort of missed the girl. She just hadn't missed the flirting with Braxton bit. That still didn't sit well with her. Still, she needed to at least give Addison a chance, if only for Braxton's sake. He liked Addison(which might have been part of the problem) and she was going to do her darnedest to make sure that she didn't mess things up. Well, not too badly anyways. She would just need to make sure not to go crazy on Addie during the dress shopping.

Snapping back to the present, Charity looked up at Addie's comment. Something about woodshop. Woodshop? Why on earth would Charity have considered that? "No, no I haven't. Woodshop isn't exac'ly m' cup o' tea, darlin'..."(ahahaha, get it?) Still, she had to give it a chance. Maybe a class with the girl would help? No, probably not. if anything, it would probably just push her over the edge. And cause her to push Addie over a literal edge. Maybe. Maybe not. Better not to risk it though, right?

Charity laughed a bit as Addison seemed upset by the 'not changing' comment. She put her hands up innocently, "Okay, okay. Sorry. I didn't notice before..." She then put on a smile, "Why, you certainly have changed!" She giggled a bit to herself then let Addie pull her into the store. It was full of all kinds of dresses- long, short, strapless, mermaid style, anything possibly imaginable.

She set to work, looking through dresses, passing over a white one, several black ones, and painfully, an adorable red plaid one, though she considered going back for it if she didn't find anything else, "Blue woul' look good on ya. With the dark hair an' all." She shrugged a bit, tossing a glance over at Addison as she held one up. She shook her head, "Shade's wrong." It was pretty. But too 'meh' blue. Addison needed to either go dark, sapphire blue, or to a light, turquoise-y blue. At Addison's suggestion she nodded a bit, "Maybe... Though I was thinkin' somethin' more.... Nat'ral." She grabbed a pale, cream color dress with a yellow belt around the middle, form fitting, cut to the knee, and strapless "Whaddaya think o' this one?" It wasn't quite what she'd wanted, though she thought it might be cute. She held it up against herself and glanced over toward a mirror, trying to decide. It wasn't at all, the earthy ball-gown she'd imagined. She wanted something natural and flowy and light looking. Not the skintight thing she was holding. Still, it was good to keep her options open, right?

the dress | the shoes [/center][/blockquote]

[wendy]

Being here with Charity made her wonder how Braxton was. It was still insanely awesome that the two of them went to Baum Academy. Fantastically convenient. She wondered briefly if Ethan were here; he and Braxton had been best friends. They had practically been attached at the hip. For all three of them to be in New York and all attending Baum would be brilliant. It would be like Texas again minus the heat and the sun and the accents. Well, they still had accents. It just wasn’t everybody. Addison had always been a little self-conscious in Texas for being one of the only girls in school without an accent. She’d adjusted nicely enough, though, deciding it didn’t matter what anybody else had thought. “No? Oh well… Let me know if you change your mind.” Addison gave a determined nod, as if she was quite sure Charity would do just that.

Addison beamed at Charity’s recognition of the change, glad that her point had gotten across. Charity had probably changed as well. Addison felt a twinge of guilt for saying that she hadn’t. She probably had no right to freak out the way she had. “I was wrong earlier, by the way. You’ve changed too.” For some reason, her admitting she was wrong made her wonder briefly if Matthew would ever do such a thing. Probably not. He felt that he was always right. “So, tell me how New York has been treating you. What about Baum? Any new friends?” Addison certainly hoped so. Charity couldn’t spend all of her time with Braxton. It was a good thing she was here; now they could hang out like they used to. (Maybe not like they used to, that would be terribly awkward). “How’s Braxton?”

Addison had already returned the blue dress to the rack, deciding she hadn’t liked it. Addison nodded, agreeing and saying thank you. You couldn’t really nod as a thank you, much less when they weren’t looking at you. Oh well. Had that been a compliment? Well, of course. Blue would look good on you. That was a compliment. Natural? Addison flipped through the dresses, looking for one that worked for her or for Charity. Addison pulled a dress from the rack. She’d always liked bows but this was… “Maybe this?” She asked, turning again to face Charity with the dress held against her body. Charity turned at quite the same moment with her own dress. Addison practically threw hers down so she could sweep Charity up into a twirl. “Oh my goodness, Charity, that’s absolutely perfect!” Addison was what could be defined as squealing, nodding her head quite fiercely.

Oh, now she had to find the perfect dress. Addison quickly resumed her browsing. “Go try that on!” she exclaimed, waving Charity towards the dressing rooms. “I’ll be there in just a moment.” Hoping the girl had listened, Addison continued her perusing. It took three more racks of dresses before she found one she was quite happy with. Addison made her way to the dressing room and stood in the waiting area for Charity. “I found one, I think. I’ll show it to you when you get out.”

notes; i feel like the last paragraph doesn't make sense xD
words;530
'outfit;' DRESS ONE / DRESS TWO

[CHARITY NELSON]

Change her mind? About woodshop? Not likely. Charity had zero intention of taking woodshop. That just was not a good use of her time. Still, she nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I'll let ya know if I decide ta take't." No reason to be unnecessarily rude, right? No, there wasn't. So Charity would be nice. As Addison corrected her earlier statement, Charity shrugged a bit. It wasn't exactly a bad thing that she hadn't changed. After all, changing denotes a potential need to change, and Char didn't need to, did she? She didn't think so. Brax seemed to like her as is, after all.

At Addison's question, Charity looked up from the dress in her hands, "N'York is great. Y'know, it's no open fields like home, but it'll do, I s'pose. At least I still get ta ride regularly." She gave a small smile, putting a dress back on the rack. At the question of Brax, however, Charity bristled internally. She grabbed a dress and set to work hushing the tinkling voice in her head.

'Why, if she thinks she's getting anywhere near any of my boys, she is sadly mistaken!'

Charity soothed the small voice, putting the dress on the rack and turning to answer, "Brax is great, thanks fer askin'. He'n I are both still t'gether." She looked at the dress that Addison held up next, pondering for a moment. After a while, she shook her head, "Naw, no' tha' one."

She turned to the dresses again, riffling through them to try and find something. At being swept up and then pushed in the direction of the dressing room, she shrugged a bit, pausing to grab another dress off the rack. It was... Different. But in a good way. Poofy and flowy and very earthy looking. She liked it. But she'd try on the one Addie liked first.

She went into the changing room and pulled on the dress, talking to Tink, "Yeah, I know the cut is cute. But I don't want somethin' like tha'...."

'Yeah, yeah, try that other one!'

"I know, I'm going to!"

'Well hurry up! The sooner you find a dress, then the sooner Brax can fall all over himself again.'

Charity peeled off the skin-tight dress and put it back on the hanger. Cute, but not what she was looking for. She then pulled on the other one, loving the way the fabric flowed. It was perfect. She stepped out of the changing room to look in the 180 mirror. "Addie, I know ya liked tha' other one, but I think I love this one.... It's prefec'. Brax'll love it. Whaddaya think?"

the dress | the shoes

[wendy]

Shifting on her feet, Addison couldn’t help the grin on her face. This was going splendidly! Charity didn’t seem to absolutely hate her, anyway. They were finding nice dresses and Charity was thinking about taking Woodshop. Yay! This was working out better than she’d thought it would. Addison nodded. “You do? Did you bring your horses, or?” Oh, how much fun that must be! It would be different, certainly, and Addison imagined the horses being occasionally startled for New York was much noisier than Texas. Holding onto the dress she’d picked, Addison waited patiently for Charity to emerge from the dressing room. “Oh? That’s cute! I’m happy for you two.” Which she was, of course. Charity and Braxton were a darling couple and she wondered why it hadn’t happened sooner. It may have prevented the tense rift between Charity and herself. Oh well.

When Charity opened the door, Addison was momentarily speechless. Much better than the dress she had liked. Addison tilted her head curiously as Charity stood in front of the mirrors. “That’s gorgeous.” She said quietly, not quite sure what else she could say. It was so… so Charity. It was like it had been made for her. “Uh,” she started, holding up her own dress, “what do you think of this?” She asked, a little bit unsure. Now that she’d seen Charity in such a perfect dress, Addison wasn’t sure if she would find one that so suited her. Addison took a dressing room of her own and changed out of her clothes into the dress she’d chosen. Well… she liked it. Addison twirled in front of the mirror in the room, looking from the back and the sides and finally the front. Yes, she definitely liked it. Addison opened the door and stepped out. “Well?”


notes; ehhh.
words; 299
'outfit;' THE DRESS

[CHARITY NELSON]

Charity nodded a bit as Addison asked about her horses. At least that was something she could talk to her about without being completely snippy. "Mmhmmm. Dillon and Sterling. I brought'em both with me. Wouldn' leave without 'em." She gave a small smile, looking at the dress in the mirror some more. At her comment of her relationship with Braxton, the smile dropped, and she had to remind herself that Addison hadn't done anything yet. "Yeah, I cert'nly think so, I'm glad we're t'gether." With that, she stepped out of the dressing room.

A wide grin crossed her lips as Addison commented on the dress. Charity couldn't deny that she loved the dress. "Y'think so? I think I like it." Twirling in front of the mirror, she stopped at being asked her opinion. Nodding, she gave her approval, "Th' color's much better on tha' one." Motioning to a dressing room, she sent Addison off to change, resuming her spinning and twirling in front of the mirror. Braxton would absolutely love the dress, and she couldn't wait to see his reaction. Stopping again, Charity turned as Addison came out, and a small smile fixed itself on her features as she nodded, "Tha' one. Definit'ly tha' one." It fit Addison perfectly, and the color looked fantastic on her. It was flattering and seemed like it had been made for the girl.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[wendy]

Addison thought it was perfectly lovely that Charity had brought her horses all the way to New York with her. That took real dedication and love. Addison smiled at Charity, tilting her head. “I’d love to see them again sometime,” she commented, not sure how Charity would feel about it. Addison was being very nice today, about everything, and she hadn’t said anything mean. Of course the two had their differences and that was unlikely to change. In fact, Addison sometimes felt that she had known Charity in a past life and that they had not gotten along then either. (These feelings were very rare, though, and she always dismissed them easily, assuming maybe it was because of her time in Texas).

Addison nodded, glad that Charity had found a dress she liked. “I love it. It’s perfect.” It was definitely better than the one Addison had first liked. “Are you and Braxton going to any school dances together?” Addison asked, twirling in her own dress, admiring herself in a mirror. “I think he’d love the dress, too.” Addison was really trying to smooth over any awkward tensions between Charity and her about Braxton. They hadn’t been dating back then, so Addison really shouldn’t be the one trying to fix it, but oh well; that wasn’t what mattered. “How much is it?” She asked, motioning to the dress Charity was wearing.

Addison beamed, bouncing on her feet. Yay! Charity liked it and that was all the confirmation she needed. Addison probably would’ve bought it anyway; it was just nice to have somebody else give their approval. “Great! I’ll get this one, then.” Addison twisted around a little, looking for the price tag. She was grateful that they had chosen a store with reasonably priced clothing. The dress was only twenty dollars when she was sure it would’ve been at least forty anywhere else. “Mine is affordable,” Addison said. She paused briefly. “Should we look for shoes?”