Open Red is for Valentines

[Savannah Walters]

Savannah had searched and searched for a dress she could wear, something that didn't make her feel like a silly little child, and she had found one. The dress was old, she had gotten it from a muggle charity shop, and she had spun a story to get it cheaper and she didn't mind it at all. It was maybe a little red for her usual tastes, but she liked it. She liked not feeling like an odd one out at these dances, and despite her usual demeanour these dances were more fun than sitting in the dorm. She put the dress on, put on a borrowed pair of her mum's old heals, with swaps of paper in them to stop herself from slipping out of them, and she was moving unsteadily as she entered the room, finding her feet really in the shoes and the dress. But even if now she did nothing she was still feeling good about herself.

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah was feeling uncertain this Valentine's day. Both her parents had written to ask her if she had a date but the thought really hadn't crossed her mind. She thought about asking Chase to go, but only as a friend. The thought of him as an actual date felt wrong in a way she couldn't put her finger on. It wasn't like it really mattered. She didn't think any of her other friends had dates either. She could always lie if her parents got too pushy. Instead she was happy to enjoy the dance and twirled off the dance floor right into somebody else. "Oh, so sorry!" she said quickly in between laughs. But she quickly sobered when she saw who it was but not before taking in the other girl's beautiful red dress. "Oh wow Savannah you look lovely!" she blurted out, cheeks flushing, before she could think of something better to day. She really needed to stop running into her even if Leah was desperate for the other girl to like her.

 

[Savannah Walters]

Savannah was bumped into by someone as she was moving close to the dancefloor, and of course it was this girl. But before Savannah could get an insult out, the girl had complimented her, and immediately Savannah softened. She had always felt silly in the second hand dresses which looked bad and that it tended to be the second time she wore them. This dress she felt good in, so instead Savannah almost smiled, and glanced at the ground. "Thank you," she said, sincerely before trying to get herself back and added, "You should be more careful, this is one of a kind," It probably wasn't, but she was trying to be mean, though it lacked her usual bite.

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah let out a shaky relieved laugh as the other girl smiled. Maybe things weren't as awful between then as she had made them out to be in her head. "You're right." she said quickly. She did need to keep better track of where she was going. One day it was going to get her in real trouble. She just felt too tall and gawky to have total control of her body most days. "Oh really?" she asked curiously when she mentioned it was one of a kind. "Who's the designer?" she asked. She had absorbed a little about fashion from her mom who always insisted on taking her shopping when they spent time together. She hated it most of the time. She preferred to look at pretty dresses than to wear them herself.

 

[Savannah Walters]

Of course her statement about it being one of a kind would illicit such a response. She had briefly forgotten that this girl was rich and might actually know about designers and clothes. She rolled her eyes at the girl, visibly scoffing. "Like you'd know," Savannah said shortly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Who designed your dress?" Savannah asked in return, her voice remaining sharp as she said it. Of course it was likely that this girl would have a dress from a designer that cost more money than Savannah had ever had in her life.

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah caught off guard by Savannah's response. It was like she knew Leah never really paid attention to labels. But she decided to stand her ground and stood up a bit straighter. "I know some designers. Like the one founded by someone who graduated from here." she said defiantly. But as she searched for a name it wasn't coming to her. "Oh what's it called?" she mumbled. Leah could feel her face flush again when asked about her own dress. "My dress?" she repeated lamely. "I think it's french?" she said and wondered how easy it would be to stretch to try and read the label.