Chapter 20- Taunting Makeovers

[] A M E L I A []

It had been four days since John came and went. Ever since that day, it was like I had found a way to revitalise myself.

Somehow, John became an inspiration to me. For once, I wanted to step out of this place that had become my comfort zone, and finally attempt at going back to who I really was. It was a sudden decision. Something I was sure I'd regret at some point down the road. But for now, I wanted change.

First, I needed to get rid of my hoodie.

It was a tough decision, to finally pull down the hood. However, it was something that was long overdue. There was no reason for me to hide who I was. If John could speak to a crowd full of nearly 50 careless adolescents, then I could at least pull down my hood and actually face the people who I was talking to.

So on Saturday morning, I called the only person who could help me in this situation: Gemma Pollard.

I told her to come over since it was an emergency, and within five minutes, there was a knock at my door. Surprised, I opened the door to see Gemma panting on the other side.

"What happened?" she breathed out.

"Whoa, did you run here?" I asked.

She nodded and pushed her way into my room. I closed the door after her, and when I turned, she was just diving onto the bed. I shook my head at her antics.

"What's the emergency?" she asked, still trying to regain her breath.

I stood at the foot of my bed and looked down to her with a nervous smile.

"I actually need your help with something," I said, nervously rubbing my arm.

Gemma sat upright on my bed and gave me a serious look. She suddenly got up and came forward to face me. All of a sudden, she placed her hands on both of my shoulders and gave me a serious look.

"I think I know what it is."

I gave her a confused look.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

She leaned in closer.

"You want to ask out Leo, don't you?"

I stared at her with my mouth agape.

'Where the hell did she get that from?'

Immediately, I shook her hands off of me and let out a loud "No!"

She frowned at my words and put her hands on her hips.

"Are you sure? Cause he looks like he can jump your bones anytime," she said sternly.

I gave her a mortified look and wrapped my arms around myself.

"You're crazy Gemma. He does not look at me like that."

This time, Gemma's mouth fell open at my words.

"You're crazy Amelia! Did you not see him the day John came?" she asked incredulously.

I frowned at her words and pictured Leo's face at that time. For some reason, it was engraved into my mind.

"Girl, do you even know how stressed he was that day?" Gemma continued. "The moment I found out that you left with John, I told the three of them that you might not be comfortable with him alone. Then, Leo frick-fracking ran through the doors of every possible building on the campus to find you. Then he saw you through the windows, sitting in a cafe with John's hand on yours, and he nearly lost it. If Andre hadn't pushed Jamal to get to John first, he would've been a mess of bones by now. Not just that, but his eyes kept burning holes to the side of John's head the whole time we all spoke to him."

My eyes widened at this newfound information and I suddenly found myself going red in the face. However, before any more thoughts could form, I suddenly remembered who I was. Followed by the thought that someone like Leo, could never, ever like me.

Because I'm simply me.

"Gemma, for me to ask him out I'd have to like him, or he'd have to like me. And there's no way he can like me, Gemma. Nobody can. I think you've forgotten who I am, but I haven't. There's no way that anyone can accept me and my baggage. There's just no way."

At my words, Gemma's mouth fell agape. Suddenly, she took two quick strides toward me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Of course he can like you, Amelia. Because there's nothing wrong with you."

I looked into her sincere eyes, and almost felt myself agreeing. But before I could, the voice in the back of my mind pulled me back. I once again stepped out of Gemma's hold and looked away.

The two of us stood in silence for a while, and then Gemma sighed.

"Okay, let's forget about this for now. What did you actually call me here for?" Gemma said, changing her tone from sad to preppy again.

I sighed and turned to face her.

"I was actually wondering if we can go shopping together."

And then Gemma squealed so loud, that my dorm neighbours had to come check on me.

* * *

When I said I wanted to go shopping, I thought we would just go to the local mall, browse around some stores and that would be it. However, Gemma took it to the next level.

I knew that the girl was a fashion fanatic. Her hair and clothes were always top-notch, and her nails were always done to perfection. I honestly looked like a bland onion compared to her.

But I didn't expect her to use that fashion sense on me.

I had regretted sharing the idea with her the moment she grinned and said: "Wait till I'm done with you."

And then once we got to the mall, I regretted it even more. She dragged me to every shop in sight and simply dropped piles and piles of clothes in my arms. Then, she made me try on more than half the things in the piles.

I was sick of it after the third store we entered.

In the fifth one we entered, she liked one outfit on me so much, that she insisted I wear it out. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a simple light pink sweater with light blue boyfriend jeans. Gemma insisted that it looked adorable, and I agreed to it after her persistence.

By the time afternoon rolled around, I had mountains of bags in my hands, and Gemma the same. I had finally said that this would be enough for now, and she agreed, eyeing the bags happily. We walked to her car, with me groaning with the weight of the bags, and Gemma simply laughing at my dispense.

After getting into the car, I now felt uncomfortable about this. I had let go of my hoodies after wearing them religiously for four years. It felt weird. Not being to pull my hood tighter around me, and not feeling the familiar fabric against my skin. It was something I was already missing.

However, it felt good.

My hair was finally free, falling down my back in its usual waves. The lighter color of the sweater brought out the color in my cheeks, and the new jeans felt cooler than my old ratty pair of jeans.

For the first time in a long time, I felt free.

After making it to the dorm parking, we started lugging all of the bags towardsmy room. We met Fatima, my neighbor, on our way in, and her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Amelia?" she had said.

I nodded meekly, while Gemma gave her a proud smile.

"Doesn't she look great?" she asked Fatima.

Fatima nodded, grinning as well.

"You look great Amelia. Gemma did a great job!" she said sweetly.

I gave her a small smile in response and mumured a thanks.

Gemma, Fatima, and I had met a few times before in the cafeteria, usually during dinner time. Since we were all dorm people, we ran into each other a few times elsewhere too. She was a nice girl, someone I liked hanging out with, too.

Fatima then offered to help us out and we happily agreed. The three of us brought everything into my dorm and sighed once we saw the damage. Most of my floor was covered in bags, all with different logos on the front. I shared a look with Gemma, feeling slightly skeptical about all of this. She simply smiled at me.

We finally started unpacking everything that I bought, and I was surprised to see what I had actually purchased. There was a lot of sweaters and t-shirts, most of which were long sleeved because of my bad habit of pulling my sleeves, lots of jeans, and even some cute sleeping suits. There wasn't much summer shopping to do since we were getting near winter, which made my request for long sleeves easier.

As we unpacked, Gemma and Fatima conversed about what outfits would work, and pointed them out to me once they came to a conclusion. I only nodded here and there, already forgetting most of what they said. Sadly, Fatima left halfway through to get dinner with her friends, and Gemma and I were left alone once again.

As we put the last of everything away, I realized that we hadn't gotten dinner either. I groaned realizing this, and Gemma turned to me surprised.

"Food," I only said.

She chuckled at me and I groaned out once again. Just then, Gemma put away the last pile of my clothes, and then turned to me.

"Let's go get dinner."

I nodded.

As we were heading out, my phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and was surprised to see Andre's name flashing on the screen. Gemma stopped at the door and turned around to face me. I answered up the call and brought the phone up to my ear.

"Amelia!" he greeted.

"Hi Andre," I said.

"Come over, we're ordering pizza."

And that sentence was like music to my ears.

"Where to?" I asked, looking up to gauge Gemma's reaction.

She was giving me a confused look and I held a finger out for her to wait.

"Mine and Jamal's."

I brought the phone down and looked up to Gemma to explain what was happening. She nodded excitedly at my words.

"But in twenty minutes," she said.

I nodded and told Andre we'd be over soon, then shut the call. I gave her a confused look, wondering why we'd be late and she simply grinned at me.

Before I knew it, she was dragging me to her dorm. When we reached her place, Gemma sat me in a chair and pulled out her straightener. I stared at her in mortification, and she simply told me to "sit my ass down." I had complied, only because she had been so helpful today.

And with the fear that if I disagreed, she'd burn my ear.

She hummed a preppy tune to herself, and I was surprised to see her so interested in tweaking me up. She quickly straightened only the top half of my hair, letting the rest form curls near the bottom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, surprised to see the difference in my form. Gemma clapped once she was done, only fifteen minutes later, and I gave her a small smile.

We finally started heading out, and once we left her building, I realized I had forgotten my wallet at home. Not wanting any of the boys to pay for the food by themselves, I nearly begged Gemma to let me grab it. She had complied, but told me she'd be waiting at my building's front door.

Once we made it there, I went inside as fast as I could, while Gemma waited by the entrance. Before I knew it, I was in my hallway, heading towards my room.

I paused for a moment when I got there, finding the atmosphere oddly eerie. It was only near 8 in the evening, but the lights were dim, and everything was silent.

I frowned, but brushed off the feeling and started heading towards my dorm. From here, I could spot my door, 101, but I noticed there was something on it.

I furrowed my brows in confusion, seeing the white piece of paper attached to the door. I took hesitant steps closer, and peered over my shoulder as a random gust of wind passed by. I knew it was the vent system, but I couldn't help but rub my arm nervously as I walked to my dorm room.

I came to a stop in front of my room and stared at the paper in confusion. I now saw that it was envelope, and it had my name written on the front in cursive writing. It was taped to the door almost perfectly in the top center. Hesitantly, I reached out for it.

A shiver ran down my spine as I slowly grabbed the envelope and opened it. I peered inside and saw that there was another white paper inside. Ever so slowly, I pulled it out.

It was folded in eighths, and my heartbeat increased with every unfolding. Finally, the paper was unfolded, and my heart fell to my stomach as I read the words written on it, in the same powerful cursive writing.

"Isn't it a pleasure to walk around smiling when you are the cause of someone's death?"