Academic lovers

07 | night

" That makes your body look amazing" Khelani purred.

"It does, doesn't it?" Ciara responds with a confident smile, admiring her dress in her square-length mirror.

"I feel like you should lose the dress, though" I hinted while laying on the pile of clothes scattered on her bed.

Kehlani looks at me with a perplexed expression and asks "Why?"

I adjust myself on the bed. "Well, since both of them are going to mostly be walking around and do fun stuff, Ciara should wear something more comfortable but also cute."

Ciara continued to admire her dress while nodding in agreement. "You're right; I'll save this dress for another time."

We've been at Ciara's house trying to plan an outfit for her date with Michael for the past hour now. I was pretty surprised when I found out that he was the new kid in school, but obviously that would make sense. I don't know how it took me so long to connect the dots.

First Ciara talks about how he's new to town, then a new boy comes to school saying that he's new to town, and plus, the guy Ciara likes name's starts with a M is named Michael. How could my dumbass not know?

"So let's pick something that's casual but cute" Kehlani nods while making her way towards Ciara's enormous walk-in closet. Ciara has a love for fashion and collects any clothing she finds at the mall, which explains her huge walk-in closet stocked with countless tops, dresses, shoes, skirts, accessories, and way more.

"Ciara, with you having such a huge closet, a walk-in one at that, why are we struggling to find something good?"

She came to sit beside her after she changed out of the dress, shrugging her shoulders. "I have no idea; I guess planning an outfit is the hardest part." She looks at the time"Shit, it's almost 5 and I'm still not ready."

"Lucky for you, I found something; it's perfect." Kehlani exclaimed from inside the closet, her voice slightly muffled. With a beaming smile, she emerged, clutching a set of clothes in her hands.

It's a white, form-fitting tube top, complemented by a long-sleeved, fluffy beige cardigan and a pair of blue jeans.

"Oh my gosh, that's so cute; I don't even remember having these" Ciara exclaims in a cheerful tone.

Khelani and I shared a laugh at her excitement before urging her to try on the outfit.

She runs towards her closet, trying it on.

Khelani makes her way towards her vanity dresser, admiring the vanity and the well-organized things.

"Aww, she still has this" she says while pointing at a bracelet. I make my way towards her, taking the object in my hand.

It's the bracelet we made for her back in 8th grade when Ciara was leaving for the summer and we thought she would never come back.

I can still vividly remember that day.

4 years ago

" Don't forget me, guys" Ciara whispers in a croaky, raspy voice as she delicately pushes her short curls behind her ears. Her words hung in the air.

"Of course we won't" I managed to utter, my lips trembling from the weight of the moment, my checks flushed.

"You mean the world to us" Kehlani replies, standing beside me leaning from one leg to another, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

She reached out and gently squeezed Ciara's shoulder.

Tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably, and I hastily tried to wipe them away, but they kept on cascading down like a waterfall, betraying my attempts to remain composed.