The Beautiful Monster

When they arrived at the mall, Alyssa followed Zoe\'s lead. She knew where to look for good clothes, and Alyssa wasn\'t going to act like she knew anything. She wanted to be shown the ropes. The bland outfit she wore now proved that was the best choice.

"Let\'s try in here," Zoe said as she led Alyssa into a dimly lit clothing store.

Alyssa felt like she already arrived at the party. Club music thumped through the store as they ventured past racks and tables full of different clothes. They looked far different than what she wore.

"I don\'t even know where to start," she told Zoe as she glanced around. She didn\'t know how to pair together any of these clothes.

Zoe stopped near the back wall of the store and grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans with tears in the fabric.

"Take these," she replied before moving over to a table and grabbing a sequined top piece. She held it up to Alyssa. "Cute, huh?"

It almost looked like a black bra with silver sequins. It looked far better than the boring white and black bras she had in her dresser.

"Yeah! What could I wear over it?" Alyssa asked as she took it from Zoe.

Laughter bubbled from Zoe as she shook her head.

"You don\'t wear anything over it. It\'s a crop top," she explained.

"It looks like a bra," Alyssa replied with a confused look. It was cute and would look good with the jeans, but she wasn\'t sure if she could pull it off. She didn\'t have perfect curves in the right places. She thought that she just had an average body.

"Go try it on and you\'ll see," Zoe encouraged her as she gave Alyssa a light push toward the dressing room.

Alyssa groaned as she entered one of the dressing rooms. She really wasn\'t sure about this. If her parents saw her wearing this out in public, they would have a heart attack. She pulled her clothes off and tentatively pulled on the skinny jeans and the sequined top with thin straps.

For a moment, she didn\'t look in the mirror. She felt too nervous to. She knew she wouldn\'t fill out the top right. The jeans wouldn\'t sit right on her hips. She would have rolls and marks she couldn\'t hide. She wouldn\'t look good at all.

All of those negative thoughts filled up her head until she finally conjured up the courage to look up at the mirror. Her mouth fell open as she stared at herself. The top fit her perfectly, gripping her curves and dazzling beneath the fluorescent lights of the dressing room. The jeans looked badass too.

She looked great. She looked different. Alyssa fluffed her hair out a little, letting it fall against her bare shoulders as she turned every which way in front of the mirror. She couldn\'t believe a mere outfit change made her feel so much better about herself.

A knock sounded on the door to her dressing room.

"Hey! How\'s it looking?" Zoe called from the outside.

Alyssa turned and opened the door to the dressing room. She nervously shuffled toward the doorway so that Zoe could see her.

Zoe gasped as she reached out to grab Alyssa\'s upper arms.

"You look hot!" she gasped out as she made Alyssa do a turn.

Alyssa felt her face burn a little. At least she wasn\'t the only one who thought she looked pretty good. That made her feel even more confident about buying the outfit and wearing it that night.

"Are you sure? I\'ve never worn something like this before," Alyssa asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Zoe took Alyssa\'s hands and led her back in front of the mirror. She pointed at Alyssa\'s reflection.

"You are killing this outfit, okay? Don\'t doubt that for a second," Zoe said. "Guys are going to be drooling over you."

Alyssa laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. She shook her head.

"I doubt that," she replied. Her mind immediately shifted to Elias. She wondered how he would react if he saw her in this outfit.

"You\'ll see," Zoe smirked before heading out of the dressing room.

Alyssa looked over herself in the mirror once more before changing back into her other clothes. She didn\'t feel the same. She didn\'t feel as great, but at least she found one that made her feel incredible.

"Did you find anything?" Alyssa asked Zoe once she left the dressing room. She had been in there for a good minute looking at herself.

Zoe held up a black, mesh long sleeve shirt and black, lacy bralette.

"I\'m going to pair these with my pink skater skirt," she said. "Oh! And my white boots."

"That sounds cute," Alyssa replied as they walked to the checkout counter together. She looked forward to getting ready for the party, but she was still a little nervous about actually attending. She didn\'t want to act all awkward in front of everyone.

Zoe looped her arm with Alyssa\'s and pulled her close to her side.

"Tonight is going to be so much fun!" Zoe quietly squealed.

Alyssa squeezed back as her heart started to race. Things were finally starting to fall into place for her. She was trying new things and getting out. As small as it was, she was proud of herself for taking these steps. She hadn\'t done them much last year and regretted that.

"Are you dropping me back off now?" Alyssa asked once they walked out of the store with bags in their hands. She didn\'t even know when the party was or where exactly the ADP house was on campus. All of the sorority and fraternity houses were shoved together in one corner of campus.

"What? No, just come back to my place! We can do hair and makeup before the party," Zoe replied.

Alyssa nodded, liking the sound of that idea. She probably would\'ve just hung out around her dorm until the party anyway. At least she could do that with a friend and actually make it a fun time. She secretly hoped Zoe would help her with her hair and makeup too since Zoe\'s looked great.