••••Update•••• "Riza?" I choke; I haven't been called that since, well, Oliver. "Yeah, what's wrong with it? I think it's cute, goes well with you," he smiles. "I umm," I stutter. He grabs my hand and looks into my eyes, "Why don't you talk?Don't you want to be friends?" "I have to go to the bathroom," I grab my purse and run to the bathroom. When I get inside, I start to breathe normally again. Why did he have to say that? Why did he call me Riza? I run my fingers through my hair. Seventeen magazine did not prepare me for this. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Flashback 'Happy birthday, Riza! I love you to the end of the sky and back,' popped up on my phone screen at midnight. I smile at the text from Oliver and wonder what he planned for today. He told my parents he's taking me out all day and that he has the whole day "planned out". I go to sleep smiling and dreaming about my perfect 15th birthday. The next morning I wake up to Oliver sitting on my bed with a party hat on with a rainbow blow-out in his mouth, "Happy birthday, Riza!" "Oliver, what is this? I look horrible," I whine. "Still look beautiful to me!" he kisses my cheek, "get up and get changed! We're going dress shopping then to the studio!" "Wait, what? Why?" I ask suspiciously. "You'll see, okay? Hurry! Our studio appointment is at 1PM! That leaves us only 3 hours for dress shopping!" he orders, "hop to it!" I quickly brush my teeth and get dressed in a tight, white crop top and a mint, flowy, skirt. I throw on a pair of silver flats and brush through my hair. "Done," I smile after 15 minutes. "Great! Let's go!" Oliver says excitedly. We pass by my mother drinking coffee in the kitchen, "Have fun, kids!" "Thanks, Mrs. Bennett!" Oliver smiles and pulls me out the door. He literally drags me into his car and we're off. The car ride to Santa Monica takes a really long time. The car ride consists of Top 40 music and delicious snacks. We arrive at the local boutique Oliver planned to go to beforehand to try on dresses for this evening. "Where am I going to wear fancy dresses like these?" I question suspiciously. "You'll see! Just try it on!" he chuckles and sits down on the suede, red sofa in front of the dressing room. The owner of the boutique, who Oliver seems to know, already has over ten dresses all ready for me to try on. All the dresses are beautiful; some long, some short, some sparkly, some not, they're all so gorgeous, that's why I nearly fainted when I saw the price tags. "Oliver! These are really expensive!" I scold. "So what? I'm paying. It doesn't matter. Besides, it's your birthday! Let loose a little bit!" his calming voice let me take a couple of breaths. The first dress is a one shoulder mint green sweeping down to my ankles with sequins and rhinestones going along the side where the strap is located. It's so skin tight that I waddle out of the dressing room. Oliver laughs at me in a admirable way and he and the storekeeper agree that this is not the one for me. I try on a few more. A red one up to my knees that makes me look like Little Red Riding Hood threw up on me, a blue one that's so fluffy, I look like a giant puff of cotton candy and a purple one that makes me feel, well, like a prune. After the thirteenth dress, I started losing hope; what if I never find that dress that everyone approves of? I pick up a dress that seems to be different than all the others I try on. It's a pink strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. It's pleated into even folds that make the pink to purple ombré affect from my calf down more dramatic. I put the dress on gingerly and walk out to show Oliver and the storekeeper. "How's this one?" I ask timidly. "You... look... beautiful..." Oliver says breathtakingly. "This is it! This is the dress! You look like a princess!" the shop owner squeals. I go back into the dressing room and peel the dress off my body. I hand Oliver the dress through the dressing room and change into my regular clothes. When I finally leave the dressing room, I see Oliver holding the dress from a hanger with plastic wrap over it, "Money well spent." •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "So I'm thinking peach eyeshadow, brown eyeliner and brown mascara. Pink lipstick to match that dress perfectly. Keep it simple; she's already beautiful enough," the make up artist, Skylere, compliments. She too herself is beautiful without make up. Long, auburn hair with bangs, bright green eyes and freckles complete her high cheekbones and thin body. "She is, isn't she?" Oliver looks at me with those beautiful eyes. She puts on a moisturizer before putting on a thin layer of Mac foundation to even out my skin tone. She applies Mac powder to set off the foundation and then sweeps on eyeshadow primer before setting that off with peach cream eyeshadow. She intensifies that eyeshadow by adding a powdery peach eyeshadow and then moving that into the crease of my eyelid. Skylere decides to add a peach with gold sparkles to my crease to make my eyes appear brighter. She then applies brown eyeliner to my bottom lash line lightly to make it appear natural. Last minute, she decides on a small set of false lashes to make me "picture perfect" as she says. After applying those, and a couple coats of mascara, I look like a true princess. "Wow! You look amazing, babe!" Oliver says captivated. "Not done yet! The lipstick!" Skylere says applying it to my lips, "no kissing her; you don't want it to rub off, understood?" "Yes," Oliver and I blush at the same time. "Look at the time! It starts in two and a half hours! She needs to get her hair done too!" Skylere urges. "Where's Danny?" Oliver wonders. "Sorry I'm late!" a deep voice comes from the entrance of the studio. I turn around and look at probably the most cool hairstylist I have ever seen. His hair is blonde with purple streaks gelled up in the front. He's wearing a typical black button down shirt, black pants, and leather boots. His right ear is pierced and has medium sized diamond glimmering when the light hits it. Perhaps the coolest thing about him is his apron. It's personalized with Danny embodied in lavender yarn and a hair dryer, curler, and flat iron have personal pockets in the middle pockets. The left pocket is for hair clips and his scissors and the right are filled with curlers and samples of hair products to give to clients. "Who's this lovely lady?" Danny smiles. "Hi, I'm Terissa," I give him a small smile. "She's my girlfriend," Oliver puts in. "Oh! You picked well! And she has lovely hair for me to work with!" Danny says enthusiastically. "Thanks," I blush. So I'm thinking an updo. A braided bun with a fresh rose?" Danny examines. "Sounds great to me!" I smile. After about half an hour, my dark brown hair transformed into the updo I had imagined earlier. The braid is perfectly intact with no loose strands sticking out like it normally does. The pink rose looks elegant with the unique braid and the whole hairdo ties in perfectly with my make up. I choose a pair of shoes from the stacks of boxes in the studio that Zach brought for me. I go with a silky, ballet-like shoe complete with the ribbons at my calves and heels that aren't too tall. I look like I'm going to Prom, honestly, but where am I going, really? "You look stunning, Riza," Oliver pulls me in for a kiss and then pauses when he realized that Skylere said no kissing. "Thanks," I giggle and pull him into a hug. "You look great, Terissa!" Danny compliments. "Thanks to you and Skylere," I say giving him a tight hug. "Have fun, kids!" Danny waves goodbye. At the entrance of the studio, a white limousine is waiting for us to take us to our final destination. We climb in and plop down on the leather seats. "Can you tell me where we're going now?" I whine. "You'll see, babe, it's a surprise," he blows me a kiss. We sit in silence for the rest of the ride; we smile at each other, but I'm just waiting to see the final destination. The car finally parks in front of a huge ballroom and a man in a suit opens the door for us. I see a lot of cameras flashing. "Why are there so many cameras?" I ask thoughtfully. "It's the paparazzi," Oliver says simply. When I exit the car, I recognize everything... The red carpet. The Staples Center. No. It can't be... The Grammys. Holy cheese muffins. End of Flashback •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• School ends fairly quickly. We don't do much since it's the first day. I go to my locker and pack my things quickly to avoid any after school traffic. I close my locker and see Preston leaning his head against the one next to mine. "Hi Riza," he smiles. "Don't... call me that," I gulp out. "Why not? I think it's cute," Preston moves closer to me. "Get away from me," I choke. "What if I don't want to?" he moves a step closer; I feel him breathing. I push him away and run out of the door. He catches up to me quickly and grabs my arm. He turns me around to face him. "Where are you going?" he asks. "Away from you," I respond rudely. "Why would you want to do that?" he smirks, "want to go downtown for coffee at the Coffee Bean with me?" "No, I don't like coffee," I lie. "You don't have to get coffee," he says quickly, "you can have hot chocolate or a milkshake." "I-no," I start to say. "They also have muffins and cookies and cupcakes!" he adds quickly. "I've been there before," I mutter. "Well, come with me!" Preston urges. "I'm not interested, sorry," I reply sternly and walk away. He's extremely attractive. He's really nice. He's pretty funny. So he's the ideal guy, I guess. But I'm not really interested in getting my heart broken again. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Sorry, Danny . It's kind of small... I didn't know where else to put you ?. This story is not dramatic with twists and such. It's a pretty basic storyline with a couple main characters and a lot of other characters . Sorry if I disappointed you! Skylere, I added your name here too! Your name will also be in Amended! . This update is very descriptive... Or at least I think so . I'm always told I lack descriptive details. Thanks for reading! Question: Would you like me to do the Grammy flashback or no?
Did I call the Staples Center a ballroom? ?. Author's Tip: Do not type your updates on different days if you don't proofread .
The Grammy flashback will be in the next next update . This one focuses more on Preston and Terissa . Then it will be the Grammy's update. After that, two more updates until the reveal of the incident and it's aftermath. Then in the next update, the shocker . Any of you want to see pictures of the characters? I got them ready in case. I have Terissa, Preston, and Oliver .
Ah fantastic work!? The characters, going back and forth with flashbacks. Who wouldn't go for a wonderful coffee though? Strange girl.
I wouldntcoffee really isn't my thing you know? I'm more of a orange juice girl..... Anyways update