Your POV 

'Why are we here, Chanel?'

The slender Asian was buzzing with excitement, constantly flicking her hair and opening her Mimco purse. I didn't see why she had brought the whole squad out to Petunia after school.

There wasn't any boys in sight and everyone had already secured a date, even Ashley who had reluctantly decided to go with James, but she was still extremely angry with me.

'Because we're going shopping!' she squealed with excitement, before dashing off to the nearest shop. Some girls like Harper and Ashley immediately screamed with equal joy before joining Chanel. I couldn't help but roll my eyes and walk in to the bustling shop. 

"Sweetener" by Ariana Grande was playing in the background, and could be faintly heard over the squealing, discussing and asking. Heels that glittered and shone lined the top shelves like precious jewels. Crop tops, bandeaus and summer prints were hanging off the racks, each one having a girl obsessing over it.

Brights spotlights shone on the three displayed purses, each one surely extremely expensive. A sweet, lavender fragrance immediately wafted up my nostrils and I inhaled deeply, smelling the delicate perfume. 

I walked slowly over to my friends, cautious of many over-joyous teen girls. Chanel, Harper, Lilian and Ashley were obsessing over a stylish dress that was way too revealing to be sexy.

It was a beautiful golden metallic backless dress that shimmered brightly. V-cuts sliced the dressed in half up to the waist, and the v-neckline was dropped below until probably where our belly buttons are. Glimmering silver beads lined the breasts areas that were revealed to the world. 

'OMG!' fussed Lilian, shaking her hands with excitement. 'It's so beautiful!'

I wouldn't describe the dress to be "beautiful". I couldn't help but roll my eyes and try to exit the shop. But of course, it wouldn't be that easy.

'Leaving so soon, sweets?' asked the shopkeeper sweetly, fluttering her long fake-eyelashes. She had pink fairy-floss hair to rival Mrs Norris's. The sleek locks tumbled down her back, almost concealing her name badge, which read "Cheryl". 

Her bright blue eyes seemed too artificial to be true. Her make-up seemed perfect that even Chanel could take a few tips from her. Other than that, she wore the normal attire consisting of a black, tight skirt and a crisp cream blouse.

'Without any buys for your social?' Cheryl smiled knowingly, wringing her hands with distraught. 'Why, I have just the thing for you, sweets.'

She held out a dress from the racks with pride gleaming in her eyes. The black fabric of the mesh-dress was completely see through and extremely tight, no doubt to show off body curves. I gulped and shook my head. 'No thank you, please.'

'You know you can wear undergarments underneath, sweets,' frowned Cheryl, her brown eyebrows knitting together. She flicked her pink hair aside, hanging the dress back. 'Well, if you say so. Come on, sweets. Let's find a dress for you.'

She promptly grabbed my hand and veered me back into the depths of the shop. 

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I was exhausted.

I collapsed on a bench near Starbucks, clutching my Caramel Frappucino tightly. We had only been in one shop and the energy had already left me. Who knew shopping was even more tiring than a basketball game? 

I clutched the black bag with the word "topshop" written in cursive across the front. Cheryl had nearly picked out the whole shop for me, so it was a miracle I left with only one dress. And thank God it's not revealing. Or sexy. I don't want to lose my virginity now!

'Oh my,' exhaled Chanel, sitting next to me. At least three bags hung from her delicate arms. 'I'm puffed.'

'Me too,' I sighed tiredly, rubbing my eyes. Then I stood up, a big smile drawn onto my features. 'Well, we're all finished shopping, so-'

'Hold it, (y/n)' warned Chanel, grabbing my arm. Ashley failed a stifling her laughter at my inexperience. 'You only have one bag.'

'One social. One dress. One bag. Simple as that,' I replied without seeing the problem. Now laughter was rippling among our group. 

'No, (y/n),' said Chanel exasperatedly. 'You need multiple choices. And remember, there's more socials to come. You can't be an outfit repeater. That's for the losers like Hannah! '

Now the growing laughter was evident. I clenched my fists, desperately wishing that my best friend wasn't a complete bully. I desperately wanted to stick up for Hannah and myself. But I found myself slouching away, wanting to run and hide while Chanel towered over me.

Suddenly, she didn't seem elegant or beautiful. She was plain intimidating, dark shadows falling across her face as her green eyes turned as bright and poisonous as acid. Her trademark smirk had graced her lips, but it had a more menacing undertone, as if she was saying run away, little lamb. I gulped nervously.

This was why she was feared so much. This side of her was shown to me only once, back in Year 5, when I had hid her Louis Vuitton purse as a joke, but she had a complete meltdown. 

'Okay, okay,' I said hurriedly, in fear that something bad happened. The venom in her eyes slowly disintegrated, her claws retreating. Soon enough she looked like a typical Queen Bee with silky hair and expensive clothing. 

'Finally...' Chanel rolled her eyes. Then she flicked her hand in my direction. 'Though...why do you think one dress is good enough? What dress did you buy? Show us. And the price?'

'Sixty-five dollars,' I replied, hastily grabbing my bag. I reached in and produced my dress to the others. 'Here it is.'

'Hmm.'

The others squinted their eyes and reached forward to touch the fabric of the dress. I know it was the dress that was being examined, but I couldn't help that at the same time I was being judged for my fashion taste. I crossed my fingers and desperately wished that my dress was pleasing enough for them. 

I glanced again at the dress. I thought it was quite simple and pretty. It was a pale-blue striped cold shoulder ruffled dress that fell to above my kness. Cheryl didn't quite approve of this dress, but I thought it was fine. Suddenly the dress didn't seem quite pretty.

'It's okay, I guess,' mused Chanel, tapping her fingers on her chin. The others hummed in agreement, although they sounded a little unsure. 

'Are you kidding?' Ashley asked in disbelief. Her eyes scampered around the group. 'That dress is plain ugly. It cost sixty-five dollars? No wonder. Cheap as dirt.'

This time, when the group agreed, it was much more louder and sounded much more sure of themselves. I wanted to retort something back to Ashley, saying that she couldn't even afford a dress "cheap as dirt", but I restrained myself. I couldn't lose control.

Instead, I could feel my vision starting to blur with the all-too familiar salty water. I glanced in hope at Layla, but she only glanced away in ignorance. Clenching my fists, my eyes dropped to the floor. 

'Aw, look! Ashley, you made her cry!' 

'Ashley!'

Pairs of comforting arms wrapped around my upper body. I tried to shake them off, telling them I was fine, but they stayed there for me. Lilian and Esme.

A thought crossed my head, questioning if they were my actual real friends in the group. No. It couldn't be.

'Jeez!' yelped Ashley, her arms lifting into a surrendering position. 'I was just joking.'

That didn't help me at all. That seemed like more than just a joke. I wondered if Layla or Chanel were actually going to do anything. 

'Hey,' whispered Chanel, wrapping her arms around me. Lilian and Esme seemed to disappear as Chanel came. 'Ash was joking. We'll buy you some other dresses, though.'

'O-Okay. I'm fine, now,' I mumbled, managing a weak smile, even though smiling was the last thing I felt like doing today. Chanel nodded in satisfaction before grabbing my arm and leading me towards the nearest shop. I tried to wipe my tears on the back of my hand as we began to enter the posh shop with the pink words "suprè" scribbled across. At least this shop seemed cheaper than Topshop. 

Suprè was a lot more smaller than Topshop, but it was still huge. Girl mannequins stood on display, wearing Suprè's best offers. The familiar tune of "In My Feelings" by Drake could be hear playing faintly in the background. Ashley and Harper immediately began squealing and dancing the challenge, falling behind. Good. We didn't need Ashley at all. She can just die in hell, please.

Even though Chanel had a look on her face suggesting she wanted to dance as well, she didn't let go of me. She continued leading me into a section titled "party". She ignored most of the offers and went straight for the slip dresses. 

'Chanel?' I tugged at her to let go. 'Why the revealing dresses? It's not like the socials are our last formals.'

'I know, I know,' she sighed, still going through dresses. 'It's just that...it's hard to explain. It could be like a club experience, you know? One of those nightclubs.'

Wistfulness swirled in Chanel's eyes. I gulped, worried I was stuck with a psychopath. 'Why a nightclub?'

'Maybe...just maybe...we could get laid,' she whispered dreamily. I froze in horror and shock. I wasn't dirty minded or anything, but I still knew what she meant by "get laid". 

'Chanel...you're only in year ten.'

'Oh yeah...' Chanel frowned, suddenly looking disappointed with her life. 'Never mind then.'

She went back to sorting through dresses as if the conversation had never happened. At last, she finally surfaced holding a slip pencil backless dress with mesh. It looked like a pencil skirt with a black bandeau and someone had just connected it with mesh. 

'Here you go!' she cried happily, thrusting if forward to me. 'It will show off all your curves! And it's just $50! Even cheaper than Topshop! Try it on!'

'I will!'

Chanel began pushing me into the changing rooms even though I could walk perfectly fine. I entered the one near the far end, closest to a mirror. As I slipped the dress on a million thoughts buzzed in my head. I could hear the squeal and cries of the others as they entered the dressing room, including Ashley (she didn't die in hell, sadly), all waiting for me.

I took a deep breath before going out. It wasn't too bad I guess. I just felt insecure about how revealing this dress was. But everyone just began cheering for me and saying I looked "sexy". To me, I just looked cringey. By the way Ashley's face was contorting, I could tell she was thinking the same thing as me. But this time, she decided not to say anything.  

'Buy it!' screamed Celeste. The others chorused in agreement. I nodded sheepishly before heading to the counter. A girl with brunette cascading curls greeting me cheerfully. Her name tag read "Kassidee". 

'Buying just this today?' she asked me. I nodded. 'Do you know that there is a sale today? Two party dresses for fifty dollars?'

That was too good to be true. But I didn't need three dresses. I opened my mouth to protest, but Chanel, Harper and Ashley cut in front of me. 

'Yes, she knows!' Harper practically yelled. With a dramatic flourish, she revealed a dress. 'She'll buy this one as well!'

I didn't have time to look at the dress properly. Kassidee grabbed it quick as lightning and sold it to me, desperate to make money. Soon enough, we had been pushed out of the store, leaving with only one bag and a quick "thank you and bye!" from Kassidee.

'That was quick,' muttered Chanel in disdain, picking at her newly-manicured hand. Everyone nodded, agreeing with this statement. 'Anyways, let's head to Chatime.'

We all headed towards the bubble tea stall, placed on the coastline of the beach. The sun was setting fast, so swimmers quickly evaporated from the beach and Celeste, Lilian and Georgia went down to the shore to take pictures for Celeste's Instagram. I gazed out at the pink, purple, yellow and blue palette of the sky.

'What's your order?'

The familiar, sunny, warm voice rang in my ears. My eyes widened as I turned towards the store and was greeted by striking aqua eyes lit up by the golden rays emitted from the sun.

'J-Jack?'

'It's me,' he leaned over to plant a quick kiss on my head before turning to everyone else. 'Oh, hey Ashley.'

'Hi Jack,' Ashley gave him a fake-cheery smile, her eyes spiking with ice. His eyes directed their charming gaze towards me, causing pink to tinge across my face. Guilt panged in my chest as I remembered that I didn't like him back. He just didn't know that yet. 

'So, what do you want to order?' asked Jack to everyone, yet his eyes stayed glued on me, making me feel a little uncomfortable.

'One mango black tea with popping pearls,' Ashley ordered impatiently. Suddenly that atmosphere went thick with tension. 

'Same as Ashley, but make it green tea,' Chanel added with a tinge of excitement. Maybe she sensed that perhaps something big was going to happen. And boy, does she love gossip and spilling tea.

'And you?' whispered Jack, leaning towards me. I smiled weakly and leaned back a little. 

'Peach green tea with black pearls, please.'

'Okay,' replied Jack, satisfied. He dived into the chaos in the kitchens of Chatime, leaving us alone with a receipt. Ashley immediately turned my direction and began glaring daggers. And apparently everyone else was to oblivious to notice this. 

'Ugh, he didn't even take my order!' sighed Layla. Then her eyes lit up with excitement. 'But, OMG, he's so in love with you, (y/n). His eyes were, like, glued on you the whole time! I SHIP!'

It felt like thousands of people joined in squealing, as if I was BTS and they were all ARMYs. Layla screamed in happiness and threw her arms around me. Only Ashley and Chanel stood back, the blonde rolling her eyes so hard she could probably see her brain. If she had one. 

'Calm down, everyone,' I let out a nervous laugh. 'C'mon, let's go sit somewhere.'

Everyone huddled around me and threw questions, acting like I was a celebrity. We finally settled down on these wooden blue-painted benches that only managed to fit all of us. The talk about me and Jack was still going strong. 

'You should have your first kiss!' suggested Georgia, clasping her hands firmly. Numerous voices agreed. 

'We should.'

The conversation immediately went silent as everyone turned towards the owner of the voice. Underneath the sunset light, his eyes had taken on a pink and lilac tinge in the aqua hues. His gold flecks scattered in his eyes sparkles with love.

I twisted my hands nervously as my eyes broke contact with his gems, scampering around the table and looking at everyone's different reactions. Chanel's impassive face which she used as a fortress to hold emotions in.

Layla's calm one but her eyes glittered as if she was about the burst from all the things she wanted to say out loud. Ashley's face contorted angrily, as her lips were pressed together tightly and her eyes secretly said, bitch. 

'Anyways, one mango black-tea with popping pearls, one mango green-tea with popping pearls and one peach green-tea with black pearls,' Jack placed the three cups on the table. I smiled gratefully. Then he placed a tray down. 'Oh, and I got all of the rest's usual's. That's okay, right?'

'Right!' agreed Layla bubbly as she sipped her passion fruit ice-tea. 'Mmm, it's so good!'

I opened my mouth to respond, but I felt somebody tap my shoulder. I didn't dare turn around in fear of being held captive by those mesmerizing eyes again. I didn't like him. Besides, I knew who was behind me anyways. 

'Come with me.'

I couldn't help but follow the owner of the voice behind the Chatime store, ignoring everyone's stares, squeals and glares. The warmth of his hand surrounded mine. 

'What are we doing, Jack?' I asked, trying not to sound too apprehensive. His arm slithered around my waist as he pulled me closer, so close I could feel his minty breath. I could count his eyelashes and his glasses revealed his eyes perfectly. 

'Didn't you hear Georgia's suggestion?'

A thousands thoughts buzzed around my head. One of them screamed to get the fuck out of here. Another shouted your heart belongs to Shu. Then there were those voices who actually wanted this. You're not in love with an anime character, silly. Shu doesn't even exist! Besides...you want this. This is your first kiss. 

'I did,' I muttered reluctantly, looking down. 'It's just-'

'Hey,' whispered Jack. 'Don't worry about Ashley.'

Apparently he thought Ashley was the cause of all my problems. Oh, how wrong he was. I would have sex with him just to make Ashley angry. If I was older, of course. But I did want to have my first kiss. I was the only one in the group who hadn't. So a small smile graced my lips as we leant in simultaneously. 

His soft lips met mine. It was warm and exciting, but gentle at the same time. Thoughts were clouded in my head as I was sent giddy by love. He went easy on me, not pushing me at all. There wasn't any tongue, but it was all I could ask for. His hand caressed my cheek, brushing a stray hair behind my ear. I felt myself melting in the warmth of his hold. It was perfect.

Yet it didn't have that spark that so many others had described in their first kiss. 

Maybe Jack wasn't meant for me. 

Maybe Shu was. 

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wowowowow! Long chapter! I hope it was worth the long wait :) 

And for the next two weeks, I am going to be extremely busy as my dance concerts comes up and the rehearsal times are ridiculous, like 9 hours a day. Plus I need to practice with my feet as I need to pass a pointe test soon. I have done some prewritten chapters, but they might not be as long as this one. Sowwy. :(

Oh, and check Namjoon's new album out, MONO. It's so good, especially seoul and moonchild.  And Kiss and Makeup by Dua Lip and BLACKPINK. And Waste it on Me by BTS and Steve Aoki. Check all of this songs out. They're bomb.

REMEMBER...VOTE...COMMENT...SHARE!!!!

Word count: 3126