Pandora’s POV-
Hannah and I spent the next day dress shopping for something I could wear to the party tonight. So far, we had been at the mall for three hours and I had found nothing. All the dresses in my sight were either too brightly colored or too short for my liking. I knew I was picky when it came to what I wore, but I didn’t want to be showing off my body to a bunch of guys who I had never met. I knew Austin was wearing a black suit with a red button up underneath it, so I was looking to find something red.
“Oh, Pandora,” Hannah shouted, “What about this one?” I turned to see Hannah holding up a deep red dress.
“How much?” I asked nervously biting down on my lip. She searched around for the price tag before reading it.
“Two hundred.”
“Oh no, that’s way too much.”
“Any dress you find is going to cost a lot of money. Austin obviously doesn’t care. He gave you his credit card and told you to go out and find something nice.”
“Exactly, he trusted me with his money and I’m not going to spend that much on a dress that I’ll wear for one night in my life.” I sighed and exited the store, sitting down on a bench. Hannah put the dress back and sat next to me.
“Don’t worry, Pandora. We’ll find something today I promise.” She put her arm around me as I put my head in my hands.
“It’s not even that…”
“Oh, well then what is it?”
“You’re used to living with Oliver, so you’ll think it’s dumb,” I muttered.
“Whatever it is, I can tell it’s legitimately worrying you. It’s not dumb.”
“What if I don’t fit in tonight, Hannah? Austin’s used to going out and attending parties with all his close friends, living the rich lifestyle. I don’t own fancy cars or have a huge house to talk about like all these other people. I don’t even know any of the people there.”
“That’s the beauty of it though, you don’t know anyone there. This is a great opportunity to meet new people. I know you’re thinking that all his friends are self-centered people who have money, and you’re right, some of them are, but there are so many, like Tally and Ryan, who aren’t. They’re cool down to earth guys. I know you’re going to have a good time,” she smiled.
“That’s what I’m hoping for.”
“Now,” she said, standing up, “Let’s keep looking for that beautiful dress. I know a store that I think you’re going to love.”

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Austin’s POV-
I sat on the end of my bed adjusting the jacket that went over my button up. Pandora was in the bathroom, putting on the dress that she had bought earlier with Hannah. She had been in there for over ten minutes fussing over her image. I rest my elbows on my knees and looked at the floor, wondering what this party was going to be like. I knew Tally liked to drink a lot and usually bought me endless shots, but tonight I couldn’t. Let’s just hope he kept it under control. I stood up and walked over to the bathroom door, softly knocking on it.
“Pandora, just come out already; I’m sure you look beautiful.”
“No, it doesn’t look good on me… maybe you should just go alone, Austin,” she sighed.
“Let me see, please.”
“Austin, it’s just too short. I don’t want you to see it.”
“Please, beautiful?” I asked softly. The door slowly opened as Pandora looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I scanned the red dress that covered her delicate body and smiled. I slid my hands around her hips and pulled her close to me, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “You look stunning, Pandora.” She looked down, tugging at the bottom of the dress.
“It’s too short…” I let go of her and stepped back, looking at her pale thin legs.
“If you feel uncomfortable, wear a pair of tights,” I suggested. She sighed and looked up at me, frowning.
“You don’t think it’s too short?”
“Not at all,” I shook my head. “You’ll see shorter dresses tonight, trust me,” I chuckled, making her giggle a bit.
“I guess it’s not too bad… would you tell me if it was?” I nodded, brushing her hair back with my hand.
“Do you have everything ready to go?”
“Yeah, but I do feel a bit bad about not getting your friend a gift,” she frowned.
“Don’t worry; the guys and I bought him something a while back. I think I can sneak your name on the card before we get there,” I winked and grabbed her hand, snagging my black suit coat off the end of the bed.
“Is the rest of your band coming to the party too?”
“I don’t think so. They’re not close friends with Danny.” She nodded, following me down the stairs after I shut off the light in my bedroom.
“Will Ryan and Tally be there?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, but it’s a big place. We may not run into them until later in the night.” Tino and Phil sat in my living room, playing Nintendo 64 on my couch. Phil paused the game as the two of them looked at us.
“Damn, you two look fancy,” Tino laughed. “Does the Dingo know you’re coming?”
“I don’t think he knows about the party at all. I’m pretty sure Tally and Ryan have been keeping it a secret.”
“Sounds like you two will have fun. And by the way, you look quite gorgeous, Pandora,” Tino smiled.
“Thank you,” she blushed. I looked around, noticing Alan’s lack of presence.
“Where’s Alan?” Phil rolled his eyes.
“Apparently you’re out of booze, so he ran down to Walgreens,” he informed.
“Well tell him if he gets trashed tonight, that he can crash here. I don’t want him driving home, drunk. Are you two staying here tonight?” I looked between Tino and Phil.
“No, Anouk will be home from work soon, so I’ll probably leave a while after you two do,” Phil said.
“Yeah, and Jen and I are having dinner with her parents later, so I gotta help set up,” Tino added.
“Alright, well don’t forget to tell Alan what I said.”
“I’ll make sure he gets the message,” Phil nodded, “Are you two coming back here after the party?”
“Eh, I’m not sure. Warwick is a lengthy drive from here. Plus downtown LA has ridiculous traffic early in the morning.”
“Where are you guys gonna stay?” Tino raised an eyebrow.
“Haven’t got that far yet,” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess we’ll see what happens.” I looked down to Pandora who was pulling at her dress. “Ready to go, cutie?” She glanced up to me and nodded.
“Have fun with your girlfriends, Tino and Phil,” she waved to both of them who smiled.
“We will. Enjoy your night with Austin at Warwick,” Tino winked.
“And keep him out of trouble,” Phil added, nodding towards me. She giggled as I grabbed her hand and pulled her out to my car. Hopefully tonight went smoothly.

Notes