After I agreed to go with Ava, we decided to go to her place to find something for me to wear seeing as I didn't have any dresses suitable for the occasion. I opened the door to Ava's closet and my jaw dropped in shock.

"Why do you have so many clothes?"

Ava rolled her eyes.

"Not all people keep themselves locked inside their house forever, you know," she retaliated. I shrugged, knowing that she was right. Once upon a time, I also loved spending money on things I would never wear.

"I don't think I like any of these dresses," I said eyeing the plethora of dresses- all of which the cleavage was on full display. In the past, I wasn't against dressing like that. But, if someone was to catch us and take pictures of us now I know that the public would try to find a way to make up a twisted story about my first appearance in a while. I wasn't about to risk that. Ava sighed at my comment before she walked to the other side of her closet. It was big enough to be a living room but I wasn't about to say that to her knowing that she was going to carry on complaining about my lack of a social life.

"I found it!" she exclaimed happily as she grabbed the hanger of one of the dresses and walked over to me with the dress in her hand.

"This just screams Valerie, Valerie."

It was true. Out of all the dresses I saw, this was the only one I'd even consider trying. It was a long, off-shoulder turquoise satin V-neck gown that went up to my feet. Ava paired it up with the perfect pair of heels embedded with crystals. I grabbed it hesitantly before kicking her out to try the dress on.

"Are you done?" Ava groaned from behind the door, "I don't get why you kicked me out. We've been friends for years for god's sake!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not comfortable changing in front of people and you, my dear, should especially know that," I said as I shoved my legs through the dress and pulled it up. After I was done, I slipped my feet through the heels and without bothering to check how I looked, I opened the door and waited for Ava to take in my appearance and I couldn't help but sigh in relief when she nodded in approval.

"It complements your body. You should definitely hire me to become your stylist," she voiced. I rolled my eyes before saying,

"We both know you're going to work as my stylist whether I pay you or not."

Ava laughed at my comment before nodding. "Sometimes, you really need someone to give you a push to work on yourself-" Her words were cut short after her dark eyes moved to the clock behind me, making her let out a shocked gasp.

"We have 3 hours to do your hair and make up!" I furrowed my eyebrows knowing that we had more than enough time to get ready before she gestured at herself from head to toe.

"I don't even know what I'm going to wear," she said sheepishly before running towards her closet. I took it as my cue to shake off the dress and get into my pajamas to at least do my makeup comfortably. 30 minutes later, Ava finally came out of the closet with a dress in hand.

"I'm not sure if this is good enough but-"

I cut her off in irritation. "You need to get started unless you want to miss the party!" Ava nodded at my statement before she sat me down and started working on my makeup and hair.

"I'm surprised you even have the dress you're about to lend me," I commented as her brush of eyeshadow moved along my eyelid.

"My mom bought it for me hoping I could be like you one day," she joked, "at least now it can be used for a good cause because I was never planning to go near it," she uttered. I hummed in agreement as she continued working on my face. She didn't need to work on her makeup because it was already done before I was forced to go through her closet. She then proceeded to my hair, deciding to stick to just curling it.

After I was done, I put on the dress and heels again before turning towards the mirror. I didn't know how to react after seeing my reflection- I just knew that the girl staring right back at me was finally starting to come out of her shell and it started to make me proud of myself for the first time in 3 years. Ava put on her dress and did the final touch ups of her makeup before she walked over to me with a soft smile.

"Are you ready?" She asked gently. A sudden wave of confidence bypassed me making me stand straight and mutter out,

"Ready as ever."