Page 122 of Shattered Stars

“Do you think this dress is going to be, you know, secure enough?” I ask Winnie as I carefully step into all the silk and tulle and shimmy it up my body.

“Secure for what?”

“My boobs,” I say, removing my bra and wriggling the dress into place.

Winnie looks at me and her jaw falls open. She stares at me for one whole minute, then her hands fly up to her mouth.

“Rhi, it looks gorgeous and freaking, freaking, freaking seductive.”

“Seriously?”

Winnie walks me round to stand in front of the mirror and my reflection whips my own breath away. She’s right. I don’t think I’ve ever been one to blow my own trumpet, but it does look stunning and the way the bodice is cut out at the front shows off the curve of my tits. In fact it shows off a hell of a lot of tit.

“See what I mean?” I say, waving my forefinger around in front of my chest. “The entire school has already seen my tits once. I don’t want to fall out of this dress and flash everyone again.”

“Rhi, that won’t happen. This dress is magical.”

“I know, it looks great but–”

“No, Rhi. It’s really magical. Look.” She taps my shoulder and the dress comes to life, I feel it suck me in in some places and release me in others and it takes a very firm grip of my breasts.

“Oh,” I say, bouncing up and down and finding the dress is more secure than most of my sports bras. Then I catch a sight of the skirt. It’s twinkling.

“Do you see that, Winnie?” I ask.

Winnie flicks her fingers and the curtains draw closed, plunging us into almost darkness. The effect becomes more clear. My skirt twinkles like the night’s sky, as if hundreds of thousands of tiny stars have been caught in the fabric of my skirt.

“Wow,” Winnie and I say together. And if I had any misgivings about wearing this dress, any ideas that maybe I wouldn’t wear it after all, well they have been well and truly tossed out the window. I’m wearing this dress. Even Death himself couldn’t wrench it from my body.

Seven hourslater we’re both standing in our dresses with our hair and makeup done too. Winnie has swept all her dark hair up, showing off her long, elegant neck and she’s wearing long dangly emerald earrings that match the deep green of her dress.

We decided to leave my hair loose in waves, although Winnie pinned some bright silver stars into my locks as well as my ears, and has given my eyes a smoky effect that makes me look like someone else entirely.

I gaze at myself in the mirror.

“Winnie, you really are magical,” I say. “I look like a real princess.”

Pip snorts, scurrying around our feet.

“Uh uh, mister,” Winnie says, nudging him gently with the toe of her foot. “No trampling your muddy trotters on our dresses. You’ll have to admire us from a distance.”

I pull up the skirt of my dress and examine my feet. They are the only thing that let me down. I had to borrow heels from Winnie that she adjusted to fit me. She’s done a great job, but I’ve had very little practice walking in shoes like this, and I’m nervous I’m going to end up on my ass. Especially with people like Summer and Tristan in the vicinity.

I’m about to kick off those heels and ditch them in favor of my sneakers, when there’s a knock on the door.

“Trent,” Winnie hisses. “How do I look? Do I have anything in my teeth?” She draws back her lips and bends forward so I can see.

“Winnie, you look gorgeous, you know you do. Go give him that aneurysm.”

Winnie smiles wider than I think I’ve ever seen her. “Thank you, Rhi. I know you really, really didn’t want us to wear these dresses.”

“I may have warmed to the idea of wearing this one,” I say, swishing my skirt, “just a little bit.”

Winnie giggles and opens the door and the gurgling, incomprehensible sound that comes from the doorway leads me to believe her dress has had the desired effect on her boyfriend.

That noise is followed by some definite smooching noises, and I pretend not to hear, bending down to tickle Pip’s ears instead.

Finally, the lovebirds break apart and Trent steps into the room. It seems he’s gone for the tux after all, complete with an actual bowtie and a red rose in his buttonhole, that matches the corsage made up of roses Winnie’s wearing around her wrist. He’s also removed some of his piercings and slicked back his hair. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much of his face, which is a shame because he’s actually pretty good looking.