One Night
One Night 84

Chapter 84

Audrey

The morning sun was shining brightly through the window as I stepped into my studio, eager to put the finishing touches on my masquerade gown. The excitement that had been building for weeks was reaching its peak-tomorrow night was the big event, and I couldn’t wait to attend the masquerade with Tina and dance the night away in my new ensemble.

But as soon as I opened the door, my heart plummeted into the floor beneath my feet.

The window was wide open, letting in a cool breeze that made the tattered remains of my gown flutter pathetically on the mannequin. Dozens of small white moths were swarming around it, their tiny wings beating furiously as they continued to feast on my hard work.

“No, no, no,” I whispered, dropping my bag and rushing over to the mannequin.

Hot tears pricked at the backs of my eyes as I quickly shooed away the moths and gathered the ruined fabric in my hands. Tiny holes were peppered across the delicate material, destroying the intricate pattern that I had spent weeks perfecting. and the fabric that I had to evade Max for had practically disintegrated already.

My knees instantly went weak and I sank to the floor, clutching the ruined pieces of fabric to my chest. All that work, all those late nights gone.

And the masquerade was tomorrow night. What was I going to do?

Suddenly, the sound of a knock on the studio door interrupted my spiraling. “Audrey? Are you in there?” It was Betty’s voice. Before I could answer, Gavin’s voice added, “We saw your bag in the hallway. Everything okay?”

I sniffled, quickly wiping the tears from my eyes before calling out, “You can come in.”

The door creaked open, and my friends’ faces went from concerned to shocked as they took in the scene. Betty and Gavin stood at the forefront, holding cups of coffee, and Avis and Tina stood behind them with their eyes as wide as saucers.

“What happened?” Tina asked, rushing over and kneeling beside me.

“Moths,” I said as I held up the tattered fabric between trembling fingers. I pointed at the window. “I must have left the window open overnight, and they.. they ate through everything

Avis frowned, examining the damage. “That’s strange. Moths don’t usually cause this much destruction overnight. Are you sure it wasn’t open longer?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m usually pretty good about opening it before I leave. I don’t understand how this happened so quickly, but it did.”

“Well, regardless of how it happened, we need to fix this,” Tina said as she ran her fingers along the mannequin. The masquerade is tomorrow night”

“I’m not sure if I should even go at this point,” I whimpered, holding back **.

Tina’s eyes widened. “But you’re supposed to be my date! You have to go!”

“Tina’s right, Avis added, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. “Surely there’s something we can do to help-maybe if we all work at the same time, we can recreate the gown.”

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Chapter 84

I sighed, standing up and draping the ruined gown back over the mannequin. “I don’t know, guys. I can’t take more fabric from the storeroom-it wouldn’t be fair to the other students. But without fabric, what am I supposed to wear?”

“You must have an old dress you could wear-Gavin began, only to be quickly silenced by sharp looks from all three of us.

Betty’s eyes lit up suddenly. “I have an idea. There’s this thrift store in town that I’ve been gatekeeping for a couple of years.

now.

“Oh?” I turned to her, raising my eyebrows.

She nodded. “They have the most amazing vintage pieces. I don’t usually like to tell people about it because I want to keep all the good stuff for myself, but…” She grinned at me. “This is an emergency, and you’re my friend. Want to go check it out? See if you can replace a cool vintage dress?”

“Ooh!” Tina clapped her hands together excitedly. “I’d love to go thrifting!”

“Me too,” Avis sighed dreamily. “I haven’t gone shopping in so long..”

“Really, Betty?” I breathed. “You would really show us your secret thrift store?”

“Of course,” Betty said, already grabbing her bag and linking her arm through mine. “What are friends for? Besides, I can’t let you miss the masquerade. You’ve been talking about it for weeks.”

Gavin nodded enthusiastically. “Count me in. I could use a new tie.”

Τ

An hour later, we were pushing open the door to a tiny, cluttered shop tucked away on a side street downtown-honestly, I was surprised I had never noticed it before. The bell above the door jingled cheerfully as we entered, and the smell of mothballs and old fabric filled the air.

“Welcome to vintage heaven, Betty said, spreading her arms wide as we stepped into the shop. “Let’s replace you a gown, Audrey.”

We split up, each tackling a different section of the store, I rifled through racks of dresses, my fingers sifting through beaded flapper style dresses, voluminous fifties ballgowns, and flowy seventies peasant-style shifts.

“How about this one?” Gavin called out, holding up a lime green polyester nightmare.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think that’s quite masquerade material, Gav

He grinned, putting it back on the rack. “Just checking if you were paying attention.”

“I still can’t believe how much damage those moths did,” Tina mused as we searched side-by-side, shaking her head. “It’s almost like someone let them in on purpose.”

I paused, an involuntary chill running down my spine. For a moment, my mind flickered to Linda; but she was somewhere far away, staying with her parents for the remainder of the semester. If she had returned to campus, I would have heard.

about it.

“S***it happens,” I finally said, offering Tina a tight smile. “It’s better not to overthink it.”

We spent the next few hours trying on various vintage pieces, turning the tiny dressing room into our own private fashion show. Some were hilariously bad-like the purple sequined jumpsuit that made me look like a disco ball-while others were almost perfect but not quite right compared to the gown I had worked so hard on.

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Chapter 84

Finally, after what felt like the hundredth dress, I slipped on a gown that made me gasp as I looked in the mirror. It was at sage green color, with foxglove and calla lilies embroidered up the sleeves. The bodice hugged my curves perfectly before flowing out into a full skirt that swished satisfyingly as I moved.

“Guys?” I called out, stepping out of the dressing room. “I think this might be the one.”

Avis clapped her hands together excitedly, the feathers on the bea she had thrown on wobbling as she moved. “Oh my Goddess. Audrey! You look amazing!”

Betty grinned and adjusted the fur collar of the coat she was trying on. “That suits you really well, Audrey

“It’s a perfect fit. Tina nodded and poked at the embroidery on my sleeves.

Gavin’s reaction was more subdued, but the way his eyes widened and a faint blush crept up his neck told me all I needed to know. “Wow,” he said softly, clenching his jaw and looking away, “You look… beautiful.”

Blushing. I twirled, watching the skirt flare out around me in the mirror. “It needs a few tweaks to make it truly mine, but… I think this is it.”

With that, we made our purchases-Betty bought the coat she was wearing. Tina picked up some vintage tall gloves, and Gavin found a bright red tie to go with his suit for the masquerade-and headed back to campus.

By the time we got back to the studio, my mind was already whirling with ideas for how to customize the dress. The rest of the day passed in a blur of sewing, adjusting, and adding personal touches to the vintage gown.

As the clock struck midnight, I finally stepped back from the mannequin and admired my handiwork. The dress had been transformed-I had added embroidery to the hem of the skirt to match the sleeves, adjusted the neckline into a sweetheart style to make it more flattering, and created a matching mask covered in faux flowers and vines that tied the whole look together.

A sense of satisfaction overcame me as I took in the finished product. It was different from my original design, but in many ways, it was even better.

In fact, I think I even liked it better than the first gown.

SEND GIFT

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