The Incomparable Edie Wells

“So,” Anna muses, lounging across her bed, “Edie, you need a dress.”

I shift my weight awkwardly from foot to foot, not really sure of what I should be doing at the moment. On one hand, the old me would have been scared out of her mind to be in Anna Smith's room, picking out an outfit for Westbrook's New Year's Top One Hundred Ball. On the other hand, the new-and-improved Edie Wells would play it cool, because she's used to hanging out in celebrities' rooms. Practically.

Right?

I shrug. “I-I'm okay, thanks,” I sputter, combing my hand awkwardly through my hair. “I'll just... find something in my closet.”

That obviously isn't the right thing to say, because Anna just stares at me like I've grown two heads. “You're kidding, right?”

No... “Of course,” I mutter, scratching the back of my head. “Okay, so what should I wear, then?”

Anna gets up and strolls to her closet, gently searching through the masses of clothes. “I'll let you borrow something of mine – something Levi hasn't seen. Not that he's going to be paying attention to your outfit, anyway, if you know what I mean.” She winks suggestively and smirks.

I wince. Levi has been a sensitive subject the last couple of days, especially after the confrontation I had with Parker and Maggie. Something's bothering me about the way the three of them, including Rhett, presented such a united front... Maybe what they were saying had some truth to it. Maybe I'm just as bad as they say I am.

But if that's true, then why bother?

“Uh, sure I do,” I reply, offering her a smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she says from inside her gigantic closet, her voice muffled from the clothes.

What amazes me about Anna's room is the size of it. I mean, her bedroom is probably bigger than my whole house, square footage wise. Everything is astonishingly pink, I can imagine it being straight out of a teenage comedy – the head cheerleader's lair, all wrapped up in a bubblegum-colored package. How cliché, don't you think?

Anna struts out of her closet a few seconds later, carrying a short blue dress daintily on the tip of her pointer finger. “Besides,” she adds, laying the dress down on the bed next to me, “Levi won't care what it looks like when he's ripping it off of you later.”

I freeze.

Granted, Levi and I have been dating for a while – four months, give or take a couple of days. So it's only natural that we take things to the next step, right? I guess I haven't really thought about it much, being more concerned with the fact that holy crap, Levi Smith is my boyfriend now.It never really occurred to me that... eventually...

My eyes widen. “W-What do you m-mean?”

Anna holds up a purple dress to her thin frame, turning to examine how it looks on her. “Oh, like my brother isn't planning to fuck your brains out at the ball.” She turns back to the mirror, pursing her lips. “Ew, that's not something I want to think about.”

Me either.

She glances back at me to see that my face is pale. Well, pal-ER than usual. “You mean you didn't...” She laughs. “Oh, wow, that's great. That's funny. You almost had me there, Edie.” She winks at me again. “Almost.”

I scratch the back of my head awkwardly and cross my legs, suddenly feeling nervous.

“Um...”

Anna turns around again, a serious expression on her face. “Wait. You have slept with someone before, right?”

I don't reply. I don't really have to – Anna can tell right away that that's the truth. But, I mean, what opportunity have I had in the seventeen years I've been alive to have sex with a guy? Before two months ago none of them except Parker would even look at me twice, let alone do something so.... intimate.

I feel my heart sink. That's not necessarily true, I guess. That night... with Parker... That kiss had very nearly turned into something so much more. It scares me how if Parker had asked me, I would have done it, without a shred of doubt. It really upset me because, as far as I know, Parker and I are the only ones aware of our encounter...

It doesn't make it any easier to deal with. And that dream...

I feel my face heat up. “No...”

“You're a virgin?”

“Yes...”

“.... Seriously?”

“Yes!”

“Okay!” she laughs, holding her hands up in surrender. “I just... I didn't think that after that incident with Parker, he would have left your, er, innocence in tact.”

My body freezes. She knows. Of course she knows, she's Anna-freaking-Smith, the queen of the school. How can she just talk to calmly about it? I'd cheated on her brother – you'd think she'd be a little pissed off.

I can feel the bile rising in my throat. “Anna, I-”

She waves her hand. “No big. He said it was all just a misunderstanding, or something like that.”

I raise an eyebrow. A misunderstanding? Had Parker just been tricking me again when he had said he loved me? That's perfect – as soon as I get something halfway decent going for me, he has to go and plant these seeds of doubt in my head.

“Well, yes, but -”

“It's fine, Edie. It was way before I knew how cool he was, anyway.”

Wait a second. “What?”

She turns back to me again, this time holding up a slinky silver number that only she could pull off – it would make me look like a walking disco ball. “The first week of school? You and Park had pretended to hook up or something because you thought it would make you popular.” She snorts, shaking her head. “That was hilarious.”

Oh. Oh.

I feel my body relax a little bit, but I'm still a little shaken. What happens to me when someone besides Parker founds out that... well, I cheated on the number seven guy at Westbrook, the guy that girls that have way, way higher ranks than some lowly junior like me fantasize about? And no matter how guilty I feel about it now, I can't take it back.

But that's not what scares me the most.

What scares me the most is that... I'm not so sure I want to.

“Yeah,” I agree awkwardly. “I guess it was, huh?”

Anna smirks, holding up a light blue dress with a silver bow. “I think this would be perfect on you, Edie. It'll make your eyes totally pop.” She hands it to me, shoving me into the closet to try it on.

Keep in mind, when I say closet, I mean department store.

“It looks...” I can't really come up with a better adjective, so I just settle with “Awesome.” I walk out of the closet, in a trance, kind of amazed that she could work magic and make me look... well, pretty.

She pursed her lips, appreciating her work. With a twinge of guilt, I think of Maggie's effort in making me over, and how she used to do exactly the same thing. I haven't seen or talked to her since the day Parker came over, the day after Christmas. My shoulders hunch as I think about it. I can't believe how I've acted towards her and Parker. I mean... they are the reason I'm here, right?

It just hasn't really occurred to me before now.

“And I think you could use some heels,” Anna finishes, before I can even comprehend what she just said.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” I agree, not fully knowing what I'm agreeing to. “Sounds great. Thanks.”

She smiles, a genuine smile that I didn't even know she was capable of. “No problem.”

I bite my lip. “Hey, Anna?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

She looks confused. “Sure. What's up?”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I ask hesitantly, almost afraid to know the answer. “You really don't have a reason to be.”

She pauses for a moment. “Rhett's been pretty adamant that I look out for you, so that's what I'm doing.” She examines the two remaining dresses on her bed, her gaze flicking between them. “Besides, you have no idea how happy Levi's been since the two of you started dating. He's like a whole new person.” She flashes me a knowing smile. “He has a lot less frustration at home now.”

I wince out of reflex.

She narrows her eyes for a moment. “Where did that bruise on your face come from?”

I cover it with my hand. I thought it had faded – I guess not. “I fell off my couch,” I mutter, not even remotely sounding convincing. “No big deal.”

Unlike everybody else, though, Anna drops the subject. “So, which one? Purple, or Silver?”

I'm exceedingly grateful.

“Purple.”