Mature

I stepped out of my shower, shaking my hair vigorously with my towel. I threw it over into my hamper before sighing quietly. I was in desperate need for a nice, cold shower. I slipped a small sweatshirt over my tank top and slipped into my flip flops. As I dug into my purse for my cigarettes, I could hear my phone going off in the corner of my room.

After pushing a cigarette in between my lips, I went in search for my phone. I dug through my countless piles of clothes and objects before finding the thing. I pressed it to my ear at the last second and greeted with, "Hello?"

I lit my cigarette and felt my lips curl into a smile. Devin was on the other end, sounding rather happy and excited. I inhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Hey, Dev. What's up?"

I have a big surprise for you, Hillari. I'm picking you up at seven o' clock tonight. Dress nice, alright?

"We're not going to a fucking Comic convention again, are we?"I joked.

Much better than that.

Devin laughed on the other end and I chuckled quietly. I sat down on my bed and kicked my shoes off once again. If I had to dress nice, I had to dig through my closet. Devin refused to tell me where we would be going, except that it was a very nice Italian resturant. I mentioned that it better not be expensive, but his money promises always meant nothing.

I said my good byes to Devin and shoved my phone into my pocket. I began to dig through my closet and slowly started to get angry. I could not find anything that was nice, no matter how many times I looked. A light knock was heard from my door and I shouted for them to come in. I was too busy burying myself in the clothes I never wear anymore.

I heard quiet laughter and I pulled myself from my mess. My mom smiled down at me and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm looking for something nice to wear."I could see her eyes sparkle when I spoke."What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."My mom laughed."What do you need to dress up for?"

"Devin is taking me out tonight."I plopped onto my bed and sighed quietly."He wont tell me where, but I have to dress fancy."

"How long have you been looking?"My mom placed her hands on her hips and laughed.

"About ten minutes."I admitted.

"Well look at your closet. It's a mess!"My mom stepped forward and pulled my closet doors open all the way.

She then began to go through my piles of clothes, folding them and putting them aside. Anything nice she had found she held up, asking if I wanted to wear what she found. I went through multiple cigarettes while I waited for her to give up on searching through my closet. So far, I had shaken my head in protest with everything she had found.

Right as I was about to tell her to give up, she let a quiet gasp echo into the room. I tried to peek over her shoulder as she got to her feet. She held out a dress and said, "What about this, Hillari? It's not super fancy and it's not totally casual ether."

"That's perfect."I smiled."Thank god you have patience."

"Yeah, thank god."She chuckled lightly.

"Thankyou, mom."I took the dress from her hands and said, "I'm going to change. Then I'll worry about shoes."

"I'll find those too."My mom went back into my closet and I laughed to myself.

I stepped into the bathroom and changed into the silky dress. I brushed my hair free of knots and let it dry naturally. I dipped slightly into my make - up and only applied eyeliner and mascara. I stepped from the bathroom when I was sure I looked the part. My mom held out a pair of black heels and I chuckled lightly. I kissed her on the cheek and said, "Thanks, mom."

I slipped my feet into the heels and turned to face my mom. I watched, in amusement, as her eyes welled up in tears. She sniffled slightly when my features dropped. I quickly stepped up to her and asked, "Mom, are you sure everything is okay?"

She nodded quickly and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back and grew slightly worried for her. She had never acted like this before I went out with Devin. She pushed me away, but kept her hands on my shoulders. She looked me up and down and only smiled. Though her eyes were welled with tears, her smile was genuinely happy.

I tried to shake the confusing thoughts from my head as she said, "You just look beautiful. You're getting too old too fast. Go back to three years old, please?"

I chuckled lightly and brushed my hair from my eyes.

"Sorry, mom, but there's no refund on aging."I grinned.

"I love you, Hillari."She said softly.

"I love you too, mom."She gave me another tight hug before allowing me to grab my things.

She clasped her hand in mine as we walked down the stairs. I didn't have the luxury of jumping through the opening onto the couch. I felt a little awkward at how she was acting, but I only pushed it aside. My mom was extremely happy, so I wouldn't ask for anything else. When I came down the last step, my dad stopped right before the living room.

He looked me over and his lips pulled into a large smile. He gave me a warm hug and said, "Holy shit. Where did my Hillari go?"

"Alright, really, you guys are being fucking weird. Am I secretly going to be on tv or something? Really, let me know now so I can hide."I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling my bag bounce against my side.

"I'm just not used to seeing you all dressed up."My dad smiled."Where you going?"

"Devin should be here any -"I grinned as a beep occured outside."I'm going out to eat."

"Just be good, Sugar. Call me if you need anything."He gave me a warm hug before I walked out the door.

I gave them a small wave, right as I got into Devin's car. I reached across the seat and kissed him softly on the lips. He pulled away and let his eyes roam from my feet up.

"Holy shit."I chuckled lightly as he continued, "You look fucking amazing, Hillari."

"Thanks."I ran my fingers along his dress shirt."You look pretty damn good too, macho man."

He chuckled lightly before pushing the gear shifter into drive. Within a few minutes Devin and I were pulling up along the towns nicest Italian resturant. I threw a fist into Devin's arm and said, "You asshole! This place sells soup for thirty fucking dollars!"

"It's good food though."He grinned.

"No way,"I reached for his keys, but he slipped out his open door."we're not eating here!"

He shut the door and I sighed quietly. Devin was always one to push his money to the limit, no matter what. I guess I had become an exception, because he had always found the nicest things for me. I would settle on hanging out in the Burger King play pen with chicken nuggests, but he seemed to think I deserved a four star meal.

My door opened and I looked up at Devin. He gave me a shy smile and I shook my head. He was too much for me sometimes. He extended his hand and helped me from the car. We walked into the resturant and I was greeted by dozens of wonderful smells. My stomach began to growl by the time we found our table. I sat across from Devin at the two seater table and smiled.

"Thankyou, Dev."I said softly."You didn't have to bring me here."

"You deserve it."He ran his hand down his pant leg a few times.

Devin seemed to be slightly nervous about something, but I couldn't put my finger on what. I let it slide, until he nearly spilled his cup drinking from it. I put my menu down and tried to lighten the mood with, "I guess I'll have the water. Everything else is expensive."

Devin chuckled lightly and put his menu down. I reached across the table and took his hand in mine. Before I could ask what was wrong, however, the waiter came up and asked for our orders. Devin ordered a large bottle of champane and his food. He looked over at me and squeezed my hand.

"What will you have, Hillari?"He asked.

"I guess the eight ounce filet mignone."I smiled."Thankyou."

We handed off our menu's and I turned my gaze back on Devin.

"What's wrong?"I asked softly."You seem very nervous about something."

"I'm fine."He reassured me."Honestly."

We made small talk while waiting for our food. I let my mouth fall open when the plates came to our table. It sizzled and popped under the sauces, which only made it smell that much better. I bit into my dinner and was surprised at how well it was cooked. Devin shoved his fork in my direction and said, "Try this."

"What is it?"I looked curiously at the meat on his fork.

"Don't worry about it. Just try it."I bit into the tender flesh and gasped."Good, right? It's duck."

I swallowed the lump in my mouth down hard. I never liked the taste of duck, but this was fantastic. The waiter came back and poured us each a tall glass of Champane. We thanked him politely before taking our cups. Devin rose his cup and said, "To the most beautiful girl in the world. I love you very much, Hillari. I couldn't find myself with anyone but you."

As my cheeks flushed a bright red, I clanked my glass against his. We sipped from the bitter drink and enjoyed the rest of our food. It was when Devin started to tap his glass and stood that I instantly grew worried. The resturant quieted down and he reached into his pocket. I felt my heart burst at the pressure and swallowed my fear.

"Dev,"I began nervously.

"This woman right here,"Devin pointed down in my direction."is the love of my life. I've known her longer than I haven't and I am so blessed to ask,"

He knelt down on one knee and took my hand in his. He opened a small, velvet box and my eyes began to water. A beautiful diamond ring sat inside of it, waiting to be pushed onto my tiny finger. I cupped a hand over my mouth as he finished with, "Hillari, will you marry me?"

I was speechless. I would be giving my world to Devin for the rest of my life. I would not only be dating him, but engaged. I squeezed his hand tightly and quickly shook my head. The resturant errupted in cheers as he slid the ring over my finger. I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him so sweetly on the lips.

Devin stood, bringing me to my feet in seconds. He wrapped his arms around me as well and pulled me into a tight hug. I cried quietly into his shoulder as he whispered, "I love you, Hillari Thatcher."