A Lot of Potential

I know I couldn't put it off anymore, I had to get a dress eventually. I decided to ask Kara and Kaylyn to go with me. Alex's mom told us where to go, somewhere in downtown Baltimore to pick out a dress. I was also given the keys to his lovely Range Rover, which was actually surprising at first. It was a little difficult to drive.

I parked the large car successfully, turning to look at Kara and eye down Kaylyn who was in the backseat. "Excuse my driving skills today, I have seriously never drove Alex's car before." I apologized, pushing the hair out of my face.

"Wait, you're telling me you've been with him for almost eight months and you haven't ever drove his car?!" Kara laughed, shaking her head. "I've been with Rian for almost two years and I've drove his car I don't know how many times."

"I didn't even want to. He insisted, shoved the keys in my hand and pushed me to the car." I rolled my eyes. "Lets get this stupid thing over with."

"Okay." they both said.

"You need to get a really pretty dress, Haley." Kaylyn said, following close behind me.

"I know, I know. I've heard this all morning long." I rolled my eyes, pulling open the door to the store. We walked in to a empty shop, with a woman to be in her 30s behind a counter.

She gave me a strange look. "Can I help you?"

"My fiance's mother called over and made a appointment?" I quietly answered.

"Name?" she raised a eyebrow.

"Haley Maddox."

"Oh, okay. Isobel called for you then."

"Okay." I smiled.

She smiled bitchily at me, making my smile turn to a frown. "Size?"

"Two." I answered, my tone fading to a whisper.

"Come with me." she said, walking to the left side of the short. I automatically followed with Kara and Kaylyn behind me. "We keep everything coordinated to size. Pick one out and let me know if you need adjustments." she said, turning back towards the main desk.

"Bitch." Kara mumbled, making me laugh.

"Shh." I shook my head. "Where do we start?"

"This one is nice, Haley." Kaylyn said, making me spin around. She showed me a golden white dress that was strapless and long. I do admit, it was lovely. I walked over to it, admiring the fine detail on the lower part of the dress.

"I like this."

"Try it on then!" Kara laughed, grabbing the dress and pushed us into the dressing room.

I stripped my clothes, pulling on the heavy mass of fabric called a wedding dress. I held the chest part down while Kara laced up the back tightly. I turned around to face her when she was finished, getting a gasp as a response.

"Oh my fucking god, Haley." she breathed, with her jaw dropped in shock. "You look fucking gorgeous, I can't even. Go look in the mirrors!" she said, pushing the door open.

I walked out, looking at Kaylyn who had the same reaction as Kara. "Holy shit."

I walked to the mirror, looking at myself. I was madly in love with this dress. I may have loved it more than Alex, but no one had to know that. I smiled to myself, spinning around to get view of my back. "I love this dress."

"You look great in it. You look better in it than the prom dress you had."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Kara giggled. "Is this the one?"

"I've only been here ten minutes and I already found the dress I want." I shook my head, smiling. "I think I'm a successful dress shopper."

"I do agree."

"I've done this three times." I rolled my eyes, walking towards the dressing room. "I'm getting it." I said, sliding out of the dress. I pulled my waist skirt and tank top back on and slipped my flip flops back on and walked out. I held the dress, waving them to follow me back to the desk.

"I honestly can't believe you're getting married in a week, Haley." Kara grinned as I handed the woman the dress.

"How old are you?" the woman setting at the desk asked.

"Seventeen."

"Aren't you a little too young to be getting married?" she rudely asked. "Unless you have a reason to be marrying this young." she said, looking at my stomach.

"I'm almost eighteen." I bit my lip. "And I have one reason. Love." I rolled my eyes, waiting for her to ring up the dress. She rung it up and I paid for it, taking the large bag from her. "Thank you." I snobbishly said, walking towards the door.

Once we were out, I felt a lot better. I was just ready to get home, back to Alex. "That woman was a bitch. Who was she to judge?"

"I dunno, but she really ruined my mood." I sighed, popping the trunk of his car. I slid the dress in and shut the door back, walking to the drivers side to get in.

"Why?" Kara asked as I pulled out of the parking space.

"Because she looked at my stomach."

"What are you getting at?" she raised a eyebrow.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, having flashbacks about last December when I was in the hospital.

He stiffed up, his eyes moving around the room. "There was one more thing." his voice was quiet. "Haley, you were three weeks pregnant."

"What?" I gasped, a little shocked. "Were?!"

"They didn't get the appendix out in time to save the fetus." he choked, grabbing my hands and squeezing them.

I took a deep breath, turning my head slightly to her. "I think I've kept this a secret for a while now."

"What a secret?" she gave me a confused look. I sighed, turning my gaze to the road as I focused on the heavy traffic.

"Kara, Kaylyn, remember last December when I was in the hospital?"

"Yeah, you had appendicitis." Kara gave me a wary glance. Kaylyn looked at me with a blank expression, like she knew what I was already going to say.

"Appendicitis wasn't fully the case." I choked. "After it happened, I was told I was.."

"You was?"

"Pregnant with Alex's baby. They couldn't save it because the poison in my appendix killed the fetus." I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face.

"Oh my God.." she said. "Haley, I'm so so sorry."

"It's okay." I mumbled back, just wanting the traffic to pick up. I wanted to cry. I never realized how much I wanted it to of happened. I managed to hold back the tears long enough to take them both home. My phone started to vibrate in my pocket, making me pull it out and glare at the screen. Alex..

"Hello?" I sniffled, keeping my eyes forward.

"Love, are you crying?" his voice sounding worried.

"No, allergies are bothering me." I lied, suppressing a fake laugh.

"Oh, okay." he sighed. "Are you almost finished?"

"Yeah, I'm dropping the dress off to your mom, then i'll be home. Why?"

"I have a surprise for you when you get back, but don't rush."

"Okay." I smiled, my spirits being raised a tad. "I'm gonna go. I'm driving."

"Alright baby, drive safe." he said, hanging up.

I immediately wanted to get back to him. I was eager to see what he had in store for me when I came back. I got to his parent's house quickly, maybe because I was speeding just a tad? Okay maybe a lot. I got out of the car, grabbing the dress and started to walk up the sidewalk. There was a unfamiliar car there, meaning I had to slip in and slip out since the Gaskarth's had company.

I let myself in, slowly treading towards the stairs. I felt something fuzzy in between my ankles, twisting them up. "Olivia, no!" I shrieked at the cat as I fell into the wall, bouncing off, and landed on the floor. I awkwardly sat there as Mrs. Gaskarth came running from the living room.

"Haley, what are you doing?" she frantically asked, placing her hand over her heart.

"Just chilling." I rolled my eyes, pushing myself up. "Olivia got between my feet and tripped me. I'm sorry if I scared you." I grabbed the dress bag, taking a step up the stairs.

"It's okay dear." she smiled. "There's people I want you to meet, so come back when you're done."

"Yes ma'am." I nodded, running up the stairs. I wasn't in the mood for meeting people. I just wanted to drop it off and leave, nothing more. I walked to their bedroom, smoothing the sack across their bed. I pulled my phone out of the tiny pocket of my skirt, composing a quick text to Alex. 'Hold up at your parents house, i'll be there later. :P

I walked out of the room, skipping carefully down the steps. Olivia meowed at me when I reached the bottom, making me narrow my eyes at her. "Shut up." I shook my head, walking into the living room.

"Oh, Lydia, this is Alex's fiance, Haley." his mother smiled. "Haley, this is Alex's aunt Lydia."

"Hello." I politely said, waving with my left hand.

"Hi Haley. My God, dear Alexander picked a beauty." the woman who looked like a younger version of his mom said. "You're beautiful, darling."

I blushed. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

"Well, Mrs. Gaskarth, I'm gonna go." I pointed towards the front door. "I left the dress upstairs on your bed."

"Okay darling. Tell Alex to call me later." she shook her head. "That boy is in trouble."

"What'd he do now?"

"Nothing." she laughed quietly.

I giggled with her. "Okay, bye. It was nice meeting you, Lydia." I waved again, pulling open the front door. I ran out to his car, jumping back in. I looked at my phone before I pulled out.

From Alex: Hurryyyyyy..

Before I could text back he was calling me. "Ugh, now what do you want?" I giggled.

"Hurry the fuck up woman!"

"Just for that, I'm going to drive five miles per hour down the road."

"Ugh, oh my God baby! I'm getting impatient." he laughed.

"Well, you're wasting time for calling." I rolled my eyes, hanging up on him. He called back but I decided to be a bitch and let it go to voice mail. I started my journey back to our house. I made it within ten minutes, pulling into our driveway. I put the car in park, killing the engine and pulled the keys out. I hopped out, nearly running towards the door.

I pushed the front door open, looking around the empty house. "Alex?" I called out, shutting the door behind me.

"Boo." he smiled from behind the door.

"Holy fucking fuck! Don't do that!" I cringed to the wall. He smiled, walking closer to me. He pushed me closer to the wall, kissing me angrily.

"Sorry." he whispered, his breath tickling my neck.

He ran his lips into mine again, lifting me off the ground. I threw my legs around his waist and held onto him as he continued. "Okay, Alexander." I giggled, breaking away.

"This isn't even the best part." he grinned, walking us over to the sofa. He sat down, keeping me in his lap.

"What?"

"I've been thinking.." he started, looking up at me with his lips parted into a slight smile.

"Oh God, since when do you do that?" I joked, making him narrow his eyes at me.

"Since I was born." he stuck his tongue out at me. "Anyway, I've been thinking maybe you and I should get tattoos."

"Tattoos? Alex are you fucking nuts?"

"I think it would be fun."

I considered it. "What could I possibly get a tattoo of?"

"I dunno." he shrugged. "You could get something that reminds you of me."

"Like?" I raised a eyebrow, still not catching through of what I could get.

"Something I've written.."

"Oh!" I caught on, finally.

"Sing me to sleep, i'll see you in my dreams." he sung, playing with my long hair.

I smiled, pushing stray hairs out of my face. "When are we gonna do this."

"Fucking right now."

"Right now?!" I shrieked, my eyes getting wide.

"Yes, love. Right now." he laughed, pushing me off of his lap. He stood up and pulled me up with him, pulling me towards the door. "I know what I'm getting already."

"Of what?"

"I'm not telling. You'll see." he grinned, pulling open the front door and pushed me out. I followed him to the car, getting in. He put the car in reverse, whipping out of the driveway, putting it in drive and sped quickly down the street our house was on. "Nervous?"

"A little. Wait a minute, Alex, I'm not even old enough to get a tat." I cynically said.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm eighteen, I have the power to sign your papers for you." he smirked at me.

I scratched my head, still unsure about his bright idea. Alex was going to be the death of me, that's for sure. I was lost in thought the whole way there, finally snapping out of it when I laid my eyes on a scary looking building with neon signs saying tattoo and piercing.

"Ready?" he smiled at me, pushing the door open.

"No." I shook my head as we closed in on the building. He opened the door, leading us both in. It didn't seem as bad inside as it did on the outside. It was clean with two chairs. One for piercings and other for tattooing.

"It'll be alright, babe." he smiled. "Want me to go first?"

"Yeah." I nodded fearfully, holding tightly to his hand as he talked to a guy at the counter. The guy was tall and had slight chub. He had a thick beard, something like Jesus. Alex sat down in the chair, preparing himself for the needling pain.

The tattooist sterilized up, turning on the tattoo gun. Somehow Alex got his requested tat to the man without me knowing. He scrunched his face up, taking a deep breath. "It doesn't hurt." he laughed at me, who was biting my lip in fear.

"It depends where I get mine though." I said, shaking my head.

"Where are you gonna get it?"

"I was thinking my wrist."

"Which wrist?"

"My lefty." I giggled, raising my left palm.

"Psh, copier." he smiled, grabbing my hand with his available hand.

"Shut it, Alexander."

For the past three hours, his tattoo was barely done. Time drug on. It was already a little after eight thirty. We joked for the time being, singing along to the songs that came on the radio.

"Hmm, what could it be?" I giggled after we finished singing You and I by Lady Gaga.

"It's a dick." he smirked. "A skeleton dick."

"That's lovely." I laughed. I looked at the tattoo, seeing it form into a skeleton holding a pumpkin.

"It's done." the tattooist said, moving away from him.

"Damn, that's great." Alex grinned. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now what's the girl want?"

"In cursive writing, have the statement say "sing me to sleep, i'll see you in my dreams." he spoke for me, trading me seats.

He nodded and began to sterilize again, changing out ink. I took deep breaths as he held the gun just inches away from my wrist. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Haley, calm the fuck down. It won't hurt that bad."

The buzzing began and I felt the stinging feeling. I scrunched my face up like Alex did, biting my bottom lip. It didn't really hurt that bad. I think it was more sound than pain. "This isn't too bad."

"I told you." he laughed, taking my hand in his.

I kept taking deep breaths as he progressed on with the tat, making it more detailed. Within a hour, it was over. He put a small bandage over my wrist and one over Alex's arm. My wrist was a little sore, but I didn't care. It was fine with me.

Alex paid for the tattoos and led us out of the shop. It was just slowly reaching ten. "I'm tired." I complained as we got back into the cars.

"I am too, love." he smiled, setting the car into motion. "I've been pretty ignorant to the fact you got a dress today, how was it?"

"The dress shopping was okay." I shrugged. "I found a pretty one."

"Just okay?"

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged. "I don't understand why people criticize me though."

"Who criticized you, baby?" he asked, turning to look at me.

"The woman in the dress store." I said, having my feeling to cry appear again.

"Fuck her." he scoffed, turning his eyes to glare at the road. "What'd she say?"

"She asked me if I was too young to get married.. and looked at my tummy to see if I had a specific reason why we're marrying at a young age."

"If this was the case, we would have been married several months ago baby." he grabbed my hand, squeezing it comfortably.

"I know." I sighed.

He pulled into the driveway of our home, parking and got out. We walked to the front door, getting inside quickly and making our way up the stairs. "I'm going to shower, babe." he told me as I changed into my night clothes. I nodded and headed for the bed, not even waiting for him. I got comfortable, wrapped in the warm blankets with my head on a soft pillow as I fell asleep.