Please comment underway if there is anything you like, dislike or have questions about! I really appreciate feedback so I know what I am doing right and wrong!

"I'm just saying, a plant-based diet is much more healthier than all the junk you're eating." Fern picks up a new paintbrush and dips it in the brown paint. "All that junk you're eating won't only add on the pounds but it is bad for your heart an-"

I groan and stare at the ceiling. "I'm a vegetarian for God's sakes, what more do you want me to do?"

"Become a vegan, like me. Now sit still." She bites her tongue and stares intensely at me, as if my face is one big mystery to her. Then she goes back to the ongoing painting. Her clothes are stained all different colors and so is her hair, even though it's in a bun. Our shared apartment looks like one big paint canvas to be honest. The ceiling is yellow, the bar stools are neon green, the marble counter, the cupboards, the drawers and even the floor are decorated with paintings and doodles. At least thirty paintings hang on the wall only in the living room, so you can't really see the wall either. I only know from experience that it's orange.

I remember seeing her ad in the paper and coming over to check out the place. I was overwhelmed at first, to say the least, but after a minute of simply staring, the clashing colors and random spots of paint grew on me and the rest is history. Fern showed me her way of living and turned me vegetarian. Now she paints pictures of me on a regular basis while giving me speeches on life.

"Adam dropped by the store today," I say, opening up a new discussion and closing the one we have had oh so many times.

"How come?" Fern asks, putting the paintbrush between her teeth and starting to paint with her fingers. Then she scratches her forehead, smearing brown paint over it all the same. I smile faintly.

"He came to buy a ring. An engagement ring." I look at my fingers and fiddle with my nails. My roommate pauses for a second, now looking directly at me.

"For Ashley?"

"Yeah."

She purses her lips and shrugs her shoulders slightly. "Well, that sucks. You still like him, don't you?"

Embarrassed, I nod vaguely. My hands reach up to cover my face and I groan loudly into them. "Ugh, it isn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair, B."

I glance up. "B? My name starts with an E."

Fern crosses her arms and straightens up proudly, as if she is about to confidently present something. "Why should we only honor our first letter, simply because it is first? It is just as long and worthy as all the other letters in our name."

I blink at the dark-haired girl. "Seriously?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding, Elisabeth?"

A moment of just dauntless staring passes and the doorbell rings loudly throughout the small apartment. I stand up and walk over to the intercom, pressing the microphone button. "Hello?"

"HEY, IT'S ASHLEY!" Ashley more or less screams into the microphone, causing both Fern and me to flinch away, even though Fern is on the other side of the apartment.

"Come on in," I reply with significantly lower voice. Once I pull my finger off the button, Fern pipes up.

"How come she never remembers that she doesn't need to scream into the microphone for us to hear?" She turns around and continues with the painting. It is now I first see how she decided to portray me. The colors are bright, yet instead of painting a realistic portrait of me, it looks like invisible hands are pulling my body in two. My skin is hanging on by the last threads and nerves and brain and organs are spilling out of the shell. My brows furrow by themselves.

"Wow, brutal," I remark. Fern leans back for a second before correcting something around my eyebrow. "Is it a symbol or do you just like to paint me divided in two?"

She turns and pops her own eyebrow. "It's up for discussion."

"Up for discussion?"

"Yeah."

I don't get to ask more about it before the doorbell rings again, this time another tone to tell us someone has come up the elevator to our door. I open it and am met with a grinning Ashley.

"Hey, cutie," she greets and fleetingly hugs me before stepping into the hallway. "How are you? Oh, hey Fernie."

Fern greets her back with a grunt at the nickname before going back to the violent-looking painting. Ash hands me my jacket from the rack. "Get dressed, we're going shopping."

I reluctantly accept the jacket and slip on some shoes. "Why?" Do I even need to ask? Ashley never needs a reason to shop.

"I need a dress for my birthday party."

"Right."

Putting on the jacket, I shout a bye to Fern and we exit the apartment. The elevator doors open, us stepping in.

"I thought you'd be coming later today," I say, pressing the number 1 button.

"Oh, I had a lot of time on my hands, Adam's out." She studies her nails before glancing up at me. "I'll buy you a dress too."

"Ash-"

"Period. Do you even own a dress?"

"Yes, I do."

Ashley raises a brow before laughing out loud. "Right." Her voice drips with sarcasm. I roll my eyes as we step out of the elevator. Ashley's car stands parked right outside the apartment building – black, sleek and very expensive. How she and Adam clicked, I will never know. While Ashley's car looks like it could belong to Tony Stark, Adam's would be camouflaged all to well in a junkyard. I still don't understand why he drives the crappy car when his girlfriend has a millionaire dad.

We jump into the car and Ashley recklessly drives out of the parking spot and out onto the road. I hold onto my seat for dear life.

"Would you drive a little carefully for once?" I playfully scold, even though I am dead serious inside. Ashley rolls her eyes at me, but reduces the speed to under the limit.

"You sound like Adam. You're both such buzz kills."

The ride lasts for about ten minutes before Ashley finds a vacant spot and parks the car. We both step out and onto the sidewalk, purses in hands. Ashley leads me to the nearest dress shop, which just happens to look super expensive and exclusive. I wonder what Fern would say if she saw us walking in here. She'd probably try to ground me on moral grounds.

"Miss Carson, it's nice to see you again," the attendant chirps as the doorman opens the door for us. "Looking for anything special?"

Ashley, apparently feeling very much at home, walks over to one of the mannequins and runs her fingers over the dress covering it. "I'm celebrating my 25th birthday party in two weeks, and I need a party dress," she demands and turns around to smile at the woman helping us. If I didn't know Ashley, I would take her for a typical mean girl. Yet, we've known each other since kindergarten and been inseparable ever since. 

She can be brutal at times, but her heart is always in the right place and she never hesitated in telling someone off if they picked on me. I wish I could do the same for her, but I was never one of the loudest and the thought of standing up for myself against the scary girls always made me nauseous through middle and high school. Not that she needed protection, she really does know how to shut someone up.

The attendant continues by asking what kind of party it is and about her personal style, even though it seems as if she already knows this from the countless times Ashley must have been here. I keep quiet for the most part, until she mentions me to the lady.

"My friend, Elisabeth, needs a dress too," Ashley insists, even though I actually do have a dress or two in my closet from our previous party adventures. The woman smiles intently at me.

"How lovely, what kinds of dresses do you like?"

Timidly, I look around me at the endless amount of sparkling and expensive-looking dresses. I wouldn't know where to begin if I had the time to look anyway.

"Uhm, something simple, I suppose." It sounds more like a question than a statement and she claps her hands together and walks over to the rack. Nevertheless, I didn't miss the weird glance she made.

"Here we have some one-hundred-percent silk gowns," she presents and pulls out one. "Classic, timeless and effortless." It's navy, long and plain. I tilt my head a little at it. It's pretty, that's for sure. Pulling it off is another story.

Before I get to say anything, Ashley pipes up. "That's gorgeous. And navy really compliments your hair and eyes. Bring a couple more and let's go try them on!"

I'm more or less in a daze when several other attendants lead us to the dressing rooms in the other end of the store. I'm certainly not used to all this service, however, Ashley certainly is. I never really join her to go shopping, mostly due to the fact that she has money and I don't. She always offers to buy me things, but it feels wrong to use her like that. I befriended her for her company, not her money.

I undress down to my underwear and slip on one of the dresses given to me – sea green with spaghetti straps cutting into my shoulders. One of the attendants comes into my dressing room at my call and zips me up.

"You ready?" Ashley shouts way too loudly in the otherwise quiet store.

"Yeah."

We both step out from the cubicles. Ashley is wearing long, red off-the-shoulder gown that shows off her every curve. I watch her with envy, wishing I could wear that dress, or even wear red in general without looking like a tomato.

"Wow, that dress is really pretty," I admit and walk over to feel the fabric by her shoulder. She takes a hold off my shoulders and holds me at arms length, humming slightly at the dress.

"It doesn't do you justice," she says at last and the same attendant from before ushers me into my dressing room again. I switch into my second dress and step out again. We continue like this until I am standing in the navy blue silk gown that the first attendant showed us. I stare at myself in the mirror and run my hands over my stomach down to my hips.

"Come on out, Betty!" Ash yells, but before I get to react, she sticks her head into my cubicle, and once she sees that I'm dressed, pulls the curtain open. "Oh, it's so pretty. You should totally wear that! How's mine?" She twirls around in a long, tight maroon dress. I smile at her.

"It's gorgeous," I compliment. The attendants nod their heads and hum in agreement. Ashley stands in front of the main mirror in the huge dressing room and tilts her head before she smiles, nodding vigorously.

"This is it, and that is yours!"

We both change into our own clothes as the attendant gets our dresses ready to be paid for at the counter. When I see the price, I almost faint, but Ashley doesn't even seem fazed and hands them her card.

When we're outside in her car again, I lean over the console and hug her tightly. "Thank you so much, Ash. I don't know how to repay you."

My best friend brushes it off with her hand and turns to put her seat belt on. I do the same. "It was nothing. I want you to have a pretty dress too."

I scoff, but smile.

"Still, thanks."

We drive out onto the street, noticeably more careful this time, and Ash glances over at me. "Do you wanna come over to my place?" she proposes and I nod.

"I'd love to."

**

The elevator pings and we step out into her penthouse. It's huge with luxurious design and shining objects everywhere. Contrary to my shared apartment, the color scheme is very plain, with only black, white and metals showing.

We change into joggers and tank tops, popping popcorn and turning on the TV. Most people would never be able to imagine Ashley Carson in anything else than in the likes of Prada and Louis Vuitton, but in reality, she loves wearing stained, grey sweatpants and throw her hair in a bun and just relax on the couch.

We choose a movie from Netflix and turn down the lights with her universal remote. The romantic movie depresses me. God, I'm really single. I haven't had a boyfriend since high school. Sure, there has been the odd date or two, but never something that lasts. Maybe that's because I can't get over someone. I need to move on, it's pathetic.

After an hour or so, Ashley pipes up, popcorn still in her mouth.

"I think Adam might propose to me soon."

I almost choke on thin air and cough several times before catching my breath. 

Really now? 

"Wow, that's great!" I exclaim enthusiastically. Ashley can't contain her smile anymore and grins widely, turning in the couch to look at me.

"I think it's happening at my birthday party. Oh, my God, what a present!" She hugs me tightly and laughs into my neck. "I totally want you to be my maid of honor!"

I chuckle, "Slow down. He hasn't even proposed yet."

"I know, I'm just really excited. We've talked about it and we're both ready. My birthday is the perfect opportunity."

"You don't want it, like, not public?" I wouldn't be able to handle it if it were to be me being proposed to in front of hundreds of people. Yes, hundreds. That's a party for Ashley, I tell you.

"I truly don't mind, as long as he gets down on one knee soon and asks for my hand. Could you imagine?" Being proposed to by Adam? No, never even day-dreamed about it in class...

"I'm really happy for you," I say. And I am, I just wish it were another guy.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Did you like Fern and Ashley? They're pretty different from each other, aren't they?

During the process of writing this book, I could never find the perfect casting for Fern. Do you guys have anyone in mind? If you do, please comment below!