Her walk had improved vastly since that first practice. She'd practically slept in those high heels and had gone beyond simply not trying to fall over. There was a new confidence and purpose that hadn't been there before. Every once in a while, I'd catch a faint glimpse of nervousness in her eyes or an adjustment in her stride as she managed the tall silver heels. I doubted anyone else noticed those things, however. Anyone who didn't know Jill and her traits well would see nothing but a strong, ethereal woman striding down the catwalk. Amazing. If she could transform this much with only a little encouragement, what more was to come?
Glancing at the guys beside me, I saw similar feelings mirrored in their faces. Adrian's was filled with that brotherly pride he often had for her, all traces of his earlier bad mood vanished. Micah and Lee both displayed pure, unfiltered adoration. To my surprise, Eddie's expression was adoring too, along with something else. It was almost... worshipful. This was it, I realized. In coming out as this beautiful, larger-than-life goddess-like creature, Jill was giving flesh to all of Eddie's idealistic, protective fantasies. She was the perfect princess now, with her dutiful knight waiting to serve.
She appeared two more times in Lia's line, stunning each time, though never quite matching that initial debut in the silver dress. I watched the rest of the show with only half an eye. My pride and affection for Jill were too distracting, and honestly, most of the clothes I saw tonight were way too flashy for my tastes.
There was a reception after the show, where guests, designers, and models could mingle over refreshments. My little group found a corner near the hors d'oeuvres to wait for Jill, who had yet to make an appearance. Lee carried an enormous bouquet of white lilies. Adrian watched a waitress go by with a tray full of champagne glasses. His eyes were filled with longing, but he made no moves to stop her. I was proud and relieved. Jill, balance, and alcohol were not things we wanted to mix.
When the waitress was gone, Adrian turned to me, and I finally saw that earlier anger return. And, as I'd suspected, it was directed toward me.
"When were you going to tell me?" he asked.
It was as enigmatic as Trey's earlier opening line. "Tell you what?"
"That the financial aid isn't going to come through! I talked to the registrar's office, and they said you knew."
I sighed. "I wasn't keeping it from you, exactly. I just didn't have a chance to tell you yet. There were kind of a lot of other things going on." Okay, I actually had been putting it off, for exactly this reason. Well, not exactly. I hadn't anticipated he would get so worked up about it.
"You apparently had enough time to pay the auditing fee, though. And enough money. But not enough to fund new lodging."
I think what was more upsetting about this than the topic was the insinuation that I had somehow chosen to act in a way that would inconvenience him. Like I'd purposely subject myself to this if there'd been some way to avoid it.
"A onetime payment was easy to slip in," I told him. "Month-to-month rent? Not so much."
"Then why bother at all?" he exclaimed. "The whole point of this was to get me money to get out of Clarence's! I wouldn't be taking these stupid classes otherwise. You think I want to ride the bus for hours each day?"
"Those classes are good for you," I countered, feeling my own temper rise. I hadn't wanted to lose control, not here and certainly not with our friends witnessing everything. Yet I was appalled at Adrian's reaction. Couldn't he see how good it was for him to do something useful? I'd seen his face when he showed me his paintings. They'd given him a healthy channel to deal with Rose, not to mention a sense of purpose for him. And besides, it killed me to see how casually he could just toss aside those "stupid" classes. It was another reminder of the unfairness of the world, how I couldn't have what others took for granted.
He scowled. "'Good for me?' Come on, stop being my mom again! It isn't your job to tell me how to live my life. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it."
"Right," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "It's not my job to tell you how to live your life - just my job to make it as easy as possible for you. Because God knows you can't suffer through anything that's a little inconvenient. What happened to all those things you told me? About being serious about improving your life? When you asked me to believe in you?"
"Come on, you guys," said Eddie uneasily. "This isn't the time or place."
Adrian ignored him. "You have no problem making Jill's life as easy as possible."
"That is my job," I growled back. "And she's still a girl. I wouldn't think an adult like you would need taking care of the same way!"
Adrian's eyes were filled with emerald fire as he glared down at me, and then his gaze focused on something behind me. I turned and saw Jill approaching. She was back in the silver gown, her expression full of radiant happiness - happiness that plummeted as she got closer and realized there was an altercation going on. By the time she was standing next to me, all her excitement from a moment ago had been replaced by worry and concern.
"What's happening?" she asked, looking between Adrian and me. Of course, she had to already know because of the bond. It was a wonder his dark feelings hadn't messed up her performance.
"Nothing," I said flatly.
"Well," said Adrian. "It depends how you define 'nothing.' I mean, if you consider lying and - "
"Stop it!" I cried, raising my voice in spite of my best effort. The room was too noisy for most to notice, but a couple people standing nearby glanced at us curiously. "Just stop it, Adrian. Can you please not ruin this for her? Can't you just for one night pretend there are other people in the world who matter besides you?"
"Ruin it for her?" he exclaimed. "How the hell can you say that? You know what I've done for her! I've done everything for her! I've given up everything for her!"
"Really?" I asked. "Because from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like - "
I caught sight of Jill's face and promptly cut myself off. Behind the mask, her eyes had gone wide with dismay at the accusations Adrian and I were slinging back and forth. I'd just told Adrian he was selfish and not thinking of Jill, yet here I was, continuing to engage with him on her big night, in front of her and our friends. It didn't matter if I was right - and I felt certain I was. This was no time to be having this discussion. I shouldn't have let Adrian bait me into this, and if he didn't have the sense to stop things before they got worse, then I would.