"How about this?" Abby asked, holding up a yellow top with a black diagonal stripe going from the top right side of the garment to the bottom left.

Isabelle shook her head vehemently. "No way! You know how much I hate yellow. Why would you even suggest that one?"

"I know, I know, but it would have looked cute on you." Abby replied. She grudgingly placed it back on the rack and continued to look through the throng of clothes.

Abby already had an arsenal of items and was no longer looking for anything for herself. She dug through every rack of the store trying to find her style-impaired friend some clothes that weren't her usual attire of sweat pants and workout clothes. Isabelle had only a few cute clothing items for the rare times that she went out in public. She loved shopping, but she could never find anything cute enough to be worth buying.

After a while of fruitless searching, the girls gave up on the current store they were in. Abby pleaded with Isabelle to try just one more store, and after a bit of persuasion she agreed. As they walked into the store, something caught Isabelle's eye. She was curious, but decided to follow Abby to the back of the store since she was the fashion expert.

Abby held up various items that would have looked cute on Isabelle, but nothing stood out to her. She vetoed them all for one reason or another. Too revealing, too tight, too baggy. After an exceptionally big no to a leather mini skirt, Abby finally gave up and decided to call it quits.

They were almost to the exit when Abby squealed and rushed over to a nearby rack. She held up the hanger and showed it to Isabelle. She was astounded to hear the words "I love it" come from the green-eyed girl. She stood there mesmerized and stared at the outfit in Abby's hand. Isabelle took the hanger from Abby and stroked the fabric lovingly. It was a beautiful purple top with a black jacket and belt that strapped around the waist. Isabelle could easily see herself in this.

Abby, ecstatic about finally finding something cute that her friend actually liked, hastily pushed Isabelle toward the dressing rooms. "Go try it on then! I want to see how fabulous you look in it." She gushed.

Isabelle laughed at her friend's excitement. "Alright, alright. I'm going, calm down."

She maneuvered between the hundreds of racks and into the dressing room, Abby trailing behind. She drew the line at Abby going into the room with her. If it ended up looking horrible, she would be the only one to see it. Isabelle stripped her top off and carefully pulled on the purple top. The jacket was next and it fit perfectly. She turned to look into the dressing room mirror, and smiled wide at her reflection.

It was perfect.

It seemed to match perfectly with her skin tone, and it brought out the brightness in her hair, giving her an edgy look. The deep purple fabric brought the green out in her eyes, making them look intense. Isabelle grinned as she stared at herself, and then stepped out of the room so that Abby could see her.

Abby turned around when she heard the door open, indicating that Isabelle was done, and what she saw made her eyes grow wide. "Jesus, Izzy, that outfit looks amazing on you. You are totally getting that! No If's, And's, or But's about it, missy."

Isabelle laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry. No If's, And's or But's from me. I absolutely love it. Good job Abby!" She hugged her friend tightly, glad that she had her own personal fashion guru. Abby smiled and blushed from the praise. Isabelle turned and headed into the dressing room, eager to change so she could purchase her new outfit.

When she emerged, Abby grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go pay for it."

They headed to the register and Isabelle grudgingly handed it over to the sulky redhead behind the counter. She scanned the price tag and popped off the security device that was on the jacket collar.

Once Isabelle had it paid for, she clutched the bag possessively. They headed toward the exit and emerged into the sea of shoppers. Abby grabbed Isabelle's hand and started for the main exit. Just as they were passing a shoe store Isabelle's stomach growled loudly, sounding oddly like a lion's roar.

Abby laughed upon hearing it. "Come on, let's go to the food court and get something to eat. I'm a bit hungry myself, to be honest with you."

Isabelle nodded in agreement, thankful for her stomach's timing. She pulled Abby's hand and led her in the direction of the Mall's food court. "Thank God," she muttered.

After ten minutes of walking, they finally found the food mecca. Isabelle stopped by each food stand, browsing through all the edibles. Out of nowhere, she jerked Abby to a halt. She looked at Isabelle with a confused face, and waited for her friend to explain. Isabelle inhaled loudly and the smell of her favorite food in existence wafted through her nose. "Chocolate," she murmured, much to Abby's amusement. Isabelle loved chocolate. She thought the Earth revolved around the sugary goodness. After some careful consideration, she decided to forego the chocolate until after she ate something healthy. She knew that once she started eating the sweets, she wouldn't be able to stop.

Isabelle dragged Abby to Subway, her mouth watering. She ordered a foot-long and a Coke, knowing that it would be no problem to eat a sandwich that size. She could eat that and more.

After the man behind the counter gave Isabelle her food, Abby went about ordering her own. She also ordered a foot-long, but there was no way she would be able to finish it. She mainly ordered her sandwiches that big so that if she got hungry later, there would still be food for her to eat.

After Isabelle had consumed all of her food, they both stood up to go get dessert. Abby wrapped up the remainder of her sandwich, and they headed to the chocolate café. It wasn't hard to find. All Isabelle had to do was follow the tantalizing smell.

Because it was the only chocolate store in the Mall, the counter was packed full of people browsing the array of chocolate. The store was appropriately named "Cocoa Heaven", and they had everything. Chocolate bon bons, chocolate-filled doughnuts, even pre-cut slices of chocolate cake.

After waiting in line for about twenty minutes, Isabelle grinned happily when it was finally their turn. Bouncing on her feet, she hastily ordered a whole chocolate pie and a dozen chocolate chip cookies. After the woman behind the counter told her the price, she reached into her purse to find her wallet. She was so impatient to pay for her goodies that her fingers kept slipping on the zipper to open her bag. Just as she opened her wallet to pay, she was gently pushed aside by someone. She looked up at the person, angry, and opened her mouth to yell at them for cutting in line. She shut her mouth abruptly when the man handed over a twenty dollar bill and said in a soothing baritone, "It's on me."

She looked at the guy, incredulous, wondering why he would do such a thing. Isabelle's mouth nearly dropped when she took in the man's appearance. This man, she thought dreamily, is sexy. She seemed to be in a trance for a moment, staring into his eyes. Beautiful. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and her face broke into a frown. "Why did you pay for my food? You didn't have to do that, you know. I'm perfectly capable of paying for my own things."

The man shrugged, and turned back towards the lady to grab the bag filled with Isabelle's food. "Keep the change," he murmured to her. She nodded, a shy smile forming on her lips. The man looked back at Isabelle. "I know you are. Can't a man buy something for a pretty lady now and then?"

Damn, the man had such a smooth voice. It melted Isabelle's insides, turning her brain to mush. She wanted to be wrapped up in the sexy sound, wanted to be soothed to sleep by it. She wanted to wake up to the soft tones every morning for the rest of her life. Her eyes drooped a bit, and she leaned forward. Abby squeezed her hand tightly, nervously glancing from Isabelle to the hot stranger. Isabelle felt the pressure on her hand and snapped out of whatever spell he had put on her. She shook her head vehemently and stepped back, eager to get away from this man's Voodoo. She glared at him and grabbed the bag of chocolate from his hand.

"No," She replied, ignoring the man's comment about her being pretty. "Especially if the girl doesn't want you to. You didn't have to do that, and I really don't appreciate you thinking that it was okay!"

She handed the bag to Abby, and slid her purse down her arm. She dug through her wallet until she found a twenty-dollar bill, and she then proceeded to stuff it into his hand. "Keep your money," She spat.

Isabelle huffed and turned around, walking towards the nearest exit, dragging a disgruntled Abby behind her. Isabelle knew she was being ridiculous, but she honestly didn't care. She needed to get away from the man that made her feel such strange things. Isabelle knew that he was probably a player, and had tried that line on many girls before her. No way was she falling for that one.

She heard footsteps behind her, and turned her head to see the man in question weaving through the crowd towards her. She snorted loudly and quickened her pace. His legs were faster though, as she soon felt a hand gently pull her to a stop in the crowd of people. His eyes looked down at her with an apologetic expression. "Look, I'm sorry. If I knew that you would react this way, I wouldn't have done that."

Isabelle rolled her eyes and pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Whatever, dude," she muttered. She turned back towards Abby and motioned her head at the giant Exit sign above the big doors. Time to go, the motion said. Abby nodded and together they hurried through the last of the crowd. Isabelle could hear the protests of the man she left behind. She paid him no attention as she and Abby moved quickly across the parking lot and to her car. She climbed in and slammed the door hard, and buckled her seatbelt with quick, jerky movements.

After Abby climbed into the passenger seat, Isabelle took all the bags and stuffed them in the backseat, heedless of the contents. She was glad that Abby wasn't in a talking mood, and after what just happened she sure as hell didn't want conversation.

Isabelle angrily shoved the car in gear and made her way out of the parking lot. People honked at her when she pulled onto the road, but she didn't care. All Isabelle wanted was to go home, and that was exactly where she went.

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