My Brother's Best Friend

23-Ally

Ally's POV

“Done!” Emily exclaimed at last. “Now, you may open your eyes.”
I had been told to leave my shut as soon as we had come to my house, had gotten in my room, and I had no choice but to obey. And what wrong could come from it, anyway?
I lifted my closed eyelids and stared in amazement at the totally different-looking redhead in the mirror. “Oh my god,” I whispered. “Is that me?” Emily laughed. “It sure is! Do you like?” She had curled all of my long red hair, and had done all of my makeup.
“Emily…I look so different…” was all I could say next. Emily laughed again, and looked at my clock. “Just in time, too. Come on, we have to get you to that restaurant.”
I stood up, but my mouth dropped open. “Crap…I just realized that neither of us can drive…and I can’t ask my brother to take me!” Emily held both of her hands up in front of her. “Don’t worry; I have that taken care of. My brother shall drop you off.”
I stared at her in amazement. “You are good,” I laughed. She beamed. “I know. Now let’s go, or you’ll be late. Look, Zach is already out there, waiting.”
She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my room, through the hall, and out the door to Zach’s waiting car. He glanced at us, then back me for a double take. “Oh my god, Ally?”
Em motioned for me to get into the front seat. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s Ally. Now hurry, Zach. She’ll be late if you don’t.” I laughed a little, then waved at Emily as we pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road.
I breathed deeply as we drove. “You look…really nice,” Zach said, and smiled. I blushed a little, because coming from Zach, he was practically calling me beautiful. “Thanks Zach. Really.” He nodded toward me, and for the rest of the ride, we drove in silence.
We pulled up at the restaurant at exactly 7:01, and as soon as Zach parked, he said, “If Em were here, she’d kill me. It’s a minute after 7:00.” I laughed. “Well, thank you Zach. You didn’t have to do this…but thank you.”
He nodded at me, and I opened the door, and then shut it. He waved a little at me, then took off. Here we go, I said and the stupid butterflies appeared in my stomach.
I walked slowly into the fancily decorated building, and looked around. The hoist smiled kindly as I approached. “How may I help you today?” he asked very politely.
“Hi, I am supposed to meet someone here…Tyler Mitchel?” The host nodded quickly. “Of course. Follow me, please.” He grabbed a menu and led me into the fancy dining area.
I saw Tyler waiting at a table near the back, and he seemed to be examining his face with a spoon, like a mirror. When he noticed us approaching, he quickly dropped the spoon, and he stood up.
He looked really good in that tux…but his looks could never compare to James’. If I ever saw James in a tux…I probably would die. “Ally,” Tyler whispered, grinning hugely at me, and he touched my arm slightly. “You look amazing.”
The host left and I smiled kindly at Tyler. “Thanks. So do you.” He pulled out a chair for me, and I was about to sit down when suddenly, a voice exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! Well hey, guys!”
My mouth dropped open when I heard it. It couldn’t be…could it? I whipped my head around and gasped. “James?”
He looked at me for a second and stared, but not for long. He turned to Tyler and grinned. “Hey, man. Oh, my gosh…are you two together?”
Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Yes we are…why?” James laughed loudly, which was very unusual for him. “Oh, well, you aren’t really the same type at all, so, I never would have guessed.”
I raised my eyes widely, and stared at him in shock. That was actually kind of…rude. James, my husband in my dreams, just said something rude? That was impossible…
Tyler clenched his teeth. “We are a lot alike, aren’t we Ally?” I swallowed, but didn’t say anything. James smirked. “W-what are you doing here, James?” I heard myself ask. James moved slightly to the left. “I’m on a date!” I could now see a girl sitting in the corner, and she waved a little at us.
James looked at her, then back at Tyler. “Fancy meeting you guys here! Ha-ha, get it? Fancy!” I stared at him, not saying anything. I couldn’t believe this. He was being rude, and telling corny jokes? What was going on?
“Hey, mind if we join you?” he went on. Before either Tyler or I could answer, he was waving his date over. “Great! This should be fun!” he added.
I looked at Tyler, then back at James. I couldn’t seem to process this. I was seeing a whole new side of James that I had never seen before, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
James pulled two chairs away from a table marked as “reserved” and set them by ours. He pulled one out for his date, and he smiled at me. “Awesome! Now, what shall we order?”
I felt like crying, but instead, I just stared at the table lantern. What the heck was going on with James? He was acting like my brother…and that definitely wasn’t a good thing. “Waiter!” he called, loudly. “Can we get some lobsters?”
I put my hands on either side of my head. I refused to believe that this was real life. I was just dreaming, probably. Yeah, that was it. I would wake up any moment, now, and everything would be alright. Except, as the night went on, more and more I realized that this was real life…and so was this change in James’ behavior.