i (21f) keep a backup dress in the trunk of my car. nothing fancy — just a basic black midi dress that fits pretty well and can work for parties, dinners, funerals, whatever. i started doing it after i had a wardrobe malfunction at an event last year and had to go home early because i literally split the seam on my dress down the side. it was humiliating, and one of my so-called friends (let’s call her riley) made it 100x worse by laughing a lot and telling everyone about it.

like, i laughed too at first — it was kinda funny in the moment — but she kept bringing it up for weeks. even did a “dramatic reenactment” at a party once. whatever.

fast forward to last weekend: we were at another friend’s birthday dinner and riley shows up in this super tight satin dress. she looked amazing, but it was way too small — like she had to waddle in it. halfway through the night, the strap snaps and it tears a bit at the side. she panics and goes, “omg please tell me you have your car dress!”

i did.

and i told her no.

she looked shocked and asked why. i just shrugged and said, “you always thought my ‘emergency dress’ was a joke, remember?” and she said, “okay but that was different, i was just messing around! come on, don’t be petty.”

i told her it’s not about being petty — it’s just that now i need to protect myself. she ended up having to borrow a guy’s hoodie and leave early, and now some of our mutual friends say i was harsh for not helping her when i could have. but i honestly feel like she wouldn’t have done the same for me — and didn’t, when i was humiliated in front of everyone.

so… aitah for not giving her the dress, even if i had it right there?