Chapter Twenty-Seven
Again, for SUPER CHICK! There's no words that I could say that would even begin to explain how much our friendship means to me. I'm always there for you, girl, just like I know that you're there for me. Love ya always!
With a groan, Brooklyn rolled over in bed, trying to ignore the fact that the sun was trying to blind her at this very early hour. She had a rough week, if that even began to explain it. After seeing JC and the rest of the guys off (which she found surprisingly easier since she was dating one of them, and the fact that they were going to see each other soon), as Mia's maid of honor, she was sent on trivial tasks to free up some time for the soon to be married couple.
And after the tasting of wedding cakes a few days ago, and at the rehearsal last night, she never wanted to see a piece of cake again in her life. It didn't matter if it was pound cake, wedding cake, spice cake, Devil's Food cake...hell, even PANCAKES. She was sick of hearing about them, looking at them, tasting them...and she couldn't help but wonder if she would have been like this during her own wedding.
She shook her head against her pillows, trying to stifle her laugh. No, she would have made Mia do all the work, like she was doing for her. "Nothing like friendship," she muttered softly. She had been so tied up with stupid cakes that she had almost forgotten to pick up the guys at the airport with Mia!
Her breath came in shallow gasps as her cowboy boots pounded against the airport floor. People turned to stare at the two of them like they were crazy, but both of them ignored the looks they were getting. "This is all...your fault, Brooke," Mia panted, wiping one hand against her forehead, which was beginning to develop a slight sheen from the exercise. The parking lot had been full, and the two had to park in the back forty, meaning they had to run through the parking lot, as well. This was definitely not a good afternoon.
"Don't...blame me. You were...supposed to remind...me. Not...stuff cake...in my face!" she shot back, turning the corner. Her feet slipped out from under her as she took it too fast, and a pair of strong arms circled her waist, holding her up. She opened her eyes and looked curiously into a pair of sparkling brown ones.
Chris grinned. "Does this count as sweeping you off your feet?" he asked with a chuckle, helping her back up.
Her eyes rolled. "Not until I see a broom in those pretty, pop star hands of yours. You...uh...landed early," she said with a gasp, putting one hand to her chest.
"Whoa, don't hyperventilate. And actually, Brooke, we landed late. Don't you know how to read a watch?" When she punched his shoulder, hard, he winced. "Did I say something wrong?"
And it had finally come to this. The morning of the wedding. When everything was supposed to be set up, and she could finally RELAX. For the next two hours, at least, until she had to fight her way into the bathroom for a shower, and then get ready down at the church. And fighting for the shower with Austin and JC was not going to be a fun thing to be had by all.
Another groan escaped her as a soft knock sounded on her door. "Go away!" she shouted from the confines of her fluffy pillow, closing her eyes tightly. Maybe if she followed her old theory when she was a kid, it would work again. If she didn't seem them, they wouldn't see her...whoever "they" may be.
But when the door opened, and the person walked close to her bed, she could smell a familiar cologne, mixed with the smell of shampoo and soap. "You told me to wake you up at seven thirty, New York," JC said with a chuckle, sitting down beside her on the bed.
The weight of him caused the bed to dip, and Brooklyn to roll with it. "Did I say seven thirty in the morning? No, I don't believe so. I meant seven thirty at night, so if you don't mind, I should get another twelve hours sleep. Please make sure that your seats and tray tables are in an upright and locked position. We'll be landing soon, and if you so much as say one more word, you'll be taking a detour through that window. Thank you for flying Air Brooklyn."
A soft clapping interrupted her as she was almost back asleep. "That was pretty coherent for this early. Congratulations. Now, I don't think that you want to skip your brother's wedding, and I'm sure that you don't want to deal with him when I'm laying in a hospital bed with two broken legs, so get up."
"Why me?" she whined, rolling over onto her back. He stared down at her peaceful face for a moment, before sighing. "Can't I get another hour of sleep?"
His head shook. "Nope, because I got it all planned out. I wake you up, you come down and eat breakfast with me. Then, when you go up for a shower, I wake Austin up. He eats breakfast, and while HE'S in the shower, I wake the rest of the guys up. Then, on the ride to the church, I call the house and make sure that everyone got up. See? It's all covered."
"Go eat wedding cake," she mumbled, crossing her arms defiantly. "Did you say...breakfast?" she ventured, opening one brilliant green eye. He nodded slowly. "You didn't make pancakes, did you? Because if you did, you really are going to take that detour out the window. Anything that has the word cake in it is officially out of my vocabulary."
Taking her hands, he made her sit upright in bed before reaching for the peach silk robe that was laying across the end of the bed. "Nope. I made french toast, though, if that makes you feel better. I stayed away from...uh...what's another word for those round things that you eat at breakfast but I shouldn't mention because I'm scared and want to have children when I'm older."
The other eye opened so that she could roll them before she stood up, with his help again, and shoved her arms through the sleeves. "Flap jacks. Call 'em that, but don't you dare say that four letter word in front of me. Or behind me. Or beside me. Or within hearing range. Thank you."
"No problem. Hey, New York, are you sure that you don't want me to tie that for you?" he asked with a devilish, lopsided grin, pointing to the two hanging ties.
She yawned. "If you're a good boy today, you can do it tomorrow. Food is calling. You better have made coffee, too, because the last thing I want to do is fall asleep and do a nose dive into a piece of french toast." Her stomach rumbled and she put her hand on it lightly. "Calm down, I'm feeding you in a second."
They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she could smell bacon frying. "You really didn't have to do this," she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee, carrying it over to the table. JC followed, with two plates of food.
"Hey, I just had to plan the bachelor party. You had the bachelorette party...and everything else. Did you even breathe for the last few days?"
She shook her head. "So, was there a stripper at the party?" she asked with a devilish grin. She really wanted to know how he was going to respond to this one. Brooklyn KNEW that it was nothing but a bunch of guys getting drunk and making fun of Austin, nothing else, but she wanted to pull this out.
He picked up a piece of bacon and looked at it curiously. "Nope. Porno. It's much more safe."
"Much more safe from what?" she asked, taking another sip of coffee.
"Much more safe from your right hook." She started to giggle, before covering her mouth and reminding herself that there was still five people sleeping upstairs. "What about you guys? You were talking in your sleep, but I couldn't understand a word that you were saying."
A piece of french toast disappeared into her mouth and she chewed slowly. "Just a bunch of women giving Mia somewhat embarrassing gifts and getting drunk off of mixed drinks. Didn't you notice the hang over that that the two of us had? I don't think I've drunk that much in my entire life." A small smile started to grow. "Oh, and did I forget to mention the cop with swinging handcuffs and a can of whipped cream?" Her eyebrows went up a few times. "Face it, us girls know how to party." Her voice dropped. "Actually, Mia knew that we weren't calling in a stripper, so she did it herself. That's the kind of person she is."
His head shook with a laugh. "Do I have anything to worry about?"
"Nope. He was cute, but I don't think that there was much going on up there. Whipped cream on the brain, I think." She shook her head and giggled again. "So, for the final time, do you have everything ready for tonight?" she asked with a resigned sigh.
A smile lit up his face. "Let's see. Being the smart person that I was, I already stole your jeep and went into town to get the flowers and everything. They're at the church right now." She nodded. "My tux is waiting there, too, as well as your dress. My shoes are waiting by the door, so that I can't forget them. And...that's all that I have to remember. What about you?"
"My dress is waiting, like you said. My shoes are with my dress, so that's easy. I just have to grab my makeup bag and a bunch of tissues, because I always cry at weddings, and I'm ready. Did you make sure that the guys didn't bring anything that looks like it belongs on the cover of Fashion Disaster Weekly?"
He shook his head again. "Everything is either black or dark blue. I made damned sure of that. Could you imagine Mia's face is she saw Chris sitting there in a fire engine red suit? And he would do it, just to piss her off. I'll never understand those two."
"I'm more of a canary yellow guy, if you ask me," a rough, yet deadpanned voice sounded from the doorway. Brooklyn turned to smile at Chris as he stumbled over to her and wrapped his arms around her neck, dropping a kiss ontop of her head. "Look at that. I actually get to see Brooke for more than five minutes. Amazing." His eyes narrowed as he looked at JC. "Are you trying to steal her from me or something, man?"
He lifted his hands. "She's all yours, if you want her."
Her nose wrinkled. "I think a cup of coffee and some breakfast is more to his style, though. What are you doing up so early, anyway?"
Somehow, despite the fact that he was tired, a grin started on his face as he poured coffee into a black mug. "I have to get up early so that I can plan my attack on Mia today." Chuckling under his breath, he came back to the table. "Don't worry, everyone else is asleep."
Her eyes flashed towards him. "Don't you dare do anything to ruin her day, Christopher."
"What? I was just thinking of something to say when the priest or minister or whatever the hell you call him asks everyone to 'speak now or forever hold your peace'. What am I supposed to say? What would REALLY piss her off?"
Quicker than either of the men could believe, Brooklyn grabbed Chris by the front of his tee shirt and yanked him closer to her. "If you even DREAM of saying something, I'm going to give you the same treatment that I was going to give JC for waking me up, and if you're wondering, there's nothing sexual about flying out of a second story window to land in the back yard. WHEN the question comes up, you will sit there like the good little pop singer that you are, and you'll bite your freaking tongue, or so help me God, Mia won't be the only one with a contract out on your head."
His eyes widened enormously. "Okay, I get it, Brooke. I was just kidding. Look, I'll get Lance to sit beside me, and-"
"Oh no, you will not. That kid has a mischievous streak in him that's at least a mile wide. The last thing I want is you two idiots sitting beside each other. I already talked to Mia about the seating arrangements. It'll be you, then Joey, then Lance, then Justin. But at no time will you switch seats, or a bouquet of roses will come flying your way, understood?"
"Yes. Understood. Now can you let go of me, please. I can't breathe, and I KNOW that you wouldn't want to kill one of your best friends, right?"
Her eyes rolled quickly as she stood up. "If that's what makes you feel safe at night, Chris, I'll let you believe it. I'm going up for a shower. Do you want me to stop and wake up the idiotic groom?"
JC looked back. "Why is he idiotic?"
"He's marrying Mia. Enough said," she said with a chuckle, heading back up the stairs. She stopped by the door that separated her from the room that Austin and JC were staying in, before knocking softly, and pushing it open. Even though there was very little light in the room, she maneuvered past the empty bed to the one by the wall and sat down on it, shaking her older brother's shoulder. "Time to get up, Cowboy," she said in a soft voice, smiling when he opened his eyes.
"How would you like to take a trip through that window?"
She paused for a moment. "Funny. I said the same thing to JC AND Chris this morning. Nah, you can't tell that you and I are brother and sister, can you?" she asked before stretching out beside him. "Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs, if you're wondering. JC was nice enough to cook for us, and you'll want to get down there before the other four stooges wake up and eat it all."
With a groan, he rolled onto his back. "Brookie, anything that goes in my stomach is going to immediately come back up and make a dive into the toilet."
"Are we being a little melodramatic today?" she asked in a cheery voice. "And did you just call me Brookie? You must be really nervous then."
"Nervous doesn't even begin to touch it. Is there coffee down there?"
Her head shook. "Yes, but it's the last thing that you need. Take my advice and have a glass of milk instead. Coffee is just going to make those nerves worse. I'm going in for a shower. See you downstairs, Cowboy." She walked out and into her own room, picking up a pair of jeans and a tank top without looking at them and carrying them into the bathroom with her.
Her shower was probably going to be the shortest point of the day, she realized. It only took her five minutes before she wrapped a fresh towel around herself and stepped out, bending forward to squeeze the water out of her hair. Running a hand over the top of her head, she wiped herself off and changed into the new clothes, running a brush through her hair. Staring at herself in the mirror with a frown, she started the faucet, and stuck her toothbrush underneath, humming along to a song that she had stuck in her head for about a week now.
Once she was done, she shook her head at her reflection before going back into her bedroom to put her makeup bag near her purse so that she wouldn't forget it, before going back downstairs. "I see that none of the others have risen from the dead yet," she said with a small yawn, heading back to the coffee maker. "Austin? Is there a reason why you're just staring at your empty plate?" she finally asked as she came back to the table.
Chris shook his head. "He's been like this for five minutes now. I think he's gone catatonic on us, not that I'm surprised. I mean, look at who he's marrying," he finished with a smirk. Brooklyn smacked him and then put down her coffee cup, backing up. "He's gonna hate me for this," she muttered, taking a deep breath. She bent down by Austin's ear and started to snicker. "Hey, Little Puddle," she whispered so that no one else could see.
It was a good thing that she moved her head back, because Austin's snapped up. "That is NOT funny, Brooke. I told you never to call me that again." She shrugged.
"Go take your shower. We do have to get to the church eventually. You DO want to get married, don't you?" With a smirk, she picked up her coffee mug again and went back to sit in her seat from before. Austin grimaced and got up from the table, heading out of the kitchen. "So, Chris, did we get everything clear before?"
His eyes went towards the clock. "What time are you supposed to pick up the she-devil?" he asked in response.
Her eyes went to the clock as well. "I have to leave in twenty minutes. By the time that we get to the church, you guys should already be there," she said, directing her statement to JC. "Make sure that Austin does not see her once. It's not some stupid tradition, but you know that movie, 'Runaway Bride'? Mia did that once when she saw the guy she was supposed to be marrying."
A low whistle sounded from JC. "No wonder you don't trust her enough to drive herself into Belleview. It's probably a good thing that you're picking her up."
"Are you kidding? She'll try to jump from a moving vehicle if she's desperate, but I'm not that worried about it. This wedding is going to take place. I don't care if they get divorced the next day, this wedding is most definitely going to take place." She sat back with a smug smile. "I might as well head out of here now. The sooner I'm there, the less Mia can stress. When I walk out the door, don't be surprised if the phone rings."
Stopping long enough to kiss JC goodbye and head upstairs to get her bag, she was out the door and in the driver's seat of her jeep, slipping a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. The top was already down, and the early morning sun was just beginning to get warmer. She turned the key in the ignition, and pulled out of the driveway, turning onto the street.
On the way to Nashville, she flipped through her favorite radio stations, trying to find something to listen to and distract her on the rather boring drive. However, every song that she seemed to find was a love song. While it brought a smile to her face, because they always made her think of JC, she knew that it wasn't the best thing for Mia to listen to. A love song could send her over the edge. Once she made her way up the aisle, she'd be fine, but until then...Brooklyn was praying that nothing would happen.
With a sigh, she pulled the CD case closer to her, and started to flip through, not taking her eyes off the road. She knew what CD was in the case, and where it was. They never changed. "NSYNC, Tim McGraw, Garth," she mumbled, before turning another sleeve. "NSYNC, again. Tim, again. Beach Boys. Ooh, there we go," she exclaimed, pulling out the Beach Boys CD. It wasn't country, and it had love songs, but they were all so upbeat that she wasn't worried.
Her head bobbed along as she turned up the volume, making a right at the first light that she came to. In the distance, she saw a series of high rise buildings that were some of the most luxurious and sought after apartments in the city. She continued down that road until she came to the third, the one with the most expensive rent out of all of them. She put the parking pass in the windshield and got out, walking to the front door, looking through her mass of keys for the right one.
Finding it, she unlocked the door herself and smiled at the security guard that stood in the lobby. "Hey, Frank," she said with a wave.
"Morning, Miss Turner. Today's the big day, huh?"
"Uh huh. Now all I have to do is collect our wayward bride." With another smile, she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the highest floor, tapping her foot on the floor as it rose through fifteen floors to bring her to Mia's apartment. Stepping out of the elevator, she took the few steps to the only door, and knocked on it loudly. "Oh, Mia," she sang out. "It's time."
The door to the penthouse apartment opened, and the two women grinned at each other for a moment before the one inside tossed a purse over her shoulder. "Let's go. I can't stand being in there for one more minute. Hey, you're early."
Brooklyn nodded as they got into the elevator. "Yeah, well, I thought that I should leave before you could change your mind. Besides, now we have enough time to stop for some coffee. Let's go get you married, sweetie."
The two women burst into the church, laughing. "I'm surprised that it didn't fall down on my head. When was the last time that I went to Sunday service?" Mia asked with a giggle, taking another sip of her iced coffee.
Brooklyn shook her head. "You were still going after I stopped, so if anything, it should have fallen down on my head." They both listened to the sounds of laughing from the women's changing room, before racing towards it and throwing open the door. Two women and four little girls were running around, trying to get everything set up. "Hello again, guys," she said with a smile.
As soon as the door was shut behind them, the women were put into action. They all struggled to get into their dresses and get their nylons on without snagging them. Everyone laughed as Mia hobbled over to the makeup counter, stealing another pair. "Well, that's the third for the garbage can," she said with a sigh, pulling off the nylons and throwing them in with the rest of the discarded pile. "Good thing we bought a lot."
The room was filled with laughter as Brooklyn straightened up, brushing back her honey brown hair. "All right. I'm done, so why don't I help CJ and PJ into their dresses," she said, taking the two little white dresses off of the rack, checking the tags to make sure that they were the right ones.
The two girls ran over to her as Brooklyn helped them out of their clothes and then into the tiny white flower girl dresses. "Turn around," she told them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders to spin them so that their backs were facing her. She pulled the pink sashes as tightly as she dared, allowing the girls to still breathe, before tying them into a neat little bow.
"I've got AJ and JJ done over here," one of Mia's bridesmaids, her cousin if Brooklyn remembered right, said, as the two girls were released and ran towards the mirrors to see what they looked like. She let the other two go before walking over to Mia and sitting down on a chair as she started to put on her makeup.
"Mia, I've got a question for you." The woman nodded as Brooklyn reached for the lipstick that she was wearing with the dress. "How did you get the name Mia Michelle. I mean, we've got Christina Jane, Patricia June, Jennifer Jade, and Amanda Jean. Where in the world did Mia Michelle come from?"
She sighed and put her mascara back in her makeup bag. "My mom told me that before she had any kids, she was planning for all of them to have their second initial J. When I came out, she said that I was so different from what she thought that she just couldn't name me like that. THAT is how I got the name Mia Michelle. Besides, Mia is my grandmother's name, and Michelle is my other grandmother's name. I definitely lucked out. Those four are going to hate their names when they get older."
"You have to admit that it's confusing. AJ, PJ, JJ, and CJ. How do you keep them straight?"
Mia turned with a smile. "All you do is call one of them, and one is bound to come. Whichever one comes, you blame for whatever happened. Then, they tell you who it actually was. Then you call for that kid. And she comes running. Then, you go all older sister on their butts. I'm just surprised that my mom had more kids after me."
They both started to laugh, as Brooklyn finished up with her makeup and looked in the mirror. "What am I going to do with my hair? I did all the planning for the wedding, but never once did I sit down and actually think about what I would look like."
Mia's childhood best friend, who was also engaged, came up to her with a hot curling iron. "If these kids would stop running around, I'll do your hair. I'm already done," she explained before taking a section of Brooklyn's hair and curling it around the hot rod. "Hey! You burn a superstar's head, and you owe me fifty bucks!" she shouted over her shoulder.
All four girls went over into a corner, waiting for Mia and her cousin to do their make up, like they had been promised the day before. They stayed there until Brooklyn's hair was completely curled and pulled up with silver clips, before dancing around the room to the strains of the music that was playing in the church. Brooklyn shook her head when she heard a knock, and walked over to the door carefully, stepping over one of the girls, who was sitting cross legged on the floor.
Opening the door, she stuck her head out and grinned when she saw JC. "What are you doing here?" she asked with a laugh. "I would ask you to come in, but you might be attacked by the Troublesome Foursome, so I think you might have a better chance if you stay out there."
He nodded and smiled. "I brought you something that you will most definitely need. In all your planning this morning, you forgot one little thing, even though you mentioned it." With a wink, his hand went through the partially opened door and she laughed as she took the tissues from him. "Hope your make up is water proof."
She nodded quickly. "Oh, yeah. Now, go back. I'd say we're ready. Another what, five minutes?" JC nodded after looking at the clock down the hall. "Great. I'll see you there. I would kiss you but I don't have enough time to redo my lipstick, and besides, you don't want to stand through a whole service with lipstick on you, do you?"
"Nu uh. I'm out of here. See you there." She watched as he took off down the hall, and sighed, closing the door. "Five minute countdown, girls! Do what you need." Everyone laughed as Mia took off for the bathroom, trying to hold up her dress. Brooklyn ran back to the mirror and made sure that all the letters on her necklace were down, and sprayed a little perfume on herself, before calling the girls over, and doing it to them, much to their amusement.
Mia came back out with a sigh, and tried to settle the skirt of her dress back down. Brooklyn shook her head as all of them went to help her. Her head cocked to the side, and she listened carefully. She had been asked before to listen for a certain note in a certain song, because that was when they had to leave. Since she had the musically trained ears, she was the natural choice. "Oops, there's our note. Let's go."
They all stopped long enough to pick up their bouquets and make sure that everything was in place before heading out to the closed doors where the music was louder. They quickly got into place while laughing. First PJ, and Mia's cousin. Then, AJ, and Mia's college friend. Then, CJ, and Brooklyn with JJ back with Mia. Each one had a little flower girl, though there wasn't a ring bearer. No one knew a boy young enough to use him.
Taking deep breaths, the door were opened, and the people sitting in the pews turned in anticipation, watching to see who was coming first. The first four made their way down there relatively easy, before it came to Brooklyn's turn. She looked back at Mia and squeezed her hand. "You're going to knock his socks off," she whispered.
"I'd rather knock off his boxers," she said with a sigh, as CJ started to move down, sprinkling pink, white, and red rose petals in front of her like the girls before her had done. Brooklyn stepped onto the aisle and almost lost her breath. It was more beautiful then she thought it would be. The whole time she had been caught up in planning the wedding that she hadn't actually seen what it was going to be like.
Candles were placed on the alter, all in shades of pink, white, and red. Standing up there already were the two women, and two girls. The women were holding bouquets of pink roses in front of them, complimenting the dark red long dresses. The two girls were in their matching white dresses with the pink sashes that melted to a deep red at the very back. Her eyes moved over to where her brother, her boyfriend, and two of his friends were standing. She smiled when she saw each of them in their matching tuxedos. Following in the color tradition that Mia had wanted, Austin had a single red rose in his lapel, JC a white one like the roses that Brooklyn was carrying, and the other two had pink roses.
As she walked down the red carpet, her eyes passing each bouquet of roses on the side of each pew, she couldn't help looking forward at her brother and smiling at his for reassurance before her eyes landed on JC again, who was watching her every move. When he had stopped to see her, she hadn't actually let him see any of her, other than her face. Now he was taking in the curly hair that was pulled up, the long red strapless dress, and the bouquet of white roses that she was carrying.
Her eyes went down as she made her way to the first pew on the groom's side, where the guys were sitting. Since they had no family that they knew of left, Austin, Mia, and Brooklyn agreed that they should have the seats that were normally for the parents and siblings. Chris, who was on the very end, grinned when he saw her. She smiled back when she saw that, indeed, he hadn't shown up in a bright red or bright yellow suit. Instead, he was wearing a black suit that was much more suiting to him than bright colors. "You look gorgeous," he mouthed to her.
Smiling her thanks, since she couldn't say anything, she stepped up to the alter with CJ, taking their places as everyone stood up when Mia came in the doorway. That was the moment that Brooklyn felt her eyes tear up, and she quickly felt for the two pieces of facial tissue that she had stuffed at the bottom of her bouquet.
Mia practically floated down the aisle, clutching her dark red roses that matched the dresses that the women were wearing. The white dress flowed out behind her, the small train whispering against the ground. Her long hair landed on her shoulders, while the small pearls sewn on the dress caught the light from the windows, and from the candles at the alter.
Brooklyn choked back a sob when she saw her brother reaching for Mia's hand. Her eyes caught JC's, and she smiled through her tears, letting him know that she was all right. The minister stood up and stood before the couple, smiling at everyone. "Well, we've already got the maid of honor crying. I guess it's time to start the ceremony."
The only sound that could be heard was someone shifting in their seat (and Brooklyn knew how uncomfortable the pews could be, and she actually pitied whoever it was), and one cough from near the back. She easily recognized it as Gina's, their neighbor, and smiled softly. From time to time, her eyes would dry up, but the moment that she looked back at her brother and her best friend, she would start to cry all over again. One tissue was absolutely soaked through before they had even gotten to their vows.
With a smile, Mia turned slightly and passed her bouquet over to Brooklyn, who shifted hers so that she could hold both comfortably in both hands and still have one somewhat free so that she could use the other tissue. She grinned through her tears when CJ turned around from where she was standing in front of her, and smiled sweetly, trying to offer some kind of comfort to the older woman. Every now and then, she could see JC watching her, and each time that she looked at him, she could see that his eyes were asking her if she was all right. Each time, she would nod slightly, smiling her thanks to him.
She snapped back to attention when the rings were exchanged; one ring from JC's pocket, and the other from AJ's basket of flower petals. She took a deep breath to keep her composure as Austin looked over at her. She nodded slightly, and couldn't help cheering with everyone else when Mr. and Mrs. Turner were presented to their friends and family.
Mia reached for her bouquet again, and Brooklyn handed it over before dabbing her eyes a final time and looking at the girls. All four of them looked at her and nodded before two of them snuck over to the other side, and rained flower petals down on the new couple. She shook her head and smiled when one of the girls took their position, and walked down the aisle in front of her brother, and her recent sister-in-law. Brooklyn and JC smiled at each other as CJ wormed her way in front of them and walked them down as well. He reached over and took her hand as they walked after the couple. The other two couples followed closely, with girls in front of them as well, before they all burst out into the bright sunlight.
Three limos were waiting to take them to the nearby park, where they could have their pictures taken with their friends and family. Everyone hung around outside for a few minutes, catching up with everyone else. She leaned over when Chris appeared at her side and hugged him. "Thank you for not saying anything," she said softly.
"Aw, you know that I wouldn't have. I just wanted to make you nervous. Austin's lucky. He managed to find the perfect girl for him...just like you found the perfect guy for you, huh?" he asked, elbowing her lightly.
She smiled, and played with her flowers for a moment. "I guess you could say that."
After about five minutes of small talk, JC and Brooklyn slipped into the second limo, as the door closed behind them. "What were you trying to do, flood out the church all by yourself?" he asked her, before his arm went around her shoulders.
Sighing comfortably, she leaned her head lightly on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I had some help. I wasn't the only one crying, you know. Mia let a few go, too. I bet she never thought that she would actually get to this point."
He laughed and placed a kiss on her temple. "Probably not. I didn't get a chance to tell you yet, New York, but you look absolutely beautiful today."
Her head raised a little and she looked at him with a smile. "Thank you. And have I ever told you how much I love to see you in a suit, let alone a tuxedo? WOW!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "You know, the first time that I really noticed how great you looked in one was the night of our rooftop dinner. You looked fantastic. I mean, the Regis look is a little over done, with the satin tie, but you still looked great."
"She manages to compliment me and put me down at the same time. And I wonder why I stay around. Thanks, New York," he said sarcastically. The rest of the ride was silent, as they followed the limo with the cheesy 'Just Married' sign on the back. They listened to all the honks coming from the cars that passed them and laughed as they stopped at the small park near Brooklyn's house. The driver came out and opened the doors, as they all started towards the grassy area where the photographer had set up his camera.
The man with the camera smiled and looked towards the oncoming group. "All right. The wedding party is first. Can all of you come over here, please?"
JC laughed and bent his head down near Brooklyn's. "Doesn't this remind you of work?" She just hit him and continued walking.
Brooklyn took the chance to look around the room as the waiters started to take everyone's plates away. When she had come in, she hadn't had enough time to see what it looked like, but in her opinion, it was even more beautiful than what the church had looked like. Mia had followed the same decorating pattern, with everything in white, pink, and red. What amazed her was that there were no overhead lights on. There must have been at least two hundred candles around the room, if not more. It made for a very cozy, very romantic setting, and Brooklyn was definitely not against that.
The only thing that got her was the fact that she couldn't sit near her boyfriend. No, she was sitting beside Mia, on the bride's side. The most she saw of JC since they sat down was his hand every now and then, and while that was nothing to bitch at, she would much rather have the whole thing.
The speeches were already finished, and Brooklyn thanked God for that. She hated to get in front of a group of people and speak. She was fine with singing, but talking? She really didn't care for it. But she had made it through, without making her and Mia bawl like babies. They did cry, but they would deny to their dying day that they had bawled.
Mia suddenly leaned over towards Brooklyn. "Remember that song that I gave you to learn? It's time to earn your money, honey," she said with a smile. Brooklyn smirked and stood up, pushing her chair back against the table. Her eyes filled with curiosity and confusion when she saw JC stand up as well, and head towards the little stage that had been set up.
"What are you doing?" she asked him, as they were both handed microphones.
His shoulders moved in a shrug. "Austin told me that I was singing. That's all I know. He gave me this song about a month ago and asked if I would."
Her eyes narrowed and she looked back at the head table, where Mia was smiling sweetly. "Yeah, I see what they're up to now. They didn't think that we would be together at this point, so they wanted both of us to sing. Ha, shows them," she grumbled with a laugh as it was announced that the bride and groom would have their first dance together as a married couple. Her eyes rolled and she shook her head, before smiling as the two started to get up from the table.
"Ready?"
She nodded. "Let's do this, and then relax for the rest of the night."
The music started and Brooklyn looked over at them one last time, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to begin the song.
It was no accident, me finding you
Someone had to have a hand in it
Long before we ever knew
Now I just can't believe you're in my life
Heaven's smiling down at me
As I look at you tonight
Her eyes opened, and the only thing she could see was JC looking towards her. Her smile widened a little, and she wondered if she would be able to get to the chorus. The first verse spoke not only of Mia and Austin, but of the two of them. Everything seemed right about it. There was no accident when it came to the two of them meeting. And there was always someone trying to get them together, before they knew what they were feeling themselves. But she did find her voice again, and continued on.
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doing
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars
Soft moonlight on your face, oh how it shines
It takes my breath away
Just to look in your eyes
I know I don't deserve a treasure like you
There really are no words
To show my gratitude
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doing
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I've got all I'll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars
It was no accident, me finding you
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew
For a moment, it didn't look like either one of them were going to move. Their eyes were stuck on each other, and to tell the truth, neither one of them wanted to move. They were more than happy where they were, but the sound of applause caught their attention, and they looked around, surprised to find that they were still at the wedding, and Mia and Austin had finished their dance already.
With a slight blush coming over her face for being so caught up in the moment, she put down the microphone and shook her head before she leaned over to the DJ, who was right beside them. "Hey, buddy. If I hear one of my songs tonight...let's just say that it's not going to be a pretty night. So, can we skip on any Brooklyn Turner, please?"
"Same with NSYNC. It's our day off," JC said. The DJ nodded and started to play a different song. Brooklyn let out a deep breath and went to step off the platform, just as a man from the hotel came rushing up to JC.
"Mr. Chasez, there's a phone call for you at the front desk."
He nodded. He knew who it was. He had been expecting that call all day, and he had purposely "forgotten" his cell phone back at Brooklyn's, turned off, because of it. Somehow, he managed to find them, but he was more than willing to talk to him then. "I'll be right back, all right?"
She smiled. "I'll just go grab someone who's abnormally tall and makes me look even shorter to dance with." She waved and started to walk over to Justin. JC looked around the room, and his eyes landed on Chris. Why he even did the next thing that he did, he had no clue, but he did it anyway.
He lifted his hand and waved him over.
Damn it, he had pulled someone else into the soap opera.
Chris walked over slowly, until he was standing next to him. "Look, I need you to come with me. There's a phone call waiting for me, and I want you to listen to it, but you can't say anything. Don't even think of breathing into the phone, all right?" JC said as he pulled him along to the exit. "I just need someone to witness this, but I can't let the other person know, all right?"
Although reluctant, he nodded. "Sure, I guess."
JC forced him to walk faster until they came to the lobby. He could see a phone sitting behind the desk, one of the lights blinking. He was on hold. "Excuse me, but is there another phone that we could use at the same time? The two of us have to talk at the same time," he said with a smile that he hoped looked genuine.
The woman put both telephones on the desk, telling them to take their time. JC bit his bottom lip, one of Brooklyn's nervous habits, and hit the privacy button on the phone in front of Chris, nodding to him. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the receiver and pressed the blinking button. "Yes?" he asked.
"Time for you to put your plan into action, Chasez."
He closed his eyes for a moment so that he wouldn't have to see Chris. Chris and that innocent, wondering look on his face. He shouldn't have brought him into this, but he had no choice. He DID have a plan, it just wasn't what Tim thought it was. "I'm sorry, but who is this? I can barely hear you." Thank God the music was blaring through the open doors. It was loud enough to hear on the other end, and that was what he was betting on.
Chris sent him another look, as the person answered. "You know damned well who this is."
"I'm sorry, but I can't recognize the voice. If you don't tell me who this is, I'm going to have to hang up on you. I'm at a wedding right now, and I can't just-"
"You God damned idiot. It's Tim Croft. Now, listen to me. I know that you're at the wedding. That's why I'm calling." JC snuck a look over at his friend, and saw the realization on his face. He shook his head to tell him not to say anything. Tim wouldn't be able to hear him on his phone, but they were too close, and the moment that Chris said anything, Tim would know. That's what he didn't want.
It was time to throw himself into the role, and he put a smirk on his face, knowing that it would be heard in his voice as well. "Oh, did you want me to go in there and tell Mia and Austin that you're sorry that you couldn't make it? I'm sorry, but I don't think that they would let you out for good behavior, because to tell the truth, you've been anything BUT good, isn't that right, Tim?"
There was a slight pause. "Don't give me that shit, Chasez. Now, we had a deal. I gave you two weeks to break up with the bitch, but I decided that two weeks is a little long. It has to be done TONIGHT. Do you understand that? You said that you knew how you were going to do it, so do it tonight. Within the next hour. Don't forget. There's someone watching your every move."
"Yeah, yeah, this is all old news. You've told me before. And if I don't do it in an hour?"
"Let's just say that I know which tour bus is hers, and I have a friend who's very handy with tools. I'm sure that you wouldn't want to hear on the news that her bus suddenly had...no brakes? That it plowed into a mountain? Don't test me, Chasez, because I know all the answers to the test. YOU are the one that's getting the pop quiz right now."
Both men looked over at each other, their eyes widening. Oh, he REALLY brought Chris into this now. He put his head up to the ceiling and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He quickly wet his lips and looked for the right answer. "You're...you can't be serious."
A soft chuckle sounded from the phone. "You seem to be hearing me just fine now, Chasez, and I AM serious. I'm warning you one last time. Don't screw around with me, because you know I'm going to win. You can't do anything about it." That's what you think, he thought to himself. He officially had a witness to the fact that Tim Croft was planning...he didn't even want to think about that.
"Fine. Have your idiot listening to it, and I'll do it. Right now." He hung up the phone and motioned for Chris to do the same. "I can't...can't even begin to explain this to you, Chris. I didn't want to pull anyone else into this, but I had a feeling, and I can't...I needed someone to listen to what he was going to say. You can't tell New York any of this."
He shook his head, and looked towards the woman behind the desk. He smiled and thanked her before taking JC by the sleeve and pulling him into an empty corner. "You can't be serious. Not tell Brooke? Someone is threatening to kill her. Damn it, Jace, what did you get yourself into this time?"
With a sigh, he sat down on one of the chairs, motioning for Chris to sit as well. He didn't. "It...it started when she got this stupid idea in her head to go and see him and ask him if he was behind the whole thing. I knew that she wouldn't get the answers that she wanted, and if she went, it would completely ruin her. You KNOW that." He nodded reluctantly. "I couldn't let her go, so I went instead."
"She doesn't know, does she?"
JC shook his head before dropping it. "Austin and Mia know. That's all they know. I told them that I didn't get an answer from him...but I did. I told him that I would break off everything with her if he would see if he could figure out who was doing all of that shit to her and stop it. He's behind it, Chris. He knows that I know, and he just let it be known to you. I didn't...I had no clue how I was going to do this, but he kept calling me when he thought that I was playing on his side."
"And then you guys said on television that you were dating. Oh, God. You weren't thinking about it, were you?"
"I was thinking about New York. I love her, Chris, and if I don't let her go, at least for now, she's going to end up hurt worse than I can hurt her now. It's not final. I'm going to get her back, but...I just have to get Tim to quit everything for good before I can, and I don't know how long that's going to be. You can't mention any of this to her. If she knew...if she even had the smallest thought about this...she would kill me.
"All I'm trying to do is protect her, to keep her safe, but it's getting harder and harder. I can't keep this up for much longer." He stopped and looked at his older friend. "Chris, when I...can you...?" He couldn't make a complete sentence, but Chris understood anyway.
And that's why his head shook. "I can't, Jace. If I go over to her and see her crying...you know I'm going to tell her the truth. I won't be able to hide it from her. I can't go to her when you leave her. She'll know everything then, and that's something that you'll never be able to fix."
He took a deep breath and stood up. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry for putting you in a corner like this but...I can't let this go on forever. Someone else had to know, and come tomorrow, I'm going through with the plan I have, but I may need your help from time to time, all right?" Another reluctant nod came from him. "I can't believe I'm going to do this."
A groan sounded from him as he walked back to the main ballroom, looking around. He found Brooklyn almost instantly, sitting at a table, talking with someone that she knew. He forced a smile on his face, and walked over to her, bending down so that his mouth was near her ear. "New York? We need to talk."
The song used as the first dance between Mia and Austin was, of course, "Keeper Of The Stars", by Tracy Byrd.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
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