I released my grip on the curling iron and shook the blond ringlet free before loosening it with my fingers. I set it down on the sink before taking a minute to look at my handiwork. She looked amazing, she always did, but today she looked different. She was glowing. Her makeup was done perfectly, and her dress was a fantastic white, nearly brighter than her smile.

My sister was getting married.

“Now the final touch.” I smiled and helped her stand up. I picked up the satin ribbon and wrapped the silky blue cloth around her waist, tying it gently. She turned around to admire the colored band in the mirror.

“Shelly, thank you so much. This is, everything’s so,” She struggled for words as she started to tear up. “Perfect.” She whispered.

“Come on, Lainey, don’t cry. You’ll mess up your makeup.” I smirked, my eyes were starting to water as well. “Okay. We have about 2 hours before you walk, are you going to be okay by yourself?” I tucked one of the curls behind her ear gently, careful not to mess it up.

“Of course! Plus Mel is coming by.” I smiled at the mention of her lifelong best friend. Mel was the maid of honor. Lainey had originally asked me but I told her that Mal would be better fit for the job. In all honesty I didn’t even want to be a part of the wedding. Of course I was happy for my sister and absolutely adored her fiancé, but I wasn’t really one for being put in the way of attention. But she insisted that I at least be a bridesmaid.

I left the bride in her room and set off for the main hall, determined to spend just 5 minutes checking the food before going back to get ready. That didn’t happen.

“We have 2 hours until the reception, and the food isn’t done yet?!” I heard a familiar voice from the kitchen. I wanted to smile because that meant somebody else already checked on the food (meaning I didn’t have to), but that smile disappeared due to the information I had just heard. After a few more words, Mel walked out of the kitchen with the look of a mad man.

“I’m going insane.” She said, running a less-than-happy hand through her wild curls and pulling them over to one side.

“That’s the job of the maid of honor; you go through this so she doesn’t have to.” She took a seat beside me at the bar and took a drink of my ice water.

“Yeah, yeah. Well maybe I should be the bride next time.” She said in an exhausted voice. I knew she was joking but I could tell that by the tone of her voice she was just waiting for her boyfriend to pop the question.

“Well you and Jason have been dating for a while.” I grinned and raised my eyebrows suggestively. She smirked at me, rolling her eyes and pushing the jet black frizz she called hair out of her face and grabbing a spare bottle of water before walking away, leaving me at the bar. I smiled and looked back at the large bowls of snacks set across the tables. I knew that they were for after the reception, but as soon as I set my eyes on them my stomach growled, as if the sight of them made it realize that I hadn’t had breakfast. Before I knew it I was at the table and my hand was in the tortilla chips.

“You know, those are for after the ceremony.” A man said as another hand appeared in the bowl.

“I know, I practically set up this wedding.” I grabbed another chip. I looked up to look at the owner of the voice. He was cute, with purposefully messy hair and a mischievous grin on his lips.

“Ah, friend of the bride, I suppose?”

“I guess you could say that. I’m her sister. And you’re on the groom’s side?” I presumed, mostly because I didn’t recognize him. He nodded and some of his styled brown hair fell in his face. He pushed it back in place with a swipe of his hand.

“Proud groomsman forever.” He tugged on his suit jacket with a cheesy grin.

“Bridesmaid for life.” I smiled and motioned to my outfit before cringing. “I still have to get ready.” I laughed and started to walk away but I turned so I was still facing him. “It was nice talking to you.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” He bowed and I chuckled.

“You’re right, it was.” I grinned and curtsied before turning and going back to my room.


All of the bridesmaids were dressed similarly, but we looked different. Each Bridesmaid was wearing the same style of dress but in a different color; all shades of blue to match the wedding theme. The dress was a solid shade but the top was covered in a white lace. I was in dark blue. I had a pair of strappy black wedges that added an extra 3 inches to my usual 5’2 height. After I carefully put in studded earrings and pulled a set of thin silver bracelets onto my wrists I took a look in the mirror.

Now, I’ll admit it, I didn’t look half bad. My dark coffee brown hair cascaded down my back in waves. The dress hugged my body in all the right places. And for once, my grey eyes seemed to pop out, thanks to the makeup. With one last swipe of mascara and a smack of my pale pink painted lips, I decided I was done. I left the room and started to make my way to my sister’s.

Before I even got to the door I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. I cracked the door open a bit to peak in only to see a pillow flying directly at my face. I slammed the door in front of me right before it collided with my head. I opened the door again and saw my sister. Her makeup was smeared down her face and her eyes and nose were red and puffy like she had been crying. Now she just looked furious. She was throwing pillows at the other two bridesmaids that tried to get near to her. I looked around the room to find Melody and spotted her in the corner, relaxing in a fluffy blue chair and examining her freshly manicured nails.

I smirked.

“They don’t know when to leave a bride alone, let alone this one.” She said casually without looking up at me.

“Shouldn’t we step in, then?” I glanced back at the two girls struggling to calm her down. Lainey was on the bed with a fully stocked pile of pillow ammunition, and she was not afraid to use them. She flung pillows left and right at the bridesmaids. Shilyn and Madi had been Lainey's friends for a while, but nowhere as long as Mel. And none of them knew her as well as Mel, either.

“Nah, it’s funny to watch them.” She said, her eyes wandering back to her nails. I smiled but it fell immediately when I saw that Lainey had run out of pillows; she now had a vase in her grasp. I jumped over and grabbed her arm, forcefully prying the expensive, fragile, decoration out of her hands and gently placing it back in the table.

Mel waltzed over and sat on the bed with Lainey, with a makeup wipe in her hand. The sudden appearance of her best friend suddenly made her calm down. Mel silently wiped off all of the ruined make up. I gave a ‘you’d-better-go’ look to Shilyn and Madi and thankfully they caught on. They turned and exited the room, probably going to tidy up from their attempt at taming the lion. I grabbed a crap ton of makeup and sat it on the bed by Mel before I turned to leave myself.

“See you in an hour, sis.” I looked over my shoulder and saw Lainey smiling at me.




An hour later we were standing behind a tall set of mahogany doors. The chapel was gorgeous. I couldn’t help but gawk at all of the beautifully intricate details in the walls, and the way the walls were painted, and the way the light reflected into the building through the colorful stained glass windows. I wasn’t sure how we could afford this nice of a destination, but Laney assured me that her fiancé- soon to be husband- had it all taken care of. While I was examining the details in the doors I heard a voice from behind me. “Fancy seeing you here.” I turned around and was met with the same chocolate brown eyes and purposefully messy hair as before.

“So, you’re part of the ceremony too?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest with a grin tugging at my lips.

“I told you; groomsman for life.” His smile was contagious. “Where's the bride-” before he could finish the sentence a smaller set of doors opened from behind us, and in walked two women.

“Speak of the devil.” I muttered under my breath with a grin. “Laney, you look gorgeous!” I wasn't lying. Her green eyes sparkled with joy and anxiousness.

“Thank you, Shelly. I just want this to be over with fast. I want to be married.” She wasn't looking at me when she spoke. Instead she stared at the tall wooden doors, like she was imagining her new life. I pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back and muttering a few happy words to her before returning to the doors.

Mel stepped in front of us and started to speak. She clapped a few times to get everyone's attention before she started to tell us the order of the walk.

“Madi and Tyler, followed by Shilyn and Alex, followed by Jack and Shelby, then it's me and Kyle, and then the bride. Get it? Got it? Good.” She walked back to Laney and I turned to find my walking buddy. I had sort of hoped it would be the boy that I had been talking to, but I saw him standing by Shilyn and my smile dropped by the tiniest fraction of a millimeter.

“Shelby, right?” I turned towards the voice and was met with an extremely tall, lanky man. He looked no more than 23, with skunk striped hair and possibly the goofiest grin I'd ever seen.

“That would be me.” After a few minutes of talking I learned that his smile matched his personality. He was really funny, but he had the weirdest sense of humor, which just so happened to mirror my own. I learned that he was 22 graduating from high school only 4 years earlier. I could tell that he was sweet, just by the way he portrayed himself.

We heard the music- our cue to walk down the aisle- and I looked back at Lainey to see that she was practically bouncing in her shoes. If she wasn't wearing a dress and heels I'm sure that she would have been. By the time I turned back to the open doors it was out time to walk. Jack and I hooked arms (which was difficult due to out large height difference) and he tugged me ahead. I smiled at the full-to-the-brim pews and saw many people that I recognized. We separated when we reached the altar and I stood towards the front, making sure to leave room for Melody. I looked to my left, towards the line of groomsmen, and my eyes met a familiar set. He was peaking out from behind Jack, with a visible grin on his face and I smirked back. Mel stepped into her spot and I and looked to the doors, where my beautiful sister was due to walk out any second.

My eyes started to water as I watched my sister, dressed in a beautiful white gown, cascade down the aisle with ease. I could tell my the way she was looking at her fiancé that she was having absolutely no regrets. The looks they were giving each other were ones of pure love and devotion, and I couldn't help but wish that for myself. I know it's selfish to have those thoughts at somebody else's wedding, but honestly, who doesn't want to find their soulmate when they're watching a woman walk down the aisle towards the love of her life? I could only dream of finding a man for myself, let alone The One.

I hadn't even had a boyfriend since junior year. Sure that was last year, but it felt like I'd been single forever. At times I would find myself wondering what it'd be like if we were still together; if we had worked out. Sometimes I just wanted someone to send me random texts, to cuddle with me, or kiss me, or give me cute nicknames. At times like that, I really missed my ex.

In what seemed like minutes, the ceremony was over. They had said “I do” and they had kissed, probably longer than we all needed to see. Then it was time for the after party.

The dinner was taking place behind the church in the barn, which looked even bigger than the church. The night ran smoothly. Mel, and I both said some words about the newly hitched couple, we toasted and ate. The dancing, I had to admit, was the best part.

Their first dance was beautiful. They swayed to a slow, meaningful song as they stared into each other's eyes. I could tell that they were meant to be together. Their love sent waves through the barn that I'm sure everyone could feel.

I took my turn with Matt, Lainey’s new husband. I had always liked him. He has a sort of aura about him that made everyone like him. With stark black hair and almond colored eyes, he wasn't too bad to look at.. I'm pretty sure that his jawline could cut through steel, too. When Jack spotted me he danced over, spinning himself until he reached us near the outskirts of the floor. We danced like crazy people, and I was glowing with happiness. My stomach hurt from laughing so much, and it was the first time someone besides my sister and my friends that had been able to make me even smile. I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Can I step in?” I recognized the voice and I excused myself from Jack with a thank you and a hug. I turned to face him and smiled.

“Alex.” I acknowledged him with a curt nod and a smile.

“Shelby.” He smiled as another slow song started to play. I gingerly placed my arms on his shoulders, but apparently that wasn’t good enough, as he pulled me in a little closer. His hands rested on my hips and we swayed to the music. The song ended suddenly and we stopped dancing, but that didn't stop him from bothering me for the rest of the night. I didn't mind though, I liked the company. Besides, it was a lot better than standing alone in the corner because I couldn't hang around the bar. Don't get me wrong, I had had my fair share of my drinks, but since we were in public, and at a wedding, I wasn't allowed anywhere near the bar.

Alex walked me outside a few hours later. Standing outside the old barn, he tried to flirt a bit. He failed, effectively getting my number with the way he fumbled over the words to his stupid pick up lines. I found it cute. The only problem was that he was 4 years older than me. It didn’t bother me so much as it did others; I was mature enough to befriend people of any age. My father was 9 years older than my mother. Age didn’t seem bothersome most of the time, but since I was still in high school it was a big problem to outsiders. Then the thought occurred to me that it wouldn't be a problem for long: graduation was creeping up on me quickly.

“Don’t die; I'm expecting a call.” I told him as he sat down in the driver's seat of his car.

“Well I'm respecting an answer, so you can't die either.” He replied. “Get the happy couple to their honeymoon safely.
“You got it. Gotta make sure they can frickle frackle in peace. Bye Alex.”

“Bye Shelby.” He chuckled before pulling away.

Notes

First fanfic... hope it's not too terribly bad XD

But I hope you enjoy it anyways <3

Here is Alex dancing in a tux like a cutie :)