With every breath that I'm worth here on Earth
I'm sending all my love to you
So if you dare to second guess you can rest assured
That all my love's for you

Though it might’ve taken longer than I had hoped, Midnight’s fall tour with twenty one pilots wrapped up in early November, just after Halloween. I felt a bit bad, especially for Josh and Tyler, who’d clearly put every ounce of themselves into this tour; their first co headliner tour and as far as they could tell I was just itching for the day it would end.

...only partly, I assure you.

But to them, I must’ve looked like some pathetic brat who only cared about being home with her man. I mean, I tried to hide it and focus on things in front of me as best I could, but I guess I am kinda pathetic like that and could only partly focus on all the ‘sick’ things we came across while on our travels. And there was a lot, believe me. From the Grand Canyon to the worlds largest fork, we saw ‘em all, however stupid the landmark might be.

The guys were total goofballs, insisting they get pictures in front of every cool thing we came across and most of the time, Mark and Landon were all to willing to join on their adventures to find said landmarks. Even Jo joined in on the fun, though I’m pretty sure this partly had to do with her googily eyes on Josh. But me?

Well, you get the picture.

Needless to say, the very second tour ended, I shared a quick, teary goodbye with my friends, new and old, before jumping on the next plane back to LA. Jack and I decided we’d just meet there, since we were planning on going to the famous city anyway thanks to Jack’s friend’s wedding and, of course, Cassadee.

The tour of the Voice set ended up being totally mind blowing, by the way. We got super special VIP passes that allowed us backstage, which Jack was especially excited about. I didn’t get why, at first, considering he’d been on a few late night sets in his almost ten year career and was far from a first time real-life TV set, unlike me. But then he just gave me an obvious stare and said as he nodded towards the large tables full of catered food, “We’re VIP. It means we get free food!”

I just chuckled, crossing my arms as I watched my fiancee almost gleefully approach the long white table, paper plate in hand. Rian rolled his eyes and Cass sighed, both used to Jack’s childlike behavior.

As we waited on Jack to return with all the food he desired, Cass decided to introduce me to the host of the Voice, Carson Daily. This was a real treat for me, considering I grew up watching Total Request Live, and all. Being on that set was every 2000’s girl’s dream, and I guess now the Voice was the next best thing.

Things got especially surreal when Carson actually recognized me, having apparently looked up my music after Cassadee talked about me once or twice. He even asked if I’d thought about auditioning for the show myself, which I politely told him it wasn’t my thing. What can I say? I’m a band kind of girl.

We rejoined with Jack a short while later before Cass introduced us to yet another famous figure, none other than Blake Shelton AKA her coach. He turned out to be just as I expected and was pretty much like you see on TV. A giant kid with a true love of music.

Sound a wee bit familiar?

After that, we had to part ways with Cass as she had to prepare for the show. It was results night and the stress in the air was high. If she made it, she’d be in the finale and would be this close to winning a major label record deal. Though I used to balk at the idea of winning such a thing when so many people have to work at getting there, I truly believed no one deserved the win more than her. She’d worked her ass off for ages and deserved a second chance at showing the world her gift. Needless to say, until they finally said she was safe, Rian, Jack and I watched the show with anxious eyes, all the while shamelessly rooting for our friend.

Once it was known Cass was safe, the rest of the week was like one long celebration, every second spent having as much fun as we possibly could on our mini vacation. And, the big finale to this gloriously epic week was, naturally, the wedding.

I had never met Darryl or Kendra before going to their big day. They were apparently old high school friends of both Rian and Jack, so much so that Jack was even in their wedding party as one of the groomsmen. I never really pictured Jack as a groomsman for anyone other than maybe Alex, but he did a pretty stand up job. Not that there was much to do other than escort one of the bridesmaids down the aisle and looking elegant while the ceremony commenced. Let’s just say he did more than look elegant, though that might’ve been me just finding my boyfriend drop dead sexy. Don’t get me wrong; Jack was always sexy to me, but seeing him in a tux nearly sent me over the edge.

But like a lady I composed myself, managing to keep all those dirty thoughts away as I watched Jack’s old friends tie the knot. I did a pretty good job distracting myself, too, since by the time the ceremony ended, I was completely focused on the bride and groom, even a bit misty eyed to boot.

Naturally, as many wedding ceremonies go, the reception followed shortly after the ceremony was completed. It was just a few streets down from the chapel at this beautiful park in downtown LA where they’d set up these huge white tents filled with tables, balloons and a DJ ready to get the night grooving. Or, you know, grooving as much as possible while playing classic nineties slow jams.

“Interesting choice in music.” I muttered to Jack as we entered the tent arm in arm, all while being surrounded by the sounds of You Were Meant For Me by Jewel.

Jack’s lips curled up into a light chuckle. “Uh, yeah...Kendra’s kinda a sucker for that whole new age folk movement.”

“Ah...” I smiled, giving a light nod as the brief conversation I’d had with the bride made just a little more sense. Nothing against the sweet girl, but let’s just say the words ‘aura’ and ‘spirituality’ seemed to be a regular part of her vocabulary. “She did strike me as a free spirit kind of gal.”

He chuckled, unable to deny my observation. “That she is...”

Dreams last for so long
Even after you're gone
I know you love me
And soon you'll see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you

“I’ve gotta give it to her, though. This is a beautiful reception.” I felt my jaw go limp ever so slightly at the fairy lights decorating the outskirts of the event, the perfect backdrop to special night to celebrate the union of two people. The way it illuminated the yellow and pink daisies on the table and made anyone near it look like they had an angelic glow. Simple, sure, yet it still made what the whole shindig represented, the romantic feeling, the feeling of pure love echo into the night.

“Don’t tell her that. You know she’s a graphic designer, right? If you compliment her on this, next thing you know, she’ll insist on planning our entire wedding.” Jack huffed a laugh as we took a seat at the table we’d been assigned, place card and all. We were two of only a handful of people that had arrived at the reception so far as most people were still mingling back at the church.

As I sat, I noticed in whatever wedding haste that had happened, they’d misspelled my name. Jack’s eyes followed mine, peering over my shoulder to read the scribbled out name halfheartedly written on the place card next to Jack. “Oh, sorry babe. I guess this seat is reserved for Cristiana.”

I rolled my eyes, barely even bothering to humor him. “Ha ha.” I laughed blandly.

He stared at the card for just a second more. “Cristiana.” He repeated, shrugging nonchalantly. “Guess that’s your name now.”

“Thanks, but no.” I laughed, shaking my head. “You already call me a name that isn’t even close to mine. I really don’t need another one.”

His light smile deflated at my words. “You don’t like me calling you Sally?”

Noticing the hint of worry in his voice, I shook my head again, backpedalling to reassure him this wasn’t the case. “No, of course I love it. I love your nickname, I always have.” I paused for a second, biting my lip before adding, “It’s our thing, you know?”

He nodded, a silent, yet evident sigh of relief escaping his lips. “Okay, cool. Just checking.”
A beat passed.

I glanced around our currently empty table and the unclaimed place cards. Most names, to be expected, I didn’t recognize, though I’d hoped to see Rian and Cass’ names gracing our same table. No such luck. I found out a bit later when they arrived that they were put at a couple tables away from us with the bride’s cousins and very displeased looking grandfather.
One name I did recognize however, was someone I honestly did not expect to even RSVP.
“Jo is here?” I raised a brow, pointing down a few seats to the name tag that belonged to my band mate.

Jack shrugged. “Yeah, she’s friends with Darryl, I think...or was it Kendra?” He thought for a second. “Eh, I can’t remember.”

“Did she bring anyone?” I asked, suddenly excited that there was a possibility of Jo spreading her wings in being anything but bitter when it came to romance. I loved the girl like a sister, but sometimes I wished she were a bit more...in touch when it came to her feelings, romantic or otherwise. I mean, really, Miss Grumpy Pants might make for awesome songs, but it wasn’t ideal to be around three months straight on a bus touring across the country.

Just saying.

He stared back at me, clueless. “Uh, I don’t know? Does it matter?”

“This is Jo we’re talking about.” I replied. “Her bringing a date would be the greatest thing ever. Especially if that certain someone is Josh--” Jack glared at me while I defended myself, shrugging innocently. “What? There’s something going on with those two, okay? I mean, you should’ve seen the way they looked at each other while on tour. Those secret I-really-like-you looks that you give your crush when they aren’t looking. It’s totally obvious. ”

Jack raised a thick brow. “You’re sounding a lot like Anna right now.”

I blushed despite understanding how he’d come to the conclusion. “Well...it’s true.” I stubbornly held my ground.

He just smirked, glancing behind us for a moment or two before replying, “Hate to burst your bubble, but Jo just walked in and unless Josh suddenly learned the art of becoming invisible, then she’s flying solo tonight.”

I spun around, grasping the back of the metal chair as my lips fell into an admittedly dramatic frown, but just for a second. “Maybe...maybe he’s busy on tour or something.” I began grasping for reasons why Jo was alone and not with the guy she’d been flirting like hell with the past few months. “Or maybe she didn’t wanna scare him with the idea of going to a wedding--”

“Hey ya, Jo!” Jack greeted, overly cheerful as to starkly cut off my disappointed ramblings. Just in time too, as Jo practically b-lined it to our table. “Enjoying the festivities?”

She stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Uh, sure, I guess...” She pulled out the chair next to me and casually sat down, not giving a damn that her place card was actually all the way on the other side of the table. Her eyes wandered to me, giving me a confused once over. “What’s up with you, Lawson?”

It took an embarrassingly long second for me to find my voice. “What? Oh, nothing.” I cleared my throat. “I, uh--I’m just surprised to see you here, is all.”

Well that’s true, anyway.

She slowly nodded, her normally charcoal rimmed eyes played up a bit with dark brown eyeshadow and hints of glitter that gave her irises a, dare I say it, cheerful glow. “Yeah...I wasn’t going to but Darryl insisted I come, if nothing else to distract his brother from doing anything stupid.” When I stared at her in confusion, she quickly explained, nodding in the general direction of the DJ booth where a guy not much older than us was looking to make a song request. “That asshole makes that party we had with Pierce the Veil look like a fucking tea party, let’s put it that way. But luckily for all of us who don’t want to see any shit go down tonight, that sucker has always had the hugest crush on me, so tonight I’m using that to my advantage. He would do anything to get to me, even if that means behaving at his little brother’s wedding.” To prove her point, she casually waved towards said ‘sucker and almost instantly he waved back, with an added wink to boot.

Yeah. That poor boy had it bad.

“Oh. So you’re on your own tonight?” I asked, holding my breath when Jack casually nudged me with his foot. “I mean, no plus one or anything?”

She raised a brow before shrugging, “Nope. Just me.” She paused. “Probably for the better, anyway. I can’t imagine babysitting the asshole and bringing a date.”

I winced, understanding her point. “Yeah, I could see how that could be a disaster waiting to happen. Though I’m pretty sure your date would’ve understood...”

Jo continued. “Even if I did end up bringing a date, I have no idea who I would’ve brought. I mean, Mark’s got a girlfriend, so does Landon. Zack is in Hawaii right now and Sam is, well, Sam so it doesn’t leave me with many options to go with--”

“What about Josh?” I asked, the hopefulness in my voice thinly veiled.

“...what about him?”

It was now my turn to roll my eyes at my friend. “You could’ve brought Josh as your date!”
She scrunched up her nose. “No, I couldn’t have. I barely know him and it would’ve been weird invite him to a wedding like this.” She paused, pursing her lips before adding casually, “And besides, he’s got a girlfriend too, so that would’ve been way out of line--”

“WHAT?!” I gasped, a bit louder than expected as I garnished the attention of ninety percent of the handful of people who were currently occupying the tent. I quickly backpedalled, apologizing first to the strangers, then to Jo, “Sorry, but what?” I repeated, this time in a whisper-yell. “What do you mean? Since when does Josh have a girlfriend?”

“For a while, I guess. As long as we’ve known him, anyway...” Jo replied on automatic, her face contorted in obvious confusion. “...why the fuck do you care so much?”

I innocently shrugged, swallowing hard as I really didn’t want to come off like the die-hard shipper I knew I truly was. I couldn’t help it. Those two were fucking beautiful together and I’d be damned if I didn’t try my hardest to make some magic happen. Eventually, anyway. “No reason.” I replied, my voice small and as innocent as I could muster.

Jack snorted, but wisely kept quiet otherwise.

Jo narrowed her smoky eyes at me. “You’re being weird, Lawson.”

Oh, did I know it.

Outwardly I just shrugged again, fabricating a quick explanation. “I was just betting with Jack on whether or not Josh was single, you know, since he’s such a private guy and we’re nosey like that. I bet Jack that Josh was single but now that you say he’s not I guess I lost so grr,” I let out a half hearted growl. “That’s why I was upset and shouted since that means I have to do...whatever he wanted me to do...” I finished pathetically.

I turned towards Jack to find him smiling from cheek to cheek in pure amusement. “That’s right, whatever I want you to do...” He winked, wagging his brows as his eyes scanned my body, turning this whole thing sexual on a dime.

Jo scrunched her nose, looking seconds away from retching at the sensual vibes. “Ew, gross, guys.” She shot up from her chair. “At least let me get a head start before you start undressing each other with your eyes.”

“We won’t hide our love!” Jack shot back dramatically before sneaking a wink in my direction, making it clear he had no problem playing along with me on this one.

She rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms in uncomfortable disgust. “Ugh, I’ll see you later.” She then stalked off, leaving us alone in our little corner once more.

I waited a few seconds, allowing ample time for Jo to distance herself before speaking again. “Thanks for going along with that.” I told Jack, genuinely grateful that he was never one to shy away from an exaggeration or two. “I know it was stupid to even bring up Josh, and I know I should just let things play out and not interfere but I can’t help it.”

He shrugged. “I know you can’t.”

“I mean, when I see the way he looks at her, it’s the same way you look at me and I just really, really want my friend to get a chance to be as happy as I am.”

“Don’t worry, Sally,” Jack assured me, his mouth twisting up into a hopeful grin as he took my hand into his large, rough fingertips. “Jo will be just fine. And by the way, Jo already seems pretty damn happy as it is. The band is doing great, she’s doing what she loves--I wouldn’t push the whole romance thing with her.”

I sighed, knowing he was totally right. “Yeah, I guess you’re right...especially with her history.” I reluctantly conceded, realizing that I’d been viewing this whole thing through my own fairytale goggles, and was all too quick to think my friend could meet her soulmate just as easily as I had met mine. Not that I still wasn’t convinced there was a spark between her and the drummer, but Jack was right. I had to step back and let the magic happen on it’s own. “I’ll back off.”

After that, our conversation died down for a bit as we decided to grab some of the appetizers to fill our stomachs while we waited for the rest of the wedding party to arrive. And a handful of fresh fruit and a bowl of chips and dip later, the tent was bustling with people, and now we were just waiting for the bride and groom to make their glorious entrance.

“Who wants to bet they’re late because they couldn’t wait to do it until the honeymoon?” Rian snuck up behind us, having momentarily abandoned his own table to check up on us, Cass only a step behind.

Jack snorted. “Dude, this is Darryl and Kendra. They were doing it under the bleachers every chance they got back in high school.”

“So that’s a yes, then.” I smirked.

“I think they’re just fashionably late.” Cass put in her two cents, while her boyfriend shook his head. She frowned at him. “What? Not everything is about sex, you know.”

“I know that.” Rian defended himself. “But did you see the way he was eye fucking her during the ceremony? I’m just saying--”

Cass rolled her eyes. “He was not.”

“Oh, he was.”

“It was a look of love, that’s all.” She adamantly stuck to her guns before adding, “You give that look to me all the time unless you--” She stopped mid-sentence as her mind quickly put two and two together.

Rian, however, didn’t look the least bit guilty that he’d been caught giving Cass that very look on multiple occasions. “What? Can you blame me for wanting to make love to my gorgeous girlfriend as much as possible?”

Aw, what a romantic.

Cass’ already pink cheeks thanks to a rosy blush grew even brighter. I guess she’d come to the same conclusion. She opened her mouth to speak, but she shut it again shortly after, apparently speechless.

Rian just smirked, leaning forward to sneak a quick kiss. “Love you.”

She softly nodded, echoing the sentiment. It was just as conversation was moving on, this time to something we could all get in on, which happened to be what song we’d rather be listening to than what was currently playing in that unoriginal playlist, Nothing Compares to U, that an older, well dressed man grabbed a mic from the DJ, halting the music and whatever conversations that had been going on.

“Thank you all for being so patient today...your being here means the world to Darryl and Kendra, and they’re so excited to share this day of love with everyone. Now, if you don’t mind standing for a second, please give a big round of applause, for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Darryl Peterson!”

The two finally made their grand entrance, the tent entrance lifting to reveal the happy couple all smiles and looking ready to party, if Kendra’s shout of ‘WHOOO!’ wasn’t anything to go by.
The festivities continued as speeches galore were given. I lost count how many times I had to raise my champagne flute to give a toast, though eventually, after the cutting of the cake and subsequent eating of said cake, the dancing began. At first, it was wild, crazy dancing with pop jams, most of them remixes of already terrible songs. Still fun to dance around like an idiot, which Jack and I did plenty of, just cause. But then the slow jams came on, and it was Kendra’s turn to shine once again, as she got to dance with her husband for the first time. Jack and I stepped back at this point, quietly returning to our nearly empty table to watch the tender moment from afar.

It was as I was contently watching the blushing bride gaze at her man with glistening, unbelievably happy eyes, that Jack decided to say the absolute last thing I expected:
“Let’s get married.”

At first, it didn’t totally sink in what he exactly meant by this, as dumb as that might sound. Looking back, it was pretty damn obvious, but we’d just had a long, exhausting day of wedding filled frenzy, and for him to suggest us getting married...well it didn’t really register in my admittedly tired and slightly tipsy brain. My eyes darted away from the newly appointed husband and wife to peer at Jack in confusion. “...we are. Next year, remember?” I lifted my left hand and wagged my fingers lazily so the diamond ring he’d given me had a chance to sparkle in the romantically dimmed lighting.

He shook his head. “I don’t mean next year, Sally. I mean tonight.”

My jaw fell to the floor and I could feel the glass of champagne I had pressed to my lips shudder, a tip away from pouring its contents all over me. “Wait. What?”

“Let’s get married tonight.” he repeated, even daring to smirk despite my awestruck expression.

“But...we can’t. I mean, we don’t have a venue or a caterer or any of that wedding crap that your mom and my mom have been trying to get me to decide on. And speaking of mothers, what about our families? We can’t expect them to up and fly to LA just because we want to get married on a whim--”

“And we won’t ask them to.”

I frowned. “But you just said--”

“We’ll still have the wedding next year, as planned.” Jack explained, turning his chair so we were now face to face. He then reached out, taking my left hand in his right, eloping it into his palm with a light squeeze. “Look, watching Darryl marry Kendra today made me realize something. Seeing him right now dancing with her...well, I’m dying to have that, to finally call you my wife. And sure, I could be patient and wait but honestly, I’ve thought about this all day and I know this seems crazy but it just feels right.”

I continued to gape at him, taking in Jack’s speech. He really wanted to get married tonight? I mean, I personally had been eagerly waiting to walk down the aisle ever since Jack had proposed--hell, I’d been daydreaming of us getting married within the first few months of dating. But I was the girl in this relationship. I was expected to be excited, but him? Up until that point, I’d honestly been waiting for him to freak out and tell me marriage wasn’t for him after all; yet here he was, practically begging me to agree to his idea.

“...you’re right.” I pursed my lips once I finally composed myself. “This is crazy, babe. I love you, and I can’t wait to marry you, but where would be even get married? The preacher that officiated this is long gone and besides, there’s no way in hell I’m stepping on the bride’s big day--”

“How about Vegas? We drive through the night, we can be married by tomorrow afternoon.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You wanna get married in Vegas?”

He shrugged. “It’s not that far away, and it’s a step up from the courthouse.” I scrunched up my nose at the thought of saying our vows in front of a state official while Jack quickly added, “Plus we could stay the weekend, just you and me. We could stay at a nice hotel, see a show--it could be like our honeymoon, part one.”

I tilted my head. “Part one?”

He gave a sneaky half smirk. “Part two is my little surprise.”

I let my shoulders drop, curious as to where Jack was thinking for this mysterious ‘part two’ of our honeymoon. Not that I was convinced there needed to be a part two or part one or whatever it was he was trying to convince me to do. “So...Vegas?” I bit my lip as I glanced back over towards the happy couple. “I gotta say, it sounds tempting.”

Jack braced himself, already wincing as he began, “So that’s a....”

I gulped, my mind torn. On one hand, I desperately wanted to marry Jack. That much was obvious. But on the other, more logical hand, I had no reason to do so right then right now other than I loved that sucker and I was honestly tired of waiting.

Truth be told, we had been waiting long enough.

Suddenly, I found myself smiling. I couldn’t help it. The mere idea of marrying Jack sent a wave of happy butterflies wash over me, and I knew I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face if I tried. That’s when I knew I had to do it. Every being in my body was jumping for joy over the possibility of saying yes to this crazy brilliant idea of his, and there was no way I could say no to that.

“Yes, Jack...” I laughed, feeling like I was about to burst from pure joy. “That’s a hell yes.”

Notes

It's almost midnight and I'm sooooo tired, but I had to finish this chapter cause it's been too long. Plus I've been dying to get this one out, for obvious reasons. I hope you guys like it!