Hey everyone! I'm so excited to write this story on behalf of Tim Hortons Cold Brew! There isn't a single road trip, beach day, or cottage excursion that I've taken without stopping at Tims first to grab snacks and fuel for the trip. This story is extra exciting because it's a Choose Your Own Ending! That's right! At the end of each chapter there will be options about what should happen next, and you get to vote and comment for what should happen! New chapters will be up each week, so be sure to add this story to your reading list and vote/comment for what should happen when the new chapters are available! Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

This can't be happening.

I cannot be stuck in a tiny car with Owen, my ex-boyfriend, for seven hours. It would be less awkward and painful if I just walked to Paradise Hills, the outdoor venue my sister is getting married at. I even tell my sister that.

"Oh, Audrey, don't be so dramatic," Sofia says, her voice staticky over the phone.

"I'm not being dramatic! Are you forgetting we broke up at the end of the school year? That was only a few weeks ago!"

She sighs, or at least I think it's a sigh. It's hard to tell with the terrible phone signal she has there. "I know, and I'm sorry, but you don't drive and we didn't have any other options. Just be civil and everything will be fine."

From the porch, I sneak a glance at Owen, who's loading the back seats of his fifteen-year old convertible with the many bags I need for the weekend. He was all smiles when he knocked on my door and revealed that he's the one Sofia asked to drive me up. His brother is the best man, so Owen was invited anyway, but I didn't think he'd be the person I'd be driving with. In fact, I didn't plan on talking to him—or even interacting with him—all weekend.

It's no biggie, I could use the company, he said to me earlier.

But it is a 'biggie.' It's a very big 'biggie.'

"Remind me again why you didn't want me to come up with mom and dad yesterday?" I ask. "I'm the Maid of Honor, I should be there, helping you, problem solving, putting last minute touches on everything, making sure everything's in exactly the right place. You know, the important Maid of Honor duties."

"Because your controlling, perfectionist ways are needed for more important things. I need you to pick up my dress and the wedding cake along the way, and you're the only one I trust. You know mom and dad would either forget altogether or screw it up somehow. Owen already knows about the stops, so it's perfect."

She's right. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a 'controlling perfectionist', but I like things done to a certain standard, and this comes in handy for wedding planning. I have been the best Maid of Honor for Sofia, and despite only being 17 years old and knowing nothing about wedding planning, I've organized her entire wedding right down to the font of the table numbers and the ribbon colours on the flower bouquets. Everything is going to be perfect.

"Fine," I huff. "Since I'm the best Maid of Honor and sister ever, I'll put up with my ex-boyfriend, which, by the way, is a cruel and unusual punishment."

Sofia laughs, but it comes out distorted and staticky like in scary movies, which in my mind only emphasizes my statement. "Just chill out a bit with Owen and have some fun. I'll see you in about seven hours! Don't get lost, I need you here for last minute details."

If anyone gets us lost, it's Owen. "I'll see you soon, love you."

"Love you too! You're the best! Bye!" She hangs up and I shove my phone in my back pocket, pretending to be immensely interested in my mom's pink hydrangeas in the garden rather than do the mature thing and face Owen.

I hear a car door slam and suck in a breath before turning to Owen.

"All packed. You ready?" he asks, dusting his hands off on his shorts.

No. I'll never be ready, but Sofia needs me. "Yup," I smile and close the distance between us. With every step closer, the already hot summer air gets more and more stifling. I wipe the beads of sweat from my forehead.

"I hope you fixed the air conditioning," I say as I slide into the passenger seat and put on my seatbelt.

The inside of his car is just as I remember it. Nothing's changed since we stopped dating. It still has that weird mix smell of leather and pine, which shouldn't work but for some reason does. There's still a book of CDs sitting on the passenger side floor, and a pile of coins in the open part of the center console. There's also still a spring that digs into my back from the seat, and there's still a handsome boy smiling at me from the driver's seat.

"Nope," he says as he turns the key in the ignition. "It's a convertible, I just open the roof."

"Well, not today. I didn't spend two hours at the hair salon getting perfect beachy waves just to look like I was swept through a tornado."

He laughs, pulling down my street. "That's right. For some reason your hair never survived the roof down."

He thought it was cute at the time. I'd be frantically trying to smooth it out and he'd just chuckle and mess it up more.

I must be scowling because he adds, "Don't worry. No roof down today—just windows. That should save your hair."

"Great," I say, trying to remember how to sit without the spring digging in my back. For a while, the only sound in the car is the wind whipping through the windows and me squirming around in the seat.

Despite not seeing Owen since we broke up, it feels like no time has passed at all. It's like it was just yesterday that I sat in this seat when he picked me up for late night drives for ice-cream, where we'd park with the roof down and stare at the stars and talk for hours and hours and hours. Gosh we'd talk about everything, I don't even know what we'd talk about. It didn't seem relevant back then, but it's weird to go from nonstop conversation to this awkward silence permeating the air right now.

The silence gets to me, so I fiddle with the radio, but of course, he hasn't fixed that either, because all I get is static for every station I try.

"Put a CD in," he suggests, not bothered in the least by all the broken things in his car. He's always been like this, and it's one of the reasons I started dating him, but also one of the reasons we broke up. He's so laid back—nothing ever bothers him; nothing is ever a big deal. It's always 'no biggie' with him, even when stuff should be a 'biggie.' He just doesn't take things seriously enough.

I choose a random CD from the book by my feet and music fills the car. One of the speakers in the back doesn't work, so the music isn't loud—just loud enough to be heard over the roaring of the wind.

He still says nothing, just taps his thumb on the steering wheel in time with the music. We haven't talked since we broke up, and clearly he's content with pretending everything's normal and we didn't date for seven months, so I guess I will too.

About an hour into the drive without us talking, I break the silence. "You remember that we have to get Sofia's dress and the wedding cake on the way, right? The dress is about three hours in from the drive and the cake is about five. We're already cutting it close with the timing."

"Already programmed it into the GPS," he replies. "I'll turn it on once we get off the highway and have to start taking backroads. We'll make good time, don't worry."

Right. Good. It looks like everything is under control then. Maybe Sofia is right, I just need to chill out around Owen. I'll just pretend that I didn't cry for a week straight when we broke up, pretend I don't notice every muscle in his arm work when he turns the steering wheel, pretend we didn't listen to this exact song the last time we were together.

Maybe I can try to get some sleep, instead.

Owen makes a sudden turn and my head bangs into the side of the roof. "OW!"

"Sorry," he says sheepishly.

I rub the side of my head as he merges into a lane that doesn't go to the highway.

"You're going the wrong way," I point out. "The highway is the other way." There goes my plan on sleeping to avoid having to talk to him or endure long suffering awkward silences. Clearly I'll need to pay attention if I want to get to Paradise Hills on time.

"I know," he says, "I'm stopping at Tims; grabbing some fuel for the adventure."

I don't bother correcting him that this isn't an adventure—it's him and I and some very important stops that cannot be messed up—because I'm too excited about Tims. It's a great idea. If I have to sit beside Owen for seven hours and not say something I'll regret—like I miss him or I hate him, I can't decide—at least I'll get Tim Hortons.

He pulls into the Tims parking lot and into the drive-thru before turning to me. "Salted Caramel Cold Brew Coffee, right?"

I blink at him a few times before recovering. "Yeah... how did you know?"

His eyebrows draw together. "You're predictable. It's a new Cold Brew flavour— salted caramel, which you love— so you'll want to try it. Plus, it's hot out, and the drink is cold."

I'm almost too shocked to say anything. It's like he's in my head.

"I'm not in your head," he says, and I realize I said that out loud. "We didn't break up that long ago..."

He trails off and we sit in uncomfortable silence as we probably both remember all the moments we shared during our relationship. His ridiculous card magic tricks he'd do to get me to laugh when I was upset... The cupcakes I'd bake for him before every hockey game... The tv shows we'd binge watch together instead of studying for tests...

Fortunately, the silence is short lived, because he pulls up to the speaker and orders his Original Cold Brew Coffee and my Salted Caramel one.

Once the coffee is in my hands and I take a refreshing sip, the heat doesn't feel as sticky. "Oh thank goodness," I say as he merges onto the road and heads to the highway. "This is just what I needed to keep me going for this trip, and keep me cool since it's like 28 degrees outside, and we don't have air conditioning."

"My car may be old, and things may be broken or not work properly, but it gets me from point A to point B, as in from here to Sofia and Justin's wedding." He gives me a pointed look, and my face heats up.

"Alright, alright, you made your point. Thank you for driving me."

"Anytime," he says, that smile right at home on his face.

"But seriously, no goofing off or unnecessary stops. It's important everything is perfect and you take it seriously."

He places a hand on his chest and gasps. "Me? Not take something seriously? Never! I'm serious about everything! It's my middle name."

I roll my eyes. "For real, Owen."

He grins. "Relax. I am taking it seriously. Joey even asked me to bring the wedding rings since that was his one responsibility and he left home yesterday without them. See? Serious."

Of course his brother forgot the rings. He and Owen both have a carefree attitude. Thank goodness Owen was home to get them.

"Actually," I say, placing my Cold Brew in the cup holder, "Sofia asked to borrow my tennis bracelet. She said it would be cute with the rings." I turn in my seat to look through all the bags in the back. "It's in my pink bag with my Maid of Honor dress. You grabbed it right? It was on the chair on the front patio. And where did you put the rings? I want to see if they really do match."

Owen's quiet for a few moments before he mutters, "Uh-oh."

I swivel back to him. "'uh-oh?' What 'uh-oh'?"

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT? Comment beside each option to vote, and add the story to your library to see what happens in next week's chapter, as each mishap gets progressively worse for Audrey and Owen!

1. Owen forgot to grab her pink bag with her Maid of Honor dress and Sofia's bracelet and they can't turn back

2. Owen forgot to bring the wedding rings and they can't turn back