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chapter fifty-four

N.J.H.
When I wake up, I feel the sunshine radiating on my face, making me extremely happy, at least for not being a morning person. Today is Tiffany's wedding, and honestly, I'm really happy for her. Not only because the past is finally behind us and I don't feel like I'm living in a soap opera, but because this is a new step for her.

A step that I will soon be taking.

I guess it's just the fact that all the unnecessary drama that we've had in our lives is finally...gone I suppose. Louis hasn't heard from Shahid or Stan in ages, and neither have I. The problem we had on New Year's? It slipped from existence, possibly being that it was a huge hoax to frighten us. And Megan? When was the last time I even heard from that bimbo?

The point is, everything is closing down, disappearing before our very eyes. It's relaxing, because it's just about damn time that Harry and I catch a break. The amount of crap we've gone through to be together seems to be so much worthwhile after looking back on it.

My eyes stayed trained on Harry as he sleeps quietly next to me. I pick up my phone and check the time, noticing the wedding starts in three hours and we're just lounging around.

"Harry..."

He doesn't budge and I groan, shoving his bare side,

"Harry get up, come on..."

His voice comes out in a small grumble, and he shifts his body to face me,

"God why is it so sunny..."

"Perfect weather for a wedding," I tell him with a smirk and he smiles, shuffling around before sitting up and leaning over to kiss me,

"Reminds me of our wedding."

"Yeah, but it's not gonna be in sunny Jamaica," I smile, kissing him again, "it's gonna be in our own city."

"But where?"

I think from the back of my mind, trying to think of a perfect location, until it comes to me,

"Your backyard!" I suggest happily, "we could literally have a backyard wedding!"

Harry ponders it, pulling me into lap and giving me more access to his face as I kiss down his neck,

"Please please please..."

"We'll talk about it after this wedding. One step a a time."

He pats my bum as I get off of him and lead the way to the bathroom, the excitement beginning.

•

"I wonder what her dress looks like..."

"Haha! I already know!"

I roll my eyes at Louis' incompetence to stop bragging before looking back at the scene in front of us. It looks just as it did on the rehearsal date, but there's something about it right here, right now, that makes it feel so much more magical.

"This wedding is going to be beautiful..."

"I never thought I would hear those words leave your lips Niall."

"Well they are," I say, "this chapter is coming to a close and I can't wait to start a new one."

"What are you thinking about doing?"

"Well there's the wedding," I say, finally comfortable with saying it, "and then maybe that tiny possibility of a family."

"Dude," Louis proceeds to warn me, "it's been half a year."

"Well obviously we'd wait for that..." I tell him, "but I can't think about how rushed it is right now. All I need to do right now is go with it, and see what becomes."

"Why do you feel so confident?"

"Because I don't feel scared anymore," I say honestly, "I feel happy, in love, and just about ready to move on with my life."

"I'm so proud of you," he wraps his arm around me as people begin to file into their seats, "look at how far we've come from the past."

"Too far man," I say, "I feel like light years have passed."

"Yeah, probably because of all that sex you've been having. How do you keep track of that again? Climaxes?"

"Shut up," I groan as I feel a tap on my shoulder,

"Mr. Horan?"

I look up at the man and recognize him as Tiffany's step-father, Darren,

"Oh," I look up at him, "it's been a long time, wow."

"Hey," he smiles, giving me a firm handshake, "yeah, long time no see. But we need you now; serious 999."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Tiff..."

Unlike Harry's stepfather, Darren Chrysler is the most caring father Tiffany has ever had. He's attentive, always searching for whatever it is that makes Tiffany happy. I'm not even sure if he knows about what happened between us (the real story), but obviously there's no hard feelings.

Louis and I get up and follow him to where Tiffany currently is; her hotel room. The walk takes ages and I practically want to die by the time we finally get up there.

But when I see Tiffany with tears streaming down her eyes, my heart surprisingly jumps to concern.

"Tiff?"

The nickname leaves my lips and I almost cover my mouth, unaware of my sudden kindness. Yes, I agreed to peace, but not complete friendship. The girl still made me feel sick to my stomach after what she had done, regardless of how long it had been.

"Guys..." she says, looking to her father, "Dad you don't have to do this."

"Tiff this isn't fair to you," he says, Louis and I completely in the dark, "I picked them out because I knew Harry would go ballistic..."

"Wait," I say sternly, stepping in at the mention of my boyfriend, "what's going on?"

They both look at the two of us, Tiffany's eyes watering even more,

"He's gone."

"Who's gone?"

"The groom."

My heart falls as Tiffany's sobs echo throughout her hotel room. Of all things for him to do, I can't believe it was this.

"My god..." I hear Louis whisper as we watch her cry into her hands, "that's rough. I don't even know what to say..."

"Should we--"

"I wouldn't try anything," Darren tells us, "she's fragile and I wouldn't want to make it worse."

"Why aren't we telling Harry?" I ask again.

"It's his father that ran," he explains, "If he finds out he'll probably go ballistic and try and look for him."

"Do we know why he left?" Louis whispers curiously as the three of us are now observing Tiffany from afar, unsure of how to fix a situation like this,

"Not a clue," he states, "honestly, I don't want to know. That man can fuck off to hell."

"He's my boss..." I mutter.

"Your funeral."

"You know that we're gonna have to tell them that there's no wedding, right?" Louis mentions, motioning towards the beach where the guests are.

"Well, they can't just go home," Darren looks to Tiffany, "we can still have the reception, right babe?"

"Yeah," she says, wiping the tears from her eyes, "it's not like he fucking paid for all of the fucking wedding to not have one instead!"

"I'm so sorry Tiffany," I tell her sincerely, because no matter what she's done, no one deserves this kind of heartbreak.

Now all that's left is telling Harry his douche of a father struck again. The three of us agree to tell the people instead of having Tiffany out there looking like a mess, so we begin our descend.

"He's such a scumbag," Louis whispers, annoyed, "I mean seriously, who does that on a girl's wedding day?"

"What I wanna know is why he spent all of this money on her, when he was just gonna leave."

"I want to know that too," Darren pipes up, "honest to god, this is what I told her; Older men can't be trusted. I am an older man! How would I not know what I'm talking about?!"

"When I tell Harry he'll know what to do about it," I say, confident that he'll have a perfect solution.

•

"He left?!"

I cringe as Harry's eyes widen and his fists clench,

"That son of a--"

"Not a time to get mad yet!" I exclaim, grabbing his fists and holding them to my chest, "First, we need to see if he's still here. Darren mentioned on the way down that he wasn't in his hotel room. Do you know where else he could be?"

"Who knows," Harry groans, "he's fucking loaded babe! He could be anywhere by now with a snap of his fingers!"

"God," I mutter, "great, fucking great."

"It's not that easy to find a man with the world at his fingertips."

"So that's it then? There's no way to find him?"

"Not that I can think of Ni...the wedding's gotta be cancelled."

We both turn to the people who are anticipating a display of romance, one that could top all, but now we're just stuck.

"I don't think I can tell them..."

"Me either."

Either way, Harry bravely speaks up, catching everyone's attention.

"Hello everyone," he says nervously, "we're sorry to say it, but Dan has fled from the altar. The wedding is cancelled, I'm so sorry..."

The crowd looks to be heartbroken and I decide to come in with the rescue. It's as if Harry is Ben Wyatt and I'm Chris Traeger. The good news and the bad news, from two different people,

"On a better note, we'll still be having the reception! The party starts now, and Tiffany will be down once she recollects herself."

As if on cue, music begins to play and people stand up, confused, but ready to waste themselves away in the party life regardless.

"Thanks," I breathe, "that was brave."

"Had to be done," Harry says simply.

We watch as the after party commences, the fun and alcohol coming in large doses. But as the insightful people I know Harry and I are, I'm sure he's wondering about the situation as well. How after a groom fled a wedding, they managed to push it all away and have fun without the bride as well.

Maybe it's a good thing the wedding didn't happen. It didn't feel real enough to be true love. A relationship is a two way street, and Tiffany was the only one running the distance.

I suppose she knows how it feels now.

--

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okay, change of plans; i'm finishing tonight because i'm REALLY busy tomorrow!
stay awake! lmao!