One Direction preference

101. He's Marrying Someone Else Part 6

Liam - you found your seat, shuffling a little to the sounds of quiet music helping usher everyone in. You closed your eyes dully for a second, to take it all in. Louis, Harry, Niall and Zayn stood, chatting, in the line down from the altar as groomsmen. You held your purse in your hands to keep them from shaking, something heavy to keep them still. The doors sounded out, and you watched Liam make his way down the aisle, head bowed before he made it to the altar, standing oddly. 

"Gosh, he does look handsome up there, doesn’t he?" A relative turned to whisper to you, her grey hair a little wispy when you turned to look. 

"Um, yeah, yeah he does…" you mumbled, trailing off. 

"How do you know the groom?" She enquired, wiry eyes searching you in anticipation of an answer. 

"Um," you stumbled over a sentence, looking to the front. His eyes were scanning, for something, and you didn’t know it was you. He stopped when he saw you, peering to where you were sitting, "um, I don’t…" you finalled finished, "I don’t know the groom… not anymore, anyway…"

"Oh, oh, okay…" the woman slipped back to her side, turning away from you with an interesting smile playing across thin lips. You bit your own to forget her, looking back up as Liam looked away, sighing to himself about something you didn’t want to know anymore. Louis patted his back and murmured something to him, before Liam replied, pacing back down from the altar to cross the aisle and quickly leave again. 

"Sorry… do you… do you know where he just went?" You turned back to the woman, anxiously asking. 

"I… I don’t know," she brushed off the reply, and you could only settle back in your seat again, waiting for him to return. When the music started, slow piano tune, you turned with everyone else to the bride coming through. You glanced nervously back up to the altar, wondering where Liam was. Swerving back, Bec made her way, walking with an arm linked around her fathers. You saw her eyes, registering it all, seeing the absence of Liam. 

"Shit," you murmured under your breath, fumbling in your purse to pull out your phone. You slid the screen to send a text to Liam, but the back door swung. You looked up, wondering, Bec passing you. Liam waved politely to a few people in apology, quickly hurrying to the front. He took his place, the boys breathing a little sigh of relief. You watched as Bec made it to the altar, and Liam murmured some kind of apology for being late. His eyes swept the scene again, before he stood in place with Bec, and he caught yours when you looked up. They were after some kind of longing you couldn’t understand, some smile you couldn’t reciprocate. But you gave it anyway, a little nod to say it’s okay, to say that you’ve forgiven him. And he slid one back, before he had to turn away, giving his vows and his heart to a girl that wasn’t you. You sat and watched, listening to it all. 

"Cheers," you murmured to the bartender at the reception, taking a dutiful sip to dull everything till a tap on your back made you turn. 

"Sorry," a smiling man stumbled back, easy grin before he made your eyes again, "I was… I was just wondering if you wanted to dance, I’ve been looking at you for practically the whole wedding and you’re kind of the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen…" you took a breath, his eyes kind. And when you could, you gave yourself a second to smile, and think of how it all works out in the end, before you answered, honestly, "I would love that, thank you… that sounds perfect…"

Louis - you moved a little in your seat, arriving at the church with Harry and Zayn in the car. “Ready?” Harry turned to you, before peering over at Zayn in the backseat. 

"Yep," you nodded stiffly, pulling yourself out of the car. You stepped up with them, walking through, shaking hands with every relative of Louis that you’d met.