Aubrey's P.O.V.
Three years later
Colors of creamy ivory, pale pink, and light grey illuminated my vision as I stood at the front of the church, in front of at least five hundred people. My eyes trailed away from the fixed stares aimed at me, and towards my hair that was tightly curled at the ends. Each piece was loosely curled in a way that made my hair seem naturally wavy yet sophisticated at the same time. Hairspray fumes could be picked up by nostrils despite the insane amount of perfume I doused myself in this morning.
Familiar musical notes continued to erupt from the black glossy piano adjacent to center of the church, otherwise known as the alter. White ceramic vases,each filled with white calla lilies, pink peonies and garden roses, brought life to the hall with the vibrant bursts of whites and pink. Simple decorations adorned the indoor "gazebo" adding to the joyful atmosphere. Reverend Abraham adjusted his glasses for what seemed to be the fifth time within the last ten minutes. Anxiousness set in as soon as he flipped open his small, brown leather book and began reciting what I had heard over a hundred times this past month.
As Reverend Abraham babbled off all this traditional wedding talk, my eyes trailed back up, past the crowd, and to Victorian-like doors that separated the bride to be from the crowd anxiously awaiting her arrival. Seconds later, the customary bridal song filled the church as the doors were pushed open and revealing the most gorgeous bride there ever could be: my best friend,Lauren. Dressed in a perfectly fitting creamy white, mermaid style dress she kept her gaze locked on the theme matching flower bouquet that was tightly held between her slender fingers. Her entire face was hidden by the white sheer veil which was held back by the many rhinestone hair pins plucked into her golden hair.
Small glimpses of her profile could be caught the closer she stepped to the alter where I, the maid of honor, along with the other bridesmaids stood. Across from me, between Reverend Abraham and I, stood the groom: Lauren's high school sweetheart, Ryan. Contrary to all of my beliefs, the two stuck together through thick and thin all these years, and now they were getting married. Lauren walked closer and closer to us, while at the same time Ryan's smile became wider and wider; definitely the most heart melting sight I have ever witnessed.
Upon reaching the alter, Lauren excitedly beamed at me through her veil before turning towards her soon to be husband. Ryan's chocolate brown eyes seemed to nearly pop out as soon as he removed her veil. Even though I wasn't directly between them, I could picture all the love that they were deeply staring at each other with. Both of them deserved the best, and that was exactly what they got.
"You may now kiss the bride," Reverend Abraham stated as he closed his little book. Once the last word left his mouth, Ryan pulled Lauren into his arms and they shared one of the most innocent kisses I had ever witnessed them share. Applause erupted from the crowd along with loud cheers and whistles, and of course the occasional sniffled and cries of the heart-touched mothers.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hudson" filled the room the minute Ryan and Lauren interlocked arms and began their way down the aisle. I could feel myself tearing up as I watched my best friend explode with happiness on her day. She deserved this beyond comprehension, and I was more than grateful to be by her side on this special day.
"Hey, you alright?" His voice broke me out of my thoughts. Turning around, I came face to face with the person who was there for me when no one else wasn't. He put up with every single mood swing that took control of my mind, wiped away every tear that fell from my eyes, and held me close when I felt all alone. Simply put, Pete put me back together, not fully, but it was better than nothing.
"Yeah, just tears of joy," I chuckled before flashing him a smile. In his jet black dress suit, I couldn't contain the small grin that tugged at my lips. Hand in hand, we walked into the garden area where the after party was set to take place. From the looks of it, the party was already in full swing with the bride and groom already dancing their hearts out in the center of the party while all their relatives surrounded them.
"You look breathtaking today," Pete whispered in my ear as I took a sip out of my wine glass. A small hint of red tinted my cheeks at his compliment. To this day I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea that this was the Pete that had I come to know during my high school years. Now he was courteous, caring, loving, and especially faithful.
Everyday for the past year and a half, he spent it proving to me that he was beyond sorry for being the cause of my pain and misery during the time he cheated on me. At first I was reluctant to even consider pursuing a more than friendly relationship with Pete again, considering our previous encounter. Then there was the part of me that was missing Niall, the boy I was utterly hung up over. Any attempt of mine to contact him or any of the boys, besides Zayn, proved fruitless. In all honesty, though, I understood why he wanted nothing to do with me; I broke him, entirely. There was no forgiving myself for that, ever.
"Thank you," I whispered back, gazing up at him. Light colored hazel eyes pierced through my own green ones, igniting a small group of butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Pete mirrored my own smile before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss against my lips. His kisses were always so light and sensual, as if his touch could harm me in some way. It was heart-warming knowing how much he cares for my own well-being as well our relationship as a whole. Second chances really turned out to be a necessary part of life.
"Let's go dance, Aubs." Pete intertwined our fingers together before leading me onto the make shift dance floor where several others, including the bride and groom, were slow dancing to some classical music being played by the band Lauren and Ryan had picked out. Once Pete and I had situated ourselves in a dancing position, our feet found their own mind, dancing away to the beat of the melodic tunes. Some how, we found ourselves only a few feet away from Lauren and Ryan, the both of them intently staring at the other.
"Earth to the love birds, your guests would like some attention," Pete chuckled as he playfully brushed his hip against Ryan's. Right as Ryan was about to reply, the music came to a halt and changed into one that was more upbeat. Taking a break, the four of us walked over to one of the tables, with Pete and Ryan going to grab drinks for us.
"How are you?" Lauren asked me as we sat across from each other at one of the pink silk covered tables.
"Good? My best friend is the most gorgeous bride, and is now married to a guy who loves her unconditionally. What more could I want?" I answered, unsure of where she really was headed with that question. Lauren sighed before reaching over and pouring herself a cup of water.
"I don't know, you seem off. Like your body is here physically, but your mind is somewhere else," she stated after a sip of water.
"I'm fine, trust me. Everything is great. We've both graduated with our masters, I'm getting my promotion at work next week, Pete and I are great, Adam is too. Nothing's wrong Laur," I reassured her. Lauren skeptically looked at me, as usual, but nodded her head in understanding. With her master's in psychology, she thought it was completely fine to analyze every single one of my moods on every occasion. Again, Lauren was my crazy best friend, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"Can you believe you're going to be an editor for People Magazine now?" She exclaimed, practically alerting every guest here.
"No, I can't actually," I honestly replied as I picked against the cloth of the table. After Ms.Lipton's article swarmed across the world, my name was renowned both positively and negatively. Yet, I wanted nothing to do with that article whatsoever. I wasn't proud of it because it cost me so much, and brought so much pain and misery into my life. Despite that, coming back to New York, I was presented with an opportunity at People Magazine to become a writer for the entertainment articles of the magazine. Two and a half years later, I was being promoted to editor of the section, and I was still in shock at the news myself.
"Rose would be so proud, Aubrey. And your parents too. I wish they could have been here today," Lauren sympathetically said before placing a hand on top of mine.
"Me too, me too," I whispered before closing my eyes in order to stop any threatening tears from spilling. Eyes back open, my gaze locked in on a tall figure, who's back was to me, dressed in dark navy suit, and his hair a swirly mess of brown and blonde. It couldn't be, it shouldn't be. No way was that him, it was impossible. Abruptly sliding out of my seat and slightly wobbling on my heels, I weaved myself through the crowd until I reached the unknown face.
"Niall?" My voice shook as I tapped the mysterious figure on his back. After a few nerve racking seconds, he finally turned around, relaxing my heart but making it fall just slightly What was I expecting? Niall was never coming back into my life, no matter how much my imagination was manipulated. Taking a deep breath, I turned back on my heel only to be met with Lauren's concerned face.
"You miss him don't you?" She raised an eyebrow at me. I guess being married gave a person a sixth sense, since she seemed to be reading my every thought today.
"No, I don't," I choked back a sob. "I can't."
Niall's P.O.V.
Whoever designed alarm clocks was both a genius and a motherfucker. On one hand, they definitely guaranteed that at the set time, the alarm would go off, alerting the person it was time to get up. At the same time, the sound was so god damn loud, it was making my ears bleed. Forcing my eyes open, I was half blinded by the intense amount of sunlight pouring into my room this early or whatever the time was. My eyes quickly scanned my room before scanning my own bed. Of course, as usual, my eyes widened at the sprawled out brunette next to me. She was clinging to me like a koala bear, and I definitely wasn't enjoying all this touching this early in the morning.
The rapid vibrating of my phone against my bedside table broke me away from my staring gaze at the unknown girl in my bed. Half expecting it to be another telemarketer trying to solicit me into buying something, I reluctantly reached over, unplugging it from the charger, and looked at my morning caller: Zayn.
"Ello?" I tried to keep my voice just above a whisper in order not to wake up the girl next to me. God only knows what the hell we did last night because I could barely remember anything past midnight.
"Where the hell are you?!" His voice sounded perplexed and angry.
"What d'ya mean where the hell am I? I'm in bed," I replied. "with an unconscious gurl," I trailed off as I looked down at her sleeping figure. Zayn huffed out a breath before I heard him mutter some incoherent things.
"You'll never learn, will you?" Zayn sighed through the phone.
"Zayn, don't be like Liam, please. Jus' leave me be. I'm fine the way I am," I confirmed to him. True to my words, I was fine or at least for now I was. Aubrey was long gone, and I planned to keep things that way. As soon as her damn article was released to the world, my world turned upside down. My phone never stopped ringing with condolence calls for three whole months. If that wasn't bad enough, every gossip magazine and paparazzi had a fucking field day for months. New stories regarding Grace's death arose every week- it was sickening.
"Fine, remain the stubborn lad you are. Anyways you were supposed to be at the house a half hour ago," Zayn scolded.
"Fer what?" I asked, clearly confused why the hell I had to be at Zayn and Perrie's house at eleven in the morning.
"To watch Nina like you promised, you idiot." Fuck, fuck, fuck. Perrie and Zayn were taking their youngest child of six months,Sebastian, for a check up while I watched their three year old daughter, Nina. A gasp escaped my mouth, which apparently was enough to awake the brunette in bed with me. Could this morning get any worse?
"Shit, Zayn, I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm sorry," I scrambled to get out as I ran a hand through my hair.
Zayn sighed before saying, "Just try to get here in the next half hour, because Sebastian will wake up soon and I really don't think that'll be a good combination today with his cold."
"Yeah, I'll be there. Bye," I rushed out before hanging up and slamming my phone against the night stand. I felt like I didn't even have any time to breathe. The case felt the same for the past few years, especially since she left. I always felt my breath hitch every time I came across her name whether it be in magazine, in a T.V. interview, or social media. Every time I looked at her, I felt pangs of hurt spiral throughout me. Hate and love weren't feelings meant to be associated with each other, yet in my case that was all I could do.
"Baby, last night was great. Wanna go again?" Brunette-head seductively asked me as she trailed a finger up my arm. Her offer was definitely tempting, especially since her entire chest was on display for me, but I had more important matters to tend to. Shying away from her touch, I threw the covers off of me before heading to my dresser, pulling out a pair of clean boxer shorts, jeans shorts, and a plain white tee. Not caring there was another person in the room, I quickly got dressed before putting my phone and wallet into my pocket.
While I combed my hair back, I caught a glimpse of the girl staring at me wide-eyed. There was something familiar about her, something that seemed to have become a commonality among most girls I brought back home. Each one possessed a certain aspect that remained me of her. Most times, it would just be the dark chestnut brown hair color, other times it would be the emerald green eyes, and others it would be both and more. My drunken state must really miss her, but sober me definitely does not.
"You're leaving?" She pouted at me. Rolling my eyes at her, I walked towards the bed before leaning in close enough to where I was inches away from her face. This girl was definitely pretty, but not one I would pursue anything farther than a hookup. And that was the case for every girl that came after Aubrey. Relationships meant absolute shit to me, therefore there was no point in establishing one. As long as my needs were met, I was happy. Selfish, I know.
"I'm only a one night kind 'f guy, sorry babe," I whispered before I lightly pecked her lips. I pulled away and stared back at her stunned reaction.
"I'm headin' out now, I highly suggest ya get the fuck out 'f here before I get back," I stated before I walked out of my room, eventually out of my entire flat, and headed towards my car. Within minutes, I was settled inside my new silver Rover, speeding down my street onto the interstate to get to Zayn and Perrie's. London didn't seem as busy today, which was unusual, but then again I never really took the interstate unless I was in hurry. Like I was now. Luckily not much traffic was evident, shortening my trip to the recognizable white brick villa.
Pulling into the driveway, I parked my car parallel to the marble fountain in the center of the driveway before making my way out. Zayn was waiting outside on the porch with his adorable first child, Nina. Nina and I had established such an incredible bond, that I became her favorite uncle out of the lads. "Uncle Ni!" She yelled as she clumsily ran from Zayn's arms and into mine. Without hesitation, I picked her up in my arms and placed several kisses all over her face. Her dark brown hair flew everywhere as the wind blew past us, making her laugh uncontrollably.
"Hey darlin', ready t' spend the day with yer favorite uncle?" I chuckled as I hoisted her up on my hip to better balance her. She repeatedly nodded her head before looking back at her dad who was making his way towards me.
"You have all of our numbers, allergies are on the fridge, and she's all dressed so you should be good, yeah?" Zayn questioned as he stared at Nina.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Yes, Zayn, t'is isn't the first time I watch 'er."
"Wait until you have kids, see how you feel then," he replied. I raised an eyebrow at him before shaking my head at him, discreetly giving him the finger without Nina seeing it. He didn't look amused before shaking his head at me, placing a kiss against Nina's temple, and running back towards the car waiting for him by the gate.
Returning my gaze to Nina, she stared back at me with her chocolate brown eyes, which were exact replicas of Zayn's, as she poked her stubby little fingers against the freckles on my neck. "Can we watch Derby?" her small voice uttered out. Nina was definitely the real M.V.P.
A/N: hey there again :) what do you guys think?! I know it's kind of all over the place, but I want to show you guys how they're each living their lives out before the real deal comes. You know, calm before the storm haha. Also you guys should read the description, if you haven't already done so yet, because it'll give you some more insight as to what the sequel entails.
Some things to know:
Ryan is played by Zac Effron (yummy)
Aubrey got a job at People Magazine after her fallout with Niall
Niall went back to his old habits and they're worse now
Zayn is married with two children, Nina: 3 years old, Sebastian: 6 months old
I think that should clear up any confusion. again I'm sorry if it seems sort of slow and boring, but I need to establish some core things first. as always I hope you enjoy this as much as you did in the first book! Remember to vote and comment tons and tons! Love you all ❤️