I was sitting at the table the next morning eating cereal when a loud knock sounded at the door. I jumped slightly because of the noise, but got up to go get it. I barely opened the door when Veronica pushed her way in and walked past me into our kitchen.
I shut the door and turned around. She had a panicked look on her face.
"Morning, V. Something wrong?" I asked.
"Marty broke out of jail and he's here." She said quickly.
"Who's Marty?"
"My brother."
I looked at her with a baffled expression.
"I never knew you had a brother." I remarked.
"Well, now you do." V answered.
Fiona walked in now and smiled when she saw V.
"Hey!" She said. "Ready for the big day today?"
V told her about Marty and Fi looked just as shocked as I was.
"I never knew you had a brother." She said.
"That's what Jess said. Marty has Tourette's, bipolar disorder and a drinking problem. He's a shrink's wet dream." said V.
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"In my fucking house!" V shouted.
"Come on, let's go next door and try to talk Marty into turning himself back into jail."
Fiona and V left the house and I was alone again, so I sat back down at the table and finished my breakfast.
*
Later, I was just finishing up painting Debs' nails to match the dress Sheila kindly made for her for the wedding when Fi burst in.
"I need your help, guys." She said to us.
Debs and I stood up.
"Why, what's up?"
"Marty overheard V making fun of his Tourette's and he locked himself in the bathroom with V's wedding dress and a lighter, threatening to light her dress and the house on fire."
"Oh my god!" Debs exclaimed.
Lip came down the stairs now and asked what was wrong. Fi told him and he walked out with us to V and Kev's place also.
We went around to the side of the house and saw a ladder perched against the side wall and Kev and V were looking up into the window looking into the bathroom.
"Jess, climb the ladder and see what Marty's doing." V ordered.
"Alright." I started to slowly climb the ladder, Lip standing at the bottom of it to spot me in case I fell or something.
I peered into the bathroom window at Marty. He was just sitting there, continuously flicking a lighter.
"He's not doing anything, he's just flicking a lighter." I remarked.
V sighed.
I climbed down off the ladder and Lip took my arm and helped me down off the last step.
"What are you gonna do?" Lip asked.
Fi looked at Veronica.
"I think I have an idea. Come on." She said to V and Kev. The three of them walked away, leaving Lip, Debs and I by the ladder.
*
Later that day, I was in the bathroom curling my long red hair and doing my makeup to get ready for the wedding. Debs was sitting on the toilet seat, watching me longingly. I just finished my eyeliner when I turned to look at her.
"What are you staring at?" I asked in a completely friendly and teasing voice.
"You!" said Debs. "You look so pretty."
I was wearing one of Fiona's old dresses, a short and tight black dress that stopped around mid-thigh. I also had one black heels that were way too tight because they were super old. My hair was perfectly curled and my smoky makeup was neatly done.
"Thanks, Debs!" I said. I looked at her as she fiddled with her flowery dress. Wanting to make my little sister happy, I walked over to her.
"Wanna look like me?" I asked.
Her eyes lit up and she nodded.
"Okay. Here, turn around and I'll curl your hair. And I'll put some mascara on you too. But don't tell Fiona I did that. It'll be our little secret, okay?"
Debs giggled and nodded again.
"Alright, good." I then started wrapping some of Debs' hair around my still hot curling iron as we chatted about the wedding.
A little while later, I was finished with Debs. She looked into the mirror and grinned.
"I look like you! Thanks, Jess!" She said, hugging me.
I laughed.
"Anytime, Debs."
I unplugged the curling iron and put all my makeup away. I headed downstairs to wait for Zack to arrive. I entered the kitchen and saw Ian in there, dressed in a nice dress suit and...Mandy Milkovich attempting to tie his tie for him. They were talking quietly when I came in and didn't see me, so I cleared my throat loudly. They both quickly turned their heads.
Mandy shot me a smug smile, as if she knew her presence here pissed me off.
"Hi, Jess." She said, her hands still on Ian's tie.
I shot Ian a look.
"What is she doing here?" I said, gritting my teeth.
Ian turned back to Mandy and held up a finger.
"Be right back." I heard him say. He walked towards me and whirled around and stomped into the living room.
"Jess." He whispered. I turned to face him, my arms crossed.
"What?" I said.
I grabbed his tie and frantically started tying it, just so Mandy wouldn't be able to.
"Ian, I really don't think hanging around Mandy is that great an idea. She's a slut, and her whole family is fucked up and violent, especially Mickey. And plus, she tried to rape you, I don't know why you'd wanna be friends with her after that." I whispered.
Ian sighed.
"Just be nice. Please." He said quietly.
I breathed out and glanced at Mandy. She was picking at her nail polish.
"Fine." I agreed.
"Thank you." said Ian, giving me a quick grin and going back to over to Mandy.
Just as I was about to storm upstairs, I heard a knock on the door. I ran (rather quickly too, considering I had heels on), and opened it before Ian or Mandy did. Zack stood there, dressed in a crisp white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a skinny black tie. Ugh, he looked so good.
He looked me up and down and smiled.
"You look beautiful." He complimented me.
I blushed as I let him in.
"Thanks."
"Hey Ian, what's up, dude?" Zack greeted my brother as he entered.
Ian gave him a short nod in return.
I groaned internally.
If Ian was forcing me to be nice to Mandy Skankovich, why couldn't he actually talk to Zack for once?
Just then, Fiona, Carl, and Debs holding Liam, clad in a flowery vest that matched Debs' dress, came downstairs.
"Hey, Zack and...Mandy." Fiona said with less enthusiasm. I smirked to myself. Fiona didn't like Mandy either and I knew it. "Everyone ready to leave?"
Carl came over to me with help with his tie and I quickly tied it for him, giving his hair a ruffle.
"Looking sharp, little man." I said. I glanced at Fiona as Carl ran off.
"Hey Fi, where's Steve?" I asked her.
She looked at me.
"Oh, he's picking up the cake. He's probably gonna meet us there." She answered, but her voice sounded unsure. I could tell she didn't trust Steve either, and she had a right not to. He was shady as fuck, and something was off about him, I just knew it.
"Well, Lip is meeting us there with Karen and Frank's most likely already there, drunk so...let's go!"
*
We arrived at the Alibi Room, where the wedding was being held, and entered. All the tables and chairs were moved away so there could be room to dance. I thought it was nice the wedding was taking place here and not at a church. Kev worked here, and all his friends were here, and it was different. V and Kev were different like that.
All the employees of the Alibi were there, and V's mom, most of our South Side neighbors, Frank, and now us.
I looked over at Frank. He had on a tie that matched Debbie's dress and Liam's vest.
He looked at us and waved.
"Did Sheila make that for you?" I asked, pointing to his tie.
He nodded.
"She's good to me, unlike you people." He said. I took that as a guess that Frank was living over there now.
Everyone fell silent now, which mean the wedding was going to start. I walked away from Frank and went to go stand in the middle of Zack and Ian.
I watched the entire wedding process with awe.
"Do you take Kevin Ball as your wedded husband?" The priest my brothers forced to come here today asked V.
She nodded.
"I do."
"And do you take Veronica Fisher as your wedded wife?"
"I do."
"You may kiss the bride."
I smiled and everyone cheered as V and Kev kissed each other passionately.
I glanced over at Zack and to my surprise, he was already looking at me.
*
After Kev and V were officially married, that's when the real party started. Loud, upbeat and fast dance music blasted through big speakers that Kev and V rented and everyone was in the middle of the bar dancing. I danced mostly with Zack, but I danced with Ian for one song, another with Debs and another with Fiona.
Carl went around recording everyone on this tiny camera, zooming in on their faces.
After the last song ended, I stopped moving around, out of breath. I grabbed Zack's arm.
"I'm getting a drink, want one?" I asked him.
He shook his head.
"I'm good, thanks." He answered.
"Okay." I walked away from him and went to get a beer from the bar. I approached Fiona and V sitting on bar stools, sipping tequilas.
They smiled and hugged me.
"You look so pretty, V!" I complimented her. She blushed and thanked me. I took a beer bottle and popped it open, turning back to my sister and neighbor.
"What exactly did you guys do to Marty?" I asked curiously now.
Fi shrugged.
"V convinced him to come out of the bathroom and when he did, I hit him with a giant horse tranquilizer dart. He'll be out all night."
My eyes widened and they both cracked up in laughter.
When they stopped, I looked at Fiona seriously.
"Steve still isn't here, I see?" I said.
Fiona sighed.
"Yep."
"He'll show up, Fi." I said, patting her arm reassuringly.
Just then, another song came on, a slower one this time.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. Zack was there with a big grin on his face.
"Care to dance?" He asked in a mock British accent and holding out his hand.
I giggled and took it, heading back into the dance floor. Fi and V pushed me into him, and I turned around and flipped them off.
We headed into the middle of the dance floor, and I faced Zack. He put both hands on my waist and I felt my face go red.
I wrapped my arms around his neck as we swayed back and forth to the beat of the music.
I turned my head and saw Kev dancing with me, Frank dancing with V's mom, Fiona dancing with Tony (what the fuck), Lip with Karen, Debbie swinging Liam around and Carl continuing to record. I saw Ian dancing with Mandy in the same position me and Zack were, and I quickly turned away, not wanting to see any more.
I scooched closer to Zack, my arms still around his neck. I looked into his blue eyes and felt like I was losing myself in hem. Suddenly, I felt us both leaning in closer and closer, and soon enough, his lips were on mine. It was a quick kiss, nothing too big, and I pulled away before it could go any further.
"Why did you do that?" I asked quietly.
He shrugged.
"I don't know, I thought it was perfect timing." He replied.
I turned my head away from him, staring at the hardwood floor.
What just happened?