Tell me if there are any mistakes that you see please! It would be much appreciated! Enjoy!
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Cain." Alana was not sure whether she was more surprised at the fact that he had found her number or by the idea that she was somewhat happy to hear his voice.
"Oh, well, how are you?" Alana asked, not exactly sure why he was calling.
"I'm good and if you're wondering how I got your number, I stole it from Ben's phone. Don't tell him that though," Cain chuckled, causing Alana to smile slightly as she held the phone to her ear, relaxing into Rosie's sofa.
"I won't." Alana smiled.
"That's good. Now, which one do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?" Cain quizzed.
"The good news please," Alana replied.
"Well, I heard back from my photographer friend and he said that if you want, you can meet up with him today so that he can show you some sample pictures." Cain explained.
"That's great news!"
"Now for the bad news."
"Bad news?"
"You have to come with me."
"Is that really the bad news?" Alana laughed. If anything, both of the news that he had informed her of, were good news.
"That's fine." Alana insisted.
"Okay, is it alright if I come in an hour or so?" Cain asked.
"Sure, I'll see you later." Alana said before he too said goodbye and the phone call ended.
"Was that Micheal?" Rosie questioned, entering the living room, her eyes glued to the wedding magazine in her hand.
"It was Cain." Alana stated, placing her phone on the coffee table, whilst noticing how a small smirk began to form on her friend's lips.
"And how exactly did he get your number?" Rosie said, her eyes slowly moving in Alana's direction.
"Why do you want to know?" Alana retorted playfully. She clearly remembered Ben's warning
and from Rosie's behaviour, it appeared that the two of them believed that there was a chance that something might happen between Cain and her, which Alana believed was an incorrect assumption.
"Because I do." Rosie shrugged, taking a seat opposite her.
"Well he got it from a friend." Alana began.
"That friend would not happen to be my fiance by any chance, would it?" Rosie smiled, tilting her head slightly while her sea blue eyes continued to stare at Alana.
"He may have unknowingly given it to Cain." Alana simply replied.
"And you're okay with that?" Rosie continued to smirk.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Alana frowned.
"Look, you and Ben need to calm down. Cain and I are simply helping to make your wedding special, so stop worrying about us and focus on yourself." Alana urged as she stood, beginning to walk towards the kitchen.
"So, where exactly is Michael right now?" Cain wondered as he drove them to meet his friend. He had arrived in an hour, just as he had said, to pick her up.
"He's actually back in Florida right now. It was his best friend's birthday and they were throwing a surprise party for him. One that he could not miss." Alana answered. She had not been excited when she had heard the news, considering that David and her never got along. However, she could not convince Michael to stay.
"You sound a little sour," Cain laughed.
"I'm not sour." Alana retorted.
"I get it. You wanted to be there too." Cain assumed.
"That's not it. Let's just say that I don't get along with the guy... That's pretty much it." Alana said, straightening against the passenger seat.
"I guess that's a no go area. Let's change the subject..." Cain muttered.
"How's your girl?" Alana said, as she turned to look out of the window, no longer watching how Cain's hazel eyes intensely watched the road.
"She's good... I think. I haven't spoken to her since the party actually," Cain informed her and when her gaze once again settled on his face, his lips were in a frown with his eyebrows pulled downwards, as if he were confused. Feeling slightly unsure as to whether or not to continue their conversation about his girlfriend, Alana remained silent for the remainder of the journey.
"Hey," Cain greeted as the front door slowly opened.
"Hey man," the man replied before pulling Cain into a short, manly hug while Alana simply watched their exchange.
"Long time no see. You must be Alana, I'm Jonathan." He introduced, his steel gray eyes piercing into hers as he held out a hand.
"Nice to meet you," Alana smiled politely, shaking his hand gently.
"How rude of me? Come inside." Jonathan insisted. Alana was instantly welcomed into a sky blue room with black and brown furniture and a white back drop on the far wall.
"So, you need a photographer? Well look no further darling because the perfect one is standing right in front of you." Jonathan grinned, pointing a finger in his direction for emphasis.
"You said that you had sample pictures?" Alana asked, having heard that statement many times from other unreliable sources.
"Actually, why don't we take some right now?" He suggested, picking a camera off the small wooden desk that was situated beside the door.
"We?" Alana repeated.
"Yeah. How about this, I'll take a couple pictures of you and you can tell me whether or not you like them?" Jonathan wondered.
"I'd say go for it." Cain agreed.
"I don't want you to take photos of me." Alana frowned. She would rather not, especially whilst Cain simply stood there, watching her.
"Alana, don't act camera shy." Cain commented.
"I don't really like taking pictures." Alana confessed, looking between the two men.
"Cain will be in the pictures with you." Jonathan stated.
"I will?" Cain questioned.
"Yes, now hurry up and pretend that you're dancing over there." Jonathan instructed, already lifting the camera to adjust it as he placed a hand through his thick, blond hair. Glancing at each other, Alana and Cain made their way over to the white screen. Holding out his hand politely, Alana dropped her bag on the floor and placed her hand in his, moving another onto his shoulder.
"Why are you guys standing to far apart? Move a bit closer and dance." Jonathan chuckled.
"But there's no music." Alana realised.
"Just use your imagination..." Jonathan insisted.
"Yes sir!" Cain saluted before moving slightly closer to her.
"And dance... you guys are boring me right now. I'm trying to get some interesting action shots which I can't do if you're not moving." Jonathan complained, causing Alana to laugh softly, considering that she could sense his frustration. Humming a tune, Cain and Alana started to sway stiffly to the music.
"I see that you're still stiff," Cain remembered.
"I was never stiff." Alana defended, finally looking up into his bright and playful eyes. It was not as if they made her nervous, although their proximity did, it simply reminded her of how close - in terms of friendship - they had been. Relaxing her shoulders which she realised were in fact quite tense, she flinched when she saw a bright flash.
"Is that really necessary?" Alana scowled, her eyes zoned in on Jonathan.
"Just act as if I'm not here," he said, the camera still in front of his eyes.
"That's not what I remember. In fact, I don't even think that you could dance two years ago." Cain joked, continuing their conversation as he spun her around.
"Your memory is obviously selective." Alana smiled.
"Hmm, what ever helps you sleep at night, Lana," Cain smirked, with a wink, just as he spun around. It was difficult to think that Cain was oblivious to how hard her heart thumped against her chest when he called her by such a familiar nickname, one that she had not heard in over two years. Lana.
"You're not serious, are you?" Alana continued to smile. It was hard not to when he had such an adorable smile on his lips as well.
"I am very serious," Cain stated, his eyes far too intense for Alana's liking.
"I got a few. I'll just connect them to my laptop so that I can add some effects and voila!" Jonathan interrupted, thankfully. She had almost forgotten that he had been there.
Cain released Alana and did a bow, chuckling lightly when she curtsied in return. The name had been a slip of the tongue. He had obviously been too comfortable. He did not regret it however, since he was able to see a slight rosiness in Alana's cheeks, one that he had not realised that he missed until that moment.
"Trust me, when you see his pictures, you're going to love them." Cain assured as she picked her hand bag off the carpet.
"I hope so." She mumbled, although he still caught it.
When Jonathan re-entered the room with his laptop, Cain caught sight of the sly look that his friend gave him. Shaking his head gently, he was well aware of the fact that Alana was watching him and had most probably seen the smirk on Jonathan's face too.
"I'll be quick," Jonathan insisted, taking a seat. Less than ten minutes later, Alana was seated with the laptop in her lap, looking over the pictures with an almost blank expression. Due to the brightness in her eyes as she continued to stare at one image in particular, Cain was sure that she loved them.
"They're amazing and I'd be delighted if you would be able to come to the wedding." She grinned up at him.
"I'd be honoured." Jonathan smiled.
"If you don't mind me asking, where's your wedding ring?" Jonathan quizzed. Cain felt like strangling him and was sure that he had said that on purpose.
"And who exactly am I getting married to?" Alana asked, handing him his laptop.
"This lucky guy." Jonathan foolishly assumed, slapping a hand on Cain's shoulder.
"We're not getting married, although you were right about the fact that he would be lucky." Alana corrected, her dark brown eyes focused on him.
"That's debatable." Cain scoffed as they had a short staring competition.
"I'd really appreciate it if you would email me the pictures so that I could show them to the actual bride-to-be, my best friend." Alana kindly requested. Not too soon after, the two of them were out of Jonathan's house.
"You would be pretty darn lucky, Cain and you know it." Alana commented as he helped her into his car.
"Maybe, lucky that you were lucky enough to marry me actually. After all, you know you want me." Cain smirked whilst starting the car.
"That makes no sense," Alana laughed.
"He double booked my wedding?" Rosie panicked, her blue eyes wide as she flew out of her chair, Ben remaining seated and unfazed by the news.
"Did you really need to tell her that?" Cain whispered.
"Well she'd be a bit confused if she did not see him at the wedding." Alana whispered in reply.
"What are you guys whispering about?" Rosie hissed, no longer in a jolly mood.
"The fact that I saved the day and found another photographer." Cain informed her.
"Who is he?" Rosie wondered, freezing in mid stride after pacing the room frantically.
"A very good man. His pictures are amazing." Alana told her. Rosie's eyes gazed between the two of them for a second before falling on Alana once more.
"Do you have any photos that I could see? Does he have a website?" Rosie quizzed, pushing her hair out of her face.
"I have a couple of pictures, let me just fetch my laptop." Alana said, placing her bag on the sofa before disappearing into one of the rooms. Staring after her unintentionally, Cain turned to face the couple and realised that all eyes were on him.
"Did I do something?" Cain frowned.
"I don't know. Did you?" Rosie replied, confusing Cain even more.
"You guys need to back off. I'm not going to do anything with Alana, we're just friends for crying out loud." Cain stated, raking a hand through his hair.
"That's what she said." Rosie smiled.
"I hope it stays that way." Ben added.
"You seriously need to chill, Ben. Stop taking your stress out on me." Cain laughed. He could tell that his friend was trying to act as though he was not affected by the wedding but Cain knew Ben too well. After all, they were best friends, despite the glare which Cain was receiving from him at that moment.
"You're right. These are pretty good." Rosie smiled in relief.
"Did you think that I would hire someone that was an amateur? I'm highly offended." Alana joked.
"No, but Cain said that it was his friend and I just don't trust him. It has nothing to do with you." Rosie shrugged.
"I am standing right here." Cain reminded Rosie.
"And you're standing right here too, looking extremely cosy with Alana. It's almost as if you two are getting married." Ben commented, his eyes fixated on the pictures which they were now looking at on Alana's laptop. Cain had not actually looked at the pictures while they were at Jonathan's house and when he did glance at them, realised that they did in fact look pretty cosy. Their faces were extremely close and it almost appeared as though they were in love, due to the way that they were smiling and staring at each other. Almost. The way that he held her closely also did not help.
"Don't get carried away. It doesn't look like that." Cain rolled his eyes, attempting to play it off. He did not want to make it any more awkward than it was, especially since Alana was in silence and seemed to be staring in to space.
"What ever helps you sleeps at night, Cain." Ben replied, causing Alana to giggle softly. If he had not said the same thing to her earlier that day, he was sure that she would not have been laughing.
"Don't even, Lana." Cain instructed and once the name slipped out of his mouth the second time, the couple slowly turned to look at him.
"I wasn't the one that said it." Alana laughed, not affected by the name anymore which seemed to shock Rosie and Ben. Cain had no idea what they were worrying about. Nothing was going to happen between Alana and him.
"Now that they're gone, I need you to help me with something. I have no idea what to write for my wedding vows..." Rosie sighed, falling backwards onto the couch.
"Don't worry about it. You still have over a week, we'll get it done." Alana reassured as she took the notebook and pen out of Rosie's small hands which shook slightly.
"Now, what do you want to say?" Alana asked, placing some of her brunette hair behind her ear.
"I have no idea..." Rosie breathed, scratching her head.
"Alright, pretend that I'm Ben." Alana suggested.
"That's really weird." Rosie laughed.
"Do you want to get these wedding vows started or not?" Alana urged.
"Okay, okay, but I don't need to pretend that your Ben. I'll just imagine him in my head." Rosie stated, closing her eyes.
"...Everyday, I fall deeper and deeper in love with you; so deep that I'm afraid that there's no way out... When you're around, I feel alive, hopeful and extremely happy ---. This is rubbish." Rosie grumbled, fiddling with her fingers while Alana attempted scribble down her friend's words.
"No it's not. I'll write everything down and if you don't like something, we can simply cut it out." Alana insisted. After another few minutes of silence, Rosie began once more.
"Your faith in me, gives me strength; your touch delights me and I simply thank God everyday that you are in my life. I bind myself to you with these wedding vows and say wholeheartedly that I give myself fully to you and promise to stay with you in sickness and in health, despite our flaws because none of us are perfect..." Rosie continued. Alana had never heard her friend sound so emotional and she almost wanted to stop her when she saw a tear run down her pale cheek. However, she was on a roll and Alana knew that if Rosie were to stop at that moment, she would not start again.
Alana, however, could not help but search her brain in the hope of finding some that made her feel the way that Rosie was explaining. Someone that made her feel alive, hopeful, happy, someone that cheers her on and whose touch makes her weak. As Alana continued to think about it, she wondered whether Michael made her feel that way. Unluckily for her, she realised that he did not.
"Now that we're out of there, I need you to help me with my vows. I have no idea what to write." Ben smiled sheepishly as he took a seat on Cain's couch.
"I totally forgot that you had to write that... Let me quickly grab a pen and paper so we can write down a couple of ideas." Cain stated, quickly grabbing some paper from a notebook that rested on his table.
"I've got some. You are the ying to my yang, the ice to my tea, the per to my fume ---" Ben rehearsed, as if he were in Shakespearian times.
"Just stop man! These are horrendous, not terrible, horrendous." Cain chuckled.
"Okay, I'll think of something better, even though I'm pretty sure she'd be touched by those words." Ben shrugged, smiling playfully. After a quiet moment, Ben sat up straighter and appeared to be deep in thought.
"Let me write something down and you can tell me what you think." Ben instructed and Cain instantly handed him the paper and pen. Cain himself had no idea what he would write for his wedding vows, which was not a surprise since he had no idea who the special person that he would be writing about was. For all he knew, he might not even get married. That idea was slightly daunting.
"Read this." Ben said, holding the paper out to Cain five minutes later. Taking it from his hands, Cain began to read out loud Ben's vows.
"Day by day, I know and love you more. I learn from your wisdom every day and without your love, I feel empty. Between us, we share a love that many people strive for, through us, it spreads peace and harmony to everyone that we know. On this day, I willingly give all of myself to you and do not doubt that this is the greatest choice that I have ever made. All that is mine, is yours. Whenever in doubt, I will be there for you. Whenever you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to rejoice with, I'll be there, waiting to share your emotions with you."
"Does it sound alright? I mean, it sounds a bit sappy right now but once we're finished, I'll make it sound super macho." Ben joked, causing Cain to laugh.
"It sounds really good actually. You don't even need my help, you seem to be getting along with it just fine." Cain stated, feeling almost helpless as his friend took back the sheet of paper.
"Hmm..." Ben mumbled, barely paying attention as the pen began to move along the paper once more.
As he read the words on the page, Cain could not help but feel somewhat saddened at the fact that he did not have someone like that. Someone that he wanted to share each and every moment and emotion with. He was not getting any younger and he had not even started a family yet. The more he thought of the type of woman that he was looking for, while replaying Ben's touching vows in his mind, the more his thoughts drifted further and further away from Robin. When his phone vibrated in his pocket, Cain was instantly snapped out of his train of thought and upon seeing the caller ID, was almost annoyed.
"I'm going to quickly take this." Cain informed Ben, who simply grunted in response as he re-read his notes.
"Hey Robin..."
This chapter is not very eventful. For that I apologise! I'll hopefully upload in the middle of next week - maybe Christmas day as my present for all of you wonderful, awesome and beautiful people - if not, I wish you all a lovely Christmas.