Guess what time it is?
-----------
"Oh my god..." Julie rolled off Alex's body and fell back onto his mattress, pulling the sheets up to cover herself, as though there was any need to do so. "That was... even better than I remembered it."
Alex was staring up at the ceiling, not saying a word.
Turning on her side and propping herself up to get a good look at his face, she said, "Was it not for you? Are you regretting this? Already?"
"That's not the right word for it," he shook his head. After a beat, he turned her way and added, "This was amazing and I know you know that. It's just that you have a..."
"Shawn," Julie sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah," he nodded. "You have a Shawn. I'm your mistress right now."
"Alex, that's not..." she began, but she didn't know where she was going with it, so she stopped. "This isn't the sexy pillow talk I was hoping for."
"What were you actually hoping for?" he asked. "Out of nothing but curiosity."
"I don't know," she said, lying on her back once again and staring at the ceiling along with him. "That when I said that was better than I remembered it, you'd say the same thing back, then you'd ask if I wanted to go again, I'd make some joke comparing your libido to that of a lion, you'd get super cocky and that confidence would power you through at least two more rounds and then we'd just... figure out the rest after."
She turned to him again and saw that he was smiling.
"Are you thinking about the lion thing?" she asked.
"No," he laughed. "Well, now I am a little and thank you but... The sex was great. It's just the part that I really liked that I'm not sure if you really did was the other part."
"What other part?"
He began to sit up so she did the same, meeting him at his level as he said, "You told me that you loved me. Over and over again. And it felt like everything was okay again. But it's not. You're with Shawn. Our relationship is still very screwed up. And... Amazing sex and words you may have said just to get the amazing sex won't fix that."
"Alex, I didn't say them just for that. I meant them. I've never stopped feeling the way I feel about you. That's why I was coming after you the way I was. I was so frustrated about loving you and not getting to be with you anymore and just... being so scared that you'd eventually erase me that I... I didn't want that to happen. And I thought if I'm your constant enemy then you won't ever get to leave me behind. Even if I'm only around in a bad way."
Alex pulled the sheets off of himself and then got up.
"Where are you going?" Julie asked, wrapping the sheets around herself and getting up.
"Just wait right here," he said, making no efforts to cover his naked body as he hurried outside the room.
-----------
"So what did you have to go get?" Tabitha asked, interrupting Alex's story for what felt like the millionth time. "Also, can you skip over the sex stuff? I'm your sister."
"It's pivotal to the story," said Alex. "Now please. Stop interrupting me."
-----------
When Alex returned, Julie had already grabbed her phone, with its full battery, and was checking her many missed calls and messages. So many of them were from Shawn. He hadn't heard from her all day and was getting worried. He wished her a Happy New Year and sent her kiss emojis at midnight. She didn't respond to any of it because she'd been too busy screwing her ex.
"Shit..." she murmured.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked, spooking her.
She jumped up, dropping her phone on her lap and then noticing Alex was carrying a couple bags of chips and sodas.
-----------
"That's what you went to get?" asked Tabitha. "I thought you were getting something incriminating, like security footage of her in your house to use against her or a picture of her naked on your bed?"
"Have you not been paying attention to anything?" Alex asked. "Why would you think that's where this was headed?"
Tabitha shrugged, "I blocked out the sex parts and along the way other stuff may have been lost, too. But please, continue."
-----------
"That's what you went to get?" Julie asked.
Alex shrugged nonchalantly, climbing into bed with her and saying, "I'm really hungry and I didn't want my stomach to be grumbling the whole time we talked. Plus, I know how you get after sex. This is mostly for you."
Despite her confusion, that sour expression transformed into a smile as she reached for her Coca-Cola and opened it, taking a quick chug and then letting out a heavy breath. She touched her throat and said, "Ahh, that burns. It's so good. Why is coke so bad for you but so good you can't help it?"
Alex stared at her and she realized what she had just said. Then the two of them burst into laughter.
It went on for several minutes before Alex wiped the corners of his eyes and forced himself to stop. Julie stopped, too, and he said, "We're so fucked up. Not just for laughing at that but also... Just everything we've done. To ourselves, to other people, and especially to each other. And for doing this and being together while you have a boyfriend."
"A fiance, actually," she said as though it was nothing.
He turned to her, shocked.
-----------
"Wait a minute," Tabitha said, her attention now fully on his story. "You knew?"
"Yeah," Alex nodded. "She told me right there and then."
"Why?" Tabitha asked. "And why didn't you..? I'm so lost."
"Well..." Alex began again.
-----------
"You're engaged?" Alex exclaimed. "To Shawn? Since when? How? Why? I'm..."
"Since, like, yesterday," said Julie rather bluntly, taking a quick sip of her coke. "Or day before that, technically. I had sex with him and he proposed."
"You're joking," he said.
"Nope," she shrugged. "It's what I wanted him to do, actually. I didn't think it'd happen this soon but I did push him in that direction. And then I came here a day later and slept with you."
She turned to Alex, who looked completely torn up by the news. He wasn't even looking her straight in the eyes anymore.
"It's not real," she said.
He didn't respond.
"I'm not going to marry him, Alex," she added.
He looked up and asked, "Please, can I get a little bit of clarity? What was tonight? Just one last go before you get with someone else or..?"
"Last night was a poor decision," she admitted. "Not because I didn't want it to happen or I regret it. But because of what's at stake here. Alex, I'm only telling you all of this because you deserve for me to be honest with you for once. And I meant it when I said I love you. And that's why I have to tell it to you like it is. I'm not in love with Shawn and I never will be."
"Okay..?" he said. "I figured that much."
"Remember at Christmas?" she continued. "You said I must be working some angle because I hated Shawn. That I must've been waiting for the right moment to stab him in the back? Well, you weren't wrong. I do hate him. And this is all a plan to screw him over."
The way Alex was looking at her was the opposite of how he looked at her when she said she loved him. He didn't recognize her. He didn't want her anymore.
She pushed away those thoughts, needing to get the rest of the truth out without any hesitation. "Alex, I know this will seem really messed up," she said. "And it is really messed up. Truly. I know it. But I got sick of people disposing of me when they saw fit. Of being treated like some girl to pass around among the guys and then be done with. And Shawn was the worst of it. I always said so. He broke me the most because he didn't end things over any mistake I did. He traded me for money. For money, Alex. You know what that did to me? For years?"
His expression softened in a way so subtle she had almost missed it, but it was there, giving her the green light to keep going.
"I just wanted everyone who hurt me to feel the way I felt. To give them a taste of my own medicine. That's why I made John think I had his back and then threw him under the bus the first chance I got. And why I made you feel like we had a chance again and then..."
"Then said you never planned on making it work," Alex finished for her. "That you were never on my side."
"Yeah..." she nodded, ashamed and yet refusing to make any apologies. "And then I found out that Shawn was going to be in LA while I was going to be in LA and I knew his ego wouldn't let him let me pass by without him trying to ensure that he could live on guilt-free and that I'd forgiven him. That he could gain my approval, finally. And know he wasn't still a terrible person in my eyes. So I went out there with Sebastian."
She put her soda on the end table and reached for one of the chip bags, casually opening it as she continued her monologue.
"I called Damian and I got him to get us into his show because Shawn had always been a huge fan. He was gonna be so buttered up by then that he wouldn't be suspicious of my sudden desire to hang out with him. I took him to London with me, kept telling him how it felt like my world was crumbling until he came along. That somehow his presence in my life had given it new meaning, that I was happier now with him. That he had pulled me out of my rock bottom and saved me."
She put a single Cheeto in her mouth and took a bite, savoring it for just a moment before interrupting herself so that she could keep talking.
"Then came Christmas. I said I had no intention of going to the Christmas party but that was always my plan. If I defied my family for him, he was sure to think we were going in deeply. We weren't just seeing each other again. We were in love once again. Us against the world. He's a sucker for that kind of stuff. Except he always chose the world over us. So I started reminding him of that."
She ate the rest of the Cheeto and went on.
"We went to Canada and I kept mentioning how afraid I was that it would be like the last time, making sure he understood that I was having doubts. That if he didn't do something quick, I was going to take off without him. And he was so desperate to keep us afloat that... Well, I thought he was going to give me some speech to prove how committed he was to making it work this time around. But after we had sex, he did more. He proposed. And I was afraid I wouldn't get another chance so big so I accepted. And then we happened and now here we are so... Now you know everything."
"No," Alex shook his head. "I don't. I don't understand. At all. What's your endgame here, Julie? Where does this end for you?"
"On our wedding day," she answered. "On the day when I get to stand him up and I get to humiliate him the way he did to me when he broke off our engagement and then married someone else immediately after."
-----------
"Honestly, I get it," Tabitha cut in. "If someone did that to me, I probably would've castrated them, but her plan is more thought out and devious."
Alex stared at his sister.
"Oh, right," she said. "No interruptions. Sorry, continue."
"As I was saying," he cleared his throat.
-----------
"You realize this whole thing is insane, yes?" Alex asked. "You can't drag this forced relationship out to the altar. He's gonna find out."
"He's not," Julie insisted. "I have him wrapped around my finger right now and I'm figuring out ways to get him to want to get married as soon as possible. It has to be his decision. If it's mine, he could catch me. But the sooner I get him down the aisle the better. The only obstacle right now is... Well..."
She looked him up and down as he attempted to stuff a handful of Lay's in his mouth at once. His mouthful, he asked, "Me?"
"Well, yeah," she shrugged. "I'm not sure he'd wanna marry me if I said, 'Hey baby, guess what? I slept with my ex over the holidays and I love him and not you. So what date do you wanna set the wedding for? Like, Mid-April or..?' It's gonna ruin everything. I already feel gross for sleeping with him once and I'll probably have to do it again."
Alex frowned, rubbing the arch of his nose as he started getting a stress headache. "So why are you telling me all of this?" he asked. "Other than me deserving to know the truth because I've deserved the truth many times and you didn't think to give it to me before."
"Because," she explained, "when we were... you know... I kept thinking about us. And how above everything else, I want you. More than anyone or anything. You're the only one who can make me feel the way I've felt all day. Which is why I had to tell you what I was up to. And why even though I wish right now I could drop absolutely everything and be with you, assuming you'd even want me to..."
"You'd rather keep going with your plans," he said.
"Yeah..." she admitted. "But... Maybe, if you were willing... I mean, after everything..."
"Stop right there," he said, shaking his head. "If you're about to ask me to wait for you to almost-marry this guy and then we can be together, happily ever after... Don't. That's insane. Not that I don't wanna be with you. Clearly I do. But going along with your little revenge plot... That's too much. I can't."
"But why not?" Julie asked. "All I need is a little more time. He's the last name on my revenge list."
"Is he really?" Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Well, not exactly," she sighed. "There's Sebastian and Francesca and Tracy and Amity and Santana and..."
"Amity and Santana?" asked Alex, concerned.
"But I'll let all of them go," Julie shrugged. "I'll let John go. I'll put an end to all of it. We just have to go on like nothing's changed for a few more weeks, Alex. And then, finally, after I get that moment to give Shawn a taste of his own medicine... Then you and I can be together. For good this time."
-----------
"And you fell for that," Tabitha shook her head. "You stupid bitch."
"Hey, it wasn't that simple," Alex rolled his eyes. "But yes. Eventually, after a lot more talking about it... I agreed to her plans. And I jumped right into all the scheming with her. And we got on the same page again, finally. And I know I had reason to believe she could betray me again but... Something about her being so honest about those revenge plans just made me believe in everything else."
"And the sex probably helped," Tabitha pointed out.
"Oh of course," he said. "You should try it. Sex with her is... Forget I said that. Stay away from her. Amity was enough."
Tabitha snorted, "Classic. Okay, so what then?"
"Well..." Alex said. "Then we had more sex. Naturally. And we woke up and she had to pretend to leave. Because Bonnie was coming over with Rosie. And our first step was to leak the engagement to the press. That was the only way that she could force Shawn to stand by it, considering how impulsive his proposal was. She says he didn't have a ring, didn't get on one knee, nothing. Just said they should jump back in where they left off and get engaged again and she accepted."
"Wow, that guy had one foot in," Tabitha cringed. "Not even. Like, a single toe."
"And she had to push him in fully," said Alex, nodding. "Putting the news out there cemented it more, made it harder for him to back out. So we leaked it. Then Bonnie showed up and she left. And then all the news about her engagement started coming in and the anxiety of what we were doing hit me. I had so many doubts."
"Oh yeah," Tabitha smiled. "I texted you like crazy. And you didn't respond."
"I was freaking out," he admitted. "I saw the engagement news. I kept telling myself, 'This can't be real.' Because I was so scared that it was. And it finally hit me that maybe she was playing me yet again. That the engagement was real, that I was falling for a trap, that she was just trying to silence me so Shawn wouldn't find out she cheated on him. And that she had gone back to him, for good."
"But I'm assuming that's not what happened," said Tabitha. "Considering you're still waiting for her to call you now."
"Yeah," Alex nodded. "There was a lot more."
-----------
Alex paced his living room, back and forth. Bonnie had left, Rosie was playing with the remote by the couch, and Julie was nowhere to be found.
He kept walking, from one end to the other, freaking out more and more each minute. Then, finally, the door opened.
"You don't lock this?" she asked him, staring at the doorknob and then quickly shutting it. "Alex, our baby girl lives here. Protect her. That's so terrifying."
He rushed over to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Ow, okay, sure," she said, patting his back. "But seriously, lock your door even if you're expecting me or anyone else."
"I didn't now if I should even expect you to come back anymore," he responded, leading her into the living room.
"I said I would, didn't I?" Julie smiled. She saw Rosie and went right back to her, missing her despite having seen her about twenty minutes earlier. "Hey baby," she cooed at her daughter. "Momma's back."
Rosie smiled and reached up for her, so Julie scooped her up into her arms and then stood next to Alex, bouncing the toddler.
"So why were you freaking out?" she asked.
Alex sighed, "The story went out and I didn't handle it well. I knew that it would go out. I just... I didn't like seeing it. The thought that you were lying and weren't coming back and that you actually were going to marry Shawn... It freaked me out so much. I can't even explain it."
"Well, I'm here," she smiled. "And I can't wait to permanently be with you and with Rosie. So let's get through all of this as quickly as we can. How do we get him to set the date and set it soon? What big gesture can I do to make him want to marry me as soon as possible without drawing suspicion?"
Alex sat down and Julie joined him, placing Rosie between them. "I don't know," he said, scratching his head. "I mean if I were him and I got a whiff of any of this I'd run for the hills." Julie gave him a look. "But I'm not him," he added. "Clearly. Your insanity is actually really hot to me. Hence, why I'm taking part in it."
"Too bad Rosie's here or we could go upstairs and do it again," she responded. "Or right here on the couch."
"Rosie takes naps," he reminded her.
-----------
"Ew, Alex," Tabitha squealed. "Gross! Cut it out."
Alex laughed, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. We didn't say that. Here's how she actually responded."
-----------
"And I really appreciate and love that about you," Julie said. "It's honestly nice to have you with me for all of this. As crazy as it is. It feels less lonely."
Alex forced a smile. He still wasn't a fan of the plan, but at least they were doing it together, and he feared that backing out or trying to talk her out of it again would result in the end of that. And he'd rather be a part of it then watch it all happen from the sidelines.
"So," she said, "how about this? I'm going to be super busy. Rehearsing for the Grammys and the SuperBowl. Why don't you come with me to New Orleans?"
"Really?" asked Alex. "Won't that be sketchy? We'll get caught."
"We won't," Julie assured him. "I'm renting out a whole complex to stay in during SuperBowl stuff and we can have a secluded, private meeting place. We'll sneak you in and out of the building, no problem. And if anyone sees you around there, we have a great excuse right here."
She pointed down at Rosie and Alex slowly nodded, "Yeah, I guess I can take her a long and it'll just be scheduled time with your daughter. Nothing weird."
"Exactly," Julie nodded. "And while we're there, we can plan everything out. And then eventually Shawn will be joining me up there, like a week before the game. And, uh, hopefully we'll have figured something out by then. But I really want us to be together for as much as this as we can, Alex. I want you there with me."
"Okay," Alex agreed. "I'm in. New Orleans it is."
-----------
"You were with her there?" said Tabitha, confused. "But I saw you so frequently throughout January."
"Because I made myself seen," Alex said. "It was exhausting. I had to be flying back to back. Letting Addison see me doing my usual stuff, then going over to help Julie. And then when Shawn showed up I was already back in New York, with you and Kara, remember?"
"Of course," Tabitha said. "And now I know why you were acting so weird. But back to the juicier parts. How did she get him to marry her so quickly?"
"She used his biggest known weakness," said Alex. "Family approval."
-----------
"Is it crazy for me to be insanely jealous right now?" asked Alex as he packed up his things. "I have to leave and then he'll come here and replace me and you'll meet the parents and have family time and... I want that time. I hate even the thought of him thinking he's your family now."
"Aww," Julie smiled up at him. "That's so sweet. I'll miss you so much. And don't worry. I'm not gonna fall for him because his dad is coming."
"Did you secure that yet?" asked Alex.
"Oh yeah," Julie nodded. "In just a few days, Shawn's dad's number is going to leak to the press and they're going to bombard him with calls asking about the engagement. He's gonna drop by. Trust me. This is going to work. His dad will put the right kind of pressure that Shawn needs to make a bold choice. It doesn't even matter if he's for or against it. As long as he's here making Shawn feel like he's not his own person, like he has to prove that he is."
"You're incredibly smart and you use it for evil," said Alex. "I like that. Okay, so what do I do in the meantime?"
"Keep busy and acting normal," said Julie. "Go back to what you'd be doing without me. I'll call you with an update as soon as I have one."
-----------
"And let me guess," Tabitha sighed. "You had sex again before you left."
"Actually, no," said Alex. "I was in a real hurry to get out of there before Shawn arrived and apparently he likes to come early."
He snickered to himself and Tabitha rolled her eyes. "I hope that made you feel secure and masculine," she said. "Now what?"
"Now I waited," said Alex. "And her plan worked, more or less. She had to do a lot of groveling but convincing the dad to approve of Shawn worked and he couldn't wait to marry her. Oh and... I may have done something really stupid while bored in New York with you guys."
-----------
"So what's our update?" asked Alex, watching Julie from his laptop as she sat in her New Orleans apartment, headphones on. "Did the dad show up?"
"He did and it went really well," Julie smiled. "He said really bad things about me which would piss me off if it hadn't put Shawn in the exact mood I need him in. I acted all freaked out and now he needs to assure me that he won't leave me this time. I'll get a wedding date out of him in no time."
"Great," said Alex. "The sooner the better. I want to have you all to myself already. I hate the idea of you still... being with him. You know?"
"Yeah, I know," said Julie. "But don't worry about that. His penis is half the size of yours and he can only keep it up for like five minutes on a good day."
-----------
"Alex!" Tabitha glared at him. "Are you kidding me right now?"
All Alex did was smile, before jumping right back into the story.
-----------
"Yeah I know," said Julie. "But don't worry about that. I promise you the only one I wanna be with in any shape or form is you. I'm so excited to be with you again. I'm actually scared I'll dream about you and say your name or something so I'm thinking of wearing a muzzle to bed."
Alex laughed, "That's actually kind of hot. But don't do that. I'm sure it'll be fine. And since you're obviously so hot and bothered right now cause Douche isn't doing what needs to be done, I sent you a little present."
"You did?" she smiled. "What is it?"
"Check your email," he said. "It's finally—"
"Wait, hold on," Julie said. "I think Shawn's about to walk in what do I do."
Alex could hear a door clearly open and Shawn call out her name. "Keep the headphones on," he said. "Um, just ignore him, while you click off the call and tell him it was label stuff. I love you. Check your email later."
The call ended.
***
"What did you send her?" asked Tabitha. "Why do you have that look on your face?"
"You know how it's been all over the press," said Alex, "that Julie paid someone not to leak her sex tape..?"
"Alex, you didn't," said Tabitha. "Please, please, please. Tell me it wasn't you on there. Tell me you aren't that type of stupid celebrity. Stupid person in general."
"It was surprisingly fun to make it," he said.
Tabitha groaned, "Alex, no! I can't believe that's out there!"
"I can't either, believe me," Alex said, laughing. "But it's actually so funny because when we made it, we joked about something like this happening and then... It happened."
"How is that funny?" Tabitha asked. Alex shrugged and she said, "Her insanity really rubbed off on you. Don't make that into a dirty joke. I beg of you. There's just one more piece to this puzzle... What was the thing at the gala about?"
"The leaks?" he asked.
"No, no," she shook her head. "Her song and that speech you gave about how she didn't cheat on you and the narrative had to die."
"Well, obviously I got sick of hearing Francesca talk shit," said Alex. "But to tell you the truth... That day we were in a fight. We'd been avoiding each other all night and not just because of the secrecy. Sam had told me earlier that week that Julie introduced the twins to Shawn and asked Gaby to accept him as step-father and it rubbed me the wrong way. Like, why would she do all that if she didn't plan on marrying him? Why drag the kids into it like that? She said she could see Shawn having doubts since the Grammys and that she needed a way to convince him she was all-in but I still didn't like it so we fought and then I wasn't talking to her at the gala, at all. So when Francesca went off, dragging our business in front of everyone and spewing nonsense, I decided to step in and set the record straight."
"As a grand romantic gesture," Tabitha smiled.
"And also as a big fuck you to Francesca," said Alex. "I can't stand her. Anyway, the leaks happened and when I was leaving I went to take Rosie to Julie's place and had an excuse to talk to her. She said she'd keep me updated but that the plan was still on. Then she tells me she's feeling under the weather and she might have cancer."
"Clearly just nerves, right?" asked Julie.
"And a ton of guilt, I'm sure," said Alex. "But she kept giving me updates and then all of a sudden she stops responding to me. No more texts, no more calls, nothing. And now I'm scared that my worst fear is coming true."
"Ian Keller is back to kill you two and you didn't choose godparents for Rosie," said Tabitha. "So she'll likely end up with me."
"No, what the fuck," said Alex. "Don't say shit like that. I meant that she's actually going through with the wedding. She's actually planning to screw me over and I'm over here so I'll have no way of knowing what's real until it's all over."
Tabitha grabbed her phone and after a few seconds she took in a deep breath. "Well," she sighed. "It looks like she's having her joint bachelor-bachelorette party tonight. According to Albany's Instagram." She turned her phone to Alex but he didn't glance at it for even a second. Looking back down at the latest pictures of Albany and Luke setting up their party at Julie's house, Tabitha said, "It looks pretty real to me."
***
"Wakey, wakey," Denise said, speaking as calmly as she could as she woke Julie up the next morning. "Are you ready?"
Slowly opening her eyes, Julie glanced up at Denise, holding coffee and already showered, and proceeded to bury her head in her pillow. That was a response on its own.
"I wish I could let you sleep longer," Denise told her, urging her to sit up, "but it's your wedding day and you're gonna run late if you don't start your day soon. As per your request, Shawn's already out of here. He's getting ready at Dan's house and I had Cory go with them. You won't have to see him until the wedding. And I also kindly suggested Harmony stay over there and supervise the men so she's not coming over here either."
Julie sat up, frowning. "That wasn't necessary," she said.
"Oh I know," Denise shrugged. "But I know you haven't been feeling well and things are a little tense with her and the family with all those texts. It's just us and Albany."
"Did I drink a lot last night?" Julie said, sitting up.
"I didn't see you drink at all," Denise frowned. "I assumed you didn't wanna be hungover today. But... did you?"
"I don't know," Julie said, sitting up. "Is it a bad sign that I don't remember how much I drank?"
Denise frowned, confused, but offered up the coffee mug. "Caffeine will help with the hangover then," she said sweetly.
Taking it, Julie stared down at it, but before she could take a drink, she rushed to the bathroom. Denise stood outside the door, but Julie called out, "No, I'm fine. It's..." She was interrupted again by her own stomach failing her.
A few seconds later, Albany walked into the room, stopping by the door with eyes widening. "Is she sick?" she whispered, pulling Denise aside.
"I didn't see her drink," Denise sighed, "but I guess she says she did. A lot."
Albany groaned, "I don't even know but... I guess I may have seen her sneak a drink or two in. Does she know how much she overslept, though? Her team is already here waiting to get her glammed up and breakfast is ready. The planner is going nuts and I have to keep her calm. We need to get her ready. What do we do?"
"Let's help her downstairs first and foremost," Denise suggested. "Get some food in her and then get her makeup and hair crew to hustle."
Albany nodded and put on a smile as she waltzed into the bathroom, knocking on the door briefly and then standing a couple feet from Julie. "Hey..." she told her. "So, uh... I'm really sorry you're not feeling well, but..."
"No, it's really fine, Julie said, wiping her mouth with toilet paper and then flushing it down the toilet. She pushed herself up using the toilet seat and then walked towards the sink, saying, "I think it's over. Ugh, I shouldn't have had any alcohol last night. That's what it was. And maybe the nerves, too. Not a good combo. But I'm good and starving and..."
She started brushing her teeth, while Albany stood a couple feet away, with Denise behind her. The two women exchanged looks as Julie's attitude had completely turned around, all on itself in a matter of seconds.
"Okay," Albany nodded. "Great. Well, breakfast is ready for you downstairs and everyone's here to help you get ready so we're all excited for this and... very eager to watch you walk down the aisle. So...are you ready for it?"
Julie finished spitting out the toothpaste in her mouth, quickly washing it out with water and then drying her face on a cloth. Looking at her face in the mirror, she said, "Yes. Of course. Let's get this show on the road."
***
"So you've just hit the road," said the radio presenter who the Rhythmix girls sat across from. "You're doing a radio tour and promoting your song, Reggaeton Lento, everywhere. I just heard you've signed on to do the ¡Viva Cozumel! festival in Mexico next month. You're planning to be everywhere."
"Yass!" the girls chimed in unison. Then Shana said, "We really plan to come in bigger and better than ever for this era. We're so excited that it's finally here and we wanna bring our music to everyone."
"That's so exciting," said the presenter. "So, listen, before we get to the song. I really wanna talk about something that's been on everyone's minds. The listeners wanna know... Zoe. You've had a crazy week. Two weeks really. The first week, you girls were at the Grammys, and security footage leaked of you banging up your boyfriend, Sid Nelson, pretty badly."
"Ex-boyfriend," Zoe interjected.
"Yes, of course," the presenter said, a soft chuckle coming out. "And he's a lot older, isn't he?"
Zoe nodded, sure Dani would kill them if they dived into this subject like this.
But the presenter went on, "So, a week ago you girls attended a gala in Ohio and at the end of the night everyone's phones were hacked. Massive leaks came out, are still coming out, since then and one of them was your group texts, Rhythmix chat. In which you claimed that you had seen Sid sexually assaulting rock singer Dean Monroe."
"Yes," Zoe said. The other girls gave her looks, shaking their heads.
Shana began to speak, attempting to switch the topic, but the presenter continued, "So Sid is in Europe right now. And he was asked about it while in Moscow and he said that none of your claims were true. He thinks you probably walked and saw them talking and were already enraged about the possibility of him cheating on you so you flipped out. But they just had a friendly conversation. What do you have to say to that?"
"Absolutely untrue," Zoe took the bait, while Leila buried her face in her hands, Shana sighed, and Kayli watched attentively. "I never thought he was cheating on me, though now I don't doubt he could've been. We were having a great time and then he disappeared and I went backstage and saw him in a green room, forcing himself on top of Dean. And Dean was trying to push him off. And I'm not making anything up. I know what I saw. Kayli and Gus were there and saw it too."
Kayli's eyes widened as the presenter turned to her and said, "Kayli you were there? And Gus, that'd be Gus Bukhari?"
"Yes," Kayli answered.
"Let's hope this situation gets worked out soon," said the presenter, before proceeding to move on to the music.
***
"I can't believe all the attention went to the stupid leaks," Shana complained as the girls rode a van onto their next destination. "And we have a full day of press so I can imagine now the rest of the day will consist of reporters dissecting what was just said in there."
"I'm sorry," Zoe said, "but I had to defend myself. I know we were supposed to let Dean do all of this but not if Sid is getting away with spreading lies. The longer we let him control the narrative, the harder it'll be to take him down."
"Maybe you could get Dan to say something," said Leila.
"Dan?" Zoe asked. "Why him?"
"Well, because they were together on Spider-Man," said Leila. "So he knows him. And he can say he believes your word over his."
"That won't ever work," Zoe shook her head. "I need you to keep backing me up. And call Gus back. Tell him he needs to back me up. He was there. And apparently, it takes a man to speak up about something for people to believe it happened."
"I'm not sure he'll want anything to do with us," Kayli shook her head.
"Then convince him," Zoe shrugged. "I don't know how but... You need to get him on board. Because this thing with Sid could destroy me, could destroy Dean, could destroy our group... And it can't keep going on like this."
***
As Sam finished getting out of the shower, Quinn stood on the bed, already in a bath robe. "You took forever, babe," she said, rushing to the the bathroom. "Babies need diaper changes again. Can you do that?"
"Uh, yeah..." said Sam, watching her door close before he could even finish responding. "Sure."
As he walked into the nursery, where youngest two were waiting for him in their cribs, he could definitely smell the poop.
"Oh come on," he muttered to himself. "I just showered. She couldn't do it..?"
Groaning, he sniffed around the cribs until discovering that it was Lyn, not Seth, who needed a change. So she pulled her from her crib and towards the changing table.
Just as he was finishing up and setting her back down on the crib, with Seth vying for his attention from the one adjacent, the doorbell rang downstairs.
"Damn it," he muttered. "Can't I get a single break?"
He picked Seth from his crib and took him with him downstairs, opening the door and finding Tyler there.
"Dude," he said apologetically. "It's really great to see you and all but things are super hectic right here. We got home really late last night because of the rehearsal dinner turning into a bachelor party and we overslept and now our whole day has been shifted and you know how Quinn likes to be on schedule so... Anyway, hi. What's up?"
"Wow," said Tyler. "Uh... I can leave...?"
"No, you're already here," said Sam, shaking his head and stepping side. "Come on in. Please. And... can you hold my baby? My towel is falling."
"Oh, sure," said Tyler, awkwardly taking Seth from him. "Hi, Lyn..."
"That's Seth," said Sam, leading him towards the living room and adjusting the towel on his waist. The three kids there were watching TV and eating Cheerios out of a bowl. "Uh, guys," Sam told them. "I thought we were clear that you had to stop eating so you don't get your outfits dirty. Go on. Wash your hands before you get yourselves stickier."
Nate immediately took his hand out of the Cheerio bowl and headed for the bathroom, with Gaby following. But Izzy ignored Sam and turned her attention to the TV again.
"Izzy," he sighed. "Come on. We gotta get to your momma's wedding looking fresh."
Izzy made a face at him and let out a very heavy sigh before following orders. Once the kids were all gone, Sam sat down and opened his arms up for Seth. Tyler laughed, giving the baby back to him and saying, "So many kids."
"Tell me about it," Sam groaned. "And I love every one of them but... Jeez. Anyway, you came here to talk about something else, I'm assuming."
"Oh," Tyler nodded. "Yeah. Absolutely. Um, so yeah." He sat down on the recliner, facing Sam, and said, "I don't know where to start. There's just... There's something that's been bugging me a few days... Really, a few years, but I pushed it aside And it resurfaced last week and I just feel like I have to open up about it or it's gonna eat up at me. Morgan was the only person I told and then she, uh... She's gone so it doesn't feel like I have anyone to, uh... Yeah."
Sam frowned, concerned growing on his face. He sat up, leaning forward a bit with Seth cradled in his arms. "Okay, man, sounds serious," he said. "What's going on?"
"Well," Tyler began. "You remember that girlfriend that I always talked about? In Chicago?"
Sam couldn't help laughing. "Yeah," he said. "You dated her for about a year but you never told us anything about her. She was in some mysterious girl group and we never got to meet her. We all assumed she was made up." Tyler stared at him so he gasped, "She was, wasn't she? I knew it."
"Not exactly," Tyler said. "It's... Okay, this can't ever get out. You can't tell the other guys and you can't tell Quinn. No one. Okay?"
"Okay..." Sam said, a little scared.
"The reason I never specified on anything about this woman," said Tyler, "is that, while this was very real, um... She wasn't really a woman."
Sam stared at him and then said, "Dude... Trans women are still women. And I know it was 2020 but we wouldn't have judged you for dating a trans woman. There wouldn't have been any issue. You know that, right?"
Tyler rolled his eyes, "Dude, I know that, but that's not what I'm talking about. I don't mean she wasn't born a girl. I mean... She wasn't ever a girl. Like, I... She was a guy. I don't know how else to say this."
"Oh!" Sam exclaimed. Then his jaw dropped just a moment and he recovered, saying, "Oh... Okay. Holy crap. Okay, I do get it. Okay, but... Wow. Holy crap. That's... Actually it makes a lot of sense. But... I mean, you've never... I guess you have but... Since when did..? Why didn't you..? Hold on, let me... I don't wanna say the wrong thing here."
Tyler let out a heavy breath.
"No, no, no," Sam told him quickly. "I'm not, like... Nothing's changed. I mean, something's changed, but not in how... Agh, how do people ever know what to say? I just have questions, I guess. If that's alright." Tyler nodded. "Okay, I just... I'm wondering why you didn't tell us."
Tyler gave him a look and raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he said. "We were in a rock band. Biggest in the world. And I know it was 2020. It was okay to date a guy. But it still wasn't that okay. You know?"
"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Men were all trash."
"Not what I meant," Tyler laughed.
Sam laughed along with him and Tyler seemed a little more at ease. "Anyway," Tyler continued. "I just... During the leaks from our phones some old bank statements from my emails were posted and, uh... I used to make payments to him all the time. I had that set up because... Well, I used to pay his mom's hospital bills. She had been sick since before he and I met and then we did and we became friends and then it evolved and I... I started doing that for them. And then we broke up and I kept paying the ills. And one day he told me to just stop. And I did. And later I found out it was because his mom had died and he didn't wanna just keep taking money from me. And I never went back there and like... Do or say anything... You know? And I always felt really guilty about it. He sent me a letter, actually. When Morgan... And I... I didn't respond or anything so I've felt even worse now and..."
"Yeah," Sam nodded. "I get it. So what do you wanna do now? Go see him and give your condolences?"
"I don't know," Tyler shrugged. "Do you think I should? I mean, that's why I'm telling you about him. So I could get some advice on what to do now. Because I feel like too much time has passed and then the letter gave me an opportunity but I didn't take it and now... Should I go? Or should I let it pass and move on or..?"
"I don't know," Sam sighed. "Sometimes closure is good... But maybe he did have closure already and that's what the letter was for him and you going could open up old wounds and... I don't know."
"That's what I was thinking, too," Tyler said, shaking his head. "I didn't have to even think about this relationship when I had Morgan. Or about anyone else I was ever with. And now with the leaks and everything, it's all I ever think about."
Sam nodded, watching him attentively. "So... You don't have to answer or anything but... Are you like... bisexual? Or..?"
"I considered it more like..." Tyler said, weighing his words. "Experimentation..?"
Sam couldn't help laughing again. "So you experimented with the same person for a whole year," he said.
Tyler chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay," he said. "Yeah. Maybe I should've considered labels but I... That just kind of freaked me out. It was like... fine if I didn't label it. I guess. And then after, I got with Morgan so I didn't ever have to think about what to call myself. Maybe I hoped that it was a phase. But I have to admit that... It's not the only time I've ever, like, felt things... for another dude."
"Right, right, right," said Sam.
"In fact," Tyler went on, staring at his hands, "I think that I've been, uh... I don't even know how to describe it but..."
He trailed off and Sam said, "Right, right, right... Go ahead. Right..."
Tyler glanced up at him, "You're so uncomfortable, aren't you?"
Sam shook his head. "No," he assured him. "I'm really not. It's just that... I don't know what to say. I don't wanna say the wrong thing and I just kinda... wanna hear you out, you know?"
Tyler smiled, nodding. "Thank you... And you don't have to say anything about it. Ever. I just wanted to get this out to someone. To talk it out with another human being and not just back and forth in my head. And you're the person I trusted most with it so... I can trust you, right?"
"Of course," Sam nodded. "Your secret is safe with me for as long as you want it to stay a secret."
***
"Gus?" Kayli paced her hotel room in Los Angeles, glancing out the window at the surrounding view of rooftops, speaking to Gus's voicemail. "Um, I don't know if you'll even get this since I'm not sure this is even your new number. I got it from your manager but I fully considered the possibility that you had him give me the wrong one. But I wanted to ask you a favor. Zoe just said in an interview how we were both at the Grammys with her when she saw Sid and Dean and... She needs us to speak out on it and say she was telling the truth. Call me back when you get this. It needs to happen soon. Bye."
She clicked off the phone and hoped the voicemail would be enough for Gus to come through.
***
"Lyric?" said Carly, stepping out to the lobby of her building to find Lyric waiting there. "Hey. What are you doing here?"
"Hey," said Lyric, glancing around. "You know, it doesn't surprise me that you're living in the same building Sam Evans used to live in. Other than the fact that Damian lives here, too."
"Oh, he doesn't," Carly shook her head. "His is right down the street."
"Oh," Lyric responded. "Cool then. Um, are you heading out? Am I keeping you? You look great, by the way."
"Yeah, to Julie's wedding," said Carly, doing a small turn in place. "I look bomb, huh? But I still got my time and I love being fashionably late. What's up? Aren't you going?"
"Nope," Lyric said, forcing a laugh. "Wasn't actually invited to that. Apparently a lot of people weren't. Um, but that's okay. Anyway, I just came to personally thank you for being on this remix with me. I just found out earlier that it hit top 5 on iTunes, which no other song of mine has ever done. So... I really appreciate it and how much attention the song is getting. I'm no stranger to how this works and I know it's heavily your impact so... Thank you."
"That's so sweet," said Carly. "But you don't even gotta worry about thanking me. I needed it, too. I had to put out a diss track since Damie's relationship with me and with Amity was outed on those texts of his."
"Diss track?" said Lyric.
"Yeah," said Carly, laughing. "That's who my verse was all about. 'Cause, like, everyone was waiting for me to respond, but he and any other exes don't deserve a full track right now so I needed to sneak diss on a feature. The song itself is a diss at an ex so..."
Lyric crossed her arms, sighing. "But my leaked conversations made it pretty clear I didn't want the song to be about any specific ex or make the song about a feud. Which is what Julie was pushing me to do anyway by convincing Quinn to make me do a song she wrote and have people think it was about John. Ugh."
"Well, now it's about a feud," Carly shrugged. "Be thankful, though. The moment we leak to the press that I'm referring to Damian and Amity, the song's gonna rise up the charts like crazy. Oh, and since we're labelmates... I only charged five thousand for the verse. So you're welcome twice."
Carly smiled, waving goodbye and heading towards the exit. Lyric stood there for a moment, shaking her head, though more at herself than at Carly. She'd been so desperate to make her song a hit that she'd just walked into the middle of what was going to be a rap feud, and taken five thousand dollars out of her budget in the process.
***
Mercedes arrived at Julie's wedding to find a sea of purple sitting in the front pews, along with people in different rows behind them. "What..." she said to herself, glancing up at Chad and then down at her own emerald dress.
The ceremony was starting soon and they were ushered to their seats, in one of the middle pews. As they sat down, scooting into the middle end of their row, Luke hurried down the aisle to take his place up ahead with the groom. Mercedes reached out to stop him as he passed her by.
"Hey, wait," she said. "What's going on? Were we supposed to be wearing purple? I didn't get the memo."
"Oh don't worry about it," Luke shrugged, adjusting the purple bowtie of his purple outfit. "Purple was just the official color for the people important to the ceremony."
Mercedes glared at him as he walked on, resenting his implication that she wasn't important, though perhaps to Julie's party she really wasn't. Still, she was glad to have been invited. Looking around she didn't see many of the usual people. There was Sam and Quinn, of course, holding the fort at the front with the rest of Julie's family and all the kids. And Sebastian was there, though in blue and not purple. Isaac and Rylan were there. Peyton, Carly, Charlie, Riley, and even Mandy. But that was really it.
Either Julie's guest list was really exclusive or not a lot of people had bothered to show up.
***
"Hashtag We Stand By You Zoe is trending," said Dani while sitting with the Rhythmix girls in preparation for their next interview. The last few hours had been nerve-wrecking for them as they waited for a response from Gus, but now their time was up and he had yet to reach out.
"Fan support isn't enough," Zoe sighed. "I checked Twitter. I already saw how many more people think I'm lying than the ones who believe me. Let's just go do this next interview and if they bring it up we'll say we're not here to talk about that or whatever."
She began to stand but the door to their green room opened and a production assistant let Gus inside.
"You came," said Kayli, standing up.
"I did," Gus nodded. "I was in the city already so... Can we talk? Privately?"
Kayli turned to Zoe, who nodded, but Shana was shaking her head behind her. "Yes," Kayli answered him. "Let's step outside."
Out in the hallway, Kayli shut the door and Gus quietly and calmly said, "So I listened to the interview you were talking about. With Zoe telling everyone I was there. And I do remember what I saw. So I'll talk about it. As soon as you want me to."
"You can come on this interview with us," Kayli nodded. "We'll tell everyone together."
"But I have one condition," said Gus.
Kayli looked up at him, a frown on her face. What was it going to take to give Zoe her freedom from all this controversy?
***
"Everyone's here," said Albany, prepping Julie inside the house. "They're all out back waiting. And it's really just you and your dad that need to walk out there, and uh... Yeah, then you'll be ready."
Julie turned to Albany and said, "You really don't want me to do this, do you? I've gotten that vibe all day. All week."
"It's your choice," said Albany. "It's just scary... I don't trust him but I trust you and your judgement. And we're here now so I'm assuming we're going through with it and... I just want you to be truly happy."
"Yeah," Julie nodded. "Okay. Get my dad over here. I'm ready."
***
There were no photographers, no press, no people Julie hadn't wanted at the party. It was small, intimate, and romantic. In her own home. With her most important family members present, minus her grandmother, and all of Shawn's closest family had made it, as well.
As Julie walked, her arm linked to her father's, her nerves were getting the best of her. She looked incredible. The yard looked beautiful, it was warmer than it had been in weeks, and her guests were all watching her with great admiration, striding down the aisle.
She reached the front and her father gave her a warm hug, smiling as he stepped back, behind Albany. Shawn took her hands, squeezing them before letting go to pull back her veil. Then he turned his attention to the front and she did the same.
As the officiant read out his short sermon and they recited their vows, Julie took a slight glance back, at Sebastian. He was in the second row, behind Sam and Quinn, and he gave her a slight nod and smile. Like silent reassuring she had subconsciously asked for from an unlikely source.
Julie turned back to the front, anxious. It was almost time.
"Shawn," said the officiant. "Do you take Juliet to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and respect her, to cherish her, for the rest of your life?"
"I do," Shawn nodded, turning to smile at her.
She smiled back, biting her bottom lip as she waited for the next part.
"Juliet," the officiant continued. "Do you take Shawn to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and respect him, to cherish him, for the rest of your life?"
Julie hesitated, turning to Shawn again, and looking back at her dad and Albany. She could tell a part of them wanted her to run.
So she turned to Shawn and said, "No."
There were audible gasps all around the yard.
She repeated it, "No. I don't want to marry this man."
Shawn watched her in complete shock.
She continued, "I would never marry this man."
"What are you talking about?" said Shawn. "Baby, you're talking crazy."
Julie let out a short, brief laugh. Behind her, Albany grinned and her father silently celebrated. "I'm not," said Julie. "I'm not marrying you, Shawn."
"But," he began. "I—I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's what you did to me," Julie shrugged. "You left me just before we planned to get married, ten years ago, and then you went and married some other woman right after. Now I'm the one leaving you and I'm going to the man I really love. I never loved you and I never will. So enjoy the humiliation and enjoy getting dumped at the altar."
She lifted the bottom of her dress and ran, ran as fast she could. People stood up like a wave, watching her go past them and leaving the house. Shawn was crushed, her loved ones were happy for her in the end, and she got to go to Alex and finally be with him without any complications.
But none of that happened, of course. At least, not outside her head.
"I do," she said, forcing herself to go through with everything.
She turned to Shawn and saw his lips turn up to a smile, pulling her in before the You may now kiss the bride was even finished.
***
["I Feel It Coming" by Travis Hilton. Original artist: The Weeknd.]
Travis: Yeah, uh. Tell me what you really like. Baby, I can take my time. We don't ever have to fight. Just take it step-by-step.
Julie and Shawn swayed together in the dance floor, along with a bunch of their guests who were now going up to the dance floor. The wedding tent truly was beautiful and the reception seemed to be even more exciting than the ceremony had been for the guests.
Travis: I can see it in your eyes. 'Cause they never tell me lies. I can feel that body shake. And the heat between your legs.
Announcing a guest performers such as Travis had done its job, and Travis opening up the party with his brand new song got everyone on the floor.
Travis: You've been scared of love and what it did to you. You don't have to run, I know what you've been through. Just a simple touch and it can set you free. We don't have to rush when you're alone with me.
While he sang the infectious chorus, Damian and Tyler walked in. They'd missed the ceremony but there was no way they were missing the reception, and now they were ready to party, according to Damian.
Travis: I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe.
As Damian hit the dance floor, catching up to Mercedes and Chad, Tyler walked over to Sam's table. It wasn't actually his table, but the kid table, where he was currently the only adult caring for them. He took a seat on an empty chair and Sam smiled, looking up at him for just a moment and then turning back to Lyn, Izzy, whose hair she was toying with as he looked out at all the adults who actually got to have fun.
Travis: You are not the single type. So baby, this the perfect time. I'm just tryna get you high. And faded off this touch.
"So I thought about it," said Tyler, "and I think I may, uh... Start telling other people."
"Really?" Sam said, smiling. "That's great, man."
"Little by little, though," Tyler assured him. "I need to make sure it's just the people I can trust."
Travis: You don't need a lonely night. So baby, I can make it right. You just got to let me try. To give you what you want.
"Of course," Sam nodded. "So who do you think you'll tell next?"
Tyler thought about it for a second and looked out to the party. "Probably John," he said. "And uh, hopefully that goes really well. And then I think I'll tell Mandy, maybe. And work up the courage to tell..."
Travis: You've been scared of love and what it did to you. You don't have to run, I know what you've been through. Just a simple touch and it can set you free. We don't have to rush when you're alone with me.
He nodded towards the stage, where Travis was putting on a show. Sam glanced up there and then turned to Tyler, slightly confused. "Why would you need courage for that one?" said Sam. "Seems like that'd be the easier one considering he's also... You know."
Travis: I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe.
"I don't know," Tyler shrugged, looking away from the stage. "I think that actually weirdly makes it more intimidating for me or something. But... I don't know."
Travis: I know what you feel right now. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe.
He turned back to the stage, watching Travis sing for a few more seconds until Travis noticed him back there with Sam. He gave a nod Tyler's way, which Tyler responded with a quick wave. Sam caught the exchange and looked down at Izzy's head, smiling to himself and then shaking his head.
Travis: I know what you say right now, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, I feel it coming, babe.
"Okay," he told Tyler. "Well, good luck. "And let me know if you need anything from me."
Travis: I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, babe. I feel it coming, babe.
***
As yet another song played at the wedding, Damian took Mandy onto the dance floor, pulling her from her seat. "What are you doing?" he asked, taking her phone away and leaving it on the table. "Checking in on John for the millionth time?"
"I don't check up on him like that," Mandy rolled her eyes, following Damian to the dance floor. "But ever since the gala he just sort of took off and I'm a little worried about him. Did you know he's been trying to stay sober?"
"Sort of," Damian said. "But John's a grown man. He can take care of yourself and it's not like you're his girl. You don't have to be on him like that all the time. Right? Just relax. You're at a party so enjoy it."
"Right," said Mandy, putting her arms around him as he started swaying her.
"So how come you didn't interrupt the wedding or something?" Damian laughed. "Get you a little payback?"
Mandy rolled her eyes once again. "Stop!" she snickered. "That would've been awful. Julie and I are actually kinda close friends now so... I'm happy she's happy now."
"Diplomatic as always," he told her, giving her a quick spin. "I could learn something from you. I'm struggling to keep it together while everyone drags my name through the mud. First there was the leaks with the Tracy relationship being a stunt and the Carly relationship existing and how I blew her off when she got clingy. Then there were the sexts with Amity. And now on top of all of that Carly sneak dissed us both on Lyric's song or something like that. It's so much drama and I—"
Mandy stopped listening, pulling away from him and walking off. He watched her go, confused. When she stopped in front of the bride and pulled her aside, Damian sighed and left the dance floor, ditched just like that.
***
Having spent the whole day away from the world, Alex and Tabitha were finally forced out to the public when they went to the airport, ready to make Alex's trip to Nashville for his next show.
They had just walked in, making their way to security, when the paparazzi spotted them and proceeded to hound them.
"Alex!" they shouted over each other. Alex kept walking, with Tabitha struggling to keep up with his pace and his single bodyguard doing his best to keep everyone away from him.
"Alex," said a reporter who was skipping sideways to get him on camera. "How are you? How are you feeling about Julie's wedding?"
Alex ignored him.
"Your ex-wife got married a few hours ago," he continued. "Did you see the wedding pictures yet?"
Tabitha put a shoulder around Alex and helped him move faster, shielding his face from the paparazzi until airport security could go get rid of them.
When they were gone, Alex and Tabitha fell into the baggage check line and Tabitha said, "So... She went through with it. Looks like. Um, well, it's okay. I mean, you knew there was a chance of this. And at least now you know and you know not to trust her ever again. Right?"
Alex didn't answer. She knew she wasn't going to get a response out of him so she didn't make any more attempts, looking forward to getting him in their next destination so he could distract himself with his job.
She grabbed her phone just before setting it on the table and typed a quick text in the direction of Kara and Peyton. Then she quietly put her phone down and stepped into line behind Alex.
***
Tired of waiting around for Mandy, Damian walked over to the children table, where Sam, Tyler and Travis were now hanging out with all the kids.
He interrupted their conversation, "Hey, has Mandy been acting weird with all of you lately?"
"Hi to you, too," said Sam.
"Yeah, thanks," Damian said, distracted while watching Mandy and Julie talk secretively across the tent.
"No, she hasn't been acting weird," said Tyler.
"That's weird," said Damian, his eyes on Mandy. "She has with me. I was just talking to her about all the Carly-Amity-Tracy drama I'm facing and then she just, like, walked away in the middle of my sentence. And it's not just that. She's been blowing me off a lot lately. She'll only hang with me when John's gonna be around. And then X said they had a thing going on but I asked John and he denied it. And I don't think she'd like him but... what if she does? Since he's been out of town all she's been doing is staying in and apparently checking up on him. Even at the gala she was with him most of the night. I just wanna know what's going on."
"So what are you actually concerned about?" asked Tyler. "Her acting weird or her and John?"
Damian turned to him. "What do you mean?"
Travis rolled his eyes and said, "Damian, you clearly like her. You're grown adults. Go tell her."
"What?" Damian laughed.
"You heard me," Travis insisted. "Mandy likes you, too. Has for a while. She told me."
"She did?" said Damian, his brow raised now.
He turned back to Mandy. Julie looked over at their table and then looked away quickly.
"Yup," Travis said. "Trust me."
"Okay, thanks, I guess I'll go talk to her," said Damian, making his way over to Mandy.
"Did she really tell you she likes him?" Sam asked.
"No," Travis laughed. "But I didn't wanna keep hearing Damian go on about it so... we're about to find out how she feels."
Sam turned to watch Damian approach Mandy, worried about the possibility of her getting caught up with a guy who lived like he did.
***
"And it's like, what am I even supposed to do at this point?" asked Mandy. "It's reached a high annoyance level for me. I'm sorry for even bothering you with this on your wedding day."
Julie was about to respond when they were interrupted by Damian. "Hey, can we talk?" he said, putting a hand on Damian's arm.
"Yeah, I was just about to go make the rounds again," nodded Julie despite Mandy trying to silently communicate for her not to go.
"Thanks," Damian told her. "Congrats on the wedding again. Sorry I didn't make it on time for the ceremony."
"No problem," said Julie, smiling as she took off.
Damian turned to Mandy, who said, "Hey, sorry for walking off on you like that earlier. That was really rude. Just had to talk to Julie about something."
"Was it maybe your feelings for me?" Damian asked.
"What?" Mandy said, surprised.
"Look, if I'd known all along," he took a step towards her. "I'd..."
"Wait..." Mandy said, shaking her head. "Really... What?"
"I was taken by surprise," said Damian. "Because I thought you and John had a thing and even Xavier said so and then..."
"Me and John...?" Mandy repeated. "What?"
"Are you a thing?" Damian's brow furrowed, hoping he hadn't gotten this whole thing wrong.
"No!" Mandy exclaimed. "No, John and I are just... I mean... No, just no. I... Look, I did feel some type of way for you. I'll admit that. But I don't u... I mean... No. I... Yes, but it all just... It's so complicated because when I realized I might feel you were more than a friend to me, you started your thing with Amity and..."
"And I would've never done all that with her had I known how you felt," Damian said. "That was just for fun and hanging out. I... I'm not just saying that now because it ended. I've always thought you were great and I swear I've considered asking you out before a thousand times. Actually, the first time you followed me on Instagram, I was this close to DMing you like a douchebag but I held back cause we didn't know each other. And I followed you back and we became friends and I thought about asking you out a million times since then, but then I always thought you were, like, in love with John or something so I didn't bother even trying."
"Really...?" said Mandy, looking serious while he was smiling at her.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I swear. But since you say there's nothing with John then... I don't know. How would you feel about giving us a try? I like you, you like me. It's simple, right?"
"I don't know..." she shook her head.
"Mandy," he took one of her hands, "you're one of my best friends and I think you're an amazing woman. And that maybe, if we give this a real shot, we could be the best thing to ever happen to each other. What do we have to lose?"
Mandy looked down at their hands, then stared up at him, actually considering it. "For tonight," she said. "Why don't we just dance and hang out?"
Damian nodded, "Yeah. Of course. Let's just dance."
***
"Model Gus Bukhari and girlfriend Kayli Markis claim they saw Sid Nelson assault Dean Monroe," Shana read out, putting her phone down. The girls, minus Kayli, were gathered in their hotel suite, trying to relax after the day they'd had, but online the storm was getting bigger.
"Reactions?" asked Leila.
"Some people are just focusing on Gus and Kayli being together still," Shana rolled her eyes. "I can't believe she's back with that racist, homophobic, cheating asshole."
Zoe sighed, knowing exactly why Kayli had taken him back. It must've been the only reason to get him to do the interview.
"And about Zoe and Sid?" asked Leila.
"Um, mixed reactions on that as well," said Shana. "A lot of people think this is proof Sid is the devil and deserves to rot in hell like one. And then a bunch are also saying that Gus being homophobic and Kayli's boyfriend is a big reason for him to back up this thing about Sid being a gay man who assaults younger queer guys. Because that's a big awful stereotype we're fighting against so... Yeah, Gus isn't doing you or Kayli many favors. It's just... messy. Who knows how this will end up developing?"
"Ugh!" Zoe groaned, burying her face. "I wanna die!"
"Don't say that," Leila sighed. "Look, this is bad right now. But you got the truth out there. And now, if Dean chooses to speak out, your word will be so much heavier up against Sid's so... Let's hope seeing all this encourages him to tell his side of the story."
Zoe turned to Leila and nodded, feeling slightly better by that thought. But at this point it seemed Dean had no intention of ever talking about the truth.
***
"So, she really went through with this wedding," said Bree, sitting on Kitty's couch with wine in hand while the two looked through Instagram at pictures their friends had shared from the wedding so far.
"I always knew she would," Kitty shrugged. "Now that we've got the 2-4 rule all figured out, the wedding was set in stone."
"Mhmm," Bree responded, taking a gulp of her wine.
Neither of them had been invited and neither of them had discussed the fact that they weren't invited. Riley had gone to the wedding, somehow, so she was their only source of information about it for the last few weeks. And now it was over and it had to sink in that their ex-best friend had gotten married without them involved in any way.
So they sat in silence and continued watching the rest of it happen through pictures.
***
["Sweet Dreams" by Mercedes Jones, from her 2020 fourth studio album. Original artist: Beyonce.]
Mercedes: Turn the lights on!
As part of her wedding gift to Shawn and Julie, Mercedes presented the party with a performance of her second number one hit, which Julie had written for her and she'd found out was written about her first relationship with Shawn.
Mercedes: Every night I rush to my bed. With hopes that maybe I'll get a chance to see you when I close my eyes. I'm going outta my head. Lost in a fairytale. Can you hold my hands and be my guide?
Shawn danced with members of his family but Julie declined, taking this moment to sneak away from the party and go inside the house. In all the commotion of the wedding, she hadn't gotten a single chance to call Alex.
Mercedes: Clouds filled with stars cover your skies... And I hope it rains. You're the perfect lullaby... What kind of dream is this?
Once inside, she began to dial him to explain herself and everything that had happened over the last few days to change her mind about their plans, but she was interrupted by Sebastian. She hung up and put her phone back into the drawer of an end table, where she'd gotten it from.
Mercedes: You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I don't wanna wake up from you. Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Somebody pinch me, your love's too good to be true.
"Having a good time?" Sebastian asked.
"Yeah," Julie said. "Just came in here to, uh... To call my grandmother. She couldn't make it so..."
"Right," Sebastian nodded. "Well, I'm actually headed home. It was a beautiful wedding. You looked amazing. And I really enjoyed myself."
Mercedes: My guilty pleasure, I ain't going nowhere. Baby, long as you're here. I'll be floating on air. You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I don't wanna wake up from you.
"That's good," Julie said, leaning back on the end table. The music from the tent was thumping everywhere.
"I guess this is goodbye then," Sebastian nodded. "I'm heading out of the city to join John on the road. Oh, and, I'm quitting."
"What?" Julie said as he started walking away. "Quitting? Why?" She followed him a few steps before he turned around.
Mercedes: I mention you when I say my prayers. I wrap you around all of my thoughts. Boy, you're my temporary high. I wish that when I wake up you're there. To wrap your arms around me for real and tell me you'll stay by my side.
"Frankly, I've wanted to quit for a while," said Sebastian. "But now I've set myself up for more. I've got bigger and better things ahead. Oh and I almost forgot your wedding gift."
Mercedes: Clouds filled with stars cover the skies. And I hope it rains. You're the perfect lullaby. What kind of dream is this?
Julie watched as he walked around the couch and towards a plant, behind which he'd hidden a small gift bag. "I had to keep it separate from everything else," he said before handing it to her.
She looked inside and found a folder, along with a small card. "What's all this?" she asked.
Mercedes: You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I don't wanna wake up from you. Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Somebody pinch me, your love's too good to be true.
"It's a copy of all those documents I had you sign the other day," he explained. "And that card has the number to Eugene. Remember him? My lawyer friend who represented Alex in court. He's very good and I'm sure he can help you come out with minimal losses. Or... maybe not."
Mercedes: My guilty pleasure, I ain't going nowhere. Baby, long as you're here. I'll be floating on air. You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I don't wanna wake up from you.
"What are you talking about?" asked Julie, but Sebastian was already walking away, waving back at her without turning back. She put the card down on the coffee table and looked through the documents she had signed.
Mercedes: Tattoo your name across my heart. So it will remain. Not even death can make us part. What kind of dream is this?
"Prenuptial agreement," she read out loud. "This agreement is entered into on this February 23, 2028, by and between Shawn Lockwood and Juliet Vasquez... Fuck." She saw her signature about a dozen times, and Shawn's as well.
Mercedes: You can be a dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I don't wanna wake up from you. Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Somebody pinch me, your love's too good to be true.
She flipped through it quickly to see how much Sebastian had screwed her over but it was hard to focus on the words when her vision was blurred by the frustration rushing through her. She shoved it all into the bag again and put the bag under the end table, rushing outside and towards the tent.
Mercedes: My guilty pleasure, I ain't going nowhere. Baby, long as you're here. I'll be floating on air. You can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare. Either way I don't wanna wake up from you.
As she walked inside, Mercedes was ending her song to a thunder of applause from the guests.
Mercedes: Either way I don't wanna wake up from you...
Shawn was the loudest, merrily cheering on the performer with one hand slapping the other, spilling some of the champagne held by it, while glancing around the tent at his guests.
His gaze landed at the entrance, where Julie was standing in confusion. He smiled and raised his glass in her direction, giving her a wink. She'd been played.
----------------------------------------------------
[end of chapter]