Hello there, my amazing friends!
First off, it is extremely incredible to have 6k+ reads at the second to the last chapter! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! This is amazing, as always.
Thank you as well for waiting for this chapter! I went off schedule because I had so much stuff to do, and unfortunately, I'm doing it again for the last chapter. Here's our schedule:
Chapter 20 + Author's Note and Epilogue - July 13, 2020 (Monday midnight)
NEW SHOURTNEY BOOK (Author's Note and Prologue + Chapter 1) - July 13, 2020 (Monday midnight)
I want to make it as special as it can be, and this week really is extra busy for me. So sorry yet again for having to make you guys wait for a while! I hope you guys understand. *hearts*
Anyway, let's start, shall we? Shayne's POV and see ya!
-/-/-
I think I did a great job when I chose this ring for Courtney. The green gems always reminded me of her eyes, and the gold was not too close to her hair, but it sufficed. When she returned it to me, it just made me feel as if she was still with me, as if we'd still come home to the same place together.
I went home to my now lonely apartment. Since it was already four in the morning anyway, I decide to cook myself some breakfast, because I was the only one I could count on to do that. She had given me a recipe on how to make sure that the bacon stays amazing, and when I eat it in front of no one, it almost tastes as if she made it herself.
My bed is now spacey, which was great, but I didn't like spacey anymore. I now want to sleep in a bed where she was next to me, either on her phone or maybe reading some book I had recommended. I wanted to make sure a bit of her was still there, even a scent maybe, but we changed the bed covers yesterday just before she left.
Not a single trace of her in here. I sit down on the couch, rubbing my head to ease my headache which probably started when Ian, Rhett, and Link took us to Ian's office to talk about what had happened. Courtney was right that they were right, but it made me feel sad that she wasn't going to fight them a bit on it. But she decided against fighting them for me, and for us as individuals. So I kind of get it, but it stings. It's always the hard cold truth that stings. But I won't cry anymore. I think I've had enough tears out on the way back home.
When I place my feet up on the coffee table, I hit something. Sitting up straight, I find an empty picture frame with a pink sticky note on top of the glass: Don't forget to place a good picture on this one! -CM :)
Screw that, I start crying again. Ironic. I wasn't that much of a crier, because Courtney was the crybaby in the relationship (that never really began), but I guess it was time for me to completely cry about it, to take all the time to process it. But staring at her sticky note, I knew that I didn't have the time to think about it, because I already knew what to do.
From: Shayne Bottom
Hey, do you, by any chance, have a pack of Red Bull in your apartment?
From: Da Man Haas
Smells like trouble. Unfortunately no. But there's a CVS nearby your place. Maybe you can get some there.
From: Da Man Haas
Err, mind telling me what's the Red Bull for?
From: Shayne Bottom
I'll be in Vegas today. Haven't had much sleep, so...
From: Da Man Haas
It's January 1st, dude. Really? I mean, as an avid fan of Red Bull myself, I don't mind. But what are you gonna do in Vegas? On January 1st? At four in the morning?
From: Shayne Bottom
Wait and see.
So after taking a shower, changing my clothes, and running to the nearest pharmacy to get a pack of Red Bull, I eat just a bit more of breakfast and take the picture frame with me to my car.
Fun fact about myself as I drive through the freeways with only Terry Crews's voice on Waze waking me up: I don't actually know how to get to Vegas. It's obviously been almost a year since we went there, and I wasn't the one driving so I didn't recall much. But there's one thing that's racing through my mind right now, and that's getting our wedding pictures. The last bit of our relationship was maybe my trump card.
On the way there, I give Ian a call, but he doesn't answer. Probably asleep, but when I call again, he does, "Hello?"
"Hey," I greet him awkwardly.
"Oh, Shayne, what's up?" he asks, yawning. "It's eight in the morning. Have you had enough sleep to call me this early after New Year?"
"I haven't had sleep at all, thanks for asking," I reply. "Uh, so anyway, can I... meet you for brunch?"
"Wow, brunch sounds too fancy for us," he remarks, laughing. "Look, Shayne. I know you're still upset about the sanction."
"I am, very much so, correct, yes."
"You sound like you're kinda high right now, so everything alright?"
"I may or may not have driven to Vegas to do something stupid," I tell him as I pass by the Welcome sign. "So, uh, brunch? I think I'll be quick here and back at LA by 12."
"Woah, woah, woah, woah, you're in Vegas?!" he shouts. "Why?"
I sigh and answer, "I just feel like I didn't get to defend our relationship well last night, so... I'm getting some substantial evidence maybe? I dunno how the lawyers do it, even though Boze explained to me the concept of court when we did Smosh & Order."
"I don't know what you're gonna do in there, but fine and also don't drive home too energized, okay?" he replies. "We can have brunch at my place, I'll cook up some stuff."
"Awww, that's cute."
"Awww, you're high," he says. "Take care on your way back, and don't do anything stupid."
"I can't do myself, Ian."
When I park into our hotel's parking space, I take a deep breath. I don't even know where I'd get our pictures, and I don't even know if they exist at all. But if they kept records of who got married when and where, then maybe... Just maybe. I've always relied on the concept of maybe it's possible, maybe I can do it, maybe it'll be okay. But now, I know that maybe isn't an option. I have to get those pictures.
Upon arriving at the front desk, a nice lady greets me, probably around her 40s. "Good morning, sir, how may I help you today?" she asks me.
"Um, so... good morning by the way. Uh, people get married in here every day, right?" I reply, and she nods. "Do you guys happen to have, like, a record of those who get married here?"
"Well, yes, but we aren't allowed to show it to anyone," she answers.
"Oh, I don't need to see it," I explain. "Uh, so I got married to my best friend here, but I didn't really retrieve our wedding pictures. I was wondering if you could check out who the photographer was at our wedding so I could get the photos."
"We actually have the collection of photos left behind," she tells me, smiling. "Just give me your names and the date."
"Uh, Shayne Robert Topp and Courtney Miller. February 23, 2020."
"Oh, almost a year," she remarks as she pulls some drawers from the other side of concierge. "Let me see here... don't worry about paying though. Wedding photos are usually prepaid, so no problem for you!"
"Thank you so much," I answer. "I can't believe I only went here now."
"You must be from far away?"
"LA," I reply as she takes out an envelope labeled February 23, 2020. "Four-hour drive. I'm a little sleepless because, you know, New Year's."
"Oh, here in Vegas, it's a bit like New Year's every day," she says, sighing. "There's no decrease to the number of people to be honest... ooh, I think I've found it. Shayne with a Y?"
"Shayne with a Y," I reply, chuckling as she hands me a smaller envelope with our names on it. Upon opening it, I see our pictures. Yep, we really didn't look like we were wasted. "Thank you so much, I hope you have a great day. A great year, because it's New Year."
She laughs. "You too, and drive back to LA safely!"
When I get into my car and put the picture of us smiling at the camera as we flexed our rings into the picture frame, I take a good look at it. I think I have all the evidence I need.
---
"Wow, you cook some pretty great eggs."
"Honestly, that Tastemade series I did a while back helped me become a better cook."
"Power of grandmas, man."
"Indeed. So," Ian mumbles as he removes the napkin from his lap, "I know you wouldn't just come here to eat breakfast, unless you did because Courtney's the one who cooked all the time?"
"No, we had an alternating schedule, but she cooks better than I do," I remark.
"Ah, so you really did come here for something else," he says as he pours a glass of OJ for me. "I don't normally do brunch with anyone... well, I don't do brunch at all. I just kind of... eat? So this is new to me, and I wish we'd do it more."
"True, true," I reply. "But yeah, I did come for something else. Although if you do want me to have brunch with you anytime, I'm very much game for it."
"Sounds lovely," he tells me. "But let's get down to it, Shayne. What's your appeal on this morning's decision?"
I take a deep breath before sighing. I hadn't had much sleep, but I needed to set my mind straight. "So as you may know, I am very much in love with Courtney," I begin. "And you know how much trouble I've been in when it comes to love. I think I've gone through my entire life without really understanding how love actually works, but I actually understood it in the last ten months I've been with Courtney."
I put the picture frame on the table with the envelope of our other wedding pictures. Ian goes through them as I continue my big speech, "The past year has been crazy, and my life has changed drastically, but somehow even with all the problems I've faced, Courtney was there to lift me up anytime I felt down. Yeah, we had a ton of arguments. We had a ton of mishaps and accidents and problems, but they just went to show how much we loved each other. I don't know exactly who I'd be now if I never met her, and I don't know exactly who I'll be if I let her go forever."
Ian sighs and slides back the pictures to me. "I understand what you're trying to say, Shayne," he tells me. "But even though I love you two both as my friends, it was a company policy that you had broken. Rhett and Link told me that, if I saw the rule as a major threat to office professionalism, I should suspend you for at least a week. But I didn't, because I knew you could get this sorted easily. But now that you're telling me that you can't actually do it, or more accurately you don't want to do it, what do you want me to do?"
"I'll take any suspension I can get just so I can stay with Courtney for the rest of my life."
"That's why I'm not allowing you," he says, pointing at me. "Because you want to stay with Courtney, but Courtney wouldn't want that at all if you had to risk your job just for her."
He was right, of course. When I take the pictures back, Ian drinks a glass of water. He gets the pictures from me again and goes through them, muttering, "You know... I've never seen Courtney this happy. I mean, she's always happy, but look at her smile. It completely erased her eyes out of so much joy. And look at you in here, looking like you had just won the lottery..."
He returns the photos to me and sighs. "Okay. This is a tough decision for me, and I'm not really the type of person to change my mind easily. But I don't think I can forgive myself if I broke you two up, when for so many years you've been the perfect duo. The sexual tension every single day in the office, I swear...," he mutters under his breath. "But you really have to think about how you're going to be a good husband to her before you get divorced."
"What do you mean?" I ask, looking up at him in so much confusion.
"Get divorced, show me you deserve each other, and I'm allowing your relationship," he answers, standing up and patting my back. "Just prove it to me that you can do it, and I'll allow it. Get married if you can, even. But you have to prove to me that you wouldn't need to risk your job to be with someone you love. Balance and authenticity, Shayne, it's what made you two a favorite."
I embrace Ian and he embraces me back just as tightly. "Oh, my God," I tell him. "Ian, thank you so much. Thank you so much, I swear to God. I'm going to prove it to you, and you won't even be disappointed. I'll go so far beyond your expectations, that's a promise."
"And you two haven't even dated but you already wanna get married," he remarks, giving me an assuring smile. "Do your best, Shayne. If you really love each other, then... maybe... we can make exceptions to a rule... I'd have to tell Rhett and Link though for them to get on board with this. Or rather, you'd have to tell them what you plan on doing if you want them to be convinced, okay?"
"I won't let you down, I promise," I assure him, patting his back.
When I get into my car after waving goodbye at Ian for the amazing brunch (that he told me we should do again tomorrow, which I agree with because Ian cooks pretty damn well now), I give Atty. George a call, who immediately responds, "Hello there, Shayne!"
"Atty. George," I greet him back, "let's proceed with the plan."
"Oh, so you got permission from your boss then?" he asks before laughing loudly. "Very well then! I'll see you at my office in an hour."
"Looking forward to it."
When I arrive at Atty. George's office, I open my wallet to a picture of Courtney with her ring in one of the pockets. I look at her with all the love in the world. I'm gonna marry this girl. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with her.
She just doesn't know it yet.
-/-/-