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I convinced my mom to pick me up from school instead of leaving with Ryan. I wasn't ready to talk to him quite yet. My mom didn't ask any questions as to why I wasn't going with Ryan, and I was thankful for that.

She had told me that we were going to Anna's house so all the girls could get ready. Which was okay with me. As long as I didn't have to see Ryan or Aiden, I would be fine.

We drove into Anna's driveway and I sighed. "Do I have to do this?" I asked my mom.

"Yes, you do." She answered. "Now go on. I don't want you running behind."

I groaned and got out of the car with my dress in my hands. Why do we have to do the pictures now? Don't normal people do them right before the wedding, so everyone is already dressed up?

Whatever. This isn't my wedding so I can't go around telling people what I do and don't like about it.

I walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. It opened a few moments later, revealing Kelly. She smiled at me.

"Hey Riley. Long time no talk." She said as she opened the door wider for me.

I walked in and smiled in return. "I've been busy."

"So, the girls are getting ready here and the guys are going to get ready at Roberts house." She explained as I followed her into the living room. The other girls were already here. I also noticed three different girls sitting on one of the couches.

Anna saw me and grinned. "Now we have everyone here!" She exclaimed. "Okay, so three of you will get your make up done while the other two are getting their hair done then you'll switch. Understood?" We all nodded. "Okay, so Jenna, Halle, and Riley, you girls get your make up done first. Just follow Lynn and Sarah to the other room." She said, also referring to two of the other girls. She turned towards Holly and Kelly. "You two follow Gabby to get your hair done."

And we were off. It all went by in a blur. I actually started dozing off while my hair was being curled. We weren't allowed to look in a mirror until we were completely finished getting ready, which was kind of frustrating. I've never curled my hair before and I wanted to know what it looks like.

After slipping on our dresses, everyone was finished getting ready. That's when we could look in the mirror at ourselves.

"Riley," Kelly breathed. "You look amazing!"

I glanced at myself in the mirror and my eyes widened. "Holy crap..."

I looked like an entirely different person. I actually had make up on, but it wasn't caked on. My hair was in soft curls that fell past my shoulders. I actually looked like...a girl.

Jenna smiled at me. "You look great Riley."

"I'm so jealous of your hair!" Holly exclaimed.

I felt myself blushing from all the attention everyone was giving me. "Thanks." I mumbled as I looked down.

Anna walked in and she just looked stunning. Her dress was...different. It was a knee length white dress. I expected an actual dress.

"Before anyone freaks out," Anna started. "My real wedding dress is being saved for the wedding day. I don't want Robert to see it yet, so I've decided on wearing a replacement for right now."

That's smart.

"Now let's get going. The boys are already making their way to the park." She told us. We all shuffled out of the front door and got into Anna's Expedition.

We arrived at Apodaca Park, which was a huge park filled with big trees. The grass was green and some trees had small white flowers covering them. It was a nice park. Nicer than the one I live near.

Everyone got out of the vehicles and I noticed Lucas right away. He smiled at me and approached me. "Hey." He said.

"Hey yourself." I told him.

He looked down at my feet then his gaze met my eyes again. "You look great. I didn't recognize you at first."

I shrugged. "This is the only time I've actually dressed up."

"Well, I like this look on you." He grinned.

I saw Ryan talking to Jenna off to the side. I instantly remembered Nicole's words from earlier. She actually thought I was going after Ryan, when we were just friends. I told myself not to let her words get to me, but being called a pathetic loser and a waste of space wasn't exactly comforting.

At the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden standing near Kelly. She was talking to him with her hands and he was just standing there looking uninterested.

"Okay, let's go everyone! The photographer is here!" Anna exclaimed.

We all made our way to where the photographer was. I was walking along when someone grabbed my arm and held me back.

"What the-" I turned and saw Aiden standing next to me. "Oh. It's you."

"What do you mean it's me?" He asked. "I just wanted to ask you what the hell your problem is."

I shrugged and looked away from him. "I don't have a problem." I lied.

He scoffed. "Please. You can't just all of a sudden act like a bitch to me and say nothing is wrong."

He did not just call me... "Well, now I definitely have a problem. I don't appreciate the name calling." I snapped at him. I tried catching up with the rest of the group, but Aiden caught my arm again.

"Look, I really don't understand why you're giving me the cold shoulder." He said. "I have no idea why your pissed off."

"Are you pretending to be my friend?" I asked him suddenly.

"No?" It sounded more like a question than an answer. "Who said I was pretending?"

"Ryan and I were talking and-"

"Riley!" Someone called out behind me. "C'mon, the girls are taking the pictures now!"

Aiden looked at me. "Can we talk about this after you're finished?"

I just nodded and walked away from him.

***

Taking the pictures wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The couple pictures were a little awkward for me though. Lucas had held my waist a little tighter than I would have wanted.

I was talking with Kelly when Ryan approached us and started to talk to her about something. But she soon left, leaving us alone.

"Riley," Ryan said as he stood next to me. "Are you still mad at me?"

I glanced over at him. He had his lip sticking out like a puppy and his eyes grew wide. I smirked. "You look ridiculous like that."

"You didn't answer my question." He said.

I sighed. "I guess I forgive you."

He grinned and wrapped his arms around me. "I feel so much better now that we're cool."

"You might want to let go. We wouldn't want your girlfriend to get the wrong idea, would we?" I asked him.

"Nicole is just going to have to accept the fact that you are now my best friend." He said. He frowned then. "Why are you worried about her anyways? Did she say something?"

I looked at the ground. "It's okay Ryan-"

"She told you something, didn't she?" He asked. "Don't listen to anything she says Riley. When Nicole gets jealous, she says a lot of stupid stuff."

"I don't understand why she's jealous." I shook my head. "I've never done anything to her, so why am I all of a sudden a waste of space?"

Ryan frowned. "What?"

"It's nothing." I told him.

"She called you a waste of space?" He demanded from me. I didn't answer. "I can talk to her-"

I shook my head. "Just leave it alone. Don't make this situation worse than it actually is."

He sighed. "Fine."

"-You have no respect for anyone! All you care about is yourself Aiden, and frankly, I'm sick and tired of this attitude of yours!" We heard someone shouting.

Mine and Ryan's attention went to Robert who was currently yelling at Aiden. But Aiden was just standing there with a cigarette between his fingers and staring at his dad in front of him.

"I've had it up to here with this crap Aiden." Robert said. "I don't want you at the wedding if you're going to act like this. If I so much as hear of you being at the wedding I swear I will-"

"You'll what?" Aiden asked, challenging him. "I'm eighteen, dad. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And I don't even want to come to this fucking wedding anyways."

Him and Robert had a stare down before Aiden chuckled bitterly. He threw the cigarette onto the ground and stomped on it. He then started walking in our direction.

Aiden looked at me angrily. "You can't say I didn't try." I nodded and looked at the ground as he walked away from everyone.

Everyone just watched Aiden as he walked down the sidewalk away from everyone. Part of me wanted to go after him, but the other part of me told me to give him some space. He'll talk when he wants to talk.

Anna walked up to Robert and said something to him that I couldn't hear. Robert just sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Ryan whistled next to me. "Well, that was quite a scene."

I nodded in agreement. "It was." I looked to my left and noticed Robert making his way in my direction.

He offered me a small smile. "My son is just a ray of sunshine, isn't he?"

I didn't know what to say.

"It's Riley, am I correct?" He asked me and I nodded. "From what I've heard, I understand that you and Aiden have been talking these past few days."

Who cares about me and Aiden? And why is it a topic of conversation now?

"We have." I said slowly.

"Has he told you anything? I mean, has he talked to you at all about the wedding?" Robert asked me, frowning.

"He has." I told him. "I had convinced him to come here and to the wedding..." I trailed off. Aiden was obviously not welcome at the wedding anymore.

Robert sighed. "I see. Well, I'm glad he listens to someone around here."

He walked away to Anna and the rest of the bridal party. Ryan glanced at me and raised his eyebrows. I shrugged.

When Aiden wants to talk, he will.

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