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Today was the day.

Today was the day of the wedding and I was freaking out. I kept worrying about my dress being ruined, my hair looking like crap, and my makeup being done by a clown. I've never acted like this before and it scared me.

I'm turning into a girl.

I'm totally kidding. I'm already a girl. But I am freaking out a bit.

I was sitting in a chair at a local hair salon and I kept cringing every time the lady working on my hair got close to my ear with the curling iron. Holly was sitting in the chair next to mine and she wore a huge grin on her face. She was ready for today while I was not.

Anna was chatting with Jenna on the other side of the salon. Jenna was probably trying to calm her mom down. Anna's acting like a crazy person this morning. I think everyone just wants to get this wedding over with.

After our hair got done, we all went to the church where we would get our dresses then get our makeup done.

I had to admit that I was pretty nervous. What if I trip while walking down the aisle? I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I don't do well with situations where I have to stand in front of everyone. Even if I'm not speaking.

The lady working on me finished the last touches on my makeup. I sighed and stood up from my chair to put my dress on. I opened the bag that held my dress and pulled it out. I stepped into a small room and slipped it on.

When I stepped back out of the room, Anna had on her dress already and was walking around talking to people. I smiled when I saw her. She looked beautiful.

I sat down on one of the small couches nearby and slipped on the treacherous heels we had to wear. I felt someone sit next to me so I looked over and found Anna sitting there.

"Are you ready Riley?" She asked me with a bright smile.

I nodded. "Sure."

"You'll do great." She put her hand on my arm.

Let's hope she's right.

~Aiden's POV~

I paced in my room, rubbing my chin. Well, it wasn't exactly my room. I was staying in one of the guest bedrooms in Alex's house. And I kept thinking about this stupid wedding that was today.

I was still uninvited. But I didn't give a shit. I didn't want to go to that fucking wedding anyways. Nothing could make me go. Not Ryan, not Kelly, not my dad, and not even Riley.

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door. "Come in." I said as I sat on my bed.

Alex walked in and crossed his arms. "Why aren't you ready?"

"Ready for what?" I demanded.

"Ready for the wedding." He said. I glared at him and he busted up laughing. "I'm just kidding bro. I know you're not going."

I shook my head. "You're an ass Alex."

"I know." He smirked. "I thought you were thinking about going."

"I'm not fucking going Alex. Nothing is going to get me over there." I crossed my arms.

He leaned against the doorframe. "Not even that girl you were talking about yesterday?"

Of course he would bring her into this. "Not even Riley can make me go." I told him.

Alex grinned. "C'mon Aiden." He said to me. "Just admit that you might actually like this girl. You've been hanging out with her and constantly talking to her. Not to mention that little hand holding thing you told me about."

I do not like Riley. Sure she's fun to hang out with, but...I don't know. She would never go out with me anyways. Not that I had ever thought about going out with her.

It's just kinda nice talking to her about all this bad shit going on. She doesn't judge me and she doesn't tell me that I'm a screw up. And I forget everything that is going on when I'm with her. That's part of why I keep asking her to hang out. Once I'm with her, I don't think about anything else.

"You're whipped." Alex shook his head and chuckled. He walked out of my room and continued down the hall.

"Shut the fuck up Alex!" I yelled after him.

I leaned back on my bed and sighed. I was extremely bored right now and I couldn't even call Riley since she's in the wedding.

I bet she spent all day with the girls getting ready. I bet they covered her face in makeup, put a shitload of hairspray in her hair, and made her walk in dangerously high heels.

I shuttered at the fact that girls do all of this crap to look pretty.

Looking at the clock, I noticed that the wedding had started already. I frowned and closed my eyes. As soon as I did, an image of my mom entered my mind. She was smiling at me. She looked healthy. She looked like she did before she was diagnosed with cancer.

My eyes sprang open before I could get emotional. I can't believe my fucking dad is marrying another woman. If dad really loved mom, he wouldn't be marrying Anna right now.

I rubbed my face and tried to calm down. Will I ever speak to my dad after the wedding?

I stood up from my bed and walked to my closet. I threw on the nearest pair of jeans and t-shirt I could find. I grabbed my leather jacket off my bed and walked out of the room. I found Alex in the kitchen eating cereal.

"Going somewhere?" He asked with a mouth full of Frosted Flakes.

I grabbed the keys off the counter. "Yup." And with that I walked out of the house.

If Riley can't be here to make me forget about everything, I'm sure Jack Daniels could be of assistance.

~Riley's POV~

We all clapped as Robert dipped Anna and pecked her lips on the dance floor. Seeing them together was really heartwarming. You can tell that they really loved each other.

Here I am, sitting at a table watching more couples go out on the dance floor. Lucas came up to me and asked me to dance, but I told him my feet were hurting from the heels. So Kelly took my place.

My mind wandered as I glanced around the room. I wonder what Aiden was doing right now. I had a bad feeling in my stomach that he wasn't doing so good right now. But I couldn't leave right now. The reception only just started.

As evening turned to night, people were still on the dance floor, moving their bodies to the rhythm. Robert and Anna were sitting at a table by themselves, talking to one another. I was fine sitting by myself, just watching everyone else have a good time, like I always do.

I heard some shuffling next to me, and I glanced to the side. My eyes widened when I saw Aiden sitting in a chair next to me. I was about to smile at him until I saw the bottle of liquor in his hands. His eyes were half closed and he leaned against the table.

"Riley." He reached out and pinched my cheek. I frowned at him.

"You're drunk." I said, looking away from him. How could I have ever developed feelings for someone like Aiden? Sure he could be a little sweet at times, but he had no idea how to deal with things.

He nodded. "Fuck yeah I am." His words slurred. He took another drink from the bottle. "Where's my dad?" He asked me.

"He's over there." I nodded in Robert and Anna's direction. "Maybe you should go home before he sees you like this. It would be for the best Aiden."

Aiden scowled at me. "You mean before he sees that his own son is turning into a screw up?" He slurred again. "I don't give a fuck what he thinks anymore. I am never going to speak to him again after tonight anyways." He stood up abruptly, knocking over his chair. He turned to start walking, but he tripped on the chair and grabbed onto the table.

I quickly stood up and grabbed his arm. "Let's take you home Aiden." I told him softly.

He pulled his arm away from me. "Not yet." He continued to walk in the direction of Robert and Anna. I followed him to the table to make sure he didn't fall on his face.

Robert glanced at Aiden and his eyes widened like mine had. "Aiden..."

I stood by Aiden awkwardly and held onto his arm to prevent him from falling.

"Don't talk to me." Aiden growled. "I don't want to hear anything from you. I don't want to hear about how perfect your life is now that you're with her." He pointed at Anna. "I don't want to hear from you about how I'm fucking up my life."

Robert stood up and walked around the table. "Aiden, go back home and we'll discuss this later."

"I don't want to fucking talk about this later!" Aiden yelled in Robert's face. As he raised his voice, a few people took notice of his presence and frowned at the profanities he was using. "I'm getting my stuff from the house and I'm leaving." Aiden said. His speech improved a little bit, making the slurring less noticeable.

"No you aren't." Robert shook his head. "How are you going to take care of yourself Aiden? Look at you. You can't even stand on your own two feet without someone holding you up." He said, gesturing to me.

Don't bring me into this please.

"I will be fine on my own." Aiden snapped. "I've been on my own for a while now. Ever since you gave all of your fucking attention to their family." He pointed at Anna again.

At this point, I was sure everyone in the room was watching the argument between Robert and Aiden. I saw Ryan making his way over to us and I mentally groaned. Did Aiden really have to make a scene?

Ryan walked up to Aiden and sighed. "C'mon Aiden. I'll take you home." He spoke softly.

Aiden shoved him away, making him lose his balance a bit. I held onto his arm, holding him in place. "Get the fuck away from me Ryan. I want nothing to do with you."

Okay. Maybe I should step in now. "Aiden," I tugged on his arm. "I'll take you home." I said to him.

Aiden glanced at me then back at Robert. "I'm done talking to all of you." He gritted his teeth.

I snuck away towards my mom at another table. When I was close enough, I spoke to her. "I need the keys."

My mom frowned. "I don't think you should-"

"Give me the keys mom." I said, losing my patience. "He needs to get home safely."

"Riley, just go sit back down. I'm sure someone-"

I grabbed her small bag from the table and reached inside.

"Riley!" She exclaimed.

I pulled out the keys and looked at her. "I'm doing what I think is right mom." I snapped at her. I turned around and didn't see Aiden anywhere. I jogged to the entrance of the building.

I found Aiden leaning against the wall outside, rubbing his face. I slowly approached him, hesitant on how he'll react. "Aiden?" I asked quietly.

He looked up and his eyes were rimmed red. "Riley...I..."

"Let's go." I told him.

He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards me, stumbling a bit. I walked him to my mom's car and helped him get in on the passenger side. I got in on the driver's side and yanked my heels off. I threw them in the backseat.

"So, where to?" I asked Aiden hesitantly.

"Alex's house." He mumbled.

Um... "Mind telling me where his house is?" I asked.

He gave me an address and I instantly knew where the street was. I always see if when my mom and I go to Wal-Mart.

We drove in silence. Aiden had his arms crossed as he stared out the window. He didn't speak until I drove down Alex's street and asked him which house it was.

He looked up. "It's that one with the chain linked fence." He pointed to it. I pulled into the house's driveway and parked. "Wanna come inside?" Aiden asked me.

I raised my eyebrows but shook my head. "No thanks. I have to get back..." I trailed off.

"Right." He muttered. "Thanks for the ride Riley." He opened the passenger door and stepped out of the car. I waited until he was inside to leave.

***

Saturday morning, I didn't wake up until about ten. My mom and I got home kind of late. Then she scolded me for taking her keys. Which was totally unnecessary because I made it back safe without a scratch on her car.

I went downstairs and greeted my mom. She made us some pancakes so we sat down at the kitchen table and ate in silence. After finishing what was on my plate, I stood up awkwardly and put it in the sink.

I ran back upstairs to my room and shut my door. I threw myself on my bed and sighed. I was extremely bored right now. I reached over to the small table by my bed and grabbed my phone. I had two messages. I opened the first one and found that it was from Aiden.

'Wanna hang out today?'

I read the next one which was also from him.

'Unless I made myself look like an ass last night and you never want to speak to me again.'

I smiled slightly and texted him back. 'I wouldn't say that. What did you have planned today?'

He didn't waste any time texting me back. 'You wanna meet at the park?'

I agreed to meet him there and started getting ready. I put on some jeans and my old Pink Floyd shirt. I threw on my shoes and ran a brush through my hair. Luckily for me, I showered last night and it dried pretty straight.

I went back downstairs and walked into the kitchen again where I found my mom. "I'm going to the park." I informed her.

"Are you taking Sassy?" She asked.

"No. I was just going to meet someone there." I said.

She eyed me suspiciously but sighed. "Okay. Keep your phone on and let me know when you're on your way back."

I nodded. "Will do."

***

When I arrived at the park, Aiden was already waiting. He was leaned against a tree and had his phone in his hand. His dark brown hair was up in his usual messy fashion. He had on his black leather jacket. He also had a pair of Ray Bans covering his eyes.

He heard me approaching him and looked up. "You made it." He commented.

"Yup. I didn't get kidnapped or anything." I joked.

He smirked. "What's with you and thinking you're going to get kidnapped?"

"You never know." I shrugged. "It could happen at any time."

He shook his head. "You are too much."

We walked to a bench and sat down. I leaned back and sighed. "So what's up?" I finally asked him.

He leaned forward and rubbed his temples. "Well, I have a killer headache right now. But I'm pretty sure you know why."

He's hung over.

I nodded. "Yes. I do."

"I'm just..." He trailed off. He looked up and stared at the grass. I guess he was trying to find the right words. "Disappointed."

"Disappointed?" I questioned.

"Disappointed in myself, to be more specific." He told me. "I embarrassed myself last night in front of everyone in that damn room."

I remembered all the horrified faces when people took a look at Aiden. Especially Anna's side of the family. I was curious about what was going through their mind at that time.

I stared at Aiden as he spoke. I could tell the change in mood in him. Before the wedding, he was very negative towards everything and was totally resentful. Now, he seemed drained and not as full of life as he used to be. And I'm not going to blame that on the hangover.

"Have you talked to your dad or Ryan this morning?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head. "No. You're the only person I've talked to besides Alex."

I felt something warm inside of me. At this moment I couldn't help but feel good about myself. I was actually helping someone that I never would have thought I would be talking to in the first place.

He groaned. "I'm such a screw up Riley. I don't even know what to do with myself."

I genuinely felt bad for him. "Aiden, you're not a screw up. You're just a bit...misguided is all." I spoke softly. "How about we talk about this later? It's not good to start off a day all depressed."

Aiden smirked. "Are we going to have your idea of fun now?"

I thought about it. I smiled, knowing what we could do. "Yes we are."

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