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"Riley, wake up. We're here."

I groaned and curled myself into a ball. "Five more minutes." I mumbled. I frowned in my sleep.

"Riley, c'mon. The other girls are leaving here in about ten minutes and I need to introduce you to Anna."

Oh right. I'm going to be a bridesmaid in mom's friend's wedding. I opened my eyes and sighed. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

My mom gave me a bright smile before exiting the car. I opened the passenger door and got out. I stretched my limbs and instantly felt tired again. My shoulders slumped as I walked around the car and stood next to my mom. "You really need to work on your posture Riley. You look like an old man when you walk like that."

My mom always wanted a girly girl as a daughter. Instead she got me.

I looked up at the house, ignoring her comment, and whistled. It was a pretty decent size house. Our house wasn't small, but it certainly wasn't as big as Anna's.

"Let's go." Mom said, grabbing my arm.

We walked up the small concrete path and approached the front door, which had an oval shaped piece of glass in the middle of it with gold designs on it. I took a deep breath as mom rang the doorbell.

"You better behave yourself Riley. And include yourself with everyone else. Make new friends and have fun. You need some girl time instead of being locked up in you room and reading." She scolded me.

I was going to respond, but the door opened and I instantly hear girls laughing. Please, shoot me now.

"Carol!" The woman who opened the front door exclaimed. They both hugged each other and my mom smiled at me.

"Anna, this is my daughter Riley. Riley, this is Anna." She introduced us.

I held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you." I said politely.

She gently grabbed my hand and shook it. "Pretty and polite." Anna beamed. She looked at my mom. "We shouldn't be out too long. But who knows with them." She gestured behind her. "I can probably ask one of the boys to take her home after we're done."

"Sounds good to me." My mom smiled at Anna. Then she looked at me. "I'll see you later Riley. Don't forget to have fun." She winked.

I was pulled inside by Anna and the smell of perfume hit me like a truck. I wanted to plug my nose, but that probably would have been rude.

Anna looked at me and smiled. "I really appreciate you doing this Riley. I don't know what I would've done without a fifth bridesmaid." She chuckled. I took in her appearance as she talked. She had blonde hair that was swept up in a ponytail. Her green eyes matched the light green top she had on currently. She looked fairly young. I couldn't guess how old she was though.

"It's no problem." Lie.

"Alright, I'll go introduce to the other girls." She said. "And don't feel intimidated in any way." I was about to ask her why, but then we entered the room where everyone was at.

Blondes. All the other bridesmaids were blonde. Which meant I would be the only bridesmaid in the wedding who is brunette, making me stand out. Great. Just great.

"Okay girls, our fifth bridesmaid has arrived! Everyone say hello to Riley." Anna announced.

One of the girls came up to me and smiled. She looked about my age. Maybe a year younger. "Hi Riley." She grinned and stuck out her hand. "I'm Kelly."

I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

She stood by my side and pointed to another girl, who looked a bit older than me. "That's my older sister, Jenna. She's five years older than me." She explained then pointed to the other two girls. "And the one with the blue tips in her hair is our cousin, Halle. Next to her is her twin sister Holly."

"Jenna and Kelly are mine. The twins are my nieces." Anna explained. "Jenna is twenty-one and the twins are twenty."

"And I'm sixteen." Kelly piped in. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen." I answered.

She smiled. "Awesome. Someone a little closer to me in age."

"Well, I need to call Robert and tell him we'll be on our way in a bit." Anna said, then excused herself.

Kelly pulled me to a couch and we both sat down. "So Riley, what high school do you go to?" She asked.

"Fairfield." I told her. I don't think I've ever seen her around.

She sighed. "I go to Maxwell Academy."

"That's the all girl's private school, right?"

She nodded. "Right. I thought it would be horrible, but it's actually pretty fun."

I felt the couch dip to my left, meaning someone was now sitting next to me. It was Jenna, Kelly's sister. "You haven't scared Riley off have you Kelly?" She asked with amusement in her eyes.

Kelly crossed her arms. "No."

Jenna looked at me. "I'm glad you're not another blonde." She chuckled. "That's basically what our family consists of."

"Except Ryan and dad." Kelly said quietly.

"Hush Kelly." Jenna scolded.

Well, I was lost. I didn't know who they were talking about. Family issues I guess. I never see any of my family, so I don't have that in my life.

I felt a presence behind me and I looked back. I noticed a tall figure makes its way behind Kelly and began messing with her hair.

"Aiden! Stop!"

I did a double take at the figure and it was in fact the Aiden I knew. My eyes widened when I saw him.

He laughed at Kelly then our gazes met. He looked a bit surprised.

"What are you doing here?" We asked at the same time.

"I asked first." I said to him.

He smirked. "Well, this is my soon to be step-mom's house. What are you doing here?"

"She's the new bridesmaid." Kelly beamed.

Wait. Anna is going to be Aiden's step-mom?

"Really?" Aiden raised his eyebrow at me.

"So, you two know each other?" Jenna asked us both.

"We're...acquaintances." I said slowly. I would not say that Aiden and I are friends. We haven't really known each other that long.

Aiden continued to mess with Kelly's hair, making it look tangled. She shoved him away and glared at him. "Aiden, stop. Seriously."

"Aiden, stop harassing my sister."

I turned around and saw Ryan walking into the room. What is he doing here??

"Having two brothers will be so much fun." Jenna said sarcastically.

Ryan's eyes met mine and he smiled. "Hey Riley. What are you doing here?"

"Riley is mom's new bridesmaid." Jenna told him.

Wait. So, Ryan was Jenna's and Kelly's brother. Aiden was going to be their step-brother. Which meant that Anna and Aiden's dad were getting married.

Wow.

"Oh cool." His eyes shined.

"Okay kids. Let's get moving." Anna clapped her hands as she entered the room. "Aiden, your father said he'll pick you and Ryan up at the bridal shop." She told him. "Ryan, do you mind driving three other people over there with you? I'll take Kelly and the twins and you can take Aiden, Jenna, and Riley."

Kelly crossed her arms. "Awe, I want to go with Ryan."

"I'll go with mom." Jenna said to Kelly.

"Let's get going then." Anna said. We all stood up and followed her out of the house. I wrung my hands together and sighed.

Kelly was walking next to me as we made our way to Ryan's car. "I can't wait to try on the bridesmaid dress. Don't you love dresses Riley?"

"Love them." I lied. I hated dresses with a passion.

***

On the way to the bridal shop, Kelly was talking my ear off. She decided to sit next to me while Aiden sat in the passenger seat and Ryan drove. Kelly was nice and all, but she sure knew how to talk. But I didn't have the heart to tell her to slow down a bit. Thankfully, Aiden did that for me.

"Jesus Kelly, could you talk anymore?" He asked her.

She huffed. "Could you be anymore rude? I was talking to Riley."

"I'm sure Riley doesn't like having her ear talked off." Aiden said to her.

Ryan sighed. "Both of you shut up. I'm pretty sure Riley doesn't like you two arguing."

Since when is this all about me?

"Sorry about my soon to be step-sister." Aiden said, looking at me. "Maybe I should've sat next to you." He smiled.

I returned the smile.

"And we're here." Ryan announced. I noticed we were parked in in the parking lot of the bridal shop. "Hey Aiden, I think your dad is already here."

Aiden frowned as soon as Ryan said that. "Fantastic." He said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Kelly and I got out of the vehicle and I looked up at the bridal shop in front of us. There was a huge window in front, showcasing a long white wedding dress. Behind that were two bridesmaid dresses in the same teal color, but in different styles.

"I'm so excited!" Kelly exclaimed.

I felt someone's arm brush against mine as they stood next to me and I looked to see who it was. It was Aiden. He was looking at the shop also. He smirked. "Are you excited Riley?"

"Not really." I whispered to him. He just chuckled.

"Ryan! Aiden!" Someone yelled in the distance. Aiden and I both turned and I noticed a tall man with dark brown hair standing next to a truck.

Aiden sighed. "Here we go." He said as he walked off.

Kelly grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the store. "I've seen the dress in my mom's magazine and it looks amazing!"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I'll let you see it for yourself. It's absolutely beautiful."

***

Beautiful? Yeah, sure. But extremely girly and something I would never wear? Yeah, that too.

I looked at myself in the dressing room mirror and frowned. The dress was a peach color, was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline. And right in the middle of the bust, was a peach flower with ruffles going down the rest of the knee length dress. I was scowling in the mirror.

Was it too late to back out of this thing?

"Come out Riley! We want to see it on you!" I heard Kelly yell from the other side. I sighed and unlocked the door.

When I walked out and saw what the others looked like in their dresses, I instantly felt a little bit insecure. These girls had the perfect tan, the blonde hair, the shapely legs, and they were all beautiful in the dress.

And here I was a bit too skinny, no shape to my legs, with my lifeless brown hair. I'm not one to feel insecure, but at this moment I really was. All of could think was how I would stand out at the wedding. And it wouldn't be in a good way.

"Oh my gosh Riley! You look amazing!" Kelly exclaimed, making everyone's attention turn to me.

I hated being at the center of attention. I wasn't one of those girls who craved for the attention of everyone around them.

"Wow Riley." Jenna smiled. "You look great."

The twins, Halle and Holly, looked in my direction. If I remember right, the one with the blue in her hair was Halle. "I wish I was eighteen again." She sighed.

"Shut up Halle. That was only two years ago." The other twin, Holly, said to her.

Anna came up to me and grinned. "I knew it. All of you look fabulous in those dresses. Peach is definitely the right color for all of you."

I turned and looked at myself in the mirror again. I moved and the dress swayed with me. I felt like a different person with this dress on. In this dress, I couldn't help but notice that I had slight curves. And this dress also did something for my chest.

Oh god, I need to get back into my jeans and Guns N' Roses t-shirt.

***

We walked out of the store and Anna looked at all of us. "So the day before the wedding, we all need to come back and pick up your dresses." She said to us.

We all nodded, understanding.

A truck pulled up in front of the shop and Ryan and Aiden got out. Aiden snapped at someone in the truck then slammed the door.

"Here we go again." Jenna mumbled.

Ryan came up to us and looked at me and Kelly. "Are you guys ready?"

"You can take Riley home, right Ryan?" Anna asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah sure."

Anna, Jenna, and the twins left to Anna's car and Kelly and I walked with Ryan and Aiden. Aiden wasn't saying anything. He had his arms crossed and he had a slight frown on his face. I'm guessing things haven't been good today.

"Take me home first." Aiden told Ryan. "Riley's house is on the same street anyways."

Ryan didn't say anything, but nodded.

Relief washed over me as we pulled onto our street and Ryan pulled into Aiden's driveway.

Aiden was about to get out of the car, when Ryan grabbed his arm. Aiden looked at him. "Dude, just chill out. You shouldn't be freaking out over this."

Aiden glared at Ryan. "How about you leave me the fuck alone?" Aiden got out and slammed the car door and started walking towards the backyard.

"Um," I started. "I'll get out here. My house is just down the road."

"Are you sure?" Ryan asked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

I nodded and opened the door. Kelly looked at me and waved. "See you later Riley."

"Okay." I gave her a smile.

I walked along the sidewalk until I knew Ryan and Kelly were gone. I then turned around and made my way back towards Aiden's house. I headed in the direction Aiden went and took a deep breath.

What am I doing?

Aiden was leaning against the side of the house, with a cigarette in between his pointer and middle finger. He brought it to his lips and breathed in. Then his head turned in my direction and saw me.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

What was I doing here? "You looked angry a while ago. Just wanted to see if you were okay, I guess." I told him.

He smirked and put the cigarette on the ground. He stepped on it and put it out. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You didn't look fine." I commented.

He walked up to me and once again I felt intimidated by his height. "Why do you care? It's none of your business anyways."

"Whatever." I shrugged. I knew this was a bad idea. "I'll go now." I turned and started walking down the sidewalk again. I heard footsteps behind me and felt his presence next to me.

He didn't say anything as we walked to my house. But he didn't need to. The silence between us was comfortable and I was okay with that.

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