love will remember @mercvre - Tumblr Blog

amortentias:

Nate raised an eyebrow, an amused look on his face as Joelle snatched the glass from his hand and drank from it, unafraid of whatever liquor he was using to numb his mind.

“I’m sorry, I guess earning your own office in a Manhattan after working your ass off for six years has a tendency to turn a guy into an asshole. Figuring out that I grew up to be somewhat attractive after years of you baby sister’s friends bullying you for being awkward probably didn’t help either.” He paused to glance at the other bridesmaids seated around then then into the people milling around. “Thank god you’re the only one she stayed close to after high school. I don’t think there’s enough alcohol into the world that could help me drown out the memory of Kelly Masterson invading my personal space and bluntly inviting me over to her place when we ran into each other at the grocery store when I went home for Christmas. Calling someone ‘Nerdy Nathan’ for three years doesn’t leave the best impression and quite frankly isn’t even clever.

He turned back to face Joelle and caught a glance of the best man, his arm looped around a girl he vaguely recognized as one of Steve’s cousins. She was laughing at something he said and Nate almost felt sorry for the girl, who clearly didn’t know what she was getting herself into, but some part of him was glad that Joelle wasn’t currently being harassed by the guy who, true to his nickname, had a tumbler of clear alcohol clutched in his hand.

"I must have missed him getting handsy,” he shrugged apologetically. “I was trying to ignore the fact that my mother was doing her best Niagara Falls impression in the front row. I’m just glad that she’s a quiet crier.” As he said this, Nate glanced back across the room to where his mother was going from table to table, introducing herself to her now son-in-law’s family while the gathered guests waited for the newlyweds to arrive so the reception could officially start. Trying to ignore the fact that the parents of his sister’s husband were politely seated at the table waiting for the reception to formally start, Nate turned his attention back to Joelle and accepted his drink back from her, finishing it in one swallow. "I guess I’m just so happy for my sister that it’s leading me to drinking on an empty stomach.”

Nate lowered his voice and leaned closer to Joelle, thankful for the empty chairs around them and the sound of various conversations taking place allover the banquet hall that would drown out his next words even if there were others near them. “And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this morning I came to the conclusion that she can do so much better and that her husband isn’t any better than his friends. But what can I do? She’s old enough to make her own mistakes and maybe she sees something worthwhile in him. I’m just the bitter older brother who keeps getting asked if there’s a lucky lady in my life.”

Joelle wanted to be a better person than this, to keep things on a strictly platonic level with the boy sitting before her. He’d all but challenged her hours before, teasing her about how she wouldn’t be able to do it, reminding her that commitment and monogamy was something ingrained in her to her core — and a part of the blonde had known that he’d been right. That somehow, she couldn’t just have a quick, no-strings fling with anyone.

She’d wanted him to be wrong, but then he’d told her that Kelly had flirted with him, inviting him back to her place for some messy romp. Joelle knew the girl, knew her style, that she was the sort of girl to be engaged and cheat on her fiancé with whatever hot guy came into town, but the mere idea of Nate of all people being the guy Kelly chose… it was sickening. And it did nothing to quench the little feeling of jealousy settling in Joelle’s stomach. “When was this?” She stirred the straw of her drink, a martini of all things, trying to keep her gaze away from Nate’s. “Last I heard, she was engaged as of last July. But then again, she always has been quick to cheat on her boyfriends.” She knew she sounded jealous, but she couldn’t help it. Even if she and Nate didn’t have a relationship, hadn’t promised each other more than one night, Joelle didn’t like the idea of him sleeping with a girl she couldn’t stand.

And almost impossibly, she couldn’t help but ask him, albeit softly, if he’d gone through with it. “She’s cute though, if you’re into the overdone plastic surgery thing… did you… did you end up going over?” A sigh parted her lips. “You’d be quite the trophy for her.”

She took a sip of her drink, finishing it off as she tried to push her jealousy from her mind. It wasn’t her business, any more than it was Nate’s business to know that Tequila Boy had spent the majority of the reception telling Joelle all of the ways he wanted to sleep with her. Or that he’d offered her nudes later, a quickie in the bathroom, the chance for his cock to end up in her mouth — all of which she’d refused, of course.

“I told her that he wasn’t good enough,” the blonde confessed, pulling her gaze from the best man and the groom to look back at Nate. “Last Christmas, we actually— we got into a fight about it, honestly. After I found out from Jordan that he and Steve had been matching up with girls on Tinder. They told me it was just… harmless fun, them both trying to get the wild life out of their system before everyone was married, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that one day, they’d actually sleep with someone else.” She sighed. “I told her about it, and she just told me I was overreacting. That no one was cheating, and it’s not as if they weren’t going to spend their bachelor parties at a strip club anyways..” Joelle swallowed, finally looking over at Nate, trying to gauge from his expression how much his sister had told him. “Let me guess, she never told you about any of that?”

#c: joelle

amortentias:

“Calling me ‘princess’ isn’t helping you, just so you know,” she shrugged, turning a little to face him better. “It’s just Jolie. Not ‘blondie’ or ‘baby’ or ‘Barbie’ or any other ridiculous thing you or anyone else can come up with.”

Jolie had changed in the past year. She had tried to make it work, tried to keep her head up and power though work, but acting really was a small world, and the network was even smaller, meaning that gossip spread quickly and rumors far worse than what the tabloids come could up with flew around, though no one ever admitted to spreading them. The fact that she had basically broken up Ivy and Wyatt was a fact that she never bothered to dispute. Ivy had left to no one’s surprise, and Jolie had done her best to stay professional and keep out of Wyatt’s way, after all she was an actress and he was in post-production, they could have avoided seeing each other if they tried, and they had. But after Ayla had dumped her for newer, higher profile friends, Jolie had realized that she had no one to turn to, and ended up calling Wyatt anyway. It took time and a lot of awkward conversations, but somehow they had managed to rebuild their friendship.

It was around the time things seemed to be getting back to normal between them when Wyatt introduced her to Neal, up and coming musician and hired singer and songwriter who was to contribute music to a couple of their shows. Wyatt had enjoyed discussing music with the other man, wanting to know his opinions of the industry and the two would occasionally hang out in the studio; Wyatt invited her into the conversation if she was there doing ADR work, but he knew that if he didn’t, she’d just return to her apartment and watch bad reality TV. He never said it outright, but she suspected he was tired of her ‘pretend everything is okay’ act and wanted her to make friends other than him. So, she put on her best smile and listened as the two men debated over a variety of topics, more often than not, their opinions clashing.

However not long after getting to know Neal, things had gotten to be too much, and Jolie left the network for good, sick the the rumors and the memories of past mistakes that followed her around. Instead of renewing her contract, she took a long vacation and evaluated her life and upon her returned, was different than the fresh faced, bubbly blonde that she had become known for. She was still polite, still charismatic and professional, but after over a year of playing nice with the people who gossiped about her sex life and placed bets on which couple she’d end up breaking up next, she adopted a no-nonsense, not going to take shit from anyone attitude.

It wasn’t her fault that she and Neal hadn’t seen each other since had changed herself, not was it his. It just was. She was guarded and wore her newfound confidence around her like armor to make sure she didn’t end up the being to topic of another scandal.

The truth was, Neal was okay as far as guys in LA went. Jolie didn’t know him terribly well, although she suspected that he liked her, but he was never pushy about it and, as far as she could tell, he never really let his popularity get the better of him. Sure he had invited to a concert, but had never even remotely implied that he was doing her a favor or that it would be nice if she could show a little appreciation. She probably would have been fine on her own, but she was worried that she might do something stupid, so she had brought a long a couple of friends to be her brain in case she lost her mind. They had ended up being overprotective, but how else were they supposed to be after they had watched their friend get slammed by fans and haters alike? And after, she and Neal didn’t see each other; he got busy and she left on her soul searching mission.

“I told them to leave me,” she shrugged again. “The thought of paying for overpriced, watered down drinks and watching money disappear into the underwear of the dancers didn’t really appeal to me. And I can take care of myself. There’s this wonderful new thing called Uber that can pick me up and drive me to my apartment with no thread of catcalls or kidnappings. And if you’re worried about this crowd,” she glanced behind them to the moderately occupied bar, the patrons too deep in conversation or invested in their games of pool to pay them any attention. “Then you can pretend to be my boyfriend and defend my honor if it comes to it, but I think we’re fine.”

The bartender approached them, slinging the dish towel in his hand over his shoulder and he stopped in front of the pair. Smiling sweetly, Jolie shook her head. “I’m good with this one for now, thank you. Put his next drink on my tab, please.” She watched as Neal ordered, and once a fresh drink was in front of him, asked, “So what brings you to a mostly empty bar on a night like tonight? You could be doing anything, anywhere with anyone, yet you choose to be here, alone, chatting up a pretty girl you met a handful of times and haven’t seen in a while. Not your typical, Friday night activity if you ask me.”

He’d never underestimated her spirit, that much was for sure. It was something he suspected many had done, considering the fact that they assumed she was just a petite little blonde who needed to be taken care of, but he knew it was the opposite. He’d seen enough of her to know she was a force to be reckoned with, and he couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her now. “I’d pretend to be your boyfriend if I thought you needed it, darling. But I’m pretty sure you could kick someone’s ass if you needed to.

Somehow, her paying for his drink wasn’t really something that surprised him. She’d never been the type to adhere to normal social things, like letting the man pay for a lady’s drink, but it was different as far as they’d always been. There had been times where she’d allowed him to pay for her, even though they’d hardly known each other - but he knew that, as far as tonight went, he wouldn’t be able to convince her of anything else. He didn’t know what had happened to Jolie in the months since he’d seen her, but whatever it was, she was different. And he ought respect that.

He accepted the drink from the bartender, allowing his gaze to linger on the girl sitting beside him. Regardless of what had happened to him in the past few months, he’d thought of Jolie often, writing songs about the blonde girl that had captured his attention almost effortlessly. When asked about his music, he’d teased a new muse, but he’d never once imagined that he’d be blessed with her presence again. It seemed an awful lot like fate if you asked him, and it made him want to be honest. “I used to come here quite a bit,” he confessed, sipping his drink. “One of my best friends and I discovered this place about six years ago, and whenever I have a really kickass show, I come here, to think of him. He was the first person to ever believe in me, and I feel like I owe it to him.”

#c: nolie

amortentias:

Draco couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just be mad at him. Anger was easy, it came naturally. He had seen her angry dozens of times when they were at school, seen her yelling at Weasley and Potter because they were idiots, or in Weasley’s case, dense and insensitive. He had hears rumors of the ruthless ways she’d used magic against those who had wronged her, but had never given those rumors much consideration, after all why would she, golden girl of Gryffindor House, stoop to levels worthy of a Slytherin? Then again, this was girl who had punched him five years prior, had outsmarted a teacher in their fifth year and was probably the sole reason she and her friends managed to stay alive when all of the British Wizarding World was looking for them.

An angry Hermione would be easier to deal with. He could take the verbal accusations, would have even left his wand tucked inside his robes if she had decided to curse him, and her abilities should never be tested in that way. If she wanted to punch him again, or hit him until she felt better about herself, he would have let her and not even bother to issue detention or take away House Points. As far as he was concerned, there was no price high enough that should make her forgive him. Instead, she stood there in front of him, not threatening in any way, and told him that she didn’t hate him.

He had every intention of ignoring her until she decided to let him be, a strategy that had worked well this far as students hid behind bookshelves or stared across the grounds, whispering behind their hands or books. However, Hermione’s candid confession shocked Draco, not because the news was so surprising, but because she was being so open about it with him of all people. What had she hoped that this piece of information would do? If her intention was to guilt him into feeling remorse, then it didn’t work. Draco was too numb at this point to feel anything but guilt and confusion. And if she were angry, then she had a funny way of showing it.

He set his quill down and closed his book, pushing it off to the side, grey eyes meeting brown, his own feelings of pain and loneliness mirrored in them. “I know,” he whispered softly, voice hoarse as if it barely got any use. “The Dark Lord, he— he wasn’t sure if your parents were protected by the Order and he knew that the Weasel— Weasley’s would be. It wasn’t Death Eaters, but at that point they might as well have been; he ordered Ministry Officials to track them down and bring them to him. He wanted to torture them, bring you out of hiding. At best, you and your friends would come running to save them, at the very least, you would come alone and where would that leave Potter? He was hopeless without you.” his voice trembled and he clenched his fists, knuckles going white as painful memories that he had worked hard to repress came back. “It worked with him and his godfather, so why wouldn’t it work on you? He does that, you know,” Draco’s voice was even lower now, barely audible, even in the dead silence of the library. “Uses your family against you, to get you to do what you want by turning the one thing he never had, the one thing he deems a person’s greatest weakness, into a weapon.” His hands shook violently, one of them knocking over his bottle on ink, the liquid staining his book and the pieces of parchment in front of him, but he didn’t draw his wand or make any attempt to clean up the mess. Instead, his eyes remained focused on Hermione’s as he continued.

“But something changed, he became more paranoid, so he had them killed instead. It didn’t make sense, the original plan was much better, but you and your friends were starting to destabilize him, so it made sense to do the same with you. He had a golden opportunity once your parents were found; why start with the weak link when you can break the strongest? But he underestimated you and his plan to use your love for your parents backfired. Instead of destroying your spirit, it made you fight harder, reaffirmed that what you were doing was worth it.” Tears formed in Draco’s eyes, but he pressed on, his entire body trembling now. “He made the same mistake with my mother. Instead of fighting, she and my father ran around looking for me, and later, in the forest, Potter told her I was still alive, so she told the Dark Lord he was dead. She didn’t care what he was capable of, didn’t care that she might be punished, winning wasn’t worth loosing her family over. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that we wanted him dead months before the War ended, doesn’t matter that I didn’t rat you out to the Dark Lord and my crazy aunt. No amount of galleons or repentance is going to stop the nightmares that probably haunt you, nor is it going to bring back those who were killed. You can say your forgive me, that I didn’t nothing wrong, but you don’t and I did. If you think letting me off the hook is going to change anything, then Lovegood’s stupid optimism is rubbing off on you. Forgiving me isn’t going to save my soul, Granger. It might make you sleep better at night because your conscious is clear, but it’s selfish and pointless and you’d probably feel a lot better if you just jinxed me right now.”

“I’m not going to jinx you, you know. I haven’t even considered it.” Being angry with Draco Malfoy had once been the most effortless thing in the world but in this moment, it merely felt like kicking a puppy. He’d clearly been through more than anyone realized, and he was being cruel to her now - but she understood why. He was struggling, just as much as anyone could be expected to be given the circumstances. The only difference was, Hermione felt no need to punish him - he was doing enough of that to himself.

“You’re right,” Hermione admitted, her gaze falling after a moment. Without a doubt, she knew why the boy was lashing out. It didn’t take being the brightest witch of her age to understand just a fraction of what Draco was feeling, to know that he was struggling with just as many demons - if not more - as she was. “I never knew if it was Death Eaters for sure, but at some point, I considered anyone who helped Voldemort to be a Death Eater. So you’re right, it might as well have been.”

It was incredibly easy to see why the rest of the wizarding world had given up on Draco Malfoy. While he seemed repentant for his actions, the fact was that no one quite knew how to deal with him. It was something she’d heard talk of, how even his friends and family had slowly begun to abandon him for fear of drowning under the weight of his guilt, and while Hermione didn’t believe she could save him, she also knew she couldn’t leave him alone. “I’m not trying to ease my conscience, Draco. It may surprise you, but we all did things during the war that we aren’t proud of.” She inhaled sharply. “I’m not saying that I understand what you’re going through, I don’t. My crimes are relatively limited in comparison to yours, but... I’m not going to write you off when you were just a kid who didn’t know any better.” Her hand shifted, tucking her hair behind her ear. “That’s what you were, Draco. It’s what we all were. Kids thrust into an adult’s war, and while that doesn’t excuse what you did... it doesn’t mean you’re going to be a villain forever. The only person who’s putting you in that role is you, don’t you see that?”

#c: dramione

amortentias:

Miles’ eyebrows furrowed slightly as Lexi’s seemingly defensive behavior. He understood that seeing him now was a shock, he hadn’t expected her to be one of the new hires for the year. All he knew was that they were getting a couple of new teachers to combat the growing number of students the school had to accommodate, and a brand new administrator to replace the one who had retired at the end of last year, yet here she was, looking as beautiful as the day she had walked out of his life. He had hated the way things had ended, but there was nothing either of them could have done, things had just fallen apart and were beyond fixing. No amount of therapy sessions, promises and long conversations could have helped them. It had hurt to let her go, but knew that trying to hold on was going to hurt her even more, and Miles was smart enough to know when it was time to finally let go. The aftermath hadn’t been easy, but he had taken his mind off things by taking too many classes and studying way to hard for them. As they say, his nose had been pressed to the grindstone and by the time he looked up, grad school was over and he was a certified psychologist.

“Why would anyone have told you?” he asked with a slight shrug. “We broke up awhile ago, a million miles from here. No one could have known, it was like a different lifetime.”

His words stung a little, but Miles’ face remained passive. Had it really been that long? Endless weeks of pretending that everything way okay, of thinking about anything but her as he tried to cope, tried to think about the present, not the past— which was now just a memory— or the future— which was now empty, the plans they had made over takeout dumplings and the time between sex and sleep never to be realized.

Breakups are a strange thing, but Miles hadn’t truly realized how much he had lost until now as Lexi stood in front of him as the girl he had loved then lost, now a stranger.

“Yeah, I did,” he continued, hands gesturing to the papers scattered around him as if they somehow summed up his career and accomplishments and everything Lexi had missed. “Figured I had my own problems that no one ever picked up on, and if I could help just one kid and see something in them that no one else does, then it would all be worth it. It’s such a great age you know? They’re still so innocent and shameless, not yet influenced by the world or expectations set by outside forces. Maybe if the we looked at the world though their lens or managed to hold on to even just a little bit of our innocence, the world would be a better place.” He paused, thinking about high school, then added, “Of course, we don’t really loose our innocence, so much as it’s taken away from us.”

He back stiffened as Lexi mentioned her marriage and he did his best to pass it off as just adjusting how he was seated. Miles wasn’t sure what he was expecting, after all, it was the answer he was fishing for, but there it was, clear as day, a ring on her left hand. He didn’t know how to feel, happy that she had found someone who loved and cherished her, giving her all she deserved? Disappointed that it hadn’t be him like they had both thought it would be back in college? And what if she had been single? There was no way things could have gone back to they way they were, they had been kids then; they were different people now.

“Congratulations.” He smiled warmly, trying to diffuse the awkwardness that was clearly visible on Lexi’s face. “I’m sure I’ll get to meet him one of these days. Some of the members of the staff like to coordinate get together’s for the faculty and their families and I’m sure you and your husband would love bringing your kids to the various events the school holds for the students. Harvest Festival face painting is always a big hit with the little ones.”

His assumption that she’d have kids by now wasn’t too far off base, really. In the more serious days of their relationship, it had been something the two talked about constantly. Both of them loved kids, making their careers entirely unsurprising, and Lexi held no doubts that if she’d ended up with Miles, they’d have one or two bouncing, giggling little children by now. But with her husband now, that wasn’t the case; he’d never wanted them. “I actually don’t have kids,” she admitted, swallowing her pride as she tried not to get emotional about that fact. “My husband... he’s never really liked them, so we never-” It was her biggest regret, and something she’d given up on arguing with her husband about. It wasn’t as if he’d change his mind ever really.

The fact that he’d congratulated her stung, honestly. It wasn’t as if she’d expected him to throw a big fit, but his casual acceptance of her marriage hurt. Even as she’d moved on, Lexi had always struggled with each time she’d heard Miles had found someone new. Each new relationship felt like a blow to the one they’d shared for years, causing her enough pain that her sister eventually just stopped telling her about them. The fact that he could just accept it so easily caused her eyes to well with tears and she fought to control that. “Thanks,” she replied softly. “It’s.. I meant to tell you, you know. When he proposed, I just- I didn’t know what to say. It’d been months since we’d talked, or seen each other and I didn’t want to hurt you by bringing it up all again.”

But the truth was, as much as she’d tried to avoid everything over the years, seeing Miles now brought everything back full-force. The pain of their break-up wasn’t something she spoke of often, or even allowed herself to think of, but she was thinking of it now. “I guess, it’s just strange thinking there’s people in the world who don’t know what you are to me, who don’t know to warn me that I’ll see you.” A soft laugh escaped her lips. “Not that I need a warning, though. It’s good to see you, Miles. It’s been too long and you, you look good.” Inhaling shallowly, she added. “For the record, I’m really proud of you. I know I said a lot of things when we broke up, but you’re not a bad guy. But the fact that you’re taking everything and using it to help kids, it’s nothing... nothing short of inspiring.”

#c: mexi

amortentias:

Kit moved to enter the house, but as a her hand pressed against his chest to stop him, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I told you, Princess, I don’t have time to take you to bed right now. I only have a few minutes before I have to leave and that isn’t nearly enough time to press you against the wall and kiss you thoroughly, let alone drag up upstairs to take my time with you.” He wasn’t flirting, not really, just stating a simple fact. He and Eliza had been ‘off’ for awhile now, which meant if they were to somehow end up in the same bed, Kit would take his time with her, making sure she was teased, brought to the brink of pleasure over and over again until she was begging for it before he finally gave her what she wanted. It was part of the game they played, but instead of trading biting words laced with poison, their anger and frustrations were channeled into nails that dug into skin and pleasurable teasing.

He brushed past her and passed through the door, into the entryway. He had been here plenty of times to know his way around the place, so he led the way to the kitchen which looked over an impressively sized backyard, even for a sorority house. Whether it had been waking up in the morning after spending the night with Eliza, or drinking and partying into the early morning at a sorority function hosted by the sisters, he was as familiar with this house and the people in it as he was his own. But there was no one in either house, on the entire campus that he knew better than the girl standing across from him. Defensive stance and cold voice be dammed because similarly, there was no one who knew him better than she did.

“I adopted a kitten,” Kit started simply, his face lighting up. “And before you get on me about being irresponsible and not realizing what a big job having a pet was, I’m not getting rid of her and it really isn’t my choice. She’s the cutest, sweetest little thing, even my roommate thinks so, and you know he will find even the smallest reason to hate me. The problem is, he’s allergic to her, puffy eyes, runny nose, all of it, and he’s getting worse so I can’t keep her in my room anymore. I asked some of the guys in the house who are halfway decent, the ones I can trust to keep an eye on her, but no one could and I can’t just let her roam around on he own, so I need to find someplace she can stay, which I was hoping was with you. You don’t have a roommate, aren’t allergic to cats and she doesn’t scratch at anything and won’t chew on your shoes; trust me, I had to train her out of her attempts to destroy mine and that itself was a struggle. You wouldn’t be responsible for buying her food or anything either, I can do that, and if it makes a difference, I’ll come over every few days and scoop up her poop so you don’t have to. Like I said, I want to keep her, I just need to find a place where she can stay and be safe.” He looked up at her with sincere, pleading eyes, a look that was almost foreign on his face. “Please, Eliza? I found her when I was jogging though the park, and the poor thing was so helpless and small, I don’t want to be forced to abandon her. And like I said, I’d owe you.”

"You adopted a cat.” Eliza was quiet for a moment, not at all sure how to process this. It was hardly the first time Kit had shown up on her doorstep but this time was different. There was no ulterior motive for once, no nefarious idea that was guaranteed to make her head spin. It was simply Kit, being vulnerable with her. Which, quite honestly, was all she’d ever wanted. Throughout the time of their relationship they’d always been on uneven footing, Eliza giving far more to their relationship than Kit ever had and well, this didn’t exactly change that. But it was a start, him asking her for help. “I wasn’t going to tell you it’s irresponsible,” the brunette spoke, her hand reaching for him, a white flag if there ever were any.

If her actions surprised him, Kit showed no signs of it. That alone would typically be enough to infuriate her, but he’d already expressed that he wasn’t there for sex. Considering they hadn’t been together for a while now, Eliza wasn’t particularly surprised by that. It was a little terrifying, though. If he wasn’t there for sex, there was a chance he was getting it from somewhere else, a realization that caused her chest to tighten considerably. No matter their arguments, Eliza cared for Kit in a way she’d never cared for anyone and she didn’t want to lose that even if she was stubborn.

Still holding his hand in hers, Eliza spoke up softly. “Wait, Kit.” She wasn’t about to turn down his request but Eliza knew she had to protect her own heart too. When they’d been ‘off’ in the past, the two had constantly avoided each other, only speaking to argue, and Eliza didn’t want that now. She wanted him, in a healthy way for once. “I can’t... I can’t say no to you, you know that. But if you’re going to be around more, things have to change.” Swallowing the lump in her throat, she finished softly. “You know that.”

#c: keliza

amortentias:

As far as Nate could tell, the only benefit of being a member was the wedding party was the fact that by the time you finished taking pictures with the newly married couple, the rest of the guests have had enough time to acquaint themselves with the open bar, leaving the way open for Nate to immediately find comfort in a glass of wine.

Nate didn’t enjoy weddings, especially when it was a wedding for a family member; there were just too many opportunities for well meaning relatives to ask him if there was a lucky lady in his life or when he was going to settle down. It wasn’t too bad when it was older cousins who were the ones getting hitched because it was easy to make excuses about school and work, but now it was his baby sister who was making the commitment and he couldn’t wait for the interrogations he was about to face.

The one saving grace, other than the open bar, was that Allison had caught up with Nate after the overly long rehearsal dinner and informed him that she had moved his seat next to Joelle, the same knowing smile she had given him at dinner tugging at her lips. He wasn’t thinking about how he had promised to sleep with her sometime in the future, but was thankful that she had chosen him to text in the middle of all those drunken speeches and hopefully her presence would make the reception survivable without the need for excessive alcohol. At the very least, she wouldn’t have to listen to Steve’s friend talk about all the things he wanted her to do once he managed to charm her into his bed.

He couldn’t say that he had any kind of relationship with Joelle. She was Allison’s friend and he had avoided his sister and her friends, even when he was a senior in high school and they were middle schoolers determined to rule the playground. It didn’t help that another girl in the group had a brother who was the same age as Nate and was everything he wasn’t. Athletic, outgoing, attractive and well loved, all of which caused the girl to mercilessly tease Nate behind Allison’s back, and wanting to fit in, many of her friends followed suit.

Lost in these thoughts, Nate almost didn’t notice the chair next to him pulling away from the table, but being the asshole that he was, he couldn’t stop himself from teasing the girl as she took her seat. “So you looked super happy as you walked down the aisle with the best man. What caused that strained smile? The fact that he smelled like whiskey and tequila as we stood up there watching the ceremony or the fact you had such a tight grip on his arm so he wouldn’t grope you?”

There were many things she’d do for her best friend but tonight had definitely tested that. She’d never been a fan of weddings, particularly not lately. The downfall of her own relationship, while welcomed, left a bitter taste in her mouth when faced with everyone else’s happiness. Out of all of her friends, Joelle had always been the most invested in her relationships. She’d been the first to get a serious boyfriend, the first to cohabitate, and yet she was the last to end up married. Like any good friend, she’d tried to be happy for her friends but on nights like this it was hard.

When forced to spend the entirety of the day in the company of an absolute pig, it was no surprise that Joelle’s mood quickly soured. She’d been trying to keep the guy off her all day, telling him she was otherwise spoken for, but it wasn’t like he’d listened. Like any guy searching to gratify himself the guy hadn’t much cared for her own wishes but she knew just the trick to put an end to his efforts: Nate. If there was one mood-killer for tequila boy, it was her sister’s best friend. And regardless of whether or not she really understood the situation, Joelle was more than happy to take that opportunity.

And with his good looks, it wasn’t as if Nate was a bad opportunity to take. “You know what, you’re actually being a dick,” Joelle quipped, stealing his glass from him and taking a sip of the drink. Almost immediately, her nose wrinkled due to the alcohol. “I definitely didn’t know you were hitting it that hard. It’s almost like someone’s having a worse night than me.” She was teasing him now definitely but considering the conversations they’d been having all weekend, the blonde didn’t feel too far out of line. Passing him back the drink, Joelle relaxed into the chair. “You may have missed it, but he groped me twice regardless- but yes, that was my intention.”

#c: jate

Joelle ✉ Nate

Nate: Mmmm, alright.

Nate: I thought rehearsal dinners were supposed to be shorter than the actual wedding. At this rate, I'm going to have enough time to get back to my hotel room, take a shower, then get ready for tomorrow.

Joelle: There's too many drunk people giving speeches, why is the wedding party so big.