A Naked Light

"I look like a skank."

I chuckled as I watched Tori stare at herself in the mirror, the dress Lindsey had picked out staring right back at her.

"You look gorgeous!"

"Did somebody botch your eyesight in the last seven years you've been AWOL?"

Lindsey gave her a look of shock and confusion. "Are you kidding me? You look just like Paris Hilton!"

I face palmed my forehead as she said that. She might as well have called her a fat cow.

Tori's eye twitched. "I repeat: I LOOK LIKE A SKANK!"

Lindsey huffed and puffed; things were gonna go her way if it killed her. I gave Tori a warning glare. She sighed.

"You're not getting a new dress," was the reply. "I like this one; it goes with the decor, so suck it up."

She spun on her heel and walked off to get my maid of honour dress and I bit my lip as I caught sight of Tor giving her the finger. Once she'd turned the corner, I smacked the blonde's bare legs. "Stop that! If she saw you, there would've been hell to pay."

"She's making me wear this disgusting excuse for a dress to her wedding. I am in hell!"

I took a step back, trying to digest the image of Tori in a super-short, skin-tight, ruffled pink dress with big, obscene curls and cherries for cheeks. There was just something so grotesquely unappealing about that concept. I shook my head. I needed an Advil.

"Here's your dress, Addy!"

Fuck that, I needed a whole bottle.

I forced a smile as she outstretched her arms, a huge white dress bag within my reach. "It wouldn't happen to be longer than Tori's, would it?"

Lindsey shot daggers at me. "Yeah, it's longer. Same idea though."

Words clearly weren't going to get me out of it so I just took the bag and dragged my feet into the nearby dressing room. I could feel my fingers trembling as I yanked the zipper, slowly peeling back the edges of the bag. I held my breath as I saw the dress hanging there, taunting me with its candy coating colour. I grimaced. It was pink.

Barbie pink.

Pretty princess pink.

Cupcake pink.

Pepto-bismol pink.

I could feel myself throwing up in my mouth. Leave it to Lindsey to turn a glorious occasion into a bowel malfunction.

As I zipped up the dress, I heard the boutique's bell ring, signalling customers entering the shop. I slid on the matching shoes and took a deep breath before pushing back the curtain.

"I look so incredibly -"

Tori sat there on the chaise lounge, sipping her champagne, compliments of the shop, as I stood there face to face with All Time Low. As if one day's worth of embarrassment wasn't enough.

"I - I -"

"Whoa. You... look great."

I could feel my cheeks flushing at Zack's compliment.

"Thanks."

"Shit Addy, you're all leg!" Jack exclaimed, staring at the hot pink monstrosity.

Rian slipped past them and sat down beside Tor, turning on the charm as she continued to drink the bubbly. "You both look amazing."

Tori giggled as she pressed the flute to her lips then pulled it away, licking them gently.

I looked over at Alex. "You shouldn't be here. Lindsey'll have a fit. She'll be back any minute."

"We just came because -"

"It doesn't matter why you came. You have to leave, all of you." I stomped over in the gaudy heels that were dangling from my feet, determined to get them to leave, not to mention get Alex off my mind. But of course, I suck at making points, so my clumsy self figured it would make me face plant in front of everyone.

Well, not quite. Alex decided to catch me.

I could hear Tori choking on the champagne as two callused hands caught me. His chest was pressed against mine and everyone was silent. Even the shopkeeper left to take care of the store front.

"Don't do this," I whispered.

"Don't do what?" he asked, his breath hot on my lips. His fingers prickled my skin and I could feel my legs collapsing beneath his. I tightened my thighs which were rather inconveniently wrapped around one of his legs and he caught his breath.

"Don't make it harder to let go."

I stood back up and smoothed out the crease in the ruffled mini dress before sauntering back to the change room.

Tor wiped her mouth slightly and set down the champagne flute. "What was that all about?"

Alex stood there bewildered, his arms at his sides while Jack waved his hands in his face. "Earth to Gaskarth! What the hell is wrong with you, brah?"

As I threw the dress off and slipped my jeans back on, I heard him sigh heavily and just pictured him running a hand through his artistically messy hair. "I don't know." I peered through the flimsy curtain and watched as his tall silhouette turned to leave. "I just don't know."

The door's bell rung and I slid past the curtain. "Is he gone?"

"So it's true!" Jack yelped joyfully.

I sighed. "You guys have been with us for two weeks and I still don't understand you, Barakat."

"You dig Alex?"

My eyes grew wide and I looked over as Tori left the change room opposite mine. She realigned her cami straps before plopping back down in her seat. "You were fucking him with those beautiful eyes of yours, Addy. Please just admit it. It'll make it a whole hell of a lot easier for us."

"For you to what?"

"So you were eye-fucking him!"

"Shut up, Jack! I was not, I have not, and I never will, because I do not even remotely like that egotistical, ass-kissing, smug-looking, self-centered horn dog of a human being!"

I could feel my face heating up as the rest of the band stood there in silence.

"We get that this is weird, but don't let Lindsey intimidate you," Zack began.

"Believe me when I say that Lindsey is the last person I'd let intimidate me." I filled the lone flute with champagne and swallowed it like a shot. "I'm not that insecure."

"Lindsey isn't the type of person we ever pictured Alex settling down with," he continued.

"Then again, we never thought he would settle down," Rian interjected. They all chuckled.

"But we know he will, and he's really close to it now." Zack looked around at his fellow band mates. "We're just not sure that he's making the right choice."

Tori's jaw hit the floor before mine did. "Fuck me." She gave them the most incredulous look she could muster. "You mean, whoa, wait. You're talking about Alex and Addy?"

"Lindsey never fit into the picture. She - she doesn't like anything we do. She hates beer and video games and, fuck, she hates music! Do you know what it's like to live with someone who hates music?"

I gave him the lamest look.

"Oh... right."

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm finding alarming comfort in the fact that you dislike my sister." I shook my head. "But I just don't like him that way."

Jack grabbed me by the shoulders. "But you have so much in common!"

"Yeah!" Zack stood up. "You both play an instrument, you love music -"

"You have a severe love for alcohol -"

I chuckled.

"You both kick ass at Guitar Hero -"

I stared at Rian lamely, which caused him to grin cheekily.

"And you're both insanely unhappy with your lives."

The comment made me laugh so hard, I snorted. "Alex? Unhappy with his life? Oh Jesus, there's a lie if I ever heard one. The morning after they both got here, he barged into my room and made me give him a reason to marry her sooner!"

"Because you're distracting him!" Jack screamed.

One of the ladies who'd walked into the store quickly fled at the loud noise.

"You make him second guess the last four years of his life. You make him want to drop Lindsey like - like -"

I smirked. "An empty bottle of Jaeger?"

Jack, Rian, Zack and Tori all stared at me with wide eyes and open mouths before Rian spoke up, saying the one thing that they all were desperately thinking.

"He needs you, Addy. Almost as much as you need him."