It's Really Happening

As the three of us trekked down the beach, I tried my best to finish eating the rest of my ice cream cone without getting mint chocolate chip all over myself. So far, my plan had only half-worked. Slowly but surely the ice cream was melting down the cone and onto my hands.

"Need help with that?" Alex asked, smug now that he had finished his ice cream without making a mess.

"I can manage, thank you very much." I glanced at Jack and snickered. "He might want some help though."

"Wha?" Jack looked at the two of us and we burst into laughter. Jack hadn't listened to either of us when he ordered his ice cream, so he had gotten three scoops of varying flavors and now he was desperately trying to finish it before it melted all over him. In the process, he had gotten all three types all over his face and his hands were also covered in sticky deliciousness.

"I think he'll be just fine," Alex replied. While I was distracted, he licked my ice cream.

"Hey! Did I say you could do that?!"

"You didn't have to." He smirked. I smacked him in the back of the head, my fingers slightly sticking to his hair due to the sticky ice cream.

"Ew!"

"Serves you right! HEY!" I yelled at Jack for doing exactly what Alex did. He looked at me with a grin.

"What? I wanted mint!"

"You have your own ice cream!"

"But none of it is mint!" I rolled my eyes and hip-checked Jack, accidentally sending him tumbling down to the water, losing his ice cream in the process.

"And now none of it is edible," Alex commented as the two of us doubled over in laughter at Jack in all his soggy glory.

"You think that's real funny, dontcha?" Jack said as he stood up and walked back over to us.

"I do, actually." I smiled as I continued eating my ice cream.

"How about this?" he asked as he suddenly flipped me over his shoulder and started walking down to the water.

"Jack! Don't! Don't you dare!"

"Oh he's going to..." Alex began laughing as Jack tossed me into the water and I lost the rest of my ice cream. In retaliation, I grabbed Jack's ankle and pulled him down and soon the two of us were fighting to keep the other down while trying to stay above water. It wasn't working that well, but it was great fun. Meanwhile, Alex was laughing his ass off while he was still standing on the sand, completely dry.

As soon as Jack and I realized this, we joined forces and took off running at Alex, who saw us coming at the last moment and scrambled to get away. Luckily for us, he was too late and Jack tackled him into the sand so the two of us could drag him down to the water and get him soaking wet.

"You're wearing swim trunks for a reason." I smiled.

"You look like a wet dog," Jack commented. Alex sputtered, coughing as he stood up.

"You look like a wet skunk."

"Boys! Play nice, now. Come on, let's keep walking." I pulled Alex over to us and looped my arms through both his and Jack's as we began heading down the beach again.

As we walked I stayed silent, listening to Alex and Jack tell me how recording had been going and laughing at their occasional commentary of people we passed by. I stared at the sand as I laid my head on Jack's shoulder, letting my mind wander back to what I had been trying to avoid.

I was lost in deep thought by the time Alex realized I was entirely quiet, although Jack was still rambling on as if nothing was wrong. Alex nudged me gently and I raised my head up and looked at him, smiling sheepishly as I knew I had been caught.

"Hey Jack?" Alex asked. Jack turned his head, closing his mouth for the first time in a while.

"What?"

"Shut up." Alex looked at me and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm..." I sighed. "I don't really know."

"What's wrong?" Jack asked. I shrugged, shaking my head because I didn't really want to get into it.

"It's nothing. I'll be okay." Jack's attention was soon diverted, but Alex looked unconvinced. I really hated that I was so easy to read.

"Hey Jack," Alex began as he pulled out his wallet, now soggy from being in his pocket when he was pushed into the water, "why don't you go get some more ice cream?" He gave Jack a few dollars and shooed him away. Jack left excitedly and Alex pulled me down onto the sand, facing the ocean.

"That was nice of you," I commented.

"It happens." Alex smiled. "Now, spill."

"Spill what?" He narrowed his eyes at me and I sighed heavily.

"You know. Come on."

"There's nothing to spill! I'm just being stupid." Alex wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me closer to him as he let out a sigh.

"You're not being stupid. Now tell me what's really going on or I'll give you a noogie." He raised his arm and I flinched, trying to get away.

"Okay! Okay! God!" He dropped his arm, smirking before I elbowed him in the ribs. "Douchebag."

"You love me."

"Occasionally." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, you were saying?" I paused for a few moments, carefully choosing what I was going to say.

"Is it so wrong to want my fiancé to have a part in the wedding plans?" Alex stayed silent for a moment before he replied.

"No. It's not."

"Then why does it seem like such a hassle for Josh to care?"

"I don't think-"

"I mean, I know writing and recording is stressful and all, but is it so bad that he can't take two minutes out of his day to talk to me?"

"Well, I-"

"Or even just call me back to say hello! We used to talk all the time, and now-" Alex covered my mouth and I realized I had been rambling. I laughed sheepishly as he removed his hand and rolled his eyes at me.

"Can I say something?" I nodded. "I know we make recording look easy, but you have to remember that we got lucky with our fame. Josh and the rest of the guys still have to work for a lot of the things we now take for granted."

"So, you're saying-"

"What I'm saying is, Josh probably didn't factor in the amount of work a wedding takes with the work he already has to do. He just wanted to marry you so badly, he couldn't wait."

"You think?" I asked, feeling sheepish as my cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Yeah, I do. Everyone sees it when you two are together. Hell, I was going to start a betting pool on when he was going to pop the question, but he beat me to it." I elbowed Alex again and he laughed. "I'm serious!"

"Yeah, you would." The two of us went silent for a moment, and I looked out at the water as I thought about what Alex said.

"I know Josh hasn't really handled this all that well..."

"You can say that again." Alex gave me a look and I shut up.

"But cut him some slack. I'm sure he'll soon realize what an ass he's been and he'll make it up to you."

"Yeah?" I looked up at Alex and he nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. Now stop worrying about the wedding for now and let's have some fun!" I laughed and Alex gave me a noogie while pulling me down into the sand.

"Am I interrupting?" Jack asked as the two of us stopped wrestling and looked up at him. He had a sceptical look on his face as he hovered over us with two ice cream cones in his hands.

"Is that for me?" I asked as Alex and I stood up. Jack nodded as he handed me the cone with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

"I felt bad you didn't get to finish the other one." I smiled and hugged Jack with my spare arm before I wrapped it around his neck.

"Come on, let's head back to the others."

"They're probably surfing," Alex said.

"Or fucking in the sand," Jack added.

"Eww, let's hope not." I grimaced. "That would be so uncomfortable."

"Yeah, imagine getting sand up your butt!" I nearly choked on my ice cream while Alex burst into laughter at Jack's comment.

"You are a special creature, Jack."

By the time we made it back to the others, Tiffany and Rian had also reappeared, slightly red in the cheeks. Although it may have been from the sun, something told me they had done something they shouldn't have. But the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to know.

Soon after the seven of us decided to head back to the house, Zack in tow this time. Even though he had his own place, he decided to tag along to spend more time with Eris. When we made it back, I couldn't help but feel I was the odd man out.

They were all couples: Zack and Eris, Tiffany and Rian...hell, even Alex and Jack. A friendship like theirs was enough like a relationship that it put them all in the same category. I was left on the outskirts even if they didn't mean to do it.

Without meaning to, I sank into depression again and this time I couldn't keep it off my face. The seven of us were sitting around in the living room when Eris saw the look on my face and sighed heavily.

"That's it. I'm sick of this."

"Sick of what?" Zack asked.

"This! Josh being a complete fucking idiot!"

"He's not-" I began, but Eris interrupted.

"Don't defend him. Everyone here knows it as well as I do." I frowned and slid down further into the couch. Tiffany detached herself from Rian to slip her arms around me and hug me tightly.

"So what are you going to do?" Alex asked. "You guys said he wasn't answering his phone."

"Luckily, I have a remedy for that." Eris whipped out her phone and dialed a number. The six of us sat in anticipation as the line rang and she waited for someone on the other end to pick up.

"Who's she calling?" Jack asked.

"We'll find out soon," Alex replied. Just at that moment, the call went through and Eris began talking.

"'Ello James! Is His Tallness about?" Eris rolled her eyes before continuing, "There's a method to my madness, Jim, trust me." A moment later, she put the phone down on the table next to her, now set to speakerphone.

"Hello?" I stiffened when I heard Josh's voice, an inexplicable pain suddenly shot through my chest and I half wanted to bolt out of there, half needed to hear his voice again.

"So, Joshua, I have a question for you." Eris paused dramatically before practically shouting, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Uh...come again?" Jack snickered and Eris shot him a look, causing Alex to smack Jack upside the head. He whimpered softly, but otherwise remained silent.

"This is not funny, Joshua. I'm serious. How hard did someone drop you on your head that you think it's okay to ignore your fiancée while she's stressing her brain out planning your wedding?" There was a long pause before Josh sighed heavily.

"I can't deal with this right now. I'll call you later."

"JOSHUA DO NOT HANG UP-" The line clicked and a numerous sharp intakes of breath were heard around the room.

"Ooh shit. He should not have done that," Rian remarked in a low voice.

"No, he fucking shouldn't have." Eris was livid now and I could tell it was taking a lot for her to not completely destroy her phone as she dialed again.

"What?" Josh demanded from the other side of the line.

"Do not take that tone with me, Withenshaw. I will get on the next fucking plane to Michigan to beat your ass, don't you dare think I won't."

"Don't talk to me like you're my fucking mom."

"I wouldn't have to if you had a fucking spine, you coward!" Eris was so furious that she snatched her phone from the table and stormed out, continuing to yell at Josh as she went. I had never heard that tone of voice from Josh before and had only seen Eris get this angry once or twice before. It was not a pretty sight.

With Eris out of the room, slowly everyone's eyes turned to me and I wanted to sink so far into the couch that no one would ever find me. I felt guilty for unleashing this all onto everyone, especially the guys because it really had nothing to do with them. It wasn't their fault I was engaged to a man who hadn't gotten his priorities in line.

Without saying a word, I unhooked myself from Tiffany's grip and left the room. I slipped out the front door and sat down on the driveway for a few moments with my eyes closed as I concentrated on breathing. I could just barely hear Eris screaming in the distance and I wondered what she was saying and if she was making any progress.

As I thought about it, I began to dread the next time I would speak to Josh. What if he blamed this all on me? I didn't ask Eris to call him, but I hadn't stopped her. He might have been in the middle of something genuinely important and we interrupted.

I shook my head, pounding my fists into my temples as I forced those thoughts out of my mind. This was what needed to be done. He had to know the truth. He couldn't honestly think I'd be perfectly fine with planning all of this on my own and he could leave me all alone. No, this was exactly what had to happen to make him see.

I let out a long sigh before I stood up and went back inside, heading to the kitchen to avoid the group in the living room. After a few minutes of staring at the contents of the fridge, mostly beer and a few various condiments, I heard footsteps and turned to see Eris. She slipped her phone into her back pocket as she cracked her knuckles, obviously trying to calm herself down.

"Have fun?" I asked softly.

"A bit." She paused and then added with a chuckle, "Your fiancé is really a stubborn ass when he wants to be."

"Yeah, he is." I sighed. Eris groaned and pounded her fists on the table.

"Okay, I need to let off some steam. I'm going to the studio to scream, and when I come back, I expect food and booze."

"I'll let the others know," I said with a laugh as Eris left. I called Alex's name and he came into the kitchen a few minutes later, and I held up two menus.

"Which are you in the mood for, pizza or Chinese?"