This Is What Happens When Love Meets Destruction

-|| FF Three Years ||-
Self consciously, I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair before I lowered my hands, running them over my outfit to straighten it out. I had been sitting around for the past forty-five minutes or so and a majority of that time had been spend twisting and turning, this way and that way. Growing up I had never been one to let impatience get the best of me, but since Jack, Alex, Rian, and Zack had gotten signed and started touring the country, I found out what it was like to have anxiety and restlessness plague my mind.

In an attempt to take my mind off of the delayed flight I had been waiting for, I glanced down at the shiny engagement ring that sat nice and pretty on my finger. As the diamonds caught the light and sparkled back up at me, making me smile as I recalled the night Jack had slipped it onto my finger.

It had been almost exactly a year ago when Jack and the guys were getting ready to leave for yet another one of their tours. I wasn't expecting Jack to propose to me that day; hell, I wasn't expecting him to propose any time soon. But just as their bus was getting ready to pull out, it stopped suddenly and the door opened, letting Jack out to run back across the parking lot to where I stood with Lauren and Jamie.

I didn't even have a chance to open my mouth and ask him what he was doing when he pulled a box out of his pocket and dropped down onto one knee, before asking me to marry him. Staring at the boy I had been dating for the past two and a half years, I'd be laying to myself if I had said that the time spent with him weren't the happiest moments of my entire life. They truly were. I know that we're young, and that we still have a lot of years to experience, but I couldn't say no to Jack. I love him, so I said yes.

Things since them have been sort of hectic because of his career so we haven't really been able to sit down and plan out our wedding, but tonight, we have a dinner set with a wedding planner that I had found a couple months ago. Our wedding planner, Nicholas, had been very patient in regards to me and Jack, and he'd been willing to keep an open date here and there to meet with us.

"Hey, beautiful." A gentle, familiar voice greeted me.

Startled, I jumped slightly and then looked around to discover that I had been so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't even realize the flight had landed, and its occupants were now cluttered around the gate. Looking up to the boy standing directly in front of me, I smiled widely and then wrapped my arms around his slender waist, hugging him tightly.

"Jack," I whispered, "I've missed you."

"I know, sweetheart," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, holding me close to him, "I've missed you too."

Pulling away slightly, he leaned over and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me as passionately as would be appropriate in a public place such as the airport. After a while, he broke the kiss and gave me a soft smile before releasing me. Turning my attention from him, I gazed upon the rest of the guys, observing them to see if anything was different, but I didn't see anything.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at us, or give us a hug?" Alex questioned with a soft smirk.

Responding with a smile of my own, I took two steps closer to him and let him pull me into his arms.

"You better have stayed out of trouble this time around, Gaskarth." I told him, the sound of a threat clearly present in my voice.

Alex laughed softly before he leaned over and kissed my temple gently. "Of course." He said simply.

"Word on the street is that you went out and got yourself sick." I replied. "Then you kept having to cut your sets short after that. A lot of the little girlies are upset with you about that."

"Its not like I intentionally went out and got myself sick." Alex said defensively. "So back off." He added with a soft smirk. He nudged my side playfully, and then released me, allowing me to give Rian, and then Zack their welcome home hugs.

When I was done, I went back to Jack who in response held his hand out to me. "Are you ready to go and see the wedding planner?" He questioned.

"Yeah. By the time we pick up your stuff, though, and head over there, we'll probably be a little late, but I had let him know ahead of time that we'd probably be late." I replied as I gently laced my fingers with his.

Not saying anything, Jack simply nodded his head and led me toward the other end of the airport, in the general direction of the luggage claim area. About fifteen minutes later, after the guys had collected their belongings, Lauren handed her car keys over to Rian so that he and Zack could drive home, while the rest of us met with the wedding planner. Muttering a few threatening words as to what would happen if they goofed off with her car, Lauren watched the two walk away, a slightly perturbed look on her face before she turned her gaze up to me.

"Well, let's go and meet with this wedding planner of yours before he decides that your money isn't worth sitting around in the restaurant by himself, looking like a dumb ass." She sighed, and then led the way toward the exit.

"For the price he's asking, the man would be a fool to walk away from it now." Jack huffed. "Did you actually realize how much this guy charges for a single ceremony, babe, or did you just pick him because word on the street is that he was the best?"

Rolling my eyes slightly, I stood up on my tip toes and kissed Jack's cheek quickly, before falling back into step behind Lauren. "I picked him because he's the best, and you told me that we'd only get the best for our wedding."

Jack frowned softly before he reluctantly nodded his head. "I did say that." He admitted.

Giving him a cute smile, I moved my gaze from him and looked ahead of us to catch Lauren watching me over her shoulder. When our eyes locked, she laughed softly and flashed me a little wink before leaning over and whispering something into Alex's ear. Whatever she had said, caused Alex to laugh loudly in amusement, but I didn't get a chance to ask what they were laughing at - I'm certain it had something to do with me - because at that moment, Jack leaned over and began to whisper some explicit words into my ear, causing me to blush deeply and forget all about what was going on in front of me.

About thirty minutes later, the Jack and I found ourselves exchanging handshakes with a young, Italian man whose ... 'interesting' hair style reminded me a lot of Christian Siriano.

"It's so good to finally meet you," Nicholas smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, too." I replied.

"This is Lauren, my maid of honor," I said while Nicholas extended his hand out to her. "And this is Alex, the best man."

Nicholas let go of Lauren's hand and turned to Alex, shaking his hand as well. I couldn't help but notice the way Nicholas' eyes examined Alex closely, and the way Nicholas held Alex's hand a few seconds longer than he had with anyone else. Alex seemed to notice as well because he smiled nervously, and then pulled his hand back, shoving it into his pocket. Watching him, I did my best to suppress an amused smile, and then turned my attention back to Nicholas.

"Please, sit." He instructed while motioning for us to take a seat. "After our last conversation, Victoria, when we had exchanged some ideas for the plans, I've been anxious to get started."

"Ideas?" Jack questioned with a raised eyebrow as he examined me. "What sort of ideas?"

"I told him that I'd love to get married at a winery." I told him. "My uncle got married at one, and it was beautiful there, but keep in mind that it was in California ... not Maryland."

"I was able to find some local wineries that you might be interested in but I didn't bring any of the information with me." Nicholas said. "It's my understanding that you had just arrived home from tour, is that right Jack? I didn't want to keep you out too long, boring you with wedding plans already."

Jack simply nodded his head and offered a warm smile in response, not really knowing what else to say.

"I thought tonight would just be a good night to introduce ourselves, and for you guys to paint me a general picture of what you want your wedding to be like." Our wedding planner continued to speak, even as he nodded to a waiter who had been standing nearby.

Although Nicholas was young, I couldn't help but get the impression that he could make a lot of people do whatever he wanted by merely the snap of his fingers.

"Kenneth here will happily take your orders while I take care of some business in the kitchens real fast," Nicholas explained as he stood up.

With another nod of his head to excuse himself, the young man made his way through the labyrinth of tables, disappearing into a brightly lit hallway that I assumed led to the kitchens. Not knowing what we wanted to order, we sent Kenneth away to get us some drinks while we poured over the menu.

"Vinnie, is your wedding planner gay?" Alex questioned me as soon as our waiter was out of earshot.

Laughing softly, I shrugged my shoulders, "judging by the way he reacted to you, I would assume so." I teased.

Alex blushed deeply, and turned his eyes back to the menu, studying it intently.

"If he is gay, Alex, at least you know that you attract cute gay boys." I added.

Alex didn't say anything in response, but rather lifted his menu up higher so that he was completely hidden from my view. I laughed quietly to myself, and then took a glance at Jack, who was in turn watching me with his brown stare.

"What's up, babe?" I asked him.

A small smile crossed his lips and he shrugged his shoulders as he reached over and took my left hand in his. Examining my engagement ring momentarily, he brought his eyes up, connecting them with mine once again.

"I love you," he told me, "and believe it or not, I'm actually excited about this wedding planning stuff."

"You're not going to sit around, and complain about how expensive everything will be, are you?"

Jack frowned softly and furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not going to break my bank account, are you?" He questioned.

"If I do, it won't be intentionally." I said with a smile.

The upper corner of Jack's mouth quirked up in a crooked smile, and then he nodded his head. "Because I love you, I'll have you know that you'll probably be able to get away with almost anything for this wedding." He said simply before turning his eyes back to the menu in front of him.

Biting my lip to keep my smile from getting any bigger, I squeezed his hand tightly, and couldn't help but wonder how soon we would be able to step up to the alter and say 'I do.'