We're forever; I'll remember that

I watched Nick smile at me, pushing a strand of my hair back. He kissed my cheek, leading me back into the kitchen where everyone seemed to pile back again. Biting my lip, I glanced over at Denise who smiled sweetly.

“Abby just informed us of amazing news through this whole mess,” she said clearly, nodding to my best friend. She blushed, turning to face Nick and I.

“Umm, I’m actually getting into wedding planning… and I wanted to know if I could plan yours? I mean, it’d be great practice, and I swear I wouldn’t screw up, and you wouldn’t have to pay me, and I’d love to do it for you-”

“Abby,” Mike warned, letting out a chuckle while giving her red cheek a kiss. I looked at Nick in shock, thinking about how perfect this actually was. She was my best friend and knew more about me now than before. He looked down with a smile, showing in his eyes that he was just as grateful.

“That’d be perfect, actually,” I spoke, tearing my gaze away from Nick’s beauty to catch my excited best friend.

“Really? You mean it?” she squealed.

“Yeah. It’d help us out a lot and we’d still pay you,” Nick quickly replied, getting us all to smile.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, really!” she grinned, jumping up and running over o us. She pulled us both into a tight hug, smiling like a maniac. “I swear, I’ll do whatever you want, whenever you want!”

“this really means a lot to me, too,” I whispered, feeling Nick’s arms wrap around my waist. “I kind of always dreamed of the perfect wedding with my Prince Charming. I got the prince down, but I was a little worried about the wedding,” I giggled, looking up at Nick’s burning cheeks, but smiling lips.

“When do you want to get started?” Nick asked softly, directing the question to both of us. I bit my lip, looking at Abby.

“Anytime you guys are ready. Today, even,” she shrugged, sighing happily.

“Okay, we need to take a shower first-” Nick started, only to be interrupted by Joe.

“Not together, I hope,” he chuckled, getting Nick and I to blush, also earning a smack upside the head from Kevin.

“Ha-ha, Joseph,” Nick rolled his eyes, running a hand through his mess of curls.

“First things first, we all need to eat!” Denise called, motioning for us to sit down.

[&&]

Sitting down on the couch, I curled up into Nick’s chest, smiling when he brushed his hand over my face absentmindedly, like it was the normal thing to do, and to us… it was. Abby came in quickly with a large tablet that looked so organized already, a smile on her lips.

“Thanks again, guys. Really. But I think we should get started?” she smiled, shifting in her seat excitedly.

“Sure Abby, whatever you say,” Nick chuckled, looking down at me.

“What do you want to start with?” I giggled, trying not to get distracted by Nick.

“Well, to me, it seems like we need a theme first of all. Like, colors. What colors are thinking of, if any?” she started, surprising me with how… serious she was. It made me think this was going to be great.

“Well… Nick’s favorite color is blue,” I paused, looking up at him.

“And Mitchie’s is purple, but they don’t go that well,” he continued, furrowing his thin eyebrows.

“How about we do indigo? Like… a lighter shade though? And cream always works nice with indigo. And then we could add touches of a more darker violet, but in a sheer way, and the blue would be the same,” she grinned, proud of herself.

“Whoa. That actually sounds…”

“Great,” Nick finished with his sweet smile. She clapped excitedly, scribbling down all that she said. I might not be able to read it, but I knew she would.

“Okay, we have the colors. I was thinking of a more traditional wedding style, but Nick would be able to wear his own style tuxedo, kind of like custom? And you’d be able to customize your very own dress, along with whoever the bridesmaids are,” she suggested, biting her lip. This was about the time the two of us, Nick and I, got serious, sitting ourselves up.

“I’d like to customize my own tuxedo,” Nick agreed happily. Just the thought of him in a tux was… wow.

“And the dress? That might be the best thing. Would you be able to catch a glimpse of Nick’s idea and maybe get mine to match?” I asked thoughtfully, running a hand through my hair.

“Yeah, definitely. This is probably going to cost a chunk of money, this whole wedding… so, are you going on a budget, or is it just plan by ear?” she questioned quickly, looking down at the tablet. I honestly didn’t know. I didn’t have the money, that was for sure. I was sure my mother would pitch in, even my father, but I hadn’t enough to really help with anything.

“I’ll cover it,” Nick spoke up quickly, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. “For now, I think I’ll have to play it by ear, just until I know how much I’ll be able to get and by doing what, but we can plan everything ahead of time and then I can cover it right away.” I looked up at the curly haired cutie, unable to stop my smile as he kissed my cheek, giving me that warmth he carried.

“Awesome. Alright. We can just plan this thing then,” she laughed,, scooting closer.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt this little love fest, but can I have in?” Joe asked, his eyes lighting up. Nick looked at Joe skeptically, standing up and pulling him into the corner, talking in hushed tones, but I strained to listen.

“You’re serious?” Nick whispered, looking him straight in the eye.

“Dead serious.”

“Look, Joe… this is my wedding. I’m very serious about this and I’m going to make sure Mitchie gets whatever she wants. I’ve already found the girl that I love and we are really getting married…” he trailed off, no doubt wondering if Joe knew that he was taking this completely serious, and I swear I melted.

“Nick, bro, I know. I support you one hundred and thirty percent. I really want to help, honestly. I won’t throw out crazy ideas, but I can bring fun to it… I promise. I know how much this means to you, and I want you to know I’m there. You’re my brother and I love you, and your happiness means the world to me,” Joe spoke softly. This was one of the only times I had seen him this serious. Nick smiled, pulling his brother into a hug.

“Thank you,” was all he had to say to get Joe’s eyes to light up. When they pulled away, Joe jumped into the chair across from Abby, smiling happily as Nick came back to join me.

“Okay… what about a location?” Abby asked next, looking around at the three of us.

“I have a suggestion!” Joe spoke up excitedly, getting Nick to bite his lip.

“Sure Joe,” I smiled, leaning in to listen to him.

“There’s that really big church in town, you know? The one we used to go to as kids?” Joe started, looking over at Nick who nodded thoughtfully. It’s really beautiful there and I see you guys getting married in a church. The pathway leads down to this enclosed park, perfect for your little reception or whatever,” he grinned, watching us with hope of approval.

“That’s really great, actually, perfect. It’s beautiful there, Mitchie. You have to see it,” Nick grinned, giving Joe a high five.

“So… church it is,” I laughed, taking their word for it, smiling as Abby scribbled it down. This would be fun.

[&&]

After almost an hour of planning, we realized how much really had to be done. There was going to be so much thinking, and so much writing and work for Abby, but she was happy… and this was perfect for her. Sighing, I tried to fight my eyes from closing as my head Nick’s houlder. He immediately wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest where I snuggled up, taking in his scent.

“You’re tired too?” he whispered, kissing my head repeatedly.

“Yeah,” I giggled, reaching a hand up to play with the curls at the back of his neck. I felt all his muscles relax as he held me close, lying his head on the back of the couch.

“And dinner’s not even started yet. What time is it?” he yawned, moving his head to look at the clock. I let out a laugh, looking over at the muted TV. “It’s only four,” he sighed, rubbing my back gently, drawing aimless shapes with his fingers, sending shivers through me.

“Will you sing me a song?” I asked suddenly, sitting up slightly to look into his chocolaty eyes. He watched me curiously, shrugging.

“If you want me too,” he said softly, wiping a stray hair out of my face. “Which one?”

“The one you sang when I was in the hospital,” I smiled, tugging on his shirt like a child. He nodded, clearing his throat.

“She walks away, the colors fade to gray. Every precious moments now a waste. She hit’s the gas, hoping it would pass, but the red light starts to flash it’s time to wait. And the black keys never looked so beautiful and a perfect rainbow never seemed so dull. The lights out, never had this bright of glow and the black keys, showing me a world I never knew, no. A world I never knew…” he trailed off, smiling slightly. I thought I was going to cry at how beautiful his voice was, even without music.

“When you look me in the eyes,” I requested quickly, smiling brightly. He nodded, smiling shyly.

“If the heart is always searching, can you ever find a home? I’ve been looking for that someone, I can’t make it on my own. Dreams can’t take the place of loving you. There’s gotta’ be a million reasons why it’s true… When you look me in the eyes, and tell me that you love me, everything’s alright, when you’re right here by my side. And when you look me in the eyes, I catch a glimpse of heaven… I find my paradise, when you look me in the eyes…” he sang, staring right into my eyes. “I, uh, I want to sing that to you at the wedding,” he whispered, his cheeks turning a light shade of red.

“Really?” I whispered, feeling tears threaten to fall. he nodded, his curls bouncing gently.

“It means so much and I want everyone to hear how I see you.”

“That… gosh Nick!” I sniffled, burying my face into his shoulder, he held me close, his heartbeat calming me down. “I would really like that. I would really, really like that… if you sang it at the wedding,” I mumbled, looking up into his sparkling eyes.

He gently tilted his head, his eyes slowly closing as he pushed his lips to mine gently, only kissing me just a little. He was so beautiful… I didn’t know how many times I could say it, but I knew he was, and he was so perfect.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips, leaving his eyes closed. I smiled, shutting my own eyes, and kissed him again, pulling away just enough to whisper it back.