Every Storm That Comes Also Comes to an End

Alex.

I take a deep breath. I open my eyes, looking over my figure in the full-length mirror. I looked to formal and too stiff. And the deep black of the suit made my face washed out.

"I sound like Avery," I mutter to myself, the ghost of a smile on my lips as I roll my eyes.

I once again straighten out the suit jacket and mess a bit with the red bow tie I was wearing. I pull a hand back through my hair once I was done, feeling as if I should do something with my hands. I tug at my hair, trying to get into it's original messy-do look that I had just spent a good hour-and-a-half perfecting. I curse myself for screwing it up.

The door behind me suddenly opens, revealing Jack.

"The priest just arrived," he says as he comes up behind me in the mirror. I give him a smile. "You got about forty-five minutes." We pause for a few moments. "How you holdin' up?"

"If my knees don't stop shaking I'll probably knock 'em together so hard the bones will shatter."

My best man smirks, reaching forward to wipe stray hairs and pieces of lint off the shoulders of my jacket. Damn it. "Why are you nervous? You've known you wanted to marry this girl since you first laid eyes on her. What's there to be scared about?"

"Everything."

"Elaborate."

I exhale slowly, shaking my head. "What if she thinks she's making a mistake? I've screwed up so many times that I'm afraid to even move around her sometimes. What if she realizes how big of a bastard I am again and run off?"

Jack rolls his eyes. "Stop over-exaggerating. She's gonna walk down that aisle."

I turn around, shoving my hands in the pockets of my slacks. I look down at my overly shiny shoes, knocking the heels together. I close my eyes again. I wasn't dreaming. In just 45 minutes, I would be marrying the girl I've loved since I was in high school. That made me smile for the first time today. What do I have to be worried about?

I hear my best friend sigh. "You cheeseball."

I laugh as we move into a hug; one of those hugs where we pat each others back repeatedly, one of those hugs where you didn't let go for a really long time. When he pulled back, he was grinning. "Of all the boys to be married first, I didn't expect it to be you."

I laugh again as I push him away. "Go find Rian. He and Zack needed your help with the ring bearer. Apparently he's scared he'll drop the rings."

Jack chuckles. "I'm on it." He walks toward the door before stopping. "And don't worry, kay?"

I nod, give him another smile, then watch as he leaves.

I turn back around, walking over to the window on the other side of the room. I pull aside one of the curtains and look out. The church sidewalk was clear except for a few stragglers; everyone else was waiting inside since the weather disagreed with us, a light sprinkling of rain falling over the people still outside. The sky was this dull gray that I thought was actually a beautiful color. It seemed fitting for our wedding since our relationship wasn't always perfect from the start. An imperfect day for the ultimate imperfect couple.

I smile again as I hear the door to the room open again.

I turn around and my body locks up and the breath floats out of my body.

Her dress hugged her along the waist and bodice, lightly dotted with little things that sparkled and shone under the lighting. The skirt flowed out from the hips and covered her legs completely. The hem gently kissed the tile, her white satin heels peeking out from underneath. Her shoulders were bare and her arms hung at her sides, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the sides of her gorgeous dress as I looked at her. Her long hair was done in waves that fell over her shoulders with such grace, hitting just above her rib cage. Her bangs were pinned back in an elegant up-do that I knew her sister must have created. Her make-up was light and her veil was just a whispering white river that flowed down from the crown of her head and stopped at the top of her waist. I was glad it was out of her face because I wanted to look at her for the rest of my life.

"Avery..." I choke on my words. I could feel myself tearing up right now and we weren't even at the ceremony.

"Alex," she replies, her words breathless.

"What..." I clear my throat since it was closed up. "What are you doing here? Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" I ask teasingly.

"We've had enough bad luck for one lifetime. Why not add some more?"

I chuckle a bit, coming forward. I was almost too afraid to touch her; she felt like a delicate flower that I held in the palm of my hand and if I flinched even a bit I could crush her. But she wasn't a delicate flower and I wasn't going to hurt her. Ever again.

I reach out and move an errant hair out of her face. "How are you?"

"Perfect. You?"

"Same."

We smile at each other before she leans into me, her head tucking up under my chin like it always does. I grab hold of her waist as I press a kiss to the top of her head. She breathes in, her chest expanding against mine. I wanted to hold her to me forever.

"I know I shouldn't be here," she finally answers my question. "I just couldn't wait another half-hour to see you. God, I'm so nervous."

"Me too," I admit. "I don't know why."

"Me neither."

I pull back and look down at her, her bright blue eyes blinking at me so innocently. God I just wanted to bundle her up. "I think we're just afraid to finally be taking that step forward," I say quietly, squeezing her sides. "This is huge. We're...we're finally getting married."

She smiles, her eyes watering. I wipe under them as to not ruin her make-up. "I know. It's scary to think about."

I lean down, wanting to kiss her so bad, but knew that that might give us even more bad luck. So I settle for just letting our noses touch and our breaths mingle. "I love you and that's all that matters for right now. We can worry about our future when we come to that." I stop myself from pressing our lips together. It's like I ached to feel her mouth on mine. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course I do."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

She smiles, her eyes slipping closed as she places her hand over mine that was cupping her face. "I love you too."

I duck upwards to kiss her forehead. She pouts but understands, moving back from me. We exchange another smile as she moves backwards toward the door. "See you on the aisle?"

I laugh out loud, grinning wider. "See you on the aisle."