They Said Speak Now.

I usually pride myself on being the sort of girl who just sits back and goes with the flow, the kind of girl who just sits back and lets everyone else have their happy ending. I was the girl who let everyone push her around, and never said anything that might possibly hurt anyone else’s feelings. This was the sort of behaviour that got me nowhere. I was used to other people getting exactly what I wanted because I was either too nice to say that it was I wanted, or I just didn’t have the guts. I like to think it was the former, but now looking back it seems that the latter might have been more likely. I let others push me around and today, I had decided, it was going to stop. I was going to put an end to this.

What I wanted, what I needed was Max Henderson. I never thought I would be the girl whose life revolved around a guy, but now that was the uncomfortable, pathetic truth. I, Aurora Lewis needed a guy to be happy and not just any guy. No, this guy was taken. He was getting married. I tried to make what I was going to do sound better inside my head. She didn’t deserve him. But did I? I didn’t want to think about that right now but the thought was still at the back of my mind, nagging me. Did I really think that barging into the wedding and objecting to the marriage was going to make him mine? I didn’t want to think about the type of girl I had become. I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion. But then, he is not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl. But then again, was she the wrong girl for him? Sure, she was conceited, snotty and she thought she was better than everyone else but everyone seemed to love her. So was I just so jealous that I saw only her faults? I didn’t think that this was the case but I wasn’t sure.

I looked at my watch. An hour had passed since I had pulled up at the church. The wedding wasn’t due to start for about another hour but the church was filling up quickly and I didn’t have a seat. I wasn’t invited. I wondered if Max had anything to do with my lack of wedding invitation but then I thought better of it. It would have had to be her. She didn’t want me there because she hated me. Either that or she was threatened by me. I doubted that she was actually threatened by me so I decided that she didn’t like me. I was uninvited by the lovely bride to be. I finally gain enough courage to leave the car.

I sneak into the church as quietly as I can. I try to make as little noise as possible, I don’t want to draw any attention to myself not that I am the sort of person to draw attention to myself. I am the girl that people just pass by and don’t take notice of at all. I used to like it that way but now I wanted to be noticed. Max was the only one I cared about though. I couldn’t care less if no one else knew who I was but I needed Max to notice me. Don’t get me wrong, Max knows exactly who I am. It’s not like I was invisible to him or anything but he never noticed me the way I wished he would. I was his best friend and that’s all. I was the one he went to with all his problems and yet I was uninvited to the wedding and he went along with it. He let bridezilla keep an invitation from me. Well I wasn’t going to stand for that. I look around the church and I see Max’s friends talking as they wait for the wedding to start. I recognise all of them. I’m not that close with any of them but I had heard Max talk about them all the time. I see the bride’s snotty family. They are all dressed in Pastel and they think that they are so much better than everyone else.

Erin, the brides little sister smirks at me. She’s 18 like I am, and she’s been in my class every single year at school much to my own utter disappointment. We have a mutual hatred and she knows how I feel about Max. Everyone at school knew. Everyone but him. I hear shouts coming from a room at the back of the church. I turn and catch a glimpse of Daphne running after a bridesmaid. She’s wearing a gown shaped like a pastry. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. I try to hide a smirk as I imagine how she is going to look walking down the aisle wearing that thing. She would still look beautiful as much as I hate to admit it, but she would look less beautiful.

I look and see Max looking at me with a strange expression on his face. I don’t care, I just needed to see the wedding and maybe possibly stop it. As time goes on I begin to wonder if I can actually do it. Suddenly the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march. I look back just in time to see Daphne, the bride walking down the aisle. She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen, looking extremely snobbish and up herself. This is nothing new, just typical Daphne behaviour. I see Daphne strut up to Max and they smile at each other but Max’s expression looks pained. They exchange rings and then all too soon I hear the priest say “Speak now or forever hold your peace”

I stand up with shaking hands and everybody’s eyes are fixated on me. I try to ignore them as my heart pounds in my chest. There is a deafening silence until I look straight into Max’s beautiful blue eyes and say “Don’t say yes Max. She doesn’t deserve you. Run away now and meet me at the back door. You need to hear me out Max. I love you. I know I have waited too long and you are getting married now but I can’t stand it. I need you in my life and not just as a friend. I can’t live without you for any longer. And they said speak now, so that’s just what I’m doing” I can hear my voice crack and I turn and run out of the church before anyone can say anything.

Ten minutes later I am sitting on a hill just behind the church. I am sobbing uncontrollably as I am terribly ashamed and embarrassed. He will never love me and I have just ruined his happiness. I felt like a truly selfish person. I only cared about myself, it didn’t matter what pathetic excuses I told myself, a fact was a fact. I was a useless, selfish person. For the first time that day I felt like I shouldn’t have taken matters into my own hands. Maybe it wasn’t so bad being nice. Being pushed around. At least then I wasn’t being selfish and ruining my best friend’s happiness.

“Rory?” I hear a soft tentative voice call out. I turn around to see max smiling at me. The smile disappears when he sees my blotched face and the tears that are running freely down my face.

“Rory, what’s wrong? I didn’t say the vows. I’m really glad you were around when they said speak now. I couldn’t marry her. I loved her at first but then she started telling me that once we were together I couldn’t see you anymore. I couldn’t stand not seeing you Aurora. I need you in my life. When you stood up and objected to the marriage I realised I loved you. I’m so very glad you were around when they said speak now” Max sounded truly serious as he said that. I could hardly believe my ears. This was incredible.

I couldn’t think of what to say or do so I just kissed him.