Give Me Envy, Give Me Malice, Give Me Your Attention

“Five days!” Lara shrieked, exasperated. “Five days!”

“Shh… Calm down love…” Bella tried.

“How am I supposed to calm down? I’m getting married in five days! Nothing’s going to be ready, nothing’s going to be okay, and it’s a dangerous affair in the first place!”

It’s safe to say that Lara was freaking out.

“Maybe we just shouldn’t get married so soon. Hold it off until it’s safer.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Ryan told her sternly. “This wedding has been held off for a long time, but not anymore. This is going to happen, and it’s going to be a day that you’ll never forget.”

A teary eyed Lara with a quivering lip looked up at the brown eyed boy trying to comfort her.

“But William…”

“William nothing,” Andy said, entering the room and wrapping a strong arm around his bride-to-be. “Lara… baby, I don’t know if you’ve completely accepted this yet, but our lives aren’t safe. We haven’t been truly safe for a long time now, and I don’t think we ever will be again. But I still love you, and we’re still going to get married. We’re going to say ‘I do’ and we’ll be together forever. We may not be completely safe, but we can still try to live a semi-normal life at best.”

The girl nodded her head slowly and rested on his chest, sniffing just a bit.

“Relax Lara,” Bella said softly. “Don’t stress. We’ve got this under control.”

Just as the soothing words were beginning to work their magic, the sound of the keys in the door drew everyone’s attention as Anna came home, much like she did most other nights. It was tiring for her; seeing Fall Out Boy during the day when Beckett would usually be resting, and trying to stay awake as much as she could at nighttime to spend time with her loved ones. The people she’d come to see as her family. As soon as she made her way through the French doors of the living room, Lara was up and freaking out again.

“Anna! How was it? What did they say? Are you sure they’re going to be there? What…”

“Shh love,” Anna laughed, a little breathlessly. “Don’t worry. I told you already that they promised to be there and nothing’s changed. Joe and Patrick pretty much spent all day going over defense plans. This is going to be one of the safest weddings in Chicago, don’t you worry about that.”

“Yeah, but most weddings aren’t under the direct threat of vampires, now are they?” Lara muttered scornfully, before her face softened and she apologized.

“It’s okay,” Anna sighed. “We’re all nervous about this.”

And boy, was that the truth. Anna hadn’t seen or heard anything about William Beckett in months. The chances of the most powerful vampire in the country – perhaps even the world – being unaware of the wedding of one of his ex best friends and the best friend of two of his most imperative creations would be laughable if it weren’t such a serious matter. Surely he knew about this wedding, and surely he didn’t just intend on sitting idly by and watching the ceremonies from his big glass window. No, it was almost certain that the vampire leader had some sort of plan. Perhaps if any of the other Dandies knew where Bella, Anna and Ryan had fled to, they might have had some more information. But they were much more protected without anyone knowing and couldn’t risk anything, especially not with the mind-reading complexities in the mansion.

Anna could admit to herself that she did miss some of the vampires in the mansion. Chiz had been there for her before anyone. He was the big brother she never had. It was because of him that she was introduced to Travis and Ryan. Travis was such a good friend. He was funny, smart, surprisingly deep and perfect for an important discussion. He was the one who had helped her and Ryan realize what was happening between them. He was the one who had been so supportive of their relationship, encouraged it when even they had their doubts. She missed those two friends dearly. And Adam… or Sisky… whatever he wanted to be called… He was a sweet kid. He certainly didn’t deserve to be a vampire, yet he was captured by the responsibilities and complications of being tied to Beckett’s group. And then… yes, she couldn’t completely deny it. It was completely ludicrous, she knew, but a small part of her missed William Beckett.

Bella certainly missed her William, although she’d never admit it to herself. And on top of that, she missed the only other friend she’d ever made in that place. Ryan missed him too. They both missed Brendon Urie.

Every now and then, Ryan would get a brief flashback to what his life was like before Anna. It was kind of a blur now, all strange and meaningless. But he could remember fitting in perfectly with the other Dandies, having all those friends. He could even vaguely remember his life before he was turned, but those were difficult memories to recall. But overall, he concluded that it didn’t matter. None of it mattered, because although she may not feel exactly the same way yet, he still had Anna.

***

Pete had tried to convince Lara that the security for her wedding was the best it could possibly be, but since his becoming a member of the undead he hadn’t had much experience with women, let alone hysterical ones like Lara, so in the end he had to hand the phone over to Patrick (who, admittedly, had even less experience with women, but he was much more patient than Pete was). When eventually, after at least an hour of questioning the poor boys ruthlessly, Lara hang up the phone, her friends were there to take care of her.

“Now, no more worrying about vampire intrusions,” Bella told her sternly but playfully.

“That’s right,” Anna said, a small hint of a glint in her eye. “From now on you’re only allowed to worry about what most brides worry about.”

That still left Lara with plenty of hurried questions, even about things to which she had already heard the answer a hundred times.

“What about the flowers?”

“All being set up tomorrow morning.”

“Rings?”

“Your Andy’s taking care of it.”

“Pete’s the best man, right?”

“Yep. Making sure that your soon-to-be-husband is entirely protected the whole time.”

“My dress…”

“…Is on the chair in your room, just as it was when you checked it for the eighth time ten minutes ago.”

“The cake?”

“Joe picked it up from the patisserie earlier this afternoon.”

Lara paused.

“… Are you sure that’s wise? Trusting Joe with the cake?”

Anna and Bella laughed.

“Even on the eve of her wedding, in the midst of freaking out, her humor is still in tact,” Bella smiled.

Lara herself let out a quick breath of mirth with a smile, before an almost-peaceful quiet set upon the three women.

“Guys?” Lara whispered.

“Yeah?” her two friends whispered back.

“I… I’m getting married tomorrow.”

“Yes you are,” Anna smiled.

After a moment, Lara’s face split into a wide grin. Despite everything, she couldn’t have been happier. Four months ago she wouldn’t have guessed in her wildest dreams that her two best friends would be there for her wedding. Yet here they were, calming her down and helping her plan everything. Tomorrow she would be married to the man that she loved with all her heart, and that was something that even her completely perfect friends may not be able to achieve. She was lucky. This was truly everything she wanted.

One more sleep until everything changes.

One more sleep until everything she ever wished for.

One more sleep until everything she ever feared.

One more sleep…