Hollywood and Vines (A One Direction Fanfic)

Chapter 7 - The Wedding

Thursday, June 23

"My dress is falling off," I voiced to no one in particular as I pulled up the pink bridesmaid dress.

Samantha, one of Mom's best friends, stepped forward to stand beside me at the mirror.  "Have you lost weight since we were measured for our dresses last week?"  She fingered with the baggy fabric of my dress.

"I wouldn't think so," I lied.

"Hmmph . . . you do look skinnier."

"Um . . .."

"You're so skinny it's almost unfair," she laughed lightheartedly.  "I'll see if anyone has anything you could use to hold your dress up.  Actually, let me just go right now.  I'll ask Madeline."

"Thanks."

"No problem!"

Samantha swung around gleefully in her dress and rushed out if the room, leaving me with my reflection.  The dress was so large, I was practically swimming in it, and I couldn't understand why.  I couldn't understand why Samantha thought I was so skinny when I knew that huge quantities of fat were spilling over my stomach.  Pinning my dress together would only accentuate my obese body, but I'm not sure I'd rather have the dress falling off of me while I walked down the isle.

"Madeline to the rescue!"  the tall woman cheered as she burst through the door with Samantha.  "Here you go, Honey."

"Thanks."

"We gotta hurry, everyone's already out there, they're about to start," Samantha exclaimed.

"You're good to go, Hun.  You look beautiful."

"Thanks."

Together we pushed through the doors and stood at our ready positions before the congregation.  Stephen Carris, my former babysitter who was in his late twenties, linked arms with me.  He was the only friend of Mom's who was still single.  He glanced to me, grinning.  

"You look nice," I told him casually.

"You too, kid.  You're all grown up.  Pretty soon it's gonna be you in that white dress."

I laughed fakely.  "Yeah.  Some day."

Soon, the doors were opened, and the pairs proceeded down the isle.  I spotted Allie in a pew near the front.  With her was her aunt, her uncle, and a blond boy who obviously was not related to her.  I could just tell by the way they interacted with one another.  I'm not sure how Allie felt, but Blondie obviously had something for her.  

They kept looking at me.  Allie would glance toward me, smile, turn to Blondie,  then look at me again as she said something to him.  It didn't take and genius to figure out that they were talking about me.

The vows couldn't have taken longer.  The guy -- what is he called, a priest?  A pastor? -- talked extremely slowly, and it seemed like hours had past before Mom kissed her new husband.  My new step dad.

 I was relieved when it was it was time to attend the reception.  I scanned the room for Zayn, and I thought he might have appeared after I heard someone scream for Harry, but he was no where to be seen.  Instead, I saw him approach Allie who had been talking to Blondie.  Watching them from across the room, I concluded that they had became engaged in a dense, and very meaningful conversation.  Harry actually appeared to be on the verge of tears.  Blondie, on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode, especially when Harry pushed him to the side and told him he wanted to talk to Allie alone.

This could only mean one thing:  Harry and Blondie were competing for Allie's attention, and Harry had won.  Was it possible that Blondie was part of One Direction?  He seemed to be well acquainted with Harry.  Either way, this was good for neither me nor Eliza.  However, I suppose I could use Blondie as a leverage to push Harry away from Allie.  I'd have to do some prying, though, if I wanted to find out if Allie had feelings for Blondie.

I decided that I'd have to talk to Blondie, but I wouldn't now.  The bride and groom were about to be introduced, and we were just told to take our seats.  Originally, I wish I'd been seated with Allie, Harry, and Blondie, but when I overheard the bridemaids' gossip, I did not regret the table I had been placed at.

"So I was talking to Ethan earlier," Samantha began quietly as all the other bridesmaids -- including myself -- leaned in to hear her.  "And he said that his daughter was dating someone from that famous boyband.  I can't remember his name, but Ethan said he had curly hair, but that really confused me because I saw her holding hands with a blond kid earlier."

"Me too!" exclaimed a woman named Wendy.  "But the curly haired kid is here, too.  See?  The three of them are sitting at that table."  All the woman glanced over to Allie's table.

Their curious voices began piling up on one another.  "Do you think she's going out with both of them and they found out about each other?" "Is the other kid in the band?" "I saw them hugging earlier, did you see them hugging?"

Meanwhile, the men at the table were desperate to change the subject.  They obviously had no interest in the love affairs of the bride's new step daughter.  Fortunately, for them, the bride and groom entered for their first dance, and since all the guests stood up to clap, I took this time as an opportunity to find a place near Blondie.

A couple minutes after the song began, I decided to gravitate toward Bondie.  I noticed that he had distanced himself from Harry and Allie who were a few feet away, holding hands.

"Ya're Allie's step, right?"  He asked me the moment I arrived.  British?  I thought One Direction was British?  This one sounded Scottish or Irish, I didn't even know.  Maybe he's just not part of One Direction at all.

"Yeah."  

"I'm Niall."  He grinned, flashing the clear braces on his teeth. 

"Holly."

"Holly.  Nice ta meet ya."

"Thanks.  You too."  I drew in a deep breath when Niall's gaze was averted to Mom and Ethan who were slow dancing to an 80's song.  "So . . . you're a friend of Allie's?"

He sneered bitterly.  "Yeah.  That's me.  A friend."

"Ah," I nodded understandingly.  "Tough place to be."

"Tell me about it."

"What's not to like?  You're  adorable."  I took extra care in making sure that I spoke casually and not flirtatiously.  I need to be thinking strategically, not seductively.  Not for Blon--Niall.

 "Aw," he sighed, turning bright red as he wrapped his arms around his stomach.  A cute smirk splattered across his face.  

"Some people don't know what they miss out on."

He laughed nervously, obviously flattered by my words.

"Keep your head up, though.  She clearly has feelings for you."

"Huh?"  When he turned to me, his vibrant blue eyes dilated in astonishment.  

"Oh, yeah,"  I waved my hand nonchalantly, as if it were obvious.

"Ya think so?"

"Definitely.  I saw how she was acting around you when you were with the other guy -- Harry, you said?"

"Yeah.  Harry."

The song was coming to an end, and the guests were advised to return to their seats for the toast.  

"Nice talking to you, Niall," I whispered as I began toward my table.

"Wait.  Holly."

I pretended I didn't hear him.  If he was so interested in my statement that was possibly a lie, he'd have to come after me.