Trial And Error

Chapter Five

Madison browsed through the different types of high-end wedding dresses as she waited for Oliva to emerge from the dressing room. They'd been here since nine in the morning just looking, and now it was eleven with no luck. Recently the couple had decided to move up the wedding, not wanting to waste any more time and to make it official. Of course, no one could deny her request, so the two of them have been running around shopping and planning. The vocalist wasn't quite convinced; something didn't feel right. She couldn't help but think that Kian's coldness had anything to do with the timing of their wedding.

"Two months, we've barely talked in two months. Something is up with her, and I hate not knowing what it is." Madison expressed, not minding the workers in the store

"Relax, maybe she wants to keep it to herself for a bit." She reassured from the dressing room

"Yeah well not from me, she tells me everything."

"Hey-." Olivia paused "Don't worry about it too much, she probably needs time. In the meantime focus on the tour and music.."

"You're right. How are you and Lucas?"

"Good." She paused looking away

They've been friends long enough for the singer to tell when the woman was lying, "What's up?"

"Nothin', we're good."

"Olivia.. You know I can tell when you're lying right?"

"We've just been stressed about all of the planning"

"Then why move it up? If it's too stressful why not wait a couple more months?

Madison could hear the hesitation in the blonde's voice, "I mean we don't want a big wedding in the first place, and why wait when we can have it now? With Lucas's unpredictable work schedule, we think now is the best time. Plus I won't have to worry about all of this planning during the tour. Because by then we'll already be married"

The brunette furrowed her brow in confusion. Why was Olivia lying? She was aware of the logic behind everything, and if they weren't close friends, she would have believed her. However, Olivia has always dreamed of having a big wedding. She could also be settling with Lucas due to his irregular work schedule as she said. The two Marines are currently on a month-long training assignment. In a few days, they would return, and maybe by then, a certain raven-haired woman would finally speak to her.

For the time being, the singer was hoping that none of the three of them were deceiving her or holding something back from her.

"Ok, I'm ready."

Olivia pushed the curtain back revealing the beautiful lace wedding gown, the upper part had an amazing flower design that accentuated the blonde's curves perfectly. It flowed past her feet at a perfect length, with flowers scattering the rest of the dress. The performer's previous thoughts were completely gone, instead, they were in awe at how beautiful her best friend looked. She looked straight of a movie, like a fairytale princess.

Tears threatened to fall, as she walked towards her, "You look absolutely breathtaking Liv." Wiping a tear away "I have no idea why I'm crying right now." She laughed looking up at the ceiling

"Please stop you're going to make me cry." The manager's voice quivered, the artist grabbed her hands taking a step back to fully take her in again.

"Lucas is going to lose it when he sees you."

"You think?"

"Babe, you look so good I almost started sobbing, this is the one."

Olivia looked at her skeptically, she turned around and looked into the mirror to double check, "I think you're right. Thank god because I am starving." she admitted making her friend laugh

"Me too." She watched the blonde with a smile on her face.

This was it, they were finally going to be married. Madison couldn't help but feel absolutely ecstatic. Those two were literally the definition of soulmates, she could practically see the sparks flying when they met. After their first date, Liv came home glowing. She was so excited after the date that she drove straight to the artist's house to tell her all about it. The type of love they had for each other was eternal, something that the artist hoped to find one day.  Later this week they'd be at the manager's house planning the rest of the wedding. The venue and catering was finalized, all they had to worry about now was the color, flowers, bridesmaids dress. Those in the service would attend in dress blues, so that was one last thing that had to worry about.

"I'm going to go change and we can go grab Lunch." Olivia said, rushing back into the dressing room.

Madison approached the chair in the corner and took a seat. She pulled her phone from her handbag and started looking through all of the images she had stored on it. She always had a talent for photography and would take a picture when the opportunity presented itself. Her attention was drawn to a particular photo of herself and Nathan from their very first event together. Her entire body was towards him, and he had his arm around her waist. Her head was thrown back from laughter, and he just looked down at her with a smile on his face.

They looked so in love in that photo.. Back when everything was so genuine and carefree with him. He felt like a breath of fresh air after swimming in the toxic water of LA culture. Now she felt like he had become that water, and she was drowning in it again. She spoke to him about her feelings a few days earlier, and he absolutely dismissed them. Even went as far as to label her a needy girlfriend; consequently, she kicked him out.

Madison was furious, then she was sad, then she was mad again. So she did what she knew best, she called Olivia over and they talked it out. The consensus was, that the ball was in his court now, it was up to him to apologize and resolve their issues. She had already tried, and if anything remained of their relationship, she wouldn't be the only one battling for it.

She shook away the anger brewing yet again, scrolling through her phone again it landed on a photo of Kian and her. She couldn't help the smile stretching across her face, remembering the memory. Dated back from a year ago, the four of them went to the beach to destress from all of their busy lives. Kian's long body laid flat on a beach towel, while Madison's head rested on her well-muscled stomach. The Marine had a book above their heads as she read to them. Olivia had just returned from the water and snapped the photo without their knowledge.

That day all of their worries had disappeared, she remembered how happy she was. How times have changed, how could things have taken such a turn in a matter of months? She expected to have issues with her relationship with Nathan, because that's how they work. But Kian? She was the last person Madison ever expected to have issues with.

Kian was the type of person to always be in her head, it was her comfort place. The Marine once revealed to Madison that she was the only person who she could talk to about those thoughts. Crazy or no matter how weird they were she told her. They'd spend nights, into the early morning just talking, and Madison just understood all of it.

The popstar felt like she knew her every little thing about her, and vice versa. So imagine how hurt she felt knowing that the older woman was keeping something from her. Judging by it all it was probably something big, something Kian was struggling with internally. How was Lucas and Olivia involved in it all though? Why would it change their wedding date?

Her attention was brought to the sound of the curtain sliding open "You ready?" Olivia questioned dressed in her normal clothes, with her purse in hand. The singer set her thoughts aside for later.

"Yeah."

The pair walked over to the register and talked to the saleswoman about the dress. They arranged for one to be ordered, and an appointment was made for Olivia to come back in to get it specifically tailored for her. They soon left and started towards their car, discussing what restaurant they should go to. In the back of her mind, Madison couldn't help but think of 'what are you hiding from me?'