Short Kings Anthem

Part 12

Lauren gave herself another once over in the bathroom mirror, checking her make up for the final time before she made her way back into Chris's bedroom where she saw him standing in front of the full length mirror tying his tie.

"Want a hand?" She offered looking around on the floor for her pink heels.

"Please, wow you look great," Chris smiled taking everything in. The dress fit her perfectly and she had pulled the front parts of her hair back, keeping them in place with some pink roses to match her dress.

"Thank you, so do you." Some men didn't suit fancy clothes, especially those who favoured a sporty look like Chris but he looked amazing in his grey checked suit with pink tie to match Lauren's dress.

The ceremony was held in a church with the reception being held in a golf club, it was very traditional and very lovely. The bride and groom who were called Dan and Claire both looked gorgeous, Chris explained Dan and him sat next to each other in form and also used to play Sunday league together, Claire was also at their school. Chris didn't mention anything but Lauren assumed Shannon would also be there so she wasn't surprised when she saw the brunette in front of them looking at the seating chart when it was time to sit down for the dinner.

"Oh hi," Shannon gave Chris a small smile who returned the pleasantry, as he was holding onto Lauren's hand at the time he cleared his throat and bit the bullet deciding to introduce her.

"You remember Lauren?" Chris asked his voice wavering a little, he didn't think either of them would cause a scene but he was just a little awkward about them meeting.

"I do, how are you?" The brunette asked the red head who gave a smile.

"Good, you?"

"Good thanks, is this your first time in Jersey?"

"It is! Haven't seen too much of it yet but what I have seen is lovely."

"It is, hopefully you'll see a lot more of it. I'm over this way, have fun guys we'll catch up later?" Shannon then made her way to the table she was placed at while Chris and Lauren made their way to their table on the other side.

"Sorry I didn't say she was coming, I didn't want to make a big thing of it," Chris apologised rubbing his hand slightly on Lauren's lower back as they weaved through the round tables.

"It's okay I kind of assumed, I've always thought she was a really sweet girl"

"Plus it's always a bit awkward when your old girlfriend meets your new one."

"Girlfriend? So it's all official now?" Arthur piped up taking his assigned seat on the other side of Lauren.

"I mean it pretty much always was but I finally grew a pair," Chris replied pouring some water out for Lauren and then for himself.

"I'm glad. Not seen you this happy in ages," Arthur admitted, causing a slight blush to form on Lauren and Chris's faces.

"You know it's my friends wedding in a few weeks, think it's the week before Simon and Talia's, if you wanted to come with?" Lauren asked just before she indicated to the waiter she would like the red wine.

"Why would I say no?" Chris asked also opting for the red.

"This is a bit different, I'm a bridesmaid and you don't really know anyone so there will be times where you'll be on your own a bit," Lauren said taking a sip of her drink. With the triathlon videos and training that went alongside it both Lauren and Chris had adopted a new routine including less nights out and alcohol and things were more the better for it but Lauren was very much looking forward to this day off and was enjoying the taste of the wine.

"Are any of your other friends lads into football? I can try and make friends."

"You and Nicole's boyfriend Jay are going to get on very well," Lauren smiled at the thought of Chris joining her little at home group, Tom never really bothered that much despite going to uni with Ellen also. Lauren hated to compare but she couldn't help but reflect on how different things were. She was with Tom for five and a half years and never felt the way that Chris made her feel. They were in a room full of people but he made her feel like they were the only two people in the world. Chris had always been soft in relationships but there was something about Lauren that made him treat her extra delicately, like she was so special to him and to the world nothing should ever harm her.

"You've committed an awful sin you know," Chris shout whispered in Lauren's ear as it was the evening and the party was now in full swing. The pair were on the dance floor and had been dancing the night away.

"What?" She asked downing the last of her rum and coke.

"You look better than the bride," Chris replied, a small sloppy grin on his face. Lauren gave a tipsy giggle before kissing Chris's cheek.

"You're such a simp," Lauren teased causing Chris to shake his head.

"You'll pay for that later,"

"With your parents in the next room? Sureeeee."

"Shut up." Chris snapped before landing a kiss on Lauren's lips to quieten her down, it worked.

Despite being public within their social circle, the couple were content to relish in their privacy online for a while. They weren't planning on keeping it a secret forever but they were simply enjoying the peace for a little while. They had a near miss with Tom, and now another one with Arthur. He innocently posted some photos on his social media of the wedding but one had Chris and Lauren in the background looking incredibly cosy, arms around each other dancing, faces so close together their noses were practically touching. As soon as Arthur realised his mistake it was gone within five minutes, but as often these things do it got screenshotted and was over Lauren's discord server within a matter of minutes and ended up on her Reddit. Clues were then sought in the triathlon video but Chris and Lauren managed to keep things very professional, it helped Theo was also there and they weren't on screen together a lot either due to the nature of the challenge, leaving a lot of people unconvinced about the coupling. As always however there were naturally a group of sleuths determined to find out the truth.

Hannah's wedding photos didn't give any clues, Lauren only posted some of her and the other bridesmaids and Chris wasn't seen in any of the background shots. Since it was usual for him to go weeks without posting on Instagram, lack of activity from him that weekend wasn't suspicious at all. They would have to scrutinise every video, every background, every instagram post and tagged post to try and uncover the truth.

"Italy," Chris turned to Lauren who was at her laptop scanning through one of her second channel videos where she was rating lipsticks.

"Hmmm?" She turned to face the male who was lying in bed shirtless, phone in his hand.

"On holiday, what about Italy? You like an Aperol spritz," Chris half joked, it was true but there were more reasons to visit Italy than that.

"You know, Italy is one of those places I've always wanted to visit but never got round to it." Lauren admitted, whenever her and the girls had gone away, other places trumped. However she then got a brain wave. "Although we're going there anyway for Simons wedding next week."

"True. We can stay on an extra day and explore if you wanted, Hmm what about Portugal?"

"I love Portugal! I've never been to Porto though so we could do that?" Lauren suggested making her way over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

"We could go there, few days in Lisbon then move down to the Algarve? Make a proper trip out of it," Chris asked scrolling on his phone for flights.

"This is exciting, our first proper trip, just us two," Lauren squealed a little, feeling the school girl excitement bubble away in her stomach.

"First of many hopefully," Chris replied, moving over in the bed to allow Lauren to lay next to him. She slid under his arm, placing her arm around his middle snuggling into his side. 

A/N We take NO Shannon disrespect here. Bit of a shorter chapter this time and I have to say it isn't my favourite but stuff moves forward next chapter.