Only Us (Boyf-Riends)

CH.19

(Wedding time! Can you tell I've never been to a wedding?)

All the wedding planning seemed like a complete and utter blur. It felt like the shortest amount of time but also felt like forever at the same time. Our wedding was gonna be pretty small. It was only really our friends and family. Well, a lot of my family. A portion of my family lived in the Philippines and even if some of them could come, not all of them could. I was ok with that. I wish they could've come but I understood. I saw the heartbreak on his face when he got no sign his mother would come. A few days after the RSVP, he got a call from his dad. His dad had told him that his mother called him and said some horrible things to not only his dad but also about Jeremy and I in general. The worst thing is, his mother claimed Jeremy was no longer his son. Mr. Heere felt awful for telling him but he deserved to know. He didn't want Jeremy to have to deal with her incase he tried to reach out to her. I held Jeremy while he cried. I felt absolutely horrible for him. I have never been more grateful for such a great and supportive family. I knew people like that existed and it was awful. Rich didn't even tell his dad he had a boyfriend until he had already moved out. He was terrified of what his face was going to do and say. I didn't want Rich to be right. I wanted him to be completely wrong about the fear but as horrible as it was, he was right. Rich no longer really had any immediate family. His mother passed away when he was young and his dad disowned him. I told Rich he would always be family to me and my family and he cried and hugged me. He thanked me about 1,000 times. Watching him cry made me cry. When he bullied Jeremy and I, I never got to see what Rich was going through. When I was dating Rich, he rarely invited me over. He would always ask to come over. I never minded. I liked hanging out with Rich. I've met his dad one time. I was gonna introduce myself as Rich's boyfriend because I assumed he already knew. Before I could get the words out, Rich interrupted me and called me his friend. His dad gave me a weird look but I didn't think anything of it. He later gave me a very vague answer of why. He never brought it up again. Now that it was kinda out in the open, he talked about it sometimes. I didn't ask him about though after seeing how much it hurt him. At least Rich had people in his life now. Jake's aunt and her boyfriend also told Rich that he was family to them. Jake's parents never came back. He never really got much word from his parents since they left. Even after they promised him they would come to his wedding, they didn't. Even if they played it off well, I knew how badly they were really hurting. Rich and Jake were still happy together regardless. I really admired that. I never could imagine what it would be like to have a family like that. It was nice to hear that not all of Jeremy's family on his mom's side hated him. His aunt Linda and his little cousin Brian still cared for him. Everyone else on his mom's side though either forgot he existed or pretended they forgot he existed. Jeremy was part of my family and even though it wasn't the same, he was contempt with that. His dad's side of the family was super supportive though. All of them had said they were coming which made Jeremy feel better. As time passed, my heart was going crazy but I was super excited.

"Michael, stop sweating so much." Rich complained as he grabbed a towel and handed it to me.

"It's not my fault I'm nervous. You were nervous for your wedding too."

"Well I didn't sweat so badly that I could fill an olympic pool."

"Whatever."

"Leave the child alone Rich."

"I'm older than him, in fact, I'm older than you too!"

"Hush Mell."

Jenna, Chloe and Julia were my groomsmaids and Rich was my best man. The girls were wearing matching dresses. There was light gray lace for the top with tan fabric that could be seen underneath. The skirts were long and light gray. They had a long slit in them. Julia looked at Jenna and Chloe like they were crazy when they picked it out. She only agreed because she didn't want to be that one person who causes issues. She looked amazing in it though, really all three of them did. Surprisingly, Rich actually dressed up for this. I wouldn't have minded if he pulled a junior prom moment as long as he showed up on time. He showed up nicely dressed and even a little early which I gave him major props for. Rich's suit was simple. It was a black vest with a white collared shirt underneath. He was wearing black pants and black dress shoes. It was nice to see Rich dressed up considering he did it so rarely. I couldn't have asked for better people to be on my wedding court. They were all super helpful, even Rich. Even when he teased me every two minutes for being nervous. They were also my close friends.