Hey Ya'll, so lets see if I can finish this one, well its atleast worth a try, no guarantees though. But enjoy anyways!
Chapter One
Staring into the mirror she chanted the mantra over and over again.. Deep breaths, take slow deep breaths.."suck it in Miss natalie, we are never going to get this dress ready in time if you keep fidgeting" the loud obnoxious voice of Marla the tailor yelled as Natalie was snapped back into reality as she stared at herself in the mirror.
She wore a white and lace Louie Vaton dress that landed at the floor with a swooping neck and back line, the dress was absolutely gorgeous, more then she could of ever dreampt of.
"You gained weight since last time we put this dress on you" marla continued to bark at her..
"Im barely eating marla, i assure you i didnt gain any weight" she huffed as the tailor pulled at the dress more and huffed under her breath..
Her name was Natalie Balsam, twenty five years old and finally after a three year relationship she was getting married, this should be a happy time for her, i mean hell she was having the wedding of the century thanks to her aunt and uncle who were paying for the whole shindig but standing here she felt everything but that. Nerves, just nerves she kept telling herself.
Any girl would be absolutely delighted to be getting married and to one of Lanviews hottest and wealthiest man to boot. JR Chandler, even the name seem to ring terror and jealousy onto those who heard it. He was the new up and coming thing, he had made fortunes 500's top people of the year and at only twenty seven years old that was a huge deal.
It was like a world win relationship, he had literally swept her off her feet and before her feet hit ground she honestly thought it was all a dream cause it seemed like one, like a fairy tale really.
Natalie had been born and raised in AC on the other side of the tracks so to speak. Her mother wasnt what one would call a good role model unless you consider drinking and gambling your life away good skills to give to your children. She had a hard life in AC and trying to work and go to school made things even harder, especially when she had a younger brother to look after. She had wanted to give up so many times and just throw the towel in cause life was just too cruel. She didnt have many friends and the ones she had she held close to her heart.
But even her childhood friends couldnt keep her in AC and when she got the opportunity to get out of that god awful town she jumped on it and headed to lanview where her Uncle, the one and only Clint Buchanan had offered her an internship at his company and a chance to start over in this world. So at the age of 18 she went and did it, she packed up her things and dragged her brother Rex along for the ride and now here she was nearly seven years later and not only assistant editor of the Buchanan Tribune but also four weeks shy of marrying the man of every girls dreams..
"we are going to have to start from scratch Miss Natalie" Marla huffed angrily as she threw her hands up in the air and began to dial her phone as Natalie sighed, she didnt know what the big deal was, to her the dress look perfect and it fit wonderfully as it was..
"Oh my god" the squeel of her best friend jolted her from her thoughts as she turned and saw Gigi standing there with her hand over her mouth.."My god you look beautiful" she said with a huge grin as she walked over..
"this dress is killing me, it has to weigh atleast fifty pounds" Natalie sighed as she walked over to her best friend of the last fifteen years or so..
"You know what they say, it hurts to be beautiful" Gigi grinned and then hugged Natalie quickly..
"do not mess up that dress Miss Morasko!" Marla barked as Gigi jumped back and then her and Natalie began to laugh..
"Im taking five" natalie said as marla looked like her head would explode.."i wont dirty it up, i promise" Natalie said as Marla gave her a disapproving glare..
"God she is a bit catty huh" Gigi smirked..
"You have no idea, i am so glad you came" Natalie said as the girls moved across the room and Marla watched natalie intently.."Ive been standing around for almost two hours" she sighed..
"Yikes" Gigi shook her head.."But the dress is kick ass" she grinned and now Natalie did too..
"i think marlas head would explode if she heard you refer to the dress as kick ass" natalie smirked..
"marla needs to take a valium or get laid" Gigi smiled..
"or both" natalie said as the girls laughed again..
"seriously JR is gonna die when he sees you in this dress" Gigi admired it some more..
"I just feels like its, i dunno, maybe a bit too much" Natalie said self consciously, she still wasnt use to this whole new life style, going from living in a crappy apartment in AC to this, it was mind blowing..
"You have worked hard for this natalie, you deserve this, all of it, dont you forget that" Gigi grinned..
"You remember when we use to just sit back behind Paul's pizza and drink beers" natalie reminised of their childhood in AC..
"yeah and now thanks to you were sipping on champange" Gigi smiled big..
"Oh please who is lanviews up and coming new fashionista" Natalie said with a grin..
"only thanks to you" Gigi smiled..
"hey you too worked hard for everything you got" Natalie reminded her friend..
"yeah well your the one who pushed me to do it and for that i am forever in your debt" Gigi bowed at her and natalie laughed..
"Oh stop it" natalie laughed some more.."But dont you ever miss the good ole days" she said seriously..
"Your kidding right? The smell of garbage trucks and sea water are definitely not something i miss" Gigi said sarcastically..
"Not just that" Natalie rolled her eyes.."You know just being us"
"Your losing me here Nat, you have an amazing life with an amazing man might i add" Gigi smiled..
"i know" natalie walked over to the large window that overlooked a large water fountain that had statues of baby angels around it.."it's just weird, thats all"
"weird? I say if this is weird then weird is good" Gigi laughed..
Natalie forced a smile.."Yeah your right, weird is good"
"weird is awesome, better then awesome" Gigi put her arm around natalie as they stood there.."and just think in four short weeks you will be Mrs. Natalie Chandler" she grinned and natalie swallowed hard..
"yeah, great" she felt her stomach tighten as she stood there, as much as she wanted to be happy, as much as she knew she should be happy, inside she felt well, empty.
"come on how about this" Gigi said as she got in front of her.."how about me and you head out for a girls night out, you could use some fun and so could i" Gigi smiled big..
"Oh i dont know, i have so much to do" natalie began as Gigi rolled her eyes..
"Im not taking no for an answer, we need this, just me and you" she grinned..
"well JR is out of town until tomorrow" natalie began..
"and more the reason for us to go out and live the night life" Gigi beamed..
"the night life?" Natalie said more to herself then to Gigi, she honestly hadnt been out anywhere unless it was some sort of outing with JR, and that was always business related and boring as hell at times. She never felt like she fit in with the other women there, they were all so well groomed and well a bit snotty to say the least.
"thats it, were doing it, im gonna come by and get you around eight so be ready" Gigi jumped up and down..
"fine fine but it cant be late, i still have some editing to do" Natalie began as Gigi rolled her eyes again..
"alright Miss workaholic" Gigi said sarcastically as she gave natalie another hug and then turned to leave.."eight, be ready were gonna show this town what they have been missing!" Gigi said loudly as Marla glared at her and Gigi smiled at her and then left as marla came over..
"Miss Morasko needs to learn manners, i do say i have no idea why you waste your time" Marla began as natalie looked at her..
"dont finish that sentence marla, my uncle wouldnt be happy to know that you pissed me off" natalie said quickly as Marla looked at her shocked.."so if you would like to keep your job" she raised an eyebrow at the older woman who seemed to sulk now..
"as you wish Miss Natalie" Marla said as she bit her tongue and Natalie walked back over to the mirror with her, god she just wanted this day to be over with and hell, she wanted to get out of that dress!
It had been forever since natalie had been out on the town, actually the last time she could even remember being out was when she had first met JR. They use to go out all the time back then, it seemed like every night was something new but then he began to get really busy with his company Chandler Enterprise and then his father passed away and it seemed he put all of himself into the company, so much so that natalie barely saw him anymore. If he wasnt away on some work thing then he was working late but she knew why, he had something to prove, it was hard being the new CEO of his late fathers business, he had to show that he could do the job and she was happy for him , he worked hard and he was a good man but she missed all the time they use to spend together.
Of course he would make it up each time he was away for awhile, he always came home with gifts for her, she had never had so much jewerly in her life and it wasnt some knock off either, it was the real deal, like the 5.6 carat diamond engagement ring on her finger that would pay for most peoples homes.
She fidgeted with it nervously now as she sat at a table in the night club her and Gigi had headed to, it was called Shelter and it was owned by aunt Blair Kramer. It was a trendy new night club that had live music and even a VIP room upstairs, it had really became the go to place in Lanview.
Natalie watched as Gigi danced her ass off, natalie had opted to have her drink first and Gigi was all to happy to go and dance, she looked so carefree up there, natalie envied her for that. Gigi could always become the life of the party wherever she went, even as kids she had the ability to do so, Natalie on the other hand was more of a sit back and watch life go by kind of girl..Oddly enough that was one of the things bothering her at this very moment..
Natalie finished off her Cosmo and got up to get another drink, Gigi continued to dance as natalie gave her a quick wave and headed to the bar. Shelter was extremley crowded as she made her way through, the place had really made a name for itself, as she got to the bar she waited for the bartender..
"well i'll be damned, if its not Red in the flesh" the sound of someone calling her by her old AC nick name made her spin around, she hadnt been called that in years and she was a bit shocked when she looked to see who was saying it.."Holy shit it is you red" the blue eyed man standing in front of her said as she blinked in shock..
"McBain...John mcBain" she said in shock as she looked at her old childhood friend standing before her now, she hadnt seen him since she had left AC in a hurry and boy did he change, not completely but she was shocked to see that he had not only lost all of his baby fat but he was gorgeous, like seriously gorgeous. His hair was still long like she remembered but more tamed now and instead of wearing an iron madien tshirt he was dressed in a suit and tie, talk about a shocker..
"in the flesh, how the hell are you girl, its been years" he said with a grin..
"yeah...wow...you look" she began with a shocked look stuck on her face..
"You look amazing, i mean wow" he said as she began to blush some..
Before she could respond Gigi came walking up.."everything ok Nat" she said with concern as natalie looked at her..
"Morasko you havent changed a bit" John said as Gigi looked at him and she seem to stand there in shock.."I see your still rocking the freaky hair colors" he smirked..
"John Mcfuckingbain!" she said loudly as she stood there..
"I would know that loud screechy voice from anywhere" another guy said as he strolled over, he couldnt be missed cause he was the tallest one there standing at nearly six five, both Natalie and Gigi gasped in unison..
"Holy crap steele!" Gigi said in shock..
"ah so you do remember me" Steele laughed deeply, natalie felt like she was in some sort of freaky dream, i mean seriously what were the odds of both of these two guys being in lanview of all places..
"Kind of hard to forget you big lug" Gigi said as she hugged him and natalie stood there a bit akwardly..
"this calls for shots, im buying" John said as he ordered a round of shots as the girls stood there nearly speechless..
"red and Morasko together, what are the odds" Steele laughed..
"small world" natalie said as she shook her head..
"what the hell are you guys doing in town" Gigi said as she looked at them..
"Could ask you the same thing" John began..
"we live here" Gigi answered before Natalie could..
"No shit, from the city to a small town, now that is definitely some crazy shit" Steele laughed.."cheers" he said as they all clinked their shot glasses and then downed them quickly..
They had all eventually moved to a large booth and sat down. It seemed as though the guys were in town on business, both working for the AC police department and following up on a case. It was still shocking to think that these two were cops, i mean hell back in the day they were the ones doing the law breaking.
They had spent more time in the AC police department then anyone and now they worked for it, talk about freaky..
"I cant believe that they actually hired you two" Gigi laughed as they all continued to drink..
"hey i take offense to that, we were just misunderstood back then" Steele grinned widely..
"Very misunderstood" John laughed.."and what about you two, what have you two misfits been up to"
"well your looking at the new assistant editor of the Buchanan Tribune" Gigi nudged Natalie as she blushed some..
"No shit, how the hell did you pull that off" John began with a shocked look.."not that you werent always the book worm back in the day"
"hey...i like to read" Natalie said with a nervous laugh..
"thats right you always did have a book in your hand" Steele smirked..
"well Gigi has her own clothing line" Natalie tried to get the attention off of herself..
"god help us all" Steele laughed..
"hey my clothes are pretty darn hot" Gigi poked Steele's big arm..
"You got my approval" Steele grinned and now Gigi flushed..
"so the buchanan tribune, thats a big paper" John said as Gigi and Steele began to flirt back and forth.."i thought they only hired family for that"
Natalie smiled nervously and Gigi spoke before she could.."yeah um thats cause she is"
Now both guys looked at her in shock.."Your related to the Buchanans?" they said in unison..
Natalie nervously laughed.."Oh dont be so coy nat" Gigi interjected.." her uncle is clint buchanan"
Natalie sipped her drink quickly, she didnt know why but she felt incredibly uncomfortable devulging any information, i mean she grew up with these guys and on the streets on AC.."its really not that big of a deal" she said quickly..
"Ok if you say so" John said with a smirk.."By the looks of that ring" he continued as natalie nervously fidgeted with it..
"Oh yeah and she is marrying JR Chandler" Gigi blurted out and natalie turned red..
"wow talk about taking a huge step up" John said in shock..
"I do believe we are sitting with royalty" Steele laughed and Natalie blushed more..
"Oh dont let the names fool you, she is still good ole Natty, aint that right" Gigi nudged her some and natalie quickly sipped more on her drink.."so what about you steele, married yet?" gigi asked as now Steele flushed some..
"do i look like i am ready to settle down" he grinned and Gigi smiled at him and playfully bit her lip..
"cool" Gigi smiled.."You wanna dance" she smiled at him..
"dance? Oh i dont" he began but Gigi was already getting up and dragging him along as natalie laughed a bit..
"looks like them two hit it off" John said as they watched them head onto the dance floor..
"yeah she's um great" natalie said quickly as John looked at her and then he smiled some as he shook his head, she swallowed hard as she looked at him..
"what? Do i have something on my face?" she said nervously as she touched her face..
"No i was just thinking" he began..."do you remember that summer they had the big bonfire party on the beach?" he asked as she felt her heart begin to race, my god how could she of forgotten about that, she had kissed him that night, a drunken kiss but a kiss no less..
"Oh god, i was really drunk that night" she said with embarassment, she really hoped he wasnt about to bring up the kiss, she thought she would never live that down, i mean she had such a crush on him back then and when the kiss happened, well needless to say that was about the last time she had ever talked to him, he seemed to avoid her after that, it was a horrible ordeal as a girl of 16..
"and i was a huge jerk" he began as she quickly looked at her hands.."I was going through a really awkward stage" he continued..
"yeah i think we all were" she said quickly wanting to change the subject.."so did you eventuallly tie the knot" she said as she looked at his hands, already knowing the answer..
"Nah, im not really into the whole commitment thing" he said as he sipped his beer..
"oh...well um" the air got uncomfortable..
"its fine though, i mean i like my life, its all good" he said uncomfortably as they both continued to drink their beverages..They both quickly looked out to the dance floor.."she sure likes to dance" he said as natalie glanced at him..
"You know Gigi, always the life of the party" she said with a lump in her throat, the sound of her phone ringing made her jump as she sat there and she glanced at it and saw it was JR.."I have to get this" she said quickly as she got up and headed outside where it was quiet to talk..
John watched her as she walked out and he downed the rest of his beer, his mind going back to an earlier time, a time when things were definitely alot easier then they were now..
The summer of 2004...
"I dont know what your waiting for dude, she has been looking at you all night" Steele nudged as John as they sat by the bonfire and drank back beers..
"No she hasnt" John said quickly as he looked at her and she smiled and then quickly looked away..
"bullshit,stop being a pussy and just go up to her" Steele laughed..
"thanks for the confidence booster" John rolled his eyes as he watched her get up and start to walk down the beach..
"Your gonna miss your chance" Steele said sarcastically and John downed the rest of his beer and finally got up. He was never really good with girls, not to mention he was really insecure with his looks. He had been watching Red for the better part of the year trying to get the nerve up to talk to her but the thought of rejection was just too hard to bear, especially for a boy of 16. He hadnt had a girlfriend yet and he hadnt even kissed one before, he was lacking in certain skill even though he played it off well enough to get a reputation of being a player. Really he was just an insecure shy boy who tried to fit in the best he could and now he was trailing behind the girl he had been pining over for the better part of a year, he hoped he didnt come off as pathetic..
He watched as she leaned down and picked up a shell from the ground and wiped the sand from it.."do you collect them" he hated how much of an idiot he sounded like even as he spoke and she jumped as she spun around, she looked shock to see him standing there..
"Oh um... not really" she said quietly, god she looked so beautiful standing there underneath the light of the moon, he was half tempted to touch her hair, it looked so incredibly soft.."do you?" she asked as she stood there but he didnt answer right away cause he was too lost in staring at her..
"Oh.." he finally said as he noticed her staring at him, waiting for a response.."um, not really" he said nervously..The air between them got uncomfortable as they both stood there..
"so um, i like your shirt...Iron Madien huh" she said quickly as he fidgeted some..
"yeah they are pretty cool, you like them?" he asked as his hands began to sweat..
"My brother listens to them" she began as she fidgeted with her hands..
"cool" he said with a nod of his head..
"yeah...cool" she said nervously.."so school is starting next week"
"yeah im not looking forward to that" he said honestly..
"me either" she smiled.."wanna walk" she asked..
"sure" he grinned as they began to walk down the beach..
"You scared her away already" the sound of Steele's voice snapped him from his thoughts as he looked up.."where'd she go?"
"oh...she uh, she got a phone call" John said quickly as Gigi came over..
"where's Nat" she asked..
"Phone" John said quickly..
"let me go find her, i'll be right back" she said with a grin as she took off in search of her friend..
John watched as Steele eyeballed Gigi with a grin on his face.."hey you got a bit of drool there buddy" he laughed..
"Man, i dont remember her being that hot" Steele said as he sat down.."and Red man, she definitely got out of that awkward stage" he smirked..
"of course you would notice" John rolled his eyes..
"Oh please like you didnt" Steele nudged him.."can you believe she is marrying that smug asshole" he continued..
"yeah well people change" John said as he stood up.."im gonna get another beer, want one" he said quickly as he began to walk away..
"were still good right" Steele said as John stopped..
"It's fine, dont worry about me i know what we have to do" John said as he walked to the bar to get another drink..
Natalie hung up the phone as she stood outside, JR was being his normal busy self and the conversation had only lasted a minute or so before he had another call coming in, she sighed as she stood there..
"I was wondering where you went, everything ok" Gigi asked as she came over to natalie..
"Yeah it was JR" Natalie began..
"Is everything ok with him" Gigi asked again..
"yeah...you know same old, same old" Natalie began as she shoved her phone in her pocket..
"I still cant believe we ran into the guys how weird is that" Gigi smiled..
"well you seem to be hitting it off with Steele" natalie said quickly..
"and what about you and John, didnt you have like a crush on him back in the day" Gigi smirked..Natalie flushed as she stood there.."looks like someone has been working out"
"yeah well were not 16 anymore" Natalie said dryly..
"yeah and he is hot, admit it" Gigi nudged her..
"Um im getting married remember" Natalie waved her hand in front of Gigi..
"and, i didnt say you wanted to fuck him" Gigi laughed.
"Gigi!" Natalie said in shock..
"what? Im just kidding" she laughed some more.."come on lets go back inside" she grabbed Natalie's arm..
"you know im actually tired, i think im just gonna head home" Natalie began nervously as Gigi sighed..
"You are totally not going to bail on me, are you" Gigi huffed..
"im not bailing im just" natalie began...
"yep your bailing" Gigi sighed..
"its just late and i have a busy day" Natalie began"but you should totally stay and catch up with them"
"i feel bad that your leaving though and you didnt even say goodbye"
"Im sure they wont mind plus i think Steele is probably wondering where you are, i saw the way you two were dancing" natalie smirked.."I dont need to give you a talk on safe sex do i"
Gigi rolled her eyes.."seriously nat i am not going to sleep with steele" she smiled.."Ok maybe i am" she laughed as natalie shook her head and leaned over and hugged her friend..
"just be safe about it" Natalie said as they hugged..
"I always am" Gigi smiled.."are you sure you want to leave"
"Positive, i still have editing to do" natalie said quickly..
"alright, alright...i'll call you tomorrow and tell you all the details" she grinned..
"yeah you can leave out the details" Natalie laughed.."have fun Gi" she said as she got to her car, part of her wanted to head back inside and talk to John some more but she knew that probably wasnt the best idea, no need rehashing the past, no good ever came from that and so she got to her car and left but her mind was on a nervous 16 year old boy with bright blue eyes..
