| Today |

"Because if you really care about me the way you say you do, you wouldn't be walking down that aisle today.."

A heavy weight was lifted off the young woman's shoulders as the words spilled out of her mouth. She breathed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair. Stopping at the scalp. Gripping at the roots as her fingernails dug into her own skin. It had to be said, there was no other way around this. If she didn't say it, no one else would. For months now, the young woman had waited for the perfect time to say how she felt. But it wasn't until that very moment she felt the need to address the situation. She knew she should have said something sooner. But she couldn't find the courage until that very second.

The man she spoke to stopped in the middle of his stride and took a pause. She knew him better than anyone else. And she knew he was wallowing in her words. She saw the way his shoulders moved up and down in discomfort, and the way his head gravitated towards the floor. And she knew she had put him in an uncomfortable situation.

But she refused to see her best friend marry someone that didn't deserve him.

He was the most amazing person she knew. The way he felt emotion was something she had never seen before. He gave a hundred and ten percent in everything he cared about. He didn't bother putting in half the effort, ever. To him, he either put in everything he had, or none at all- and the latter honestly wasn't an option. She loved the way his face lit up when he talked about the new issues of his favorite comic books. She thought it was the strangest thing for someone his age, but she couldn't help but smile when she saw him talk about his geeky past time. She loved the long drives they would go on from city to city, listening to nothing but indie music, singing to the top of their lungs. The two didn't have a care in the world during their drives. She loved his family, too. His family was amazing. They treated her like she was one of them the second she met them. They were all so different from each other, his dad, his brother. Just looking at them, one would never imagine they were all related. But she loved that. She loved the diversity.

But most importantly, she loved the way he looked at her. He didn't look at her like most guys at her job looked at her. He looked at her like she was his best friend. When someone looks at their best friend, like real best friend, there just isn't anyone better. Your best friend is as good as it gets. And that's the way he looked at her. They knew everything about each other. And even though she snores in her sleep, talks with her mouth full, takes shameless "selfies" everywhere they go, and uses the bathroom with the door wide open- he looked at her like she was his best friend in the world.

And she refused to see him marry someone that wasn't her.

He slowly turned around and he noticed the hurt on her face instantaneously.

"Cody, I love you." She whispered. "I always have," she said with a smile, "you're my best friend."

He cleared his throat, "Jae.. Her friends and family are all out there. This wedding is going to happen." He released a deep-gutted sigh, "and there's really nothing you can do that will change my mind. I'm sorry."