It's good to be back ! I know I should actually be updating my other fics, but I never do what I'm supposed to, so here is a new one. It is LIARLA - because at the moment, my train of thoughts are very much liarla, and a little less carter. This is a fic following from Carla's hen do and Tony's stag do ... however Liam does not die. (YAY) The next chapter will be first person by the way. Please read and review. Thank you for all the support with other fics.

Hope you enjoy! ACCRK

"Look, if he wants to be with you, and you want to be with him…"

"I wanted to grab his hand and jump in a cab and never be seen again" she sniffed and wiped the dropping tears away from her eyes. "…but instead I walked away"

"Carla, you're insane! Who cares what the rest of the world think?" Leanne tried to persuade her upset friend to follow her heart. Words of comfort were pointless now. Carla needed to tell him before it was too late.

"It's not fair on her, Leanne. None of this is fair on her" Carla showed her genuine, soft side. A side that was so often hidden behind her usually confident, bitter-like personality. So hard on the outside, but a softie within. Leanne looked at her with admiration. She was proud of her friend, for being so strong and letting little affect her. If truth be told, one might say she was envious of her friend, but never in a selfish way.

Leanne sighed heavily. There was no changing her mind, it seemed. "So what about Tony?"

"I'll marry him…" Carla answered with uncertainty. "I'll live… We'll live a … life"

The word 'happy' from the well know saying 'We'll live a happy life' most certainly did not go unnoticed by either of them.

Carla wiped away the remains of her tears, and led Leanne out of the pub toilets back to the rovers bar, where the sober had become drunk and the drunk had become crazy. "At least it's a successful hen night" Carla humored, trying to rid Liam out of her mind for at least tonight. Leanne watched her friend scurry through the crowd of dancers towards the bar, picking up a large whisky from the table and necking it in one gulp. Tonight, she was going to drink herself to oblivion.

The night proceeded with chatter of co-workers, flirting of young ones and dancing from the confidents. These scenes seemed to whirlwind around in Carla's head, causing her dizziness, as she sat on a bar stool staring into space. Vodka after whisky after gin after brandy. From the corner of her eye, she saw Maria walk into the Rovers toilets. This was her chance to do the decent thing, to say goodbye once and for all, to end this chapter of her life and finally move on.

She pushed herself off the barstool and adjusted her dress that had rolled up slightly. She b-lined towards said toilets.

Maria. Long golden haired Maria, was in the mirror applying lip gloss when Carla walked in. Goldylocks Maria, she thought. So innocent. So sweet. So naïve. Ever since Maria had told her about the baby, she felt anger towards her, and she couldn't help herself from hating her. She had chickened out of telling Liam her true feelings earlier, all because she knew of the baby. Subconsciously, maybe she didn't hate her, why else would she have given it a second thought?

"You're lucky, you know that?" Carla said as she looked at Maria's face in the mirror.

"Hey, it can be you one day. I can just about see you with a pram." Maria laughed. "We can take the kids down the redwreck and stuff"

Carla couldn't help but feel sorry for her. That was the last thing she wanted to do, in another life, she wouldn't be seen dead with Maria. But she wanted Liam. She needed Liam. Her inner self was telling her to send Maria to Liam, to break the good baby news to him. Carla was fighting her inner self.

"I'm the least maternal person, Maria. There's no chance of that 'appening" Following Maria into the toilets was a mistake, she had changed her mind. Carla just gave a small smile, headed out of the toilets, out of the rovers, into a cab. This is it.

"I don't know about you boyssssss, but my lap… is ready for a dance" Lloyd shouted, as the rest of the stag do shouted "WHEYYY" in agreement. They all had the same blue checked shirt on, and Tony's face as a mask.

Liam, being the best man, wore a bright yellow hoodie with Tony's face as a mask. He had been drinking himself into oblivion after Carla had turned him down earlier that night. He had been so confident that she would finally admit her true feelings and let her guard down. If she married Tony tomorrow, it still wouldn't be the end for them, he knew that, but all the same, he wanted her all to himself.

If she wasn't going to tell him, Liam would.

"Tony?" he questioned, and the handsome Scotsman turned to face him, he too wearing his own face as a mask. "Can we have that chat now?" Liam asked.

"The speech?" Tony questioned, as Liam nodded. Both of them knew full well that this was not going to be the talking matter. "You've still got the kitty haven't you?" Tony questioned him, referring to the stag do kitty the boys had been chipping into all evening. "The guys need paying into the club" Tony demanded.

You see, Tony had a plan. Tonight was going to be Liam's last night. Tonight was going to be the last time for him to come between Carla and Tony. He was so sure this plan would make Carla fall back into his arms, fall back in love with him. He was not going to let Liam ruin his plans of killing him, no way.

"Arghh, you kiddin' me?" Liam stressed, in his most Manc accent. The stagmen turned around, wondering what was up. "The kitteh" Liam sighed. "I must've left it at the last bar, damn it"

"There's no wonder mate, you're plastered" Shouted Steve from the crowd.

"You're all over the shop" Dev chipped in, to which all the stagmen laughed.

"You'll have to go back and get it" Tony smirked, his plan all coming together.

Seeing the state Liam was in, and thinking of how much time a drunk Liam would be, Tom piped up. "I'll go" he offered, and the stagmen agreed, eager as ever to get to the lap dancing club.

"No" Tony shouted, a bit too abruptly. He softened his voice, trying his best to calm his nerves. "No, Liam can go. He'll know where he's left is" Pretty valid excuse just made up on the spot, Tony thought to himself. The stagmen weren't going to argue with the groom.

Carla spotted what she was looking for. "I'm fine here, Mr Taxi" she said as she flung a twenty pound note to the front and got out of the cab. "Keep the change" she told the driver, as she stepped out of the cab, and onto the cobbled floor of a backstreet alley. She stood in one of the alleys perpendicular to the main alley, where all the drunks walked. She could see them. She could see him.

Suddenly, she couldn't see anything else. She was filled with adrenaline, filled with desire. As her body took over her mind, one foot in front of the other, with confidence in her strides, she headed towards him. Her heart racing, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her hands shaking. She could hear voices in her head, a faint sound, but people were shouting. "Look out, Liam" "Liam" "Oh my god" Liam, look" "Move" "Get out the way" "Liam" "Liam" But she could not process these sounds. She was in a world of her own. She walked faster. He was within reach. Her Liam.

As Liam walked backwards, on his way to fetch the kitty, he was shouting at the stagmen, teasing them about the lap dance club. "Your wives and girlfriends would love to see you right now" he mocked. He proceeded to walk backwards. Drunk Liam, loud as ever, cocky as ever, joking and laughing away. He could hear voices, see panic on the stagmen's faces. "Look out, Liam" "Liam" "Oh my god" Liam, look" "Move" "Get out the way" "Liam" "Liam"

A car was fast approaching, its speed definitely too fast to be just driving casually along the alleyway. The driver was either drunk or out to kill. He drove faster and faster, he revved its engine. The car almost filled the narrow alley. Tony watched as his plan played out. As the driver put his foot heavier on the throttle, Tony's eyes shone.

A small, thin figure emerged quickly from one of the side alleys. It was as if this figure had appeared from nowhere so quickly. "Liam" she gasped, as she began running towards him, desperate to kiss him passionately, to jump into his arms and feel his warm embrace. He turned around. Panic all over his face.

ONE SPLIT SECOND

In a sheer moment of panic, the driver acted on instinct, and hit his breaks hard. But the speed he was travelling at was too fast, what he tried to control, he couldn't. The car screeched along the cobbled alley as it swerved at high speed, smashing into the figure that had just appeared… meters away from Liam.

Vomit formed in Liam's throat. "C…" Ca…" he couldn't even speak. His heart pounded out of his chest, his fists clenched, and he smashed it into the bonnet of the car, before collapsing to his knees, crying over a motionless Carla. "Sweetheart, it's me. Please wake up." he pleaded. There came no response, his panic now turned to an aching feeling, like a literal dagger to the heart. He was living his worst fear.

From a distance, Tony had not quite made out what had happened. He stood there, almost lifeless, staring at this terrible mess right before him. This was all his doing, all his fault. His body refused to move, as tears filled his eyes. The stagmen surrounded him, consoling him. He just stood there. Just stood there. His fiancee. His wife to be. The love of his life. His catastrophically failed plan. Vomit formed in his throat too. What the hell had he just done.