Harder Than You Think

chapter one

What was I supposed to expect? Did I really think that everything would go perfectly well and that the two of us would ride off into the sunset to our happily ever after? News flash: that only happens in the movies.

I don't know... I guess I was just so blinded by the fact that I was actually dating him. I didn't take the time to sit down and think about how this would affect me and the life I had deemed "normal" up 'til now. And here I am, sitting in the rain, my tears mingling with the rain drops already streaming down my face. I guess I deserve this after the way I handled things. Love makes you stupid.

I'm sure you're very confused with the story starting this way, and I suppose I should start from the very beginning, before all this depressing visual with rain and tears. But, before we start, I'm going to give you a piece of advice. If you think this tale is going to be a happy one, don't get your hopes up. It starts off pretty good, but as you can see, I'm drenched from sitting in the rain. And if one thing was right from the movies, is that sad people like to sit in the rain.

So sit down, make yourself comfy, and go get some food or something. You're about to take a trip into my life, as it was a few months ago. Don't worry; I'm sure there were a lot of happy memories to be excited about. But be prepared for sad ones too.

Are you ready?

Okay.

It all started at a wedding...

Weddings.

Was it bad that I hated them?

My mom always said that it was because I still hadn't found my "happily ever after." Once you find your prince charming you'll understand, is what she always said. This always lead to arguments, because it definitely hadn't worked out that way for my parents. Who was she to say that "happily-ever-afters" exist when her own marriage had ended with splitting everything they owned?

You know what I think? To hell with all those love birds and the idea of a fairy tale ending. Statistics show that a large percentage of marriages end in divorce (I witnessed this first-hand), so why would you want to start in the first place? You're basically setting yourself up to fail.

No. I preferred my love-life to consist of quick flings and zero commitment. It was more fun that way, and I lived my life in a constant search for new experiences and exciting adventures. I definitely didn't consider myself a "whore" or a "slut"... I didn't actually hook up with that many guys. But I did enjoy being able to get almost any date I wanted, and that's where the fun started. Me and my best friend Toary could write books on all the stories we've conjured up during our many spontaneous trips and whims.

The most recent of said interests was crashing weddings. What better thing to do to the life-events I hated the most? If there was any way we could somehow slip into a ceremony or reception that was happening in the area, we would. Some attempts ended in horrible disaster, with the night being spent in a holding cell down at the police station. But other times we were successful and had the absolute time of our lives. We found that successfully crashing a wedding led to some outrageous tales, as well as possibly scoring a date (or more) with a hot groomsman. Not only that, but we could pretend to be someone entirely different than we actually were for a night, testing out those acting classes the two of us had taken in high school. So, without much persuasion, me and Toary decided that this new-found hobby was something we'd stick with for a while.

One perfect spring day found the two of us in the apartment we shared, in the beautiful bustling city of Toronto. Both me and Toary grew up together in a town a few hours away, but we moved here when we got accepted to the University of Toronto. We were in the perfect area; walking distance from all the necessities like groceries and restaurants, and reasonable driving distance to the Entertainment District.

It was a particularly lazy afternoon, with classes for the week ending on a Thursday and the satisfaction of having a long weekend settling on the two of us young adults. I lay sprawled out on the couch in a tank-top and shorts, texting a guy who just couldn't seem to get enough of me after a few hot dates. Toary was sitting at our bar-height kitchen table, silently studying her laptop screen while typing and clicking every now and then.

I got board with the guy I was talking to -what was his name again?... Jack?- and turned my text notifications off. I sighed, and slowly rose out of my comfortable position to get something to drink. I glanced over my best friend's shoulder to her laptop on my way to the stainless steel fridge that inhabited our kitchen (Luckily both our parents had been willing to help get us on our feet and assist in paying for a nicer apartment). After having my cold drink in one hand and an extra for Toary in the other, I went to stand beside her and placed the opened Palm Bay on the table next to her laptop.

"Thanks," she said, her hazel-green eyes never leaving the laptop's monitor. Taking a sip from the alcoholic beverage, she set it back down and continued clicking away.

"Found anything interesting yet?" I inquired, my eyes skimming over the list of locations and venues that popped up on the screen.

"Not really. I mean, with so many weddings happening the past few months, you'd think there would be some good ones the weekend we want to crash them." Toary scrolled some more. "I've been looking up wedding announcements and booking schedules for so many venues in the area, but none have caught my eye."

"Well, you could always look a little outside our normal range," I suggested, taking a swig from my Palm Bay before continuing. "It's a long weekend, and we have the money we'd need for a few nights' stay at a hotel." I grinned as I nudged her arm. "We could even get separate rooms in case one of us gets lucky."

Toary laughed. "I'd be up for the idea, but only if the wedding we're crashing is worth it."

"Well just keep looking. I'm sure we'll find something. 'Tis the season to be married, I guess. There were so many last month, but we were busy with midterms."

I leaned over a bit, trying to help her scan the list of wedding announcements. Something I always looked out for were the celebrity updates. We hadn't attempted it, because security was always heavy at famous people's events. But I always wanted to find a way into a celebrity's ceremony or reception. The possibilities of a hookup with someone I saw on TV or in movies? It gave me excited chills! But so far any big shindigs like that we hadn't even bothered with. We rather didn't waste our time with weddings we knew we had no chance of getting into.

I decided to peruse on some social media to see if there were any interesting wedding updates I had missed. Meandering back to the couch, I sat down and pulled out my phone again, seeing a few messages from Jack. I ignored them and went straight to Twitter, scrolling down my news feed and looking for the key words and phrases me and my friend had learned to spot. Wedding, getting hitched, wearing white, bridesmaids, happiest day of our lives, things like that. It was usually the bride who posted about all that, if she had social medias, so I filtered through the hashtags in search of some actresses.

The both of us kept at it diligently and silently for a good 40 minutes before I sighed in defeat and tossed my phone beside me on the brown suede couch. I rubbed my eyes and turned to look at Toary. She had tied up her blonde hair in a loose bun and her drink had changed positions on the table.

"Girl, I think we're out of luck this weekend," I sighed. "We're just going to have to hit up some bars with our girlfriends and party like there's no tomorrow. We can still make the most of the next four days."

"You're right," Toary replied, and closed her laptop. She tipped her drink back once more, downing the last of its contents. "I mean, it's not like we don't know how to have a good time. We have a reputation to uphold."

I grinned. "You've got that right, sister." I got to my feet and stretched. "Now let's get ready and go start this weekend off right."

In about two hours the two of us were dressed to kill and making our way down to the street in the elevator of our apartment complex. Toary donned a stunning, red, form-fitting dress that accentuated all the right curves. The pencil skirt ended just above her knees, and the top of the dress was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and a band of sequin just below the bust for a touch of elegant sparkle. With it my friend had paired a silver clutch and platform sling-back heels, with diamond earrings, necklace, and bracelet.

I found that the "dark" look suited me more, so I went with a sexy little black number that was also flattering like Toary's red one but stopped about mid-thigh. The top was a strapless sweetheart neckline, but a strip of black lace went a little higher and created short sleeves for an enticing off-the-shoulder style. Black clutch, jewelry, and platform wedge heels completely my look.

The both of us had done a smokey-eye makeup look to accentuate our light-coloured irises, and our hair was loosely curled. I had secured my darker-blonde locks more to one side so they flowed over my right shoulder, while Toary kept all of her hair free and cascading down her back beautifully.

Yes, we looked fabulous, and we knew it.

While getting ready I had sent a text to a few of our friends, inviting them to join us for an evening on the town, starting at our favourite restaurant located down the street from our apartment. It was a classy little Italian joint with an excellent wine list.

Our little group of four sat at a table in one of the corners of the restaurant, sipping our wines after placing our dinner orders.

"So," Angina remarked, setting down her glass and brushing her short brown hair out of her eyes. "I thought you two were planning on crashing a wedding this weekend."

I nodded. "We were, but nothing interesting came up. Both of us browsed all over the internet, searching any tags we could think of, but nothing."

Shrugging her shoulders, Toary added, "Yeah we wanted a celebrity wedding since it's a long weekend. But they always keep the location of such events on a 'need to know only' basis."

Our other friend, Christy, pitched in, her brown eyes eager. "That's why you don't just go by what you find on the web. Word-of-mouth is often a lot more sharing." She leaned forward a bit, resting her elbows on the table. "We've had a lot of people checking in at the hotel where I work. Of course, you ask or over-hear the reasons for their stay. And a lot of them have been talking about a wedding that's happening this Saturday at The Great Hall near the Entertainment District. I haven't heard much on who's getting married, but it seems to be a big deal."

I looked at Toary and grinned. Maybe we'd get our adventure-filled weekend after all. Turning back to Christy, I stated, "Girl, I think you just made our plans for us!" Lifting my wine glass, I proposed a toast. "To another crazy weekend!" And we all clinked our glasses together.