"Oh god…" David stood up from the cold, uncomfortable bench he was sitting on, nervously pacing around the tightly spaced dressing room. His eyes were disturbingly red and puffy from tears that had since dried up upon his cheeks. The well-dressed man looked like all sorts of hell and misery, his hair messy and knotted from running his hands through it anxiously. He was emotionally broken on the inside, between feelings of anger and despair. The sight of this man—upset, weak, on edge —was a side of him that no one has ever seen of him.

Today was David Moss, better known as Lasercorn's, biggest day, and the moment he's been waiting years for; an astonishing wedding with hundreds of close family and friends. He was going to share this moment with the most amazing girl in his life, Jessica, and couldn't have been happier. Ever since an unexpected blind date set up by a group of their mutual college friends at Ohio State University, he knew that she was only for him. It wasn't exactly love at first sight—more like love after a year or two of a close friendship—but David knew deep down that she was going to be his future wife. He had feelings for her that he has never shared with any of his ex-lovers. He always had to question the path of his past relationships, but with Jessica, he felt that certain bond that separated her from the others.

However, within the last year and a half, David felt the change in their relationship. Ever since the move to California, he was drifting further and further apart from Jessica. He was putting work and his office friends first, and quality alone time with Jessica last. He found himself in constant denial over the obvious strain between them, and lying to himself about their situation. In his eyes, they always had the perfect relationship, but to her, the damage that he caused was too late to fix and their relationship had already deteriorated.

He never noticed any of the signs that she's been leaving through the last several weeks. All her heartache, her loneliness, and the need to be comforted, David never caught on. She was still perfect in every single way to him, and he believed that they were going to be happy forever. However, Jessica's last-minute confrontation with him turned their happy, perfect wedding, into a nightmare of constant sorrow for David.

…

"David, I just can't do this." Jessica's soft, but stern voice resounded throughout the small dressing room, as she stood by the doorway. David turned to her in utter shock. He never anticipated her to show up like this, especially an hour before the wedding started. He was also surprised over the fact that she had changed out of her dress, and into her normal clothing.

"Sure you can Jess. In an hour, we're going to be that perfect family that we always wanted. I know you're scared, but we'll get through this together. Please change back into your dress so we can make this happen." David assured, gently holding her into his arms. Jessica didn't fight, or take comfort in his grasp.

"No David, you don't understand." She pulled away from his embrace, and look at him with slight guilt in her eyes. "We aren't the same as before, and you know it. I've tried my hardest to stay strong, but I can't do it anymore." The cold, dark tone in her voice was beginning to scare him. He regretted the moment he had to face this problem, but he knew deep inside that it was too late to fix it.

"Please Jess, don't do this. I love you." David's voice was beginning to break, as he tried to pull her back into his arms, but this time she resisted and stepped further away from him.

"I wish I could love you too, but I can't anymore, not like this."

"We can work something out. We can fix this. I know I've neglected you, but I'm willing to drop everything just for you. Jess, I don't want to lose you, please give me a chance." At this point, David was starting to get desperate. He couldn't lose her, especially like this. He meant every single word that just choked out of his mouth. He didn't want to make the same mistakes anymore.

"You don't remember do you?" she hissed. Jessica's sudden bitter, angry tone sent chills down David's spine. The guilt in her eyes changed into resentment, and her facial expressions lacked much emotion except for rage. "Every time I try to talk about things like this, you always reassure me that everything will work out in the end. In the last several months, I've never seen you change once, despite all your empty promises to do so." She found herself starting to bellow, but just enough so no one outside their room could hear. "I've given you chance after chance to make things right, but when it comes down to it, you treasure friends and work over me."

Tears began to form at the base of David's eyes. He wanted to promise her that things would be different, to desperately pull her back into his arms and make her forget about all the times that he's hurt her, but he knew that his efforts would be pointless. He was frozen in place; so much tension and anger surrounded the room, and he couldn't speak. He wanted to scream and beg for her to give him another chance, but his throat wouldn't allow it.

"I've tried, I really have. I believed you all those other times, and now I'm done. I won't let myself get hurt, not again. You were oblivious to how much I needed you, and now I can't deal with this anymore. Even if I wanted to believe you this time, I can't." The anger in her voice was fading, now void of any emotion. "We can't do this anymore, Dave. I'm sorry, but after putting me through all that pain, I found someone else." David couldn't believe what he was hearing. She found someone else? She was with another person, and he was just finding out about it on his own wedding day?

How long has she been seeing someone else? Why didn't I pay more attention to her? Who was this other person? How could she do this to me, and to us?

Several thoughts ran through the back of David's mind all at once. He didn't know how to react to this sudden news, or how to fix things between them now. He felt betrayed, hurt, and hopeless. He regretted every moment that he spent away from her. Tears were falling down his face, and he just wanted to break down. He felt like a wall had just torn down inside of him, and he was getting ripped out of his home, his comfort zone. Her face remained unchanged, as if all of this didn't affect her at all. How could she deliver news like this, and not show an ounce of emotion. "I'm sorry Dave," she lied as she turned away from what was left of her ex-lover. "Things happen for a reason. I just wish that we could have worked things out from the start." David refused to look on as she walked away. He crawled onto the bench, with every ounce of what was left of his energy, and just lied there, staring at the wall. As he felt his world crumbled apart, all that he heard was her faint footsteps walking away, and the sound of a meaningful ring fall on the ground, as his heart shattered into pieces.

…

What am I going to do now? I can't believe this… I can't live without her.

David wanted to feel mad; mad at the world, mad at Jessica, mad at himself. All he could think about at this point was his day ruined, and his true love walking out on him. Now left alone with a wedding without a bride, David had no idea what to do. He couldn't go out there and face the crowd as the mess he was. He just felt like hiding forever in that tiny room until his bride returned. He wanted take his anger out on something, inflict pain on another man's balls; whatever it took to ease the pain and humiliation he was dealing with.

"David, one of the groomsmen sent me. Hurry up in there, everyone's waiting." David paused in his steps, opting to have his back turned away from the voice at the doorway, knowing exactly who it was. He couldn't let anyone know how broken and battered he felt. He never wanted anyone to see him like this, let alone one of his friends. David wanted privacy, after everything this day brought, he at least deserved that.

Please go away Ian...

"David, what are you doing? Why are you standing there? We have to start now." David knew that he wasn't going to leave. He wasn't ready to face anyone, not now anyways. He knew he didn't have much of a choice but to face him.

"She's not coming, Ian," his voice cracked severely, choking on his own words. David cautiously turned around to stare at Ian with his bloodshot eyes, quickly averting them down towards the floor. "Jess stopped loving me for months. I've tried to make her stay, but I couldn't. She cheated on me, and she left… She fucking left…"

After a long moment of silence, Ian closed the door behind him, and stared at his hapless, upset friend with sympathy, pulling him into a tight hug. Ian didn't know what else to do, but he knew that David was hurt, and that he had to be there for him. David didn't expect this amount of comfort from Ian, nor did he expect to be so relieved that he wasn't alone any more. David's deep breathing and silence prompted Ian to squeeze tighter, knowing that he had to be there for his friend. Neither of the boys wanted to let go for a second.

"I'm so sorry..." Ian whispered, his voice now cracking as well. They both stood in silence for a good 2 minutes before Ian spoke again. "If you want, you could stay with me for a few days until you recover from this." David knew he couldn't go back to the apartment where he would be reminded of the time they spent together, and he knew that Ian was completely serious about this decision. He didn't want to be much of a burden to Ian, but he also knew that he didn't want to be so alone anymore. David had a choice to make, and despite the need to just sulk in his deep depression, he could only nod, hoping that somehow he could be distracted from all this misery. The two close friends parted from their tight embrace.

"Listen, stay here, and I'll send the guests home. Afterwards we'll drop by your place to pack. I'll just tell them you're sick or something." Ian reassured.

"Wait, what about Melanie? I don't want to impose…" David broke his silence, worried about the possible complications he could have between Ian and his long-time girlfriend.

"She's away for a few months for her photography project, plus she wouldn't have minded either way." Ian insisted, not looking directly towards him. David was skeptical about Ian's response, believing that maybe he was hiding something, but now wasn't the best time to explore it. Besides, it wasn't any of his concern, and he shouldn't pry into anyone else's life, especially when that person was supporting him through this tough situation.

As Ian left the room, David took a look at the ring that Jessica abandoned, resting at the edge of the room. To him, it once represented the love and happiness that he couldn't share with anyone else. After much thought and hesitation, he grabbed the ring, and safely placed it into his pocket. This ring was important to him, filled with pleasant memories of Jess. He couldn't just leave it there, especially when that was all that he had left of hers to cherish. After all, he knew deep down that with the help of his ring, he'll win back her heart.

Writer's notes: So I hope you guys enjoyed that first chapter. I'm hoping that it becomes an amazing fic, and if you guys have any suggestions, please let me know. I'll try my best to update it at least every two weeks, but I can't give any promises.