Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your wonderful feedback on the first chapter of Far From Perfection 2. I felt like it was quite different to anything I'd written in the first story as it was a lot fluffier and more group-involving than I wrote before. Also it was in third person for a change. I stick with third person for the first few chapters of this story and I believe I will also end with a few third person chapters for this one too.

In other news, I just discovered that I have already written over a third of this story! I cannot believe how quickly that has gone by. I'm really hoping updates are going to be more frequent and less spasmodic with this story and so fat I think I'm doing well with that! I've updated like 4 times in 3 weeks!

Enjoy chapter 2! I hope you'll like it as much as or more than the first. It's another reasonably fluffy chapter, but by the end, the cogs start moving to really get this story started...


Chapter Two – That Heady Rush

Darling Harbour,

Sydney, New South Wales:

The group of seven wandered around Sydney's secondary harbour, Darling Harbour, en-route to some of the cities foremost tourist attractions. In the harbour, three of the five were located directly next to each other in the order of Wildlife Sydney Zoo, Madame Tussaud's and the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium consecutively placed away from the water and at the end of the pier.

After the disaster of Bondi Beach, Bella had vowed to keep Allie away from any -and all –swimmable, open water and suggested that the aquarium would be a good destination to visit, especially when most of the group was passionately interested in marine life. And, on the plus side she had suggested it because it would be all tanks and glass enclosures, keeping all the girls safe from and, especially Allie, far away from water hazards.

She was wrong.

Almost as though the four year old had known about her mother's vow, Allie had made it her task to get both of her parent's into as many unintentionally sticky situations as she could manage.

From the earliest point possible, Allie began shooting out a little too revealing questions to her father, mother and beloved 'aunties' and 'uncles' regarding the marine life such as "can we see this when we swim to Mako?", "where are all of the other mermaids?" and "look! That tail looks just like mine!"

Needless to say, Bella and Will became quite the experts at explaining their daughter's 'vivid and overactive imagination' to explain Allie's public tongue-slips after revealing too much about her swimming experiences to other members of the public within hearing range of the four year olds questions.

The next difficulty was upon reaching the interactive rock pool, where patrons could dip their hands in to feel and touch assorted starfish, crabs and shells in the shallow water. Before either Bella or Will had a chance to distract Allie and walk straight passed it, after a worker had asked the group if they wanted to feel the coral, Allie had answered for herself, almost dunking her hand in the water before her father caught and picked her up as quickly as possible.

"Sorry. We have to keep moving. We're on a tight schedule" Will lied to the unfazed worker and his irritated daughter.


All of the girls had especially loved the aquarium, being able to see some animals they were familiar with, but from a different perspective, as well as watching new one's that they had never come across on their swims before.

Under the marine sector, all in the group had had their own personal favourite animal or exhibit that they took extra time to savour and enjoy. For Lewis, it was the scientific and biological marvel of seahorses that took his interest, considering how the male seahorse is the carrier of offspring. While Cleo loved comparing all of the exhibits between the ones she saw daily and worked at between the Sydney version, she was especially fond of the penguins, taking her time to read the profiling and pairings of every individual, before trying to pick them out in the exhibit personally. Bella was fascinated by the small jellyfish, in such an environmentally complimentary tank with the colour changing lights which was quite a beautiful, graceful show for the eyes. Zane, ever the marine enthusiast (especially since his 'shark' incident for Lewis's short film) was most infatuated with the gift shop where the eyes of figurines and toys didn't watch him perilously in a room full of marine-associated dollar symbols. Will was ecstatic to see the Dugongs in the big mammals sector, as they had been an animal he had been fascinated with as a boy, but due to their rare status he had failed to see one for many years. Finally, Rikki loved the stingrays... Although Zane became a little concerned of her motives behind the interest when she spent ages studying and verbally expressing her curiosity of 'how a stingray could stab a person in the heart, like it did to Steve Irwin'. Zane simply used it as a reminder to remember to stay on the mermaid's good side.

The visit to the Madame Tussaud's waxwork figures attraction was much enjoyed, but for the youngest in the group, it was a disaster. Allie was beyond freaked out by "the scary people who won't move". Before they had even reached the Australian sporting greats, Will had to cover her eyes and carry her out of the tourist-attraction building (walking straight passed his photo opportunity with Miranda Kerr; much to his disappointment) entertaining her until the remaining five sauntered through the exit to join the bored father-daughter duo.

Finally at the end of the pier and the closest building to the water of the three, the group reached the Wildlife Sydney Zoo.

If it hadn't of been for a free ticket to the attraction with the combo package, the group would have skipped a visit to the zoo, knowing full well of the unbearable 'Australian animals' stereotypes that lay inside.

Zane especially struggled to remain sane within the confines of the building. After passing a few animals, he began to revert to some of his more villainous ways, telling as many horrified overseas tourists as he could: "Welcome to Australia. We're actually more used to seeing koalas and kangaroos dead on the side of the road, than alive. Cheaper than visiting this place, too! Enjoy your stay."

Needless to say, with Zane's harshness, the group didn't stay in there all that long – simply getting through and taking a few pictures along the way as quickly as they could.


"SO, what next peeps?!" Rikki enthusiastically questioned the group as a collective as the seven trailed out through the doors of the final attraction.

Cleo groaned as she walked, looking over to her husband "Sorry if I'm a party pooper, but I'm thinking I might head back to the hotel room for a while to lie down. I'm learning the hard way that champagne breakfasts and too much walking, and, or sun is not the brightest idea or the best mix."

"Do you think you'll have time? Don't forget that dinner at Sydney Tower is booked for 7!" Zane nervously warned before it had even been confirmed whether or not Cleo and Lewis would be returning to the George Street accommodation or not anyway.

"That's hours away, Zane" Rikki teased with an eye roll, beginning to reach the end of her tether regarding her boyfriend's high priority of the dinner reservation, which seemed to be as important as one with the Queen.

However, Zane eventually won out and the group all ended up heading back to the hotel rooms. With an hour or so remaining to kill, standing in the way of the reservation at the Sydney Westfield Tower Eye on Market Street.

To pass the time, Will and Zane decided on hitting the communal gym facility included in the accommodation, only needing to allow five minutes turn around, just enough time for a shower and change before leaving again.

After somehow managing to wrangle the boys into taking Allie with them for her to occupy herself with the exercise balls and raise questions about every single piece of equipment in the room, Bella and Rikki were in the downstairs cafe, enjoying the peace and quiet of a girly chat. Initially Lewis was planning on hanging out with one or both of the boys while his wife napped in their hotel room before they needed to leave, but he found himself far more content with the concept of reading a book in the room after catching wind of the boys plan to go down to the gym.


After regrouping in the foyer and setting off on their way again for the five minute walk, they reached the tower; the location which had caused much angst and excitement for Zane, while the other adults teased him over the fact that you couldn't miss the place that towered over every other building which he had been so worked up and anxious about locating.

Despite hesitancies of being about to ascend so high into the sky from some more than others (including Zane, who had been the ringleader of the outing); the seven piled into one of the elevators, shooting up the 76 floors at a startling rate of two floors a second, all in order to reach the restaurant located on the second highest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere.

Exiting the doors of the small confine after the less than forty second trip, from the second that the doors were opened each individual was uplifted, with a stolen breath from the views that were like nothing else that they could ever compare it to.

In view was the setting sun, the tops of tall buildings and skyscrapers along the streets in the very heart of Sydney, the figures of the Blue Mountains in the distance to the west, the Northern Beaches sprawled ahead north, with Botany Bay and the airport visible to the south, the harbours, the coast, the various islands and the open water that stretched all the way to New Zealand on the east. It was a phenomenal, breathtaking sight, without a doubt.

With the atmosphere and distant 360⁰ panoramic views enrapturing the group, the room they stood in and the restaurant around them was a last priority to look at... The revolving restaurant that if they had of been released from their surrounding's charm, they would have realized that Zane had booked out entirely for the purpose of their sole use.

Looking over to her boyfriend to check he hadn't bolted back down the elevators to return to solid ground in an anxiety attack at the heights, Rikki was still amazed that Zane had been so eager to initiate the outing to the tower. However, as she looked over to check his presence, she was half surprised to find Zane was still standing there, by her side, triggering her realization as she noticed the rest of the room.

"You are kidding, Zane! You've gone all out. Did you have a spare couple thousand just laying around that you needed to blow or something?!" Rikki mused as she looked around the evidently empty room with the one table marked with a 'Reserved' sign that probably didn't need to be there for anyone carrying even just half of a brain.

While the most obvious points of the restaurant room was the view and the fact that it was completely empty and reserved for the group of friends and the staff that was there to serve them privately, it was the finer and more extensively planned ambient details that went unnoticed by most... The fresh flowers that most patrons of the restaurant would not be surrounded by due to the added expenses of arrangement, the candles around the room that had been arranged along with the booking and the playlist of songs playing softly in the background, handpicked from favourites of every member of the group.

For the next few minutes, before anyone had even managed to reach their seat and sit down, the adults among the group absorbed the atmosphere from all angles of the large open room while the youngster in the group caught sight of the large platters of food which captured her attention and interest compared to the scenery she was a little too young to truly appreciate.

Eventually, triggered by Allie's nags over the luxurious buffet of food she had been ogling desirably, the seven made their way to the seats allocated on the one main table of the floor 260 metres above the ground level of Pitt Street.

Food and all of the different choices of such quickly became the topic of conversation for the hungry group before Zane caught their attention in just enough time before they left the table with food being the only thing on their mind.

Rising from his seat with a nervous breath, Zane Bennett struggled to determine which was more frightening – the fact that he was so ridiculously high up in the air, suspended by only a few poles and overlapping wires or the question he was dying to get off of his chest and into the open.

"Sorry guys. I'm sure that you are hungry, but I just wanted to get your attention for a few moments. You might be wondering what the heck we're doing up here, especially when I'm not going to hide the fact that heights and I have never been good friends. The thing is that I just wanted to explain a few things before I ask one of the most important questions of my life."

It was more than obvious which direction Zane was leading and alluding to, which his friend's quickly caught on to, with their attention fixated on the nervous brunette.

"Thanks for coming up here, all of you" Zane thanked in general to his friends who had joined him in showing up for the reservation, before his focus dead-panned in on Rikki.

"Anyway, I wanted to come up here because I think that the Sydney Tower Eye and heights in general reminds me of that day when we were locked out on the balcony during the conference. I feel like that was the first time and moment where we truly connected and I began to fall in love with you, when you helped me overcome my fear of heights and it is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life."

Zane looks away from Rikki, out the windows surrounding him and the others in every direction before continuing to speak in the dead-silent room, where every person was holding onto his every word.

"That balcony would have only been about a quarter of the height of this tower. That was why I wanted to bring you here... Before I met you, before I connected with you that day, this is a place I would never have even dreamed to make it up to the top of, not over my dead body. That's why I wanted to do this here and show you the significance of and as a testament to how far we have come over the last few years, together, as well as as individuals. This is just one small example of how we bring out the best in each other."

As she alternated between tapping her father and mother's shoulders for attention and someone to answer her question of when they could eat, and henceforth, fill her little belly with the food that she tormentingly saw in the distance, Allie was on a completely different wavelength to the adults, paying the least attention to the scene in front of her.

Lewis, ever the romantic, was fixated on the psychology behind the event, trying to read both Zane and Rikki's body language and expressions. He read the fact that Zane was possibly more nervous than he had ever seen him be before. Looking to Rikki –however- was a very different story. You didn't need any expert knowledge to see the fact that she looked more than startled, sitting there like a stunned mullet as she listened.

Cleo, the hopeless romantic was almost brought to tears from the special moment that was playing out before her, quietly jealous of all the thought and effort that had gone into the moment for her least-romantic friend.

Creeping down memory lane, she remembered the night of her own proposal. She knew it was coming. Lewis asked for her ring size and preference over diamonds, rubies or sapphires. The surprise in the evening was that despite the romantic picnic dinner at Mako Island, where she waited through the entire three course meal for Lewis to pop the question at any moment, her boyfriend at the time had unintentionally wimped out of asking her the question for the entire evening. In fact, the point of which he mustered up the courage was on her driveway, in the car after they arrived home when he asked her from the driver's seat in the dark of midnight. So, as he finally pulled out the beautiful ring she'd been dying to see, she couldn't even catch a glimpse of it through the dimly-lit car before she said 'yes'.

Similarly to Cleo, Bella adored the romantic gesture, with just as much jealousy in comparison to her own extremely short-lived engagement with her ex-boyfriend, Daniel which had ended badly in every sense of the word. The 'effort' involved in her proposal was short, sharp and shiny...just enough to get the job 'done'. He'd put together every Facebook photo including each other from both of their accounts, sticking in a couple of songs and splashed out on a sparkler to win her 'yes'. Even in the heat of the moment Bella could smell the faux tainting the event, the fact that it was more about Daniel keeping her and winning her than loving her enough to commit to spending the rest of his life with her.

Watching the scene play out, Will was absolutely stoked for his best guy-friend and girl-friend, as long as Rikki said yes of course. However, in the moment and with his complete surprise at the event, he fought the temptation to feel offended that as his best mate, Zane hadn't told, mentioned or even alluded anything about his plans to Will.

"So, I guess what I am trying to say and what I wanted our nearest and dearest to be with us for is me swallowing my ego and undeservedly asking my beautiful girlfriend whether you, Rikki Chadwick will do me the greatest honour of marrying me?"

Rikki was no fool. She didn't take long to not only suspect, but to also confirm her thoughts over what was happening, what Zane was trying to say and what words were coming as he warmed up to pop the big question.

However, just because she knew the question that was coming, it does not mean that she was any more prepared for and any less startled and surprised by the question itself...


Soooo, what did you all think about that?! I'm a little apprehensive as to how the proposal will be taken, because typically, I don't see Zikki as a soppy, romantic couple necessarily so I was hesitant to write such an over-the-top proposal. But saying that, I personally could see it being the approach Zane would take as the natural rich-kid way of trying to buy people in a way. It's like a bit of a security blanket in a way.

Anyway, I'd appreciate your thoughts and feedback on anything to do with this chapter! Don't forget to review, follow and favourite :)

Next chapter: The aftermath of the proposal. What will Rikki say? Also, Lewis has a treat in store for Cleo, while Will pushes the limits with Bella.