Hey everyone! I would write dedications and all that stuff but I'm on a strict time limit. I have eight minutes left and I just want to thank you all. I read all the reviews, and appreciate them fully. Sorry, I couldn't give you my response!
Lou Ellen Nally's eyes snap open after feeling a poke on her arm and her hand floats under her pillow, where her wand and dagger lay in peace.
"Hey, hey Lou. Calm down. I'm just waking you up!" Alastrina Antonoff's big dark brown eyes stare at the daughter of Hecate.
"Don't wake me up." Lou Ellen's dirty blonde hair flips over on her pillow as the daughter of Hebe (also known as the maid of honor,) continues to prod her.
"I'm guessing you forgot what today is..." Alastrina's white blonde corkscrews were out-of-control and extremely shaggy. Like she'd just woken up.
"It's Monday. Shut up and let me sleep." Lou moans from her comfy space in the pillow.
"Let me remind you... Stoll?" Alastrina taunts, holding in a laugh.
The daughter of Hecate immediately sits straight up in her bed, little sparkles flying around. "I'm getting married today." Lou Ellen mumbles, hazel eyes wide, obviously in shock.
"Oh my gods, I'm getting married today. Today I'm marrying Connor Stoll. By tonight, I'm not going to be a Nally. I'm going to be a Stoll. OH MY GODS, I'M GETTING MARRIED. LOU ELLEN NALLY IS GETTING MARRIED AT THE GROVE, NEW JERSEY TONIGHT. AT SIX. TWELVE HOURS FROM NOW." Her hands were shaking and Alastrina sits next to her.
"It's gonna be okay. You do realize that you'll be marrying Connor tonight. Your 'one true love' as you say." Alastrina says soothingly. Lou Ellen's grimace slowly slips off her face, and she smiles and that little spark of yellow pops out of her hazel irises like it always does when she thinks about Connor.
"Now, you gotta get up. But on some sweats and a button up. We have to go to The Grove, okay Louie? Annabeth and Katie are already there." The daughter of Hebe says, happy for her best friend.
"Okay," Lou's eyes are still sparkling, but she walks to the bathroom and brushes her hair. "I'm getting married." She whispers to herself.
After ten minutes, and a mini panic attack from Lou Ellen, Alastrina leads the bride into the Subaru.
Lou Ellen is obviously stiff, but she closes her eyes and softly sings to the Spoon song playing on the radio.
Hazel eyes shoot open suddenly and Alastrina swerves.
"Where's my dress?" Lou Ellen stammers.
"In the back, sweetie." Alastrina responds calmly.
"Will it wrinkle?"
"No."
Lou Ellen sighs and closes her eyes again. This would be a long drive, from Long Island to northern New Jersey.
"Where's your dress?" The daughter of Hecate panicks.
"In the back, next to yours." Alastrina struggles to keep her patience.
"I'm sorry, Al, I'm just so..." Lou looks for the right word.
"Annoying?" The daughter of Hebe cracks.
Lou Ellen swats her best friend's arm and stares straight ahead, at the traffic.
After fourty-five minutes and Alastrina's multiple curses at jerks who've tried to pick her up from the driver's seat (She's the daughter of the youth goddess!), the duo arrive at The Grove.
Lou Ellen has seen it before, but she's still in awe. It looks like the love child of the Roman Senate House and a Mexican restaurant.
I'm getting married here.
Lou Ellen thinks, astonished.
Slinging the two dresses over her shoulders, Alastrina sends a quick text to Katie and Annabeth.
You guys are in the right room, right? By the ballroom balcony?
While the bride is staring at the building, Alastrina gets a quick response from Katie.
Yes! I see your car outside! Yay!
Alastrina drags Lou by the elbow, pushing through the heavy wooden doors.
"Oh. My. Gods." The two stop, staring at the lobby. In front of them was a slick black grand piano, and a table of seating cards with a huge bouquet of lilies, probably from Katie.
To their left was a set of double doors.
Double doors that held the key to Lou Ellen's future; the ceremony room.
Lou peeks through the small windows, spotting the altar, or what's supposed to be the altar. There's a bar where the altar is supposed to be.
"Uh, Trina? Can you come here for a sec?" Lou mutters, slightly nervous.
Alastrina laughs at the daughter of Hecate's mystified expression. There was a cocktail party the night before, and the manager promised that the bar would be taken care of before five thirty.
Lou Ellen sighs in relief and then walks around the lobby for a minute.
There was six or seven expensive-looking couches and chairs, so expensive looking Lou Ellen was afraid of sitting in them for fear of a spock of a stain.
"Hey Annie? I think I see the bride down there!" A familiar voice shouts from upstairs.
"KATIE!" Lou Ellen shouts, and races up the marble/ carpeted staircase. They're steep, but they already make Lou feel like a princess.
Giving long hugs to both Katie and Annabeth, they two girls lead Lou and Alastrina to their room. It was huge, with mini chandeliers on the mirrors, a flatscreen, and a bathroom (WITH A SHOWER!).
Lou is still inspecting the freaking awesome room when Alastrina interrupts.
"Annabeth? Katie? You've got the wrong room."
Annabeth looks a little sheepish, and everyone knows that's because she got something so easy wrong. Everyone ignores it though, and Alastrina guides the three to the real room.
They walk through the fancy carpeted hallway, and there is this four melded chair... thing. But it looks cool. So the four pile on one of the huge chairs.
"A girl could could get used to this," Annabeth moans, sinking in the fluffy, soft fabric.
"Totally." Katie responds.
Soon though, Lou shakes the girls out of their dazes and walks into the real room.
It's smaller, yes but much. much better than the last one.
The mirror is about one-fourth the size of the other one, but that's not that big of a deal. There's a walk-in closet, two couches and two chairs. A flat-screen also graces the room, along with a bigger bathroom.
The four lounge, and chat about life. Percy and Travis... and Connor.
Katie's phone beeps (Leo invented a monster-free phone,) and she giggles. "Oh my gods. Look what Travis sent me!"
The four girls laugh as they witness Connor, Travis, Percy, and Jared, a son of Ares and one of Connor's best friends goofing off as they trash the room that the girls had entered minutes ago.
"But I think they should have texted us before they walked in the room. We all know it's bad luck to see the bride on the wedding day, even if she's not in her wedding dress-"
Annabeth is interrupted by a knock on the door. Lou quickly opens it, and two girls walk in, one blonde and one brunette.
"I'm Anechka, and this is Sarah-" The blonde points to the brunutte, who waves shyly. "we're the hairdressers from the Dolls."
The four girls greet the hairdressers, who ask for Annabeth and Katie first. The maid of honor and bride would get their hair done last.
A bubble of excitement explodes in Lou Ellen's chest. Today she's getting married, and this is the first step!
The door sweeps open, and a girl with wavy light brown hair and eyes to match strolls in. "Who's my favorite bride?"
Lou Ellen squeals, "Abra!" The daughter of Hecate rushes to hug the newcomer, while the other girls look on. They've met Abra once at the bridal shower, but they don't know much about her, or even her godly parent.
Lou Ellen introduces the girl as, "Abra Spektor, daughter of Hermes." Each of the girls greets her respectively.
The metal doors in the hallway open, and a plump lady in a tux carries two trays of food and some drinks onto the expensively clothed mini-tables in the corners of the hallway. Abra and Alastrina rush into the hallway, but Lou Ellen stays in the room and smiles at Katie and Annabeth, both of their hair covering their face.
"Do you guys want anything?" Lou Ellen asks, grinning.
"Bagel with cream cheese, please!" Annabeth's grey eyes were sparkling under her curtain of blonde.
"Five pastries, my friend." Katie resquests, holding in a laugh. She always had an uncontrollable appetite. She blew a brown curl out of her face.
Lou Ellen Nally (soon to be Stoll) speed-walks into the hallway grabbing a bagel and buttering it with cream cheese (even the butter knives were crazy fancy!) and shoving as many cream puffs on a small plate as she could.
She walks back into the room with Abra and Alastrina, who are blabbing away, already fast friends.
Annabeth's hair is done, put into a simple up-do. Now, Katie's seems much more complicated. Anechka is currently recurling Katie's thick and uncontrollable curls, which is bound to take forever.
"Bathsheba?" Sarah asks, and at the precise moment, Lou Ellen gets a text, saying Bathsheba's in the parking lot. Sarah kindly says she can wait five minutes, and Lou jogs downstairs to meet an old friend.
Bathsheba immediately wraps Lou Ellen in a lung crushing hug, golden brown hair swinging all over the place. Her brown eyes are glowing out of happiness for Lou, and the bride guides her upstairs.
Swinging the door open dramatically, Lou dramatically announces, "Bathsheba-
"SHEBA!" A voice from outside interrupts.
Lou Ellen continues, "Sheba Nicks, daughter of Iris!"
Sheba mock curtsies and is shoved onto the stool for hairdressing. Poor Sarah has to wait five extra minutes, as the daughter of Iris shakes with laughter.
After small-talking with the girls for about half-an-hour, Lou Ellen wanders downstairs to look around once again.
A mop of shaggy brown hair is blocking the table with the place cards.
"Connor?!" Lou Ellen asks, in shock.
A grin lights up Connor's face, like a little boy on Christmas morning, and he runs over to her.
Wrapping her in an embrace, Connor Stoll lifts her up and kisses her. "Hello there."
Lou giggles like a tween, and kisses him again. He puts her down and she asks him, "What are you doing here?"
"It was getting cramped in there." Connor rolls his eyes.
"You know it's bad luck to see their bride before the ceremony, right?"
"Don't we already have pretty bad luck? I don't think that one rendezvous is going to hurt anyone."
Lou Ellen smiles larger than she's ever before and kisses Connor on the cheek before lithely running about the marble staircase, leaving her future husband staring after her.
"Louie, you rule-breaker." Abra fake glares at the bride.
"What?" Lou Ellen fakes innocence.
"We sent Annabeth to investigate what you were doing outside," Abra says, light brown hair being straightening.
"I can't believe you were fooling around with Connor before the wedding!" Annabeth scolds, and Katie and Sheba burst into laughter.
"Yeah, like you wouldn't do that with Percy." Lou responds, smirking.
Annabeth flushes pink, and Sheba and Katie laugh even harder.
Lou's phone beeps, and she and Alastrina jog downstairs to meet two of the bridesmaids.
A girl with stringy blonde hair and blue eyes and a girl with thick, black hair and green eyes walk through the wooden doors confidently, eyes glowly the moment they see Alastrina and Lou. A four people make a huge group hug in the middle of the lobby of The Grove.
The four girls race upstairs like little girls and enter the little room full of girls.
Everyone's snacking on little lunch burritos that the lady had put out for lunch, and laughing hysterically while Abra and Sheba continue getting their hair done.
The new blonde waves. "Hi everyone, my name is Chloe Schwartzman, daughter of Apollo." Her blue eyes sparkle, reminiscent of the blue, blue, New Jersey sky.
The raven-haired girl is quite timid. Half-heartedly raising a hand, she mumbles, "Deborah Astoria, daughter of Hephaestus."
Bathsheba quickly jumps out of the uncomfortable stool, and Chloe plops herself in the stool.
Abra finishes soon after, and Deb lightly puts herself on the circular chair, and Anechka simply curls Deb's short black strands.
Alastrina drags Lou into the bathroom, and Annabeth and Katie huddle around. Make-up time.
Time to be the bride.
Lightly brushing gold over Lou's eyelids and putting a nude lipstick over her lips, Alastrina enhances a natural look. Fifteen minutes later, Lou Ellen finally looks at herself in the mirror.
She is no longer Lou Ellen Nally, she is Lou Ellen Stoll.
No papers need to confirm that.
"Aw, gods. You're gonna make me cry, Lou." Katie fans her face, and Chloe and Deb walk into the stuffy bathroom.
They have that Lifetime movie moment where they're all tearing up, but Deb surprisingly breaks the silence.
"We should go to the other bathroom and do our make up there so we can be surprised after Lou and Trina do their make-up..." Deb's voice cracks, and the other girls agree.
Starting to open the door, Annabeth's grey eyes widen. "Perseus Jackson, why are you over here? Go away!"
"And Travis and Connor, scram! Go away!" Katie barks from the slit of the doorway.
"Louie, hide on the balcony! Go!"
Lou hides on the balcony, where the ballroom is displayed. She'll be dancing here, with Connor in a few hours. She'll be Connor's wife.
Oh my gods.
...
Meanwhile, the bridesmaids sneak through the small slit of the doorway. They keep track of the groomsmen.
There's Travis, Percy, and Jared of course. There was Jonah Jackman, son of Hermes. Noah Minelli, son of Athena. Samuel Woods, son of Aphrodite and Simon Cooper, son of Persephone. Lastly, there was Zachary Brock, son of Hyperion. All the groomsmen were shoving their faces with the salad burritos the girls didn't finish. Boys never grow up.
The bridesmaids jog barefoot to the girl's bathroom.
"Oh." Sheba's hazel eyes were stars.
"My." Annabeth was absorbing every detail.
"God." Chloe was in complete awe.
The bathroom was huge. A make-up table with four seats, a ten sinks, and seven huge, fancy... You can't even call them stalls.
They had cloth paper towels, and a full-length mirrors.
Oh yeah, and don't forget the chaise laying beside the make-up table.
Abra, Katie, Chloe, and Sheba dibbed on the make-up table so Deb, and Annabeth did their make-up at the sink's mirrors. No hard feeling though, the girls who had the sink also had the full-length mirror.
Slowly and carefully, the girls did their best work with the make-up, and walked out confident.
As a joke, they model-strutted back toward the girl's room.
The boys' jaws hung open. Well, everyone except for Connor. Connor was pacing, and sweating. He looks ready to have a panic attack.
The bridesmaids order the groomsmen to make sure Connor is turned toward the wall, so he can't see Lou Ellen.
The girls rush in the small room, astonished.
Lou Ellen looks... perfect. Everything a bride should look like.
Her hair was in small ringlets, and had little cornrows weaving little lines through her head.
They couldn't dwell on her too much, though. They had to go to a quick rehearsal downstairs, and Lou Ellen isn't going to attend.
The wedding planner was a small lady named Elizabeth with sharp features, cropped blonde hair, and a Bronx accent.
"Okay, so I'm gonna line you up. Simon and Deborah, Samuel and Chloe, Bathsheba and Noah, Jonah and Abra, Percy and Annabeth, maid of honor Alastrina and Zachary, and Katie and best man Travis. Is this all right?" Elizabeth snapped, brown eyes sharp and menacing.
They did a quick run through without Lou Ellen, and for some reason Bathsheba and Abra were singing N'Sync the whole time. Nobody knows why.
The girls jog upstairs to get their bridesmaids dresses on before the photographer comes in. The bridesmaids dresses were long, strapless gown in an orangey-pink color. Lou fell in love with them the moment she saw them.
The most important moment for the bridal party comes. Wedding dress.
The zipper from the David's Bridal gown slides down and out comes a cream colored piece. After slipping on her pumps, Alastrina helps Lou Ellen slip into her gown.
Lou Ellen Na- Stoll was beautiful. Absolutely glowing.
It was strapless too, but extremely puffy. There was layers, like an onion, but much more attractive than an onion. A little flower belt went around the waist. The pinkish color brought out Lou Ellen's skin tone. It was just... beautiful.
The bridesmaids led the way downstairs, flanked by dashing groomsmen in Jos. A. Bank. tuxedos.
Connor is twitching then ever, but suddenly relaxes as he watches Lou walk down the marble steps.
She is the most amazing thing he has ever seen in his life.
He meets her at the bottom of the steps, wrapping her in a tight embrace, crinoline swirling around the two.
The moment was perfect.
The bridal party and the groomsmen stood in a circle, jabbering about mundane things, secretly watching the couple fawn over each other.
Pictures. were strategically placed all over the couches and tables, posing as if they were models.
Serious, happy, laughing, looking up, chatting. God, it took ages.
There was the independent pictures with the bride with each of her bridesmaids and the groom with each of his groomsmen.
Soon came the process of independant pictures.
The details are quite boring to be honest, except that Connor kept tickling Lou so she would laugh during the pictures. That's the best part.
The bridal party wanders through the lobby as the happy couple wanders through the gardens outside. The furniture was suspiciously spotless, but the bridesmaid's heels are digging into their ankles, and ruining the chairs is being considered when Connor and Lou Ellen burst through the door, hand in hand.
They're laughing hysterically, and trying to utter something about umbrellas, but can't seem to fit it through the laughter. Lou Ellen's leaning on Connor, and the crinoline's brushed with grass, the bottoms of her kitten heels scrapped.
"Monster?" Percy asked, eyes wide.
"Yup." Lou mutters, still laughing. The golden dust makes the bride's hair look even more beautiful.
The wiry photographer pokes his head through the door. "We still need more pictures."
The two groan but grumble their way outside.
The bridal party and groomsmen are ushered upstairs so the guests who arrive soon will have their first views of the whole set at the ceremony.
But there is one last preparation; the wedding papers.
After the pictures are (finally) finished, the bride, groom, and friends are herded into a small, plain room with one large center table. This is the name changing, and the certificates.
The wedding director asks for witnesses, and Alastrina and Travis happily oblige.
"Dude, you realize right now you could change your name to like, Clark Kent or something like that. Right now," Travis mumbles, his head down looking at the stack of carbon copies, but there is laughter evident.
Connor looks up, eyes wide and just about ready to change it when Lou grabs his arm.
"No."
Connor pouts, but goes back to the papers.
After about ten minutes, the director says someone is going to need to hold the certificates in their pockets.
Percy immediately steps back, thinking the director was looking at him. "I'm irresponsible." The room explodes with laughter, the tension from the paper signing disentegrating. Eventually, Simon gives in and tucks the messily folded papers into his breast-pocket.
Katie, Travis, and Annabeth stare at all the guests from the top of the staircase, ducking their torsos over the bronze linings.
People watching is fun, and it gave them a chance to make sure no monsters wandered into the ceremony room.
Soon, the quartet walks into the boys' quarter, listening to Sheba and Noah tell an embarassing story from when Lou and Connor first began dating. The pair was was each bright red, but soon the talking slowly died down, realizing that the reception was done being set up, and the wedding was to begin in minutes.
The director comes in thirty seconds later, guiding the party downstairs and into the lobby, behind the double doors where the ceremony will be held.
Two minutes everyone stood in thier uncomfortable dress shoes, until Abra exclaims, "Uh, where's my pearls?"
"Yeah, my silver bracelet's gone." Deb's eyes widen as she looks at her left wrist.
"And my hankerchief/ napkin thing isn't here." Samuel mumbles, uncontrollable red hair obviously covering his mouth.
Lou Ellen's face flushes and she snaps her fingers, accessories magically appearing on various body parts. "Oops. A bit nervous."
Connor would comfort her of course, but he's already walking to his position at the altar, as anxious as Lou Ellen is.
Each of the couple walk up to their positions, Percy almost tripping on Annabeth's floor length gown.
Soon the doors whirl open, displaying a happy, but slightly flustered, Lou Ellen Nally. Pictures by Sia softly plays from the speakers in the corner, and Lou's cream fabric flows behind her. This is her dream, coming true right now.
Connor and Lou join hands, and Travis notices his brother has never looked this happy before, in a scratchy rented suit, holding hands with a daughter of Hecate with monster dust still in her hair.
The ceremony goes quickly, the director slightly droning in places, and Lou has to stifle a laugh.
The vows are spoken, and the rings are given to Connor by Travis, whose eyes are bright for his brother.
The rings each had the other's fingerprint imprinted on them, so even when they were apart, they would still be with each other.
Someday by The Strokes blares loudly from the speakers, and the happy (now married couple) practically skips down the aisle, overly large smiles seemingly stuck on their faces.
They stroll to the cocktail hour, where strawberry lemonade daiquiris wait happily for the wedding party. The couple has retreated upstairs, and the groomsmen see this as an opportunity to get a head start on the buffet lines. The girls, in turn, find five large tables situated near each other, and they settle down there.
Soon, the pool of guests spill through the small doors, daiquiris running out quickly. Piper, Jason, and Rachel seat themselves with Annabeth, Percy, Katie, and Travis and discuss the wedding, and other demigodly items of gossip.
Soon, after the initial food rush has ended, the doors of a previously unseen balcony open, and Connor and Lou Ellen glide happily through them. They are practically glowing.
They rush back in the doors, and in a minute they show up again, now entering the cocktail hour. Hugs, kisses, and random greetings with people who they've forgotten the name of are exchanged, and hour is going by slowly.
They really need some food.
But soon, the wedding party is once again herded up those marble stairs, and is stuck in the boys' and girls' quarter for fifteen minutes as the guests pool through the many entrances to the multi-colored-chandelier-lit room.
Percy and Jared invite Alastrina and Annabeth to pull a surprise visit to the receptionists through the balcony, and the two girls, letting the boys go through first, close the doors behind them.
Jared and Percy stay out there quietly for a few minutes, hypnotized by the astonished laughter of wedding guests.
Meanwhile, the happy couple is spread on the couch, chowing on some random hors de'voures placed on the glass table, and discussing old high school stories.
Soon though, the bridesmaids and groomsmen are ushered downstairs to prepare their extreme entrances.
After fifteen minutes, there was a three way tie between who won the best entrance. There was Percy and Annabeth; Percy, who decides it would be best to use his water powers, makes all the champagne bottles crack and explode, showering the room with golden water vapor sparkle things. There was Travis and Katie; wherein Katie grows all the vases the make a lagoon-like tunnel for the couple to walk through. And lastly, there was Connor and Lou, effortlessly strolling through the doors of the balcony, shrowded by golden light not purposely caused by Lou.
The wedding party stand in one long line, waving to wedding guests when the disc jockey orders everyone but Lou and Connor to exit the stage.
The folksy sound of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes cross through the static-y stereo system.
Connor and Lou Ellen Stoll put their forehead together, entranced by the acoustic guitars and each other's eyes.
How'd you like?