Disclaimer: I do not own "Against the Wall". I only own Sarah, Conrad, Dustin and anyone else you don't know from the show. :)

About a week later, Sarah's fears had long since been quelled by the simple fact of her family never leaving the apartment. If it wasn't one of her sisters coming to help her unpack and arrange everything, or their parents checking to see if they needed anything, then it was her brothers coming to gawk at their huge new place to hang out.

She had said her opinion on that. "No. Uh-uh. My apartment is not going to turn into Abby's rooftop. It is not our new hang. Understand?"

However, so far, they hadn't listened very well. She was glad for a reason to get out of there as she walked towards the coffee shop to have lunch with Dustin. He had called her earlier that morning, and she could tell he had a lot on his mind. When she walked into the building, she spotted him immediately.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one.

"Oh my God!" The pair looked up as a blond their age came running over. "I can't believe it!"

They stared at her for a minute, until something in her actions clicked in Sarah's head. "Shelly?"

Her head bobbed up and down excitedly. "You remember me!"

Sarah nodded slowly. "Uh…yeah. I couldn't forget you." She sent a look to Dustin.

This statement didn't fully register in Shelly's head, and she continued to grin. Then she sat down, as if they were old friends. "So how are you? I love your music. It's so awesome that you went all the way with that! Isn't it just so cool?"

"So cool." She told her and held back a laugh. "I'm…okay. How are you?" She asked awkwardly and kicked Dustin under the table.

"Oh I am good, I-" She trailed off and stared at Sarah's hand. "Oh my God. You're engaged? Oh my God!"

She forced Sarah into a hug and Sarah looked awkwardly at Dustin, who still hadn't spoken. "Yeah…I am."

"That is so cool! You and Conrad were so attached in high school I figured you would never break up. But then you got famous and you start dating someone and now you are getting married!" She squealed, causing a few people to stare at them. "So what is his name?"

"Conrad."

Shelly stared at her. "You are getting to a guy that has the same name as your high school boyfriend?"

Sarah looked at Dustin, a shocked look on her face that said 'Is she serious?' and looked back at Shelly. "No. It's Conrad…from high school. Conrad Austin."

"Oh my God! That is so cool! I thought that when you guys went to different schools, you might break up, but it looks like he isn't the only one you've stuck with since high school." She glanced at Dustin.

"What's the supposed to mean?" He asked.

Shelly looked at Sarah. "Oh, I just can't believe that being such a big star now, you've stayed friends with this loser. You could have ditched him for much more exciting and rich friends."

"Hey Shel," Sarah looked at her. "If you ever become a mother, can I have one of your puppies?"

Dustin looked at her, shocked. Shelly just looked confused. "I-"

"You know what's funny?" She asked again.

"No…what?"

"The way that after all of these years your voice alone can still make my ears bleed." She cocked an eyebrow. "If you want to keep talking, I can make yours bleed too."

Shelly was speechless. "You cannot just talk to me like that! You threatened me! You can't just get away with that!" She looked up and saw two cops walk by the window and quickly went to get them.

Sarah sighed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…" She muttered and rolled her eyes.

A moment later, she had to hold in a laugh when Shelly came back with the two cops: Richie and Brody.

"Here she is, officers. She threatened me." Shelly pointed at her.

Sarah stood, putting a hand on her heart. "I did no such thing, honey." She laid her accent on thick and looked at Dustin. "Did you hear me threaten her?" He shook his head and she looked at the table next to them. "Did y'all hear me threaten this woman?" They too shook their heads and she turned back to her brother and Brody. "Officers, I am sorry for this miscommunication."

Shelly glared at her. "I can't believe I liked your music."

"Sorry, ma'am, but we can't really do anything unless she physically hurt you or others heard her threaten you." Brody told her.

Sarah sighed. "Again, I'm sorry." She pretended to look at their badges. "Officer Brody." She turned to Richie. "Officer…Kowalski." She looked back at Shelly and cocked her eyebrow.

The look on her face was priceless as she ran out of the building and Dustin high-fived his best friend. "That was awesome!"

Sarah sat back down and grinned. "After all of these years, she is still a bully."

"You're crazy." Her brother-in-law told her and she smiled at him.

"Thanks, Brody." She winked.

They soon left the pair to their lunch and Sarah could tell that something was bothering her friend. "Dustin…what's going on?"

He looked up. "I…kind of have to tell you something."

"Okay…you know you can tell me anything." She paused. "Does this have anything to do with the wedding?"

He shook his head. "No! No, I love being Conrad's best man. No...it's nothing like that." He hesitated. "I just…I have wanted to tell you for a while, and I just don't know how."

"Dustin…just tell me." She said and watched him carefully.

He sighed. "Sarah, I'm…gay."

She stared at him for a moment. When he didn't continue she opened her mouth. "And…?"

"What?" He was confused.

She chuckled. "I already knew that."

"What?" He exclaimed, relaxing a lot. "How?"

"You're my best friend. I know you well enough to figure these things out." She shrugged and ate her salad.

"But…why didn't you say anything?" He asked her.

"It wasn't for me to bring up. I knew you'd tell me when you were ready to tell me." She put her hand on his. "Dustin, I don't care about that. It won't make me stop loving you."

He grinned. "You think Conrad will be okay with it?"

"He already knows, too." She smirked. "We figured it out a while ago."

He nodded. "I should have figured that." He paused. "So…I guess this is where I tell you I have a boyfriend."

She dropped her fork. "Dustin Carlisle…I hate you."

He stared at her. "Huh?"

"I have been home for almost two weeks now, and I have seen you multiple times. How could not tell me you were dating someone?"

He shrugged. "I'm sorry!" They laughed. "So…can I invite him to the wedding?"

She stared at him, deadpanned. "No. You can't."

He smiled. "Thanks, Sarah."

…

"So you were right." Abby said as she, Gail, Laura, Sheila, Sarah, Madi, and Conrad's mom sat in the dress shop.

Sarah nodded. "Of course I was. When am I ever wrong?" She looked at her sister. "Don't answer that."

They all laughed as a woman came back to help them. "Oh my gosh. You're Sarah Kowalski." She shook her hand. "It's great to meet you. So…dress shopping?"

Sarah nodded. "My fiancé and I are getting married in three months."

The woman chuckled. "Wow."

She shrugged. "Yeah…we didn't want to wait."

The woman smiled. "That's no problem. Let's see if we can find you some dresses today. Who do you have with you today?"

"Um…this is my sister, Abby. She's my Maid of Honor. Laura and Gail are my sisters-in-law and bridesmaids. Madi is about to be my sister-in-law and she is another bridesmaid. This is my mom, Sheila, and my fiancé's mom, Amber. My other bridesmaid isn't in town, but I know her sizes."

"Well I'm Carrie." She told them. "So, did you want to do the bridesmaids' dresses first or the bride's dress?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "Let's do the bridesmaids' dresses first, and then we'll tackle mine." She smiled.

"Okay! What were you thinking?"

"Nothing too crazy. Simple, but pretty. Our colors are blue and white, so that would be best." She told Carrie.

She nodded and smiled. "I can definitely work with that. Abby, can you come with me? You'll be trying the dresses on."

Abby gave Sarah a smiled and followed Carrie to the back while Sarah sipped her champagne. They waited a few minutes and came back out. Abby was wearing a pretty, long, blue dress with a ruffled skirt.

"It's nice. I just…don't like the ruffles too much. It looks weird on that dress."

Carrie nodded. "Okay. Let's try something else."

Abby tried on a few more dresses, until finally she found one she liked. It was cobalt blue, with a sort of sweetheart neckline, and a white sash around the middle.

"I love it." She said immediately. "I absolutely love it."

"Wonderful." Carrie smiled at her.

Once she had gotten all of their information and gotten everything she needed for the dresses, it was time to try on the wedding dresses.

"Are you ready?" She asked Sarah.

Sarah nodded. "Yes!"

Just like with the bridesmaids dresses, it took her a few times to find something she actually liked. When she did, everyone knew it immediately.

She slowly walked out and smiled at her family, looking in the mirror. Immediately, she got tears in her eyes. "Oh my God."

Sheila stood and walked over to her daughter. "You look amazing, honey."

Sarah nodded robotically. "This is it. This is the one."

Carrie grinned. "I had a feeling you would like this one."

The dress was beautiful. It had a sweetheart neckline, and a beaded bodice. The skirt had lots of ruffles that fell perfectly along her body, and there was a silver design around the middle, like a sash.

"It's everything I imagined my wedding dress would look like." She bit her lip. "I have to send a picture to Cassie. She'll kill me if I don't."

Gail pulled out her phone and snapped a picture, sending it to Sarah so that she could later send it to her best friend. Sarah looked at her mom. "Do you love it?"

Sheila nodded. "I love it."

Abby walked to her other side. "You look amazing, Sarah."

The mother and daughters stood together for a moment before Sarah hugged them, tears in her eyes. "I'm getting married."

This chapter is dedicated to two great men that I knew who died today. They both did great things, and the only way I know how to honor them is by dedicating this chapter to them.

Father Bob, you may not have really known who I was by name, but it was an honor singing in church next to you every week for a few years. You taught me a lot about the Lord, and now you are at home with him. You will always be missed.

Angry Dave, you were a great man. Not many bar owners would tolerate a bunch of young people crashing your bar every Saturday during the summer just to sing karaoke. Even after I turned 18, you let me in your bar and I thank you greatly for that. You were funny, nice, and did a lot of great things for a lot of great people. Thank you for everything you did for us. Saturday night karaoke will never be the same without you.