A/N: Thanks so much for all your positive input! I hope this chapter is okay, I didn't plan on updating this so soon, but I really felt like it! Hope you enjoy!

For once in my life, I woke up with a smile on my face.

That is, until I saw my father in the doorway. Then the smile went away. It was nice while it lasted, though.

"Gilbert?" my father asked, looking almost frightened. "Can I speak to you for a second?"

Groggily, I stood and yawned before walking towards my father, standing in his disapproving stance. I shuddered. Thankfully, Angela seemed to still be sleeping, but he closed the door behind us anyway.

"Care to explain yourself?" he asked, still sounding anxious. I looked around stupidly, trying to comprehend what he was insinuating.

"Hm?" I asked, still half-asleep and attempting to understand what was going on. It was just then when I realized that I had a girl in my room. No, in my bed. I felt like a frightened teenager about to get busted for bad grades.

"Now, Gilbert," he began, taking my shoulders in his hands. I shuddered. "I don't think we've ever had this… this sort of problem."

He frowned a bit, as if struggling to find the appropriate words. But I already knew what was coming.

"Well, I know she's going to be your wife in a few days, but… well, frankly I don't approve of that," he commented, widening his eyes at the closed bedroom door as if he had walked in on some sort of unspeakable act. I immediately felt a blush spread onto my cheeks.

"Dad, it was nothing, we weren't even-"

"Yes, son, I understand, but just the thought of it – um, ah, I mean… I don't know what I'm trying to say," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I think we need to have a talk."

"A what?"

Before he could respond, Angela emerged from the bedroom looking groggy. Her hair stuck out in every which way and her eyes hung half-open. That is, until she saw my father. Practically shrieking, she attempted to backtrack but my father stopped her.

"Ah, Angela, perfect timing."

I widened my eyes at her, attempting to warn her of imminent danger, and that she should run for cover as quickly as possible. Instead, she looked at me as if I was nuts before looking back at my father.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to seem nonchalant in my pajama pants and old t-shirt.

"I, well… gosh, I'm just going to say it. I wholeheartedly believe in an abstinent lifestyle, and –"

"Oh god," I yelled, covering my face in sheer humiliation. Angela just stood there, bewildered. Poor girl. What a rude awakening. "We weren't doing any of that, ugh!"

"Well, I just figured that –"

"You figured wrong!" I screeched, exasperated.

"Calm down, Gill, I just thought that since I never really gave you the talk…"

I couldn't hear any more of those. Completely embarrassed, I retreated to my room before he could say anything, pulling Angela in there with me. As soon as the door was shut and locked, Angela shook her head, pursing her lips together. I thought for a moment that she was going to cry.

But instead, she let out a gut-busting guffaw.

"Ha! Oh god that was hilarious! The look on your face…" she sputtered, wiping her eyes. I crossed my arms.

"That was not funny. That was mortifying," I stated bluntly, staring her down. Her eyes watered uncontrollably.

"I wholeheartedly believe in an abstinent lifestyle," she mocked, in a voice identical to my father's. I wanted to scream.

"Shut up!" I said, clamping my hand against her mouth as she continued to babble incessantly. For a second, everything was silent. And then she bit my hand.

"Bitch!" I exclaimed, wrestling her to the floor. She laughed uncontrollably as I pinned her down and tickled her ribcage.

"Gill? Angela?" my father called from outside the door. Immediately we stopped, one of my hands grabbing her wrist and the other at her side. "What did I just say?"

We stared at each other for a moment, and then back at the door.

"Screw him," I whispered, and tackled her ribs once more.

Wedding Countdown: T-minus two days. And I was really beginning to sweat it.

I walked into work that day, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity encompass me. It had been weeks since I had shown up, and Elli was quick to show her disappointment. Not in a normal way, of course. She was the kind of girl who acted nice but glared at you when you weren't looking.

"So, are you… excited?" she asked, seemingly interested. She fiddled with a pen in her hand as she stared at me rather intensely. I chuckled warily.

"Um, yes?" I replied, not sure of her intentions. She made a 'hm' noise as she clicked the pen repeatedly with her thumb.

"Really? You seem rather uncomfortable to me," she observed as she continued clicking. It was driving me insane.

"Jitters," I replied bluntly. The clicking persisted. I wanted to reach forward and snatch it out of her hands like a frog tongue snatches a fly. But instead, I grinned at her and went back to my work.

"There's something wrong with you," she said. I looked at her with an "are-you-mad?" sort of look before shaking my head and looking down at my papers.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I tapped my fingers impatiently on the desk in sync with her clicking.

"I'm sure you do," she said in that polite, girly voice. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I don't," I seethed, gripping my paperwork in my hands. She watched as it crinkled, and she raised an eyebrow at me as if that proved a point. I sighed angrily.

"If you say so," she replied in a singsong tone.

The pen stopped clicking, but a tense silence immediately filled its place. Abruptly, I stood and grasped my papers in my hands.

"I need to go deliver something to the, um, church," I stammered as I headed for the door, feeling her eyes on my back the whole time. Talk about sketchy. But how would she know what's going on?

I attempted to rid my head of these thoughts. There were other things to worry about, like my father's awkward conversation topics, my strange feelings towards Angela, and Gideon waiting outside my house.

Wait, what?

He stood with his chest puffed out, looking around the city like it was a sewer. I approached him warily, and as soon as he saw me coming, a wicked smirk stretched onto his face. I almost wanted to turn around and run back to the Town Hall, but like a lion chasing its prey, he had already started walking towards me.

"Cousin Gilbert!" he called, his sly expression still taunting me as his eyebrows wiggled. "Long time no see, eh?"

I sighed angrily, faking a smile and failing horribly.

"So… charming," I said through my teeth, "for you to be here… so early. May I ask why?"

The saccharine coat around my words caused him to grimace a little. But he quickly regained composure and stood tall, looking down at me through the tip of his nose.

"Father suggested we come today, so he could get… situated," he replied, suddenly seeming uncomfortable speaking of his father. I didn't say anything, instead I brushed passed him and pushed the door open, ready to throw another ridiculous tantrum, but my whole family stood there waiting for me.

Shouts and greetings welcomed me as I stepped inside, and I tried my hardest to grin genuinely. Angela was there, too, sporting the same strange smile I had. Her mother stood next to her, her bony arms clamped tightly at her sides, looking at my family as if they were a pack of zoo animals.

"Home early from work, hm?" my father inquired, looking positively red in the face. Seems like he's starting to stress more about this wedding than I am.

"Yeah, there wasn't much to do," I lied, feeling my face grow hot. My family didn't notice, though, they immediately picked up on the conversation they apparently had been having before I showed up. I didn't pay attention; I only heard a few key words of the discussion (ex. Wedding, decorations, and cake), and decided that I should tune out. Angela was doing the same.

"So, Gilbert," came a sly voice from behind me. Gideon was still standing there, his mouth now curved into a snake-like grin. I gulped. "When am I going to get my end of the bargain?"

"I don't know," I whispered back, careful to make sure none of the adults were listening in. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

Although I wasn't looking at him, I could that when he sighed he was rolling his eyes as well. Jerk.

"Fine, I guess we'll talk more about it at the bachelor party tomorrow night…" he quipped, his voice trailing off ominously.

"Bachelor party?" I whispered sharply, whirling fully around.

"Oh, yes! Did your father not tell you?" he asked, looking like a child with a new lollipop. "Just about every guy in this town is going to be there!"

And I was going to take that lollipop and shove it up his –

"Is that okay with you?" he asked, when it was obvious he didn't give a damn whether or not it was. I glared at him, feeling my cheeks grow red.

"Of course, dear cousin," I replied, with the cheesiest smile I could muster. "Sounds like a blast!"

It took all my energy not to tackle him when he winked at me, and headed over to his father, leaving me fuming. Angela shot me a look of pity, but I ignored her. I didn't want to deal with anyone today, so I turned bolted up the stairs, careful to be quiet about my exit. No one except my bride-to-be seemed to notice, but she didn't follow like she normally would have.

She's finally starting to understand my ways, I thought to myself. She knows when she shouldn't bother me.

Just hours later, I was knocked out cold, with dreams of awkward bachelor parties dancing in my head. I was awoken just hours later to my father, calling me down for dinner. I sighed as I padded down the steps, coiffing my hair as I did so.

The dinner was uncomfortable. When were family dinners not? Gatherings with my "circus-people" relatives were always somewhat strange, and combined with the tension between me and… well, practically everyone there, I couldn't have expected anything else.

Still, I would have rather endured that family dinner than what was to come next. I went to bed that night with millions of fears darting through my head. Not only was I not a conversationalist, and not only was I clueless to these "bachelor party" plans, but I wasn't a friend to anyone in this town. Especially the guys. Except maybe Julius, I guess…

Needless to say, my sleep was erratic and filled with nightmares. And it didn't help that I woke up to a house full of Hamilton's.

I didn't do anything all day. Really. I ate breakfast and moped in my room for hours, walking from one side to the other, staring at my closet every once in a while. Maybe if I locked myself inside, they would all just forget about me…

My ghostly wanderings were interrupted a few times, once by my father asking if I was sick. I should have said yes. Another by Gideon, who snickered and asked me if I was getting ready yet. The third time was from my aunt, who didn't say anything, but instead flung my tuxedo into the door and scurried away.

Finally, a fourth knock came to my door, and something in my heart told me that this was the one. Sure enough, Gideon came in; his smile wicked (as always).

"You ready?" he asked, although I'm pretty sure it didn't matter whether I was or not. He yanked me out the door, his hand wrapped around my upper arm tightly. "You're wearing that?"

I looked down at my usual décor: finely ironed pants and argyle sweater, with a pair of dress shoes to match.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, sounding defensive and childish. I didn't care; it was my wedding, I could cry if I wanted to… right?

"Hah, nothing. Never mind," he replied, snickering a bit.

Moments later, we were walking up to the Sundae Inn. Bright lights and silhouettes of people shone through the window, and I immediately felt my hands grow sweaty. What would I say to them?

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to rip my arm away from Gideon's grip and run frantically in a different direction, for we had already entered the Inn.

Gideon wasn't lying. Every bachelor in town was there, chatting and mingling like normal people. Why hadn't I ever looked so nonchalant? Chase and Luke were at the table closest to the door, playing some sort of game with a quarter and their knuckles. Owen and Calvin were cheering them on, 'aww'ing at the appropriate moments and high-fiving as well. In another corner, Jin, Toby and Grey were calmly chatting as they sipped their beverages, and Julius was in the center of it all, blowing up some last-minute balloons. They all cheered when I came in, and instantly I grew red. I barely knew half of these people, but suddenly I yearned for friends.

They all raised their drinks to me, and somehow, I felt accepted.

"The groom is here!" Luke shouted, putting the quarter down on the table with a clank. "Drinks all around!"

Immediately, I paled as all of the other guys cheered even louder and lined up at the bar. I had never been much of a drinker, besides maybe a glass of wine on Thanksgiving (and even then, I had headaches in the morning). But the challenging look that Gideon gave me told me to suck it up and line up with the other guys.

So I did. I took a sip of God-knows-what and sat down at the table with Luke and Chase, who had already put away the quarter and were now talking.

"So then she was all, 'Why don't you ever remember our anniversary?' and I was all, 'Stop smothering me!' . . . bitches, man," Chase said, taking a gulp of his drink. Luke laughed hysterically.

"Man, you've got it bad!" he exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table. Got what bad? I thought to myself. What're they talking about?!

"Heh, yeah," I said. "Angela does that all the time."

They both look over at me simultaneously, their faces deadpan. And then they grinned and slap me on the shoulder.

"Can't believe you're already puttin' on the ball and chain! When did you two start goin' at it, anyway?" Luke asked, a line of froth above his lip. I tried not to grimace.

"Uh, well," I said quietly, trying to think of some sort of believable story. "It's all kind of a blur to me, you know."

To my surprise, they both started cracking up and shaking their heads all-knowingly.

"That's how it was with Maya and I," Chase explained, finishing off his drink. "She expects me to remember all these dates and shit. Who thinks of those?"

I gave her the blue feather on the 12th of Summer, I thought involuntarily as the boys laughed once again. Before they could say anything else, though, Gideon's voice rose above the murmur of the crowd.

"The entertainment is here!" he exclaimed, his hands cupped around his mouth. I felt my stomach drop drastically as the door opened and Selena emerged, in her usual harlot-like outfit. All of the other guys were cheering, but I felt a wave of disgust sweep over me. Frantically, I waved Gideon over.

"You hired a… a stripper?" I asked, my voice shaking with incredulity. Gideon shook his head.

"No, no, not a stripper," he said, his fingers pinching his chin. "An… exotic dancer, if you will."

"Exotic dancer?" I asked, rather loudly. The other guys looked in my direction, and I froze. "I mean… yeah-h-h! Wooo, exotic dancer!"

It was silent for a moment, and then they all cheered along with me as Selena stepped onto one of the bar tables. I gulped down the rest of my drink and grabbed another.

Most of the guys gathered around the table and yelled wildly as she danced (clothed, thankfully), while some of the others stayed back, silent but interested. And all I could think about was Angela, sitting alone in bed, probably nervous about tomorrow. I felt terrible.

"Gill, over here! It's your last night of the single life!" Luke called, pulling my arm towards the table. The music got a little louder and my heart thumped a little faster as she looked down at me. And all I could see were Angela's doe eyes staring.

Thankfully, she charged by the song, and Gideon only paid for about three. I couldn't tell you how happy I was to see her waltz out the door, a trail of guys escorting her there. Saps.

I was on my fourth drink by the time she was out the door, and I could feel them start to kick in when I sat down with Luke and Chase once again.

"So, Gill. . . tell me more about Angela," Chase said, snickering a bit. Luke nudged him in the ribs, and I cocked my head to the side.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my words slurring a tiny bit.

"You know… how is she?" he asked, winking a little. I gulped, suddenly understanding the question. For a moment, I had a flash of my father's face yesterday morning, looking at us with that terrified expression. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

"Well, heh," I began, not sure how to even attempt this question. "You guys know how it is."

They both looked at each other, and then back at me.

"Have you guys even… you know?" Luke asked, his childish eyes glinting in the bar light. I opened my mouth to lie and say we have, of course, 'you know'ed. But then I thought about Angela once again, lying in bed with her snoring mother, feeling miserable. So instead of answering, I unsteadily stood from the table and left.

I was halfway to her house before I realized that I had no clue what I was doing. But I kept going onward, hoping that something would come to mind by the time I was on her front door step.

I was wrong. When I knocked on the door, now fully aware that it was about one o'clock in the morning, I felt at a loss for any comprehensible words. She opened it, looking groggy and beautiful. I mean… tired, yes. Tired.

"Whahmf?" she mumbled, stumbling a bit.

"I… uh, well, hi."

Very suave, I must say. She glared at me for a moment.

"What're you doing here?" she said finally, gaining consciousness. Careful not to wake her sleeping mother, I grabbed her arm and pulled her outside and shut the door behind her.

"I ditched the bachelor party," I told her, feeling almost like a rebel. She didn't respond, instead she still glared at me, bewildered.

"And?" she asked, crossing her arms over her pajama top.

I don't know if it was the drinks, or the fact that we were getting married tomorrow, but I felt the sudden need to be honest. I didn't want to be one of those guys, like Chase or Luke. So I did something bold.

"I like you," I told her, before recoiling a bit. I sounded like a fifth grader, but at least it was out there. I then added, "A lot."

"Your breath smells like alcohol," she informed me, looking concerned.

"So I had a few," I told her, growing a bit impatient. Didn't she hear me? Instead of saying it back, she looked away; obviously thoughts were racing through her head.

"We're getting married tomorrow," she said simply. I nodded.

"I know," I told her, still completely oblivious to what she was getting at and why she wasn't responding the way I had hoped.

"I… I just… we should talk later," she stuttered, backing away towards her front door with her hands up as if held by gunpoint. I opened my mouth but my jaw just hanged slack.

Didn't she hear me?

It wasn't until her hand was touching the door that I realized what this meant. My chest felt heavy.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she called. And then she was gone.

A/N: Are you ready for what you've all been waiting for? The wedding! Yes, it's the next chapter, and it is not what you will be expecting! Review and let me know what you think!