Chris stood in front of the mirror and mascaraed her eyelashes again. How much she was looking forward to Bonnie's face. She had no idea what was planned for her bachelorette party and especially she knew nothing about the surprise guest. Chris had just finished, there was a knock at the door.
"Coming!" She called out.
"Hi Chris." Molly beamed at her and the two hugged briefly.
"Hey you look pretty." noted Molly. Chris looked down at himself and shrugged. "Thanks, you look great too though."

They both got into the cab Molly had already come in and picked up the others. Bonnie's cousin Sunny and two more of her closest friends were invited, a small manageable crowd. Bonnie was picked up by a specially ordered cab from Chris and driven directly to the location.
"I'm so excited to see Bonnie's face when she sees me." Molly gloated. Bonnie still thought her best friend was stuck in Pittsburgh and wouldn't make it to the wedding until very close to tomorrow.
"Oh yeah, she was whining to me again today about how scared she is that you won't make it." Sunny giggled.

Arriving at the bar, the girls got out and went inside. Bonnie would arrive in about five minutes. Chris went back outside the door to receive her. When Bonnie got out she was beaming and Chris gave her a hug.
"Hey Bonnie, are you ready for the greatest bachelorette party in the world?"
"Oh yeah! I can't wait to see what we do." Bonnie chortled with nervousness and anticipation.

The two walked in and Chris cleared his throat briefly, that was the signal for the girls to get into position. The door opened, Chris entered first followed by Bonnie. "SURPRISE!" everyone yelled and Molly stepped out. Bonnie couldn't believe her eyes and instantly started crying. She ran up to Molly and fell around her neck. The girls clapped and rejoiced with the two of them.
"What are you doing here?" turned Bonnie to her friend.
"Well, what wouldn't you do for your best friend...? I finished the case exactly yesterday evening and immediately took care of a flight so that I can be with you today." Molly gave Bonnie another hug and the fun could begin.

"Hey girls I'm Harry and tonight I'm your teacher, bartender and I'll join in every fun with you." a handsome, tall and blond man laughed at the ladies. Everyone was happy and the evening could begin.

The girls were fully in their element and mixed one cocktail after the other. Of course, they also drank each of them, accordingly, the mood was really exuberant. Harry played great music and everyone danced and had fun. Bonnie was just happy and enjoyed being the princess that night.

The mood was no less bad with the boys and their bubble soccer. Everyone had their outfits on and were pushing each other off the field. Luca was one of the best, followed by Deac and Tan. Street and Hondo were less fortunate. Tan was incredibly happy to have this squad by his side, they were like family.

By now it was well past midnight and the alcohol was still flowing. Chris was already well buzzed and became alert when her hand vibrated, it was a message from Street. When she opened it she was overcome with a mixture of joy, love, fear and guilt. It was a photo of him in his bubble soccer outfit and he was beaming with his dimples. Suddenly everything inside her contracted and Chris felt tears making their way. She had to quickly find a quiet spot before one of the girls noticed anything.

She dropped onto the sofa in a corner and sighed. She couldn't hold back the tears as she looked at Street's photo again and again. Why couldn't they just be happy together? And when Chris looked up she was startled because exactly one of the reasons was now standing in front of her, Molly...

"Chris, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Molly sounded concerned and sat down next to her.
"I'm, um, I'm not crying, I have something in my eye." the same moment she said it Chris realized how stupid that statement was and inwardly rolled her own eyes. She quickly put her phone away so Molly wouldn't see Street's photo and draw weird school conclusions.

"Chris. We're here to have fun and you're sitting here crying. What's going on? You were in such a good mood until a few minutes ago." Molly slid a little closer. Chris looked down at the floor and suddenly all her guilt about Molly was back. The booze wasn't letting Chris think straight, and so something came over her lips that she never would have wanted to say.

"Molly, I, I, oh man, I feel so guilty towards you," Chris said again through tears. Molly didn't understand and looked at her questioningly.
"What are you talking about Chris?"
"It's my fault that you and Street aren't together anymore. I, I'm so sorry." Chris was now looking directly at Molly. Molly was speechless at first, but then found her words again. She exhaled deeply.
"Chris listen. It's not your fault that it didn't work out between me and Jim. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Jim yesterday. I wasn't blind Chris, I had noticed for a while that there was more between you than just your friendship." Chris wanted to interrupt her, startled. Did Molly think they had had something going on? "Wait, let me finish. I know what you're thinking now, and no, I know you guys didn't have anything going on, at least not physically. But Chris, this bond that you two have that connects you is unique. I didn't want to admit it to myself for a long time, but Jim and I never had anything like that. I know he loved me and I was really hurt after the breakup, but by now I know why he did it." Molly sighed and took one of Chris' hands in hers. "Jim loves you. He does from the bottom of his heart and I know you love him too. It shows." They looked into each other's eyes and Chris cried again. "Chris, do I really have to push you in the right direction first? Actually, you already know what you need to do." Chris was speechless. Molly had actually just encouraged her to fight for Street...

"Molly you don't know what your words mean to me. For so long I've been struggling with myself and I've hurt Street so many times. Time and time again I've pushed him away, not just because of you, there's another reason too, but it has to do with my head." Chris was really grateful to Molly for the affirming words, but still Chris was not really relieved. Was there still a chance for her and Street, or had she kept him at arm's length for too long? Would the two of them be able to overcome the hurdles of everyday life and especially the job? Chris didn't know, but if she didn't try, she would never know and she would lose Street, because it couldn't go on like this permanently...