Disclaimer: Not mine, you know it, no point in suing! (I only own the Rivergliders plus Emma.)
Author's Note: Alrighty, this is gonna be a pretty long chapter, so you guys are in for a ride. To make up for the really rushed ending of the last one, this one's pretty strung out! Enjoy! By the way, I'm no expert on wedding clothes, or even colour matching, so stick with me, use your imaginations... lol. And I'll make one last warning: there is going to be a rather... explicit scene. Please use your judgement on whether or not you're going to read it!
The Cliffhangers, minus Emma, piled into the school van. Scott and Shelby were in the very back seat, with Ezra sitting on Scott's other side. Daisy, David, and Jess were in front of them. And then there were Jules and Auggie in front of them. They were all so happy. Jess had hooked up with Ezra which pleased both quite a bit. Peter was actually scared of all the happiness. He knew that something was definitely lurking around a curb and that they'd take it harder in all their happiness. The thought of something hurting his Cliffhangers was very upsetting to him.
When they arrived in Agnes, they all went to Rusty's. Peter told Annie what was happening. He also told her that he needed to take the guys to get their tuxes first, so he'd leave the girls in her watch with some stuff to do. They had a couple of movies and some books. Annie led them to a back room in the restaurant where there was a couch, a TV, and a computer (without internet). They were all ecstatic, as they never got a chance like this at Horizon. Juliette was bouncing off walls. Daisy and Shelby were actually afraid of her, while Jess was just laughing.
Peter then led the guys out to the tux rental shop. They were all happy beyond a point they'd ever been. Shelby loved the girls all so much that she'd made them all maids of honour. She was scrapping the idea that she could only have one maid of honour and opted for three times the fun. Scott couldn't help but think how adorable this was and made all the guys best men. So no one felt lower than another, although Scott was technically closer to Auggie than to any of the other guys. He'd never really gotten along with David, until very recently, that is. And he and Ezra had always been friends, but never very great friends.
They entered the shop and all gasped, except Peter who thought they were all so funny in their happy states.
"Alrighty, we have about an hour to look around and find the ones we want, so get to it."
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While the guys were in the tux shop, the girls were all having a great time watching "Charlie's Angels." It was the classic girls' night out type movie, and they loved the fact that they were doing something normal for once. At one point, Shelby had an amazing idea. She knew that they were on a VERY tight budget, and she knew someone she could call to maybe fix that problem. She got up and went to ask Annie if she could use the phone for a long distance call. Annie, being the one to pay the bill, was a little wary, but when Shelby explained her idea, she was so excited she couldn't say "no."
As Shelby picked up the phone, she had such a mix of feelings. She felt scared, happy, excited, resentful, annoyed, mad, and sad all at the same time, despite that being quite impossible! "If this doesn't work, I'm never going to forgive myself," she thought. She picked up and dialed.
"Hello?" a voice at the other end said. Shelby's voice called in her throat. "Hello?" the voice asked once more.
"Hi," she finally replied. It had been 13 years since she'd heard that voice, but it hadn't changed one bit.
"Who is this?" the voice asked.
"This is Shelby Merrick," she said.
"Oh my god! You're kidding right?"
"Nope. So, how have you been, dad?" she asked.
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"Peter!" Shelby yelled, running into the tux shop.
"Shelby!" he said, mimicking her excited tone, he was having so much fun that day. "Why are you here? Does Annie know you left?"
"Yeah, I have HUGE news!" she replied. All the guys gathered around. "Sorry guys, just for Peter... and Scott's ears." The other three just slumped off, a bit put off.
"What's up, Shel? You alright?" Scott asked, worried.
"I'm fine, hun. You won't believe who I just called, and yes! I had Annie's permission!" she added, seeing Peter's expression.
"Who?" he asked, significantly relieved.
"Guess," she said, a smirk coming over her face.
"Uh, your mom?" Scott asked. She shook her head. "You dad?" he asked, totally guessing. Shelby had never spoken to him about her dad. This was a complete and utter guess.
"Wow, good one. You're right though!" she said.
"You talked to your dad?" Peter asked, completely shocked. "Uh, excuse me for asking, but why? I mean you haven't talked to him for what, ten years?"
"13, actually. But that's beside the point. I remembered something my mom told me a while back. My dad is a very successful attorney," she said, nodding her head pointedly.
"You mean that..." Scott began.
"Yes! He's going to pay for the wedding!" she screamed, jumping up and down.
"You're kidding, right?" Scott and Peter both asked at the same time. "Why?" they asked, again, at the same time.
"What? You guys on the same brain wave or something?" she asked with a giggle. "Alright, I called him, because I remembered that he's rich. And then we got to talk. He's going to come down before the wedding and meet you, Scott," she added pointedly. Scott got an "uh-oh" look on his face. "Yeah, and he said he's gonna finance the wedding... if he likes what he sees," she added in a whisper.
"Wait, he will let me marry you, won't he?" Scott asked, getting upset.
"Uh, I'll go and help the others out," Peter said, seeing this was something they'd need to figure out themselves. He'd also just caught sight David in a blue frilly tux from the seventies.
"Look, he doesn't have a real choice, we're both eighteen and capable of our own decisions," she continued. "Besides, when he sees how much I love you and how much you love me, he won't be able to resist."
"Is he going to like me, do you think?" Scott asked, still very worried.
"Of course he will. I don't know how anyone could help but love you!" she said
"But what if he doesn't like me?"
"He will, and if he doesn't, screw it! He hasn't been there most of my life, and he's not going to start interfering now. I mean, I'm gonna be glad if he's at my wedding, but it's not going to change anything. In the end, he's really just a rich man who used to be a man I called my father. He no longer is, though. Peter's still giving me away, as he is the closest person I know to a father. We'll figure it out, don't worry," she said, giving him the most loving look he'd ever received. She held him in her arms and all his worries that landed him at Horizon were lifted. She kissed him and he was blissfully happy. She just had that effect on him.
"Thanks, babe, I really needed that," he said honestly.
"You're very welcome," she replied, giving him another kiss. "Go easy on the budget, just in case!" she added, leaving the shop to go back to Annie's. Right before she was completely gone, she ran back, stuck her head in the shop and yelled out: "Scott!" He turned around to see what was going on, as he was back with the other guys and Peter.
"Yeah, Shel?"
"I love you!" she said, a bright smile on her face.
"I love you too, sweetie!" he said laughing. He'd never called her a sweetie before, but in his mind this name suited her perfectly!
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The guys were now seated comfortably in the back room of Rusty's. They had just popped "Die Hard" in the VCR and were getting comfy. It was now the girls' turn to go get the dresses. This time, though, Scott wasn't allowed to come and give Shelby a surprise visit, as it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. Juliette took this very seriously, and Shelby, Daisy, and Jess all thought she was so funny because of it. She had even gotten one of the ladies in the dress shop to make sure Scott didn't come in.
After about a half-hour of looking, the girls had picked out the perfect bridesmaid's dresses. They were a lovely light, sky blue. They had spaghetti straps, and were form fitting dresses and went down to their knees. Juliette had already been to four weddings, but hadn't liked any of her bridesmaid's dresses. They were all too uncomfortable or showy, but this was just nice simple and wonderfully beautiful. The girls all got sunny yellow shawls to wrap around their arms.
Shelby's dress took a little longer to find. It was Daisy that had picked it out and Shelby had simply fallen in love with it!
It was a simple dress, but Shelby wasn't into the whole idea of looking too frilly or puffy. She just wanted beautiful, sleek elegance, and that's what she got. The dress was white satin. It had barely noticeable straps, it was form fitting, until it reached her waist. Here, it panned out, leaving a train behind her, it wasn't long, but she was so excited over it.
Peter accepted it. The girls were beyond happiness.
"Okay, girls, it's getting close to lunch time. We're supposed to meet the guys back at the restaurant in about half an hour, so we'd better pay and get going," Peter said, trying to calm them down, but to no avail.
"Uh, sure, I really want to see Scott!" Shelby was saying. The others just rolled their eyes. "What?" she asked, mock indignancy present in her voice. Everyone burst out laughing. All of a sudden, Juliette stopped, and look of complete horror crossed her face. "What is it queenie?" Shelby asked, a look of slight concern crossing her own.
"The flowers!" she yelled. Everyone jumped. It had been said in a tone of self-reproachfulness. They all looked at her with blank stares. She saw this, and got another horror-struck look. "You mean you haven't thought about the flowers?"
"Well, it's only at Horizon," Daisy explained.
"But we need flowers," she screamed, stressing the word "need" and looking at Peter with a pleading look.
"Hey! It's not my wedding!" he said, throwing up his hands in surrender.
"Shelby?" Juliette asked, getting excited once more.
"Uh, sure," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "You have a 100$ budget, do what you can, I'm going to see Scott," she said, leaving the store. Then she came back and added, as an afterthought: "Dais, will you go with her? I'm scared for my pocket book, her mental health... and the health of the shop's clerk's. Come on Jess, back to the guys," she said, pulling on her sister's hand, and rushing out of the store.
Juliette whooped, and took Daisy's hand, pulling her out of the store. Daisy looked back at Peter with a "how could you let her do this to me?" look on her face. Peter just shrugged and laughed as the lady came to help him get all the dresses wrapped and paid for.
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"Scott!" Shelby squealed, running into the room where the guys were just finishing "Mission Impossible." They all "yelled" their "shhhhhhhhh" at her. She smiled, and Scott smiled at her. He got up and came over to her.
"Hi, beautiful," he whispered.
"Hey, Cowboy," she whispered back. He leaned down to kiss her. It was a slow and beautifully sweet kiss. They just kept kissing like that, until the guys, and Jess, who was now sitting with them, got tired and started yelling, "get a room!" at them. They both looked at the rest of them with "well I'm sorry!" looks on their faces. They both laughed and left the room. It was noon, and they were really hungry.
"Hey, want to have something to eat?" he asked with a cute smile, his head slightly tilted.
"Sure! I'm starving, and this food is way better than Horizon food!" she answered laughing.
"Yeah, for sure. Hey Annie," he said, walking up to the counter, his fingers intertwined with Shelby's.
"Hey Scott. Hey Shelby," she said, walking over to their end of the counter.
"Hi, can we get some food?" Shelby asked, her hunger clearly showing.
"Yeah, what would you guys like?"
"Pizza?" Scott asked, looking at Shelby excitedly. He hadn't had pizza in a long time... or at least good pizza.
"Sure, sounds good to me," Shelby said. Annie nodded and walked off. "Oh, Scott! I just remembered something!" she said, a look of complete shock coming over her face.
"What is it?" he asked, his eyes growing to the size of watermelons. Shelby laughed at this sight.
"You didn't call your parents, and I didn't call my mom. As much as I hate her, I think she ought to know. I think your parents have the right to know as well."
"Shel, I dunno... I just don't think my dad'll be thrilled at this news."
"It doesn't matter, Scott. All that matters is that we know what we're doing, and that we want to do this... that we love each other. We're old enough that we don't need their consent. They can't legally do anything about it. It's okay, it'll be alright!" she whispered softly, squeezing his hand.
"How do you do it?" he asked, amazed, squeezing her hand as well.
"What?"
"You've just lifted all this weight I've been carrying. It's gone! I don't feel scared anymore," he explained. Shelby grinned a marvelous grin at that.
"Yeah, well, how do you think I feel whenever I'm with you?" she asked, holding his hand. "So? Are you going to call them?"
"I want to tell my mom, but my dad... that's a different story. I'm not sure, Shel. Last time I saw him, he still thought it was all my fault about the whole Elaine thing. I know he doesn't trust me anymore, how am I supposed to just turn around and trust him?" Scott now had his head in his hands. He really didn't like to discuss his dad, but he was talking to Shelby, and couldn't hold anything back, even if he tried to. It was a completely futile action to take.
"So tell your mom, I'll tell mine, and I'll be with you when you call your dad," she coaxed.
"Sure, let's just get this over with."
"Thank you!" she said, giving him a reassuring hug. "Annie?" she asked, as Annie came over to their table with the pizza. "Uh, could you possibly hold that for us? We need to call our parents..." Here, she laughed to herself thinking of how many favors she'd been of Annie lately. "Could we use the restaurant's phone?"
"Uh, yeah, but do you guys want the back-room?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. Even better plan: we'll send the Cliffhangers out here, and get them to eat this, while we make our calls," Scott said.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for them," Annie replied, setting down the pizza and pushing a couple of tables together."
Scott took Shelby's hand and led her to the room where the others were arguing which action movie was the best. Juliette and Daisy had yet to return from the flower shop, and Peter was expected at any moment.
"Guys, there's pizza waiting in the restaurant, could you move this circus there?" Shelby asked.
"Sure thing, come on guys," Jess said. They started filing out of the room, leaving Auggie and David behind.
"Uh, what happened to our girls?" Auggie asked, starting to worry.
"Oh, don't worry muchacho, they're just getting flowers for the wedding," Scott said, laughing.
"Ah, well, that's good to know. But wait a minute, did Dais actually agree to this?" David asked, knowing fully well that Daisy would never willingly go flower shopping... with Jules none-the-less.
"Well, not completely, but we were sort of gone before she could protest," Shelby explained, laughing as well. "Don't worry, Daisy's strong and besides, all she basically has to do is keep Jules under control."
"Hey!" Auggie shouted. "Step off Shel!"
"Dude, you know it's true," David said, nudging him in the ribs.
"Yeah," Auggie said, nodding along and laughing as the two guys left the room.
Scott turned to Shelby, his hands around her waist. She just looked up at him with her big blue eyes. She leaned in and kissed him. It was wonderful. They were alone, with a door closed and locked, and no one coming to look for them for a while. The kiss got more and more intense. Shelby didn't want to, but the question was burning.
"Scott, are you going to call?" she whispered.
"Yeah, in a little bit," he said with a devilish grin on his face. Shelby was so in love, she couldn't say "no."
They sat down on the couch and began to kiss again. For just a second, Scott pulled away.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm positive," she said, laying down, and pulling Scott on top of her.
"You're all too perfect!" Scott whispered, laying down on her, and kissing her neck.
"As... are... you..." Shelby gasped. This feels even better than I could ever have imagined, she thought. Why did I tell him I wanted to wait? Oh yeah, love making. Well, I'm going to make love... for the first time in my life! "I love you!" she said, pulling his head up to her eye level and bringing it down so her lips could reach his.
"I love you, Shel," he said, lifting up his upper body and taking his shirt off. Shelby just looked up at him with a smile playing at her lips.
"Wow," she whispered, as she got up and pulled her shirt off. They were now kneeling in front of each other on the couch.
"What?" he whispered back.
"Nothing," she got out. She leaned in for another kiss as Scott unhooked her bra. Shelby reached down to undo his jeans, at the same time as he did for her.
They finally got all each other's clothes off. That's when Shelby laughed.
"What is it?" Scott asked, a little annoyed.
"You run for the lights, I'll get the condom," she said, getting up off the couch and reaching for her jeans. She pulled it out of her pocket.
"Two questions: how did you get those, and why do you have some?" Scott asked, disbelievingly.
"Well, I ran into a drug store on my way back from the tux shop, and I got some because I was ready, and I knew you were... so... you know!" she said, handing it to him. "Ready?" she asked. He nodded. They lay down on the couch, Shelby had one arm around Scott's neck, pushing his kissing into her mouth, and her other on his back, going lower... and lower... and lower... until... BINGO!
His hands roamed around her body, or rather her chest and waist. Their legs were intertwined.
This went on for about twenty minutes. Finally, they relaxed, and lay in each other's arms, staring at each other.
"I really do love you Shel! I'll never leave you, that's my promise to you," he said. Their noses were little more than a centimeter from each other.
"I love you. I promise I won't leave you. I wouldn't be able to," she whispered back. "Scott, it's time," she said, leaning forward and kissing him softly, but passionately all the same.
"I know," he said, sitting up. "Give me a minute."
"Sure, I need to get dressed anyway," she replied with a smirk.
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"Wow, I wonder what Scott and Shelby are up to, it's taking them an awful long time," Jules said. She and Daisy had returned fifteen minutes ago.
"Oh come on! They're alone, in a locked room, with no one to disturb them, and they're engaged. What do you think they're doing?" David asked pointedly, rolling his eyes. The whole table rang with laughter.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're all happy, and on the path to being full," Peter said, popping up behind them.
"What took you so long?" Daisy asked.
"I drove back to Horizon and put all the tuxes and dresses in a safe place," he explained.
"Ah, I see," David said, stroking his chin. Daisy just slapped him playfully up top the head and smirked.
"Don't even think it!"
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"Better start with mom," Scott said, picking up the phone, and looking over at Shelby, searching for some kind of push.
"I love you," she mouthed. He was good to go. He dialed and waited.
"Hello?" someone answered on the other end.
"Hey, mom, it's me, Scott."
"Oh hi honey! Are you alright?" she asked, concern slipping into her voice.
"Of course I am! I just have some news. Some rather big news."
"What is it?" she now sounded scared.
"I'll tell you, you just cannot interrupt, no matter what!" he explained.
"Scott-oh, all right," she agreed. She just wanted to know!
"Mom, remember when you came here last year? You told me special friends were two people sharing one soul. Mom, I've found that friend, but... she's so much more than that."
"Scott, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying I asked her to marry me," he said, as calmly as he could. He had Shelby sitting beside him, holding his hand, which made it that much harder to collect himself and concentrate. When Susan, his mother, didn't answer, he continued. "She said 'yes,' mom! We're... uh... we're," but he was cut off.
"When's the wedding?" she asked, her voice squealing with excitement.
"It's... uh... in three weeks."
"Oh my gosh, Scott! I'm so overwhelmed. I'm so happy! Is she there with you?" Susan was now in tears.
"Yeah, here, I'll put her on. Thanks, mom. It means a lot that you understand. I'll talk to you soon! Bye, I love you!" he said.
"Oh, Scott! You know that I'm coming to your wedding right?"
"You are?" he asked, his voice full of hope.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll talk to Peter about flights and the date. Just enjoy yourself."
"You have no idea." And, in order not to have to go any further, he handed the phone to Shelby. "All yours," he whispered with a smirk and a peck on the cheek.
"Hello? Mrs. Boyd?" Shelby answered.
"Oh, hello dear. Call me Susan," she insisted. Shelby looked at Scott with a huge grin on her face.
"Uh, hello... Susan. I'm Shelby Merrick, Scott's fiancée," she began.
"It's wonderful to talk to you! Look, I've really got to go, but I just wanted to say thank you for making Scott so happy," she said. Shelby could hear her crying. Wow, Scott's mom really is amazing, she thought.
"Thank you for approving! And thanks for Scott, I suppose."
"Well, bye bye, dear. It was lovely to talk to you. I'll see you at the wedding!"
"Yeah, bye," Shelby answered. They both hung up the phone. "Scott! I don't know what to say! I never-not in a million years-expected your mom to be so amazing!"
"Yeah, she is great. Alrighty, your turn, darling," he said with a smirk.
"Do I have to?" she asked, a look of disgust crossed her face at the mere hint of her mother.
"I'll be right here."
Shelby took a deep breath and dialed.
"Hello?"
"Hello, mother," Shelby answered coldly.
"Shelby! Is everything alright?"
"Yes, why would it not be? I'm just a totally dysfunctional human being because of you and your poor judgement." Mrs. Blaine didn't answer. Scott just stared at Shelby in amazement. She could switch attitudes so quickly; it was amazing. "Well, as you are speechless, and I'm not in the mood for small talk, I'll just tell you my news and get over with it. Mom, I'm getting married to Scott Barringer in three weeks," she said, cold as stone.
"Oh my god! Shelby that's... amazing!"
"Why? Did you not expect me to be able to find a good man, just because you weren't able to?"
"Shelby! I'm happy for you!" Mrs. Blain knew that had she answered any other way, she would've been completely cut off from her daughter forever. She wanted no such thing, so she kept it in. She didn't really like the idea of her daughter marrying a guy she knew nothing about, but if it made Shelby happy, she could learn to like this Scott guy.
"You... you are?" Shelby asked, uncertainly. She didn't know what to do, her mother was being nice to her. She'd never known such treatment from her.
"Of course. I'm very happy for you. Look, Shelby, I know you don't want me to come. I didn't think you would, but do me a favour. Take lots of pictures, send some cake, and above all: enjoy yourself. Shelby, life is too short to be bitter," she explained.
"Thanks, well, I've got to go. Bye, mom," she said, and with that, the phone was on the hook. She took a deep breath, looked up at Scott, a genuine smile on her face. "Two down, one to go."
"Fine, I'll just get this over with."
"Wow, you're an eager one, cowboy!" she answered with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, we still have some time before our length of time becomes suspicious..." he replied with a seductive smile.
"Just call!" she said, laughing.
"Fine, here goes nothing." He dialed. It rang, and rang, and rang.
"Well?"
"No answer. Oh, voice mail, even better." * Beep * "Hey dad, it's me, Scott. I'm just calling you let you know that in three weeks, I'm getting married. I'm marrying Shelby Merrick. No, I don't want you there, you're not welcome. You couldn't trust me, and I'm not going to trust you. For the first time in my life, I don't feel like I have anyone to please. Everyone in the world that I care about is happy for me and love me, just the way I am. So, this is to you, you son of a mother! Hope you're happy, because I am, and I don't like to wish anyone harm... at least not when I'm with her. See, she gives me the approval and reassurance you never could, and never will. Good bye!" And the phone went down with a clang.
"Load off your chest?"
"Yeah, that felt good. I needed that! So... what say we..." he said, getting up and walking to where she stood. They started kissing, when Shelby gasped. "What is it?"
"The rings! We forgot the rings!" she yelled, slapping herself on the forehead.
"Don't worry, we'll just tell Peter we need a little more time and go down there. Look, we don't have much money from our budget left, so we can get diamond-incrusted stuff. How do simple gold bands sound to you?"
"You're my hero!" she said, flipping her hair, and looking at him as if she were a damsel in distress.
"The knight always gets the girl."
"Well, the knight already got the girl. The girl gets the knight tonight!" Shelby said with a laugh, pulling him out of the room, and walking towards the table where the Cliffhangers were seated.
"Peter's in the bathroom," Daisy explained quickly.
"So, you can tell us what you were doing," David said.
Scott and Shelby just looked at each other and laughed. They looked back to the awaiting Cliffhangers and blushed.
"I knew it!" David yelled. The whole table exploded with laughter. Simple Pleasures always win.
Author's Note: Alrighty, this is gonna be a pretty long chapter, so you guys are in for a ride. To make up for the really rushed ending of the last one, this one's pretty strung out! Enjoy! By the way, I'm no expert on wedding clothes, or even colour matching, so stick with me, use your imaginations... lol. And I'll make one last warning: there is going to be a rather... explicit scene. Please use your judgement on whether or not you're going to read it!
The Cliffhangers, minus Emma, piled into the school van. Scott and Shelby were in the very back seat, with Ezra sitting on Scott's other side. Daisy, David, and Jess were in front of them. And then there were Jules and Auggie in front of them. They were all so happy. Jess had hooked up with Ezra which pleased both quite a bit. Peter was actually scared of all the happiness. He knew that something was definitely lurking around a curb and that they'd take it harder in all their happiness. The thought of something hurting his Cliffhangers was very upsetting to him.
When they arrived in Agnes, they all went to Rusty's. Peter told Annie what was happening. He also told her that he needed to take the guys to get their tuxes first, so he'd leave the girls in her watch with some stuff to do. They had a couple of movies and some books. Annie led them to a back room in the restaurant where there was a couch, a TV, and a computer (without internet). They were all ecstatic, as they never got a chance like this at Horizon. Juliette was bouncing off walls. Daisy and Shelby were actually afraid of her, while Jess was just laughing.
Peter then led the guys out to the tux rental shop. They were all happy beyond a point they'd ever been. Shelby loved the girls all so much that she'd made them all maids of honour. She was scrapping the idea that she could only have one maid of honour and opted for three times the fun. Scott couldn't help but think how adorable this was and made all the guys best men. So no one felt lower than another, although Scott was technically closer to Auggie than to any of the other guys. He'd never really gotten along with David, until very recently, that is. And he and Ezra had always been friends, but never very great friends.
They entered the shop and all gasped, except Peter who thought they were all so funny in their happy states.
"Alrighty, we have about an hour to look around and find the ones we want, so get to it."
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While the guys were in the tux shop, the girls were all having a great time watching "Charlie's Angels." It was the classic girls' night out type movie, and they loved the fact that they were doing something normal for once. At one point, Shelby had an amazing idea. She knew that they were on a VERY tight budget, and she knew someone she could call to maybe fix that problem. She got up and went to ask Annie if she could use the phone for a long distance call. Annie, being the one to pay the bill, was a little wary, but when Shelby explained her idea, she was so excited she couldn't say "no."
As Shelby picked up the phone, she had such a mix of feelings. She felt scared, happy, excited, resentful, annoyed, mad, and sad all at the same time, despite that being quite impossible! "If this doesn't work, I'm never going to forgive myself," she thought. She picked up and dialed.
"Hello?" a voice at the other end said. Shelby's voice called in her throat. "Hello?" the voice asked once more.
"Hi," she finally replied. It had been 13 years since she'd heard that voice, but it hadn't changed one bit.
"Who is this?" the voice asked.
"This is Shelby Merrick," she said.
"Oh my god! You're kidding right?"
"Nope. So, how have you been, dad?" she asked.
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"Peter!" Shelby yelled, running into the tux shop.
"Shelby!" he said, mimicking her excited tone, he was having so much fun that day. "Why are you here? Does Annie know you left?"
"Yeah, I have HUGE news!" she replied. All the guys gathered around. "Sorry guys, just for Peter... and Scott's ears." The other three just slumped off, a bit put off.
"What's up, Shel? You alright?" Scott asked, worried.
"I'm fine, hun. You won't believe who I just called, and yes! I had Annie's permission!" she added, seeing Peter's expression.
"Who?" he asked, significantly relieved.
"Guess," she said, a smirk coming over her face.
"Uh, your mom?" Scott asked. She shook her head. "You dad?" he asked, totally guessing. Shelby had never spoken to him about her dad. This was a complete and utter guess.
"Wow, good one. You're right though!" she said.
"You talked to your dad?" Peter asked, completely shocked. "Uh, excuse me for asking, but why? I mean you haven't talked to him for what, ten years?"
"13, actually. But that's beside the point. I remembered something my mom told me a while back. My dad is a very successful attorney," she said, nodding her head pointedly.
"You mean that..." Scott began.
"Yes! He's going to pay for the wedding!" she screamed, jumping up and down.
"You're kidding, right?" Scott and Peter both asked at the same time. "Why?" they asked, again, at the same time.
"What? You guys on the same brain wave or something?" she asked with a giggle. "Alright, I called him, because I remembered that he's rich. And then we got to talk. He's going to come down before the wedding and meet you, Scott," she added pointedly. Scott got an "uh-oh" look on his face. "Yeah, and he said he's gonna finance the wedding... if he likes what he sees," she added in a whisper.
"Wait, he will let me marry you, won't he?" Scott asked, getting upset.
"Uh, I'll go and help the others out," Peter said, seeing this was something they'd need to figure out themselves. He'd also just caught sight David in a blue frilly tux from the seventies.
"Look, he doesn't have a real choice, we're both eighteen and capable of our own decisions," she continued. "Besides, when he sees how much I love you and how much you love me, he won't be able to resist."
"Is he going to like me, do you think?" Scott asked, still very worried.
"Of course he will. I don't know how anyone could help but love you!" she said
"But what if he doesn't like me?"
"He will, and if he doesn't, screw it! He hasn't been there most of my life, and he's not going to start interfering now. I mean, I'm gonna be glad if he's at my wedding, but it's not going to change anything. In the end, he's really just a rich man who used to be a man I called my father. He no longer is, though. Peter's still giving me away, as he is the closest person I know to a father. We'll figure it out, don't worry," she said, giving him the most loving look he'd ever received. She held him in her arms and all his worries that landed him at Horizon were lifted. She kissed him and he was blissfully happy. She just had that effect on him.
"Thanks, babe, I really needed that," he said honestly.
"You're very welcome," she replied, giving him another kiss. "Go easy on the budget, just in case!" she added, leaving the shop to go back to Annie's. Right before she was completely gone, she ran back, stuck her head in the shop and yelled out: "Scott!" He turned around to see what was going on, as he was back with the other guys and Peter.
"Yeah, Shel?"
"I love you!" she said, a bright smile on her face.
"I love you too, sweetie!" he said laughing. He'd never called her a sweetie before, but in his mind this name suited her perfectly!
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The guys were now seated comfortably in the back room of Rusty's. They had just popped "Die Hard" in the VCR and were getting comfy. It was now the girls' turn to go get the dresses. This time, though, Scott wasn't allowed to come and give Shelby a surprise visit, as it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. Juliette took this very seriously, and Shelby, Daisy, and Jess all thought she was so funny because of it. She had even gotten one of the ladies in the dress shop to make sure Scott didn't come in.
After about a half-hour of looking, the girls had picked out the perfect bridesmaid's dresses. They were a lovely light, sky blue. They had spaghetti straps, and were form fitting dresses and went down to their knees. Juliette had already been to four weddings, but hadn't liked any of her bridesmaid's dresses. They were all too uncomfortable or showy, but this was just nice simple and wonderfully beautiful. The girls all got sunny yellow shawls to wrap around their arms.
Shelby's dress took a little longer to find. It was Daisy that had picked it out and Shelby had simply fallen in love with it!
It was a simple dress, but Shelby wasn't into the whole idea of looking too frilly or puffy. She just wanted beautiful, sleek elegance, and that's what she got. The dress was white satin. It had barely noticeable straps, it was form fitting, until it reached her waist. Here, it panned out, leaving a train behind her, it wasn't long, but she was so excited over it.
Peter accepted it. The girls were beyond happiness.
"Okay, girls, it's getting close to lunch time. We're supposed to meet the guys back at the restaurant in about half an hour, so we'd better pay and get going," Peter said, trying to calm them down, but to no avail.
"Uh, sure, I really want to see Scott!" Shelby was saying. The others just rolled their eyes. "What?" she asked, mock indignancy present in her voice. Everyone burst out laughing. All of a sudden, Juliette stopped, and look of complete horror crossed her face. "What is it queenie?" Shelby asked, a look of slight concern crossing her own.
"The flowers!" she yelled. Everyone jumped. It had been said in a tone of self-reproachfulness. They all looked at her with blank stares. She saw this, and got another horror-struck look. "You mean you haven't thought about the flowers?"
"Well, it's only at Horizon," Daisy explained.
"But we need flowers," she screamed, stressing the word "need" and looking at Peter with a pleading look.
"Hey! It's not my wedding!" he said, throwing up his hands in surrender.
"Shelby?" Juliette asked, getting excited once more.
"Uh, sure," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "You have a 100$ budget, do what you can, I'm going to see Scott," she said, leaving the store. Then she came back and added, as an afterthought: "Dais, will you go with her? I'm scared for my pocket book, her mental health... and the health of the shop's clerk's. Come on Jess, back to the guys," she said, pulling on her sister's hand, and rushing out of the store.
Juliette whooped, and took Daisy's hand, pulling her out of the store. Daisy looked back at Peter with a "how could you let her do this to me?" look on her face. Peter just shrugged and laughed as the lady came to help him get all the dresses wrapped and paid for.
********************************************************************************
"Scott!" Shelby squealed, running into the room where the guys were just finishing "Mission Impossible." They all "yelled" their "shhhhhhhhh" at her. She smiled, and Scott smiled at her. He got up and came over to her.
"Hi, beautiful," he whispered.
"Hey, Cowboy," she whispered back. He leaned down to kiss her. It was a slow and beautifully sweet kiss. They just kept kissing like that, until the guys, and Jess, who was now sitting with them, got tired and started yelling, "get a room!" at them. They both looked at the rest of them with "well I'm sorry!" looks on their faces. They both laughed and left the room. It was noon, and they were really hungry.
"Hey, want to have something to eat?" he asked with a cute smile, his head slightly tilted.
"Sure! I'm starving, and this food is way better than Horizon food!" she answered laughing.
"Yeah, for sure. Hey Annie," he said, walking up to the counter, his fingers intertwined with Shelby's.
"Hey Scott. Hey Shelby," she said, walking over to their end of the counter.
"Hi, can we get some food?" Shelby asked, her hunger clearly showing.
"Yeah, what would you guys like?"
"Pizza?" Scott asked, looking at Shelby excitedly. He hadn't had pizza in a long time... or at least good pizza.
"Sure, sounds good to me," Shelby said. Annie nodded and walked off. "Oh, Scott! I just remembered something!" she said, a look of complete shock coming over her face.
"What is it?" he asked, his eyes growing to the size of watermelons. Shelby laughed at this sight.
"You didn't call your parents, and I didn't call my mom. As much as I hate her, I think she ought to know. I think your parents have the right to know as well."
"Shel, I dunno... I just don't think my dad'll be thrilled at this news."
"It doesn't matter, Scott. All that matters is that we know what we're doing, and that we want to do this... that we love each other. We're old enough that we don't need their consent. They can't legally do anything about it. It's okay, it'll be alright!" she whispered softly, squeezing his hand.
"How do you do it?" he asked, amazed, squeezing her hand as well.
"What?"
"You've just lifted all this weight I've been carrying. It's gone! I don't feel scared anymore," he explained. Shelby grinned a marvelous grin at that.
"Yeah, well, how do you think I feel whenever I'm with you?" she asked, holding his hand. "So? Are you going to call them?"
"I want to tell my mom, but my dad... that's a different story. I'm not sure, Shel. Last time I saw him, he still thought it was all my fault about the whole Elaine thing. I know he doesn't trust me anymore, how am I supposed to just turn around and trust him?" Scott now had his head in his hands. He really didn't like to discuss his dad, but he was talking to Shelby, and couldn't hold anything back, even if he tried to. It was a completely futile action to take.
"So tell your mom, I'll tell mine, and I'll be with you when you call your dad," she coaxed.
"Sure, let's just get this over with."
"Thank you!" she said, giving him a reassuring hug. "Annie?" she asked, as Annie came over to their table with the pizza. "Uh, could you possibly hold that for us? We need to call our parents..." Here, she laughed to herself thinking of how many favors she'd been of Annie lately. "Could we use the restaurant's phone?"
"Uh, yeah, but do you guys want the back-room?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. Even better plan: we'll send the Cliffhangers out here, and get them to eat this, while we make our calls," Scott said.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for them," Annie replied, setting down the pizza and pushing a couple of tables together."
Scott took Shelby's hand and led her to the room where the others were arguing which action movie was the best. Juliette and Daisy had yet to return from the flower shop, and Peter was expected at any moment.
"Guys, there's pizza waiting in the restaurant, could you move this circus there?" Shelby asked.
"Sure thing, come on guys," Jess said. They started filing out of the room, leaving Auggie and David behind.
"Uh, what happened to our girls?" Auggie asked, starting to worry.
"Oh, don't worry muchacho, they're just getting flowers for the wedding," Scott said, laughing.
"Ah, well, that's good to know. But wait a minute, did Dais actually agree to this?" David asked, knowing fully well that Daisy would never willingly go flower shopping... with Jules none-the-less.
"Well, not completely, but we were sort of gone before she could protest," Shelby explained, laughing as well. "Don't worry, Daisy's strong and besides, all she basically has to do is keep Jules under control."
"Hey!" Auggie shouted. "Step off Shel!"
"Dude, you know it's true," David said, nudging him in the ribs.
"Yeah," Auggie said, nodding along and laughing as the two guys left the room.
Scott turned to Shelby, his hands around her waist. She just looked up at him with her big blue eyes. She leaned in and kissed him. It was wonderful. They were alone, with a door closed and locked, and no one coming to look for them for a while. The kiss got more and more intense. Shelby didn't want to, but the question was burning.
"Scott, are you going to call?" she whispered.
"Yeah, in a little bit," he said with a devilish grin on his face. Shelby was so in love, she couldn't say "no."
They sat down on the couch and began to kiss again. For just a second, Scott pulled away.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm positive," she said, laying down, and pulling Scott on top of her.
"You're all too perfect!" Scott whispered, laying down on her, and kissing her neck.
"As... are... you..." Shelby gasped. This feels even better than I could ever have imagined, she thought. Why did I tell him I wanted to wait? Oh yeah, love making. Well, I'm going to make love... for the first time in my life! "I love you!" she said, pulling his head up to her eye level and bringing it down so her lips could reach his.
"I love you, Shel," he said, lifting up his upper body and taking his shirt off. Shelby just looked up at him with a smile playing at her lips.
"Wow," she whispered, as she got up and pulled her shirt off. They were now kneeling in front of each other on the couch.
"What?" he whispered back.
"Nothing," she got out. She leaned in for another kiss as Scott unhooked her bra. Shelby reached down to undo his jeans, at the same time as he did for her.
They finally got all each other's clothes off. That's when Shelby laughed.
"What is it?" Scott asked, a little annoyed.
"You run for the lights, I'll get the condom," she said, getting up off the couch and reaching for her jeans. She pulled it out of her pocket.
"Two questions: how did you get those, and why do you have some?" Scott asked, disbelievingly.
"Well, I ran into a drug store on my way back from the tux shop, and I got some because I was ready, and I knew you were... so... you know!" she said, handing it to him. "Ready?" she asked. He nodded. They lay down on the couch, Shelby had one arm around Scott's neck, pushing his kissing into her mouth, and her other on his back, going lower... and lower... and lower... until... BINGO!
His hands roamed around her body, or rather her chest and waist. Their legs were intertwined.
This went on for about twenty minutes. Finally, they relaxed, and lay in each other's arms, staring at each other.
"I really do love you Shel! I'll never leave you, that's my promise to you," he said. Their noses were little more than a centimeter from each other.
"I love you. I promise I won't leave you. I wouldn't be able to," she whispered back. "Scott, it's time," she said, leaning forward and kissing him softly, but passionately all the same.
"I know," he said, sitting up. "Give me a minute."
"Sure, I need to get dressed anyway," she replied with a smirk.
********************************************************************************
"Wow, I wonder what Scott and Shelby are up to, it's taking them an awful long time," Jules said. She and Daisy had returned fifteen minutes ago.
"Oh come on! They're alone, in a locked room, with no one to disturb them, and they're engaged. What do you think they're doing?" David asked pointedly, rolling his eyes. The whole table rang with laughter.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you're all happy, and on the path to being full," Peter said, popping up behind them.
"What took you so long?" Daisy asked.
"I drove back to Horizon and put all the tuxes and dresses in a safe place," he explained.
"Ah, I see," David said, stroking his chin. Daisy just slapped him playfully up top the head and smirked.
"Don't even think it!"
********************************************************************************
"Better start with mom," Scott said, picking up the phone, and looking over at Shelby, searching for some kind of push.
"I love you," she mouthed. He was good to go. He dialed and waited.
"Hello?" someone answered on the other end.
"Hey, mom, it's me, Scott."
"Oh hi honey! Are you alright?" she asked, concern slipping into her voice.
"Of course I am! I just have some news. Some rather big news."
"What is it?" she now sounded scared.
"I'll tell you, you just cannot interrupt, no matter what!" he explained.
"Scott-oh, all right," she agreed. She just wanted to know!
"Mom, remember when you came here last year? You told me special friends were two people sharing one soul. Mom, I've found that friend, but... she's so much more than that."
"Scott, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying I asked her to marry me," he said, as calmly as he could. He had Shelby sitting beside him, holding his hand, which made it that much harder to collect himself and concentrate. When Susan, his mother, didn't answer, he continued. "She said 'yes,' mom! We're... uh... we're," but he was cut off.
"When's the wedding?" she asked, her voice squealing with excitement.
"It's... uh... in three weeks."
"Oh my gosh, Scott! I'm so overwhelmed. I'm so happy! Is she there with you?" Susan was now in tears.
"Yeah, here, I'll put her on. Thanks, mom. It means a lot that you understand. I'll talk to you soon! Bye, I love you!" he said.
"Oh, Scott! You know that I'm coming to your wedding right?"
"You are?" he asked, his voice full of hope.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll talk to Peter about flights and the date. Just enjoy yourself."
"You have no idea." And, in order not to have to go any further, he handed the phone to Shelby. "All yours," he whispered with a smirk and a peck on the cheek.
"Hello? Mrs. Boyd?" Shelby answered.
"Oh, hello dear. Call me Susan," she insisted. Shelby looked at Scott with a huge grin on her face.
"Uh, hello... Susan. I'm Shelby Merrick, Scott's fiancée," she began.
"It's wonderful to talk to you! Look, I've really got to go, but I just wanted to say thank you for making Scott so happy," she said. Shelby could hear her crying. Wow, Scott's mom really is amazing, she thought.
"Thank you for approving! And thanks for Scott, I suppose."
"Well, bye bye, dear. It was lovely to talk to you. I'll see you at the wedding!"
"Yeah, bye," Shelby answered. They both hung up the phone. "Scott! I don't know what to say! I never-not in a million years-expected your mom to be so amazing!"
"Yeah, she is great. Alrighty, your turn, darling," he said with a smirk.
"Do I have to?" she asked, a look of disgust crossed her face at the mere hint of her mother.
"I'll be right here."
Shelby took a deep breath and dialed.
"Hello?"
"Hello, mother," Shelby answered coldly.
"Shelby! Is everything alright?"
"Yes, why would it not be? I'm just a totally dysfunctional human being because of you and your poor judgement." Mrs. Blaine didn't answer. Scott just stared at Shelby in amazement. She could switch attitudes so quickly; it was amazing. "Well, as you are speechless, and I'm not in the mood for small talk, I'll just tell you my news and get over with it. Mom, I'm getting married to Scott Barringer in three weeks," she said, cold as stone.
"Oh my god! Shelby that's... amazing!"
"Why? Did you not expect me to be able to find a good man, just because you weren't able to?"
"Shelby! I'm happy for you!" Mrs. Blain knew that had she answered any other way, she would've been completely cut off from her daughter forever. She wanted no such thing, so she kept it in. She didn't really like the idea of her daughter marrying a guy she knew nothing about, but if it made Shelby happy, she could learn to like this Scott guy.
"You... you are?" Shelby asked, uncertainly. She didn't know what to do, her mother was being nice to her. She'd never known such treatment from her.
"Of course. I'm very happy for you. Look, Shelby, I know you don't want me to come. I didn't think you would, but do me a favour. Take lots of pictures, send some cake, and above all: enjoy yourself. Shelby, life is too short to be bitter," she explained.
"Thanks, well, I've got to go. Bye, mom," she said, and with that, the phone was on the hook. She took a deep breath, looked up at Scott, a genuine smile on her face. "Two down, one to go."
"Fine, I'll just get this over with."
"Wow, you're an eager one, cowboy!" she answered with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, we still have some time before our length of time becomes suspicious..." he replied with a seductive smile.
"Just call!" she said, laughing.
"Fine, here goes nothing." He dialed. It rang, and rang, and rang.
"Well?"
"No answer. Oh, voice mail, even better." * Beep * "Hey dad, it's me, Scott. I'm just calling you let you know that in three weeks, I'm getting married. I'm marrying Shelby Merrick. No, I don't want you there, you're not welcome. You couldn't trust me, and I'm not going to trust you. For the first time in my life, I don't feel like I have anyone to please. Everyone in the world that I care about is happy for me and love me, just the way I am. So, this is to you, you son of a mother! Hope you're happy, because I am, and I don't like to wish anyone harm... at least not when I'm with her. See, she gives me the approval and reassurance you never could, and never will. Good bye!" And the phone went down with a clang.
"Load off your chest?"
"Yeah, that felt good. I needed that! So... what say we..." he said, getting up and walking to where she stood. They started kissing, when Shelby gasped. "What is it?"
"The rings! We forgot the rings!" she yelled, slapping herself on the forehead.
"Don't worry, we'll just tell Peter we need a little more time and go down there. Look, we don't have much money from our budget left, so we can get diamond-incrusted stuff. How do simple gold bands sound to you?"
"You're my hero!" she said, flipping her hair, and looking at him as if she were a damsel in distress.
"The knight always gets the girl."
"Well, the knight already got the girl. The girl gets the knight tonight!" Shelby said with a laugh, pulling him out of the room, and walking towards the table where the Cliffhangers were seated.
"Peter's in the bathroom," Daisy explained quickly.
"So, you can tell us what you were doing," David said.
Scott and Shelby just looked at each other and laughed. They looked back to the awaiting Cliffhangers and blushed.
"I knew it!" David yelled. The whole table exploded with laughter. Simple Pleasures always win.