A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, since the review responces were pretty split, i decided to do 2 now, then 1, then the last one. I hope ya enjoy them! -Steph-
Melani woke up to the waves crashing on the shore It's my wedding day was the first thing that went thought her mind I'm marrying Bradin, Bradin Westerly, the kid I hated, the kid I wanted so much to like…Bradin. I'm marrying Bradin her stomach did flip-flops as she thought about it. She rolled out of bed and opened the door to the beach. She closed her eyes and took in the salty smell. She walked back into her room and opened the door to the living room "Mom, Dad? Are you awake?" she called.
"Yes honey" her mom called from the kitchen "We got your note, do you think we should bring anything to Bradin's aunt's house? I feel funny going without something"
"Don't worry about it mom I've eaten there a couple times, between she and Nikki, there'll be more food then we can handle, all like 10 of us"
Her father laughed "It'll be good to do this. Hopefully it will make their Christmas Eve better. I know they must be thinking about their parents"
Mel smiled "Today is going to be great day daddy. I promise, the Westerly family will definitely change" she said as she kissed him on the cheek "I'm going to go take a shower before we go. I'll meet you guys outside at like 9:15. I want to be early to help Ava" They both nodded as she ran back into her room, a smile still on her face
Bradin bustled around his room. He was trying to figure out what the heck he was going to say to her parents to convince them that he was in love with their daughter and that he would always love and honor her. He knew that no matter what he said, they'd absolutely freak, of course so would Ava, but he knew he had to do it. And it was going to happen whether or not they approved
Bradin looked at the clock on his desk. 9:20 She's going to be here any minute, she's always early. Shit what am I going to tell her parents? He heard a knock on the back door, Oh well, too late. God help me be good at making stuff up! He thought as he walked out into the living room. "Hi Mr. Lawrence, Hi Mrs. Lawrence, Hey Mel" he said as they walked in "It's good to see you again"
Mel smiled "Thanks so much for inviting us. I just love Christmas Eve, everything seems so unpredictable, right Brae?"
"Right" he said smiling too. "Need any help aunt Ava?"
"No honey, thank you though. It's all done." She introduced everyone to their family and they all sat down, Melani's mom and dad across from Melani and Bradin, between Ava and Johnny, Nikki next to Mel and Derek next to Bradin, with Susannah and Jay at each end. "To a very happy holiday season" Ava said raising her glass. They all toasted, but Bradin and Mel couldn't help smiling, yes, it would be a happy holiday.
Just as they finished, Bradin looked at Mel and she looked back at him and nodded "Aunt Ava, we have something to tell you"
Ava dropped her fork "Who's we?" she said eying her nephew
"Him and I" Mel said. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it
"Melani Michelle, tell me you're not pregnant!" her father said, glaring from her to Bradin
They both laughed "That probably would have been an easier one to explain" she said "No daddy, I'm not pregnant."
"Of course she's not pregnant Kevin, she's still a virgin!" her mother piped in
Melani laughed right out loud about that one "Keep on dreaming mom. No that's not what we wanted to talk to you about."
"Then what is it?" Ava asked "Bradin Adam Westerly, you better tell me what's going on right now, and I mean now"
"Aunt Ava, I love Melani more than I ever thought I could. And I remember my parents saying that when you meet the one for you, you know it. Aunt Ava, I know she's the one. I want to be with her all the time, I feel her presence everywhere I go, I truly love her… and I want to marry her…today"
The two teens looked their guardian's faces. Mel was sure her father was going to lunge across the table and strangle Bradin. She decided to speak up before they really got going
"Mom, Dad, I know that you always taught me to follow my instincts, and I hate to tell you this, but I haven't been. I know you loved James, but he's been absolutely horrible to me. I'm not a klutz at all mom, I'm a cheerleader, I can't afford to be. All the bumps and bruises aren't from me…" she trailed off. Bradin squeezed her hand, giving her strength "That's not the thing though. I've been horrible. I've been cheating on him for months… with Bradin. Mom, I know that you know I never use the word love, because I never thought I knew what it meant. But when I'm with him, I feel something so indescribable, something that all I can think of is use that word to describe it. Mom, Dad, I'm in love with Bradin, and I want to marry him. I want to be his bride, his wife"
Melani's parents sat in awe. No one knew what to say. The whole house was silent, the only sound was the crashing of waves outside. "You have to say something" Bradin said, looking at the three parent figures
"I think they should do it" Derek said, causing Mel and Bradin to laugh
"Thanks Derek; that means a lot to me" Mel said, smiling "Mom, Dad, Ms. Gregory? Say something… anything…" she said
Again no one said anything, so Bradin spoke up "Listen, we want to get married today, and we're going to do it with or without your approval. We want to get married here in Playa Linda, on a cliff that overlooks the ocean, the one by Lookout Point, but we need our guardian's to sign the forms. If you do that, we can call our friends and get married here. OR if you don't support us, we're going to get in her car and drive to Vegas where we don't need your permission, and get it by ourselves. We want you all there, but we can deal with it just being us" he looked at all of them as Mel nodded. Again silence filled the room
"Honey, is this what you want?" Ava said, looking at Bradin
He nodded "Yea, it really is. She's makes me feel alive; she's the only thing that has since my parent died. I really do love her aunt Ava"
"God, your mother would kill me for this, but, if this is truly what you want, then I support you Bradin" she said
Melani looked at her parents. She could tell her mom understood, but her dad was still up there "Daddy, he'll be good to me. I love him more than anything, more than surfing, more than the ocean, more than Kansas. I. Love. Him. and I want to be with him. Please daddy, please tell me you'll support me. Let me love him"
Her father looked at the sincerity in his daughters eyes. "Melani, I told you when you were very little that if you cared about something enough, then you could do anything you put your mind to. If you care about him enough to marry him, then yes, I will support you"
Melani got up and ran over to her dad and hugged him "And you mom?" Her mother nodded in approval and she hugged them
Ava smiled "Now, Jay, Johnny, Kevin, and Derek take Bradin out of here. It's bad luck to see your Bride on the day of the wedding. I'm sure the dress I was designing will fit you perfectly. And I want all of you in suits, there is no way I'm going to let you have an informal wedding!"
Ava, Nikki and Laura soon were all over the guys, telling them what to do, they didn't notice Mel and Bradin slip outside
"wow, this is going to be insane. What's your plan angel?" Bradin asked
"I'm going to call everyone and tell them to dress up and meet us at Lookout Point. Then, like right before the ceremony, I'll call and break it off with James. Any more time and he might show up. And Tanner can't know. Do you want to tell Lucas or should I?
"I'll call him. I want him to be my best man. Listen, have Kelli call everyone, so you don't have to worry about it. Then go get ready, I'll call the Justice of the Peace and have him meet us there at 4:30. Sound good?
"Sounds awesome. This really is going to be a magical holiday season, huh?" She winked at him and ran into the house just as the girls were shooing the guys out
"Ok, so you need a dress, a veil, shoes, what else?" her mother said
"She needs something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue too" Ava chimed in
"Wow, head spinning" Mel said "I need to call someone first. Do you think you can get me those things while I do that?" The all nodded and ran off.
Mel sighed and hit speed dial 2 on her phone, which she had retrieved from Tanner's house while he wasn't home. "Hello?" the voice rang out
"Hey it's me, do you have like 5 minutes to talk to me?" Mel asked
"Duh. Plus, Luke is on the phone with Bradin. What's up?"
"Ya know how we always said that we'd be maids of honor at each other's wedding?" Mel started
"Of course, we've been saying it since we were in like 7th grade. Why?"
"Do you think your homecoming dress would make a good maid of honor dress, I mean, we could go out and get one now, but that would take sooo much time and I don't think we have that much, but I guess…" she said
"Hold on, back up and freeze!" Kelli interrupted "Melani, what are you talking about? Why would I have to wear my homecoming dress to your wedding, and why would we need to buy me a dress now? I'm sooo confused Mel"
"Kel, Bradin and I are getting married…this afternoon. That's why he was calling Lucas. He wants him to be his best man and I want you to be my maid of honor"
There was silence on the other line for a good 2 minutes. Finally Kelli spoke "Mel, for the record, I think you're insane getting married at 16, but if you want to, all the more power to you. Next, I would be honored to stand up there with you two. And third, what can I do?"
Mel laughed "First off, I'm not insane. Secondly, you better be there with me. Third, can you call everyone who you know knows about us and think might want to come and tell them to meet us at Lookout Point dressed up at 4:15. The ceremony is at 4:45"
"Will do. I'll come over when I'm done."
"Ok, I'm at Bradin's house because Ava insisted on me wearing one of her new wedding dresses she's designing. Thanks a million Kel. I'll see you later" She smiled as she hung up the phone and walked into the house. And so the day begins she thought as she ran up to Ava's studio, and it's going to be a great one.