I'm really sorry for the delay. I hope that this chapter is enough of an apology!

Chapter 13

"Derek, I'm going out!" Melissa shouted as she put on her shoes.

"Are you going to see himagain?" Derek asked, poking his head out of the bedroom door.

"Yes, but you know why I have to. It's been three weeks since we've spoken."

"Yeah, I know. It's also been three weeks of you going to his place and him ignoring you."

"But what if today was finally the day that he opens the door and looks at me again?"

"Listen, don't think I'm a jerk or anything like that. It's just that I hate seeing you get hurt over and over again," Derek said, as he wrapped his arm around Melissa's waist.

"Don't worry. If he doesn't answer, then it just gives me an excuse to knock on his door another day," she said with a smile.

"I love that you're so optimistic."

"Well, I love you." With that, Melissa gave him a quick peck on the cheek and closed the door behind her.

00000

Jackson was preparing dinner when he heard a knock on the door. He assumed it was his date as he read the time on the microwave.

It's only 7:45. Why is she fifteen minutes early? She probably couldn't wait for the date to begin, he thought with a smile.

Before he looked through the peephole, he scanned the living room and it was a big mess. There were papers everywhere; bags of chips lying on the floor; coffee stains on couch. Ever since Melissa left, Jackson has been keeping his mind off her by working on his songs. When he was writing lyrics, she was always the one to clean up his mess since she knew that he was really stressed out. But she wasn't here anymore so Jackson had to take responsibility. He was pretty good with the cleaning for a couple of days, but he started falling behind on cleaning as the workload got heavier.

Jackson decided to tidy up a bit by picking up some loose pieces of paper on his way to the door and dumping them into a nearby bin.

He looked into the peephole to find the one person he thought he got over.

"Jackson! Jackson! I know you're in there! Please, open up!" Melissa shouted, as she knocked consistently on the door.

Jackson just stayed silent and watched her, with no intention of opening the door.

"Please, Jackson! It's been three weeks already! Can't we talk?" She started to sound hopeless.

Melissa, why do you keep on coming back to me when you know that you're going to get hurt?Jackson thought, as he put his face in his hands. He couldn't stand seeing her so helpless.

"I just wanted to say that I missed you," she said faintly and then he heard her footsteps disappear down the stairs.

When Jackson looked in the peephole again, Melissa was gone but she left something on the ground. He opened the door and found a hot cup of coffee from their favorite café and an envelope. Jackson was glad that she still knew how much sugar and cream to put in his coffee. However, the envelope wasn't an ordinary one. It had the smell of a wedding invitation.

Jackson carefully opened it and read:

You are cordially invited to celebrate

the wedding of

Melissa Wu

and

Derek McAndrews

On Saturday afternoon

June the 2nd

at four o' clock

Thirty-five East Olivet Avenue

followed by a reception

After reading the invitation, Jackson set the cup on the coffee table and sat himself down on the couch. He ran his right hand through his hair while the other still held the invitation. He couldn't believe that they were getting married soon.

00000

One month later...

"Mom, Dad, this is the woman of my dreams, Melissa. Melissa, this is my mother and father, Judith and Henry McAndrews," Derek said with a smile, as he introduced his parents to Melissa.

"It's very nice to meet both of you," Melissa said sweetly, as she hugged both of them.

"Please, it is our pleasure," replied Mr. McAndrews. "Judith was so anxious to meet you."

"Honestly, Henry, do you have to humiliate me in front of our daughter-in-law? But he is telling the truth. Ever since I found out about your engagement, I have wanted to jump onto a plane and fly from New York to Los Angeles just to meet the lucky girl. You see, Derek has been talking nonstop about how wonderful you are over the phone and I just had to meet you in person."

"So Derek has been talking about me, huh?" Melissa said, as she directed a smile at Derek.

"Okay, so you found out. But enough with all these secrets spilling out here. Let's talk about them at the dinner table instead."

00000

There was a lot of laughter and story-telling at the dinner table and Melissa felt like she was part of a family again. She was genuinely enjoying herself and didn't feel bad about having fun without her parents because they would have wanted her to.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and a man walked in. Everyone stopped their conversations and looked at him. Then Derek broke the silence by saying: "Lex, man, glad you could make it!"

Derek stood up and shook hands with the man while pulling him into a hug. Then they faced the others at the dinner table and Derek said, "Lex, you remember my parents, Henry and Judith."

"That can't be the little Lex I remember growing up," Judith said, as she pulled him in for a hug.

"It's nice to meet you two again," Lex replied, as he shook hands with Mr. McAndrews.

"And this is my bride-to-be, Melissa."

"It's nice to finally meet the best man," Melissa said as she extended her hand.

"Well, it's very nice to meet the bride," Lex said, as he opened up his arms for a hug.

They created an awkward situation where each didn't know if they should hug or shake hands. Finally, they both decided on a hug and then Derek said, "Remeber, Lex. She's my bride."

Everyone started laughing and then seated themselves at the dinner table once again.

00000

"Man, that Dodgers game was off the hook! I'll bet you that they'll win the World Series this year," Eric said, as he entered Jackson's apartment.

"Eric, it's only the beginning of the season. It's still too early to determine anything yet. You'll probably just end up jinxing them," Nathan replied, as he entered after Eric.

"I'm not jinxing anybody. You're just afraid of losing the bet," Eric retorted.

"Dude, we didn't even shake on it yet," Nathan said.

"Man, who needs to shake on it? You're a man aren't you? Or are you a wuss for being afraid of losing a couple of bucks to me?"

"We'll see who's more of a man after I punch you in the face. Maybe that'll teach you a lesson."

"Hey, guys. Cool it!" Jackson shouted as he placed a 12-pack of beer on the counter. "Remember, we're here to hang out and not to fight over stupid things, like a bet."

"Jackson's right. We need to be mature. But I don't think that the word exists in Eric's dictionary," Nathan said with a glare at Eric.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get the hint, you hot-shot lawyer," Eric said, as he opened up a bottle of beer. "So did you guys get the wedding invitation too?"

"Of course, we all got one. Melissa doesn't have a lot of family members in her life," Jackson said in a sad tone as he eyed his beer.

"So... do you guys plan on going?" Eric said, as he tried to break the silence.

"I'm definitely going," Nathan replied.

"I'm not really planning on it," Jackson said, as he took another gulp of his beer.

"What?" Eric and Nathan exclaimed at once.

"You heard me," Jackson said dismally.

"But... you're her best friend. Aren't you supposed to be there for her?" Eric asked, confused.

"We get that you're still upset about her getting married to another guy, but you have to move on," Nathan said.

"Who said I was upset? I'm the last person to be upset about the marriage..." Jackson stated, as he heard the familiar clicking of shoes down the hall.

The time on the microwave read 7:00 and then Jackson muttered, "Same time everyday. Guys, be quiet."

"Why?" Eric said loudly.

"Just shut up," Jackson whispered.

Suddenly there came a knock at the door and a voice shouted, "Jackson! Jackson! Are you in there?"

"Dude, is that Taylor outside?" Nathan asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty Daley is with her," Jackson whispered in reply.

"Well, why don't you invite them in? It's about time that we start partying with some women," Eric said, as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Eric, it's not the time," Jackson said in frustration.

"Oh, I get it now," Nathan said with a satisfied smile.

"Get what?" Eric said in curiosity.

"You and Melissa had a fight, and now you're avoiding her. Since she's too busy with wedding preparations, she sent her messengers, Taylor and Daley, and now you're avoiding them too. And that is why you're not going to the wedding," Nathan concluded.

"Whoa, that's a deep analysis. Is he right, chief?"

Jackson stayed quiet for awhile and then said, "It's only because he's a lawyer. He does it for a living."

After figuring out the clues, Nathan and Eric smiled at each other and then gave high-fives.

00000

"Hello?" a voice said over the phone.

"Melissa? It's Daley. He's not opening the door."

"Are you sure? How many times did you try?"

"Honey, it doesn't matter how many times we try. He won't open it."

"Well, maybe he's out at 7 everyday. We should try some other times and then maybe..."

Since Daley had her cellphone on speaker, Taylor started talking. "Sweetie, you have to let him go. You're getting married in a week and you can't stop everything just so you can talk to him."

"I know, but he's my best friend and we haven't spoken in so long."

"Melissa, listen to me. You have to stay strong and not break down. Don't blame only yourself for the fight. You know that it was his fault too. You shouldn't be the only one trying to work things out. He has to show that he's willing to reconcile too," Daley said in a motivating way.

"You're right, Daley," Melissa said as she gained her self-confidence again. "I've been trying to contact him for months and now it's his turn. I shouldn't be the only one taking care of this friendship."

"That's what I like to hear," Daley said with a giggle.

"Now go back to your dinner and enjoy it. Don't worry about anything. Be happy," Taylor said.

"Don't worry about the last part. I'm already happy here."