Sorry about the wait, here's the next chapter! Excuses are lame, I know, but I've been really busy with music and working on my novel as well as a memoir I want to publish. Anyway, on with the story! :)

I don't own Degrassi...or do I? No, I don't sadly.

***Please read my after note when you finish, it's kinda important! :) Happy reading.


Chapter 3

Drew pulled his car up next to the curb in front of the church.

"We're going to drop you two off here, we'll be inside soon." Katie said. Maya nodded climbed out. Zig followed.

"Maya!" He called. She kept walking up the steps. "Maya Kristen Matlin!" He called after her, and she froze at the mention of her full name.

"What?" She asked, turning to him.

"Maya, don't hate me." he pleaded. She sighed and walked back over to him.

"I could never hate you, Ziggy." She said. He smiled gratefully.

"Thank you." he said. She linked arms with him and they made their way into the church.

"Maya! Zig! Thank god in heaven you're here!" Tristan sighed, coming over to them. "Zig, go down the hall to your left. There's a room marked Novak. Go inside, all the groomsmen are waiting for you." He instructed Zig.

"Alright, I just need one second." He said to Tristan.

"You have thirty seconds." Tristan said harshly, walking away. Maya stared into her best friend's eyes.

"Zig-" She started, but her cut her off.

"Maya, I'm freaking out." he confided. Maya put her hands on his shoulders and looked up into his eyes. She could see the lines of worry on his forehead, and the anxiety in his eyes. She took a deep breath and gave him a soft smile.

"Zig, you go into that room, you get ready, and you go out there and marry the girl you love." Maya said. She pulled him into her arms and wrapped him up in one final hug. His arms were strong on her back, pulling them together. She fixed his hair, then turned and he watched her go.

"But the girl I love is right here." He whispered. But she was already gone.

And there was the voice again. You're weak Zig…go into the bathroom and cut…it'll make this all okay…So he did.


"Maya! Thank god, I thought you blew me off!" Tori yelled as Maya entered the room. She closed the door behind her and saw Tori wearing the dress. Her dress.

"Tori, you look great. I'd never blow you off." She assured her supposed friend. Marisol was wearing the same dress as Maya, and Tristan was wearing a suit the same aqua blue.

"We all look so perfect!" Tori squealed. Maya smiled as her clutch started vibrating.

"It's my phone, I'll be back." She said, stepping outside.

"Maya Matlin?" asked a familiar voice.

"Yes?"

"I'm Harry Santamaria, Tori's older brother." He said. His low, raspy baritone voice sounded worried and anxious.

"What's going on?" Maya asked.

"We can't find Zig…and I thought maybe you knew where he was. He said he needed a minute to breathe, then took off."

"I'm sorry I…" Maya started, but then she trailed off. Something told her she knew exactly where he was. "I'll find him." She assured him.

"Good. And hurry."

"Okay." She said before hanging up. She didn't care about Tori on the other side of the door; she just raced through the church, looking for Zig. Fear had exploded in her heart and mind, unaware of where he was. No, dear god, don't let him! Her mind screamed. She knew him better than anyone and she knew that he had his own way of dealing with stress. She raced through crowds of people who were gathered, waiting to enter the sanctuary. She went down the hallway Tristan had described and made a beeline for the men's bathroom, not caring who saw her. She burst through the door and slammed it behind her. Her nervous, shaking hands found the deadbolt and twisted it until it clicked, locking out the outside world. She threw her clutch down on the sink and looked under the stalls for Zig's feet which were covered with Italian leather shoes Tori had bought him. She didn't see them, but she knew he was in there, one of the doors were locked.

"Zig?" She whispered, knocking on the door lightly. She heard raged breathing and looked down to see a bloody tissue drop to the ground. Her fears were true.

"Zig Nicolas Novak," she started in a calm voice. "This is your best friend. This is the girl who had helped you with this before. You open this door and come out right now." She said. He didn't respond. She slipped out of her heels.

"Fine, I can play games too." She said. She noted that he was in the handicapped stall, and got down on her hands and knees on the floor. She laid down on her stomach and crawled under the door, just fitting. She sat up once on the other side to find Zig sitting on the closed toilet seat, his legs crossed, looking scared. She just watched the nail file in his shaking hand. Her nail file.

"Oh my god." She whispered. He looked at her, his green eyes dull.

"Maya," he started. But then the tears came. And once they came, he couldn't hold them back. She pulled him down to the floor and he sat between her legs, crying into her chest. He sobbed heavily, his shoulders thrashing up and down violently. She stroked his back with one hand and gripped his head with the other.

"Zig, why did you do it?" She whispered into his ear.

"Do you love me?" he begged, looking up into her eyes. All the color had drained from his face.

"What?" she gasped, her voice barely a whisper.

"Maya, you were yelling at me that night I came to dinner and told you I wasn't going to Yale. You said you'd stuck by me for all these years for a reason, but didn't tell me why." He said. Maya stared at him. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Here she was clutching the man she loved in her arms after witnessing him abuse himself, sitting on a bathroom floor. She could tell him to do what his heart said, she could tell him that he had Tori and she'd help him through whatever this was, she could tell him that he needed to marry Tori. But he was so broken. She'd wanted this for years, and now it was in sight. There were only five words standing between her and him. Five words that would break Tori's heart. She wanted him, he wanted her. But it was more than desire, more than longing. It was the need for each other. They needed each other to be alive. That was it, really. She was lost without him, as was he without her. And the proof was the scars on his arm and the tears behind her eyes.

"Yes Zig, I love you." She told him. She'd waited so long to hear her voice say those five words out loud. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Zig moved his lips to hers. He kissed her, his lips moving in perfect harmony with hers. She kissed him with every ounce of passion in her body, throwing herself at him really. However, he didn't mind, because in a way, he threw himself at her. They sat there on the cold linoleum floor of a church, kissing. After a moment, Maya came up for air. She stared into his eyes. They seemed to be brighter than they'd been a moment ago, ignited in happiness maybe. She just stared, wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Give me the nail file, Zig." She said calmly. He gave her a puzzled look.

"Why?" he questioned, pressing it into her hand. She winced in the mental pain Zig's blood coating her hand gave her. She stood up, brushed off her dress with her decent hand, and opened the door. He stood up to, studying her. He watched her exit the stall, wash her bloody hands, and place the now clean nail file into her clutch.

"Maya, is everything alright?" Zig asked, worry filling his smooth tenor.

"I can't do this Zig. I want to more than anything, believe me I do, but I just can't. I'm so sorry." She said. Her best friend stared at her, that same look of despair in his eyes again. She slipped on her heels and took her clutch, exiting the bathroom without another word. She couldn't bring herself to look at his face again. She just needed air, she just wanted to clear her head. But she didn't have that. No, in the hallway she didn't find peace, but Tristan and Marisol waiting for her. Marisol was tapping her perfect little size seven foot, her perfect brown eyes zeroing in on Maya. Tristan was standing with his arms crossed, watching her. And they both spoke the same words.

"Where the hell is Zig?"


Zig walked out of the bathroom a moment later, his hands shaking. His pulse had spiked, he could feel his heart racing in his chest. Maya's sweet words had killed that vindictive voice inside his head. Her touch had cured his heartache and pain. And once again, she'd held back her feelings, pulling away from him. He should've ended this months ago. He should've ended this the moment it began. But no. Like the spineless weenie he was, he'd let this carry on much to far. And now it was only getting worse by the second.

"ZIG!" Tristan shouted, much too loud. Zig was then dragged by the collar of his suit into the room marked Novak.

"Tristan!" Zig yelled back, annoyed with the fact that Tori had him on such a short leash, no pun intended. Tristan pushed him into the room.

"Zig, you have been MIA for twenty minutes!" Tristan yelled. "If you're not up there at exactly five o three p.m as planned, Tori will have both our butts, do you hear me? Our butts!" Tristan yelled. Zig tried extremely hard to swallow the laughter that filled his throat.

"Chill out, Tristan. Something tells me I'll be marrying Tori today if Maya has anything to say about it."

"What does Maya have to do with this?" Tristan yelled.

"Why are you yelling?" Zig asked.

"I don't know!" Tristan returned, leaving and slamming the door as he went. Zig rolled his eyes and turned to the other three men that stood in the small room with him.

All three were tall and buff. All three of them were Tori's brothers. All three of them were strangers to Zig.

"Zig! I'm here!" Toby exclaimed, coming into the small space. Zig hugged his little brother.

"Dude! Finally, my best man has arrived!" Zig said, grinning.

"Oh, I'm not the best man. Tori won't let me." Toby said. "She says that you needed someone, and I quote, small to be a ring bearer." Toby's face was red an annoyed. "I'm 14 years old, I'm not that short! In my personal opinion, you're too young for this." Toby complained, sitting down on a couch that was thrown into the corner, looking somewhat forgotten.

None of this made sense to Zig.

"Is mom here?" Zig asked, trying to push away his annoyance with Tori's wedding planning. Toby looked at Zig sadly.

"I managed to get her here, but she's…" he stumbled for the word.

"Indecent?" Zig questioned. Toby snapped his fingers.

"I was gonna say hung over, but that works too. Makes me sound smarter." Toby agreed. Zig sighed, sitting down next to him.

"One of the perks of almost going to Yale is that you get to say a lot of smart things and people actually believe you know what you're talking about." Zig muttered unhappily. The only thing he wanted for this day was his little brother standing by his side and his mom there, cheering him on like she used to before his dad died.

"Time to go, Novak." The tallest of the three brothers said to Zig, walking away.

"I'll be out in a second." Zig replied. Toby and the three Hollister models left.

Zig looked in the small, broken mirror that hung on the bland wall. He examined himself and sighed.

"Dad," he whispered. "Whatever happens, please help me. Help me do what's right." And that's all he had time to say before Toby came in and pulled him out by his collar.

He was really starting to hate that.


"Tori! Your hair looks fine!" Maya tried to convince the troubled bride that stood before her. Tori sighed.

"Fine isn't good enough!" Tori shrieked. Maya eyed Tristan who pulled a small bottle out of his jacket pocket. He pressed it into Tori's hands and she gave him a bewildered look.

"It's tradition that the bride has one final shot before her wedding." Tristan explained. Maya rolled her eyes and left to acquire Tori's bouquet. Tori gulped the contents of the bottle down and threw the empty glass container to Tristan.

"Tori, it's time." Mairsol said, standing up. Maya handed Tori her bouquet and picked up her small clump of red roses, taking a deep breath. Tori grinned and looked like a pageant queen as she floated down the hallway to the foyer. Everyone had taken their seats, and the ocistra had started playing; light music floated into the hall, relaxing Maya. She took her place in line behind Marisol and in front of Tori's four year old cousins, the flower girls. This was it. There was no turning back now. She was about to watch her soul mate get married to someone who barely knew him.

"Maya, you have your speech, right?" Tristan asked. Maya froze. Speech? What speech? What were these words that he was speaking?

"I beg your pardon?" Maya managed.

"The speech you're giving…you're talking about Zig. And about love, since you're Zig's best friend." Tristan said. "Tori wanted you to do it because you know him better than anyone." Ain't that the truth.

"At the reception?" Maya prayed out loud.

"Maya, you're like the first to speak in the ceremony." Tristan said. Maya bit her lip. She really should've paid attention when Tori talked during the wedding planning.

"I have it all up here." She said, tapping her temple and trying not to sound like a nervous basket case.

And then the slow music got even slower, if it was even possible. Two men Maya didn't recognize pulled open the heavy oak doors, and Marisol entered the room, slowly making her way down the aisle. Maya was next. God help her, she was next.

She moved her feet slowly, forcing her body to waltz down the aisle, toward Zig and everyone she knew.

Behind her, the flower girls squealed with delight as the rose petals floated to the floor. Behind them was Tristan, looking very pompous and pronounced. As Maya made her way down the aisle, she kept her eyes locked on Zig's. He just stared at her, trying hard to show no emotion. She could tell he was miserable, but she didn't do anything. She just thanked herself for taking the nail file away from him. She stopped in the front of the room, turning to face the audience. She kept her eyes on Zig's, staring at him. She'd remember that deep, emerald green forever. More importantly, she'd remember the man that belonged to those emerald eyes, the man that she loved. Everyone was suddenly hushed as Tori floated down the aisle, her intimidating father on her arm. She seemed to shine, like a lone star on a dark night. Tori eventually made it to the front, floating into place perfectly. Her smile was dazzling, although Maya could tell the color was fake.

"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to witness Victoria Scarlet Hope Santamarina and Zig Nicolas Novak in the joining of holy matrimony." Reverend Gregory said. Zig stayed there, staring nervously at the girl he was marrying. The girl from eight grade biology class.

"Before we continue, I must first ask a question of you. Friends, family, loved ones. Is there anyone out there who believes these two for any reason should not be married? Speak now or forever hold your peace!" Reverend Greg said. The room was dead silent. Dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. But Maya's head wasn't silent. No, in Maya's head, every scene, every word, every look she'd ever shared with Zig was rushing back to her, all hitting her at once. She was in a daze, a time warp of memories. She was so in love with him, there were no words to describe it! And yet, as Zig stared into her eyes, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She heard a loud sigh that could have come from no one but Katie. She turned to see her sister nodding her forward, but she shook her head the slightest bit.

"Anyone? Anybody? The time to object would be now. No one? Are you sure?" reverend Greg didn't approve of this either. "Okay then, let us proceed." He said, somewhat defeated. She'd missed her chance! God damn it, she'd missed her chance! Maya, get a grip. It's all for the best...you'll meet someone at university. she thought to herself. She was disgusted with the lie she'd just told herself. This was anything but best for Zig.

"Now we invite Maya Matlin to speak with us." reverend Gregory said, moving to the side. Maya walked over to the space in between Zig and Tori. Tori flashed a smile at her however Zig refused to make eye contact.

"Everyone loves someone. Everybody here has someone they care about, someone they never want to live without." Maya started. "Love comes in different forms. Love is most commonly referred to as something you share with a person of the opposite sex, usually resulting in marriage. However, what we don't see is that love is so much more than that. Love is caring deeply in your heart for someone, unconditionally. Love is when you don't care who they want to be or what they believe in because you support everything they do. Love is wanting to stand by someone because they mean the world to you, no matter how hard it may be. Love is helping someone through a rough time in their life, never giving up on them." Maya said, not sure where she was going with this. It was the glance from Zig that changed everything. There she was talking about love, when she was letting the love of her life slip away from her.

"We all find love in different places, whether it be eight grade biology class, or on the way to a class in grade nine. Love is a bond that never breaks, but only grows stronger. Love is when you look at someone and know that they're the one. I've known Zig Novak for four years, never once have I heard him tell me he loves me as a friend. But he doesn't have to, because I know. I know that Zig loves me because of what he does, how he shows me. He's never afraid to speak his mind, he always tells me what he thinks. It's the little things, like lending me his favorite skateboard and grinning whenever he sees me that let me know he loves me. Love is confusing and baffling and strange. Love has driven me crazy the past few months, but now something is perfectly clear. When you love someone, never let them go, hold onto them. So I guess what I'm trying to say is," Maya said, ready to make her move, ready to tell everyone of her life-long love for Zig when someone cut her off.

"Stop the wedding!" They yelled. And then everything changed forever.


A/N: What do you think? I know, Cliffhanger. Review and tell me who you think is going to stop the wedding! I reallllly want to hear what you guys think! Reviews make my day! And may I wish everyone a fabulous spring break (unless you already had it, then I hope it was fun :) Also, I'm posting a few new stories sometime this week, so please check out my profile for the previews I posted there. Please PM me is you have any questions bout them, or leave your questions in a review, that works too. I'll also be updating all my other stories like ASAP, so look for those! A lot is coming, hope you all are ready! Lord knows I am! :)

Thanks again for reading and taking your time to review :)