Hello! Well, I'm going to assume some of you are still reading because I got a lot of positive feedback on that last one. Hope you enjoy this next part. There's one line that 2D has that just makes me laugh every time. See if you can identify it. Enjoy!

~77

Eventually, Noodle was able to pull herself off the ground. She had pulled off her ring long ago and left in on the hall table, forgotten. Slowly, almost in a trance, she made her way to her room again. She kicked the door shut and ambled over to the window. She pushed the curtain aside, flooding the dark room with the dim light of outside. Surely, this should be a simple solution. She no longer loved Darren. The obvious answer would be to not marry him, to call the whole thing off and stay here. But Noodle knew better. She had seen enough of 2D's habits to know better. Hadn't she watched girl after girl enter and leave his room at Kong? Granted, it hadn't happened lately, but it was easy to remind herself that she was the only female in over a hundred miles. Perhaps he was just feeling lonely and there she was. And wasn't she lonely too? She was away from her fiancé, on an island in the middle of nowhere with a group of men. Maybe this was explainable. She looked down at her left hand where the ring had sat. No, it was not explainable, and definitely not justifiable. Marrying Darren would be good for her, it would provide her with stability and a good husband. Someone to keep a roof over her head. All the things girls looked for in potential mates. Noodle turned towards the mirror and pulled her collar away from her neck. A red spot was starting to form, proof of her confusion.

'But 2D loves you… he said it himself… and you love him too.' Her subconscious pushed at her resolve. 'No!' She thought, angrily. 2D's admission could easily just be made in the heat of the moment. Besides, why was 2D letting her to if he loved her?

'BECAUSE he loves you, stupid.' She tossed her head. It would be better for the both of them to ignore that moment. It would be better to just move on and proceed with the plan. She turned to her open wardrobe, where a scrap of white was hanging out of the door. She slowly walked over and pulled the door more open. Noodle had had her wedding dress custom designed for her tiny frame. When she had tried it on in the boutique, the assistants and designers had scurried around and ooh-ed and ahh-ed over it. She knew she was going to look fantastic. Noodle let the silky material slide through her fingers. 'Proceed with the plan.' She kept the mantra repeating in her head.

…

After the night in 2D's room, the two were back on awkward terms. Whenever Noodle walked in to where 2D was having breakfast, he would start to choke loudly and she would give a little gasp and run out of the room. Murdoc and Russel were left to wonder what was wrong with the pair again. All eyes kept a wary watch on the calendar as the date of Noodle's wedding approached. Through Russel, Noodle asked 2D if he would walk her down the aisle. Russel later reported that the singer had gloomily replied 'Yes.' He also reported that he had asked 2D about the strange hickey-like mark on the singer's neck, but hadn't gotten an answer. She tried to keep the tears from falling as she subconsciously moved to cover up the matching one on her own neck. Noodle knew he was feeling bad, she was as well, but to keep both of them from getting hurt, she turned a blind eye to his longing glances when he thought she wasn't looking. She watched him from around corners as he stood on the balcony, letting the smoke from his cigarettes drift off into the black sky. She saw out of the corner of her eye when he winced every time someone casually brought up the wedding. They were both in a bad spot.

2D was in agony. He sat in front of his bed on the floor and gripped the blankets strewn about him. It felt like a giant hole had been ripped in his chest. He could't bear to keep his eyes open and see every reminder of her, yet he couldn't close his eyes because he would face nightmares of babies that looked like some other man and not Noodle. Just last night, he had had one of the worst dreams he reckoned he had ever had:

2D was walking along a sidewalk in the rain, in front of a row of houses. A light was on inside one of them. 2D knew he was looking for something, but he couldn't remember what it was. He turned to the drive of the lit up house, not knowing why. He knocked three times at the door and felt a great shock rip through his body. Noodle stood at the door with a baby on her hip and a massive bruise over her eye. IT wasn't like the one she had had when she returned from Hell, this one looked fresh and painful. She kept glancing nervously over her shoulder before speaking to him.

"You have to leave, if he finds out I have a friend over, he'll hurt you worse than me." 2D had felt so powerless when she was yanked back into the house and had the door slammed in his face. He beat uselessly at the door while he heard a baby cry and a woman scream.

He had woken up panting and in a cold sweat.

…

2D was forced to wait for the bloody ship when it arrived. Russel was busy cooking and Murdoc was procuring the booze for the party. That left 2D to greet Noodle's groom and his family. He waited, slouched against the wall, with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette between his teeth. He supposed it was wrong of him to hope that nobody showed up for the wedding, groom included, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel sorry. His lips quirked as he toyed with the thought of the groom tragically running late for his own wedding boat. It might be days before he got to the island. His wishes were ignored from above as 2D spotted a dark mass on the horizon. A few minutes later and the large ship was pulling up to the port, letting its passengers safely onto the dock. Noodle had briefly explained what her fiancé would be wearing so 2D could be sure to be "extra nice" to him. 2D snorted. He spotted a bloke wearing exactly what Noodle had described getting off the boat alongside two older people. 2D assumed they were the groom's mother and father. They were looking around uneasily, as if they were afraid the island would sink underneath them. To be frank, many if not all of the guests were looking rather alarmed at their surroundings. This Darren guy was the only one not cautiously testing the ground beneath him. He had visited the island before and was used to its bizzare appearance. What a pretentious prick. 2D put on his best scowl and swaggered forward. His frown broke into a grinning smirk when he realized he had a good foot over Darren. He condescendingly clapped the shorter man's shoulder which made him turn around. 2D delighted in the small double take and the faint gasp as Darren took in 2D's appearance. The singer was sure to make eye contact with him and chuckled internally at how Darren was very unwilling to return it.

"Yew must be… Dylan, right?" 2D stuck out his hand and pulled his cigarette out of his mouth with the other. Darren hesitantly returned the handshake.

"It's Darren, actually. Stuart, right?"

"Tha's me, yeah. But yew can jist call me 2D. Listen, if yew got all yeh'r stuff together, Noodle set up a room for yeh… right by my room." 2D grinned at him, making Darren shudder almost imperceptibly. Darren smiled tentatively and grabbed the handle of his bag, following 2D's lead. As they cut through the crowd, Darren tried to make good natured small talk.

"So, do you like it here, Stuart?" 2D flicked his cigarette between his lips in annoyance. The only person allowed to call him by his actual first name was Noodle.

"2D… and yeah, ih's awright. Bit of a pain when yeh'r orderin' pizza." Darren laughed nervously. By now, the two men were in the lift, awkwardly pressed into the small space.

"Have you seen Noodle's dress yet?" 2D looked over.

"No, 'aven' seen it yet."

"Oh…" Darren trailed off awkwardly. He glanced around, desperate for a new topic of conversation. He found the blue-haired man intimidating. Noodle had told him he could play keyboard very well and sang even better. He didn't look like the sort of person Darren would usually hang around. From his height, Darren looked up and noticed a red mark on 2D's neck. "Is that a hickey on your neck?" 2D's mouth grew into a pronounced smirk.

"Yep... suuuuure is." He didn't bother looking down at the shorter man.

"Crazy night, then, I take it?" His smirk cracked into a grin, remembering the exact details of how he got that one.

"... Somefin' like that." 2D prayed that he would ask who left it there next, because he didn't quite know if he could bring himself to lie to Darren.

"Was it one of the bridesmaids?" 2D gave him a weird look.

"... no."

"Good... they're all my sisters". 2D rolled his eyes.

At the base of the lift, 2D allowed Darren to get off first. As he was clambering around trying to pull his bag behind him, 2D watched him calmly. He supposed he should help Darren. He contemplated this as he watched the shorter man get the wheel of his sensible suitcase in the door of the lift and yank awkwardly. Yes, the kind thing to do would be to help him. 2D nodded to himself as Darren got the wheel out of the door. When Darren had gotten himself straightened out, 2D grabbed his arm and spoke very seriously to the man.

"… after the weddin'… and yeh'r… business… where are yes guys going? Not on the honeymoon, but after that? Jist so I know where she is." Darren looked at the singer for a long time before answering.

"We don't know yet. She never wanted to talk about it… so we're going to discuss it when we're on the honeymoon." 2D nodded and released Darren's arm. He smiled nervously up at the singer and disappeared gratefully into his assigned room. 2D could have sworn he heard a sigh of relief. 2D shoved his hands into his pockets and slumped into his own room. It was about time he got dressed for his part of the wedding. He turned to his closet and pulled out the garment bag that Russel had placed there two days ago. This shit was real. Too real for 2D's tastes. He methodically pulled the plastic off the suit and tossed the jacket on the bed. Noodle had ordered this suit a few weeks ago. The pants fit perfectly, just the right length. 2D smiled wistfully as he acknowledged this fact. He never would have gotten the right length on the first go if he ordered them himself. Once he was dressed, he turned and caught his reflection in the lopsided mirror on the wall. 'Not bad,' he thought to himself, 'Not bad for a bloke who's making the biggest mistake of his life.'

His next duty was to herd everyone out of the house and onto the beach so he could bring Noodle down on his arm. Most of the guests were milling around out on the beach anyway, just a few needed directions. 2D caught Darren staring out of a porthole window near the kitchen. He shuffled up behind him. When he spoke, 2D thought he startled the shorter man. Otherwise, he was too jumpy...

"Not gettin' cold feet, are yeh?" Darren's mouth quickly quirked into a grin before falling back into its previous set.

"Not sure. I… I must be crazy, huh? Getting married at twenty- four." 2D shrugged, fighting to keep the annoyance off his face.

"Dunno… I fink yeh'r pretty lucky. Marryin' Noodle and all…" Darren grinned and clapped 2D on the shoulder, awkward, because of the two men's height differences.

"See you out there, mate." Darren strolled off, leaving 2D in his place. How dare that prick even think of his own selfish thoughts when he had everything 2D ever wanted on a string! 2D whirled around and stomped into the living room. He yanked the curtain aside and looked out the window. The dock below was festively decorated, with white ribbons and all sorts of gauzy stuff that had made 2D's stomach churn. Two columns of chairs sat in front of a raised platform, currently occupied by the judge and Darren, strolling up the center aisle. 2D didn't know the two other men standing near Darren, but he didn't really care. The right column was filled with people, while the left (2D supposed it was Noodle's side) was occupied only by Russel and Murdoc. He sighed and glanced back towards the stairs. He might not make it through today. The pain of this might actually kill him. Thankfully, his chest had gone numb for now, but he knew there would be excruciating fire there later. 2D was sure he wouldn't mind, though. Anything would be better than having to watch her be happy with someone else. He supposed it was horrible, but if she was miserable, he could live with the thought of fixing that as soon as possible, but if she was happy… he stopped himself. If she was ever unhappy and 2D found out about it, he reasoned that he would go to wherever she was, he didn't care, and he would take her away and make her happy, whatever that took.

2D glanced at the clock on the wall. Noodle should have been down by now. He stood at the foot of the stairs and peered up, uncertainly. He knew he was allowed to see her, he wasn't the groom, but he felt like seeking her out would only cause the bullet lodged in his chest to delve deeper into his heart.

"Noodle? Yew awright, love?" He called tentatively up the stairs. There was no answer. Cautiously, he started up the stairs. He stopped himself halfway up. She was bound to look beautiful, likely beautiful enough to take his breath away, could he handle it? He endured a few more seconds of the intolerable silence before launching himself up the remaining stairs. Better for her to be alright and happy than him to be sane.

*Gasp!* It's almost wedding time! Review!