Chapter 4 – Ellie's Day
Disclaimers etc. in Chapter 1. Enjoy!
Note: This is Ellie's view of the day, so even though it's Chapter 4, it really starts before Sarah and Chuck's conversation in the hall and overlaps all the other chapters.
(This is my wedding day.) Ellie looks at herself in the mirror, making sure all the details are right. (This is my wedding day.) She smiles at herself, like she's testing it out. (Far be it for me to let Honey down by being less than awesome today.) She keeps the smile on her face while her mind wanders away to the honeymoon. (Just get me through this day, let me survive what Honey has planned…)
"Hi, can I talk to my sister? It'll only take a second." Chuck's voice wafts into the room as Honey answers the door.
"Oh no, Chuck, it's bad luck to see the bride before-"
"It's fine, I don't believe in that stuff," Ellie calls from the room. (You don't control everything, Honey, and there's no way you're keeping my brother out of here!)
"All right, just get in, get in, get in."
Chuck walks over to her, and she catches his gaze in the mirror with a smile. (Love you, baby brother.) She lets out a breath as he continues to stare at her silently. "What?" (You're weirding me out, Chuck.)
The look on his face is part pride, part pain. "Look at you. Ellie, your dreams are coming true."
(My dreams?) "If it were up to me, I would have a small ceremony on a beach, sand between my toes, people I love," she lets out a slightly strangled groan, (Hell, I'd settle for people that I know), "we all make sacrifices for family, right?" (This is for Devon. I can do this for him. I can be awesome. I can.)
She and Chuck pause as they hear Honey counting off. "1, 2, 3…Where the hell is my blond?!"
Chuck continues, "Anyway, uh, I don't know exactly yet what I'm gonna get you for your wedding present, but I'll start with this. I quit the Buy More today."
"What?" Ellie whirls around to look at him, disbelief and hope warring for dominance. (Don't be joking, don't be joking…) Hope wins, and for the first time all day, it feels like, a genuine smile breaks across Ellie's face.
"The Buy More, is no more," Chuck confirms.
Ellie is nearly giddy in her glee. "Chuck, that is, that is incredible." (And I am so proud of you!) "What are you going to do with your future?" (Besides, well, whatever you want that isn't the Nerd Herd!)
"I don't know," he says thoughtfully.
(I might have a suspicion of who you want to do it with, though.) As if hearing Ellie's thoughts, Sarah walks in with a smile, and Chuck's face goes wistful, the yearning so painful it almost breaks Ellie's heart. (I still don't understand what in the world goes on with these two…) Aloud, she can't help but goad him a little. "I made my dreams come true, Chuck, what are you gonna do about yours?"
She tries to mentally send a little wedding day fairy dust with them for luck as Sarah and Chuck leave the bridal suite.
***
(What in the world did he say?) Ellie tries not to make it obvious that she's watching Sarah, but ever since she walked back into the room, she seems a little…cold. (I just don't get it, at all.) More than cold, Ellie decides. Brittle.
"Sarah?" Ellie tries to catch her attention. But it's as if a robot came to startled life, as Sarah seems to re-inflate with a frighteningly convincing smile. (Damn it.) "Can you make sure my veil is secured?"
"Oh, uh, sure," she replies, as Ellie turns back to the mirror. (What is going on in your head? What happened?) Ellie scrutinizes Sarah's face in the mirror, and she senses that Sarah is deliberately avoiding her gaze. (I can't take this...) "Sarah, what did he say to you?"
"Wh-what?" Sarah stammers. "Chuck?"
(No, Morgan. Of course, Chuck!) "Yes, Chuck, my brother, who may have just lost his mind, I thought in a good way, but maybe in the he-needs-to-be-committed-for-dumping-his-loving-girlfriend way?" (Please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong...)
Sarah's eyes snap to hers when she says that. And the hurt and spark of anger in Sarah's eyes is actually reassuring.
"Or, not," Ellie corrects with a small soft smile. (Thank goodness.)
Sarah lets out a breath. "I'm sorry, Ellie. It's not Chuck, it's me." She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes for a second, and then meets Ellie's gaze in the mirror. "I am totally and completely in lo-"
"What did I tell you about the one foot clearance from any piece of furniture in this room?!" Honey's screech cut off whatever Sarah had been about to reveal. Ellie's resulting expression of sheer terror propels Sarah across the room to see what was wrong.
"Is there something I can do to help, Honey?" she asks, hoping against hope the answer is no.
"Yes, there actually is. Since these half-wits can't follow instructions, I need you to find Woody and tell him to retrieve the backup hosiery from the car. Can you do that?" She emphasizes each individual word of the question, condescension dripping from her tone.
(If it weren't for how much I love your son, I would-)
Sarah saves Ellie from inflicting bodily harm, answering, "Yes, of course, Honey, of course," and charges for the door.
***
Time passes in a crawl, and as Ellie feels the day slipping away, the panic begins to threaten.
"Okay, no Sarah. And that is definitely not the Wedding March. Can one of you go out there and see what's going on? NOW?!" (Before I kill you for standing around doing nothing this entire time...) With deliberate sweetness in her voice, she continues, "Thank you! Thank you." After they run from the room, Ellie reminds herself, "Focus on the calm."
(Do not think about why you're hearing Mr. Roboto.)
(…Or about the fact that it is more than likely the lovely duo of Jeffster! playing)
(…Or about the fact that this is your wedding day!)
(…Or about how this day is not really yours)
She draws a deep breath, tries to slow her pounding heart.
(I love Devon)
(I can do this for him)
(I can be awesome)
(WHERE IS EVERYONE AND WHY AM I NOT MARRIED?!)
She can feel the anger beginning to course through her. (No one wants to see an angry bride. You must calm down. This is not awesome.) The thought brings a small smile to her face. (Find your calm, Ellie.) She takes advantage of her solitude and hikes up her wedding dress as she sits down cross-legged to meditate.
(This will all work out. This will all work out. This will all work out.)
With her eyes closed, she senses a brief ripple in the air, and opens her eyes for a split second. Unbeknownst to her, her father has already left the room.
***
(All right, I give up, where is everyone?!) Ellie leaves the bridal suite in search of anyone, and rounds the corner as Chuck and Sarah emerge from the other end of the hall.
"Chuck! What happened?" (And why is Sarah's dress shorter and you're tucking in your shirt? Are you kidding me? On my wedding day?!)
"Uh, uh, everything's all right, Ellie, there was just a minor centerpiece problem…"
(I'll show you a minor problem...) Before she can reply, bells begin to ring. (Not wedding bells. Those are…)
As she registers it's the fire alarm going off, Chuck simply groans, "Oh no."
She watches as guests run from the chapel and the sprinkler system engages. (You can't be serious. No. This is not happening.) Ellie wipes the water from her brow in a futile attempt to salvage her makeup. (I can't believe…) "Wedding cancelled!" (And so is the rest of my life…)
***
She sits in the bathtub, swigging out of a champagne bottle, hoping to hide from the world and the catastrophe that was her sorry attempt at a wedding. (I let Honey plan the whole thing, work myself into a frenzy to be awesome and perfect for her, and for what?) She takes a deep drink as a knock sounds at the door. (I should've just fought for my wedding, at least then I would only be heartbroken and not bitter…)
"Ellie, are you all right?" Chuck's voice comes through the door.
(You're actually asking me that?) "Chuck, just please go away." (I just want to forget this day ever happened…)
Chuck comes in anyway, frowning down at her.
Ripping her veil off, she bites out, "I can't believe your idiot friends ruined my wedding. I'm, I'm never going to forgive Morgan for this."
"Well I think you're gonna have to," Chuck replies softly. He sits on the toilet seat lid with a pained look on his face and continues, "Because Morgan, and Lester and Jeff, they only did what I asked them to do."
(No. No, no…) "What?" (Please, please be covering for them…)
"I did all this, I forgot your rings, so I told them to stall, so if you're gonna be mad at someone you should be mad at me." His hushed tone tells her it's true.
(I can't believe…)
"Please say something," he asks.
The tears finally fall as her anger deflates. (You want me to say something?) "You ruined the most important day of my life." Her heart aches in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. (God, Chuck, my own brother, I ask you to do this one thing for me, and…)
"Look, Ellie, you have to trust me, okay?"
(After this? You want me to trust you after all of this?)
He pulls the wedding bands from his pocket. "Take these, and I'll take care of the rest." His face is confident and resolved as he leaves them on the side of the bathtub. "Trust me," he asks and leaves the bathroom.
As he closes the door, she takes another deep drink from the bottle. She hears voices on the other side of the door as she closes her eyes and rests her head on the tile wall behind her.
Another knock. "Ellie?" This time, it's Devon. She doesn't reply. "Ellie, honey, I know you're in there, and I know you're really hurting. But babe, I believe Chuck. He says he's going to take care of it, and…I think he will."
"He ruined my wedding, Devon!" (How could he?!)
Devon opens the door and walks into the bathroom.
"Devon!" she weakly protests.
He shakes his head and smiles as he kneels next to the bathtub. "You look beautiful, honey," he says as he takes her hand. He gently strokes his thumb over the palm of her hand, making soothing circles. "I trust him, Ellie," he says, "because he saved me too."
She puts the bottle down. "What?"
"Okay, so this is not awesome, but, remember when I screwed up that night? With the Klondike bar?"
She rolls her eyes. "Of course, how could I forget you taking advice from Morgan? Geez, Devon, that was not your brightest moment."
He nods, "I know. But you remember when we came back to the rose petals and champagne?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" she replies with a wistful smile. (Wait.) "Devon, are you telling me…"
He nods. "That was Chuck, not me. Much as I hate to admit it."
Ellie raises her eyebrows at him. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
Devon only smiles sheepishly. "I, uh, was hoping I'd never have to. Like I said, not awesome." He stands next to the tub and pulls her to her feet. "But, I think it's more important that you know that Chuck can do this. If he says he's going to fix it, he will."
She wraps her arms around his neck and tucks her face into his shoulder to cry just a little more. "I really hope so, Devon, because he kind of just broke my heart." From her position, she can't see Devon's expression of pain, but she feels his arms squeeze her just a little.
"Trust him, babe, and trust me. Chuck has his problems, but he's an awesome dude. He'll fix this somehow, I promise." Devon sighs to himself as the weight of keeping secrets settles on his shoulders again. "He will."
A.N. Sorry this took so long to get done, but as you can see, longer chapter, plus, allergies suck. =P Next up, who wants some Casey? :)