This chapter has not been revised by any beta readers. Please help me improve my English by contacting me if you find any grammar mistakes

"Oh, this is the dress I'm looking for!" I whooped, clapping hands in front of the wide mirror in the fitting room.

"It's gorgeous!" Jaime nodded; she had braided my hair beautifully. "It's perfect for a daylight wedding."

Lauren walked around me, adjusting the dress here and there.

"It needs to be adjusted around your waist and behind your arms. Its length is perfect though!"

"Let me show it to them!" I hurried to show it to Marissa, Meredith and my future mother-in-law.

I cartwheeled in front of them, "What do you think?"

"Oooh! Beautiful!" I heard their voices sigh in admiration.

"This is the dress, my dear!" Joey's mother breathed. "It's absolutely beautiful!"

I cartwheeled again. My braid fell over my right shoulder when I stopped and smiled at my small jury. There was someone new there. A man. Who could he be? Had Joey break the protocol and stayed to see my dress? My eyes focused on my newest juror and I gasped.

Joe Walker. That particular juror would be hard to please. Joe didn't approve me since the beginning. I knew it. No one needed to convince me otherwise.

His blue eyes gazed at me as he leaned against a marble pilaster, arms crossed. Was I getting mad or his expression denoted admiration?

His expression changed as soon as he noticed I was staring at him, and once again, there was in front of my eyes the sobering Joe who didn't like me. He was gentle enough to make me a compliment, though: "You look beautiful, Bella."

"Thanks."

"Joe, what are you doing here?" Lauren asked.

"I came along with Brian. Joey called and said we could have lunch together, after the dress trial."

"Where's Brian?" Meredith asked.

"I'm here!" Brian announced himself before we could see him. "I was drinking some water outside. Hey—" he checked me out, "You look like a princess, Bella!"

"Thank you, Brian." I gave him a sincere smile.

"Will this be your wedding dress?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes!"

"Great choice. You look really beautiful. Don't you agree, Joe?" Brian elbowed him.

Joe stuttered before speaking, but when he did, his tone was metallic. "Yes, sure. The dress is amazing."

Joe made sure to take the farthest seat from me when we went to a Chinese restaurant, to have lunch. And although he was shit faced and didn't make any efforts to talk to me, I noticed he glared at me sometimes. I wondered what he had in mind when he simply looked up and his eyes met mine. He huffed when I glared back, and looked away the second after.

When Joey invited him, in front of everyone, to be one of his three groomsmen, Joe was bowled over.

"Me?"

"Yeah, dude! We've always been buddies. I'd like to have you standing by my side at that very special day."

"Ah, well—" he scratched his head a bit awkwardly, "Sure, man! That'll be an… an honor."

Cries of joy followed Joe's response, and then Lauren took advantage of the moment, "Have you choose the bridesmaids, Bella?"

"No, not yet." I shrugged "I didn't even know Joey was choosing the groomsmen."

"And who are the other two, Joey?" Jaime asked.

"Darren and Nick. I've talked to them already, and they said yes."

"Of course they did." Meredith smiled gently.

It was 4pm when we were finally full of Chinese food, and decided to leave the restaurant. Joey invited me to take a walk on the beach nearby.

"Joey?"

"Yes?" he kissed my cheek.

"Are you sure Joe should be one of the groomsmen?" I bit my lower lip.

"I am. Why?"

"Because I don't think I'm very dear to him."

Joey stopped walking and stared at me with a disturbed expression.

"Why do think he doesn't like you?"

I shrugged again, trying to sound nonchalant, "He bashed you because of those first days we spent together, he didn't approve it that you were going out with a fan."

"Joe's over it."

"I don't think so. He barely talks to me. He avoids me as much as he can."

"Joe's an introspect guy. It doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

I rolled my eyes. "OK".

I pulled Joey by his hand, but he pulled me back to him. "Here, don't do that."

"It's OK, Joey—"

"No, it's not OK." He touched my chin to force me to look at him, "I can't go back now that I've already invited him. If I could, I would.

"He's your friend, you know him better than I do. And you don't have to change your mind to please me."

I approached Joey to kiss his lips and close that impasse.

The day everyone was waiting for arrived in the blink of an eye. I woke up early after a sleepless night, stretched my arm to reach the clock on the nightstand, and checked the hour: 6:30am.

I got up and looked outside. The light blue summer sky promised a beautiful and warm day. Tables and chairs were already on its place, waiting for the guests.

Unable to stand the silence and solitude of my room, I snickered out and tiptoed to Joey's room. I entered and closed the door quietly; then, I walked to his bed and gently woke him up.

"Let me lie beside you." I whispered.

Joey murmured something I couldn't understand and slipped to the left, so I'd have space on his bed. I lied beside him and put my hand on his chest, caressing its fuzz.

"What time is it?" He asked in a husky voice, eyes still closed.

"6:30am."

"Why are you up so early?"

"Because we're getting married today and I can't sleep anymore."

He smirked, "Yeah, today's the big day."

"Aren't you nervous?"

"I would be, if I wasn't so sleepy." He held me and pulled me near him, "Try to sleep a little more."

I nested my head in a small space between his shoulder and his head, and smelling the sandalwood scent of his hair, I lost myself in a peaceful nap.

There was no way I could be happier. My parents had arrived three days before the wedding and were in a hotel ten minutes from Joey's home. Mom was now in my room, helping me to get dressed, and Jaime had all my makeup on the table, ready to make me look like a diva.

I kept looking out of the window to check how the scene in the garden was, not minding that my mom was trying to adjust the dress on my body, and Jaime was eager to start painting my eyes.

"Isabella, will you please stay quiet!" Mom begged.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

I stood still as her hands tied the silk ribbon around my waist. Jaime made me sit down afterwards, so that she could work on my face.

"Make sure to stay very still, young lady." She told me. I smiled and nodded quietly.

I've picked Jaime, Lauren and Meredith as my bridesmaids, and they happily accepted my invitation. Also, they had wonderful hands to beautify anyone, which made me a lucky bride.

Meredith entered my room when Jaime was finished with my makeup. "Can I braid her hair already?"

"Sure."

Meredith started to braid my hair in fishtail style. She included small white flowers here and here, giving it a vernal touch.

"Aaaaand… you're ready!"

"Let me see it! Let me see it!" I hurried to the mirror.

I flit to have a good look of how beautiful I was. My bridesmaids had done a flawless job, and I looked as fresh and light as the first spring day.

Through the mirror, I saw Lauren enter the room.

"Everybody's outside. It's time, girls."

"Oh meu Deus, estou tão nervosa!¹" I babbled in Portuguese as I grabbed my mother's hands. My whole body was shaking.

"Acalme-se, minha filha.²" She hugged me tight, "Você está linda. Confie em si mesma!³"

Lauren opened the door again to hand me my bouquet, "Joey's almost having a heart attack. You'd better hurry!"

I laughed and Lauren couldn't help it to laugh with me. She handed me my pink rose's bouquet. I left the room with my mom, and met my dad; he was waiting for me by the door that opened to the garden. He smiled to me and offered me his arm. I held it as if my life depended on it.

"Don't let me fall, dad." I whispered.

"I never will, my sweetheart."

He opened the door and the daylight blinded me for a second. When my eyes got used to the brightness, I could see everyone was standing on their feet; their heads turned in my direction, their eyes focused on me. I sought Joey, and found him waiting for me at the altar. He couldn't take his eyes away from me and I couldn't take mine from him. I loved how his long hair reached his shoulders as if he was a prince.

I looked around and recognized a lot of faces smiling at me. I smiled back, and nodded here and there. Near Joey, I found Nick and Darren smiling to me; and Joe.

Joe. He was staring inexpressively at me. Not smiling, not nodding. He was simply there, playing his groomsman part. I avoided his stare; it made me feel uncomfortable, and tried to find someone else who sincerely wanted to greet me.

Dad led me to Joey and handed me to him. Joey grabbed my hand so tight that it seemed I would vanish at any moment.

"Your hands are cold… and you're shaking." I whispered to him.

"I'm so ridiculously nervous." He whispered back.

"Just keep holding my hand."

"I'll never let it go."

The ceremony had begun. I barely listened to the priest's words, for my attention was fixed on Joey by my side. He had stopped shaking, but his hands were sweaty. I could never imagine Joey Richter so nervous in the day of his wedding. I didn't even know Joey Richter could possibly feel so intimidated.

I glared beyond the priest's shoulder and let my mind wander. Months ago I was only one more fangirl struggling to approach my idols and take a picture with them. The idea that I'd be marrying one of them, my favorite, was merely a dream, like those dreams fans have before they fall asleep alone in theirs beds.

What have I done to catch Joey's heart? How did I manage to get here, in this altar? Was all this really happening?

I was back to reality when the priest asked me if I accepted Joey as my husband.

"Yes" I said.

A few more words were said, we both made our vows and finally we had our rings in our fingers. Joey held my waist and leaned his head; he smiled before his lips touched mine in our first kiss as husband and wife.

The guests accommodated themselves by fancy wood tables, with eight chairs each, and lunch was served after the ceremony. The excited babbling combined to the sound of the forks and knifes tinkling against the ceramic plates, gave the ambient an exhilarating atmosphere. My heart was so full and warm that I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

When everyone was well fed, we started to dance. A lot of Starkid songs played, and everybody danced and sang with each other. Joey wanted me to sing "The Way I Do" with him, but I ran from the microphone as if it was a lethal weapon. I was a horrible singer.

"Come on, Bella!" he tried to persuade me. "Let's have this duet!"

"No! Are you mad?"

Lauren and Jaime pushed me and Brian put the microphone on my hand. I tripped on my dress, but manage not to fall.

"Let us hear you!" Brian said. "Who wants to hear the bride singing?"

A choir of voices exclaimed "I do!" My face was hotter than coal on fire. Joey held my hand and he started to sing his part. I did my best when I had to sing mine, and my voice wasn't as bad as I imagined. Our friends helped, singing along with me. In the end, I had a blast.

Suddenly it was time for the husband and wife to dance together. While the instrumental love song played, Joey and I danced slowly. As he wrapped his arms around me, I placed my hands on his shoulders. He kissed me as we whirled in slow motion.

"Hey baby" he murmured by my ear "Are you my fan yet?"

"I sure am" I giggled.

"And how do you feel by getting married with your idol?" he teased me.

"How do you feel by getting married with a fan?" I teased him back.

"Well, I think this is very sexy."

I giggled and Joey chuckled. He kissed my neck.

"I can't wait to be alone with you, you know." He whispered in a husky voice.

"Do you?" I kissed him slowly "May I know why?" I smiled against his lips.

He savored my lips as if they were made of sugar. "You know why." He gave a gentle slap on my rumps.

"Don't do that in front of everyone, Joey!" I tried to be serious, but I ended laughing. "No, seriously!"

We were laughing when I heard Joe Walker's voice behind me.

"Hey buddy, can I borrow the bride for a dance?"

"Sure, dude. Do you mind it, love?"

"Uh… no. Of course not." I forced myself to smile to Joe.

Joey kissed me again before handing me to his friend. Joe respectfully held my waist and we begun to dance. I didn't know where I should look at, though I was sure I couldn't face his piercing blue eyes. I decided to stare at nowhere special over his shoulder.

"Bella, listen." He begun to say near my ear "There's something I need to tell you." He made a pause, "I want to apologize."

"Everybody seems to be apologizing since Joey and I decided to get married." The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." He swallowed "Can you forgive me? I'm really sorry for being such a jerk about you."

"It's all right. No one's forced to like me. I understand if you don't. Just try to be cool about it."

We whirled slowly. Suddenly, my eyes met Joe's. He was glaring at me as if he could read my soul. I looked away and saw Joey dancing with Jaime a few meters from us.

"There's one more thing."

"Go on."

Joe was in silence for a moment, measuring his words.

"You're extremely beautiful tonight." He said.

"Oh—" I wasn't expecting that one, "Thank you. It's very kind of you."

"I don't find you beautiful only tonight. I find you beautiful everyday." He spoke those words slowly, so I could memorize them all. "If Joey hadn't raised you on his arms that day after the show, you'd had married me today."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out of it, so I closed it shut and stared blankly at Joe. What had he just said?

"Excuse me, but what do you mean—"

For the first time Joe smiled to me, and his smile was kind and warm. "You understood me right, Bella."

The music ended. Joe kissed my hands and my forehead. "I wish you all the happiness of this world, beautiful Isabella Richter."

With those final words, he walked away.

I felt weird as I stared at Joe's back. My legs were weak and my heart seemed to be fighting to leave my chest. I didn't even notice Dylan had invited to dance.

"Bella? Are you still with us?"

"Oh!" I looked surprised at him. "Yes, I am. Sorry, Dylan."

"Are you all right? Are you feeling OK?"

"Yes. I just need a glass of water. My throat is dry."

As Dylan handed me a glass of cold water, I wondered how life can blow us away and dismantle our convictions. Minutes ago I was sure Joe Walker hated me, and now… I shook my head to push that thought away.

Joey arrived and hugged me from behind; and when he did, I closed my eyes and smiled – The conviction that I loved the man with the crooked jaw would never be dismantled.

The end.