Abbey's POV

We were still laying together when the sun started to pour brightly in through the window, bringing with it the sound of songbirds welcoming the day with their joyous praise to the sun.

There was a light knock on the door, no doubt my mother checking on me.

"Abbey?" my mom says from behind the door, confirming my suspicions.

I look hurriedly over at Jesse, who's already standing up on the other side of my bed.

"Go," I mouth to him.

He leans down and kisses me before vanishing out of the window.

Seconds before my mom opens the door, I quickly grab my copy of The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes of off my bedside table and open it randomly, pretending to read it. Apparently Clary and Simon were in some sort of argument about Jace.

"Abbey?" my mother pokes her head through the cracked-open door.

"'Morning, mom," I greet her, looking up from the book.

"Good morning sweetheart," she says smiling. "I was just wondering if you wanted to grab some breakfast and then go shopping for your dress."

"Yeah, sure," I say. "What time is it?"

"A little after eight," she answers, looking down at her watch. "I'll be downstairs when you're ready."

My mom turns to go.

"Wait," I say. "Should I call Sarah and Erica? The wedding is in two weeks and I still need to find bridesmaid dresses for them."

I had decided that if I didn't ask Erica to be a bridesmaid, she would probably kill me. After all, she was the one who introduced me to Jesse.

"That's fine," my mom says. "Tell them to meet us at the restaurant."

"Okay," I smile, reaching for my phone.

My mom leaves and closes the door behind her.

Abbey's POV

"So, where did you and Benny end up last night?" Sarah asks, a smile starting to form on her lips.

"Lotta Latté," I answer, looking down at the pancakes that I had ordered. "We just sat there and talked. I don't remember the last time we got to do that. We were there so late that they had to kick us out."

"What'd you guys talk about?" Erica asked, curiously.

"Different things," I reply. "School, friends, the usual."

"That's all?" Sarah asked, incredulous.

"Pretty much."

Sensing that I was getting bored of the conversation, they changed the subject.

"Do you have any ideas of what you want your dress to look like?" my mom asks.

"I'm not really sure…" I trail off. "I guess I'll see when we get there."

We finish our breakfast quickly and are on our way to the dress shop in no time.

Abbey's POV

"Abbey," my mom says, almost speechless. "You look absolutely beautiful."

The dress that I had on was strapless, with a lace bodice and a silk train, with a sparkly material over it.

I wished that I could see my reflection. My missing reflection was such a drawback to being a vampire bride.

"She's right," Sarah smiles. "You look gorgeous."

"Totally," Erica agreed.

"Based on what you guys are saying, I think this dress is the one," I admit. "I am also in love with it."

They all nod their heads in agreement.

"Now that I've found my dress," I say, looking squarely at Sarah and Erica. "It's time for you to try on your bridesmaids dresses."

Erica lets out a big groan. She'd seen the bridesmaid dress earlier and was not pleased. The dress was a halter top and dark violet. She didn't like it because she wanted something red or black. She'd actually asked me if she could dye it. She wasn't very happy when I told her no.

"Erica, remember, it's my day, not your's," I remind her. "And besides, you'll only have it on for a few hours."

Erica just shrugs and goes into the dressing room to try on the dress, banging the door shut in the process.

My mom looks over at me.

"She's going to be a difficult bridesmaid," my mother remarks, pointing towards Erica's dressing room door.

"I knew that before I even asked her to be one," I admit.

"I heard that!" Erica says from behind the door.

I sigh, wishing that this shopping trip would end soon.

After what seemed like forever, Sarah and Erica finally emerged in the dresses. They both looked beautiful and I was excited to have them in my wedding.

"The dresses look perfect!" I exclaim in delight.

"Can I go take it off now?" Erica asks.

"Yes, Erica, you can take it off now," my mom says before I can get a word out.

Erica quickly turns and walks back to the room, slamming the door again.

Abbey's POV

I was cuddled up on the couch at Jesse's, watching The Hunger Games on the flat screen TV.

We were at the part where Katniss volunteers as Tribute in place of her little sister, Prim.

"I would totally win The Hunger Games," Jesse boasts. "It's basic survival skills."

"What would you do?" I ask. "Drain every single Tribute dry until they announced you as Victor?"

"Pretty much," he admits, smirking.

"I'm pretty sure the world of The Hunger Games doesn't include vampires," I point out.

"Vampires always make the stories better," Jesse smiles down at me.

"So, hypothetically speaking, if you were in The Hunger Games, would that make you Peeta?"

"Only if you'll be my Katniss."

I smiled up at his cheesiness, then concentrate back on the screen

"What's wrong?" he asks, suddenly.

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

"You're acting different," he observes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just stressed," I assure him. "That's all."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asks, concerned.

I sigh.

"Just about the wedding being in two weeks," I explain. "It feels like we've been engaged for such a short time, but it's actually been six months. Erica hates her bridesmaids dress and is being difficult. She actually asked me if she could dye it black and when I said no, she then proceeded to ask me if she could wear a leather jacket with it. Can you believe that?"

"Sounds like Erica," Jesse says.

"You're telling me," I sigh. "I just want this all to be over. I'm literally getting a headache from all of the stress."

"Can I do anything to help?"

"Can you fast forward into the future?" I ask. "Where we're already married and my stress has all but vanished?"

"No," he answers. "But I have something better."

"What?" I look up into his eyes.

"This," he replies, leaning into kiss me.

The kiss was slow, but somehow passionate enough to make my head spin.

If you haven't already read The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, I strongly recommend that you do. I absolutely love these books. Same with the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Anyway, please continue to read and review :)