"… We all have a light shining bright in us… but with that light comes the darkness. That darkness all of us wish to hide away from those we feel will never understand it. In reality, it is we who do not understand ourselves. It is we who do not understand the importance of the darkness and its role of the balance of who and what we truly are. Without our light, there is no darkness… and without our darkness, there is no light. It is when understand their reliance upon each other… when the balance is maintained that we understand ourselves. When we see that we all have a dark side within us, we learn to appreciate the light and the darkness as one… and learn that the intricate balance of right and wrong, light and dark… good and evil, is merely a line that can become blurred even under the deepest of scrutiny."
A classroom filled with silence as the child finished reciting the poem they were instructed to create by the English teacher whom was just as speechless as the other children. The teacher was none other than Rami Sebei, known in the WWE Universe as Sami Zayn. Quickly realizing that he had been rendered silent, Sami smiled at her student and proceeded to applaud her.
"Good job, Megan." He said to the girl standing in front of the class. The rest of the children began to clap for Megan's, all except for one little girl who raised her hand instead. Sami saw her hand raised and acknowledged her. "Yes, Gabrielle?"
"Mister Sami?" Gabrielle said in an oddly condescending tone. "I thought the project said we were supposed to write a story." Sami tried not to become irritated by 12-year old Gabrielle's snide remark about Megan's work.
"Well, Gabrielle." Sami started. "The project did say to write a creative story that spreads a good message to the class, but remember I said as long as it is creative and shares something you think is important that it doesn't have to be a real story. You could make it anything you want." In an expert maneuver, Sami transitioned away from Gabrielle's attempt at garnering attention. "So, I want a few of you to tell me what message you got from Megan's story." He knew exactly who to begin with. "We'll start with Gabrielle since she is sitting in the front today." The girl shifted around in her seat after being put on the spot.
"Well," She started. "I think she was trying to say that…" Gabrielle began to stumble as she felt Sami's eyes on her. "Umm. She was saying that, well, everybody's bad. Right?" Sami blinked.
"Is that what you think Megan was telling the class?" He asked her. Gabrielle looked down at her feet. "It's okay, Gabrielle. Remember that everyone sees things differently." He then looked to see that another child, a young boy, was raising his hand. "Yes, Mikey. What did you think of Megan's story?"
"I think she was saying that everybody is good AND bad, Mister Sami." Mikey said. "Like, we are all good inside but we can do bad things and think about bad stuff. Like, we all get in trouble sometimes." Sami raised his eyebrows and nodded his head.
"Good Mikey." He said. "Anyone else?" None of the other children spoke, so Sami continued. "Well, I'll tell you what I think Megan was trying to say." He then placed her hands on Megan's shoulders. "I think she was trying to say that we all do good things and we all do bad things, but we should all be nice to each other no matter what because you never know what someone's story might be. Very good, Megan. You can go sit back down now." Megan smiled at Sami then went to her seat with the rest of her classmates as they clapped for her. Sami looked at the clock to see that his class was on the verge of ending and took the class over once again.
"Well." He said to them. "I thought we had time for one more story, but class is about over so I want all those who haven't read their story yet to go home and practice with your family tonight. See if you can get them to tell you what they think your message is and share with the class tomorrow, okay?" As predicted, the bell rang and all of the students got up out of their chairs to head out of the classroom. Sami saw Megan and thought about her story. He called out to her.
"Megan?" He said, making Megan stop in her tracks. He walked up to her.
"Yes, Mister Sami?" Megan answered. Her teacher's expression was one of bewilderment.
"Did you write that yourself?" Megan nodded with excitement.
"Well, Dad helped me with some of the harder words." She replied sheepishly. "But I thought of everything else by myself." Sami's eyes widened.
"It was really good, Megan." He said to Megan. "Even better than a lot of adults." Sami then thought of something and sat back at his desk. He pulled out a pen and began writing on a note pad. "I'm gonna send a note home with you, Megan. It'll be a good one. I want to use your story in our school paper." Megan beamed from ear to ear.
"Really?" She said with excitement while Sami finished up the note for her to send home. Sami handed her the small slip.
"Take that home to give to your parents, okay?" He said to Megan. "Tell them to read it and sign it if they wanna let me use your story."
"Thank you, Mister Sami!" Megan replied as she turned around to head out of the class. "See you tomorrow!" She ran outside and joined the rest of her classmates.
Outside, the children filled the school buses getting ready for their trips home. Some of the children stopped and pointed at a woman walking out of the faculty parking lot.
"Look!" One said. "It's Miss McMahon!" All the other children looked to see Stephanie McMahon walking towards the building and immediately began cheering for her. Stephanie smiled at them all and waved as they approached her.
"Hi babies!" She said to them affectionately.
"Miss McMahon! When are you gonna come back and talk to us again?"
"Very soon, darling. Maybe next week sometime?"
"Really?" All the children awaited confirmation of any kind.
"If I told you exactly when, then I'd be spoiling the surprise." The children sighed and jeered in disapproval, making Stephanie laugh. "Now, now. You'll be happy once you find out who I'm bringing with me." Stephanie winked and the children began hounding her with questions about who the person was until they all heard one of the adults inside shout to them.
"Kids!?" It was none other than Kevin Steen, known to the WWE Universe as Kevin Owens. His voice got the attention of everyone outside. "Come on, it's time to go home. I'm sure your moms and dads are waiting to feed ya!" The children bid their farewells to Stephanie and boarded the school buses. Stephanie waved at the children and turned to meet with Kevin.
"Kevin!" She said cheerfully before hugging the man. "Good to see you again." Kevin twisted his face a bit.
"You come by every month, Steph." He said jokingly. "It can't be that good to see me anymore than that."
"Now." Kevin stepped aside to allow her to enter the facility, following behind her afterwards. Before they could continue their conversation, Sami saw them and called out.
"Stephanie!" He said as he ran to meet them. "You're here earlier than usual. Everything okay?"
"Well," She began. "You both know that John and Nicole's wedding is tomorrow. I came to make sure that you'll be there." Kevin chuckled.
"Of course, we'll be there." He said to her. "You could have just called for that. I mean, we didn't get white and pink tuxes just for Twitter likes."
"Which!" Sami said while pointing his finger to the sky. "Which, we would get all of!"
"Maybe you." Kevin said to Sami. "I'd get the by-proxy likes because I'd be in the pictures." Sami shrugged.
"They'd still be likes, ya know." They both turned their attention back to Stephanie and Sami continued to speak. "Well, Steph. Is that really the only reason you came up to Quebec?" Stephanie balled up her mouth.
"Yes and no." She said. "That is initially what I came up here for, but I figured we might as well see how this facility is doing since I'm here." She then held her hands up. "If you have time to sit down with me."
"Absolutely." Kevin said.
"Great. Well, let's go get started." The three began walking through the facility. Though not nearly as large as the Safe Haven mansion in New York, it was designed strikingly similar with many hallways that were all connected by a massive lobby. Standing in the middle of the lobby was a metal fixture, a monument created in honor of the late Mark "Undertaker" Calaway. Stephanie eyed the monument briefly before continuing with Kevin and Sami to the meeting room down the main hallway. Sami opened the doors for his friends and waiting inside sitting at the office table were Ronald Arneil, Jessica McKay, and Cassandra McIntosh (the three being known as Tye Dillinger, Billie Kay, and Peyton Royce respectively). Billie smiled upon seeing Stephanie and got up to hug her.
"Stephanie!" She yelped.
"Welcome back!" Peyton said. "You're early, aren't cha?"
"Good you're here, though." Tye said. "We were just gonna go over a new idea. Listen and tell us what you think?" Stephanie smiled.
"Actually," She started. "I came to make sure you'll all be at the wedding tomorrow and had planned on doing the facility check while I'm here anyhow. We can start with your idea." Billie clapped her hands together.
"Well," She started. "As I'm sure you know, we've not a lot of kids at this facility, soooo…" Billie then walked over to a folder sitting on the table and pulled out a piece of paper to hand to Stephanie. "We all thought of this!" Stephanie looked at the flyer. In large, animated lettering were the words, Cookies, Candies, and Kindness.
"Candy and cookie making." Stephanie said.
"It was mostly Jess's idea." Kevin said.
"I just figured since we don't have many children here," Billie said to Stephanie in a pleading tone. "…that getting their families involved in more of the things we do here would help get more people interested in coming to our facility."
"What better way than to get everyone doped up on sugar?" Tye said playfully, soliciting a punch to the shoulder from Peyton.
"We were gonna bring it up to you next week." Peyton said to Stephanie. "If you like it, we were going to have all of the kids make lists of their favorite candies and cookies then get the stuff to make the best ones."
"We were also going to take donations and have the parents choose which charity to donate the funds to." Sami added. Billie all but begged with her eyes; the project clearly meant a lot to her.
"I love this." Stephanie said with joy. Billie nearly jumped out of her skin.
"I knew you'd like it!" She said.
"Do you have a time frame?" Stephanie asked.
"We're hoping to have everything done and the project up and running by next month." Tye replied. "We wanted to run it by the parents because we want all the kids to be able to come. We'll come up with a date and get it to you as soon as we get it together."
"Wonderful." Stephanie said. Tye and Peyton's smiles then faded to a look of concern as they looked at each other. The room then filled with a tension that even Kevin was able to feel.
"Before we, um…" Sami started, unable to finish his thought.
"Is everything okay?" Stephanie asked.
"Well," Kevin took over. "We know that this doesn't really concern us since we live here in Canada, but we're worried about all those 'rescue missions' your president has been calling you for." Stephanie sighed, signaling that she all but knew the topic would be one of discussion sooner than later.
"The first one where you all helped a helicopter land safely wasn't bad at all." Billie said. "But the one in California during that earthquake…"
"Listen." Stephanie said. "I know that Shane has been leaping at every opportunity to make sure Alpha Humans are shown in a good light, even if those opportunities seem a bit dangerous. It's all for the best cause. It's all to make sure everyone knows that we are not bad guys out to get them."
"That sounds great, Steph." Kevin said. "But is that really all it's about?" Sami eyed his friend with a trying look.
"Kevin." He said sternly.
"What are you trying to imply, Kevin?" Stephanie asked Kevin, a serious look on her face. Not yielding, Kevin kept his gaze on Stephanie.
"I'm implying, as a non-Alpha Human… uh, human," Kevin said. "... that maybe you guys should think more about why you're constantly running to the rescue. Rather, to your president's rescue, and less about just saving us. I'm not gonna say you haven't been a great help to society, but we were doing just fine letting things happen before all this Alpha Human stuff came about, ya know." Stephanie blinked at Kevin's comment. Sensing the heightened tension, Billie attempted to diffuse the situation.
"Look, Stephanie." She intervened. "We're just worried. That's all. We don't want anybody getting hurt or anything like that. Anybody. We know that keeping the peace is important to you. It's important to us, too, but…" Billie stopped herself before she finished. Tye then took the reign.
"Think about it this way, Steph." He started. "If you got bailed out every time something happened to you and you were in too deep, not only would you forget how to save yourself but you'd start depending on someone to save you every time you got into trouble. You'd stop caring about the decisions you make because you'd always have that backup plan to keep you from falling on your ass. You'd be living without any consequences. We think that's kinda what's going on right now and we're afraid it's gonna get worse before it gets better. We don't want all the hard work to turn into something like that."
Stephanie sighed. She knew that they were right. The circumstance in question was an offer pitched to the President sometime after the State of Peace that occurred after the Windham Events by Shane McMahon. With the intent of creating a peaceful rapport with the President, Shane offered direct assistance from a group of select Alpha Human Superstars should he require their aid. The calls began with minor disaster relief assistance, but became higher in risk and slowly more personal over time. Shane answered every call, however, sometimes going against the wishes of both his sister and brother-in-law. Stephanie took a breath.
"I know that, Ronald." She said. "I know all of it." Silence fell over the room once again and, once again, Billie tried to break the tension.
"Guys." She said. "Perk up. John and Nikki are finally getting married tomorrow! We should be happy!" Stephanie, pulled from her ruminations, smiled.
"Right." She said. "Let me know about the date you all choose for your project as soon as you know. Don't be late to the wedding!" Stephanie stood up out of her chair and everyone gave her a hug to bid their farewell.
"Thank you so much for coming to see us, Stephanie." Peyton said to Stephanie.
"Always a pleasure." She replied before stepping out of the office, leaving the five in the room to their own devices. When they no longer heard her heels, Billie ran to close the office door.
"Kevin!" She snapped. "What the hell was that? I thought you were gonna try NOT to be abrasive! You practically rubbed her bloody skin off!"
"What other way were we gonna give it to her, Jess?" Kevin retorted. "It's a problem, okay? They've been running around, playing superheroes, and saving the day and it's getting ridiculous!" Kevin then looked at Sami. "Rami, you've seen it! Putting out fires, putting up buildings and stuff, saving people from earthquakes and hurricanes and whatever else. You were there for that stuff. You can't tell me it's not getting outta hand!" Sami looked down at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck.
"We were supposed to ease into it, man." Tye said to Kevin. "It's a sensitive topic. I thought we discussed that we were just gonna focus on John and Nikki's wedding and getting the project pushed through for this month." Upon Tye mentioning the wedding, Peyton found the opportunity to change the topic.
"Speaking of the wedding," She said, grabbing Tye's arm. "We gotta pick our outfits up from the cleaner!"
"You want us to pick your tuxes up for you?" Billie said to Sami and Kevin. Sami nodded.
"Yeah, Jess." He replied. "It'll probably be too late for us to go by the time you guys get back."
"Alright." Tye, Billie, and Peyton headed out of the room. "We'll bring you back some food, okay?"
"Got it!" Kevin shouted back at them down the hallway. He then turned to his friend whom was eying him with an intense look. "You know I'm right. Don't you?"
"It wasn't the time, Kevin." Sami said. Kevin stepped in closer.
"Then when, Rami? When woulda been the time? When one of you finally gets hurt rebuilding the Empire State building after the President decides to use it for training purposes, will that be the time?"
"Shane's only doing this to help keep the peace, Kevin." Kevin then grabbed Sami's arms and shook him a bit.
"Rami, listen!" He said in a forceful whisper. "I know Shane has been your mentor for a long time, but even you see what's going on. He's putting you guys in more danger each time he sends you all out to defy nature or whatever the case is this season." Kevin let go of his friend. "Is it really for world peace, Rami… or is it for his own peace of mind?" Sami blinked at his friend's question and looked as if he already knew the answer.
Stephanie sat in the backseat of her limousine silently ruminating on her way to airport. Her mind weighed heavy on what the Superstars said to her moments ago. It revived her concerns about her brother and his actions as of late regarding his relationship with the President. Deciding to focus on John and Nikki's wedding, she pulled out her phone and dialed Triple H's number back in New York. It rung twice before he answered.
"Yea Steph?" Triple H responded.
"Hey." Stephanie said. "I'm just finishing up here and headed back. Everyone is still coming so you don't have to change the number of guests. How is everything going there?"
"Everything's good here. I've got the garden prepped and I'll take care of the flowers tomorrow like we planned. Mercedes and Catherine are putting Nikki up in a hotel in the city and staying there with her until tomorrow. They've got her taken of. Dean, Colby, and Miro went to pick up tuxedoes. The decorators are still working on everything here." Stephanie sighed through the phone.
"Wonderful. I can't wait to see how everything looks." She thought to ask about Shane, but she knew she would not be able to have the conversation she wanted over the phone. "Well, I just wanted to check in and let you know I'm on my way back."
"Alright." Triple H replied. "See you soon, Love."
"Love you." Stephanie ended the call and Triple H put his phone back in his pocket. He then turned around and looked at the lobby. It, along with the rest of the lower part of the mansion, was being decorated from head to toe by a group of professional interior decorators. They used several accent chairs, surfaces for candles, and white and pink balloons at the behest of Nikki Bella. Some of the decorators were on ladders decorating the ceilings with strategically placed white and pink lace streamers with gold accenting. Even with everything that was set up, there was still much to do. Triple H was then approached by one of the decorators.
"Mister Levesque." He said to him. "We wanted to know where you all wanted to hang the photo display." The man pointed at a large oil painting of John and Nikki standing next to each other. "It's a little large so we were thinking about hanging it in front of the monument over here." Triple H shook his head.
"Nah." He said. "Nikki would want people to still be able to see Mark's statue." He looked around and found a spot that caught his attention. "What about over there?"
"Near the gift table?"
"Perfect." The decorator nodded and instructed the workers carrying the painting to carry it to the designated spot. Triple H then heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Wow, Paul." It was Shane walking down the stairs dressed in a formal suit. "Everything's looking nice." Triple H eyed Shane.
"Speaking of looking nice." He said as his brother-in-law made his way to him. "What's got you dressed up?"
"Well, I'm on my way to speak at a children's home in Syracuse." Triple H furrowed his brow.
"Steph's on her way back." He said to Shane. "You wanna just wait for her?" Shane waved.
"It's alright. I'll take care of this one. Besides, I'm sure you both have something planned with the wedding when she gets back." Triple H nodded.
"Alright, Shane." He said, stepping aside to let the man pass. "Let us know if you need anything while you're there." Shane walked past him.
"Will do, Paul." One of the decorators opened the door for Shane to exit the building. Triple H looked at the spot where Shane was standing as his mind wondered onto Shane then back to getting the mansion ready for the wedding.
Upstairs, John Cena was sitting down on his bed thinking about his wedding. His nerves were getting the better of him as he went over his vows once more and John became frustrated at his inability to remember the words Rusev helped him write.
"Fuck." He cursed as he threw the piece of paper on the floor and buried his face in his palms.
"Relax." He heard the voice of his best friend, Cesaro, say to him as the man stood in the doorway. John looked up out of his hands.
"Make me." John said. Cesaro narrowed his eyes and folded his arms at John's simple yet snide response.
"You don't have to beat yourself up memorizing words you already know." John sighed.
"Easy for you to say, Claudio." John said. "You're not the one getting married tomorrow." Cesaro unfolded his arms and went to sit down next to the other man on the bed.
"John." He said. "You're about to say two words to a woman you're already been spending the rest of life with. You have nothing to be nervous about." Cesaro then put his hand on John's shoulder. "If you can't shake the nerves, just remember that there won't be strangers there. It'll just be us."
"I know." John replied. "To be honest, all this is for Nikki. The flowers, the balloons, the cake, all of it. I just don't wanna mess it up for her." Cesaro shook his head.
"You have no idea how impossible that is for you to do." John then laid back on his bed.
"Can't you just blast the nerves away?" He said. "You know, with your powers? You helped me propose to her." Cesaro stood up and laughed at the man.
"Not when you can get it together on your own." Cesaro turned to head out of the room. "Get some rest so you can actually function tomorrow." John's mind diverted to Cesaro's previous statement.
"Claudio?" John said, sitting up. Cesaro stopped.
"Yes?"
"When I asked you to be my best man, you said no… as politely as I've ever been rejected in my life. You never told me why, though." Cesaro sighed and shook his head.
"I just don't do well being a part of weddings and all of it." He told John. "I'll still be right there with you. It's just one of those things that makes me uncomfortable." John nodded.
"Oh." Then, a silence fell on the room for a brief moment before John spoke again. "Are you sure that's it? Everything else is okay, right?"
"Everything is fine, John. You focus on getting your rest." With that, Cesaro left John in his room, closing the door behind him. John stared at the door where Cesaro stood. He could not help but feel that his friend was withholding something from him, but could not figure out what that might have been. His thoughts drifted back to his wedding and his head began to pound. He laid back and looked out of the window.
"It's still sunny out." He said to himself quietly.
General Zodrick had just finished giving his speech on Alpha Humans in the military and headed to his room to retire for the rest of the day. One of his team members sat his bags down for him near his bed.
"Thank you." He said. "That's all for today. Go enjoy yourselves. I'll call you when I need you."
"Thank you, Sir." The man said to Zodrick before the other team members and he left the room, closing the door behind them. Zodrick removed his rank and locked it up in a container he kept specifically for them along with his corporate phone. The moment he started to make himself comfortable in his room, however, he received a call on his corporate cell. Knowing only one person with direct contact to the line, he rushed to open the box back up and answer it.
"Yes sir?" Zodrick answered.
"I hope the summit went well." It was the President. "Are you secure?"
"Yes sir. Go ahead."
"Theta is down. I am having a support and repair team sent out to fix it as we speak. If you lose contact with the New York or Canadian Safe Haven facilities within the next few days then that is why."
"What happened to it?"
"We will find out when the team reaches the satellite and returns a report. I will do my best to keep you posted while you're away."
"Thank you, sir."
"And General?"
"Yes?"
"Try to relax, will you?" Zodrick almost sighed, but felt it would be disrespectful.
"I will try, sir." He said instead. He almost felt the President smile before he ended the call. Zodrick closed up the phone and locked it away with his ribbons. He stared at the box for a moment before sliding it under his pillow and laying his head down to rest.
Outside in the summit area, Ronda was giving a debriefing to the soldiers detailing instructions for their weekend.
"If you do plan on going out for a night on the town," She said to them. "Take a buddy with you who you can trust to get you home safely. I don't wanna hear about anyone passing out, fighting, or anything else like that. Also, make sure…" One of Ronda's captains then approached her with an urgent look on their face.
"Excuse me, Lieutenant Colonel." The captain said as he saluted his superior. Ronda looked over at him.
"Yes, Captain?" She said sternly.
"You have a phone call on your desk line." Ronda furrowed her brow as she knew it was important. She turned to her soldiers.
"You all know the rules." She said, wrapping up the debriefing. "Stay out of trouble or stay home because if I catch wind of it, they'll be hell to pay! Get outta here!" With that, she released her soldiers and turned her attention back to the captain. "This had better be important, McKellar."
"It's your husband, Lieutenant Colonel." The captain told her as they walked to her office. Ronda blinked a few times as she thought about what he could want that warranted him calling her desk phone and not her office phone. As they reached her office, she turned to the captain and saluted him as a gesture of thanks.
"I'll take it from here." She said. "Have a good weekend." The captain returned her salute.
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!" He said before leaving her to her call. Ronda stepped inside her office and locked the door behind her before picking up the receiver.
"Lieutenant Colonel Rousey." She responded, checking her emotions before answering.
"You know," Her husband, Travis, said to her. "I love it when you use your rank on me." Ronda snickered and sat down at her desk.
"Why didn't you call my cell? Is whatever this is important enough for it to need to be secured?"
"Well, actually yes, Babe. It is. I got my first repair detail."
Travis had been training as an astronaut for several years as a part of a security project that was initially created as a way to survey the entire planet via satellite usage. The project had been put on hold since the Windham Events, but was restarted and reinforced three months afterwards. Travis had been waiting to begin the team's first mission since then. Ronda's face lit up upon hearing the news.
"Travis!" She said. "That's great news! We'll celebrate when I get home."
"Well," Travis said somberly. Ronda's excitement faded slowly.
"Well what?" She asked. She then thought. "There's a reason why you didn't wait to tell me in person. Isn't there?" Travis sighed.
"The thing is, this mission came straight from the man himself. I can't tell you everything, but it's an emergency satellite repair and we got called to leave ASAP to begin prepping for take-off. I'm already at the camp. I called you at your desk because it's not supposed to be released to the public until we're ready to launch and I won't be home to tell you when you get there." Ronda swallowed as she began to feel a lump in her chest.
"I see." She said to Travis.
"I'm sorry, Babe. I know we had plans this weekend."
"It's alright, Travis. It's the nature of the beast. You've gone through it, too, with me having to pick up and leave at a moment's notice. Guess it's time for a taste of my own medicine."
"Well, it sounds shitty when you say it like that." Ronda laughed a bit.
"Good. Be safe up there, Baby. I love you."
"I love you, Babe. To infinity." Ronda ended the call and stared at the phone for a moment thinking about her husband. She then collected her thoughts along with her personal belongings and stepped out of her office to head home for the weekend.
Nikki Bella and her sister Brie Bella sat together at a table in a quaint coffee shop talking amongst each other about Nikki's wedding as they waited for their orders.
"Oh my god, Nikki." Brie said. "Tomorrow! Can you believe it?"
"I'm excited." Nikki said with glee. "I cannot wait to show everyone the dress I chose."
"They were all beautiful. I feel like you chose the strapless mermaid."
"You'll have to wait and see." That moment, Sasha Banks and Lana came to the table with four cups of coffee.
"Alright, ladies." Sasha said. "The drinks are here." Brie went to grab one of the cups before Sasha stopped. "That one's Nikki's. She asked for something special in hers." Lana then pulled out a very small bottle of what looked like vodka. Nikki's face lit up.
"Yes, girl!" She said as she high-fived Lana. Brie nodded in feigned disgust.
"Is this why you've been so calm?" She asked. "Have you been drinking this whole day?"
"Well," Nikki said. "You can't drink because you're pregnant, Brie."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
"Still, though." Lana said to Nikki. "How are you not nervous or anything? I was a wreck the whole month before my wedding."
"Are you kidding?" Nikki replied. "I'm a wreck. I drink to mellow out so I don't drive you girls crazy. You thought Brie was bad during her pre-wedding stuff. If I weren't mellowed out, I'd be the Queen of the Bridezillas!"
"Girl, I cannot imagine!" Sasha took a sip of her coffee before speaking.
"You think Stephanie and Paul are gonna talk to Shane again?" She asked her friends.
"It'll go in one ear and out the other." Brie said. "We've all said something, but it's always the same excuse about keeping the peace or whatever."
"I mean." Nikki started. "I can see how what we're doing helps. We're using our powers to do good things."
"Maybe." Lana retorted. "It seems to me, though, that it's getting a little out of hand. Don't you think?"
"I don't know." Sasha said with a bit of flair in her voice before taking another sip of her coffee. "I'm with Cat on this one. We need to chill. Shane needs to chill." Nikki then felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out to see she received a text from John. She smiled immediately, Brie noticing the change in mood.
"Why are you even here?" Brie asked her sister. "Like, why aren't with him if you're just gonna text him all day?"
"Because I wanna be surprised when I see everything set up, Brie." Nikki said with slight irritation. "God."
"Well, excuse me, Moody Monster Bride. I just think you're gonna be up in the clouds tomorrow anyway. Why not just spend the night back at the mansion with John instead of torturing yourself and being out here with us?" Nikki looked at sister with apologetic eyes.
"You guys aren't torture! I love being with you. I just… can't believe I'm getting married."
"You're getting married." Lana said playfully.
"I am." Sasha then joined in on the fun.
"You're getting' fuckin' married, girl!" She yelped.
"Yes!" The three women then started shouting as Brie shook her head with an amused look on her face.
