A/N: So we're back! Hope the length more than makes up for it.

Chapter 37- All the Little Things

Jacques kissed her; Michelle's lips were intertwined with her boyfriend's passionately - it must've been about six or seven seconds, roughly. When they pulled apart, they grinned at each other. Michelle wrapped her delicate arms around his neck, staring up at him fondly. Jacques grinned back, though there was a tinge of sadness to it. Right now, Jacques and Josée were set to go on the next flight to Toronto to assist Devin and Carrie and go to their wedding. Michelle, however, was staying behind. Jacques was going to miss her.

"I'll be waiting for you when you get back," Michelle whispered suggestively in Jacques' ear. "Just don't hook up with anyone at the wedding, oui?" She said it in a joking manner, that Jacques knew, but the way that Michelle briefly glanced at Josée did not go unnoticed. Michelle caught his weirded out look. "Mon amour, what is it?"

Jacques shook his head. "Non. Nothing. You know I wouldn't do anything like that. Do you know that?"

"Oh of course I know that," Michelle said, a little too quickly. She chuckled nervously and removed her arms from him. "I'll see you soon." Then, she offered a friendly smile to Josée, who had been waiting patiently for quite some time. "Au revoir, Josée. Have fun!" Josée barely managed to grin and waved at her. Once Michelle departed, Josée and Jacques went on their flight - and managed to avoid some paparazzi in the process, thankfully.

"First class," Josée remarked, almost impressed. "Cool."

Jacques smiled at Josée. "Winners go on first class, Josée."

Josée snorted. "It's been a while since we've been on a plane though, hasn't it?" She looked down at her shoes. "And for the same reason, too."

"Same reason?"

"It has to do with the race." Josée wondered how the hell they managed to find themselves interacting with people from that stupid television show. At least now it was a wedding and had nothing to do with the reunion like last time.

"Ah, Josée, but we don't have any challenges to do! No more gross busses, or drama, or fighting..." Jacques said. "We're just here to help people dance."

"I hardly packed anything nice for the wedding. Did Carrie say what color her bridesmaids were wearing? I don't want to wear the same color..."

"Relax, chouchou. There was a reason I said yes to the wedding."

"Without my permission," Josée added, somewhat bitterly. "Are you finally going to tell me now?"

Jacques shrugged. "Maybe we can try making friends with the uglies."

"I don't want to make friends with the - wait, what did you just call them?" Josée asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"What? Most of them are ugly, and we are not."

Josée snorted and shook her head. "You pompous ass." Jacques snickered into his hand. A ghost of a smile touched Josee's lips. She couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully. "I hate you." Now she was fully grinning, unable to help herself. "I really, really hate you." And she started to laugh.

"Do you really?" Jacques dared to ask between snickers. "You need to figure out if you hate me or not, it changes every other minute."

All of a sudden, Josée stopped laughing immediately while Jacques still had that stupid cocky smile plastered on his face. Josée had no choice but the look away momentarily. She swallowed the lump in her throat and said: "Oh don't worry," she paused, and then looked at him. "I've figured it out."

Beat.

"Anyway," Josée cut in, filling the awkward silence. "Are we going to go shopping?" Jacques watched closely as Josée tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, as she usually did. Oddly enough, he never got tired of watching it. "Jacques? Jacques-"

"Yes!" Jacques practically exclaimed, making the female ice dancer flinch a little. "Sorry..."

He was shocked to see that Josée didn't get angry, but laughed instead. "It's fine, but... you're still a pompous ass, though. What was that nickname they gave you?"

"Egotistical Prick," Jacques answered. "At least I'm attractive, unlike them." Josée stared at him, and then burst out laughing again. Not that Jacques was really complaining - in fact, he would never pass up an opportunity to make Josée laugh or smile - but she had been laughing an awful lot lately. "Uh, Josée, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes... I'm fine," Josée reassured her companion. "Let's just enjoy the flight. I'm not sure if I can handle Devin and Carrie for this long, to be honest. I think I can only handle them in small doses."

Jacques furrowed his brows and smirked confusedly. "What does that even mean? Small doses?"

"You know, like... only a little bit of them at a time. If they start to talk too much, then I'll get annoyed."

"But Josée, you are like that with ninety eight percent of the population."

"Oh shut up," Josée ordered, but her voice was teasing. The remainder of the flight was relatively calm. When they got closer to Toronto, Josée and Jacques made sure to message Devin and Carrie that they should be at the airport soon. With the way Carrie squealed all high-pitched upon seeing the ice dancers already let Josée and Jacques know what the next few weeks would entail. Devin just waved at them casually while Carrie ran over to hug each ice dancer briefly. "Allo, Carrie."

Carrie smirked and held her left hand out, showing off a new ring on her finger. "I'm getting married soon!" Devin cleared his throat a bit, but smirked as well. Carrie realized her error and corrected herself, "Oh sorry about that. We're getting married soon!"

Josée and Jacques were still dumbstruck by this decision of theirs - and to be frank, how they managed to get invited to the wedding in the first place - and didn't know how to respond for a few seconds. Then, the two glanced down at the ring. That was something to focus on. This was actually happening. "Pretty," Jacques complimented.

Carrie positively beamed. "Thank you," she allowed. "We should get going. You know what hotel you'll be staying at, yes? We'll drop you off there. Then we can get you to go to our apartment - yes, we've been living together for a few months now. It's pretty cheap, but it's cozy. But never mind that, though. You need to get settled in and then we can catch up on dancing." That being said, Carrie began to walk, with Devin following beside her - holding hands. Josée and Jacques walked behind them.

"This is real," Josée whispered to Jacques, still in disbelief. "For once, I don't want to be pessimistic, but how will I know whether or not this will end up in divorce? Or worse..."

"That's the thing," Jacques replied, making eye contact with her: "...You don't."

Josée rolled her eyes. "This is all mad. And we were labelled the crazy ones of the show." Jacques laughed at that.

After Josée and Jacques had settled into their hotel room, Devin and Carrie showed the ice dancers their new apartment that they had been sharing. Josée and Jacques stared at the space. It was relatively small, which wasn't too surprising. "As I was saying," Carrie began, dropping her keys on the kitchen counter. "It isn't much, but it's a new home."

Devin tilted Carrie's chin to meet her eyes. "And we have it all to ourselves." Carrie blushed and leaned in for a kiss, which Devin returned.

When they let go, Carrie gestured to the ice dancers. "Make yourselves at home," she suggested. "You can sit and we can catch up a little." Josée found this somewhat odd, because Carrie talked non-stop about what was going on in her life, what was going on in Devin's life, and what was going on in their life as an engaged couple. Needless to say, Josée and Jacques were pretty caught up with their lives. Carrie's sister was going to be the maid of honor and Devin's cousin was going to be the best man. The same group they hung out with at the reunion, along with the Rockers, would be going to the wedding. Don of all people was officiating it ("He loves weddings, remember?") and it would take place in the park where Devin and Carrie met as children.

Nonetheless, Josée and Jacques sat on the sofa beside each other, across from Devin and Carrie who were sitting on chairs. "Okay, I know that I'm a bitch," Josée started off. Jacques frowned in disapproval, while Carrie and Devin didn't interject. "...but isn't this a little too... how do you say, fast?"

"We've traveled the world together," Devin proceeded to explain, "We've also been friends for fifteen years. What's more to do? I just don't want to wait. I know..." He reached over to put his hand over Carrie's, "...in my heart, I want to marry Carrie."

Carrie giggled. "Marry Carrie. That rhymes." Josée and Jacques resisted the urge to scowl. "But he's right, you know. When you've known your partner for fifteen years and have traveled the world together - there isn't really much to do after that, so... we figured we'd get married."

Josée blinked at the wording. It's one thing to decide to get together, but marriage? That was definitely frightening; she isn't sure how Devin and Carrie are going to do it; especially at their ages. It didn't matter that they had been best friends since they were small children - getting married this quickly would terrify her. For example, she had known Jacques for roughly the same amount of time and the thought of marrying him-

Josée's eyes grew wide. Oh no. She didn't like this. All these lovey-dovey feelings that made her sick to her stomach. She could just vomit right here, right now-

"Josée? Are we ready to start?" Jacques asked, snapping the female ice dancer's out of her thoughts quickly.

She was alarmed, looking between Devin and Carrie and then Jacques, who stared at her in concern. "Wh-what? Start with what?"

"The tango dance," Jacques reminded her, while Devin and Carrie tried their best not to laugh at Josée's daydreaming. "We were going to show them." Jacques turned to Devin and Carrie. "Perhaps we should hear the music first? Then Josée and I could improvise moves that would be easy for you to learn in a short amount of time."

After listening to the music - which was surprisingly easy music to dance to - Josée and Jacques began to incorporate dances moves for Devin and Carrie to learn. It was relatively short - only a few minutes - before they have figured out what Devin and Carrie were capable of. After observing the disaster on television which consisted of Devin and Carrie trying to learn how to tango, Josée and Jacques figured they could try easier moves.

"Place your hand on your partner's back," Josée told Devin and Carrie. "You need to be..." Oh. She paused and was somehow shocked when Jacques put his hand right on her back, as if they hadn't done this before. Josée looked up to meet her partner's eyes, then finished her sentence: "...close to each other. And then..." She froze and stared.

Luckily Jacques took over, blinking at Josée's odd behavior. "With your other hand, you hold your partner's free hand." And their fingers intertwined.

Josée could've sworn that the room had gotten ten times hotter; similar to a steam-bath. "Then you make sure you lead your partner, counterclockwise." That being said, Josée and Jacques began to move around the room at a comfortable pace. Now this was what Josée was afraid of and what her mother had warned her about constantly. It was getting increasingly difficult to dance with a partner she was infatuated with at the moment. Case and point, this simple dance that was only a few minutes long felt like hours to Josée, especially since they had to stare into the other's eyes that symbolized communication; and well, Josée was communicating alright - just not in the way she liked to.

Josée's heart began to race as they did a simple turn. A turn. She felt flushed; this couldn't have been more embarrassing.

Then it was over.

Thank God.

"You guys are so cute when you're passionate about something," Carrie remarked giddily.

"Yeah, you guys were awesome!" Devin cheered.

Josée and Jacques pulled apart at once and exchanged a look. "Merci," they said at the same time.

"Um," Josée started uneasily to Devin and Carrie, however not breaking eye contact with Jacques, "You try to tango now."

Carrie furrowed her brows. "Josée, your face is red-"

"Is it now?" Josée blurted out, touching her flushed complexion with her eyes wide. She looked away from Jacques at last. "We don't do the tango often, I guess..." Well, she wasn't exactly lying; just leaving out most of the truth. She composed herself and glared at Devin and Carrie. "Anyway, it's your turn now." It took a bit for Devin and Carrie to get into starting position, let alone getting to dance itself. Josée and Jacques resisted the overwhelming urge to shout at them and react; instead they remained quiet. Josée, at least, was remaining quiet for two reasons - one because really, Devin and Carrie needed work, and two, she couldn't stop thinking about her partner.

They were so close.

Which was important for the dance, but...

...God, she thought she looked absolutely foolish.

Well, she must've been if Carrie had to point out that her face was red.

Carrie, of all people... as if she hadn't spent the whole race blushing over Devin.

Who was her best friend.

Who she was getting married to in a few weeks.

"Okay, Jacques. Can we take a break now?" Devin asked crossly. "You'd given us twenty critiques."

Jacques frowned. "Josée hasn't said anything yet."

Josée blinked rapidly, then turned to Devin and Carrie, who were waiting expectantly. "It needs more work, but... I suppose we can take a break." Suddenly, her hand was grabbed by Carrie's, who proceeded to drag her out of the apartment. Josée flashed her an angry look. "What the hell are you-"

"Let's go get coffee, I'll pay!" Carrie offered, though from the looks of it, it seemed like Josée didn't have a choice in the matter. "We'll be right back!" She called out to Devin and Jacques. Josée opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it. Free coffee was free coffee. Once they got to a cafe nearby, Carrie let go of the ice dancer and headed inside. They ordered their drinks and sat across from one another. "So dancing with Jacques all the time... must be fun."

Josée stared at the blonde. "Yes... it's also a job. It's also our passion. Why the interest?"

"I'm just making conversation," Carrie reassured calmly.

"Just making conversation," Josée mocked, then let out a scoff. "Kitty claimed that she was making conversation too, then she asks all about my business."

Carrie perked up noticeably. "Is there any indication you gave that made her ask about your business?"

"No. My business with Jacques is none of anyone's business-"

"I didn't mention Jacques."

"So dancing with Jacques all the time... must be fun," Josée imitated in a high pitched voice. Then her voice became normal, "Want to tell me what that was?"

Carrie frowned and crossed her arms. "I don't sound like that..." she said, in a hurt voice. "What I meant was that it's great that you can work with your best friend! Unless you were thinking of something else, maybe something more?"

Josée matched her frown. "No. It's not like that with him..."

"What is your friendship with him?" Carrie asked incredulously, "How did you two... click?"

Josée opened her mouth to answer, but found that she couldn't exactly pinpoint it. Despite the fact that it was none of Carrie's business, Josée couldn't figure out what Jacques and her actually... were. Yes, they were best friends, but... she couldn't deny that things had changed between them. They had kissed, for goodness' sake.

Ugh.

"It's a little complicated," Josée warned the blonde.

"I have time."

Josée eyed Carrie skeptically. "Fine." Carrie's eyes lit up excitedly. "However..." Josée paused, thinking this over. "I want to hear about how you and Devin clicked."

"So..." Jacques began after Josée and Carrie left, his eyes went to the nicotine patch that was on Devin's arm. "You decided to quit smoking after all."

Devin shrugged and leaned back on the chair, facing Jacques who was on the sofa. "I figured that since we're going to get married that I might as well be open about my bad habit. She knew, though. She always knew. She was just waiting for me to say something about it."

Jacques chuckled. "Good for you."

"What about you? Did you stop?"

"I haven't in a while," Jacques told him. "About three months ago was my last one." But, as always, the temptation was there.

Devin blinked. "Really? Cold turkey?"

"What do turkeys have to do with this?" Jacques asked confusedly.

"It's a saying. Quitting cold turkey means you don't wean yourself off of it. You just stop all together."

"Then oui, I quit... cold turkey." The phrase was odd an Jacques' tongue. "Ever since I got a girlfriend..."

"A girlfriend?" Devin cut in inquisitively, "Dude, I thought you were gay."

Jacques knew that this wouldn't be the last time he heard that. "Non. I'm bisexual." He eyed Devin to see what his reaction would be.

"That's cool. I'm not gay or bisexual or anything, but I support."

"I think this is the third time I heard you say that ever."

"But it's true! Carrie and I love the... what are you guys called again? The L-G-T-B... B-L-T... L-T-B-J-"

"...LGBT."

"Right! That. I love the LGBT community."

"So groundbreaking, never been said before." Jacques drawled sarcastically, though he himself didn't realize there was a name for it until Tom mentioned it a few weeks ago.

"What?"

Jacques sighed and opted to change topic. "So... how did your parents take you and Carrie getting married?"

"My parents took it well," Devin answered. "They were shocked, but happy. Carrie's mom was super supportive. Her stepdad was happy too."

"What about her biological father?"

"Carrie's parents are divorced," Devin put awkwardly. Then, he rolled his eyes. "Her father's a whole different story..."

"I told you about the sandbox story already, but... when I realized what being in love meant and that I was in love with Devin..." Carrie paused, and smiled fondly. "It was around four years ago... when my parents had gotten divorced." She chuckled, and to Josée's surprise, it sounded a bit bitter. "What a great time to discover something like that, isn't it?"

Josée shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Don't worry, I'll get to it."

"Her dad was pissed," Devin continued, with a scowl. "Which was hilarious, considering he was a terrible dad. Now all of a sudden he cared? That's because she was getting married to me, if it was anyone else he wouldn't have cared. Carrie's dad never liked me... even when we were little kids."

Jacques could relate to the feeling all too well. "Wow."

"Yeah, 'wow' is right," Devin said bitterly. "If that bastard even knew how much he meant to Carrie, but he didn't care."

"What do you mean?" Jacques asked, unable to help himself.

"He was always so selfish," Carrie remarked to Josée, with a disappointed sigh. "My father didn't care about anyone but himself. You see, my parents... they didn't really get married because they loved each other, they got married because my mother was pregnant with my older sister and that was considered taboo to have a child out of wedlock."

"I know," Josée said, rather quickly. Carrie raised an eyebrow in confusion, thus Josée explained, though hesitantly: "I was born out of wedlock."

"...Oh," was all Carrie's response to that was, then she continued: "...right. So, my parents got married, had my older sister, then had me. And, well, we always had a feeling that my dad was cheating on my mom, it was something very unspoken. My family had the idea of not talking about something, and it wouldn't exist."

Josée remained quiet.

"But here's how Devin played into it..."

"I caught him," Devin admitted, his fists curling up. Jacques' eyes grew wide at this tale, which ranged from Devin telling him about how Carrie longed to have a proper relationship with her father, but never being able to because of him drifting away from the family; but it wasn't like they were close, anyway. "I caught him with another woman. I told Carrie, and, she didn't want to believe it, but she knew. She tried to see the good in everyone, and when it turned out to be true that her father did that, it really showed her that not everyone was good, and it destroyed her."

Jacques didn't know what to say.

"That's why I like that Carrie had grown fast friends with Kitty," Devin added on, "Because Kitty still sees the good in people, and I think she can bring that side to Carrie again. By the way, she should be stopping by soon. She's one of the bridesmaids." After that, he went back to the original topic at hand: "But during that period where her parents were getting divorced... she was so upset. I just didn't know what to do. There were times when I was dealing with my own shit and my own issues, and she was always there... and then I had to do the same for her."

"Devin showed me how much he cared," Carrie explained calmly to Josée, who stared in utter disbelief at the whole story. "There were days where I couldn't get out of bed. I was so miserable I didn't want to leave the house. But Devin came over. He made sure I ate, he made sure that I was taking care of myself. And after so many years of friendship, I looked at him, and I thought: this is the person I could spend the rest of my life with. Sure, he didn't feel the same way at first and it took a while, but... if I hadn't gone through that, we wouldn't be engaged now." Then, she let out a little grin and finished: "...and here we are."

It was silent as Carrie took another sip of coffee.

"If it brings you any comfort," Josée began, surprisingly gentle: "I don't have a relationship with my father."

"...It oddly does," Carrie said honestly. "What is that saying? Misery loves company?" Josée offered a half-grin, while Carrie let out an embarrassed chuckle. "But anyway," she started off, ready to move on with a smirk: "Your turn."

"What do you mean?"

"Even when Devin and I were friends, there were little things we've noticed about each other that only best friends could," Carrie stated, matter-of-factly. "Is that what you guys are like? It's something that grew over time? I just noticed all these little things about Devin that are just so appealing now. That's what makes him so endearing."

Josée raised an eyebrow, then went back to stirring her coffee. "I suppose so, if you're into that sort of thing."

"Oh come on. You and Jacques know each other almost as long as we have, no?"

"Yes, but we're not a couple like you two are..."

"But you knew each other just as long."

"Your point?" Josée asked crossly, no longer stirring her coffee.

"Do you notice things about Jacques that no one else does? I mean, you two do have a bond-"

"Of course we do, but..." The ice dancer went on, with what she hoped was a careless shrug: "I mean... Jacques isn't just some random person, I don't know... he's Jacques... of course I would pick up on some things about him, like... whenever I'm upset, he always speaks to me in French more... because it reminds us of our childhood, the way he's given me pet names..."

Mon petit chou.

Josée's eyes softened just a tad. "There's also the way that he smiles but it's the type of smiles that I've learned from him. There's this..." Josée paused, the imagery settling into her mind. She was oddly comforted by it. "...there's this half grin that he does that looks absolutely stupid, but it's shy even though Jacques is very outgoing... well, at least compared to me. Then there's this other grin that also looks ridiculous, but it's that cocky grin that I want to smack off his face... because he just always has to be right. God, he's such a pompous idiot sometimes. And his laugh, there's that... there's several types of Jacques laughs that I could go into, but I don't want to bore you with all of that..." She bit back a laugh of her own. "He'll... He'll bite his finger when he's nervous or uncomfortable, like he's contemplating something... he's a lot more insightful than people think he is, like..." Now Josee couldn't help but let a little chuckle escape. "He'll say something really smart, but then, he'll do something so ridiculous like trip over something, like his own two feet... God, he's really clumsy. For a graceful ice dancer he's just too clumsy, no matter how hard we tried fixing that. But anyway, I can't help but laugh, I don't know how he manages to do that all the time, honestly, both being clumsy and making me laugh..."

Josée stopped rambling as she realized she was being stared at oddly by Carrie. "I'm a really observant person."

Carrie blinked slowly. "...right, so, um... I think we should get going. Kitty texted me that she was on her way to our apartment."

"Oh?"

"Bridesmaid stuff."

"Ah..." For the second time today, Josée's face grew cherry red. After a few minutes, when she's sure her color has faded, she turned to Carrie, unable to help herself. "So, are you sure you want to follow through with the wedding? Even though you have known each other for so long, you're young... how do you know you're not making a mistake? Are you positive that you want to follow through?"

Carrie stopped walking, and turned to Josée, positively beaming. "Of course."

Josée knew that from her tone that she never sounded so sure. Still, she laughed good naturedly: "You're both insane." Carrie smiled back.

"...and that's that," Devin finished. "He won't be showing up to the wedding, Thank God."

"At least her stepdad approves," Jacques tried to point out.

"He was a better dad to her than her own father was," Devin spat. He reached over and got another nicotine patch, raising Jacques' eyebrows. Devin let out a frustrated sigh when he realized how he was acting. "Sorry for being an ass. Carrie's dad just pisses me off, and this whole wedding has one issue left."

"And what would that be?" Jacques pressed.

"Get away!"

Jacques and Devin's eyes went to the front door; someone had shrieked that out in the halls. "You're banned from coming over here, so back off!" It was that same voice again, and that same shriek was familiar to Jacques' ears; it sounded an awful lot like Kitty. "Devin doesn't want to see you anymore!" Yes. It definitely had to be Kitty. However, when Jacques turned to face Devin, he saw him pale significantly.

"Devin?"

"Fuck... that's the problem."

"I... I don't understand-"

Suddenly the door slammed open, revealing a flustered Kitty and an unfamiliar woman, who flashed her a nasty look. "I just need to tell him one thing, since he's going through with this terrible plan, so he could just..." she paused, to glare at Devin, who was glaring back menacingly. "...give me a chance to talk!"

Devin shot up. "You lost that chance the moment you cheated on me, Shelley!"

Jacques' eyes widened, looking back and forth between the exes. "Shelley?!"

At that very moment, Josée and Carrie returned from their coffee break. "Shelley?!"

"I tried to stop her from coming in, I tried!" Kitty shrilled, then eyed her. "But she was persistent and yanked my hair!" Out of the corner of Jacques' eye, he spotted Carrie sitting down at the living room table, taking off her earrings. Kitty joined her and tried to put a supportive hand on her shoulder, but Carrie shrugged it off.

Devin let out a growl. "What do you want, Shelley - hey!" Shelley had thrown a decent share of items in his direction. "What'd you do that for?!"

"Just some old junk of yours that I didn't get a chance to give you," Shelley spat in disdain. She glared at Carrie. "Hopefully you won't have to do the same, I just know it would hurt a lot more, wouldn't it?" Josée and Jacques exchanged a look, and then looked between Devin, Carrie, and Shelley as if they were a soap opera.

Devin took in a steady breath, as if trying to keep his temper at bay. "Okay, you gave me my things back, you can leave now-"

"You know, you were always so dense!"

"Shelley, leave!"

"Going through with this wedding, knowing damn well you could find someone so much better than that little-"

"Don't you dare insult my fiancé-"

"You want to know something?" Shelley asked, then grinned at Carrie. "I might as well say something now, since the two of you are going to be married. Remember that second boyfriend you had, you know, when you weren't busy pining over my boyfriend, well... I slept with him. And all he kept telling me was how much you were such a screw up in bed and that he really didn't like you, but he sure as hell liked me." Then, she turned to her ex-boyfriend, still grinning devilishly. "I guess I was cheating back then, too."

Oh shit.

Jacques' body went rigid upon hearing this information. He, Josée, and Kitty slowly glanced over at Carrie - who was frozen in place, her glaring daggers at Shelley - Jacques suddenly understood why Carrie had removed her earrings from moments ago. Carrie had a look in her eyes that neither Josée nor Jacques had ever seen from her, not even when she had told the both of them off about them being egotistical or cold - this was an entirely different from of rage. Needless to say, Carrie looked less than impressed.

Carrie raised her eyebrows and looked to Kitty, referring to Shelley: "Did she just say that?"

Kitty looked mortified, anticipating what was going to happen next.

Carrie looked back at Shelley, her eyes hardened - locked on a target. She slammed her fists on the table and jumped out of her seat. "Did she just fucking say that shit?!" She bellowed, lunging animalistically at Shelley, which sent them crashing into a wall. Everyone else jumped out of their positions sporadically to watch the fight; which consisted of Carrie yanking Shelley's hair - who was screaming in pain. However, Shelley soon had the upper hand and flipped Carrie, who winced as Shelley twisted her arm. "You bitch!"

Josée and Jacques stared wide-eyed in disbelief as the two girls fought.

What had they walked into?

"Carrie don't hold back, let her have it!" Kitty cheered over the yelling. "Get her, Carrie!"

"Ah, should we do something?" Jacques asked Devin, his eyes still on Carrie and Shelley who were tearing each other apart. To everyone's surprise - including Devin's - Carrie was the one that was currently winning. Still, Jacques repeated the question: "Should we...?"

"Hell no, I'm not getting involved in that shit."

"Ah..."

Everyone watched as Carrie finally grabbed Shelley by the shirt and dragged her to the front door and shoved her. Devin's ex-girlfriend nearly tripped over her two feet - stumbling over getting to the threshold. "And stay out!" Then she slammed the door shut and locked it. It was awkwardly silent for about a minute, though it felt like hours.

"So," Kitty started off, grinning at the ice dancers. "How was your flight here?"

Jacques wasn't sure about Josée, but he was at a total loss on what to say. "I... we... it was fine," he managed.

"That's great! It was a forty five minute drive for me to get here. Are you guys excited for the wedding? Because I'm so excited. Weddings are beautiful. My aunt got remarried and it was such an expensive wedding and it was so grand, but this wedding seems so much more personal because it's in the park where they first met! Anyway, I'm super glad that we got rid of Shelley..." Kitty rambled on and on, then turned to Carrie: "I knew you had that fight in you!"

Carrie shrugged. "I guess I just got tired of her, that's all."

"Thank God she's gone, I'm hoping it'll stay that way," Devin added.

"How are the dance lessons?" Kitty asked.

"It needs work," Josée replied honestly. "But do-able."

Devin and Carrie grinned.

Josée realized Kitty wasn't wrong; weddings are beautiful.

Even if this wasn't in some grand chapel like most weddings were expected to be, it certainly gave off the vibe of being something special. Like it had been stated, they were in the park that Devin and Carrie met - coincidentally, right near the sandbox - and became best friends, and, little did they know, they would come to be. While Josée knew she wasn't the most romantic person in the world, after hearing about Devin and Carrie's story a few weeks ago through Carrie, did she realize how wonderful this actually was.

"It's nice outside," Jacques remarked.

"Mm," Josée hummed in agreement. "It would've been terrible if it started raining."

"Don't jinx it."

Josée grinned cockily at him, and he gave her one back.

Lovely.

"Josée, Jacques! You showed!" Josée and Jacques turned around and smiled, coming face-to-face with Tom and Jen, who went around to sit next to them on one of the benches.

"We helped them dance," Josée told the Fashion Bloggers, "It's our wedding gift to them, so they let us join."

"I imagine it was a huge disaster," Tom emphasized, "I saw them in that episode. Tragic." Josée and Jacques grinned as he went on, "I am glad that you showed up. I didn't think you two would."

Jen smiled and nodded. "You're putting yourselves out there within the group, which is great!"

"It's hard when you're from Quebec and everyone else is in Toronto," Jacques pointed out.

"Yikes. Speaking of... how was the trip here?" Jen asked.

"Fine," Josée answered curtly. She looked around to see more seats were being filled, "It's not really a huge crowd like I expected."

Tom glanced over at what looked to be some relatives in the front row. "Apparently some people don't approve... their loss, even if Devin and Carrie can be annoying."

"Stop Tom, don't be so mean..."

"Jen, Carrie likes wearing overalls, how do you expect me to take her seriously?"

"...Okay, she has terrible taste, but that doesn't mean-" Jen stopped talking when she spotted the officiator of the wedding, "I cannot believe Don is here."

"He's the only person they knew that had a license to officiate weddings," Tom explained to the ice dancers, "He loves weddings, remember? But yeah, there's a lot of people here that I wasn't expecting. Like Crimson and Ennui..." He jerked his head over to where the Goths were sitting, looking bored, then continued: "I talked to them. They said they were here for the free food later at the party later."

Josée snorted in amusement. "That makes a lot more sense." The Goths were antisocial as ever, she thought, not that she could blame them.

"Hey!" The Fashion Bloggers and ice dancers recognized that gruff voice belonging to MacArthur, who ran over along with Sanders, both of whom were wearing suits. "It's great to be here, isn't it? Brody, Geoff, and I were going to crash it but I decided against it-"

"Because I advised you not to crash the wedding-" Sanders cut in, sighing. Then, she turned to the Fashion Bloggers and ice dancers. "You four clean up nicely."

"Oh we know," Tom remarked proudly, then winked at the other three. "Don't we?"

Sanders lifted a brow. "You know, most people would say thank you after receiving a compliment."

"Nah, we all look hot. I'd say it loud and proud!" MacArthur boasted. She smirked at Josée and Jacques. "Right Blondie? Princess?"

Neither ice dancer knew what to say.

"Sure," Jacques offered after a few seconds.

It was announced that the wedding was about to start. Josée couldn't help but smile; because Kitty was right, weddings are beautiful. Like Kitty had said, though this wedding wasn't grand and expensive, it was still personal and held sentimental value - much more than money could buy. Josée would roll her eyes at the cheesiness, but she remembered when Rachel tried to emphasize that money wasn't everything and that once you've covered the necessities, the rest is just excess.

This was a park, where Devin and Carrie met, not knowing what the future could be, not knowing that eventually - they would come to be. Carrie went down the aisle, positively glowing as she did so, and Devin looked ready to burst with excitement. He fidgeted nervously, and Carrie offered a shy smile. It was Devin and Carrie. It wasn't a rich wedding, it wasn't overly romantic, and not everything was set up in a certain way. It was simple, yet said so much. Josée didn't know if she could ever have a wedding like this.

But her opinion didn't change on what she thought of this wedding.

It was perfect.

Josée stole a glance at Jacques.

They had kissed.

They had kissed, and no matter how many times Josée tried to erase it from her memory, she simply couldn't. Because she knew it was only to get harder from here, and that she could feel her partnership slipping away all because of how she felt; feelings that she had trouble feeling, but now that she was experiencing it, she wanted it to go away.

It wouldn't change, however. She couldn't go back and changed that they had kissed, and that Jacques had expressed his feelings for her then. Josée knew what she wanted - then and there - but of course, she just had to be late in figuring things out. She liked him; she really, really liked him - and she couldn't help but stare at him. MacArthur was right - as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself - they did dress up nicely; especially Jacques. He was absolutely beautiful.

Jacques found Josée staring at him, once she was spotted, she immediately looked away.

However, his eyes on her remained.

He simply didn't understand. They had kissed, and it was wonderful, but she didn't want to be with him in that way. Josée liked to keep things professional; and it was likely her mother's voice in her head telling her to keep it professional. But Jacques sadly thought that even if Josée's mother didn't play into the equation, Josée didn't want him.

Jacques let out a grin. Just because he had found someone like Michelle, it did not stop him from at least appreciating his best friend's beauty. Others would find it odd, but Jacques didn't care - because Josée looked absolutely breathtaking and if his significant others couldn't handle that; then he figured they didn't deserve him. Josée had let her hair down - he loved those few occasions when she did that - and let it roam freely, and smoothed out the gold dress that she had picked out while staying in Toronto.

He had been at a loss for words.

Beautiful.

Perfect, even.

Today was perfect.

Josée stole another look at him, then blinked confusedly when she found that his eyes were on her. "Is something wrong?" she whispered.

Jacques smiled, because, she was so perfect, and neither of them had a clue. "Nothing, chouchou."

"I do," Devin announced at the front, looking deep into Carrie's eyes.

After Don asked Carrie if he would take Devin to be her husband, she glowed and smiled brightly, answering: "I do."

Josée and Jacques exchanged a look - though this was more than just a look; it was an acknowledgement of some sort. It had nothing to do with Devin and Carrie. And neither of them were particularly listening when Don had announced them as husband and wife. Josée and Jacques shared a look that meant nothing to others, but everything to them.

"They're about to kiss!" MacArthur whispered fiercely.

Almost immediately, Josée and Jacques stopped staring at each other to glare at MacArthur. "We were not!" Jacques hissed back.

MacArthur blinked confusedly. "I was talking about Devin and Carrie."

Oh.

Jacques grew a mad shade of red; while Josée shrunk in her seat a little. Sanders briefly tore her eyes away - which were filled with happy tears, presumably - from the newly wed couple to look at Jacques and Josée, who did not appreciate the stares from those cadets. "What?!" they nearly exclaimed.

"Nothing!" Sanders stated quickly, then looked back at Devin and Carrie.

"You may kiss the bride," Don said to Devin, who leaned in and gave Carrie a long kiss on the lips. Everyone broke into cheers, while Josée and Jacques looked incredibly awkward over the exchange a few seconds ago. It didn't help that the Fashion Bloggers had been watching too. Hopefully, Jacques thought, this would blow over by the party.

By the time the party came around, Josée's thoughts did not escape from what she and Jacques had... shared at the park. She didn't what the hell it was; but it involved an awful lot of staring, which she wasn't used to - at least not in the manner that she was experiencing. It was terrible and beautiful at the same time; and she's still wondering on how that could possibly be. Because this should be a good thing. She felt good - but then there was the dread, knowing that she had lost her chance.

Josée knew that she should've been happy. Here she was, at the wedding of Devin and Carrie's - whom both had aced their dance surprisingly well - sitting down at a table looking not quite cheery while mostly everyone else was chatting or on the dance floor as music pumped through the hall. She saw that Jacques had gotten up to talk to Ryan and Stephanie, whatever it was, she wasn't sure - but that didn't stop her from staring at him from a distance.

Staring at him from a distance was how she found out she had liked him, only for her to realize seconds later that she hadn't a chance, because Jacques was taken and had moved on, just like she advised him to. That's what especially hurt the most, knowing that she was at fault, just like every little thing in her life that went wrong.

"Honey, what's wrong? You're going to ruin your makeup."

Josée blinked back the tears in surprise; she hadn't realized she had started crying. "Nothing, nothing. I'm just tired..."

Jen frowned deeply, like she quite didn't believe her, and she made it clear that she didn't: "Let's get some fresh air." Josée was about to object to her request, but found her mouth staying shut as Jen gently held Josée by the hand and lead her out of the hall.

They were outside; the air was cool and the sky had grown significantly darker. Jen smoothed out her dress sat down on the steps. Josée did the same, sitting beside Jen, who smiled lightheartedly. "This is my favorite dress. Could you believe it cost a hundred? What a rip off. But then again, the fabric is wonderful." Josée smiled a bit appreciatively, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Jen's smile disappeared and turned serious. "What is it?"

"Romance is so complicated, you know... I just don't understand it," Josée began to ramble, looking down at her dress.

Jen frowned. "What do you mean-"

"The first time I realized I fell for someone after two years of dating, I find out he was cheating on me days later. The second time I realized I fell for someone - which I didn't realize at the time - she was dead and it was too late. The third time I realized I fell for someone – this time after a decade and a half – he's with another person. I think the world is trying to tell me something."

"What do you think it is?" Jen asked gently.

Josée scowled. "That I fall for people that I should've fallen for earlier."

"Well, the first person you mentioned ended up cheating on you, so maybe it's a good thing you didn't fall for him earlier? It would've been harder to get over?"

Josée shook her head. "No. It hurt a lot because I figured out my emotions, and I finally reciprocated, but by then it was too late. And I blame myself, because I should've liked him earlier."

"You can't help what you feel," said Jen. "He should've waited, Josée. Or if he wasn't willing to wait, he should've been honest with you."

"And now," Josée continued, as if Jen hadn't interrupted. "I've fallen for my best friend, who I've known for years, and is my ice dancing partner!" Jen's eyes grew wide, but Josée did not stop there. "Do you know... do you know how awful this feels? At least with Claude I hadn't known him my whole life and he wasn't that involved... but this is Jacques. And he... he's always struggled with his identity. He finally realized who he was. He started dating this girl... He likes girls too, and I'm glad he figured that out it's just..." she looked down. "He just doesn't like me."

"Josée..."

"And that's my fault!" Josée interrupted harshly. "I told him, after we kissed..."

"You two kissed?!"

"Yes, we kissed–"

"When?!"

Josée rolled her eyes. "When we watched that part in Bahamas and we had a fight at the reunion — can you not interrupt me?" Jen nodded, appearing apologetic. "I told him, after we kissed that we should forget about it. I didn't know what I wanted... I could never understand romance, especially after what happened with Claude... but I knew I liked the kiss, it was wonderful, it... it's so complicated! It would change things... hell, it already has! We're not just best friends, we're partners. We work together. If something goes wrong..." She shook her head. "I would lose everything."

"But you don't know if you try..."

"Kitty explained that I fall for people that I get emotionally close to. There's a term for it on that aromantic spectrum she went on about, called demiromantic." Josée felt those words were odd on her tongue, but she figured she would get used to it. "And I'm so glad others feel this way and that I'm not completely alone, and that I'm normal-"

"You are normal. Who told you that you weren't?"

"For the longest time I thought I wasn't," Josée replied sadly. "Everyone talked about crushes and butterflies and all of that merely after spending such a short time with someone, feeling that way about someone that they just met... and I couldn't relate to any of it."

"Honey, you shouldn't compare yourself to others like that," Jen advised gently.

"But still... I wish I could just fall for people at the drop of hat. It would make things less painful. Now I have so much more to lose..."

"Josée, stop."

Josée blinked at Jen's assertiveness. The Fashion Blogger went on: "Do you know the difference between getting over someone and pretending to get over someone? What he's doing now... he's trying to replace you, and we all know it's not going to work. You told him to get over it, so he's trying to."

"You don't know that!"

"So that's it then?" Jen asked Josée, in utter disbelief. "You're just going to give up?"

"He's always put me first," Josée began curtly, "For everything. Even when he was upset dealing with his own problems, he always put me and my happiness and my feelings first, even when he didn't agree. And now…" Josée stopped as felt a pang of pain in her chest. "…it would only be fair if I did the same."

Just as Jen looked ready to object, Tom came outside cheerily: "Hey! I heard that I'd find you here-" He stopped when he saw a distressed looking Josée. Just like that, his entire demeanor changed and sat on the other side of Josée. "What happened?"

"It's just stupid boy trouble," Jen replied for Josée.

"Oh, I'm good at that. Dish." Unexpectedly, Josée started to cry. Tom's face faltered significantly and grew uncomfortable. "Oh... fuck. I didn't mean to... maybe I should come back a little later, or...?"

"I'm so stupid!" Josée exclaimed, desperately wiping her own tears away. "Just why did it have to be him? He's so... so dear to me, and he's with someone else! But even if he wasn't with someone else... I... I couldn't figure out what I wanted! He's my best friend, this would change everything between us, and if it doesn't work out then I'll end up alone without my best friend! And... with things have been going lately, I don't know if I'll be able to handle that. But at the same time, I want to distance, but I can't."

Josée finished her litany with a few sniffles. Tom and Jen exchanged a look, unsure of what to say.

Tom was the one who spoke up. "Josée, I'm going to ask you a question. But you need to promise that you won't rip my head off." Josée hesitated for a moment, but then nodded that she promised. "Do you like Jacques, is this about him?"

It was a simple question, that everyone present knew the answer to. Josée knew that she should've expected this question eventually; however it was so different from the other questions that she had gotten. Other questions consisted of whether or not she and Jacques were an item, and she didn't want to admit how much it hurt when she said no. But now she was asked about her feelings on the situation, and she still was somewhat shocked when Tom had asked her upfront. She had to say it aloud now.

"...He can't know," Josée said softly, almost pleadingly to Tom. "Don't say anything." She couldn't say it outright. Admitting it aloud, she just couldn't. But this was a good start. Tom nodded in understanding, and didn't press on it. The next five minutes were spent in comfortable, knowing silence.