"Are we going to do anything besides eating?" I quietly asked, leaning towards Jakob.
"The real party should start soon in the other hall. You know, dancing, the bar, and so on," he explained.
"Thank God," I sighed. "I thought we'd be bored like this all evening."
"Hey," he frowned. "It's not that bad," he defended himself.
"Niall," I poked the blonde in the shoulder; he looked bored too. "Confirm that this is very uninteresting right now."
"It's definitely very uninteresting," he agreed. "But there will be the 'fun' part, right?"
"There will, there will," Jakob laughed. "I feel very insulted, I planned this wedding."
"Everything will improve once the alcohol appears," I stated.
"Just don't get drunk, please," he sighed deeply.
"I can't promise anything," I grinned.
"At least don't cause a scene," he pleaded. "This is my wedding, not yours," he laughed.
"You can cause a scene at my wedding," I said, and he gave me a look that said, "Are you serious?" "Except you don't do that, and you don't know how," I chuckled.
"You're already tipsy," Niall laughed.
"Shhh, don't tell Jakob," I teased the brunette on my other side on purpose.
"You're unbelievable," Jakob shook his head.
"Listen, I'm here to celebrate the wedding of my best friend, who I've known for eighteen years, and you won't stop me," I snapped my fingers in front of his face.
"And of those eighteen years, you've only actually been in contact for eight," both guys snorted.
"Did you two gang up on me?" I pouted like a child.
"No, but that's a good idea," Niall said.
"I know I'm smart. No need to embarrass yourselves over your brains," I muttered, leaning back against the chair.
"Ooooh," said some guy younger than us. He must be about 17? "She just owned you," he snorted.
"Exactly, I just owned you," I laughed, repeating him. "Besides, who is he?"
"He's Bryan, my cousin," Jakob introduced, and Bryan waved at us across the table.
"Why are you sitting here alone, doing nothing?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be with those other teenagers we saw?" I turned to Niall, barely suppressing a laugh.
"I got a crap seat and can't go anywhere from here. And those others are younger than me, and so boring. They just brag about smoking behind the corners at school, even though it's obvious they've never tasted anything stronger in their lives," Bryan snorted.
"Your cousin is awesome," I told Jakob.
"Seriously, they haven't even smoked in their lives," Bryan added.
"Hey," I frowned. "I've never smoked either and don't intend to. Does that make me worse?"
"You've never smoked?" Jakob asked.
"It shows we've only been in touch for eight years," I snorted.
"Why?" Bryan asked.
"Because I don't want to be dependent, or worse, an addict," I explained. "But if someone your age hasn't drunk alcohol—they're a loser. Seriously," I confirmed.
"Exactly," Niall said.
"So how old are you, Bryan?" I asked.
"Eighteen," he replied.
"Aahaha, you'll have to go to college," I teased.
"Shut up, I don't even know where to go," he muttered.
"I know," I said, and Niall and I exchanged glances.
"Go to our old college; there are cool people there, and all that. And if you know me or someone from our group," I started.
"You'll be one of the coolest," Niall continued.
"Really?" Bryan asked.
"You bet. And if anyone doesn't believe you, you can call me, and I'll confirm it," I shrugged.
"Okay, just give me your number," he pulled out his phone.
"Jakob, your cousin is asking for my number before ten minutes are up. He's so bold," I feigned surprise.
"Bryan, Bryan," Jakob shook his head, pretending to be disappointed in him. "I expected better from you."
"Hitting on Luanna Perez while being four years younger than her? Not your league," Niall joined the act.
"Now I understand why you guys were the coolest there," Bryan admitted.
"Oh, Jakob wasn't there; he's a loser," I snorted, and Niall did too.
"Hey," Jakob whined.
"No offense," I chuckled.
Then I dictated my number, and Niall dictated his. We gave him the college name, but finally, our conversation was interrupted.
"We invite the girls to gather! It's time to catch the bouquet!" Lilah called out.
All the guests were already moving into the bigger hall. We stood in the group, but the teenagers were there too. I pointed them out to Lilah.
"Sorry girls, but we know you won't be getting married anytime soon," she chuckled, and they grumbled and left. "Ready?" she asked and turned around.
All the girls I didn't know were ready to catch it. You could say they were ready to pounce. I felt weird because I was the tallest here, even without heels. It was a good thing I didn't wear them. To be honest, I didn't care much about catching the bouquet, but I wasn't against it. I stood at the very back. Lilah threw the flowers over her head. I watched them fly and simply raised my hands. That's all it took to catch the bouquet that everyone wanted so badly. Lilah ran up to me and hugged me.
"We'll be waiting for the invitation," Jakob raised his eyebrows.
"What can I say? I don't even have a boyfriend," I chuckled, and everyone started laughing.
Finally, the fun part began. They put on music that instantly got people moving, and the long-awaited bar opened. Niall and I went straight there.
"What's up, Bryan?" the blonde asked, leaning on the bar table next to him.
"I want to get drunk because there's nothing else to do," he muttered.
"Well, you're not the only one," I laughed and called the bartender over. "Three of the strongest drinks for us."
"You weren't kidding," Bryan was amazed.
"Have you heard about me?" I asked.
"Only what you do for a living now," he replied.
"That's why you should go to Ohio or Hawaii," Niall laughed.
"Why?" Bryan was confused.
"Because you'd find out things about me that you wouldn't even believe," I laughed and downed all three drinks that had just been brought.
"What about us?" Bryan asked.
"Another thing about me," I shrugged. "I drink and order for myself," I whispered and walked over to the dance floor.
Niall's POV:
"Unexpected," the guy next to me said.
"Not at all," I replied, watching what she was doing and trying hard not to run over to her.
"Do you like her?" Bryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," I sighed.
"You know, you're doing well," he said, ordering drinks for us.
"Why do you think that?" I was confused.
"Because you're already here. You're going to the wedding of one of the most important people in her life with her," he explained.
"I don't think so. She just went with whoever was available today," I argued.
"But you were all available, and you planned excuses so that you could be the one to go," he finished.
"Yep."
"Smart," he conceded. "Well, she caught the bouquet, and I hope you're the one she spends her life with," he said, and after drinking, he walked off somewhere.
When Luanna was completely drunk, I decided she'd had enough.
"Come on, Luanna, let's go to sleep," I said, lifting her by the waist and heading to the room that was booked for us.
"But I don't want to yet," she whined but didn't struggle to be let go.
"You'll be very tired tomorrow, so you need to," I said, setting her down on the floor in our room.
"Fine," she agreed and started undressing.
"What are you doing?" I asked, turning my back to her.
"I'm uncomfortable. I'm not going to sleep in this," she muttered, and her dress fell to the floor. The bra followed.
"Take my shirt and don't argue," I said, handing her my clothes with my eyes closed. I was only in my trousers.
"Okay," she simply replied, put it on, and lay down in bed.
I took off my trousers and lay down next to her.
"What does this dagger mean?" she asked, slurring her words and pointing a finger at the tattoo on my chest.
"It means I already know what would cause me the greatest pain and what my biggest fear is," I explained.
"What is it?" she looked straight into my eyes.
"I won't tell you, because it's a secret," I laughed.
"And what does this mean?" she asked, pointing to the half-black heart. "Why is only half of it colored in?"
"Because I'll color it in when I'm with the love of my life," I explained again.
"You know, when I find that one person, and we're together, I'm going to get a tattoo. The words 'It all worked out,' because everything will be fine then. Everything will be resolved. So, if I say I want a new tattoo, he should know it's time to propose," she chuckled. "Just don't tell anyone. Especially Luanna, it's her secret," she whispered and passed out on my chest.