Frills, and Make-up, and Barnes! Oh My!

            I sighed as I sat there, trying to hold in my nervousness and excitement, in the backseat of a taxi. I was on my way to my friend‘s, Elizabeth‘s, wedding. She knew just how to drive me up the walls with the constant ‘you’ll see’s she’s been chanting to me over the past few weeks of wedding planning and trying on dresses. 

            I hated the wedding process even though, heck, I wasn’t even in most of it. I was just the bridesmaid but the Dress Trial from Hell as I like to call it was enough to kill me. As if that wasn’t enough (trust me, her dress teases were giving me heart attacks. She once handed me this frilly pink dress with a serious face. She couldn’t hide her laughter for long though. Evil, just plain evil.) She kept saying she had brought a ’special someone’ for me to meet but refused to tell me who. Just a constant “you’ll see”. 

            Heh, you’ll see how I throw your wedding cake in your face if you don’t tell me. That’s what you’ll see, Elizabeth. I smiled to myself at the thought. I would never dare to actually do that though. She may drive me crazy but I loved the girl and wasn’t about to ruin her wedding. She deserved a wonderful wedding even if she did have me in a dress (she refused to let me wear a suit. Again, evil).

            The taxi stopped in front of the wedding chapel and I hesitantly got out and made my way into the chapel and through the hallways to the bride’s dressing room. I could hear, as I opened the door, the frantic and excited chatter going on inside. When I walked in all I saw was chaos. Girls in pretty silk dresses were running around with ribbons, hot irons, curlers, and extensions in their hands. It cracked me up.  It kind of reminded me of the high school drama club and how backstage during one of our shows, everything was crazy and frazzling. The girls’ dressing room backstage was practically just like this except we didn’t have room to run in there. 

            I spotted Elizabeth in the middle of the mayhem. She was standing, facing the mirror. I smiled as I looked at her beautiful Vera Wang dress. She was marrying a really rich, famous, guitar player from Panic at the Disco so she could afford the dress. Heaven knows I couldn’t. 

            She spotted me through the mirror and turned around, a goofy smile on her face. I couldn’t help but return the smile. I shook my head at her and she laughed at my expression. My eyes were probably (ok they were) popping out of their sockets. Her dress was just too breathtaking with its vintage style usage of silk and her hair was so pretty. She radiated with happiness that I could only dream about. She had found her happy ending. Rare things those were.

            “You look so beautiful,” I said, a smile still on my face. She laughed and came over to hug me. I noticed she was barefoot. Huh.

            “Oh, Rose, I’m so happy!” She exclaimed and I simply nodded. Her voice, everything about her was happy. It was contagious. I started laughing and smiling like crazy.

            “You should be. Look at you! About to get married to a total hottie and sweetheart! I’m so happy you found someone!” I beamed at her. “But what’s up with the no shoes?” Elizabeth laughed.

            “Oh, I just don’t want to put my shoes on just yet. Hopefully I won’t forget them”, she giggled and I rolled my eyes at her. Her Maid of Honor, Jessica, called over to her and Elizabeth rushed to get her hair finished. I walked over to the closet and looked through the dresses for the one with my name on it. I found it and took it off the rack. Huh, I thought as I looked around the room. I was in no way going to change in here. Too many people (a phobia of mine. Don’t ask. I don’t even know. Well maybe I do).

            I walked out into the hallway again and looked around, trying in vain to look for a restroom. I wandered around aimlessly looking for a changing room when a door basically flew out and hit me square in the face. I gasped at the impact of the thick wooden door on my nose and fell back on the marble floor, landing flat on my tush. It really hurt. Marble is not a very comfortable type of floor to fall on I’ll tell you that.

            I put a hand to my face, as if in a way to take away the pain from the hit when I felt someone’s shadow on me.

            “Oh, did I just hit you?” A frantic voice asked and I couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the British accent. I moved my hand from my face and looked up at the man who hit me and immediately my heart froze and knocked the breath out of me.

It was none other then Ben Barnes, my teenage girl celebrity crush. 

            I was bedazzled (hehe… bedazzled) by his acting and of course his gorgeous medieval looks in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.   After that movie I watched every single movie he was ever in and drooled constantly over his hotness. Hey, you can’t blame a girl for going gaga for a drop dead gorgeous actor. Especially when he has an adorable British accent.

            Now, I never expected him to be before me, ever, in real life. Especially now when I really didn’t think much of men. I had had one serious relationship and only one serious relationship with a guy and he had broken my heart. He stepped on it. Squished it. And pureed it. Gruesome, huh? Good. I meant it to be that way. Haha. Wallow in pity! Wallow!! Ahem…

            “Are you ok?” He asked, drawing me out of my troubled little dark mind (shame, shame). I nodded, still staring at his face, absorbing it, and gobbling it up. No way was I not telling Elizabeth- Wait a second. My mind flashed back to that evil little smile of Elizabeth’s. The one she wore every time she saw me these past few weeks. The one she wore whenever she had her little ‘you’ll see’ comment. 

I think I knew who the special someone was.

            I smiled up at Ben as he offered his hand to help me up. I grabbed it, trying to ignore the shock that went through me when I touched him. He lifted me up and I instantly let go of him. I grabbed the plastic bag that I’d dropped by the hanger and looked around. When I looked up at Ben, he had a questioning look on his face. 

            “Do you know if there’s a restroom anywhere around here?” I asked him politely, my heart fluttering uncontrollably. He smiled but his reply made me frown.

            “They’re closed”, He said. I wondered why he was smiling and then noticed the door that he had come through. It was a restroom. I looked back up at him, confused.

            “And so you went in there anyway?” I asked, a smile slowly forming on my face.

            “Yup,” was all he said. He just kept on smiling and I laughed. Geeky rebel. Just like me, I thought unconsciously and then mind-swatted the thought away. That was so high school and girlish. I was so not about to act all fan-ish and girlish-like in front of this guy. No way Jose.

            “Um, well I guess I better head back to the dressing room then”, I smiled politely at him and walked off before he could say another thing. My heart was pounding in my chest as I walked into the frantic dressing room. My eyes were wide and I walked right up to Elizabeth.

            “You’re evil, you know that?” I said to her as she finished straightening the last of her wavy hair. She whirled around to face me and slowly a smile crept onto her face.

            “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, trying to act clueless. I smiled and smacked her on the arm. She slapped me back. Several people looked over and we simply stated: “It’s what we do”. She giggled and beamed at me.

            “So, you met Ben Barnes huh?” She asked, her eyes full of excitement. I rolled my eyes at her.

            “More like hit by him,” I said to her and her eyes bulged.

            “What?” She practically yelled. Everyone in the room stopped to look at her for a second and then returned to curling/straightening/make-uping themselves. I laughed.

            “I was looking around for a restroom to go into to change when a door flew open and hit me in the face. You can guess who was the one who swung open the door,” I told her and we both laughed. 

            “You sure have a unique style to meeting guys,” She said between giggles. I rolled my eyes.

            “How did you get him here?” I asked, bewildered. She smiled mischievously. 

            “Oh, connections,” She stated simply. Of course, connections. I laughed and excused myself to go and change and luckily the once full restroom in the dressing room was now empty. I claimed it for my own and quickly changed into my dress.

            When I was done I walked out to find my shoes and put on my make-up. I had already done my hair at home (Took me hours to curl. Another reason Elizabeth is evil. Why?? Why curls??). By the time I got my shoes and make-up on it was time for the wedding to start. I rushed over with a grumpy Marissa to the alter doors.

            “I want Joe to be here! I don’t want to walk down the isle with someone I barely know!” Marissa pouted as she grabbed her bouquet.

            “It’s not like you’re marrying the guy. Besides, Jon’s cool,” I said as I rolled my eyes at Marissa. She pouted even more.

            “Are you still mopping around, Marissa?” Jessica asked, gawking.

            “Yes,” Both Marissa and I said. Jessica shook her head and then walked off to get her bouquet. That’s when the music started and I almost choked. 

            I hadn’t test driven these heels and knowing my klutzy self I was going to fall on my butt out there. Again. I took a deep breath and got in line next to Spencer. He said a casual “hey” and I hey’d back. The massive doors opened and we commenced down the isle towards the priest. Good god (no pun intended) the church was huge! I tried to keep my focus forward but I couldn’t help but look around. The place was breathtaking. Kudos to the wedding planner for the work they did cause it was awesome. The décor was elegant and yet at the same time casual. As I looked around I noticed someone staring at me. I tried not to notice that the someone had wavy dark brown hair and who’s first name was Ben. I faced forward again and by the time I did, I realized I was about to walk right into the priest. I stumbled back and rushed to where the rest of the bridesmaids were as a hushed giggle echoed throughout the whole church. 

            Great. I didn’t manage to fall but I sure did manage to embarrass myself.

            I ignored my blood as it rushed to my cheeks and looked at Elizabeth as she walked down the isle with her dad. She looked so happy and when I looked at Ryan, he was beaming too and his eyes were glued on Elizabeth. Aw, I wanted to coo but that would’ve been inappropriate. I’ll wait till we get to the party. That’s when I’ll bug Elizabeth, I thought as the music stopped and the priest started speaking. Sorry but this always made me sleepy. Today was no exception. I kind of let my eyes droop.. Sorry. It was rude, I know! But… I couldn’t help it! I could feel the disapproving and amused looks on me but I didn’t give a rats butt. I had very little sleep and this dude’s speech was like a lullaby; A very monotone and dull lullaby.

            Before I knew it someone was nudging me and I looked around, realizing that the “I now pronounce you husband and wife” had passed. Everyone was clapping and I chimed in as the couple kissed. Once they stopped kissing, leaving almost everyone in the room blushing, we left the room and I got the hell out of the fluff-ville dress. I had my own little dress that was one of the only dresses I would actually wear. It was a silk purple party dress and went nicely with flats (thank god or I wouldn’t wear it). I followed the crowd of girls to the party room they had set up for the wedding and I went deaf. The music was so loud! But what the heck, I thought, I like the music so whatever.

            I found an empty table and settled down in one of the chairs as the entrees started coming out. Some people were up dancing but I wanted food. I was starving.

            It was during my eating frenzy that I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around with a fork shoved in my mouth, expecting Elizabeth, and found myself staring up at Ben Barnes. I could have died from embarrassment. I must have looked so attractive with my now frizzy curls and a fork shoved down my throat. Oh god.

            Ben smiled at me as if it was perfectly normal and it made me feel like a pig. "Oink, Oink”. In a frenzy, I yanked the fork out of my mouth and choked down the food in my mouth. Coughing, I tried not to look stupid.

            “Hi”, I croaked. Ben’s smile enlarged while my red face turned even redder. Tomato much? Funny, that’s what I just finished swallowing. Haha… Shoot me.

            “Hi,” He said back and sat down in the seat next to me. I tried to hide the two other dishes I had of cake and other goodies as he settled his food on the table but that was pretty hard since…well… there was nothing to hide it behind. Except for my arm so that’s where I hid it. Behind my arm. As if it wasn’t oh so very obvious.

            “So, what do you have there?” He asked me. Jig’s up, he saw the food. I casually moved my arm back to my lap and looked innocently at the two plates of tasty but fattening food.

            “Oh this? I’m just watching it for… uh… Jessica, my friend…” In my defense, I couldn’t control my mouth. The lie just spilled out and hey it wasn’t really a lie. I would give it to Jessica when she sat down on the other side of me since I now felt too fat to actually eat the delightful cake.

            “Oh?” He said with a grin on his face. He knew, oh crap, he knew I was lying through my teeth. I was blowing it in front of not only a hottie but a celebrity that I practically drooled over as a teen (and probably still did whenever I watched Prince Caspian. Don’t ask, I’m a nerd. Leave me be). I sighed and eyed his plate. He got cake. B*****d got cake and he was going to eat it in front of my sweet-toothed self. Then he did the unimaginable. He handed me a fork and put the plate between us.

            “Than I guess I should share with you,” He said in his hot British accent. Pinch me for I must be dreaming. Actually, scratch that. I like this dream. So instead of pinching myself, I grabbed the fork and slowly grabbed a piece of the cake. I didn’t want to look like a pig again. He stuck his fork in and ate away… like a pig. Well, a very handsome pig that had some kind of manner to him though I don’t know how. He just seemed to eat… elegantly? I don’t know but he sure didn’t look like me when I pigged out. 

            “If you don’t start eating, I’ll have this whole cake in my stomach,” He said after swallowing. I smirked at him. I don’t know what came over me but hey, he threatened to eat this whole chocolate cake piece. That was not happening. My cake, mine.

            I snatched up a big hunk of cake and shoved it in my mouth and hence the food competition between us began. How he was so skinny I will never know because boy did he eat. I mean sure it was just a piece of cake and not a whole cake but you could just tell he liked his food.

            Our forks collided with each other as we finished the cake. I looked up from the plate and caught him looking at me with chocolate frosting on the side of his mouth. We burst out laughing at each other as we took in how we looked. I must have been a sight to behold but him? He still looked absolutely drop dead gorgeous with chocolate on his mouth! The world is cruel my friends. 

            Slowly the laughter faded and there was a moment of silence between us. Without being fully in control of my actions, I reached out and wiped the chocolate from the corner of his lip. My thumb lingered a half second on his lower lip and that was when I realized what I was doing. My hand snapped back and I blushed deeply. Dropping eye contact, I looked at my traitor hand in embarrassment. I was about to wipe off the frosting on a napkin when Ben reached out, grabbed my hand, and licked it off.

Ben Barnes…licked my thumb.

            If I was red before, I was the most vivid red ever created. I stared at him in shock as he let go of my hand. He looked as if he hadn’t realized what he’d just done. When he did, his eyes widened in the same shock I felt. Before either of us could say anything, Jessica strolled over with ten other girls in tow.

Reviews

[OutToLunch]

did.... i.. draw that pink one...?

oh, and i like this story too, it's very interesting. although, you must have written this a while ago, or something, cuz it needs some editing, but the grammar isn't so bad. i've seen worse on a lot of my stuff. or, rather, you've seen worse on some of my stuff. i don't notice my problems like you do. that's why we love ya, L.