[17]

The sounds of people-mostly females-shouting and squealing and generally yelling and squealing was the first thing my ears caught as we approached Parker's room.

Simone, speed walking in front of us, rushed to the door and threw it open. Immediately, the sounds of panic elevated as the scene unfolded before us.

People stood, huddled together in one large group surrounding the glass doors that led to the balcony. Most of them had color-drained and scared expressions-the few of them who didn't looked extremely pissed. Mida looked extremely pissed.

She was behind the group who were looking towards the verandah, watching whatever the situation was unfold. Her hands balled into fists as she held on to her white robe-gown, and her lips turned down into a deep scowl.

Amidst the commotion, Simone, Parker, and I were the only people who seemed composed.

We walked deeper into the room, towards Mida, whose expression lifted on seeing us. She closed the distance between us.

"What the hell took you so long?" She snapped at me.

Shocked by her sudden outburst-and slightly frustrated by the kissing interruptions today-I snapped right back at her.

"The fuck is your problem?"

"My problem?" She sneered, taking a menacing step forward. "My problem is that my wedding is about to go wackadoodle, and no one seems to care."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that things weren't right here? I wasn't even in the hotel. And I don't know what the hell is going on, yet you try to pour your anger on me. If you haven't noticed, I'm just as frustrated as you are, but I don't see you caring, now do I?"

Mida fell silent, her expression losing its hardness bit by bit. We both stared at each other, me with a frown and her with a blank expression.

Simone broke the chaotic silence, rolling her eyes. "The both of you are acting so dumb right now. We have a situation on our hands, and the solution is standing right here." She pointed to Parker, who had a shocked expression on his face now. From his looks, he wasn't even with us. He was too engrossed in staring around the room at the scattered environment.

"So, Mida, you can stop worrying about your wackadoodle wedding and focus on getting Parker to the front," Simone concluded.

Parker, recovering from his semi-shock, blinked and entered the conversation. "What's going on? Why is everyone here? Why does my room look like an elephant stomped through it?"

"Well, it's a long story-" Simone began, but Mida cut her off.

"I'll tell you." She frowned. Our heads turned in her direction simultaneously. "I don't know what's been going on between you and my maid of honor because she has totally gone bonkers." She motioned, twirling her index finger next to her head for more effect.

"What do you mean?" Parker questioned, a frown on his face. "There's nothing going on between us."

"Well, she doesn't know that. And now, she's threatening to jump off the balcony if you don't propose to her just like Marcus proposed to Simone."

Silence followed, Parker and I sharing the same expression, completed with a series of blinks and then a chorused "what?"

Simone tsked, shaking her head in disapproval. "And I thought Mida was crazy." She laughed. "This beats your record, Hun."

Mida ignored her, continuing her rant. "Marcus and Shawn have been trying to distract her for the past twenty minutes. But oh my God," she groaned suddenly, running a hand over her face. "If she should do that, my wedding tomorrow won't hold. And the press could get here any minute now, run a video, and then I'll be screwed."

In the middle of the chaos, I heard the voice of the maid of honor.

"Bring me Garthy, and I won't spill my guts at your wedding!" she yelled. The sound of glass breaking followed.

"There goes another vase," Simone commented. "We'll have to see the hotel management after all this."

My eyes widened. "How serious is she?"

"We're not sure if she's serious or not, but we can't take the chance." Mida shook her head, facing Parker now. "You're going to have to propose."

Parker's eyes bulged out, green irises becoming more prominent. "Propose? I'm not getting married to a psycho bridesmaid!"

"The two of you don't have to get married," Mida explained. "It's just to distract her until the police show up."

"You're arresting her?"

"Heck yeah, I am. I don't care if she's deranged or not," was Mida's quick response. She dipped her hand into her bra, putting up her other one for us to wait, and then emerged with a plain golden ring.

The rest of us watched her in shock.

"What?" She shrugged. "I kept a spare ring in case of an emergency." Then she grabbed Parker's wrist and pulled him into the sea of human beings. Simone and I followed after them.

"Did you two kiss?"

My attention snapped to Simone, who was trying to squeeze through screaming people just like me. I returned my full attention to the job at hand.

"No," I replied. "We didn't."

"Bummer," I heard her respond back beside me.

Yeah, it was a real bummer.

We made it to the front and met the scene playing out there.

Marcus and Shawn had scared looks on their faces, and they held both their hands out toward the maid of honor. Mida still held on to Parker, who was now holding the ring she gave him. All four of them looked slightly pale and scared.

I probably had the same expression on my face. In fact, my jaw was practically on the floor by now.

When Simone had said the maid of honor was going to jump, I'd thought she was just kidding. Now, seeing her seated almost too comfortably on the balcony railing, I knew how wrong I was. Terribly wrong. This woman was going to jump if someone didn't do something soon.

"Look, Elle," Mida spoke up, voice low and shaky-unlike the usual. Elle's attention snapped to her, softening considerably when she saw Parker standing there. "That's right," Mida cooed, letting go of Parker to calm Elle down. "We've got Parker here, and he's ready to propose to you. Just come down, and let's do this like rational adults."

A smile stretched on Elle's lips. Obviously, Mida's words pleased her. Effortlessly, she swung her legs over the railing, so she was now seated to face us, her gaze fully trained on Parker.

"Garth," she sighed wistfully, then pouted suddenly. "I've been waiting for you ever since. What took you so long?"

Parker swallowed, turning to the side and locking gazes with mine. I took a step back, scolding my racing heart. Parker had to do this. I knew that. But this was just torture.

First off, I got to plan my cousin's wedding. Then my best friend got engaged, and now, just when I think I'm about to take a step forward, there's a crazy lady standing as a threat to me. If that wasn't bad luck, then I didn't know what was.

The second time I locked gazes with Parker, he sent me a tight smile, silently reassuring me that everything was going to be fine. Half of me believed him. The other half was balling my hands into fists.

Parker turned back to face her, his hair swooshing around in the wind. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

Elle's smile grew, and she hopped down from the railing. Simone, Mida, Shawn, and Marcus, made to grab her at once, but she quickly grabbed onto the railing again. They froze.

"Ah, ah, ah," she put a finger up, then pointed it to each of them one at a time. "None of you move, or else I won't hesitate to throw myself over this balcony and give the press something to talk about."

"You're already doing that!" Mida sneered.

Elle chuckled. "Trust me. I could give them a bigger story. Try me."

Parker gave them a look, communicating with them with his eyes. "It's okay. You can step back. I'm ready to propose to her now."

"You better not be in on their plans, Garthy. I could very easily jump if I find out you are," Elle warned.

Parker shrugged, "why would I be?"

And...he dropped to one knee, holding the ring out to her, a smirk plastered onto his face. A smile bloomed on Elle's. My heart fell to my feet, and I drew in a sharp breath.

"Elle-whatever your last name is," Parker began. The murmurs from the crowd behind us faded into silence.

"It's Doofinsburg," Elle giggled.

From where Simone stood, she scoffed and mumbled under her breath. "You certainly are a doof."

Elle snarled at her. She put her hands up and stepped back.

Parker cleared his throat. "Well, Elle Doofinsburg, I hardly even know you, and I have no idea what you're going to gain from all this, but will you marry me? I guess?"

Elle squealed in glee and clapped her hands. "Garth," she breathed. "I love you, and I always have. You've just been so busy with all the other ladies and Camsy-" her gaze fell on me, and she scoffed and turned back to Parker. "But I'm so happy right now. You can finally see how much I do love you. I would have thrown myself off this balcony if you hadn't come here, but to show how much you love me as well, you came."

Behind her, Marcus was closing in slowly. He was just a few steps away from her, yet-luckily-she hadn't noticed him yet.

"I'm so happy right now. I could die!" she suddenly shouted. "Ye-"

Marcus was right behind her, hands spread out. Shawn, Mida, Simone, and Parker exhaled with relief. He sent me a wink, and I laughed.

She turned sharply to me. "Is something funny?"

All tension was gone now-there was no way she was jumping anywhere, not today at least. I shrugged.

"Your face."

"My face?"

"Yeah. Your face when you notice that you've lost."

"What do you-"

Marcus cut her off by tapping her shoulder. When she turned around to see who it was behind her, he waved, successfully putting a dazed expression on her features. Then he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

The crowd cheered.

Elle screamed, "No! Put me down this instant. I'm about to get married!"

"Not to me, at least. Thank God for that," Parker laughed, getting up and brushing the dust off his jeans. "And no, I don't love you. Not even in the slightest."

Elle stilled. I stilled. Then she burst out crying.

Parker and I shared a glance, him smiling warmly at me. I smiled right back.