I loved weddings.

For one, the best weddings always have an open bar. Alcohol usually sets the tone for a good evening. And then, of course, there's nothing like being surrounded by vulnerable women all gussied up without dates who are more than willing to spend the night with you, then forget about their night of shame the next day.

It was only natural that a twenty-two year old like myself would indulge in such activities, right? My bachelor days stretched far on ahead of me, and I was only too happy to greet them with enthusiasm.

This wedding, though, was going to be a little bit different.

Partially because I was the Best Man, partially because my cousin was the one that was getting married, the poor bastard.

"Archer. Chill out, won't you?" I leaned back on the stuffy, oversized couch in the room the church used for daily mass and tucked my arms behind my head. "You look like you're about to puke, man."

Archer, possibly my favorite cousin, if I even had one of those, stopped his pacing long enough to shoot me a nasty glare. "Piss off, Carlo."

"What?" I said. "Your face is as pale as a sheet."

I was only stating the truth; Archer really did look as pale as a sheet. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he had cold feet.

But I did know better, sadly.

Archer and his soon-to-be-bride Hadley were a bit...weird. That was the only word my brain could come up with to describe their relationship. They bickered like an old married couple already and purposely did things to annoy one another, God only knowing why. Hadley was probably the only one who could get away with spraying Archer with the kitchen hose in the coffee house without being tackled.

They'd been dating for so long now that I had to admit it would be unnatural if they weren't together. Getting married only seemed like the natural thing to do for them, I guessed.

Despite the evidence in front of me, though, my mind still wasn't able to fathom it.

Why on earth someone would ever want to willingly shackle themselves to someone for the rest of their life was beyond me. Needless to say, marriage was not on my horizon.

"Dude." I sat up straight, giving Archer a no-nonsense look. "You're not having any doubts about this, are you?"

"No!" Archer grabbed the tissue box off the table beside him and chucked it at me. "I don't have cold feet. I just..."

I waited for Archer to finish his sentence. Instead he just continued to stare at the wall with a sort of horrified expression on his face.

"All right, Archer." I slapped my hands on my knees and stood when a couple of minutes had passed. "You gotta get your head in the game."

I walked up to him, slapped him on the shoulder, tried to get him to see straight. Didn't work.

So I slapped him in the face.

"What the hell, Carlo?" Archer shoved me back with a sharp jab to the shoulders. "What's your problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem," I said as calmly as I could manage. It was becoming increasingly hard not to burst into giggles. Archer was just the perfect example of why men were not supposed to be married. "You're about to be married and you look like you're about to be put to death."

"Gee, thanks," Archer snapped.

"Look, man." I gripped his shoulders, forced him to look at me. "You love Hadley, don't you?"

Archer dropped the terrified look for an annoyed one. "Do I even need to answer that question?"

"Right," I said. "Of course you love Hadley. You wouldn't have asked her to marry you if you didn't love her."

He was scowling now, with that twist of the mouth the Incittis were so famous for. "Where are you going with this, Carlo?"

Wasn't it obvious?

"Where I'm going with this is that you need to stop being a pussy, okay? You love the girl, you're getting married, this is a good thing, so friggin' act like you're happy."

Archer opened his mouth like he was about to reply, but then he just let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders sagging. "Dammit."

His fingers went back to raking through his hair as he started pacing again.

My eyes rolled of their own accord and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from heaving an exasperated sigh.

I'd had no idea that when I'd agreed to be Archer's Best Man I would be signing up for some therapy sessions, too.

I leaned against the wall, crossed my arms and watched as Archer forged a path around the room, muttering under his breath the entire time.

Honestly, I would've found this whole thing amusing had a wedding not been about to take place.

Who wouldn't find their six-foot-three, tattooed cousin acting like a baby funny?

"What's going to happen now, Carlo?"

I stopped fiddling with the white lily pinned to my lapel and looked up at Archer with a frown. "What are you talking about?"

Archer threw himself down onto the couch and buried his face in his hands with a loud groan. "I mean, what am I supposed to do now? I'm getting married, right? That's all fine and dandy, sure. But then what?"

His questions threw me off guard. Archer had always been different, but who the hell thought about things like that on their wedding day?

I may have been firmly against that one of the seven holy sacraments, but even I knew you weren't supposed to have any other thoughts but your future spouse on your wedding day.

I loved Archer as my cousin, but dammit, he definitely had problems.

"Archer, stop. Just stop, okay?" I sat myself down on the coffee table and rested my elbows on my knees, cutting my eyes to his. "You need to get a grip."

"Look, I just - "

"No, you look. You're asking me if I know what's supposed to happen next? What the hell do I know? I'm twenty-two, I drink my weight in liquor every weekend and I don't even have a stable job. 'Course I don't know what's supposed to happen."

I wasn't sure if I had ever spoken the truth more right then than any other time in my life.

"Right." Archer rolled his eyes. "Why am I asking you this?"

I grinned. "I'm your favorite cousin, that's why."

"Funny."

Silence fell between us for a few not-so-awkward moments.

"Archer, you're not supposed to know what's going to happen next," I blurted without thinking. "That's not the way life is meant to be, okay? You just...You take what you love and you hold onto it as tight and as hard as you can and you run with it. And I guess that's where the real adventure is in life. You just have to wait and see what happens."

As soon as those words left my mouth, I was a little worried that I had just spoken complete and total bullshit. But I realized after a quiet moment of contemplation that I had unintentionally been right.

I wasn't the type of guy who believed in happy, fairytale endings. That just didn't happen when your uncle was murdered in cold blood when you were eight and you'd seen your family fall apart because of it.

But that didn't mean you couldn't fight for your own happy ending nonetheless, when you had that one thing you knew was worth fighting for.

And Hadley? Well, the girl was a little spitfire who had more compassion and love for everyone and anyone than I had ever met before.

Archer would have to be an idiot not to fight for her.

Archer propped himself up on his elbows and narrowed his eyes at me, curiosity written on his face. "When the hell did you get so...introspective?"

I snorted out a laugh, rubbing the back of my neck.

"I hooked up with one of those New Age hippie girls last weekend. We smoked a lotta weed back at her place. Maybe she rubbed off on me a bit."

Archer did one exasperated eye roll, sighing again. "There you go again, ruining one redeeming quality that you just so happen to show with shit."

I laughed even louder this time. "It's what I do, man."

"Yeah, yeah." Archer pulled himself up off the couch, doing the hair ruffling thing. "But, if there would be any moment to say thank you, it would be now."

"Are we having a moment, Archer? Is this a moment?" I stood, holding my arms outstretched. "You wanna hug now?"

"You know what? Blow me, Carlo."

He couldn't keep the disgusted expression on his face long enough before he burst out laughing.

We were both hiccuping and giggling when there were a few rapid knocks on the door and then Zia Regina, Archer's mother, stuck her head in. She looked relieved to see that Archer was laughing and not brooding, like he normally was.

"There you two are," she said, stepping into the room, looking very pretty in a red lace dress, her hair falling around her heart shaped face in waves. "The ceremony is going to start in a few minutes."

"Yeah, we're coming," Archer said. "Ready."

Zia Regina smiled, crossing the room to stand in front of Archer. "You look so handsome, caro."

Archer flushed, obviously annoyed, but forced a smile for his mother's sake. "Thanks."

Her back was turned to me, but I could hear Zia Regina sniffling, like she was crying. 

I figured now would be the perfect time to make my escape, so I slipped quietly from the room, letting the two of them have a moment.

 "Carlo!" I was immediately approached by Lauren, my lovely little sister, as I strolled through the narthex, hands shoved in my pockets. "There you are. We've been looking for you all over. Mom is going batshit." 

 I sighed. Just what I needed to hear - mom is going batshit.

I groaned. "What now? Everything is going perfectly, isn't it? The ceremony is going to start in a few minutes, what could Mom possibly be going batshit over now?" 

Lauren did one spectacular eye roll, hand on hip. With the bridesmaid's dresses Hadley had picked out - some sort of a soft, lacy lavander thing - she looked like some sort of Vogue model about to strike someone down. 

 "I don't know, this is Mom we're talking about," Lauren said, blowing out a sigh. "Just go before she kills some poor person that accidentially looks at her wrong."

  I flinched at the thought. She did have a point there. 

I left Lauren standing in the middle of the narthex and went on a hunt to find my mother before she really did murder someone. 

It took a good ten minutes of coaxing my mother into believing that it really didn't matter if one of the flower arrangements on the last pew fell apart, because nobody was even sitting in the last pew. But, that was my mother for you.

I met up with Archer in the narthex after that rather embarrassing display with my mother, seconds before the ceremony was set to start. 

I wasn't sure what Zia Regina had said to Archer, but he looked a whole hell of a lot better than he had minutes ago when I was fairly certain he was about to throw up.

"You ready for this, cugino?" I asked, slapping him on the shoulder.

He slapped me on the shoulder in return, sucking in a breath through his nose. "Not a chance in hell. But let's do this."

 "That's what I like to hear." 

 In the end, the ceremony was absolutely brilliant. 

 I'd escorted Hadley's best friend, Taelor Lewis, the Maid of Honor, down the aisle, followed by the whole slew of others that Archer and Hadley had more been obligated to include in the bridal party rather than by choice. 

 When Hadley had made her grand entrance on her father's arm, dressed in an immaculate ivory gown, I'd immediately turned to look at Archer. 

 The expression that came over his face when he saw Hadley said it all. The way he looked at her...well, it made me think that maybe waiting to find that thing that was worth fighting for really was right. 

  Like any traditional Catholic wedding, mass was added, and by the time the priest actually got to the exchanging vows part, we were all itching our seats, waiting for it to be over. So when Hadley and Archer finally had their big, romantic kiss, we were all so ecstatic there was tons of applause and even a small standing ovation. I wasn't all that great at hiding my enthusiasm either.

 Unfortunately, it wasn't time to leave the church quite yet. 

After what felt like thousands of people congratulated Hadley and Archer, forming this sort of mob around them, the whole bridal party was then forced to pose for hundreds - and I mean hundreds - of photos. 

 Hadley by herself, Archer by himself, Hadley and Archer together, Hadley and her bridesmaids, Archer and his groomsmen - and, well, need I continue? 

It sucked ass.

 But, as this was my family, I put on a happy face and went along with it.

 The first thing I did when I made it to the 3 West Club, where Hadley's mother had insisted on having the reception, was head straight to the bar and knock back a shot of Jack Daniels. Consuming mass amounts of alcohol was the only way to get through this reception of rich white and gold table centers crystal chandeliers and vases of elegant flowers everywhere.

 The Jamisons had more money than God, and along with their social standing in the city, had been required to invite all of Manhattan. Or so it seemed like. And I thought the Incittis were bad enough on our best day.

 Through the magnificient spread of steak, potatoes, salad and little side dishes that I didn't even know how to pronounce, I did my best to keep on smiling and chatting with the people who made the poor decision to strike up a conversation with me. 

 I'd just knocked back my second glass of champagne and was feeling pleasantly tipsy when some waiter tapped on my shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, but it's time for the toasts in a few moments," and then handed me a fresh glass of champagne. 

"Oh." 

Dammit. I'd forgotten about the stupid toast.

 What did I have planned to stay?

Nothing. That's right.

But I was the Best Man, after all. I had to do what was expected of me, otherwise I'd be mauled by my mother, my aunts and grandmother.

Hadley's Maid of Honor, Taelor, stood then, raising her glass of champagne to the crowd. Silence fell almost immediately, and she then proceeded to regail us all with some story about how Hadley and Archer had been voted cutest couple their senior year of high school and now look where their relationship was. 

 I sort of blanked out during the whole thing, so I don't really remember much of it.

I bolted upright in my seat when I received a sharp jab to the ribs.

 "What?" I hissed at Archer as he glared over at me. 

"Toast, idiot," he mouthed at me.

 I bit back a heavy sigh as I got to my feet, champagne glass in hand. 

 It wasn't so much that every pair of eyes in the entire hall were fixed on me. It was the more the fact that I had no idea what the hell was I supposed to say. 

  Go for touchy, sentimental, humorous?

"Ah..." I took a deep breath, saying one of those silent prayers I saved for moments where I was convinced I was about to face serious harm. "I'm..."

The words immediately started spewing out of my mouth and I had no idea where they came from.

"So I'm not very good at this whole speech making thing," I began, making air quotes. "Yeah, I may not be the sharpest crayon in the crayon box when it comes to certain things, but I guess that's what I get for failing Life Studies in high school."

Laughter echoed through the whole hall. Not a bad start.

"But one thing I know for fact...it's that my cousin Archer here and his lovely bride? These two are probably the weirdest couple I've ever seen before. I mean, who honestly enjoys Spongebob Squarepants marathons and pizza instead of a night out on the town when we live in the city that never sleeps?"

Hadley flushed bright red and gave a nervous chuckle while Archer rolled his eyes. 

"But hey, if that works for them, who am I to judge? I'm not exactly like Romeo over here, and I'd be half as lucky to find a gorgeous, compassionate woman like Hadley. And you know what? That's okay. A relationship like theirs, despite how completely unnatural it is, is worth waiting for. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is - evviva gli sposi." 

 "Evviva gli sposi!" the entire Italian part of the crowd shouted, raising their glasses in honor of the bride and groom.  

 I managed to slip away from the high table while the crowd cheered for Hadley and Archer to kiss, and forged a path back to the bar. 

  The bartender slid me another shot as I took a seat, knowing my tastes by heart now.

I tipped back the shot, shuddered as the fiery liquid slid down my throat. So, the toast hadn't been as bad as I thought it would be, even if I still had no idea what the hell I'd been talking about. Maybe when I was a little less sober I'd remember, with any luck. 

 "Nice toast. Really captured the essence of the couple."

I glanced over at the guy sitting in the seat beside me and almost fell off my chair in shock. 

 He looked as if he'd just wandered out of some Grade-B horror flick with his slicked back hair and gaunt face, these eerie, hollow dark eyes. And not only that, but who the hell wore leather jackets to a wedding?

 "Thanks, man," I said awkwardly. 

The guy gave this sort of smirk as he sipped at some amber liquid, making this whole interaction even weirder than it already was.

"They seem happy, don't they?" the guy said, nodding up towards Hadley and Archer as they made their way down to the dance floor.

They were happy, obviously. Anyone could see that.

"Right," I said. "'Course they do."

 Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't care who I met at a bar. This was a family wedding, after all, though, and circumstances were a little different

 "And, uh, who are you again?" I asked bluntly, gesturing for another drink.

The guy grinned as he finished off the rest of his drink, set the glass down on the bar. 

 "A friend," he said with a casual shrug. "Just a friend."

A friend? Yeah, the last time I checked, nobody I knew would ever voluntarily interact with a guy that looked so friggin' creepy. 

I turned back to the bartender as he passed me another shot, took a sip before turning back to interrogate the guy further.

 The seat was empty. 

I did a quick cursory glance around the hall, half hoping to spot some guy walking away in a leather jacket, but no. Nothing. All the guests were focused on Hadley and Archer's first dance.

 I thought about what had happened for a moment. 

Then shrugged and tossed back my shot.

Stranger things have happened.

____________________________________________________________________

This was honestly a blast to write! I didn't think I would end up enjoying it as much as I did, so I hope you all like it, too! :) 

Well, midterms are finally done and over with and I'm starting to breathe properly again - definitely a good thing. Hopefully I'll be able to find more time to write (for Face Your Fears, of course!) now that things are slowing down a bit. 

Thanks everybody for sticking around for the stories and these updates - you have no idea how much it means, really. I'm ridiculously lucky to have fans like all of you. :) 

Happy (early) Halloween!

- Ally :)