Day Five
Morning

Cole's eyes fluttered open as the sun pierced through his eyelids. He groaned as he shifted around to avoid it, his back screaming at him for his sleeping situation these past few nights. The cushions had shifted to dip off the couch, forcing him in the hard crevice on the couch frame. Not to mention, his spot on the couch was the exact place the sun leaked in through the window. Nothing about it was exactly ideal. He stared longingly at the bed in the middle of the room. Besides noting its soft blanket and pillows, he also noticed it was empty. Waking up a bit more, he realized he could faintly hear the shower running in the background.

He didn't know what his sister had planned for the day, but he could only hope it started and ended with relaxing on the beach. The past few days were nothing short of absolutely insane. If they wanted everyone to make it to the wedding in one piece, they should probably cool it with the excursions. Not to mention, it was a lot easier to pretend everything was fine when all they had to do was lay on a beach with each other. Cole wasn't sure he could take another one of their outings.

The door suddenly swung open, causing Cole to nearly jump out of his skin. His heart rate instantly spiked as he leapt off the couch. Panic overtook his body at the idea of someone just barging into their hotel room. But his worries were quickly disregarded when he saw his youngest brother casually walk through the door.

The boy just flashed him a smile. "Hey."

"How the hell did you get in?" Cole demanded in alarm, his heart still pounding in his chest.

"Swiped one of your extra keycards in case I wanted to say hey, so... hey," Sam explained casually, flicking his fingers up to show the card between his fingers. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," he responded curtly, clearing his throat as he tried to cover the makeshift bed with his body. "You?"

Sam gave him a thumbs up, eyes traveling around the room as if looking for something. "You guys order a new ring?"

"Emailed the insurance company about it," Cole grumbled out, rubbing a hand over his face. The things he did to try to keep Alli happy. Maybe he would thrive in jail after being arrested for fraud. His mother was insistent on helping them phrase the email last night and get it out as soon as possible. He knew she was just trying to help, but it really didn't. Cole didn't even notice it went silent for a few moments. The air felt heavier, causing him to glance up at his younger brother, who was giving him a concerned look.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asked carefully, narrowing his eyes at his older brother.

"You mean besides someone barreling through my door unannounced?" Cole deflected with a forced laugh, hoping he would drop it but, of course, he didn't.

"You sure that's it?" Sam pressed, his heading dipping slightly as if analyzing his face for a visible tell.

He threw his arms out in defeat, asking, "What's making you ask?"

"It... it looked like you were sleeping on the couch," Sam pointed out in a gentle voice, his eyes darting around.

Cole didn't bother trying to hide his sigh, his eyes shutting for a moment. He was trying to think of a reason he could say, but it hardly even seemed worth it. He could tell by the look on Sam's face that he wouldn't buy into some lie. Honestly, people didn't give Sam enough credit. His brother was more perceptive than he let on. The twins always caught onto things that other people seemed to miss. Besides, it wasn't exactly subtle.

It reminded him of when they were younger. As the oldest, Cole often felt responsible for his siblings. He just wanted to help take the load off his parents. But sometimes, he couldn't help himself. Growing up, his parents were decently strict with no one in the bedroom after a certain hour who wasn't an Alvarez. Cole almost always abided by that rule, not wanting to cause anymore chaos in their house than there already was. But one time, he just didn't wanna stop seeing Alli that day. She was intoxicating and he couldn't get enough. They had spent nearly the entire day together doing homework and he just wanted to see her. They both decided that night she would sneak in through the window. They spent the time before she left making his belts into a makeshift rope for her to climb. He didn't want her to get hurt, but she assured him she would be fine. And shockingly, she did it. Alli had no problem climbing up the rope. It didn't hurt that their second floor wasn't too high up, but still, he was impressed.

They spent the night just talking, like they always did. They took advantage of the secret time they had together, but they didn't take anything too far. Cole was pretty sure they were both too on edge in fear of being caught. And they almost were. Apparently, Sam wanted to borrow one of Cole's shirts for school the next day. It would've been huge on him considering they were several years apart in age, but Cole wouldn't have hesitated to say yes. His mother did this special thing where she knocked and then walked in, almost as if it were a warning rather than asking for permission. It was a running joke amongst his siblings that she did it, and while she was trying to get better at it, old habits die hard. Alli was laying on top of Cole with her lips against his, and when she touched him, everything else in the world disappeared. Cole could almost always hear his family walking around, knowing the house like the back of his hand. But he didn't hear them this time until the door was opening.

Cole remember he shoved Alli off the bed in a panic. not meaning to push her so hard that she landed with a thump that made him spend the next month making it up to her. She thought it was hilarious after the fact, but she didn't mind being pampered either. But he didn't even register what happened because he was focused on acting casual, which was difficult to do considering he could feel Alli scrambling to hide under the bed. While his mother seemed to preoccupied with finding the shirt for Sam, his youngest brother stood there with a shit-eating grin that no middle-schooler should be so good at. Sam was making every joke he could think of while not outing his brother's secret. The look he gave him told Cole that he very clearly knew. But to his credit, Sam didn't say anything. Though, he did spend weeks making Cole do his chores for him.

Point is, Sam tended to know things about Cole very quickly. He knew when he was lying, hiding something, anything. This seemed to be no different. Sam never hesitated to let Cole know that he knew either. Though while he used to use that skill to his advantage, this time he just seemed genuinely concerned.

"You know I'm here for you, yeah?" Sam told him earnestly, placing a comforting hand on Cole's shoulder.

"Yeah," Cole managed out in a tight voice, forcing a smile on his face.

His younger brother nodded slowly, almost as if accepting the fact that Cole wouldn't be opening up to him any time soon. "Right, well, Charlie should be getting here soon. Told him I'd meet him at the front of the hotel."

Cole jolted at the mention of his brother's boyfriend. His eyes narrowed in alarm, sitting up and turning to Sam as he reached the door. "Wait, everyone comes today?"

Sam blinked once before staring at him like he had just grown another head. "Yeah, man, the bachelor parties are tonight. Did you forget the wedding is in two days?"

"Yeah, guess I just lost track of time," Cole murmured, his stress spiking again at the idea of having to keep up this charade for over a hundred people. Hopefully, the attention would just be on Nate and Scarlett.

Allison walked out of the shower in her loungewear as Sam made his way out of the bedroom, unable to hide her amused smile as the younger one saluted her. She motioned back, shaking her head as they passed by each other. Cole glanced up at her, asking, "Did you know everyone was coming today?"

"Yeah?" Allison confirmed in a questioning voice as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. "I thought you knew that."

He scrunched his face up. "Keeping track of time on vacation feels wrong."

"Yeah, well, get ready for the show," she mused, pulling an outfit out of her suitcase for the day. "We have a lot of people to convince."

"Oscar campaign begins now," Cole stated and Allison nodded in agreement, opening her phone as she got a text notification.

"Oh, Scar just texted me, your grandma wants to come say hi," Allison told Cole, locking her phone and tossing it onto the bed. Normally, this wouldn't raise any red flags, but the look on her face only made him slightly terrified.

Cole shrugged. "Okay, I'll get the door."

"Should we take our clothes off?" Allison questioned unsurely, holding his arm to stop him from getting the door.

"Wha— Alli, why would we do that?" Cole rushed out with wide eyes, turning slowly towards her.

"So she thinks we're having sex," she said as if it were the obvious and only reason. "You said to convince everyone, right?"

"Oh, my god, no," he emphasized instantly in horror, keeling over slightly.

Allison didn't listen, she just went and unlocked the door, glancing outside to see where his Nana was. "She's down the the hall," she told him over his shoulder before turning back and shouting, "Come on in! Doors open!"

"No, you're not being serious, right?" Cole questioned frantically as she walked back over to him. But Allison already had made up her mind, apparently. She grabbed the tops of his arms and guided him to the bed in the center of room, which had been untouched by Cole until this point. "I just meant make sure to hold hands!"

She paused for a moment, smiling when she heard footsteps approaching the open door. "Come in, Nana!"

"God, no, do not—" Cole shouted desperately but was cut off when she pushed him down on the bed. He gaped up at her, hands lifted next to him in shock. She didn't hesitate to climb onto his lap, hands resting on his chest. As soon as she pressed against him, Cole's eyes widened and he groaned slightly. He gritted his teeth together, hoping she wouldn't notice anything.

But of course, she did. Allison paused, turning her head to the side suspiciously. She smiled coyly, a wicked look in her eyes that Cole only saw every once in a while with her. "Is there something in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"Are you kidding?" Cole asked in astonishment, eyes wide as he stared up at her. "Absolutely just happy to see you."

Her jaw dropped at the admission, exclaiming, "Cole!"

"Alli, look at... this!" Cole sputtered out as he gestured around frantically, unsure what to even call what was going on. "It's been a while!"

She tutted her tongue, pausing before reminding him, "Not that long."

Now it was Cole's turn to freeze. "Thought we weren't talking about that."

"Maybe... maybe we should," she suggested feebly, watching him carefully for a reaction. But before he could say anything, the two were interrupted. "There's actually something I—"

"Cole!" A new voice called out, making them turn towards the door. And there stood his poor Nana, hand against her chest in horror.

"Oh, kinda forgot about that," Allison murmured softly as she slid off of Cole, offering the older woman a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Nana."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"What were you thinking?"

Cole had been ranting for the last twenty minutes about her stunt with his Nana. He didn't mean for Alli to act like... that. Luckily, his Nana just scurried out of the room as if she hadn't seen anything. He was terrified to see her after that— he had no idea how to act normal about it. They were making their way down to the lobby for the welcome lunch that they were hosting for the wedding guests who were starting to fly in today.

"I didn't think she'd care! Do you have any idea how many conversations I've had with that woman where she makes me feel like a prude?" Allison questioned with raised eyebrows.

"No, and I don't want to know! That's my Nana!" Cole hissed out as they walked down the hallway to where everyone was.

"I'm sorry!" she called out for the hundredth time. "I took it too far, okay? I know that."

Cole started to feel bad about his reaction, because in all honesty, he probably would've found that funny a few years ago. He sighed out, requesting, "Just... please don't do that again."

"I won't," she swore. "But I don't know how we're gonna do this, Cole."

"I know," he agreed with a sigh as they paused in their step. "Maybe we just... spend the day separately."

She nodded in agreement, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine, I'll go back to the room for a bit. Just tell everyone I'm still getting ready."

Just as Alli was about to turn back to return to their room, Cole spotted his sisters heading towards them. Scarlett waved at them brightly, calling out, "Cole! Alli! You guys coming to say hi to everyone?"

Cole slapped a smile on his face instantly, wrapping his arm around Allison's waist and tugging her close. "'Course we are!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Allison added with a grin of her own, leaning into Cole's touch.

Lila looked alarmed for a moment, sharing a confused look with Scarlett before giving the two a slightly frazzled smile. "Okay!"

Cole gave an awkward thumbs up. So much for that plan, he thought to himself.

They walked with his sisters down to the pool area where the restaurant was. He heard everyone before he saw them, noting the mix of family and friends everywhere he looked. It was overwhelming, to put it lightly. His own wedding had stressed him out enough, this was basically just the same group of people again. Except this time, he had to act like his life wasn't in shambles.

There were far too many people there for Cole's liking. He wasn't even sure he knew everyone's names, in all honesty. There were members of his family there who were invited more so out of obligation rather than desire to see them. He recognized Scarlett's friends who would take up the rest of her bridal party asides from Lila and Alli. Her friends were a bit crazy, if he was being truthful. He had met them plenty of times before, noting Maeve, June, and Aster from the sea of people. They were already throwing back shots, and Cole noted an extra one in Maeve's hands, which was more than likely for his sister. He also recognized some of Nate's friends along with his brother, who Cole didn't know how to feel about considering the boy mainly kept to himself.

Lila instantly ran from the group, greeting her boyfriend with a hug. She threw her arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around her middle, picking her up slightly with a smile on her face. She gave him a quick kiss, hating PDA in front of her family. But to be fair, Cole knew it had been a few weeks since they had seen each other last because of college. Cole couldn't help but smile at the interaction. Lila's boyfriend, Ashton, treated her better than Cole could ever ask for. Lila was a bit of a mixed bag— her good days were great, and her bad days were... well, horrible. Ashton was there for either one of those days and loved her all the same. He adored her, and that was all Cole could ever hope for.

Cole also saw Sam with his boyfriend, Charlie, who was essentially family by this point. Charlie had been part of all of their lives since the twins were five years old. He started just as both of the twins' best friend, but it evolved into more as Sam and Charlie were in high school. After years of pining, Sam finally made his move with Charlie. And to really no one's surprise, his feelings were reciprocated. Charlie just got Sam, and it was one of those relationships you really only encounter a few times in your life. The two were standing by the bar with everyone else, waving at them as they walked over.

Cole greeted everyone, eagerly ordering a drink for himself. He didn't hesitate to take a swig of his beer, enjoying the taste as he gulped it down in hope of gaining some liquid courage. He saw Alli already had a drink in her hand when he went to offer her one. Cole opened his mouth to ask her what she got but was interrupted by the very person he was hoping to avoid.

"Cole, Allison, I see you two are trying for a baby," his Nana greeted as if that were a perfectly normal question to pose.

"What makes you ask that?" Scarlett asked instantly, eyes wide at the casually asked, invasive question.

"Well, I walked in on—" their Nana began and Cole's eyes bulged from his head, not wanting his family to hear this.

"I told her we were," Allison interjected swiftly, leaning further into Cole's side. "But we're trying to keep that private, if you wouldn't mind."

His Nana smiled sweetly, but had a bit of mischief in her eyes. "Oh, of course, deary."

Sam narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Just can't keep your hands off each other, can you?"

Cole shot his brother a beseeching glance, noticing his boyfriend currently under his arm. "Says you."

"All of you make me wanna gag," Lila quipped as she leaned into Ashton's touch.

Nate chuckled, resting his chin on top of Scarlett's head, his arms wrapped around her. "You wanna gag because you're drinking tequila, Li."

"Speaking of, don't drink too much this morning, we have the parties later," Scarlett reminded everyone pointedly. Cole did almost forget, actually. Though they all already had bachelor parties, everyone thought it would be fun to do basically another round the night before the rehearsal tomorrow. Really, it was because Nate and Scarlett couldn't decide what they wanted to do tonight, and settled on this.

"How cohesive do you need to be tomorrow?" Sam asked Nate with calculating eyes.

"Very cohesive," Scarlett interjected before Nate had the chance. "It's our rehearsal dinner."

Nate shot the boy a grin. "Yeah... but that's not until night. I have time to recover."

"You act like you had full body surgery the day after you drink," Scarlett pointed out instantly, turning her head to look at her fiancé. "Lets not act like you're quick to recover."

Lila raised a challenging eyebrow at her. "Not sure if you think you're going sober tonight or something. But I wanna go viral again."

"You wanna go viral again? It was me on the bull!"

"Yeah, but it was my account, so I got money for it," Lila reminded her sweetly. "Besides, we haven't gone out together in so long!"

"All right," Scarlett caved, fighting a smile. Lila beamed at her, jumping slightly with excitement.

"This is gonna be so much fun," Lila squealed, a tone in her voice that was fairly rare.

"It's gonna be something," Allison agreed, shooting Cole a pointed look.

At least they would be able to spend the night apart.

Right?

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

Oh, Cole. You sweet idiot. Things never go according to plan with me behind the screen.