Yeah, Justin really can be stupid at times. That was definitely one of those times, that’s for sure. After JC told me what happened between the pair (for him and Justin have always been close), I seriously wanted to slap Justin silly after giving him a piece of my mind.

Unfortunately, I was in no position to be lecturing the pop star; he’s twenty-four for crying out loud, not some little kid in training pants. All I could do was watch him mope around with a broken heart, too proud to try to set things right. Not one of his greatest qualities, mind you.

Well, just when I thought things were going to go from bad to worse (and I knew they could get worse – much worse), Chris and Cameron, who began to full-on date, came up with the perfect solution. It involved Joey, Piper’s cousin, a wedding, and a certain song that Piper has a fondness for.

But here I go, gabbing away, yet again. You really should stop me when I go on these tangents. Oh well. Just read the damn story and be happy.

Three Months Later – New York City
September 15

Piper hummed to herself as she set her backpack down, stretching as she glanced at the clock. 2:30. She had the rest of the day to do her little amount of homework and then relax. Maybe she’d do a little shopping. Her closet could definitely use some perking up.

Oh who was she kidding? It had been three months with no word from Justin and still she thought about him constantly. There was never a day that passed when he didn’t grace her thoughts, if only for a fleeting moment.

She needed to get over him and fast, or else she would wile away in self-pity and regret. Maybe she’d convince Rae to go to a party this weekend. It was time they got out and met some new people besides those living on their dormitory floor.

Yes, some new friends, a couple new outfits and a party might do the trick in helping take her mind of Justin. As much as she hated to give up hope that he’d come around, she knew she was wasting her time. It had been three months; three long months of ample opportunity for him to make amends. But she hadn’t heard hide or hair from him since she had gotten on that plane back in June.

As Piper shook herself out of her thoughts and began to prepare to do her homework, her cell phone went off. Surprised, she quickly picked it up. It was rare that anybody ever called her these days, and normally when somebody did, it was Rae, Virginia, Genevieve, Cameron, or one of her family members.

“Hello?” she answered, not recognizing the number.

“Hey Piper, it’s Andrea,” the female voice of her cousin responded. Piper instantly perked up.

“Hey girly, what’s going on?” the younger questioned as she flopped down on the comfortable sofa in her room.

“Nothing too much. I’m just in NYC on business and I was wondering if you wanted to go get a cup of coffee with me,” Andrea replied, maneuvering through traffic as she spoke.

“I’d love to!” Piper exclaimed, her face lighting up with a smile.

“Great, I’ll pick you up in about ten minutes,” Andrea concluded before the two hung up.

Piper immediately hopped to her feet as soon as the conversation had concluded. The last time she had seen Andrea was at the party the woman had thrown (the one Piper had taken Justin to) where she had announced her engagement to her long-time boyfriend, Trent. It would be good to see Andrea, who was five years older than her, once again, even if it was just for an afternoon of coffee and gossip.

With a light heart, Piper quickly rummaged around through her drawers and began to change out of her grungy jeans and t-shirt that she wore to class everyday. No sense in looking bad if they were going to a nice coffee shop. And knowing Andrea, who was a very successful interior designer, they would be going somewhere nice.

As Piper quickly threw on a pair of black slack and a green polo shirt, her phone rang again. Man, she sure was popular today. She set her brush down midstroke and answered yet again.

“Hello, Piper speaking,” she stated.

“Hey girly, it’s me, Joey,” the infamous pop star announced; Piper rolled her eyes at his extravagant greeting.

“Hey Joe. How’s it going? You taking care of my girls, aren’t you?” Piper responded, referring to Kelly and Brianna.

“Of course I am. You’d beat my ass if I wasn’t,” the elder man retorted with a grin, “Anyway, Kelly and Bri wanted to know if you’d like to join us for dinner this Friday night. We’re going to be doing an end-of-the-year barbeque before the weather turns cold.”

“Sounds wonderful, I’d love to come,” Piper gushed.

“Great. Oh, and I think Lance may stop by if he’s in town and a few of Kelly’s friends. You’ll like them, I promise,” Joey added.

“I can’t wait. Would you like me to take the bus or are you going to be around the university?” Piper questioned.

“I can pick you up. Say around five-thirty. Does that work for you?” Joey said.

“I’ll be ready with bells on,” Piper responded, “Now, do I need to bring anything?”

“Just your wonderful self will do just fine,” the pop star returned.

“Okay, if you insist. Anyway, I’ve got to run, I’m meeting my cousin for coffee and she’s going to be here in a few minutes,” Piper concluded, “So I’ll see you Friday then?”

“Friday it is. Take care of yourself sweetie,” Joey said.

“Will do. Give my love to Kelly and Bri,” Piper said, “Bye.”

“Bye Piper.”

The two of them hung up and Piper squealed as she danced a little jig around the room. She hadn’t seen Joey, Kelly and Brianna for a few weeks. Ever since school had started, she’d been extra busy and hadn’t found the time to visit them. Now, though, she had the perfect excuse. She couldn’t wait for Friday to roll around. Too bad it was only Tuesday.

Quickly, Piper finished getting ready, grabbed her purse and practically ran out of the room. She raced down the hall, her hair streaming behind her, glimmering in the bright light of the afternoon. She was going too fast to notice the curious and interested stares she got from a small group of guys.

“Hey Drea, have you been waiting long?” Piper questioned, out of breath as she hopped into her cousin’s car.

“Nope, just pulled up, so calm down,” Andrea teased as Piper buckled and they took off, “Coffee and a little lunch sound good? I’m starving because I missed lunch today.”

“I could definitely go for some food right about now. Class always makes me hungry,” Piper revealed with a laugh, “I swear, I’m going to gain fifty pounds by Thanksgiving.”

“Girl, you never gain anything, no matter how much you eat,” Andrea retorted, rolling her eyes, “Me, on the other hand, I eat a grape and my ass swells two sizes.”

“As if!” Piper squealed amidst her laughter, “Come on, you’re the one getting married here; there must be something about you that Trent likes.”

“Oh he likes a whole lot,” Andre returned, wiggling her eyebrows at her younger cousin. Piper couldn’t stop laughing.

She always loved getting together with Andrea. As kids, they had always been really close, and they had stayed that way, even as they grew to be adults. Of course, with Piper in school and Andrea juggling a hectic job and planning a wedding, they rarely had time to sit down for a phone call much less a full-fledged lunch.

So this was a treat. A few hours with one of her closest gal pals; definitely something that could snap her out of the Justin funk before it took over her life. Yeah, Andrea was definitely the remedy she needed. The woman was off the wall, there was no doubt about that, and kept Piper amused with her antics and stories.

“How are your classes going?” Andrea questioned about fifteen minutes later as they sat at a table and had finished ordering sandwiches and coffee.

“Not too bad. Much more challenging than at MSU, but I’m surviving. I like a good challenge every once in awhile,” Piper explained before taking a slow sip of her water.

“That’s good. Met any cute guys?” the elder continued. Piper almost choked on the water she was consuming.

“Wha…what?” she managed between coughs.

“Oh c’mon Pip, it’s NYC, there’s billions of guys here, I’m sure you’ve got your eye on at least one or two by now,” Andrea loftily stated.

“I’ve met a couple, but none that are boyfriend material,” Piper lied, not wanting to go into her Justin problems with Andrea, who probably had an off-the-wall, completely insane retort for the entire situation.

“Well you’ll find one sooner or later. What, with your looks, I’m surprised you haven’t attracted the attention of Prince William,” Andrea said, silently breathing a sigh of relief to herself.

“Prince William doesn’t exactly live in New York City,” Piper dryly reminded her cousin. Andrea just grinned.

“Only a minor inconvenience, eh?” the chatty young woman said. Piper couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

A few minutes later, their food arrived and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they consumed their meals. Andrea, however, snuck a glance at her cousin every once in awhile, trying to judge if the younger woman still cared for Justin. After all, that was part of her job in this whole scheme.

“So are the wedding plans almost finished?” Piper asked a few seconds later as she looked up at Andrea.

“Everything is almost set,” Andrea happily stated, practically glowing.

“Only one more month left until you’ll be a married woman. No more drunken parties on Friday nights, damn you,” Piper joked, grinning.

“Yeah, and I guess we can forget about the wild sex as well,” Andrea said, pretending to be upset.

“Are you happy?” Piper suddenly questioned, her voice growing soft. Andrea quickly picked up on her cousin’s abrupt mood swing.

“Undeniably so. I want to climb on the roof and tell the world how much I’m in love,” Andrea gushed.

“It must be nice,” Piper continued in a soft voice. Andrea wanted to get up and start dancing. Mission accomplished. Piper still had it bad, so there was no reason to believe that all hope was lost where Justin was concerned.

“Hey, don’t be so down,” Andrea consoled as she reached her hand across the table and squeezed Piper’s hand in reassurance, “After all, I don’t want a sad bridesmaid.”

“Well you…what?” Piper demanded, her jaw dropping open in shock.

“I would like for you to be one of my bridesmaids,” Andrea confirmed, grinning, “How could I get married without one of my closest friends there with me?”

“Isn’t a little late to be telling me this?” Piper asked, still in a daze, “I mean, aren’t I supposed to get fitted for a dress and everything? Is there enough time for that? I just…wow, I don’t know what to say.”

“Well I kind of lied to you. Half the reason I’m here is to take you to get fitted for your dress,” Andrea admitted, “We’ve got an appointment with the dressmaker in about forty minutes.”

“You’re kidding me!” Piper cried as things began to sink in, “Oh Drea, I’m so honored that you want me to be a part of your wedding.”

Piper immediately got up and gave her cousin a big hug. Andrea hugged back, glad that the younger woman had actually agreed. Now, though, getting everything else ready was going to be hectic. And she had to call JC and Genevieve to make sure they would get Justin to the wedding as well as Piper’s mother to go over the plans once more.

“Are you just about done?” Piper asked as she pulled away.

“Eager much?” Andrea teased.

“I’m not going to deny it,” Piper happily retorted.

“Alright, let’s get out of here then,” Andrea agreed just as the waiter brought the check to their table.

After gathering their belongings together, the two women paid and left the restaurant, linked arm in arm.

Across town – same day

“Why do I have to be the guinea pig?” Trace whined as he joined Joey for a friendly game of pool, “Why not Lance? Or even Chris? I’m sure Cameron wouldn’t mind lending him for a day. Hell, let’s get Nick Carter on the phone.”

“You’re Justin’s best friend,” Joey stated as if everything would make sense with that simple statement.

“No shit man, but that doesn’t explain why I gotta be the one who tries to pick Piper up. I mean, come on, going for my best friend’s future girlfriend, that’s just low,” Trace whined, “Besides, how do you know that Justin’s going to take the bait?”

“Oh he’ll take it all right. The boy is head over heels in love, even if he doesn’t want to admit it to himself just yet,” Joey replied as he shot a pool ball into a corner pocket.

“He’s going to kill me you know,” Trace warned.

“Nothing he hasn’t tried before,” Joey said with a shrug of his shoulders as he took another successful shot.

“Hey, I almost lost my balls the last time Justin got really pissed at me. And you know he’s going to get really pissed if I’m fucking around with Piper,” Trace retorted as he grimaced, thinking of the incidence.

“Watch the mouth, Bri and Kelly are upstairs,” Joey said with a glare.

“Sorry man,” Trace replied, rolling his eyes as Joey shot yet another ball in, “Are you sure I can’t get Nick Carter on the phone? I heard he’s not all that busy right now.”

“Forget about it Trace, no amount of pleading is going to get you out of this,” Joey returned, another ball falling perfectly in line as he spoke.

“D…arn,” Trace stuttered out as he pouted, “I don’t want to die. I’m too young to die. Don’t make me do it Joey.”

“Wear a baseball cup. It solves all your problems,” Joey retorted.

“What if Justin decides he wants to push me off a bridge or light my apartment on fire?” Trace worriedly demanded.

“I’d start praying now.”

“Oh my god, this dress is gorgeous,” Piper breathed as she stared at herself in the mirror, “What made you pick green?”

“Most of my bridesmaids have green eyes if you can believe it,” Andrea explained as she admired how beautiful her cousin looked in the satiny green number.

“Anybody ever tell you that you’re weird?” Piper questioned, grinning.

“Many times,” Andrea responded with a laugh.

The two of them were at the dressmakers a couple blocks down from the restaurant where they had eaten and Piper was quickly ushered into the dress she would be wearing in about a month. It was two pieces; the bodice was like a strapless corset with some silvery sequins up near the top where it curved down to a “V” while the skirt was tight-fitting and fell elegantly to Piper’s feet, which were encased in borrowed heels. The entire ensemble was a deep emerald green that brought out the color in Piper’s eyes. she practically glowed with beauty.

“So you like it?” Andrea hopefully questioned.

“Very much so,” Piper softly said as she twirled in front of the mirror, amazed at what a beautiful dress did to enhance her looks.

“I think we may need to adjust the length just a tad bit so you’re not tripping on the hem,” the seamstress announced as she strode forward to interrupt the women’s conversation.

“Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t want to trip going down the isle, that’s for sure,” Piper readily agreed, standing still as the seamstress began to pin.

“So Trent and I are thinking about moving to New York City, permanently,” Andrea suddenly announced as she took a seat a few feet away, “We’re both in and out of the city nonstop that it only makes sense. And he found a wonderful apartment really close to the branches of both our offices.”

“That’s great!” Piper exclaimed, happy.

“I know I’ll be able to see you while you’re in school here, but what are you planning to do once you graduate?” Andrea seriously questioned as she bit her lip.

“I haven’t really thought that much about it,” Piper admitted, “I guess try and get a job at a newspaper or maybe with a magazine. I dunno. I don’t think I want to move back to Michigan, as much as it would break my mom’s heart not to do so. I want to see the world, live in some big city.”

“You and I could seriously be twins,” Andrea stated with a smile, “Well except for the fact that I’m five years older than you and I’m engaged to be married.”

“You also forgot that we have different parents,” Piper said with a giggle as she turned so the seamstress could continue pinning, “So I guess we really couldn’t be twins.”

“Nope, though I think it would be nice,” Andrea replied, grinning, “I’ve always wanted a sister. Three brothers is enough to make a person go mad.”

“I bet,” Piper agreed and silence descended over the two.

“If you don’t mind me asking, whatever happened to Justin?” Andrea cautiously said, very aware that she was approaching rocky and uncertain ground.

“He’s back in California with his friends,” Piper supplied with a shrug of her shoulders, “We kind of had a fight and haven’t exactly made up. He said some awful things and so did I, and right now, I think it’s best for the both of us if we go our separate ways.”

“But the boy was freaking in love with you!” Andrea protested, shocked at the short explanation, “Anybody could see that.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Piper responded, her voice barely above a whisper, “But I think we’re both wrong.”

“You like him,” Andrea accused, staring at her cousin.

“Yeah, way too much for my own good,” Piper confirmed, “But things never would have worked out. His lifestyle is so much different than mine and there’s also the fact that he’s five years older than me.”

“I’m five years older than you and you’re one of my best friends, practically my sister,” Andrea retorted, a little annoyed at her cousin’s lack of confidence in herself.

“I don’t know then. I don’t exactly know how Justin’s mind works,” Piper tiredly replied, wanting to completely drop the subject as she felt her heart beginning to tear where it hadn’t even mended yet.

“Oh Piper, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drudge up something that is obviously so painful to you,” Andrea stated as she rushed forward to embrace the distraught woman and annoying the seamstress in the process.

“It’s alright, you didn’t know any better,” Piper said, putting on a brave smile for her cousin.

“I know you’ll find somebody that will sweep you off your feet and treat you like a princess,” Andrea stated as she pulled away and went to sit back down, “It just may take some time.”

“I think it’ll be awhile before that happens,” Piper sadly responded as she thought of the blue-eyed pop star who held her heart as they spoke.

“I’m all done sweetie, you can go take off the dress now,” the seamstress suddenly announced after a few moments of silence.

Piper quickly got off the pedestal and left to go change back into her street clothes. After a few words with the seamstress, who left to file some paperwork, Andrea quickly pulled out her cell phone. She’d have to be quick; before Piper came back out.

“Hey Joey? Yeah, it’s Andrea,” she began, “I think I’ve discovered exactly what you wanted to know…”