1 >> Moving Mountains
I watch him carefully, as he stares at himself in the mirror, seemingly satisfied with what he sees. His three-piece Yves Saint Laurent suit is cut impeccably, accentuating all the qualities that make him visually perfect -- his long limbs, slim waist and lean frame, his creamy complexion. He looks good in black, and he always has. His hair and beard are trimmed to perfection for probably the first time since I’ve known him. But then, I suppose that’s to be expected on your wedding day. He looks good, and more importantly, happy.
“How do I look?” he asks, turning his head ever-so-slightly to get my opinion.
I walk over to him, my long black bridesmaid dress trailing the floor, and stand in front of him. I smile and begin dusting nonexistent wrinkles from his jacket. “You look good.”
“Yeah?”
“Scared shitless,” I insert, “but good.”
“I’m not scared,” he chuckles. “I’m just nervous, I guess. I’ve been waiting for this day my entire life.”
“You’re such a girl,” I laugh back, resting my hands on the lapels of his suit. “I’m surprised she didn’t have to propose to you.”
“Oh, you got jokes.”
“Don’t I always?”
“You look good too,” he assures me, switching back to the subject. He stares deeply into my eyes for a moment, and just as I feel my breath catching in my throat, he turns back to the mirror. “Thank you for being here, Jess.”
“You know you don’t have to thank me.”
“I know, but you’re a bridesmaid; you should be with the bride.”
“Yeah well, you’re my best friend, so Talis will have to do without me for a while.”
He grins at our reflections in the mirror and then looks down at me. “You know, you’re the one that looks a little scared right now.”
“What?” I frown at him awkwardly and then avoid his gaze altogether. “I’m totally fine.”
“Now why you tryin’ to play me?”
“I’m not trying to play anybody!” I smile widely, “I’m just… I’m “ I’m happy for you, Justin. I’m really proud of you and very happy.”
We are both fully aware that I’m full of shit, but now doesn’t appear o be the time to explore that fact, and he thankfully relents. “Thank you.”
“I gotta say,” I go back to where I’d been sitting on the loveseat behind Justin, “as long as I’ve known you, I never thought you’d be the type to get married at a Malibu beach house.”
“I guess I like to throw a few curveballs every now and then,” he shrugs. “Plus, Talis gets what Talis wants.” He says that without a hint of disdain “ that’s pure love talking.
“It looks great out there, though.” We can see the wedding setup from where we are in the house, and it’s breathtaking, to say the least. “In just a little while, you’ll be down there saying, ‘I do.’ I can’t believe it.”
“I can’t either,” he sighs a happy sigh. “I cannot wait to marry that girl.”
“It’s been a long time,” I agree.
“Five years is nothing compared to forever.”
“But five years is still a long time.” I think so, anyway. It’s only a year longer than we’ve been friends, and I certainly feel like I’ve known Justin an entire lifetime. “Where is everybody? It seems so quiet up here.”
“I left them to their chaos back at my house,” he chuckles. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, you know.”
“I know, I just thought she’d be here by now. It’s almost five.”
“You worry too much,” he smiles, finally sitting down next to me. “You know how the PCH is, there’s probably traffic.”
I nod, wondering if he actually believes what he’s telling me. He knows as well as I do that Talis and her bridal party were supposed to be here long before Friday afternoon traffic settled over the city. “I’m gonna give Rachael a call, just to get an update.”
“Jess, you worry too much.”
“Well, you don’t worry enough, so it’s a good thing we balance each other out.” Picking myself up from our seat, I scoot towards the door, just in time to be greeted by Justin’s other best friend and best man, Trace. “Hey, you,” I greet him cheerfully.
“Hey. How’s he doin’?” I love and always have loved Trace’s southern drawl.
“He’s good,” I turn back to Justin, who’s now engaged in his BlackBerry. “I was just headed to see how everything looks outside.”
“Everything looks amazing, dude. There are so many flowers and candles everywhere, and the ocean looks all extra blue,” he explains enthusiastically. “It’s gonna be amazing. Fuckin’ amazing.”
Justin comes over to us, stuffing his expensive phone into his expensive pocket. “Are there paparazzi outside?”
“Tons,” Trace nods. “Supposedly, there’s a live feed on TMZ of the house.”
“Such bullshit,” he rolls his eyes. “Jess, could you find out where Talis is for me? I have a feeling there’s about to be some chaos.”
“Sure,” I oblige with a quick nod. I clutch the bottom of my dress as I make my way down the steps, looking for someone who might know what they’re talking about. Eventually, I spot Justin’s mom, who’s speaking with the wedding planner, and head straight towards her. “Lynn.”
She turns towards me in a sophisticated black suit, with a grin that matches her son’s, and answers, “Yes, darlin’?”
“Has anyone heard from Talis or her crew yet?”
“They are just a couple miles away,” the wedding planner, Erin, intervenes. She’s got a headset perched over her head and a walkie-talkie glued to her hand. “We’ve got a motorcade with her, we’re just trying to clear the route right now.”
“This is insane,” I comment to Lynn, gazing across the marble floor of the giant house, where more candles are on a cart, being prepped to roll outside.
“I know,” she chuckles, shaking her head full of blonde curls. “Have you seen how many people are gathered outside?”
“I haven’t, I’ve only seen the backyard.”
“Oh, it’s a complete mess out front,” she tells me. “I hope the girls don’t have too much trouble getting through.”
“Yeah,” I reply absently.
I stand there, watching all of this unnecessary commotion unfold in front of me, and I laugh to myself. I know Justin and Talis pretty well, and I’m quite sure that they would be just as content with getting married at the church down the street from their house. All of this is the opposite of them. For the past five years, they’ve been Hollywood’s favorite couple because they were so unassuming, so unpretentious, so low-key. This is the opposite of Justin and Talis. The rented Malibu house, the motorcade, all the hullabaloo that I know they’re not into, I can’t quite figure out how it managed to engulf the biggest day of their lives, but I had a huge suspicion that today was quickly turning into a day neither one of them would enjoy.
I spoke to Talis briefly last night, and she worried me. She seemed unsure of herself, which is something I’ve never seen from her. People like Talis Nixon and Justin Timberlake were never unsure, never unconfident. People like Talis and Justin were perfect. So when she came to me at her rehearsal dinner with panic in her eyes and asked if I thought she was making a mistake, I knew that this entire thing “ because it was more than just a wedding now “ had become something more than she knew how to handle.
Now, I’m standing here, and I don’t quite know what the problem is, but there’s a sinking feeling in my stomach that is driving me to look and sound like a paranoid idiot in the face of Justin. Justin, my best friend, who needs me to not be nervous, but supportive, yet all I can think is that something bad is about to happen.
“Jessica?”
I snap out of my overly-analytical trance and stare back at Justin’s mom. “Huh?”
“Sweetie, they’re pulling up now. Could you run upstairs and let the boys know?”
“Yeah,” I nod enthusiastically, “Yeah, sure.” I scurry back up the steps, where there’s a bit more noise, now that the other groomsmen are in the vicinity, and knock on Justin’s door. “It’s me,” I tell him.
“Come in.”
I walk into the quiet room, and smile at him. “She’s pulling up now. And she’s got a buttload of security, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I was never worried,” he grins back, walking toward me. “But you look flustered.”
“No, just relieved,” I chuckle lightly. “Where’s Trace?”
“He’s with the other guys, getting boutonnieres together.” The expression on his face shows his excitement and I’m starting to feel it with him. “Speaking of which,” he picks up his single red rose, “would you mind?”
I take the snippet of a rose from him and begin to pin it to his lapel. “Can I tell you something?”
“Anything. Always.”
I bite my bottom lip and look up to him timidly. “I just want you to know that you”.” My sentence is interrupted by Tera, the sister of the bride, knocking on the door and peeking in.
“Hey, you guys,” she says sweetly, giving us a quick wave. “Jess, can I talk to you?”
“Now?” I ask.
She nods and adds, “I’m sorry.”
“Is everything okay?” Justin wonders, just as I finish with his rose. “Is Talis all right?”
“Oh, she’s fine. Just a hair disaster.” She grins, telling us that she’s lying her ass off, but Justin believes her anyway “ mainly because he wants to think that’s all it is, I’m sure.
“Well, we all know Jess is not the person to go to for a hair emergency,” he laughs loudly, expecting us to laugh too, it appears.
I clear my throat and look down. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait, what were you gonna say?”
“I’ll tell you when I come back,” I assure him. “I’ll be right back.”
Or so I thought.
>>>>>>>>>>
There was a silence that had fallen over the entire house when Talis and her wedding party pulled into the driveway. It wasn't a good silence either, but rather somber and unsettling. Justin felt it, Jessica felt it, but even worse, neither of them knew why.
Tera, the maid of honor and sister of the bride, dragged Jessica down to the front yard of the ostentatious beach house, where a collection of paparazzi had gathered just beyond the lawn. They made no secret of snapping pictures of the two women, dressed impeccably in black gowns with large satin white bows tied at the small of their backs. There was no questioning that this was a classy affair.
“Tera, what the hell is going on?” Jessica demanded, her face becoming overtaken with anxiety. “Where’s Talis?”
The maid of honor pointed to a black Mercedes S600, parked just a few feet behind Jessica. “She’s in there.”
“Well is she aware that we’re all waiting on her? What’s she waiting for?”
“You need to talk to her,” Tera imparted. “She wanted to see you.”
“You bitches are crazy,” Jess shook her head, pulling her long dress from the ground to head for Talis’s car. She knocked on the tinted window of the pricey vehicle, frowning out to the press that watched her like hawks. She could just imagine the headlines rolling across Perez Hilton already. “OMGZ! Jessica Biel stops Justin Timberlake's wedding!” The media loved nothing more than to insinuate that her relationship with Justin was everything more than platonic.
Finally, the car door opened and she slipped inside to see Talis staring back at her, frailly. She had on her gorgeous dress “ a stark white Vivienne Westwood gown with a babydoll frame, the skirt beginning just below the top of her ribcage. She didn't have on her makeup yet, but she was stunning, as always. Her light caramel skin was flawless, and her short curly hair was highlighted with just the right shades of honey and auburn. Somehow, she still appeared to be a complete mess.
“Hi,” she greeted her perplexed friend Jessica of approximately ten years.
“Talis, what in the hell are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” she whined, frowning at the thought. “I don’t know, I’m just so freaked out all of a sudden.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Why aren’t you ready?” Jessica demanded.
Talis gave her friend a sorrowful look “ a pitiful look “ as tears escaped her chocolate brown eyes. “Jess.”
“No,” she replied with force, her gaze relaying her simultaneous realization and disbelief.
“Jess, I--.”
“You better not say it,” Jess shot back. “Get out of this fucking car, Talis.”
“I can’t do it.” More tears came crashing down her unblemished face as she turned to look out of the dark window. “I can’t.”
“Talis, don’t do this,” Jessica began to plead. “You have to go in there.”
“I can’t,” she insisted, unwilling to look her friend in the eye. “I can’t marry him.”
“Why?”
“I’m not ready. I can’t handle this. I can’t “ I mean, look at this,” she shouted. “Look at all this bullshit going on outside our window! I can’t live this way the rest of my life!”
“Talis, you’ve been doing this for five years. Today is just an exception, and then tomorrow will come and you’ll be fine. You cannot do this to him.”
“Jess, you and I both know that it’ll always be like this. If it’s not our wedding day, it’s our first baby, it’s our impending divorce, or our second baby. It never ends! And I just can’t,” she shook her head, still crying. “I can’t live my life knowing that the rest of the world is waiting for us to fail.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Jess spat back. “You’re being fucking ridiculous, and you need to get out of this car right now.”
“I can’t do it.”
“You’re gonna kill him.”
“I know.”
“How the hell are you gonna tell him this just an hour before the wedding, Talis? What the fuck!”
The bride gave her friend another one of those looks that said everything and nothing at all. One that said she didn’t plan on telling Justin anything. “Jess.”
“You’re a fucking cunt,” Jessica told her matter-of-factly as she opened the car door.
“Jessica!” Talis was shocked, not believing that someone so close to her could be so hostile. “If I face him, this will make it all so much worse.”
“No, fuck this, Talis. If you can do this shit to a man like Justin “ a good man “ you’re a fucking cunt, and you need to go.”
“You know me, Jess. You can’t--.”
“Apparently not. Because the Talis I know would never...”
“Are you gonna tell him?” Talis’s eyes were very obviously pleading with her friend to have mercy.
“Do I have a choice?” Jessica cut her eyes in Talis's direction and continued her exit from the car.
The moment her stiletto Manolos hit the cobblestone driveway, the uproar from the paparazzi seemed to come crashing back down on her, and she was suddenly very cognizant of what was happening. This was no dream, no movie set, and no one would be yelling, “Cut!” at the end of this dramatic scene. It was her life, and that of her very best friend, unraveling at the seams. Things were supposed to be perfect today. This was supposed to be the happy ending.
“What happened?” Tera asked, joining Jessica’s staccato stroll towards the house. “Is she coming out?”
“Get her out of here,” Jessica replied somberly.
“What’s going on?”
She stopped in her tracks and stared at the bewildered eighteen-year-old in front of her. Jessica had known Tera since she was in second grade, and she was still just as doe-eyed as ever. “Tera,” she sighed, not wanting to be mean. “She’s not ready.”
“Well can’t we get her ready? What do we have to do?”
“She has to grow up,” Jessica mumbled, frowning at the ground.
“What?” Tera was confused.
“I have to go.”
“Jess, what is going on?”
“I’m not gonna say it, and certainly not out here,” she peered over to the throng of photographers gawking at them through lenses, “but just get your sister out of here.”
“Jess, help me.”
“I can’t.” Jessica was now on the verge of tears, because she was absolutely dreading the look on Justin’s face when she explained what was happening. As much as she wanted to help Tera, she couldn’t be responsible for saving anyone else. “Just go. Have the driver take her to a hotel or something.”
“She’s really not doing this?”
Jess could only shake her head and resume her trip back inside. There, she was met with most of the wedding party, bustling around the foyer of the house, preparing for a wedding that, little did they know, wasn’t going to happen.
She ignored the sounds of those calling after her, probably wondering why anyone had yet to see the bride. She quickly worked her way up the large staircase, taking two steps at a time, in spite of her confining dress. She walked into the still-quiet bedroom without knocking, to find Justin on the edge of his seat, reading through his vows. That was the moment where her heart officially broke.
“Hey,” he looked up innocently.
“Hey.” She gave him a fake smile and stared cautiously.
“What’s wrong? Is Talis all right?”
“She’s fine,” she whispered, letting out a silent sigh. She had no idea how she was going to do this, but she was fully aware that the longer she waited, the more it would hurt.
“So, we’re on schedule, yes?”
She could only nod, and look down to the floor, willing her tears not to be noticed. “How are you doing?”
“I’m a little anxious,” he admitted with a shrug, “but I’m ready.”
“You always are,” she grinned, finally looking up at him. “I gotta”.”
“What were you gonna tell me earlier?” he spoke at the same time as his friend.
“It was nothing,” she decided. Certainly not important now, anyway.
“Are you sure you’re all right, Jess? You’ve been fuckin’ weird all day.”
“I--.” She paused to ponder her words before she let him hear them, wondering if she had the strength to do this to him. “I’m okay.”
“You’re lying, Jessica. What the hell is wrong?”
“Nothing,” she insisted, just as a few random tears spilled onto her pink cheeks.
“Jess.” Justin immediately went to his troubled friend, taking her hand into his. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m so sorry.” She shook her head slowly, holding his gaze with her sorrowful green eyes. “She’s not coming.”
His frown seemed to tighten and turn from worry to confusion. “What are you talking about?” he questioned, dropping Jessica’s hand.
She wiped her face and took a step back from the wrath of his inevitable hurt. “Talis. She’s… she said she can’t do it.”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about, Jess. You said she’s fine. Everything’s on schedule.”
“She’s leaving, Justin. She can’t do it.”
“No,” he began to shout. “No, she’s fucking ready. She’s here and she’s fine. What the “ what are you talking about? What the fuck are you talking about!”
“I’m so sorry,” Jess began to plead, as if she was the one leaving him at the altar. “I wish”.”
“Jess. No, where the fuck is she?”
“Justin, she’s gone. She said she”.”
“Where is she?” he yelled, finally exiting the room for the first time in hours. Bullshit superstitions were a moot point by then.
Hustling down the steps, he burst into the foyer, much to everyone’s surprise, with panic written all over his typically serene face. “Where is she?” he asked to anyone who would answer.
“Justin!” Jessica was just a few steps behind him, wanting to stop him before he made his way outside.
“Somebody tell me where my fucking fiancée is,” he demanded loudly. “Where is she! I can stop this.” His name was being shouted from a million different directions, but he drowned them all out in his quest to find Talis. “Where the fuck is she?”
He eventually made it outside, only to be paralyzed by the sight of hundreds of photographers’ flashes going off at once. He gazed into the brightness, still searching for his love in the sea of chaos, slowly turning his head from one side to the other.
“Justin.” Jessica reached him mere seconds afterwards, and attempted to lure him back inside. “She’s gone, Justin.”
He turned slowly, just as an S-Class Mercedes began to creep out of the driveway. He knew Talis was in that car, running away from it all. He couldn’t quite believe it, because Talis was never the type to run from him “ he was one of few people in this world that she ran to “ but he knew it was her. Though the windows were completely tinted, he even felt like their eyes locked as she made her getaway, taking his heart with her.
“Justin?” His mother was at the door now, begging him to come back. “Baby, come on inside.”
Jessica grabbed his hand, pulling him with her out of the commotion. His body didn’t seem willing to move, perhaps from the intense shock coursing through his veins, but his best friend was no stranger to moving mountains for him. And so, she pulled him into the house, gently shutting the door behind them, patiently walking him up the stairs, and back into the bedroom where his day began, sitting him on the bed.
Discreetly kicking the paper that contained his vows underneath, she sat down with him. She took off the shoes that she knew he hated and found dreadfully uncomfortable; she pulled off his Yves Saint Laurent jacket with the rose pinned to the lapel. She removed his vest as well, and loosened the tie that hung around his neck, placing them next to her on the bed. She thought he would probably stare into oblivion for a good hour or two, because that’s what he did when he was blocking out everyone but himself.
For a few minutes, she just watched him as he blinked at the darkness falling over the October evening. “Justin?” He didn't turn, but she could tell that he'd looked up. “Are you okay?” The silence was what she hated more than anything. “Please say something”
He was so quiet, it was a wonder if he was even breathing. “Don't leave me,” he finally mumbled, not batting an eyelash.
“I won't,” she answered sympathetically. “I'm here.”
“Don’t ever leave me,” he added stoically, emphasizing the second word.
“Don't worry,” Jessica assured him, beginning to rub his back. He flinched at her touch - something he'd never done before - so she retracted her arm, but promised, “I'll... never leave you.”
Story Notes:
Hey guys, I fiiiinally have a new story in the works. I'm sure you wanna kick my ass for the other things I haven't finished yet, but this one already has lots of chapters written and I know how it ends, so... yeah lol! I hope you enjoy reading it, because I've really had fun writing it so far. Let me know what you think.
Love you guys! -Ash
Love you guys! -Ash
Story Tags: interracial unrequited boyfriendj love fiancej vulnerablej
