A high ceiling loomed above me and flowing, white curtains hung on equally high windows. Sunlight filtered through stained glass and bathed me in warm, vibrant color. My pure white gown took on new hues of green's and red's, blue's and purple's. A rainbow fell on the bouquet in my hands, transforming the white roses into classic red and trendy blue, but only for a moment. I walked past the windows quickly too quickly. Only then did I notice that I held the arm of my father, who appeared to be leading me down an aisle toward a priest who stood in front of a gorgeously made, mahogany, alter. The powerful strains of organ music reached my ears and I quickly recognized the piece. The "Wedding March" seemed to sweep me toward the priest and my feet felt as if they were gliding on nothing but air. I was getting married. The sudden realization hit me like Thor's hammer and my stomach began to twist into knots. Stopping at the altar, I turned to my father, imagine my shock when I saw that his usually clean-shaven face was hidden by a huge handlebar moustache!

 

I stumbled back a bit, but he smiled at me warmly, whispering, "Don't get the jitters now, girl. Your mama's watchin' and you don't wanna give her another reason to cry, do you?" I glanced backward, ignoring the Southern drawl that I'd never heard from him, and noticed for the first time that we were in a large cathedral that was packed with people. Friends, family, even celebrities I'd only seen on TV sat in pews, all dressed to the nines. But my eyes stopped as soon as I found my mother. She, just as my father, looked different from what I remembered. Her usually short, chocolate brown hair seemed long and was pulled up into a tight bun. I hadn't seen her hair like that since I was seven. Also, she no longer had any of the weight she'd gained from six pregnancies, but was instead beautifully proportioned and seemed to have grown a few inches.

 

Turning to my dad, I saw that he had also gotten taller. I just hoped that didn't mean that I had gotten shorter. Pushing the negative thought from my mind, I focused my attention to the priest. His majestic, almost gaudy, outfit blended in perfectly with the overwhelming magnificence around us. Feeling my father nudging me forward, I stepped onto the raised platform. It wasn't tall, probably only six inches, but I felt like I was stepping onto cloud nine. I looked into the old priest's kind, pale blue eyes and smiled. He took my hand gently and whispered what I assumed to be either his congratulations or a blessing.

 

As soon as he released my hands, I turned. I looked down, but quickly looked back up as my lightening fast brain remembered that to be getting married, I had to have a groom. My eyes grew wide as I saw my husband-to-be for what felt like the first time.

 

"Brad Pitt?" I said, the lovely feelings I'd had a moment ago disappearing and turning into slight horror. Brad grinned at me and reached for my hands, but I held them to my sides. I was about to ask him why I was getting married, and to him of all people, when the sound of a monkey chattering redirected my attention.

 

There, at my feet, stood a monkey. He was dressed in a small suit and was carrying a pillow that had two rings on it. Two gold rings. I don't like gold.

 

"Whoa, whoa!" I said, holding up my gloved hands and nearly tripping over my trailing gown as I stepped back. I bunched the back of my dress up and held it tightly to avoid a nasty spill as I opened my mouth again to ask him why we were getting married, but yet another voice stopped me.

 

"Aeryn!" Came the ringing call, the voice laced with desperation. I turned my head quickly, searching for the source of the noise, and my jaw dropped as I saw who called my name.

 

"Joe Jonas?!" I cried, dropping my skirts and putting my hands on my head. Joe stepped closer and yelled again, "Aeryn!" But he sounded much less masculine than I remembered. Granted, I'd never seen Joe Jonas as very masculine anyway, but this sounded even more feminine than Justin Beiber. I closed my eyes. If I wasn't looking, it sounded a lot like...

 

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My eyeballs flew open and I looked around in confusion, my dilated eyes seeing everything in fuzzy shapes. I managed to recognize my bed and the shelf that ran along one side of my bed. Sighing in relief, I muttered, "It was only a dream." I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked around. It was still dark outside and the alarm clock by my head glowed red. 'Two o' six?' I thought, wondering why in the world the light in my room was on at this time of night.

 

A voice cut through my thoughts, startling me, "About time you woke up." Rose said.

 

I turned around and blinked, still getting used to the light filling my vision. Rose stood at the edge of my bed, fully dressed and even wearing a little makeup. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes and forced sound from my throat, "Why are you waking me up?" I asked, my voice sounding hoarse and sleepy.

 

Rose shook her head, laying an outfit beside me on the bed and laying a towel on top of it. "It's time to go, sleepy head." She smiled gently at me and finished, "Get showered and dressed. When you're done, I'll have breakfast ready, 'kay?" I nodded my head wearily as my sleep-muddled brain began to remember why we were waking up so early, We're going to California. I thought as I stood up and stumbled to the adjoining bathroom.

 

I sighed in contentment as the warm water fell on me, my mind clearing as I lathered my hair and washed my body. I can't believe it, we're almost there! I squealed happily, doing a sort of happy jig in the shower and nearly killing myself when I slipped. Luckily, I managed to grab the shower bar, Focus, Aeryn! I commanded myself as I ran soap over my pale skin, glad I'd shaved the morning before.

 

As soon as I'd dressed, I walked to the kitchen, feeling much better. Unfortunately, I was so tired I nearly ran into the doorway when I walked into the kitchen. "Who's the genius who decided we should take a red-eye flight?" I asked groggily, seating myself at the small table and resting my head on my folded arms.

 

I felt something nudging my shoulder, so I looked up. Rose stood behind me in an apron, holding a spatula and a plate. "That would be you." She answered, motioning me to sit up.

 

I groaned in protest as I sat properly, the smell of bacon, eggs, sausage, and toast quickly had my mouth watering though. I took a large bite of my eggs, relishing in the warmth that covered my tongue. God, take me now. I thought, chewing slowly and swallowing before taking a bite of the sausage. Leave it to Rose to make a filling breakfast at three in the morning. Glancing at the clock on the stove, I corrected myself, It's already 3:20...

 

Rose sat in front of me and I redirected my attention to her, thanking her before I polished off my breakfast. Rose finished quickly too and we both grabbed suitcases and coats without another word between us. What do you say at three-thirty in the morning?

 

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We drove to the terminal with minimal chit-chat. Me, still way too tired to think properly and Rose, trying to make sure we didn't get lost. The half-hour drive passed surprisingly slowly, but we soon found ourselves sitting in front of the terminal. After finding our friend who lived near the airport and was going to keep our car in her garage for us, we bid hasty goodbyes and headed to the terminal.

 

I glanced at Rose as we walked in and found her doing the same. A silent phrase was sent between us, We're almost there! I didn't say anything until we got to the gate, but Rose seemed perfectly fine with talking for me and I didn't mind one bit. Once in front of the gate, we made our way into the plane.

 

A tiny Oriental-looking flight attendant led us to our seats and there was a slight Asian accent in her voice as she said, "Hello, my name is Jennifer. If you need anything during this flight, just let me know. We have free drinks and snacks, so don't hesitate." She had a very motherly tone, and we both liked her instantly.

 

"My name is Rose." My bestie said, obviously assuming charge of our two person group. Gesturing toward me, she leaned closer to the flight attendant and stage whispered, “And this is Aeryn. She’s a bit shy, so don’t mind her.”

 

“Hey!” I exclaimed, punching her arm playfully and glaring as best I could, which really wasn’t much. She retaliated by throwing an arm around my shoulders and patting the top of my head with her other hand, giving me a sickly sweet smile the entire time.

 

Jennifer laughed at our antics and promised to come check on us as soon as she had the other passengers settled. I waved as she walked away before settling into my seat and pulling out my iPod.

 

“Aeryn. Earth to Aeryn.” Rose poked my arm as I shoved headphones into my ears and I simply shook her off, determined to make it look like I was mad at her for saying I was shy, even though it was true. “Aeryn~!” She whined, using every ounce of aegyo she had in her white girl body. I kept my head down, avoiding the adorable pout I knew she would be wearing. Of course, she couldn’t just leave me be with my pathetic semblance of victory. She had to step it up. Turning my head so I had to look at her, she used my hated nickname she only used when she wanted something, “Rynnie!” She whined, an evil glint appearing in her eyes as soon as she saw my resolve crumbling. I made a valiant effort, but alas, no one could stare upon the epic pout of the aegyo queen and walk away unscathed.

 

I groaned and answered, “Yes?” While mentally screaming at myself that if I had just held out a bit longer, I could have finally said that I was the only person alive who could resist the charm of ____ ______.

 

Ah well, I could always just add that to my New Year’s resolutions, but Rose wasn’t going to leave me alone after her victory.

 

I held back a scowl as I watched her cute pout transform into a triumphant smirk, signaling that she knew she’d won. I rolled my eyes as she voiced whatever she’d wanted to tell me before we’d gotten into our battle of mind over aegyo.

 

“I just wanted to let you know that I booked our hotel and you’ll never believe what I was able to get.” Her eyes sparkled and I took that as a sign that whatever she’d done was going to make me either squeal like a fangirl with a case of the feels or make me want to jump out of the plane and drag my own broken body right back home. Unfortunately, it was the latter.

 

“I got us reservations in the same hotel that all the idols are going to be staying at and according to some rumors we’re only one floor above them!!!” She clapped her hands excitedly and bounced in her seat, earning a few odd looks and a glare from the people around us.

 

“Excuse me?” I asked, my voice rising a pitch halfway through my sentence. Rose didn’t seem to notice my voice cracking as she launched into another account of what she’d done. But with one hand, I managed to halt her, for me, spine-chilling, story. With a gulp, I said quietly, “You know, this means we may, at some point during our stay, run into these idols at the hotel, right?” I smiled slightly, hoping she’d get my hint and change the reservations or something. It’s not like I was trying to avoid these people (okay, maybe just a little bit), but I was one of those secret admirer fans. The ones who are fiercely loyal, but don’t really do anything to try to catch the attention of their object of affection.

 

Rose grinned, flashing her perfect, pearly teeth, “Of course, I do, silly!” She ruffled my hair, something that I absolutely hate, and took out her own iPod. Slipping headphones into her ears and pulling out a book was something I’d learned to take as a sign that she was going off into her own little world for a while and I was not welcome to disrupt her.

 

I sat back into my seat and sighed, running my fingers over the arms of the chair. Hitting shuffle, I leaned toward the window and looked out, noticing that I was finally able to see dawn brightening the horizon. I smiled as I recognized the first few lines of Taylor Swift’s “Superstar” playing through my ears, but only for a fraction of a second. The rest of that second was spent trying not to hurl at the thought of Kyuhyun from Super Junior seeing me in my frumpy pajamas at the ice machine. That wouldn’t go over very well. I thought, snuggling deeper into my seat and pulling the thin airplane blanket around me, trying to ward off the chill that had settled in my bones from the dark, early morning view.

 

My last conscience thought before I slipped into dreamland was that this was going to be the most life-changing week of my life.

 

If I’d of known, would I have done it?