Chapter 2
The day of Flynn and Carrie’s wedding was the same day they came to town. After getting off the bus, it was a whirlwind of activity since none of them brought decent enough clothes to wear for a wedding, with the exception of Julie. They only had their performing clothes and their lay back clothes for time off. They had ten hours before the wedding, the first three spent at a clothing store Flynn owned, and then they went searching through the town, trying to spot as many differences as they could. At one point, Reggie was frozen, standing in front of Nick’s gym. Flynn noticed before the others did, probably because she was the only one that hadn’t left town, pulling him away with a sad but hopeful smile. A group of teenagers that had just been kids when they left saw them, begging for autographs. The band signed with huge grins, appreciating every second with their new fans in their old home.
Then it was time for the wedding. Flynn waited until Reggie was dressed and ready to tell him about Nick. She poked her head around the door to look at him, “So, you know how you walk down with Carrie’s best person?”
“Yeah?” Reggie raised an eyebrow, uncertainty creeping up on him.
Flynn thrust the door open, Nick standing just behind her on the other side. Reggie forgot how to breath, every ounce of air in his lungs feeling like it was sucked out. He figured Nick would still look good, but he looked better than Reggie could have imagined, and Reggie couldn’t keep himself from staring. His blonde hair as shaggy as ever still looked like it caught the light. His hazel eyes were still the most breathtaking jewels Reggie had ever seen. And his suit fit perfectly, showing off his muscles. But, he belatedly noticed that Nick didn’t seem to be doing much better, his eyes were wide and his mouth hanging slightly open. Flynn had dressed Reggie in a dark suit, refusing to slick his hair back in his signature style, so it fell in soft waves off to the side. Flynn looked back and forth between them before just clapping her hands together hard. They both shook their heads, refocusing. “I probably should’ve mentioned to both of you who you’d be walking with...” Flynn paused for a second before pushing Nick into the room, “Y’all can talk for a minute.” And she pulled the door shut.
“Uh,” Reggie blinked. He knew Nick stayed home, but he never stopped to think he’d see the love of his life in the two days he’d be back. “I hope you’ve been doing okay.”
“Yeah,” Nick smiled slightly, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Dylan has been helping at the gym. We have an apartment together.”
Reggie’s heart broke. He had suspected back in the day that Dylan had a thing for Nick, but he didn’t expect to come back to find them dating. “That’s great.” Reggie forced a smile, “I’m happy for you.” Before Nick could reply, Reggie pushed the door open and left the room.
Reggie tried to avoid eye contact with Nick and Dylan throughout the ceremony, not wanting to see the love they shared now. So he didn’t see the hurt in Nick’s eyes or the anger in Dylan’s, instead focusing on his sister’s vows.
At the reception, the band noticed that the girls didn’t invite anyone younger than them to the event, but they were set to play three songs before the DJ would take over, the first being the song that Flynn wrote for Carrie, followed by their number one hit to get the crowd really moving after the brides dance. When it was time for their third song, Julie and Luke insisted they play Blonde Beauty, to Reggie’s dismay. He had written that song about Nick, and they knew that. Not wanting to start a scene on his sister’s big day, he got into position to play it. This song was released as a single right after they made it big, just before Nick and Reggie had decided to call off their relationship. Reggie looked up long enough to catch Nick’s eyes widen as the song started, and then he turned to watch Flynn and Carrie. He started the vocals of the only song that he sang on his own in their career.
“A blonde beauty walks this way
A light I can see any time of day
Your eyes say you’re dangerous
Your smile says it too
But it’s a risk I would take
Just to get close to you
A blonde beauty the world needs to know
A soul that has more love than any could show
I’m not someone with a chance
But I’ll still ask you to dance
I’m too far gone
Hanging off the limb
Time to pay penance
For all of my sins
A blonde beauty that will break my heart
Something I knew right from the start
When we first met
I never thought I'd say it yet
But we make magic
And all I hear is static
So listen to my love ring through the speakers
I can feel my defenses slowly getting weaker
A blonde beauty
A blonde beauty
A blonde beauty that brightens my winter days
A blonde beauty that make me want to scream and say
I love you my blonde beauty”
The song ended and Reggie didn’t have the strength to look at the man that inspired the song, making himself busy with putting his bass away after they bowed to the crowd. He immediately set about helping Alex shuttle his drums back to the bus, ignoring the concerned expressions the taller blonde was shooting his way. Alex had been the only one to point out that the song may have been a bad choice. When the drums were packed, Alex pulled Reggie behind the bus, “Are you okay?”
Reggie huffed a laugh, but Alex could see the tears in his eyes, “They just made me sing a love song I wrote for my ex in front of him and his boyfriend. I’m great.” Reggie gave the best smile he could muster, before it died out and he fell into Alex’s chest, sobbing. Alex wrapped his arms around him, holding him steady. Alex wasn’t sure how long he held his best friend. Willie had come out looking for them, but when he caught sight of them Alex waved him off. And Willie understood. He had been worried when he heard the song, too. Eventually the tears stopped, and Reggie felt good enough to go back inside. Alex stuck as close to him as he could, with the ghosts of their past hovering around to talk to the band. The DJ was playing music as they moved around the reception, Flynn grabbed Reggie’s hand, pulling him onto the dance floor. Just as Reggie was starting to loosen up, an old T-Pain song came on and he saw Carrie drag Nick onto the floor.
The thoughts that went through Reggie’s head as he watched Nick dance to Buy U a Drank were decidedly not appropriate.