FicWad

It wasn't much of an awkward silence, and it couldn't very much be described as uncomfortable, but to say the least, it was odd and it was unexplainable. Settling on a "lack of chemistry", mostly everyone ignored the sullen vibe of the room, ignoring the possibility of an inner problem lying somewhere in the depths of the silence, a problem that they had both strung along for the past two weeks. By now, it was something around lunch time, and the rest of the band had headed off on a search, in hopes of ingesting some sort of food product before returning to the rigorous demand of recording their second album. But right now, Gabe was too anxious to eat, too anxious and excited to hear the finished product, so he sat, hanging around the studio now, spinning around aimlessly in the desk chair as he watched Patrick hover over the sound board, prodding and poking away, tinkering and tweaking the final adjustments on a creation that was soon to be a sure fire hit.

The awkward feeling their presence brought wasn't a terribly important road block; their work hadn't been affected and their friendship really hadn't become noticeably different, but it was still a weight that hung somewhere above their heads. After much deliberation and thought on the matter, Gabe decided that he would man-up to the situation; pushing his feet off the ground, he spun the chair back around in Patrick's direction and broke the silence, taking the conversation into a direction he maybe should have left alone.

"Listen man, about that night in Boston ..."

Patrick become visibly tense at the mention of that night, of the night that could have very well called off his engagement, ended his relationship and caused him more emotional pain that he would ever like to imagine, so he brushed it off, his tinkering and prodding faltering momentarily at the thought of continuing the conversation; this was not the place, nor the time.

"We don't have to talk about it." There was no anger or even annoyance in his voice, just a simple honest statement had slipped past his lips in attempt to brush off the conflict he didn't want to face.

Gabe shook his head almost violently at this ludicrous excuse, "Yes, we do." After the hectic deliberation he had gone through in his mind, he was going to say whatever it is that he honestly believed he needed to say, and nothing was going to stop him. "Listen" Crossing his legs up on the chair, folding them under his thighs, he knew that it had to happen, so he took the first stab. "About that night; I know that she forgave you and that all is well on the true love, soul-mates front, but I just want you to know that I wasn't trying to play you that night, or any night, really. I know you have moved on and all, but I don't want bad blood between brothers."

Patrick sighed quietly to himself and pulled his attention away from the sound board with much hesitation, turning his eyes and his body toward the client, toward his friend who was seated before him now, ready and willing to assume responsibility for something he couldn't prevent. Shaking his head lightly, Patrick adjusted the baseball cap that fit snugly around his head, around the hair that was in desperate need of a trim.

"There isn't any" It was a simple answer that Patrick hoped would suffice to end the conversation, but Gabe saw it otherwise, sighing dramatically before making his final statement.

"We were just having fun; I love you like a brother, man, I would never play you like that."

Patrick nodded his head in understanding, accepting this as a sort of apology for his very own mistakes, before turning his attention back to the sound board. Gabe continued spinning his chair in circles for amusement as Patrick tried to concentrate on the task at hand, his mind now completely elsewhere on the map.

"Do you really think she should marry me?"

Patrick didn't even turn to look in Gabe's direction as his blatant question broke the dead silence like a jackhammer. Perplexed by the blunt trauma that question had just caused, Gabe wasn't sure what Patrick wanted to hear, but by the look on his face, he figured that it was nothing short of a let down; but that was something Gabe could not offer, so he settled on the truth, nodding his head in complete certainty.

"She loves you"

Gabe offered a quiet sigh next, filling the void in that nerve-wrecking pause between his statements, backed by no specific emotion. "You may or may not make her miserable, but I honestly don't know how she ever lived without you."

Patrick was mostly content with this answer, it was something drastically more positive than what he had expected to hear.

"And frankly" Gabe continued with a soft smile playing on his lips, "I would rather not try to remember what you were like without her."

"Me neither" Patrick finally concurred, letting himself smile before turning his attention back to the creation he was once elbow deep in finishing, now finally ready to reveal it to the world.

"Now if this isn't a hit, I don't know what is."

It was a light-hearted laugh shared between two friends that filled the room before Patrick's finger landed on the PLAY button and the sound of laughter was replaced by the blaring of drums and a killer keyboard intro.

At roughly the same time, which was inevitably lunch time, the same light hearted laugh was being shared by two friends across the river, in uptown Manhattan as Ana and Janelle made their way from block to street to avenue in search of a complete fashion masterpiece for the upcoming fashion worthy event.

"Will you please just go in and have it appraised?" Janelle requested once again as they passed their fourth jewelery store in the last block and a half.

Ana shook her head sternly, "No, I do not want to know how much it's worth. I'm not that materialistic; for all I care, it could be a quarter machine ring and it wouldn't make a difference, and you know that's the truth."

"It's a Harry Winston, you know that, right?" Janelle nodded confidently, "I can only assume, it's hot off of Rodeo Drive." Ana raised her eyebrows at her best friend, before glancing down, almost unnoticed at her ring finger. "I've been dreaming of a Harry Winston diamond since I was nine years old and you have one, right there, on your finger and you're not the least bit curious as to how much he dropped on the ring that symbolizes his eternal love for you?"

Ana shook her head again, picking up the pace to make it past the next jewelery store, to the boutique they were in search of as Janelle quickly followed suit; still going on about the price of Ana's jewelery.

"I've probably never driven a car that costs as much as the ring on your finger and you're really not at all curious, in any way? Not even a little bit?"

Ana sighed in defeat as they entered the high-end fashion boutique they had spent the better half of an hour looking for. "Alright, so let's say it costs $10,000 to buy this ring, right? That does not in any way, make me love him any more or any less than it would if it was a $50 ring from Wal-Mart."

"But it's not a $50 Wal-Mart ring! It's a $20,000 Harry Winston and you won't just humor me and have it appraised?" Janelle was persistent as Ana began sifting through the racks of cocktail and party dresses, pulling off the potential winners and frowning upon the obvious losers.

"How about this one?" Ana ignored the prodding now, holding a silky red strapless dress against her torso, cocking her head slightly to the side, biting down on her bottom lip, "Do you think that red makes me look slutty?"

"Stop ignoring me!" Janelle smirked, snatching the dress from Ana's grip and surveying it over once more, "Yes, red makes you look slutty. But I on the other hand, happen to be able to rock red until the cows come home."

"How can you live in this city, shopping on this street, in this store, holding that dress, using an expression like "until the cows come home"? What are you thinking?" Ana joked as she sifted through her second rack of dresses, adding to her growing potential pile.

"How can you not take the 15 minutes out of your day to have your jewelery appraised?" Janelle nearly shrieked before nodding her head in agreement at the dress Ana had just pulled from the metal rack before them, "That's a good pick, not too slutty but not too cute."

They must have gone to ten different stores by now, but this time, Ana had found what would become her winner. Seven completely different styles and nine dresses later, she came out of the dressing area wearing a solid black halter-top dress, falling at just about the middle of her thigh, complimented by just the right amount of "bling" and equipped with a substantial amount of padding.

Janelle was busy chatting away with the two young sales associates, Tabitha and James, when Ana pulled the curtain back, hesitant about her choice but fully prepared for the criticism. Janelle had settled on the third dress she had tried on, and stood ever so patiently as Ana made four separate trips back to the racks before finding something she could potentially want to wear. And now, it was worth it when all jaws dropped the moment she stepped out from behind the curtain, and she felt her cheeks flush immediately.

"He is going to die when he sees you" Was Janelle's immediate reaction to the dress, to the site before her, "Absolutely die."

"Do you like it?" Ana was skeptical, she liked the dress, it was nice, it was comfortable but maybe it just wasn't for her. This was an odd occasion to dress for and she didn't want to stand out just as much as she didn't want to blend in. "Is isn't to blah or maybe even too fancy?"

"For a party or for a date, my lovely?" James, an overly eccentric gay man, making his living by working in a dress boutique inquired. Both he and his fellow associate Tabitha had been friendly and overly helpful sine the moment they walked through the doors and after the better part of two hours, Ana fully trusted their every opinion.

"For the MTV Movie Awards!" Janelle replied with a happy smile on her face; able to attend by association, she couldn't be happier.

"No joke?" Tabitha choked out. Ana wouldn't notice the look of surprise that spread across the faces of the sales associates because the moment she stepped in front of the full length mirror, the dress she was currently wearing was the last of her fashion concerns. Staring into the mirror, her eyes locked completely past her reflection, catching the reflection of it staring back at her, the perfect dress, positioned ever so perfectly on the rack directly behind her.

Soon an odd silence would fall over the entire boutique as the other three inhabitants all stood and watched Ana stare blankly into the mirror, silence lingering until Janelle inquired about the change of mood, change of expression on her best friends face. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I found it"

"So it's a keeper? Finally!"

Ana shook her head feverishly, "No, not this" before spinning around to take a direct look at her one ultimate desire and her highly confused best friend. "That"

Janelle immediately spun around on the balls of her feet to take a look at what it was that was making Ana act in such a way, and was then surprised to come face to face with a simple, yet extravagantly elegant strapless, a-line wedding gown; the perfect dress. "Try it on!" Was her immediate suggestion, as James made his way to the dress, pulling it gently from the metal rack and ushering it quickly to Ana's changing room.

Ana was immediately shaking her head as Janelle hurried her off in the direction of the fitting room, searching for any excuse she could grab on to, "I can't, no. I couldn't, it would be pointless. We haven't even set a date and what if we wait forever, or we shot-gun it in Vegas?"

"You're trying it on, no matter what. It isn't everyday that you stumble upon the dress you've always dreamed of so you're trying it on because really, what could it hurt?" Janelle pushed Ana into her changing room before shutting the curtain behind her and hurrying back to the sitting room, pacing anxiously in front of the mirrors, awaiting the results.

Nearly five minutes later, Ana pulled the curtain back to reveal the matrimony masterpiece that she had always dreamed of but she was shaking her head with a solemn expression on her face as she shuffled to the mirrors to take a better look. "I can't, this is ... I can't."

"You look stunning" Tabitha, the overly enthusiastic red head informed Ana as she took a good look at herself, the rest of the room agreeing immediately.

"You're getting it, now." Janelle nodded the command, "As your best friend, I am fully entitled to forcing you into make irrational decisions and I say there is absolutely no way we're leaving today without that dress." Ana was still shaking her head, apprehension in her eyes as she spun ever so delicately on her toes to see the full 360 degree view of the gown she never imagined she would find.

"I know you're going to make excuses, saying that you can't, that you haven't set a date and that you don't need to get it right now, but you do, you absolutely do. If you get married next week, next month or eleven years from now, it won't matter if you're not wearing the dress of your dreams, which you've just found, so do not pass up this once in a lifetime chance." Janelle needed to be voice of extravagant reason at this very moment or Ana would have very well stalked right back into the changing room, changed back into her jeans and high tailed it right out of the store.

Ana spun around again, catching one last glimpse in the mirror before facing the all knowing face of her best friend, with a nervous, anxious smile playing on her lips. "You don't think its obnoxious or ridiculous? It's a big step to take, its a lot of money to spend on a wedding we haven't planned yet."

"You have a fucking Harry Winston diamond" Janelle nodded enthusiastically, "he spent a lot of money on a wedding that you haven't planned yet; I believe you're entitled to do that same. It's suppose to be the happiest, most perfect day of your entire life and you want to waste that day ... and that diamond, on a mediocre dress you barely care for?"

"Sweetie, you're shopping for the VMA's, you have one of the best engagement rings money can buy and you look absolutely gorgeous in this dress" James was behind Ana now as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, with his hands on her shoulders in a happy, supportive way, "You're living every little girls dream right now, I could only assume you're going to have a fairy tale wedding, why wouldn't you need your fairy tale dress?"

After moments that felt like hours of silence and a surge of deep concentration and contemplation, Ana finally agreed, nodding her head happily, trying to hold back the exuberant smile that was dying to break through, "Okay, I'll take it."

Janelle shrieked, clapping her hands together in excitement before throwing her arms around her best friend and hugging her tightly. "But" Ana tried to choke out as Janelle squeezed her tight. "But" Janelle backed away, still clapping her hands in excitement, "I need it shipped to Chicago, I can't take it back with me right now."

"I'll keep it" Janelle suggested happily, nodding after realizing she had a genius plan, "I'll keep it at my place until you set a date, that way he won't know you bought it and it won't make you anxious just hanging in your closet."

Ana agreed with Janelle but was still apprehensive when she stepped out of the fitting room fully redressed in her previous attire, clutching the cocktail dress she was about to purchase as James zipped the gown up in a garment bag.

"Stop worrying so much" Janelle smiled supportively as she collected and paid for the items she was purchasing for the big weekend, "It'll happen soon enough. You'll set a date and you'll be well on your way to your fairy tale wedding to Prince Charming himself."

"What would I do without you?" Ana laughed as she scribbled her name across the receipt and took hold of the most nerve-wrecking purchase she had ever made.

"Marry Patrick in a $99 dress you bought on sale at David's Bridal."

"You're so right" Ana laughed as they bid farewell to their new friends and headed out to hail a cab.

"I know I am" Janelle nodded confidently, "Now can we please price that ice you have sitting on your finger?"