Maybe we were meant to break.

This chapter is dedicated to @MoondanceShadows who helped me plan this scene while I was alone in a creepy parking lot. Cheers mon amie.

(The Next Day) (Pic not mine)

Arya:

I stared at my reflection. A stranger stared back.

Celia and Mantennii had decided to move the wedding up, especially after mine and Lucas's escape. I haven't seen him or my siblings yet- I hope they're okay.

After the little scene in the alleyway, the five boys had managed to slip away in the shadows- so much for having my back, right?. Miss Muscles had wanted to go after them, but Mantennii said there was no point. It was quite comical seeing the disappointment on her face.

Once we got back to the house, the next few hours were horrible. I was almost immediately accosted by wedding planners, bombarded with questions on what flowers I wanted, if I liked the dress or if the menu was okay. I wanted to cry and breakdown. Nothing was okay- and nothing will ever be okay. But I pulled up a facade and pretended to be interested, when I really wanted nothing more than to burn all the plans. I cried myself to sleep last night, too drained to even think of planning an escape.

But today, I'd flicked the switch off on my emotions. I'd decided that nothing, apart keeping my siblings and Lucas safe, mattered. I didn't have anything against Lucas- no, he was a sweetheart- but I knew the concept of marriage would soon suffocate us. We probably would work out a way to deal with it, but knowing Celia and Mantennii, they wouldn't leave us alone. Probably start pressurising us to have children-

A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. It slowly creaked open to reveal my lead stylist- Sam.

"Hey," They smiled, "how you holding up?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I honestly don't know."

They walked over to me and put their hands on my shoulder, offering me a comforting smile. They knew that I didn't want to get married and offered to bust me out, but I refused, not wanting to endanger Jacob and Marigold's lives'.

"Well, on the bright side, at least you look gorgeous." They offered, shrugging. "I did a pretty fine job if I say so myself."

I wore a white, poofy dress that trailed on the floor. The upper bodice was etched with sparkling jewels and fitted quite snugly around me. My dark hair was pinned into a complex style, leaving a few strands to frame my delicately make-upped face. I was also wearing a pair of white heels- and knowing my luck, I'll probably trip over them halfway down the aisle.

I laughed lightly, but shook my head. "You did an amazing job, Sam, but this doesn't feel like me, ya know?"

"I know." They replied softly, a far away look in their brown eyes. "If I was designing it to how you feel, I'd have put you in a suit and left your hair down... none of this shit." They waved their hand over my outfit in disgust. "I know- better than most, I'd say- how not feeling like yourself feels like. I wish I could help you."

"Thanks, Sam." I murmured softly. "It really means a lot."

The door burst open and Celia stormed in, wearing a beautiful baby blue dress and heels. Her hair was in an impeccable do, not one strand out of place. She grinned at me. "You look beautiful, Arya! You're very lucky to have Sam as your stylist, he's done a great job, hasn't he?"

"They." Sam corrected sharply. I knew Celia had purposefully made that mistake. "I'm not a 'he', I'm a 'they'."

"Sorry, I forgot." Celia sneered. It took a lot of self control to not slap her.

"It's fine, Ms. Macaroni." Sam smiled 'sweetly'.

"It's McKenzie."

"Oh sorry," Sam smirked. "I forgot."

Celia flushed red and I enjoyed seeing her at a loss for words. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the room, throwing a 'you're dismissed!' To Sam. She shut the door on the stylist's laughter.

"Come on girl," Celia growled. "Don't mess today up... you know the consequences if you do."

I nodded mutely, feeling the circulation get cut off in my wrist. Is it normal to not feel your fingers?

Celia shoved me in the black limo and snapped at the driver to start.

I stared out of the window, at the scenery that flew by, and swallowed harshly, digging my nails into my palms to hold back the tears. My heart thudded wildly in my chest and my breathing became shallower.

"Stop hurting yourself." Celia mumbled, wrapping her bony fingers around my hand. "You'll get blood on the dress- it's very expensive, you know." Of course that's what she's worried about.

I glared and yanked my hand out of her grasp. This woman had made my life an absolute hell- and I would never  forgive her for that.

"We're here." The driver said lowly. I thanked her while Celia pulled me out of the vehicle. Instantly I was blinded by the camera flash of reporters.

"Miss McKenzie! How long have you and Mr. Mantennii been together?"

"How are you feeling today?"

"This way Miss!"

"Can we be expecting children soon?"

Security managed to clear a path for me and Celia up to the ornate doors of the church. I was handed a bouquet of flowers, and told to stand next to Timothy. 

"Smile for the cameras, sweetheart." He smirked, tucking my hand into the crook of his elbow. "It's showtime."

The doors opened and the first chords of 'Here comes the bride' floated through. Timothy practically frogmarched me up the aisle and I offered no resistance. In the front row, I caught sight of a fuming Marigold and a concerned Jacob. At least they're okay.

I stepped up on the alter and Timothy kissed my cheek. I grimaced. Now I'll have to bleach my cheek. I lifted my gaze to Lucas, who was smiling, but there was anguish swirling in his eyes.

I zoned out during the priest's speech, half-tempted to run away. But MantenniI's warning rang in my ears, forcing me to stay put.

"Do you, Lucas Mantennii, take Arya McKenzie to be your lawfully wedded bride?"

"I do." Lucas forced out, squeezing his eyes shut. The wedding guests awwed.

"And do you, Arya McKenzie, take Lucas Mantennii to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I-"

"STOP THIS WEDDING!"

Gasps echoed in the chamber as Christopher Moon strode towards us. He wore a black shirt and trousers with a leather jacket and- for some unfathomable reason- bright pink Hello Kitty glasses.

"The hell is going on?" I wondered loudly. The priest gasped next to me.

"Well, um, we're here to rescue you." Kit explained. "We've got a getaway vehicle waiting outside when you're ready- and don't worry, you siblings will be safe."

I looked at Lucas and he nodded with a wide grin, giving me a little push off the small stage. For a second, I hesitated. But then I looked at my siblings. Marigold was whisper-screaming 'go!' while Jacob gave me an encouraging nod. I handed the flowers one of the bridesmaids, who blushed profusely. Grinning, I gathered some of the dress, before sprinting after Kit. 

"STOP HER!" Mantennii boomed. Several people grabbed at me, but I managed to dodge them all with the grace of a drunken bumblebee.

Risking a glance back, I saw Blake and Wyatt ushering Marigold and Jacob out of the church. The boys gave me a quick thumbs up and I smiled, filled with relief.

Once outside, I saw the paparazzi swarming the place like moths drawn to a flame. In the centre of all the hubbub was a helicopter, with Issac as the pilot. The boys whooped in delight when they saw me and Nick quickly reached out to help me into the copter. His twin handed me a headset and I put it on, the smile on my face never faltering.

"Let's go!" Kit shouted and Isaac nodded, manning the helicopter off the ground.

When we were about twenty feet high, several men in black surrounded us and began shooting. Issac swore violently and tried to get us out of their aim.

"Nick! Try and take them out!" He ordered, furiously tapping on the console.

Nick nodded and took out a rifle from a brown bag. He pointed it at the men, then growled in frustration. "I can't get a clear shot!"

"Let me try!" I demanded, wresting the weapon out of his hand. Freedom was tantalisingly close- I will not let it slip out of my fingers. "Move over!"

"Wait, Ree, do you know how to-"

I loaded and aimed the gun, my index finger pulled against the trigger as I fired, all of my shots hitting their mark. The shooters went down like sacks of potatoes, but I made sure to injure, not kill.  I lowered the firearm once we were out of range and grinned, turning to the shell-shocked boys.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I asked, touching my cheek anxiously.

"I-wha- you shot them." Nick gaped. "With perfect aim."

"Yeah it's a hobby I picked up." I shrugged, dismantling the weapon with practiced ease and shoving the parts in the bag. "Now... I have some questions. First up, where'd you get all these weapons and this helicopter? And second, is there a McDonald's nearby? I'm kinda hungry."

X

An hour later, I was sitting on the curb outside McDonalds, eating a happy meal while Caleb played with the toy I got and the other boys munched on their own burgers.

We'd touched down in the car park and walked up to the- shockingly- empty Drive Thru. If the staff were surprised to see a bride flanked by five dudes in leather jackets with weapons, dismounting a helicopter, they didn't show it. I guess they've seen weirder things in their time. 

"So what now?" I asked, sipping my Coca Cola. 

"I... don't actually know." Zack admitted bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't think we'd make it this far." 

"Understandable." I nodded. "Bloody useless, but understandable." I cleared my throat and wiped my hands on a tissue. "So... questions; how do you guys have the money to buy a helicopter? How do you know how to shoot? And finally, why the hell did Mantennii come to you when he needed your help?" 

"Have you heard of Alonzo Valencio?" Zack questioned randomly. I nodded. He chuckled sardonically and continued. "Yeah, thought you might. Well, there's no use in hiding it now. I'm his son." 

My jaw dropped and I waited for him to say he was kidding. "Wait, what?! You're his son?! Holy crap this is huge." Alonzo Valencio is one of the most powerful men in the world. He is famed for his enormous businesses. It is well known he has connections with the Mafias, but is not directly involved with them. 

"Yep." Zack laughed. "When I turned sixteen, I set up a small group, just for fun ya know? I imagined myself doing good but in reality, I was just a big-headed teenager with his head stuck in the clouds." 

"Still are." Nick coughed not-so-subtly. 

"Shut up." Zack punched him in the arm while the rest of us laughed. "Anyways, the five of us had known of each other since we were born- our parents' were pretty close. But we only really became friends when I was around twelve-ish and they became the first members of the group. We met Blake and Wyatt a year later.

 At first, it was pretty fun, but then word started to spread. We were being contacted by all sorts of spy agencies, mafias, rich people, you name it. The business boomed exponentially and dear ol' Dad finally started to take notice. He sends cheques and weapons every month and helps us recruit new men and women- as if that would make up for missing my entire life." He took a deep breath and looked away. 

Ethan reached over and patted him awkwardly on the back. Caleb offered him a fry while his twin and Kit had matching looks of sympathy and understanding. 

"We've been tracking Mantennii for a while now- trying to expose his crimes." Ethan continued. "Now, we have enough evidence to send him away to jail for a very long time." He shot me a dry look. "Does that answer your questions?" 

I nodded. "Holy crap." 

"Holy crap indeed." Kit agreed. 

Caleb subtly tried to steal one of my fries, but I slapped his hand away, hugging mine closer. In retaliation, he squeezed a ketchup packet and it exploded all over me. I gasped and chucked what was left of my drink at him, but missed and hit Ethan instead. I covered my mouth to hide a laugh at his murderous and shocked expression. 

"You're dead." He growled, throwing his salad at me. The others joined shortly after and the empty car park was soon filled with our shrieks of laughter. 

Although I was covered in food, wearing a wedding dress and feet-killing heels, with no plans for the future, there was no where I'd rather be than here. 

End of chapter 20. 

@MoondanceShadows   did I capture our idea right?? I had to watch the ad again to remind myself of what it looked like 😂

I hope you guys liked it! 

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)