Never Meant To Be

Maddox slid his greasy dark hair back, as small droplets of sweat beaded down his forehead. He puffed out his rented black suit to relieve it of any built-up sweat. 

He knew that there was no way he was going to want to buy a tuxedo that he would shove in the deepest crevice of his closet that he would never wear again. It was an ordinary dress suit, with a simple black coat and dress pants, with a plain white button-up shirt, a slightly expensive pair of black dress shoes, and his own signature piece, a red apple colored tie. 

Besides the traditional black and white, it was requested for all of the groom’s guests to wear a shade of red, while all of the bride’s guests to wear a shade of blue.

Maddox was the groom’s best man. He had been the best of best friends with the groom since they were children. The way they ran through the forest, riding their two-wheeled bicycles side by side, and continuously playing the game of truth or dare throughout the years. However, there was one truth Maddox had yet to tell his closest friend.

Maddox faintly listened to the music, as he stood out on the patio and squinted his mocha brown eyes into the tawny wooden walls, as the sugar cookie yellow lights danced along with the couple on the dance floor. 

The couple was slow dancing without much of an audience in sight, as some of the stragglers that remained occupied themselves at the remaining chocolate and vanilla marble cake, while others were hunched over or laid on the side of the bar. Maddox was the only one who was standing on the outside, as his eyes flickered back and forth between the couple and the guests. 

It wasn’t until one of the guests from the bar made her way over to the cake table, with a beer in her left hand, and now the icing covered cake server in her right hand. Maddox watched as she shakily dug the server into more icing, as she attempted to cut herself a jagged piece of cake.

“Need any help?” Maddox asked, as he watched her swivel to her right to face him. As she turned, the cream from the medal server flicked and splat right onto Maddox’s tie, white shirt, and the collar of his suit. He startled back, but he looked up and smiled at her slightly stunned expression. She immediately shoved the cake server back into the now uneven cake, and snatched up the few remaining scratchy patches of napkins on the table.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even hear you come over here, you came out of nowhere-“ she rattled off, as she continuously pressed the napkins against the black suit. He peered down as she continued to wipe the bunched up napkins back and forth, creating a streak of vanilla icing across the collar of the suit, yet it was invisible to see against the white button up shirt. He lightly chuckled, as he placed his hands on her wrists, and slowly shoved them away.

“It’s fine, miss?…” Maddox trailed off, as he slightly squinted upon her face, as if his blurry vision would help place her name. She had amber brown skin, hazel eyes, a standard sky blue bridesmaid dress, with a slim lapis blue ribbon tied around her waist, and yet, he didn’t remember spotting her within the crowd of people.

She squinted her hazel eyes upon his pale and sweaty face, as she slowly dropped her arms to her side. 

“Seriously,…I’m the maid of honor,” she mentioned. “Best friend of the bride. Did you not hear me make that beautiful speech about her?”

Maddox flickered his eyes for a moment, reflecting upon a memory he did not create, but he ran his fingers through his greasy hair and gave her an awkward smile in response.

“Oh…” he responded, as he tried to think of something to say. However, he didn’t need to.

She rolled her eyes, and lightly yanked the server out from the cake.

“Alright, look, don’t even bother, okay?” She slightly snarked, as she peered back down in an attempt to slice the jagged piece of cake. “I belong to someone else…”

Maddox’s fingers came untangled as they fell from his curly black hair, and he dropped his arms to his side. 

“Sorry, that’s not what I meant,” he muttered, as he leaned against the table, and periodically peered over to her as she continued to struggle to cut herself an uneven piece of cake.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Oh my god, just let me do that,” Maddox expressed, as he held out his right hand to be offered the server. 

She scrunched up her lip, as she glared down at his exhausted expression. Still, she ripped out the server from the cake, and begrudgingly placed the server into his hand.

Within moments, she was handed a small plate with a jagged piece of cake, which was smothered in icing, along with a napkin and a spork. She looked up at him to see him smile yet again. However, she immediately looked away, as she lightly yanked the plate from his hand.

She nibbled on the cake, as he continued to smile at her.

“Thanks,” she muttered, as she swallowed a small piece. “And, sorry.”

“Eh, it’s no big deal, it’s been a long night for everyone.” Maddox shrugged, as he looked over to see his friend in the hands of the woman he loved. “So…who did you come with, then?”

“No one,” she muttered, her cheeks slightly inflated with icing. She looked over to see the newlyweds swirling around on the dance floor. “I came for her.”

She motioned over to the bride, who was smiling in the hands of the man that she loved.

“Well, yeah, you’re the maid of honor,” Maddox assured them. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t listen to your speech. What’s your-“

“Charlotte,” she answered. “My name’s Charlotte, Maddox.”

Maddox flickered his eyes for a moment, but before he could ask, she responded.

“Just because you did not listen to anything, did not mean I paid any less attention.” Charlotte plucked herself another piece of cake, and smirked as she chewed.

Maddox slightly chuckled, as he looked back to the dance floor. 

“Well, in that case, I came for him, too.” 

She peered over to the groom, who lifted his bride into the air, and swung her around. Charlotte looked back over to Maddox, where she noticed that he was no longer smiling.

She closed her eyes and slightly sighed.

“Alright, come with me,” Charlotte muttered, as she walked past Maddox and towards the patio he had just come from.

Maddox peered upwards to see Charlotte walking away. He looked back at the newlyweds for just a moment, but swiftly followed behind Charlotte's lead.

Once they stepped back into the outside, the music became fainter, and the flashing lights became the few twinkling stars.

Maddox laid his arms on the handrail, next to her almost empty beer bottle and her plate of almost nothing but icing. He peered over to Charlotte, who was gnawing on a piece of cake.

“So, you’re taken, but you didn’t bring your partner to your friend's wedding?” Maddox rhetorically asked, as he looked over to Charlotte. “Isn’t that what couples do?”

“You said the same thing, yet I don’t see someone clinging to your side!” 

Maddox felt himself grow warm, as he quickly looked away. Charlotte lightly chuckled, but let it fade into the night sky. 

“Do you want to play truth or dare?” Maddox asked, as he slowly looked back over to Charlotte.

“What are you, ten?” She quipped, as she folded her arms and leaned against the railing. 

“We might as well get to know each other if we are never going to see each other again,” Maddox suggested, as he shrugged and peered back onto the dance floor, where the newlyweds slow-danced.

Charlotte followed his eyes to the dance floor. She hadn’t once stepped on it the entire night.

“Fine, truth or dare-”

“Dare,” Maddox interjected, “try me!”

“Okay…” she stalled, as she looked around and spotted her lone piece of cake. “I dare you to shove this piece of cake whole into your-“

Before she could finish, Maddox snatched the plate away from her, toppled it over his mouth as the icing slunk away from the paper plate, and jammed his mouth shut as soon as it slipped into his mouth.

He simply wiped his jacket sleeve over his mouth, and dropped it to reveal globs of icing.

“Oh…my god,” Charlotte muttered, as she stood motionless, and then frantically looked around for a lone napkin.

“It’s fine, I’m pretty sure I lost the deposit on this suit, anyway.” Maddox waved her off, as he smirked at her again. “Alright, your turn: truth or dare?”

“Uh…truth?” Charlotte seemed to question her response. “I’m not one to take many risks.”

“Okay, then tell me what singers you listen to?”

“Really?” She asked. “That’s it?”

“You said you weren’t a risk taker, so I hope you were telling the truth.”

“Uh, okay,” Charlotte muttered, as she tried to think of who she had recently listened to. “I listen to Taylor Swift, I listen to Avril Lavigne, I like some of Halsey’s songs-”

“Halsey?” Maddox interrupted. “Wasn’t she really popular for that “Bad At Love” song, or something?” 

“She’s done much more than just that,” Charlotte slightly stammered, as if she was defending the artist. “I love ‘Walls Could Talk,’ ‘Castle,’ and I really like ‘Colors.’”

“I…don’t think I have heard that one before…” Maddox trailed off, slightly hoping she would play the song she likely had stored away on her phone somewhere. 

“You seriously have never listened to that song?” Charlotte asked, slightly appalled. “It has some seriously meaningful lyrics.”

“Apparently not, but I guess I have to now,” he quipped. “Truth.”

“Okay, uncultured,” she quipped and winked, “then what music do you listen to?”

“‘Uncultured,’ huh?” He snarked, as he grinned. “I like Jeremy Zucker, Alec Benjamin, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Conan Grey-“

“Conan Grey!” Charlotte interrupted. “Oh, I love him! “People Watching,” “Family Line,” I know every word of “Heather” at this point.”

“Well, that makes two of us,” he muttered, as he slightly patted down his jacket, feeling the slight stain of the dried up icing. “Your turn.”

“Dare.”

“Didn’t you just say you don’t take risks?” Maddox asked, as he looked up from his jacket.

“I said ‘I’m not one to take many risks,’” she replied. “That doesn’t mean I never do. You are very bad at listening, do you know that?”  

“Fine, I dare you to chug that beer and then smash the bottle on the patio!”

Charlotte turned her head to see the bottle that sat idly on the rail, almost empty of any liquid within the closed glass. She spun back around to face Maddox, squeezed her hands tightly into fists, but yanked the bottle from the wood it sat upon. She raised her head as if she expected a larger surplus in liquid, but within seconds, everything was gone. She looked down at the empty bottle, peered into the glass to see if any droplets remained, and then flung her arm downwards, letting go of the bottle, and watched as it shattered into a million little shards.

“I…can not believe you actually just did that,” he muttered, as he slightly shuffled the shards of glass into a small pile. 

“Neither can I,” Charlotte uttered, as she smirked at Maddox. “It was kind of…thrilling?”

Maddox watched as she picked up every single piece between her fingers. He looked back to the dance floor to witness his best friend lean forward to kiss his bride. He quickly felt his cheeks start to burn, and turned back to Charlotte. She slowly placed the broken shards of glass on the wooden banister to throw away when they were done with their exchange. She rubbed her hands across her nice dress, but was smiling.

“Okay, I choose truth-“

“You have a crush on the bride, don’t you?”

“That’s a statement, not a quest-“ Charlotte stopped, replaying what he just said over and over again in her head. She stared at him for a few minutes, until she finally flickered her eyes, shook her head and looked to her side, grasping her hands as if they were someone to hold. 

“I dare you to lie,” Maddox muttered, as he folded his arms across his stained suit.

Charlotte looked back onto the dance floor. The groom was holding her best friend’s hands in his, as he looked directly into her eyes.

“…And you don’t have a thing for the groom?” She asked, as she folded her arms and slightly glared at Maddox. 

They both sighed in response, as their arms fell to the side, and faced the darkening lilac sky. Charlotte gripped her hands onto the banister, while Maddox leaned his arms against it.

“She told me she found someone who made her truly happy. Somehow, happier than I could ever make her,” Charlotte trailed off, as the faint blush faded from her cheeks and her smile fell into a frown. “As much as I didn’t want to show up to play the role I don’t think I was ever meant to play, I could never put my own fantasy ahead of her happiness.”

Maddox simply nodded. “I don’t think I recall ever seeing him so happy when he told me that he found the one he had been searching for. I had never seen him smile so wide in all times we’d been together,” Maddox mentioned, as he stared off into the sky. “I guess…it isn’t our choice in who we fall in love with, if it is even love we are feeling.”

Charlotte peered upwards, and looked over to Maddox.

“What do you mean?” She questioned him. “The ones that we love are in love with each other.”

“Yeah, they do love each other, and we think that we love them,” Maddox stopped, as he faced Charlotte, and then back to the dance floor, to see the bride and groom holding each other’s hands in the middle of a kiss, “but do we really love them if they do not experience the same love for us?”

Charlotte did not look to the dance floor, and simply looked down at her pointed shoes, as she started to grip her hands even tighter.

“I guess it is true when they say that ‘love is a two way street,’” Charlotte muttered, as she looked up to face Maddox. He tiredly smiled at her, to which she smiled back.

Charlotte ripped her hands apart, dug out her phone and scrolled through her long playlist of songs. She quickly placed her phone on the banister next to the broken shards of glass, and slightly leaned against Maddox. 

Maddox slightly jolted back when Charlotte laid against his stained suit, but he did not revolt. 

“What are you…playing?” 

“You said you never listened to this song before,” Charlotte mentioned, as she closed her eyes and slightly hummed along to the lyrics.

Maddox presumed this was the song that Charlotte considered him to be uncultured by. At this point, he had already forgotten the title that she had mentioned. 

Maddox did not ask or say anything, and instead, scooched back, ripped off his stained suit, and placed it around Charlotte. She slightly fidgeted when she felt the cloth that surrounded her, but she nodded at Maddox and lightly laid back into him.

He looked into the indigo sky, as the stars continued to twinkle. The crescent moon smiled upon them.

“‘You were red,’” Charlotte muttered, as she pressed her finger into Maddox’s red tie. He looked into her exhausted and slightly dazed eyes. He lightly placed his hands on her hands, and let them fall to their sides, but he did not let go.

“‘And you liked me ‘cause I was blue,’” she sang, as she slightly gripped onto Maddox’s hands, and raised them up for them to see.

“‘But you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky,” Charlotte sang, as she smiled at Maddox. He smiled back at her, as if they were the only two people that mattered on the night that was never meant for them. 

They looked back onto the dance floor one more time, but saw that nobody was there. The bride and the groom were nowhere to be seen.

“‘And you decided purple just wasn’t for you,’” Maddox muttered, before Charlotte could even sing. She looked right at him, but he already looked back out into the night sky. 

“Thanks for being mine for tonight,” Charlotte whispered, as the song continued to play. 

Maddox was not sure if she was referring to him, but he hoped she was.