Kevin rubbed his temples, hoping to ease the headache that was coming on, caused by the overwhelming stress that a simple wedding rehearsal could bring on. Nothing was going according to plan.

Nick, despite Brianna's adamant refusal to come to the wedding, had insisted that they leave a spot for her in the bridal party, which became confusing to the poor coordinator. She kept trying, but it was obvious that she thought that Nick was an idiot for throwing off the otherwise flawless symmetry of the wedding party.

Laurel was obviously excited, and she didn't deal with it well. She kept bursting into tears unexpectedly and rushing out, to emerge from the back of the church minutes later, giggling like an eight year old.

Brian's Jillian seemed to be glowing for an unexplained, and was given to gazing off into space for periods of time, daydreaming. It was funny for the first twenty minutes, but when she kept missing her turn to walk down the aisle, it became a nuisance. Then she'd catch an eyeful of Brian's painfully swollen black eye, and become concerned for him, and then she'd hover around him like he'd break if anyone looked at him weird.

Finally, just when Kevin felt that he could bear no more, it was finally over. With a sigh of relief, he began to make his way towards the exit of the church. Just as he was about to make his incognito escape, he was caught by Nick, who ran over to him desperately.

"Kevin, do you think that Brie will come?" he asked, hopefully.

"No, Nick, I don't think she will. She was very clear about that last night, you know. I promised her that I'd get it videotaped, so she could see it. I'm going to go and take her out for dinner or something right now, I kind of left her alone in my house," Kevin said, distracted by that last thought and the visions of disaster that cluttered his mind, brought on by that mere thought.

"I know, but I keep hoping she'll change her mind. You two are really close, and I have to thank you, man, for looking after her the way you have. You've been great. I remember when that shit with her dad happened. She was an awful wreck, completely out of her mind. I was really worried about her, and what she might do, but it was nice knowing that you were there to look after her for me," Nick said quickly.

"Yeah, well, you just can't help it with Brie."

"You love her. She's become like your sister, too, now hasn't she?" Nick asked thoughtfully. Kevin met his eyes, they were intense, knowing, but there was a spark of humor in them.

"Yeah, well, you just can't help it with Brie."

"Alright man, have a good time tonight, just be careful with her. You break her, and I'll have to kill you. Now go convince her to come tomorrow," Nick said, suddenly seeing his bride to be, surrounded by tearful family members. He rushed off to save her.

Kevin sighed, and walked away from the madness of the rehearsal, feeling for the first time that day that he going somewhere where everything made sense, and he knew she'd be mad at him if he left her alone too long.

* * * *

"Brianna!" Kevin hollered as he walked in the door and took one look around his front hall.

"Now, Kevin, I realize that you may not like this. And I've decided that I've had enough of you pushing me around. So suck it up, Sienna stays, or I'm gone!" Brianna declared, from the other side of the house. Kevin sighed, looking down to see shreds of newspaper and half-chewed rawhide strips littering the brand-new oak hardwood floor of his front hallway.

"Brianna, I have the worst headache I've ever had in my entire life. No more talking," Kevin said.

"I have the perfect thing for that headache my friend, and I intend to make sure that you suffer through the remedy," she said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. Kevin stared straight ahead at her.

"What?" he asked weakly. She beamed at him, opened the door to the fridge.

"Jello shooters!" she trilled triumphantly. Kevin groaned.

* * * *

"Oh my god, my eyes are being set on fire," Brianna moaned, gasping in the sudden light.

"Wake up, Little Miss Hangover. You shouldn't have had so much to drink last night," Kevin said mockingly, a little red-eyed himself.

"You, sir, are the devil. I had my doubts before, but this is actual verification. Kevin Richardson, you are the devil," Brianna moaned as she sat up, her wild hair covering her face. She looked up at Kevin, squinting painfully in the bright light.

"And you, Brie, are the only person in this house who knows how to tie this damned thing," Kevin said, frustrated with his necktie. It wasn't a normal tie, those he could handle.

"Sure, come see the fashion major, she'll know how to do it," Brianna muttered bitterly.

"Are you always this pleasant in the morning?" Kevin asked, flopping down on her bed.

"Shut up, and go make coffee, or I'll hang you from the ceiling with your necktie," Brianna threatened.

"Already made. Can you smell?" he asked, pushing imaginary waves of aroma towards her.

"Liar. Come here," she said, taking the black tie in her hands, and began twisting and turning it. A few minutes later, low and behold, it actually resembled a necktie.

"Not bad, Brie. Not bad at all. I think that deserves a good dose of caffeine," Kevin said, admiring his reflection in the mirror.

"Shut up, and start brewing," Brianna ordered, stumbling out of bed, following him down the stairs.

"I cannot believe that Nick is not having a bachelor's party. He is definitely already on a tight leash," Kevin commented offhandedly as he went about preparing the coffee machine.

"I could have told you that one. You are ready so early!" Brianna noticed, half-disgusted, looking at the clock.

"Well, it pays to be organized. Instead of hanging around, thinking and worrying about whether I'll have enough time to get ready or not, if I'll get there on time, I get up early, get ready with plenty of time, and I'll even be early, just so that I can help set up."

"Hell, if I was going, I'd wake up half an hour before the ceremony starts, fly around for twenty minutes trying to get ready, and then leave, praying for Divine intervention so that I'll get here on time, when I hit a traffic jam," Brianna said.

"And you'd breeze in, three seconds before the bride starts walking down the aisle. Classic Brianna," Kevin smiled.

"How right you are," she laughed. She then snatch the coffee pot away from Kevin's hand, poured herself a cup (splashing it everywhere), drank the scorching black coffee in one breath, refilled the cup, told Kevin to have a nice day, and then staggered off to bed.

"Well, looks like I'm going to have to give Nick some bad news," Kevin said softly, wishing he had been able to convince Brie to come.

* * * *

After Kevin left, his house began to seem very empty. She wandered around for a bit, trying to find something to do to occupy her mind. But it was racing, and wandering, and was definitely not planning on letting her forget what she was missing. Sighing in frustration, she stomped back up the stairs, and flopped down on her bed. She lay there, stewing in her own anger - anger towards the situation, towards Nick, towards Kevin, anything to keep the blame away from herself - staring at the wall. Her conscious nagged at her, making her question her decisions.

"I should be there. No matter what has happened, I should be there," Brianna said to herself mournfully. "Instead, I let my stupid stubbornness get in the way, and I can't go now. I'd never make it on time, I have nothing to wear, and I don't even know where it is."

Suddenly, Brianna sat up, the sight of a garment bag hanging on the wall, near the closet. Standing up, she walked towards it, and read the note attached to it.

Just in case your spontaneous nature rears it's ugly head, I figured one of us should be prepared. Brianna swore out loud. Damn him, he knew her too well. On the back of the note was a hand drawn map, with directions and his cell phone number. Still fuming at how irritatingly perfect Kevin was becoming in her eyes, she ripped the zipper of the bag open, and sighed over the contents.

When she got to that wedding, she was going to have a tough decision between hugging or tearing Kevin Richardson a new one.