Chapter 1
Plot: At the family friend's wedding, Jenna discovers that the bride's son is none other than Ashton Irwin from 5 Seconds of Summer. He asks her out on a date, and she almost refuses until Zoe eggs her on.
Words: 944
Characters: Jenna, Zoe Dougherty
When I got to the beach on Neil’s wedding day the following month, a lot of other people were already there. As soon as I reached the sand, I was greeted by little hands wrapping around my legs.
“Jenna!” I heard Neil’s grandson, Brady, address me. “You made it!”
I smiled as I ruffled his curly blond hair. “How are you, little man?” I asked. “I haven’t seen you since you were tiny!”
“I’m fine. Come see my sandcastle!”
Before I knew it, Brady was dragging me by the hand over to where a small sand structure stood. It looked to me like a full-fledged castle, complete with a moat around the perimeter.
“Ooh, that’s neat!” I complimented.
“Yeah, me and Olivia made it,” Brady said, referring to his older sister.
“Hey, Jenna!” Brady’s mom, Zoe, greeted me when she saw me. “Are you stoked for my dad’s wedding?”
“Very,” I admitted. “Do you know anything about this Anne-Marie?”
“Yeah, she’s about his age and from Australia. She has a super-hot son, too. Maybe you’d like to meet him?”
I rolled my eyes. “Over my dead body! My dog is my boyfriend.”
“Aw, come on! When I told him about you, he lit up like a Christmas tree. I have a feeling he wants to meet you.”
The wedding commenced shortly thereafter, and I watched the aisle as the adorable Asian flower girl scattered petals while she walked. Then, after a few other members of the bridal party graced the aisle, out came the bride. She was petite and slender, and I could see a blonde French braid under her sheer white veil. “Is this Anne-Marie?” I wondered as she walked to the beat of the wedding march.
After Neil and Anne-Marie exchanged vows, the priest asked if there were any objections to their marriage.
“And by the powers vested in me in the state of Florida,” he said after a moment of silence, “I pronounce you husband and wife; you may kiss the bride.”
My heart filled with joy as Neil leaned in and gave his new wife a passionate kiss. Then, the congregation was dismissed to the reception hall, which was basically a large beach shelter.
While everybody else got in line to greet the newlyweds, I stayed back and played on my phone. While I love weddings, I often get shy around the new bride or groom, and this was one of those times.
I was on my fifth game of Solitaire when Zoe called my name. I looked up to see her sitting down next to me.
“What are you doing all by your lonesome?” she asked me. “Go mingle!”
“I don’t feel like it,” I mumbled as I concentrated on my Solitaire game.
“How are you going to get to know your potential new boyfriend if you don’t talk to him? Come on!”
“How do you know I’ll even like him, though?”
“Well, if I remember correctly, you’re a big 5SOS fan, right?”
I scoffed. “Yeah, I love them… but what’s that got to do with anything?”
“You’re coming with me NOW!”
I shrugged and decided to finally go with it. I closed the game and followed Zoe to the end of the line, where a guy who looked to be a little older than me was standing.
“Hey, Ash!” Zoe greeted him, grabbing his attention. When he turned around to face us, the guy smiled brightly at me. “This is Jenna Porter, the girl I was telling you about. Jenna, this is Ashton Irwin.”
“I’m glad to meet you, Jenna,” Ashton said with a quick bow. “You are very pretty.”
My heart did a flip when I heard his voice. I’ve seen way too many interviews on YouTube to not recognize it.
“Oh, my God… Ashton Irwin, 5SOS, Ashton Irwin?!”
“Oh, I’m just your friendly neighborhood Aussie,” Ashton said humbly. “But yes, I’m their drummer. Are you a fan?”
“She doesn’t stop talking about y’all,” Zoe reported, much to my embarrassment.
“Do you really?” Ashton asked me.
I blushed and nodded sheepishly. “Don’t mind her, she likes to embarrass me a lot.”
“Oh, look – it’s our turn to meet Anne-Marie!” Zoe said excitedly.
“Hello!” Anne-Marie said to us with a bow when we approached. “Who are you?”
“I’m Jenna Porter. You’re Anne-Marie?”
“Yes, my name is Anne-Marie. Glad to meet you! I see you’ve met my son.”
“I have! He’s very handsome, and I love his group’s music. How did you meet Neil?”
“We were on a dating site,” Neil explained. “We clicked because we have a lot in common.”
“That’s cool! I’ve never had a relationship before.”
“Oh, haven’t you?” Ashton chimed in. “And you’re how old?”
“Twenty-one, but I’m not really interested, either.”
“Sure, you are!” Zoe countered. “She’s ready, Ash; she’s just too shy to admit it.”
“Well, then!” Ashton said with a smile. “Would you like to go out after the reception?”
“No, I have to get home and walk my—”
“She says yes!” Zoe said abruptly. “Y’all can always walk Scruffy together – right, Jen?”
“Well…” I said in consideration. “There is this dog park he likes to go to. Alright, we can go out after the reception. Just let me change clothes.”
“That would actually be marvelous,” Ashton said. “I’ve a dog as well, Indie.”
“Oh, yeah – she’s a corgi, right? Scruffy is an Aussie/Lab mix.”
“Yes, she is! When and where do you want me to pick you up?”
I gave Ashton my address and told him to pick me up at around three. That way, I’d have time to shower and change clothes.
“Splendid! I’ll be around at three, then.”
