Grace kept her eyes at the small alarm clock standing on her dresser, she had not been able to sleep for more than half an hour. Her night had been full of canceling and re-booking package deals for the upcoming trip since she would no longer be traveling with a partner. She turned over to lay on her back so she could stare up at her ceiling instead, a tired sigh escaping her lips. Truth be told she had just been dumped, even if she tried to convinced herself that the break was mutual when her boyfriend of 2 years had said he needed to go his own way and focus on himself a week before one of her best friends wedding. The first half of the week Grace had told herself that this would not define her was convinced that she would make it through without breaking down. However 2 days ago she found herself in a cubicle at the office sobbing on her break.

She hadn't told Darien or even Chris about the end of her relationship, she knows Chris would drop everything and come to her aid and give her that look of his... that look of care. She knew it came from love but Grace couldn't help but feel that there was some sort of pity behind it as well, and she just couldn't handle that right now. But she had to tell them soon because they'll notice her boyfriend not being at the wedding. But she didn't want to bother Darien so close to his big day either, and what would Nicole say about her soon to be husband having to worry about another woman's relationship problem. No, she would deal with this and get past it.

Finally the digital clock chimed and Grace sat up slowly, stretching her tired body trying to wake it up. She looked down at the packed bags at the foot of her bed and the travel outfit that laid on top of them, she grabbed them and headed in to her bathroom for a long shower. After about an hour she was ready to leave for the airport, grabbing her bags and ordering an uber that signified it was 8 minutes away. While waiting outside her upper west side apartment Grace took the time to check her e-mails to make sure that everything was set up for her time off.

While in the uber Grace stayed on her phone but this time she was deleting all the pictures of her ex. When she was done the only photos left were of George and Chris, looking up from her phone Grace expected to be almost there but instead she found she was stuck in traffic. She checked the time and saw that she was already running behind, “Just...great.” she grumbled and fell back in her seat and stared out at the cars crawling by. When the car finally arrived at the terminal she had to rush through check in and security, she made it to the gate just as they was announcing last call. She smiled and thanked the flight staff as she walked towards the plane. Almost everyone were already seated so finding her seat was easily done, and there she found her best friend Christopher having saved her the window seat.

“Hello my sweet boy, that was a struggle!” She greeted her best friend cupping his face and kissing him on the cheek. She put her bag up in the overhead compartment and stepped over Chris's legs to settle down in her seat. Grace turned to face him and sighed, “So..uhm... You know how Tristan was going to fly in on saturday?” She began, feeling her lip trembling and her eyes moisten, she steadied herself with a small sniff “Well... that's not happening anymore since he broke up with me. I just thought you ought to know.” She gave Chris a weak smile.
The flight passed by pretty quickly, mostly because Grace spent it with softly sobbing or sleeping leaned against Christopher. They spent the drive from the airport mostly in silence, which was probably him giving Grace some space, but she knows he was also trying to figure out how to make her feel better. Arriving at the Seara Luxury Resort was a relief, because this meant she was soon going to be able lock herself in her suite and contemplate her newly single status, the pair checked themselves in and parted ways as they went up to their separate rooms. When Grace entered the lush suit she had booked with her ex-boyfriend she flopped down on the bed and finally the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Today was the day, an important day. Not his day, no, he was simply a very important bystander. It was his good friend Darien who took center stage today. Leo had to admit his friend looked absolutely dashing in that tuxedo, a groom no girl would be able to refuse. Daphne, the bride, had taken most of the spotlight, however. How long had it been since he had seen her, anyway? He could not remember. That wasn’t important right now.
What was important was that that everything was falling apart. The earth shook with violence, gouts with flame erupted from the earth and surrounded them all, swallowing the venue with the a gluttonous speed no fire should ever reach. There was panic and screams and destruction. Groomsmen and bridesmaids alike were swallowed by the ravaging chaos made flame. Leo ran to the exit of what could only be described as the wedding venue of hell. The heat scorched his back, burned away his shirt to a crisp, and just before his hand reached the door the flames caught his leg – quite literally, in fact, with a hand seemingly made of pure fire. He fell to the ground and the burning inferno loomed over him, forming a face. It was the face of – Finally his alarm clock decided to relieve him of this nightmare.

Just a dream, of course it was. After all, the grand event was still a few days away. The flight ticket lay next to his phone, which was still beeping in the most annoying fashion. He took the item from his desk, turned off the alarm and checked the time. Time to get ready, he had to get to Vegas today. Leo wondered if Christopher was already flying. He was going there with Grace, wasn’t he? How long had it been since he had seen Grace anyway?

Luckily Leo had a much shorter flight coming to him. The young entrepreneur had a comfortable stay in Austin for the last few days. Luckily he had been able to plan his business trip to his newest acquisition – another medical tech startup - just before his trip to Vegas itself.

A shower, dress-up and breakfast later Leo checked out and drove his rental car to the airport. From there it was just the same standard procedure. Handing in the keys, checking in, having your privates invaded by security and finally topping it off by waiting an hour for that goddamn plane. At least he was flying business class, what else? And he had to admit, these flights actually had fairly decent lunches, and halfway decent champagne.

Breathing Nevada air after a predictably uneventful flight, he got into an uber and was on his way to the resort. From what he had seen on their website, at least that looked to suit his tastes. He turned his phone on (something he had forgotten after he left the plane), intent on checking the site again, but instead he saw a dozen of missed calls. Leo Sighed.

”I had told you I was flying today.” Was the first thing he barked out when Adam, a business associate of his, picked up.
”Yes, Austin time, you idiot. Don’t tell me counting back two hours is too difficult for you.” He said with an irritated sigh. He didn’t have the patience for idiots today.
”Yes, of course I secured the deal. Their patent is ours now. So tell R&D to roll out the prototype. No delays, this time. They’ve had enough time while we dealt with the patents. No, he gets his vacation after we’re done with this. I discussed this with him already. Tell him the next time he tries this, he’s out on the streets. ” The uber driver did look somewhat uncomfortable hearing this conversation.
”No, Adam, we cannot cut him some slack. Every day without the product we’re losing opportunity costs. Millions, Adam. Tell the guy he gets a week extra after he’s done… if it works.” And with that he simply ended the call. There was indeed only one way about this, and it involved an iron fist.

At arrival the Uber driver looked overjoyed to quickly unload his suitcase and get the hell out of there. Leo wondered why. Regardless, he focussed his attention to the Seara resort. Yes, he could see this place definitely had class. He wondered if Darien’s wife-to-be had finally gained even a sliver of that.

Leo was going to do Darien a favour, and keep that opinion to himself.

"Despacito--Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito. Deja que te diga cosas al oído. Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigoooo~" He genuinely had no idea why people didn't like the song, but he sang it to himself nonetheless as he walked towards the taxi he had waiting for him. His driver eyed him curiously as he flashed a smile, though shrugged and began to drive him to the hotel. Leaning back in his seat, Darien found he couldn't quite wipe the smile off his face. But did he have to? Why wouldn't he be in a good mood? He was getting married to one of the most gorgeous girls to grace New York, someone whose family adored him, who he had been in love with for years. So yeah, he was in a fantastic mood. No, he was--what was better then fantastic?

Truthfully, Darien was on Cloud Nine and had a very difficult time coming down. Admittedly he really didn't find the wedding to be stressful, even though he did his part more than other grooms could say. Of course, he did his best not to step on his beautiful bride's toes, only really disagreeing with her on maybe one or two things, but hey, no one is perfect. So he often let it slide, content with having her in his arms and showering her with kisses to show how sorry he was for daring to go in a direction she didn't want. It was pretty easy to get back on her good side, though admittedly he knew what to say and do to get back into her good graces.

"Para que lo sepas, thanks man," He told the driver as they pulled up to that rather fancy looking hotel. This was it, right? Shit, it was a lot nicer than he thought. As he walked, his head kept turning this way and that, slightly confused. He could have sworn they agreed on another hotel, though rather than assume Nicole had changed her mind he actually thought he was in the wrong place. Going to the receptionist, he cleared his throat, catching her eye. She looked at him somewhat expectantly, and he recognized that tiny crush forming in her eyes. It wasn't that Darien didn't know he was good looking, it was more like he never got used to that reaction out of women he didn't know. "Hi, I'm checking in under Monterrosa," He said, grinning.

Grace wiped her face with the back of her hand and sniffed, that’s enough of that she demanded of herself and sat up and looked herself in the mirror above the small table across from her bed. She bent over the edge of the bed and rummaged through one of her bags looking for her makeup bag, when she finally found it she sat down at the table to try to salvage what was going on with her face. In the end she decided to just take all of her makeup of, just as she was done she heard a soft knock on her door. Grace walked over and opened the door to find Chris stand there with a present wrapped in the cutest wrapping paper with small paw prints all over it, she was surprised that there wasn’t some kind of bow on top though, Chris always put bows on his presents.

“Oh Chriiiiiiis” Grace whined taking the present and setting it down before pulling her main boy in to great big hug “I love you.” she whispered in to his shoulder. She released him and gestured him to come in and closed the door behind him. Grace picked up the present and started to unwrap it and open the box, inside was 3 different scarfs for George the corgi to add to his collection. Grace looked up at her best friend tears welling up in her eyes again, she was quick to wipe them away. She was just so glad she had him in her life so the tears were more happy this time around “Thank you” she said softly.

As a way to celebrate the upcoming union, Chris had bought presents for everybody. Though he didn't know everybody in the wedding party, particularly from the bride's side, he still tried to make an effort. What kind of party would it be if someone was left out? Getting Grace's gift was the easiest of them all. Christopher knew how much she adored her little corgi, so the cute scarfs he found on Etsy would definitely be appreciated. After all, who can hate a dapper dog in a cute scarf?

Seeing Grace tear up after opening the gift made him want to hug her again. And, well, he did. He gave her a comforting hug, holding on until the tears stopped. “How are you feeling?” He asked her.

Grace sniffed once more “Oh you know I’m holding up, I guess I’ve been sensing it for a while but I thought the jerk would at least wait until after the wedding!” she tried to make the situation lighter with a small laugh. She laid her head down on Chris’s lap and peered up at him “How about you? Are you ok with all of this?” she asked.

Christopher clicked his tongue disapprovingly. From what he could recall, Tristan was always a selfish guy; never considering Grace's feelings because of his extreme ego. Even though he didn't want to see Grace hurt, Christopher was glad that he was gone. “This break up is Tristan's loss, not yours.” Despite sounding like a typical bestie from a teen rom-com, Grace would know he was speaking honestly.

When Grace shifted the conversation towards himself, Christopher sighed. He began playing with her hair, giving her a half-hearted head massage whilst she laid on his lap in a sorry attempt to distract himself. “I'm... dealing.” He returned with a vague answer.

Grace sighed and closed her eyes as Chris played with her hair, he was right as much as she was about being dumped she couldn't help but feel a little bit relieved of not having to deal with all the crap that came with dating someone like Tristan. As she laid there with Chris's hands doing their magic, she could feel the stress and tension ebbing away. This is what she had been needing, Grace scolded herself for not telling Chris about her break up straight from the beginning.

She opened her eyes to look at him again as he answered her question with a deflecting answer. Grace made a concerned face“Are you though? In a healthy way? Not like me...” she laughed again. Usually Grace was the one who had her boys in check but lately she had been swamped at work and can't even remember when they all had been together at their regular bar. Darien has been busy obviously but how long has it been since she saw Leo? And now with the break up she has not been as stable as she usually likes to be.

“I’ve had some time to think about it and… I cannot be the one to stop them from pursuing their happiness if it’s with each other.” It was a tough pill to swallow, but if you were truly in love you’d want to see them happy. “I’m Darien’s friend before anything else, I can’t ruin this wedding for him.” His response sounded strangely rehearsed, but as long as Grace could understand his feelings, it didn’t matter.

Grace nodded and bit her lip, his response echoing in her mind. She knew she should feel the same but something has been bugging her ever since Darien and Daphne got engaged a year ago.

Rather than dwelling on it, Christopher got an idea. “When we were checking in, I found that this hotel has an arcade. How about we cheer up with some games? I could text and see if Leo is up for some ass whooping.” He offered. Christopher entertained the idea of inviting Darien briefly, before ultimately deciding against it. If anybody asks, he could simply say that he didn’t want to remind Grace about her breakup.

Grace sat up and her whole face lit up when she heard games “Oh yes! I will whoop both your asses if they have DDR!” she ran her hands through her hair to tame it in to place. “Yeah call him over and we can leave after I fix myself up!” She chirped already in a better mood grabbing some fresh clothes and her makeup bag as she made her way into the bathroom.



Leo had only just made himself comfortable in his room, which he honestly found quite to his liking, when phone once again began to buzz. He dreaded the thought of even more work-related matters on his supposed holiday. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the text from his colleague that was on holiday as well. He grinned at the invitation to the arcade with Grace. Not only had he not seen Grace in a while, but he’d never pass up the chance to kick their butts. He texted back approvingly, and got ready to leave.

When Leo arrived, he was able to meet Grace and Christopher at the lobby by the entrance to the arcade. Christopher was the first to wave his colleague and study buddy over. He raised his voice so he could be heard over the excitable Vegas crowd heading into the adjacent casino, beckoning Leo to join them.

Grace spun around when she heard Chris greet their friend “Leo!” she exclaimed almost running towards the man, he was a sight for sore eyes and she hadn’t realized how much she had missed him. She flung her arms around him when she reached her friend “I’ve missed you so much!” she had to hold back so to not start crying again. She pulled away from him and started to straighten his shirt, a habit she had with all of them. She then punched him lightly on the arm “Thanks for calling and checking in… douche!” she smiled widely at her old friend.

Leo bore a wide grin as he found his two friends. He returned Chris’s greetings before finding himself in Grace’s arms. “It’s been a while, Grace. It’s good to see you!” He said back. He was calm and reserved, but that didn’t take away from the genuinity of the statement. He responded to her punch in kind by relentlessly ruffling her hair. “Same goes for you, dumbass! A thousand calls a day, and not one from you.” He smiled back.

She tried to dodge his hand as he ruffled her now pristinely styled hair but to no good “Hey! I’m not supposed to be the one who calls… I’m the girl! You should all be showering me with love!” she turned to face Christopher “Isn’t that right? You call me every day.” she reached out and pulled him closer with her arm around Chris’s waist.

Christopher snickered, allowing Grace to pull him in. “It helps if you call Leo yourself. Sometimes he forgets that his phone is good for not only receiving, but sending calls too.” He jested, before pushing Leo and Grace in the direction of the arcade. “Now come on, let's make Leo regret not calling you.”

“Don’t hate me because I’m popular!” Leo said to Chris in a mock sassy tune. Then he headed into the arcade at Chris’s wish. It had been some time since he had visited an arcade, but he was certain his skills wouldn’t fail him. “Time to beat some high scores, oh and your asses while I’m at it.” He challenged them, his confidence as present as ever. “Ladies first, Grace, pick your poison.”

The arcade was loud and crowded, just as Grace liked it. She stepped in front of the two boys and scoped out their choices. If Seara resort has done something right it was this arcade, they had just about everything from old to brand spanking new and imported from Japan. Gracie browsed the machine until she came to a halt in front of one particular machine. “So how about some classic Tekken 7? Anyone think they can beat my girl Ling Xiaoyu?” She wiggled her eyebrows at favorite boys.

Christopher was never the gaming type. He was part of the minority, growing up without a gaming console (or a sibling to play with) so reading became his passion. So when Grace suggested a two player fighting game, Christopher was certain that he was going to lose so... “I volunteer Leonard as my champion.” He pushed Leo closer, as if to further his point with a wicked grin.

Leonard shrugged as he was pushed forward. “Guess someone is afraid. Anyway, let me show you how it’s done.” He wore his signature cocky grin as he took his place next to Grace on the machine and casually picked his boy Steve.

She scoffed as Leo stepped up “Typical… Honestly so toxic!” Grace said sarcastically and grinned at him. It was a tough 5 rounds but in the end Grace had to accept defeat with two rounds to tree, she slammed her fist down on the machine as the final K.O flashed on the screen. With a sour look on her face she looked up at them “Whatever! I need a drink!” she snapped and started in the direction of the bar.

With Grace gone for a moment, Christopher resisted the urge to follow after to make sure she was okay. But just barely. Instead, he turned to Leonard. “I need to talk to you, but you gotta promise me it'll stay between us.” It was likely that Grace hadn't had to chance to tell Leonard yet about her break up, and the last thing she would need is for him to bring up Tristan after spending some time cheering her up.

“Grace isn't doing so well. Tristan broke up with her just before the trip.” He informed Leo in a hushed tone. “I'm trying to cheer her up but I'll need your help with that as well.” It was clear Christopher didn't want to linger around the Tekken machine for long, lest he risk losing Grace in the boisterous crowd hovering near the bar.

”Is that so?” Leo said in response. ”Can’t say I’m too sad about that. I didn’t like the guy anyway!” He said, knowing Grace wasn’t around to hear it. ”That said, I do feel for Grace. So let’s do a good job cheering her up, shall we?” He nodded, then dragged Christopher along towards Grace.

Grace tapped the bartop with her nails trying to get the attention of the bartender. When he finally finished with the guys the was in front of her she smiled and nodded at him. “Hey, can I have 3 IPA’s?” when she had gotten the beers Grace showed of her former waitressing skills by carrying the boys beers in one hand and drinking from her own glass as she walked over to the men approaching.

Christopher and Leonard soon met with Grace by a recently emptied table. Christopher quickly cleared the table of old rubbish before joining the duo. He wasn’t certain whether telling Leo Grace’s personal problems was the right thing to do, but he only meant well. And he was sure that Leo would want to know so he could help.

From a glance it didn't appear that Grace was suffering all that much with get break-up. But Leo had to wonder how much she was simply keeping herself strong to not ruin the mood. That sounded like Grace. Another part of him wondered if this was the beginning of her drinking her troubles away. That sounded less like her, right? Was that right?

Regardless, he accepted the drink gratefully and promised himself he'd keep an eye on her. He couldn't let Chris shoulder all of the burden, and the best thing they could do was make this one kick-ass trip.

“Cheers!”

Throwing himself onto his bed, Darien let out a low groan. The softness of the bed felt good on his sore back, and he shuffled slightly to make himself more comfortable. He probably should have let Nicole know he had arrived--well, he had just sent her a text, but he usually preferred to call. But damn was the bed comfortable as fuck. No one would mind if he caught a few z's before entering the chaos that was his wedding weekend, right? Just as he was about to doze off, there was a knock at his door. Darien propped himself on his elbows, throwing his head back. Of course. Reminding himself that whoever was on the other side was not to be blamed for his exhaustion, he hopped out of bed, stretching his arms above his head. Opening the door, his height led him to stare at the wall for a second before looking down at...

Shit, what was her name, again?

Honestly, the fact that he didn't know the entirety of Nicole's bridesmaid party only bothered him a little. Sure, the positions should have been left for close family and friends, but his beautiful bride to be had insisted. And who was he to say no to her? Except, he had actually wanted to avoid situations like this. Wait, no, she definitely looked familiar. Her bright smile and mention of pokes brought to mind Facebook. They were Facebook friends, but Darien had been in quite a few poke wars, so it was hard to pinpoint her name. Still, standing in silence was not going to do him any favors, so instead Darien threw on a smile, taking a guess and praying to God it was the one he thought she was.

"Hey! I'm really glad you could make it, Angela!" He greeted her warmly, perfectly masking the absolute panic he had.