Page 12 of Harrison's Wedding

“Who else will be coming?” I ask, trying to keep the curiosity out of my voice.

“Hayden’s on board and Gabriel just needed to check with Ariana, but he was up for it. Unfortunately, there was no way to invite just Gabriel. Do you want me to call Heather and invite her?”

Oh, hell no. Since my birthday party, Heather has been successfully coming up with excuses to avoid coming to any Cruise Control events. The two times that I’ve seen Gabriel and Ariana outside of those, Heather had sudden, urgent work calls conveniently come up with her fashion director, and she wasveryapologetic about it.

We’ve argued about it off and on over the last month. It’s been frustrating because her absences haven’t gone unnoticed, either by the media or by our friends, and I’m the one who’s been left fielding the awkward conversations about why she hasn’t been able to attend these events. At the moment, I can blame Fashion Week, but I wonder what excuses I’ll be able to make once that’s over.

Heather has actually been at Serenity since early this morning, working on her collection. The second she gets wind of tonight’s dinner, I can imagine that she will find a sudden need to stay late and miss the dinner.

“No, don’t do that; I’ll call and talk to her. I think we’ll be there. Well, I’ll be there, at least. What time should we get there?”

“Sometime after seven, I guess?” he says.

I confirm that I’ll see him then and hang up the call. A night with Gabriel and Ariana… Heather’s not going to like this. I’ll ask her what her plans are before she knows she should be coming up with an excuse. I dial her number and wait for her to answer.

“Hi, honey.” Heather’s voice comes down the line, and I immediately find myself smiling at the sound of it.

“Hey, angel, are you leaving anytime soon?” I ask casually.

The scraping sound of a chair being pushed back comes through the line before she replies, “Yeah, I’ll leave in about half an hour or so, I guess. Why?”

“Sebastian wants us all to come around to his place tonight.”

“Who is ‘us all’?” Heather asks, sounding suspicious.

Damn. I should’ve known that she would catch on to this immediately. You can’t get much past Heather.

I sigh and tell her, “Yes, Gabriel and Ariana are invited, too.”

“Why would Sebastian invite her?” Heather asks in a biting tone.

“He invited Gabriel, and that meant inviting Ariana. Heather, we haven’t all been together since my birthday, can’t we just get along?”

She tries to take a different tack by saying, “You’re kidding yourself if you think Seb’s going to play nicely.”

“Sebastian isn’t my concern, Heather.” I know she’ll have noted the use of her name rather than me calling her angel. I’m just so tired of the tension in our group, and I want us to get back to what we once were. I think about a conversation I had with Gabriel the other day and tell Heather, “Gabriel told me that Ariana is really upset by the fact that you haven’t spoken to her since they got back together.”

There’s silence from Heather’s end of the line for about fifteen seconds before she says in a cool tone, “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer, Harrison. All I will say is that I have made my position perfectly clear to you. I do not want to be friends with her, but okay, for your sake andonlyfor your sake, I promise to be civil.”

“So, you will come tonight, then?” I clarify, daring to hope that tonight might be the first step toward a reconciliation within our group.

“Yes, I’ll come. I’ll leave now. Are we eating there?”

“I’m pretty sure Seb’s ordering food. We’re just going to hang out and play pool, drink some alcohol; it’ll be like old times.”

I think fondly of the time we spent hanging out with Gabriel, Ariana, Hayden, and Sebastian during theCards Have Been Dealttour. Before everything went to shit, we had so much fun together, and I’d love to get back there. Especially if Gabriel is serious about Ariana, which I suspect he is.

Heather says in a cool tone, “Right. Well, I’ll see you soon. Love you, honey.”

“Love you, angel,” I tell her.

I feel bad for this conversation, and for getting her to confirm she was free before telling her where I wanted to go. Despite any drama with Gabriel and Ariana, Heather is my first priority, always. I hope that she doesn’t feel as though I’m not supporting her with this, but I’m just concerned about the long-term ramifications if she and Sebastian can’t accept Ariana back into our lives.

I add to my sentiment, “So much. You know that, right?”

Heather’s voice loses the cool tone, and she says softly, “I do. I can’t wait to see you. Bye.”

While I wait for Heather to arrive, I take a shower, so I’ll be ready to go when she gets here. I can’t get my mind off this issue with Gabriel and Ariana, though. My biggest concern is it ultimately causing a problem for the band. It’s not the financial toll the band breaking up would bring that worries me, it’s the loss of the friendships. Being torn between Heather and one of my best friends. Of course, I would choose her if it came to it, but even acknowledging that kills me.

---