Make or Break

"And you are?" I asked rudely although I really didnt mean to. He seemed taken aback by my sudden change from nice and polite to rude and curt. The confused look that crossed his face didn't last long though, he was soon smiling that charming half smile.

"James" He said simply never taking his eyes off of me. "James Neal"

I rolled my eyes at his cocky tone not really appreciating the way he was looking at me like he owned me. If my rude tone of voice hadn't given him the hint that I strongly dislike him already, this would.

"Well, James Neal," I said throwing in his last name to immitate him as he slowly pulled one foot off the coffee table, then the other, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees, head on his hands, The look on his face was a look of anticipation, blue eyes glowing wide staring straight up at me as if to say This should be good, "It was great meeting you, but I should be leaving"

I turned on my heel wanting to get out of there and away from him as fast as i could,

"You know, You can't take the dress with you" I heard him say from behind me.

I turned around slowly, embarrassed to have made such a stupid mistake. As soon as i turned I glanced over at him chuckling to himself, not having moved an inch since i tried to storm out of there. I sighed heavily picking up the bottom of the dress so as not to step on it.

Catherine burst through the door immediately causing me to perk up in the relief of a distraction. "James, Here's your tux" She said not even looking at him before turning to walk out the door, her blonde hair flipping behind her, "Catherine?" I said loudly enough so she could hear me. "What?" She asked, annoyed judging by the tone of her voice. She leaned against the door, hand still on the doorknob waiting for the time when she could shut the door and move on to the next thing buzzing around in her head.

"Will you unzip me?" I smiled, pulling my hair to the side over my shoulder so that the zipper on the dress was visible. "James'll do it" She said nodding at him, just standing up from the couch to walk towards the changing rooms and try on the smooth black tux she brought in for him. She left before i could say anything, leaving it to be just me and James.

"Are you sure you dont want to just leave it on? Go home, Sleep in it maybe?" He asked, smiling at me taking a step closer with every word. His blue eyes looked more and more green with every step he took mesmerizing me for every few seconds.

"No" I mumbled as he laughed at my embarrassment. "Come here" He said, looking at me, tux hanging across his arm.

I raised an eyebrow to let him know that I was not going to him, he was coming to me. We stood there in silence for a few seconds that seemed like hours, staring each other down. His weight shifted from one foot to the other every few seconds, most likely because of the awkward situation.

"You're the one that needs my help" He said rudely, shocking me. I sighed heavily knowing he was right before picking up the ends of the dress and walking towards a changing room.

"What are you doing?" He asked surprised, still standing in the middle of the room.

"Well I'm not just going to strip in the middle of the room where everyone can see me" I said rudely, rolling my eyes for what seemed like the 50th time since this awkward encounter started.

"Alright" He said nodding his head slightly to the side before lifting the tux higher so he wouldnt drag it and walking towards me. He hung the tux up on one of the nearby racks before turning back to me.

I was watching him intently in the mirror. Every move he made, from the way he hung up the tux with his left hand instead of his right, the way he straightened the hanger on the rack so that it wouldnt be crooked, even the way he looked from my back right down to my butt.

"What are you doing?" I asked rudely as he unzippered the dress slowly causing me to jump slightly when his cold hands touched the warm skin on my back.

"Just what you asked me to Princess" He mumbled under his breath as he exhaled loudly.

"You know it was more than that" I said still watching his reflection in the mirror as he paused and continued to just stare at my back.

"What?" I said annoyed that he was taking this long to unzip a dress. "Nothing" He mumbled shaking his head slowly just then letting go and walking back over to his tux. I watched him as he slowly slipped one shoe off then the other, one sock then the other, and soon enough his pants were in the pile he slowly formed on the ground.

"Do you need to do that here?" I asked referring to the room I had been changing in.

"I didnt realize it would bother you that much" He said turning to face me, I noticed some of his dark brown hair falling into his eyes then I noticed the way he licked his lips, the stubble on his jaw line that looked heavier since I first saw it 30 minutes ago, and then I looked down to his chest, strongly built 6 pack, and his arms, one completely covered in tattoos, many different colors blending together like a kaleidoscope, the other clean like a fresh canvas waiting to be colored.

"Now look at who's doing the staring" He laughed pushing the hair out of his face, referring to the comment I made earlier about him looking me up and down.

"Whatever" I said smiling to myself, turning around quickly so he wouldnt see. I reached over to grab my clothes, hoping to change quickly so he wouldnt see anything I didnt want him to.

I was dressed back in my white sweater and jeans, just about to slide on my tall brown boots when i heard his voice behind me, "What?" I asked not quite hearing what he said before.

"Do you know how to tie these things?" He said referring to the bowtie hanging around his neck, a confused look crossing his face as he looked down at it, "Cause I sure as hell don't"

I laughed at his confusion as I walked towards him, pulling at the black fabric tying it into a prefect little bow. "Damn" He mumbled looking up at me for the first time after watching my hands as I tied the bow quickly, "Where'd you learn that?"

"My dad" i smiled up at him as he reached over and pushed a loose piece of my hair behind my shoulder. We were extremely close now, I could see all his small imperfections and I was sure he could see all of mine. If he did, he didnt let on. He continued to stare at me while i analyzed every little part of him that I could from this close: The way his two front teeth weren't even, one slighly in front of the other, How his stubble was not even close to the color of his hair, and how intent his eyes really were, every little thought and emotion able to seen in them.

"Nice one Daddy's girl" He laughed loudly startling me out of the silence between us.

"Oh god don't call me that" I laughed taking a few steps back to my boots.

"Alright" He said staring at me as I hopped on one foot trying to pull my boot onto the other, "No more Daddy's girl" He smiled chuckling at me as he shoved his hands into the pants pockets on his suit.

"How do I look?" He asked when I was finished and had both shoes on.

"Horrible" I smiled leaning my head to the side. "Be serious" He said trying to keep a serious face but his smile was shining through. "If you already know you look good, Why do you need me to tell you?" I said smiling at him now. "I just wanted to hear it from you" He said as Catherine pulled back the curtain quickly.

"Just the person I was looking for" She said smiling as she grabbed James's arm pulling his body off balance and his hand out of his pocket. "You look great" She said as she dragged him out of the room and out into the line already made up by the rest of the groomsmen. Catherine pointed each of them out to me, the first, otherwise known as the best man, was his brother. Next was Brandon Sutter, Tanner Glass, and James, last but not least,

Sidney Crosby.

Notes