I'll be There for You

Chapter 17: Wedding Day Disaster

Weddings were stressful events for the couple, their friends, families, and for their caterers. Hayley stood in the middle of the bakery's kitchen trying her best to make everything that the bride-of-the-day, Caroline Forbes, requested. Thankfully, Jane Anne had returned. The two women were working hard to turn out delicacies for the wedding and desserts. Cami arranged the food on the trays so it would look delicious while Oliver would load the truck when they were done.

Just as Hayley moved to put a set of cupcakes into the oven, her phone began to ring. Seeing Caroline's name on her screen she punched the answer button and placed the phone to her ear. "Hey," she answered.

"Oh, my God, Hayley, the wedding is ruined!" Caroline shouted into the phone.

"What?" Hayley said, picking up the tin of cupcakes and popping them into the oven. "Give me one second," she looked at Jane Anne who gave her a questioning look. Shrugging, Hayley walked into the bakery's main room. "Go ahead."

"My friends from Mystic Falls. They're not coming!" Caroline wailed.

"What?" Hayley felt confused.

"Oh, my God! What am I supposed to do now?" Caroline sobbed. "I don't even know where Klaus, Freya and Rebekah are and now this." Sniffling, Caroline let out a long shuddering breath. "It feels like we've been planning this perfect day forever and then the shooting happened and Klaus and I haven't even been able to spend any time together...and I miss him and I can't even see him because of the stupid 'bad luck to see the bride before the wedding' thing."

"Caroline, I am sure that there is nowhere that Klaus would rather be than at that church today. And aren't there any women coming to the wedding that could stand in for your bridesmaids?" Hayley asked as Jane Anne popped her head out of the kitchen door. "I'm sorry. I've got to get back into the kitchen."

"Okay. I'll see you soon. I guess," Caroline muttered and hung up.

Hayley sighed, going back into the kitchen and back to her mixing bowls. At least she could do something about that. She began to make more batter when Cami came over to lean against the table. "What's up?" she asked.

"Caroline's lost some bridesmaids," Hayley replied, stirring the batter and then handing Cami some cupcake wrappers.

Cami began to place the wrappers into a new tin. "Why didn't you volunteer to step in? You are going to the wedding, aren't you?" she quipped with a wicked smile. "Going to have a late night with one the groomsmen?"

"I am not volunteering to wear a hideous dress and to walk down an aisle of a wedding I'm working," Hayley grumbled. Mainly she was scared of Caroline's choices for bridesmaid's dresses.

"If you say so," Cami said as Jane Anne pulled out two tins of cupcakes, placing them near Hayley who would decorate them once they cooled.

The kitchen door swung open and Jack came in. "Hey, Jackson, welcome back!" Cami called.

Oliver hugged his brother and Jane Anne walked over to him. "Are you sure you're feeling well enough to help out?" she asked him.

Jack nodded. "I'm feeling okay. Not like I have anything to compare it to but I was well taken care of where I was." He looked at Hayley who nodded at him. "Thought you might need my help here."

"We do," Cami said, waving at trays piling up. "Look at all of this food. I planned on helping Oliver get this in the truck anyway but it's nice to have another set of hands." Patting Jackson on the back, Cami picked up a tray that Jane Anne had finished with and placed it with the others. "Should we start loading these up?"

"Yes," Jane Anne said, nodding while Hayley began to decorate the hundreds of cupcakes. It might take her an hour but every single one of these cupcakes would be perfect so Caroline had one less thing to freak over.