Maybe It's Been You All Along - Alex Turner

57

  The spring air was soft and comforting as it blew through the quiet house. The back doors were left open and so were a few windows, sending the sweet scent of spring coursing through the walls. There was no sound but the chirp of birds outside. It was so serene, mimicking how beautiful of a day it would be.

Inside, Alex stood before a mirror tying his bow tie for the fourth time. He was getting a little stressed over it since he was already running late. He'd watched several videos on how to tie a bow tie but he just couldn't get the hang of it. Glancing at his watch, Alex swore to himself and grabbed his tuxedo blazer and his phone and dashed for his car. The last thing he wanted was to be late to Jamie's wedding. He was late to a lot of things but he wasn't going to allow himself to add this onto the ever growing list.

Matt phoned him halfway through his drive asking him where he was. "I'm sorry mate, I'm on me way," Alex apologised, "couldn't do me tie."

"I'll do it when y' get 'ere just hurry up," Matt sighed.

Alex managed to arrive before everyone started leaving for the ceremony venue and sprinted out of his car over to where all the other groomsmen were standing. "I'm so sorry," Alex exhaled as he jogged up to meet them. "Where's Jamie?"

"Just went inside," Matt said. Everyone looked perfectly done up. Everyone but Alex. "Come 'ere," Matt motioned and tied Alex's bow tie easily for him.

"How the fuck?" Alex muttered and fixed his hair. Jamie came out of the reception meaning Alex was finally able to greet him and congratulate him on his big day. He was beyond happy for his friend. The smile on Jamie's face that day was enough to light up the world.

It wasn't long before everyone was travelling together to the ceremony and standing waiting for Katie to arrive. When she did, it was truly something out of a fairytale. The way she and Jamie looked at each other and the smile on his face when he saw her walking down the aisle dressed in white.

For the first time in a long time, Alex had his head in the right place. He'd pushed all selfish thoughts out of his head for the entire ceremony and just remained simply happy for one of his best mates getting married. Matt's was upcoming in August and Nick had proposed to Kelly over the winter so it was anticipated that there would be a third wedding sometime in the next year. Alex was genuinely happy for his friends and told himself to stop being self centred every time he would pity himself for not having the same stability.

The whole ceremony was beautiful. Flowers everywhere marking the beginning of spring and sending a sweet aroma tickling everyone's noses. It had been awhile since Alex attended a wedding but it was the first of all his close friends. It offered him a new perspective on life. He wanted to be looked at the way Katie looked at Jamie when they said their vows. Just once more.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the vow master said and smiled at the beaming couple before him, "you may kiss the bride." An eruption of cheers followed as Jamie and Katie took their first kiss as newlyweds. Everyone was smiling, Alex too, for the first time in a long while.

After photos were taken, Alex excused himself as he changed into a more comfortable outfit for the reception as he would be performing as a wedding singer for a small amount of the night. Before he went back out to the reception for Cocktail Hour, he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and told himself tonight was not the night to get pissed. He had to control himself, no more than three drinks unless he paced himself. You're not ruining tonight for anyone.

He fixed his hair one last time and headed back outside. He spotted Matt and Nick immediately and walked over to them. Matt pat Alex on the back as soon as he came over and handed him a martini.