"Guess who's heeeeeeere!"

"B/f/n!" you say happily. "I thought you weren't going to make it!"

B/f/n hugs you enthusiastically enough to almost knock you over. "Can you believe they delayed my flight? I swear I was this close to marching out and finding whoever made that happen and knocking some sense into them because hello? No way am I missing my bestie's wedding!"

"Do I want to know how much coffee you've had?" you ask hesitantly.

"Probably not," b/f/n giggles. "I had to stay awake somehow. Ooh, are those cookies?"

Kai looks up at b/f/n and his eyes widen. "Hey, no! These are for the reception! Hey! Look out! Yikes!"

By some miracle, b/f/n's excited grab for the cookies doesn't send Kai and the platter he's carrying to the floor. Kai gives her a suspicious look and edges away with stray cookies balanced on his elbows and another one on his face. You have no idea how he's going to set it all down without dropping anything, but that's not your problem.

Zane, who walked into the room at some point, watches the chaos unfold and then suggests, "Perhaps b/f/n should go and get ready for the wedding?"

"Good idea!" Kai agrees. He's somehow worked most of the cookies back onto the plate, but there's still one balanced on his elbow. B/f/n snatches it up and takes a bite as she walks in the direction of one of the guest rooms. "Hey! I just said—"

"I know!" b/f/n laughs. "Later!"

"Did I hear the word cookies?" Dareth pokes his head out of a nearby room. "Ooh! Can I have one?"

"No, Dareth!" Kai sighs. "These are for the reception."

"But she has one!" Dareth points at b/f/n. He pauses, squints at her, and then asks, "Who is that, anyway?"

You shake your head in exasperation. "Dareth, this is my friend b/f/n. B/f/n, this is Dareth."

B/f/n waves, her mouth still full of cookie. "Hi, Dareff!"

Dareth runs a hand through his hair. "Well, hello. I am Grand Sensei Dareth, the Brown Ninja, and master of all animal fighting styles. The wolf! The spider! The ostrich!"

Kai smacks his forehead. "This is gonna be a disaster, I just know it."

B/f/n giggles at Dareth's "fighting moves," then pauses and looks at the ceiling. "Wasn't I supposed to be doing something? Oh, right! I need to get ready! Catch you later, Dareth!" She takes off without waiting for a reply. You listen to her bouncing down the hallway, then wince when you hear a crash from the direction of the kitchen.

Dareth glances around and mutters "Now, what was I doing? Oh, yeah! Nya wants you so she can get you ready!" He points at you, then turns to leave the room and smacks into the doorframe. "Ow! I'm okay!" This time, he makes it through the door properly.

Cole pokes his head into the room and looks at the three of you, then asks "Was that Dareth?"

Zane nods. "Indeed it is."

Kai sighs. "First b/f/n, now Dareth. This is going to be one crazy wedding, that's for sure."

"We'll pull it off somehow," you sigh. "Don't we always?"