02 | Silence is Golden

                                    

                                          
359 Days Until

                          
Here's the deal. 
                          
Mack and Niall would be the maid of honor and the best man at Libby and Wes' wedding. Under one condition: they join the two of them on all the wedding preparations. Together. The goal? To get the two of them in the same room together without them wanting to claw each other's eyes out. 
                          
Niall knew this wasn't going to work. He had managed to stay away from her for the past two years. It was hard, but he would just have to continuously ask if she would be at an outing where their mutual friends were at. He had to stay away from the places they used to go to together in fear she might show her face. Libby and Wes didn't understand why he worked so hard to avoid her, but overall they didn't question him or push them together. 
                          
So why the sudden change? 
                          
"Why don't we just hire a wedding planner?" Wes asked as he dogged out of the way of a tourist too busy taking pictures of the buildings around him than to see where he was going. "Tell them what we want and they do all the hard work for us." 
                          
Libby looked over her shoulder at him and made a disgusted face. "That's so impersonal, though." 
                          
"It's like having your own butler." 
                          
"What? It's nothing like that." 
                          
"Day one of wedding planning and you two are already fighting like a married couple," Niall interrupted, hands in his pockets. "How adorable." 
                          
The four of them were wandering the Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market that lay right on Boston's Freedom Trail. It was a tourist trap through and through, but Libby loved the atmosphere of the cuisine shops and pubs that line the center square of the market. She wanted to walk around the place to get inspired for her wedding; on the theme or the food or the flowers, Niall wasn't completely sure. But he was forced to tag along with them regardless of having any interest. 
                          
Niall and Mack haven't said one word to each other since the engagement party. However, this was the first day of planning, so it wasn't like they had much opportunity. Not that they would take it if it ever came. 
                          
It was a beautiful fall day, the sun was shining and the square was bustling with people. It wasn't too insufferable for Niall since, at the very least, he could easily walk without bumping into tourist (as long as they didn't bump into him, that is). Honestly, for what it was worth, he was enjoying himself. 
                          
But not as much as Mack was enjoying herself. 
                          
She was bouncing around at all the street performers. When she wasn't strolling with the three of them, she was watching the breakout dancers in the center of the circle. Or looking over the shoulder of a guy drawing funny caricature portraits. Or volunteering for a magic trick. 
                          
Mack was currently standing beside a woman on a gray platform who was wearing a silver skin-tight jumpsuit, silver paint on her skin, and silver hairspray, making her look entirely like a glittering statue in the sun. She posed with her hands laced together and placed under her chin, one of her legs popped out behind her, standing completely still. Mack mirrored her pose, though she did it less gracefully and with a lot more funny faces. 
                          
A family walked by right then and Mack stuck her tongue out at a little girl who giggled. 
                          
Niall struggled to keep a straight face as he watched her. When he finally looked away, he saw Libby watching him. "What?" He asked, stoning his face to be nonchalant. 
                          
Libby only smiled. "Oh, nothing." 
                          
Mack joined them again a moment later, pulling out her tablet and started tapping as if she wasn't just running around like a child in a candy shop.