Chapter 44

"I can't believe he asked me to come to his wedding after everything that happened between us!" Clara shouted into the phone. She was still mad about this the next morning and even though she had vowed to herself that she would stop bothering her best friend with this, Clara just hadn't known another way than to call Amy.

"And he asked that after you've slept with each other?"

"Yes!"

"Wow," Amy uttered. "That's. . . I don't even know what it is, but it's not something any normal person would do."

"Exactly!" Clara agreed angrily. She was so mad at him right now that she almost felt like showing up there out of spite just to show him she wasn't bothered. Then her voice softened a little. "I mean, we parted on good terms before yesterday. And we both knew what we were getting into. I can even understand a little why he's choosing Liz and he's a sweet guy. I doubt he meant to hurt me."

"He's an idiot," her friend told her.

But a nice one, Clara added in her thoughts. What was the worst that could happen if she went? Clara wouldn't have to attend the ceremony, she could just go to the party afterwards, listen to some music, eat some delicious food. She had planned it all and it seemed like the reasonable thing to do to just hang out there for a bit. If it hadn't been for her one night stand with John.

"You're not really calling just to bitch about it, am I right?" Amy enquired after a moment.

Clara hesitated, knowing how crazy she must sound to her friend. "What if I went?"

"Uhm, you'd regret it and hate every second of it?"

"Yeah, but apart from that?"

"You'd get drunk and cause a scene, publicly confess your love for John and embarrass both of you?"

"No, that's something you'd do," Clara replied dryly. "I just don't understand why he asked me. I mean, he must have had a good reason to and-"

"And you love him and don't want to disappoint him. I get it, Clara," her friend replied and her voice was dripping with annoyance. "But think about yourself for a moment. Do you really want to do this to yourself?"

"Well, it's just for an hour or two," she reasoned. "And it's not like it could get much worse for me anyway."

Amy groaned on the other end of the line. "Why do you even ask me for advice when you've made up your mind already?"

"I hadn't," Clara replied meekly and bit down on her lip. "It's just that while you were trying to talk me out of it, the bad side of my brain successfully talked me into it."

Her friend chuckled. "Fine then," she said. "Go to the wedding, eat the most expensive food and ask the DJ to play a couple of really bad songs."

"That sounds like a plan," Clara agreed. "Call you after?"

"Definitely. I want to hear if you've poisoned the champagne."

"Alright." She sighed heavily. "Thank you for being the best best friend ever. And I owe you an amazing wedding."

"You definitely do," Amy replied and hung up.

Clara placed the phone aside and glanced at her watch. It was 10 am and right now John was probably saying yes. No, she would wait a couple more hours and spare herself the ceremony and the speech about how much John loved his new wife.

The sun was already setting when Clara arrived at Wilton's Music Hall in one of her best dresses. She had made a real effort to look nice even though, on the inside, she felt almost dead. In her head, Clara kept wondering why on earth John had asked her here and she doubted that it was to make her suffer even more, but she also knew that there was only one way to find out.

She was surprised when she stopped in front of the venue and noticed that it was awfully quiet for a big party, so she stepped inside to see what the matter was. The place was empty.

Something tucked at her heart as Clara wandered deeper into the building and a nasty feeling was rising up inside her stomach. There was no party here. No music. No chatter. The place was as quiet as a mausoleum. Immediately, Clara thought that something bad must have happened. Maybe John had had an accident or something had happened to Liz, but when she finally stepped inside the hall, Clara uttered a sigh of relief.

John was sitting on the stage, a tie loosely wrapped around his suit while his head was bowed, staring at a beer bottle in his hands. Her steps had obviously given her away because as she stepped closer, John raised his head.

"What happened?" she wanted to know when she came to a halt next to him.

John took a moment to reply, but eventually, a light smile appeared on his face. "You."

Clara frowned at him in response and when John padded the spot next to him, she hopped up onto the stage and settled down beside him. He turned his head and the smile on his face widened, but there was still a hint of sadness in his expression.

"I cancelled the wedding," John admitted.

Clara's heart skipped a beat when she heard him say these words, when she realized what it meant. John had left Liz to be with her. He had made the decision last night, that was why he had invited her here and John had waited here all day, hoping for Clara to show up. Yet she knew that it hadn't been easy for him and all of a sudden she felt sorry that she had been the one to cause him so much pain over the last few months. She vowed to make it all up to him from now on.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know it wasn't easy for you. How did she take it?"

John uttered a long sigh and averted his eyes, staring at a spot at the other end of the room. "I don't really wanna talk about that now. I don't even wanna think about it."

Clara leaned her head against his shoulder and reached out to take his hand. In return, he turned his head and left a soft kiss on her hair. Then John suddenly scoffed.

"I guess my sister's plan worked after all."

She smiled to herself. "Well, you said she knows you very well. Maybe she really just wanted what's best for you."

John craned his neck and looked at her before he started to chuckle. "Don't ever tell Missy she's right about something or she'll never shut up about it."

"I'll keep that in mind," she reassured him.

"I'm sorry, too," John said after a moment. "You really did a great job planning this wedding. It's a shame it'll go to waste just because I couldn't make up my mind a little earlier."

"Uhm, does it have to?" Clara asked him. "I mean, what if you invited Susan and Donna and maybe Missy if you feel like it? Have a nice dinner? Listen to music? I know, most of it will get thrown out in the end, but it at least it won't be for nothing."

John looked at her with mild curiosity. "Will you stay, too?" he asked hopefully. "You could call your friend and invite her here."

In response, Clara leaned forward and brought their lips together in a short, soft kiss. They were both smiling when she pulled away. "You're not gonna get rid of me ever again."

There was a look of relief on his face before John closed his arms around her and pulled her against his chest for a hug. Clara sank against his body and just enjoyed it for a moment even though she knew that there were many more hugs and kisses in their future. But for now, they both just really needed a moment of comfort after those turbulent few months and Clara couldn't wait for it all to calm down so she could be with John at last.

Note: Okay, let me give all of you a big, fat cyber hug! Thank you guys so, so, so much for your amazing support, for reading this fic and especially all your reviews. I know that it's been over almost two years since Whouffaldi went off-air and the hype has died down a bit, but it makes me so happy that so many of you still read and love my Whouffaldi fics - which is the reason I have no intention to stop writing them anytime soon. Seriously, your comments always brighten my day, even if it's to complain that I've broken your heart. Well, I hope I managed to fix them all with this last chapter :) Thank you so much for your love and support!

I will start posting my new fic "The Moon & The President's Daughter" on Saturday to give all of you the chance to catch up with this one before running straight into the next and, oh God, I am beyond excited to share the next fic with you. I'm currently on holiday and had the time to write a few chapters ahead and I am seriously having so much fun developing the plot and the characters that I can't wait for you to read it, hoping you'll enjoy the read as much as I'm already enjoying writing it. See you Saturday!