One Shot: From A Distance

Sally Wilcox loved Adam Freeman. But he didn't – he couldn't – love her back. His heart belonged to Cindy, that was what he told her anyway. So all Sally could do was watch their relationship grow from a distance, a relationship she wished she had with Adam.

She was only twelve when she first met Adam and as the years went by, she loved him more and more. But maybe they weren't meant to be, because Adam's eyes were only for Cindy and Sally envied her so. Yet, they were still friends but deep inside of her, she wanted Adam for herself.

For fourteen long years, Sally Wilcox had watched in the dark, keeping her feelings for Adam to herself. All those times she had blurted out her love for him, everyone had thought it was all a joke. But it wasn't, really.

Hiding her feelings to herself made her irritated and she retreated to talking a lot and being a bit bad-tempered sometimes. It was painful, even for her, as tough as she may seem.

They were twenty-six now and Sally couldn't believe she was here, at the very morning of Adam and Cindy's wedding. Of course, Sally was hurt. She didn't want to come here in the first place but she wanted to see Adam one last time before they moved to New Zealand.

Adam and Cindy had decided to live there after their wedding. They thought it rather nice to finally be free of Spooksville, away from the aliens, monsters, portals, and other strange things that went on there… to finally settle down and have kids. Despite this plausible reason, Sally couldn't help but think that Cindy only wanted Adam for herself.

Sally was watching Cindy being perfected by her friends and family. A woman fussed over Cindy's hair, pinning it to place, while another hovered beside her, checking that the bride's make-up was absolutely perfect. The wedding was to start soon and with each passing minute, Sally could sense Cindy getting nervous.

"Don't you just love this gown?" Sally smiled at her friend, attempting to take her mind off of things.

Cindy nodded. "I can't believe I'm getting married to Adam! You know, it all started with one small crush on him fourteen years ago." Cindy paused, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "You'll write to us, won't you? Write to us once we arrive in New Zealand?"

Sally nodded, straightening the lacy hem of Cindy's white wedding dress. "Yes, I'll write to you, don't worry." She glanced up at Cindy and smiled at her again. "And I'll make Bryce, Watch, and the others write too." Straightening herself, Sally spread her arms to hug Cindy. "I feel so happy for you two!"

Really, she did.

Cindy patted her back. "And one day, I want to be invited to your wedding and see who you'll end up with."

Sally only smiled at her again. Only, deep inside, she felt empty.

Just then, a bridesmaid walked into the room of Cindy's house. She beamed at Cindy and went over to Sally.

"Adam wants to see you, Ms. Wilcox."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "Why so?"

The bridesmaid straightened a rose among the small bouquet of red roses she was holding. "He said he wanted to talk to you."

"Alright," Sally replied. She gave Cindy a small wave as she exited the room.

Sally could only vaguely remember from last week, when Cindy had made Adam and the rest of her family and friends stay at her house for the wedding. The house was quite big now and it was only going to be a small wedding of about 150 people or so. At least, Cindy had described it to be "small".

Cindy had assigned everyone to their own part of the house and garden (tents were set up here) and anybody else that the house couldn't accommodate had to stay in at the nearby motel. Cindy had even organised Adam to share a room with her. However, the night before the wedding day, Adam had moved into a room in an apartment across the street so as not to have any bad luck in seeing the bride before the wedding.

Sally started making her way over to Adam's room and before long, she was stepping into a bedroom with Adam standing in the middle, staring into his reflection in the mirror in front of him. He looked handsome, in a white tuxedo and his hair neatly combed. He was straightening his jacket and she watched his eyes on the mirror, noting that he followed her movements with his gaze.

"Hi," she greeted him, mustering a brilliant smile.

"Um, hello," Adam replied, turning to face her. "Listen, I… I asked you to come so I could tell you something…"

Sally blinked. "Yes?"

Adam slowly walked over to her, his eyes determined not to meet hers.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Sally asked him uncomfortably.

Adam shook his head as he came to a halt in front of her. "No, nothing is wrong. I love Cindy. But I…" He paused and looked her in the eye. "But I love you too."

Sally drew in a hissing breath. It was what she had always wanted. She always wished to hear those words to come from Adam but somehow, at this moment, on this day, it felt wrong. Terribly wrong. Somehow, it had started as a dream but, all too soon, had turned into a nightmare.

Sally shook her head and shut her eyes as if doing so would make her forget.

"No, Adam. No!" Sally whispered, horrified as she opened her eyes again, seeing Adam so close… "No. Shut up! Just because I love you too! Don't do this to Cindy, please! Not on her wedding day – your wedding day."

"But Sally –"

"No!" She shook her head again. She was confused now. She had always wanted to hear those words but now, she regretted that want. It was just so wrong.

Adam took hold of her wrist. "Sally, please. Listen to me!" His eyes pierced into hers. "I've loved you for so long. But I didn't have the guts to say that. No… Do you know why?"

Sally shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No…" she managed to squeak.

"Because I thought you didn't feel about me the same way I felt about you and that you deserved someone better."

She gave him a quick meaningful hug, and then hastily separated herself from his arms, shaking her head. "I – I'm sorry Adam but… all of this… It's just too late now. Cindy is happy and it's your wedding day. Please don't break her heart – don't ever – because she loves you so much." Sally began to walk towards the door. "I'm sorry."

She was sobbing quietly to herself, as she closed the door behind her. Cindy was so lucky and Sally had envied her. Cindy didn't deserve to get hurt because Adam loved Sally as well.

All of this… It's just too late now.

Her own words echoed inside her head. No, she didn't want Adam to leave Cindy so she did what she did. They just weren't meant to be.

"Do you, Adam Freeman, take Cynthia Makey as your lawfully wedded wife?"

They were all at the church now and the wedding was about to end. Sally sat amongst the crowd, her hands restless on her lap. She watched the ceremony nervously, her heart breaking. The bride and groom were standing in front of the priest as he spoke.

Adam couldn't answer yet. He quickly scanned everyone who was sitting in the church pews but he couldn't see her. He searched with his eyes and finally saw her, sitting beside her family and friends, near the front of the church.

She was silently crying, her eyes sad, but she managed to smile reassuringly at him. He felt his face blanch. She was sacrificing herself for Cindy's happiness, even though she knew she could never have Adam.

Adam turned to the priest. "I do."

As Sally sat there and heard Adam say "I do", it made her smile to herself. She will do what she had done before. But she will be happy for Adam and Cindy. Even though she knew she and Adam could never be. It was all too late when they had confessed their love for each other. She will wish them good luck for their future, write to them, feel happy for them, and just… watch from a distance.

Author's Notes: Hmm, in my opinion, I think it wasn't at all that great. Once again - like my other one shots - I thought this was a bit corny. But then again, my brain sort of thought of this story late at night after I had watched a romance movie... Heh. But then again, come on, this is me we're talking about here!

Please read and review and tell me what you thought of it. Thanks. And if I feel like it I might write another one shot about this pairing - which, by the way, I think is awesome - in a weird sort of way because I'm the only one who thinks so.

June 6, 2012: I updated it a little bit, adding more description here and there. It's not much but yeah, it's been years since I've looked at this fanfic.