For you people that aren't avid HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother) fans, I'm putting up a little prologue, so you know the backstory.

The year is 2030 and Theodore "Ted" Evelyn Moseby is telling the story to his kids about how he met their mother. If the mother is dead, we don't know since the 2030 version of her is never shown or mentioned to. In the year 2005, Ted attends this wedding with his friends Marshall Erikson, Lily Aldrin, (His best friends since college. Marshall and Lily are engaged) Robin Scherbatsky (A previous Canadian pop star, but that's in a later season) and Barney Stinson (A serial womanizer and one of Ted's "bros", the other being Marshall).

Ted is sitting on one side and he looks across the room to see this beautiful Brunette looking at him. He goes over to her and the Brunette says that she doesn't hook up at weddings because it's all an illusion. The two concoct a plan that involves fake names and the two never meeting again. Their fake names are "Buttercup" (Her fake name) and "Lance Calrissan" (Ted's fake name). Barney ruins this by saying Ted's real name saying that he got a bridesmaid. Ted finds out her real name is Victoria and their evening of fun consists of them stealing the bouquet, playing the piano and others things that bring them in drumroll situations (the romantic situation before two people kiss).

Victoria says that she wanted this night to consist of only drumrolls and never kissing because she said the moment leading up to the kiss is as good as the kiss itself. The next morning, Ted tells Marshall and Lily the story and the gang goes on an odyssey searching for Victoria, who actually made the cake. Ted finds Victoria at this bakery shop called "Buttercup" and they date for about a month until Victoria gets called for a culinary scholarship to a baking school in Germany. The two try long-distance, but it fails due to Ted's recurring feelings for Robin and the belief that Victoria was going to dump him.

This is about Victoria and Ted switching lives, where Victoria took Ted's place in the gang and Ted was cheated on. There a major character named Ava, my original character, and much reference to the Cardinal Rule: When it comes to an ex, never go back! Some parts of the story will be the same as the were in the show (just giving a quick foresight.) Thanks for reading this super long prologue, so without further ado, here is chapter 1 of Cardinal Rule called "A Big Mistake".