Neon Bride X: The Night Before

Author’s Note: I’m a working on Twisted Fate Part 3. Admittedly, I’m a little stuck on where I want to go next with that story. Here is a story that I wrote a little while ago. It is inspired by one of those pictures where you pick your birthdate and the color of your shirt and voila! you get an anime title. I decided it would be a cool short story so here it is! A special thank you to those who helped me out by reading through it!!

~ Jess McKenzie

Neon Bride X: The Night Before

He stared at the decorations that had been chosen for them. Unfortunately, they had been chosen for a neon wedding. The company has picked a couple for the past few years, he didn’t remember how many and made their wedding a spectacle. The couple usually didn’t last under the pressure but it didn’t stop because ‘they’ were all powerful. He scoffs to himself ‘Whatever that means.’ He took a good long look at his bride. Amelia was the light of the earth and he prayed, to whatever Gods would take it, that they didn’t break her. She is such a private and soft-spoken person Danny knew that this was killing her inside. Every moment of their previously private wedding is being broadcasted to the country.

He mutters to himself, “If you can call what we have a country.”

“Amelia,” she startles at the sound of his voice, everything makes her jump these days, “How are you doing?” He tries his best not to glare into the camera. There were no private conversations for them, at least not since they had ‘won’ the neon wedding. They ‘won’ cameras following their every move and all of their life being on video for the past seven months.

“I’ve been better,” she answers honestly, “I just need to pretend it’s just us like you said to.” Amelia did not take being around people twenty-four seven very well. She was very introverted and never having a moment to herself has made her permanently exhausted. At least to her, it seemed that way. The company is always telling the world about the lucky winners. Everyone who wants to get married has to enter the contest for the neon wedding if they want a marriage license. However, it is generally frowned upon if you show that you did not want this.

Luckily, for Amelia, Danny was able to show the world just how ‘excited’ he was for this wedding. Danny had been in theater all throughout high school until it was discontinued. He had been really good at acting too. He used his dusty skills to protect his beloved. Amelia always felt better when he was around and it showed on the cameras. People watching at home could see just how much they loved each other. Amelia’s family, who never really approved of the union, was grateful for Danny now.

Danny wrapped his arms around Amelia trying to hide her from the cameras. At least she felt the allusion of being hidden. They didn’t know about the hidden cameras throughout the apartment, they suspected but were not sure. Glancing around the room he sees a shelf with nine albums on it. ‘Hmmm,’ he thinks to himself, ‘Those must be from the previous weddings.’ Putting two and two together he figures out they must be the tenth wedding. “What are in those books?” He points to the albums for Amelia to see.

“I think they are the wedding albums from the previous weddings. The last one is last years wedding at least.” she pulls the book from the shelf.

As she flips through the book he suddenly remembers how each year the couples are suddenly drawn to this shelf. Each year they can only grab the book from the year before. The books aren’t shown on the screens, just the couples looking through them. He then realizes. This is when the fighting usually begins. He wonders what about these albums causes the couples to argue. “This isn’t what you wanted,” he whispers acknowledging all of her discomforts. “We will last because we are a match.” Perhaps that is why they were chosen this year. “Matches are forever Amelia and I know we will last longer than that.”

She turns and hugs him. Danny knows that this is not what the company will want. They want to destroy the view of marriage and the couples are supposed to fight. The company wants everyone to be the same. Before they started the Neon Bride weddings they had destroyed other couples they were scared that the other couples lifestyles would destroy the holy matrimony that is marriage. If the other couples didn’t comply they had to go underground and hide or they would be killed. Danny fidgets he hopes that the people who had been living in their house were ok. Janna and Kailey are a great couple, they are a match just like Danny and Amelia. They had to smuggle them out of the small apartment in the basement as soon as they knew they had been chosen to have the Neon Bride Wedding of the Year.

“Amelia,” he whispers even softer “No matter what happens I will always be here for you.” Danny knew it was a matter of time before the company discovered there were discrepancies in their grocery purchases for the past two years. Janna and Kailey are small women because of the nature of their lives and Amelia was intent on giving them proper meals. With food rationed and documented carefully it was hard to do so. They submitted a lot of soup recipes and skipped meals themselves so there was enough food for four. They told the computer they were eating leftovers and heated up bowls of water.  Hoping the sensors in the microwave or the plumbing wouldn’t notice. Danny found himself hoping that Janna and Kailey were ok and had no way of finding out.

“Danny,” Amelia’s voice was as soft as his, her lips barely moving, “I hope our friends will forgive us.” She made it clear that they were on the same wavelength. “I hate this…. I am so tired.” She walks away towards her bedroom “I am going to turn in for the night.”

“Goodnight Amelia.” Danny pulls another album off the shelf seeing many women dressed as the neon brides seeing them in the ‘fabulous’ gowns. Reflective colors glaring against his retinas he put the book back on the shelf. “I may as well turn in,” stretching he speaks to the camera “After all we have a big day tomorrow.”

‘We just have the wedding tomorrow and the honeymoon and then maybe the company will let us return to our private lives.’ Danny thinks to himself. Usually, the night before the wedding showed the couples fighting over things as little as wedding details. Amelia and Danny were different. They did their best to not argue in public and this apartment they were forced to live in was definitely the public. They had gotten all of their fightings out of the way before the cameras had shown up. Just in time. He lays his head down on his pillow. “Tomorrow it’ll end won’t it?” he mumbles to himself as he falls asleep.