I glanced at the clock… I had fifteen minutes to get ready. Shoot. I shoved on a floral white and red patterned dress in an attempt to make myself look somewhat respectable. I mean, it was a wedding I was going to after all right? I gently untangled and removed the remaining strands of hay from my brunette locks before brushing my long, wispy hair. I made sure to secure my beloved trademark feature, my red bandanna, into my hair, peering at myself in the mirror as I did so. I didn't look so bad; better than my normal attire that was for sure. I stared at the clock half-heartedly, my heart about to burst out of my chest.
"Breath and relax Chelsea." I tried, and failed, to reassure myself as I nervously slipped my feet into some black pumps Julia had lent me.
I shakily made my way through the forest to the church, mentally preparing myself for the day ahead and practicing that smile that says 'congratulations on getting married.' Despite the fact that I felt totally against this, I knew he did too… I was surprised to see confetti and red ribbons effectively adding liveliness to the forest surrounding me… Tiny silvery objects fluttered gracefully entwined within the branches gleamed elegantly; catching the serine sunset's cast of pinks, oranges and yellows, spreading the colourful gleams amongst the trees making everything beautifully perfect. I took a breath of the crisp, almost evening, air and sighed to myself. It was definitely a perfect day for a wedding.
Everyone was crowded around the goddess pond, making small talk amongst one another. I singled out the people I wanted to see and quickly made my way towards Denny and Lana, clinging tightly to their child Della's tiny hands.
"Hey guys." I smiled. I secretly appraised myself for keeping such a happy composure.
"Auntie Chelly." Della squealed happily, bundling forward. She was dressed cutely in a small black and white patterned dress.
"Hi Chelsea?" Lana questioned, furrowing her eyebrows slightly; a thin puckered line replacing the smile once dancing on her lips.
"I thought you weren't uhn, invited?" Denny muttered awkwardly trying not to catch my imposing stare.
"I don't know what you mean." I grinned, quickly followed by, "Don't mention it to the bride or groom okay?"
"Alright." Denny replied with that small mysterious glint summoned in his eyes.
I quickly kneelt down and placed my finger on my lips. "Shh, okay? You didn't see auntie Chelly."
Della gave me a cute little nod and a toothy smile before I disappeared into the uncut forest growth.
From here I could catch a sight of everyone present. The Brides snotty family were all, perhaps over dressed, in pastel adorned with highly expensive jewellery. It was typical of them to be flashing off their wealth to the rest of the gathered island. The groom's family stood proud; obviously somewhat happy that he had found a suitable partner to settle down with and, hopefully, spend many happy years together with.
The huge rusted bells chimed, signalling for everyone to file in and settle down. Overly polite gestures were exchanged as family and friends of both bride and groom settle down in the goddess devoted church. Once I was finally sure that people would be fully engaged in conversations and were settled into appropriate seats, I took the opportunity to sneak in and hide behind the huge velvet red curtains. You see the bride to be uninvited me due to 'inappropriate circumstances.' I snorted a little as I remember the very uncomfortably awkward conversation that was held. A heavy thud interrupted my snort and echoed around the stoned room as the wooden doors were pulled too. Bouquets of purple and white flowers made a droopily attempt to decorate the already beautiful church.
"Stand straight and hold a suitable posture." A timidly aggressive voice practically screams behind the door.
I rolled my eyes slightly before taking a seat behind everyone else. 'There he is.' My mind raced. Standing at the front of the church stood my last bit of perfection. For once his cowboy look has been dropped and instead he wore a simple black suit with a plain white shirt. Although I couldn't see, I felt sure that his button hole would be lined with either a purple or white rose to signify his 'undying love' towards her. His silvery hair was tied back like always but instead of hanging shaggily the ponytail was smooth. I shook my head in disbelief upon noticing his missing black Stetson. Julia and Mirabelle were sitting at the front on the opposite side of the bride's family. Julia looked as pretty as ever despite the fact she was in one of her many explicit dresses. She was sat next to Elliot, her head pressed against his shoulder. I glanced around the room for my other friend, Natalie. She was next to Pierre not in a dress but in a skirt. He definitely brought out a newer more feminine side to her. I smiled a little at the sight of all the happy couples before feeling slightly nauseous and a tad depressed about the current situation.
As I had time to spare I took my time to memorise the walls in which surround me. Stained glass windows are the main features here with the harvest goddess making her rather graceful presence in each and every one. One stained window beckoned me closer. For some reason I couldn't seem to pull my eyes away, fascinated by the meaning behind it. A little green haired sprite dressed in an orange top took his place upon the goddesses shoulder in one, them both almost hidden from view by the magnificent looking tree standing proud. 5 bells each painted a different colour surrounded the tree, 5 colourful bell matching sprites also decorated the tree. I mentally annotated the image and came to the conclusion that the spires are colour coded to assist the bells although that was as far as I got before a deathly tone started to play on an old organ.
The doors swung open and there appeared the bride, Sabrina, with her father hanging onto her arm like an unwanted cling on of some sort. All heads turn rapidly, all eyes take in her somewhat delicate appearance. She looked pretty in her snow white gown delicately embroiled with the finest, sparkling gem. Her pale white skin only emphasised the darkness of her curled hair. A tiny crown sat daintily upon her head, representing her royal status from another land. She clasped a small bouquet consisting of a cluster of different white flowers –none of which I readily recognised- alongside a beautiful purple rose taking the central position. She timidly floated down the aisle, trying to be as graceful as always and well, failing. The bridesmaids were women I didn't recognise but all hold the same signature black curled hair. My only assumption was that they were family members of some sort.
Vaughn offered her a tiny smile of affection when she reached him. I knew he wished that she was me. They both stood still as Nathan began the procedure. Nervously I patiently listened to him like a hawk, my body physically shaking.
"If anyone knows of a reason why these two cannot be married under the name of the Harvest Goddess speak now or forever hold your peace." Nathan spoke, his words echoing through the silent audience.
Now… There's my last chance. I stood up quickly before I could regret it and tightly squeezed my eyes shut. With shaking hands I carefully made my way towards the aisle. All eyes turned to me as I stumbled towards my destination. Gasped filled the deathly silence, obviously outraged by this petty outbreak. People's faces were probably horrified at my display, but what did I care? My eyes were focused on Vaughn.
"Chels?" A strangled, choked voice said.
His eyes met mine; bore into mine whilst I spoke out of turn.
"Now I am not the type of girl who would rudely barge in on a white veil occasion. But then he isn't the type of guy to be marrying the wrong girl." I boldly stated, feeling my whole body quiver as i did so.
I finished my sentence and took a look around at the faces all turned my way. Mirabelle and Julia both showed the same, happy, expression. They knew how serious Vaughn and I had been before little-miss-royal-princess- from- another- land bitch had turned up. Natalie refused to look at me, clearly embarrassed by my outburst whilst Lana looked slightly horrified. Denny was practically cheering me on which gave me a tiny flutter of hope; only to encourage me further. I took a quick look at her side only to see frowning, angry faces all burning their eyes viciously into me.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Nathan requested.
"Look, give me five minutes with the groom outside, please." I begged.
After much disagreeing and a hell of a lot of debating about what the right thing to do in this situation would be, I was finally allowed to drag away the groom where we both fell to the ground by the goddess pond.
In the silence that consumed us we both searched for one another's eyes. His were filled with far too many emotions, love, confusion, hurt. I stared and stared until I couldn't take it anymore. Big glossy tears trickled out from my eyes creating distasteful, salty patterns down my face.
"Please, don't say yes." I cried, almost silently, as his humongous hand cradled my face, wiping away the freely flowing tears.
"Chels, you know that's not a possibility now. I couldn't face hurting anyone else." He said, surprisingly calm over the matter.
"But what about me Vaughn? Haven't I been hurt enough? You'll hurt me more than you would ever hurt her, Vaughn. Don't you understand that you're the missing piece to my puzzle, the opposite part of me that makes me complete. Don't I get a say in what the man I fell in love with does?" I choked out, raising my strangled sounding voice.
"It's not that simple." He grunted.
"What do you mean, not that simple? So you're saying that leaving me on my own for 3 weeks, leaving me wondering what was going on whilst you were off with this chick was simple right? This isn't fair. I know you don't love her, your eyes tell your story and she isn't in them."
"I don't even understand how this happened." He whispered.
"Me either. Everything just happened too quickly. She saw you, wanted you and almost got you if I hadn't intervened. I'm sorry but I can't watch you marry her." I bitterly said, spitting out the words as if they were poisoning my mouth.
His eyes clouded up, releasing a single tear which I quickly wiped away.
"I'm sorry." Was all he could muster up before standing up, about to make his way back into the church. "I love you Chels."
Using all my strength I grabbed onto his arm; pulling him close to me.
"Listen." I breathed, "Don't make a stupid mistake, one that you'll regret for the rest of your life. You can't back down once this is over." I warned. "There's a boat that leaves the island in 10 minutes. Don't say yes to her, run away from this scene, from here, with me?" I offered. It was my last solution. If this failed I had to stand back and watch him marry another girl.
"Okay." he nodded, overly enthusiastic by the simple idea.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"We can come to the island next week right? Once this has blown over." I suggested.
"Right." he grinned. It was the first time I had seen him smile in too long.
We felt for each other's hand before entwining our fingers together. We fitted perfectly. Together we ran, only stopping to pick up his hat and boots from Mirabelle's shop.
Breathless, we scrambled onto the boat making its way into the everlasting sunset. Collapsing into a heap on the deck, we embraced each other. Our lips pressed passionately against each other, rekindling the fire that we thought was lost. His hand snaked into my hair whilst the other wrapped itself securely around my waist. My hands made themselves at home around his neck and tangled themselves in his hair, knocking off his beloved hat. We carried on kissing blissfully unaware of the audience formed around us as passing strangers smiled. maybe they presumed we were a newly wed couple had they heard the bells chiming and Vaughn's wedding attire. I certainly didn't qualify for a bride though.
"I love you Chels, forever and always." The underdressed cowboy whispered seductively, saying the words as if they were made for my ears only.
I smiled, letting my mind wander, knowing that I hadn't lost my little bit of perfection.
A/N: I apologise if this was terrible, I just felt like writing something different. I got this idea a while back and decided to finally write it down to share with you guys. I think it's a little different to the normal Chelsea and Vaughn one shots, I did try. Thanks for reading guys, you're the best :3