So I did this crazy thing today. And by crazy, I mean I wrote a short story to go along with Skate to the Moon. Crazy right?
Anyway, this randomly popped into my head while I was working on another story today and I just had to write my ideas down. Before I knew it, I had a little oneshot. So without further ado, enjoy...
'Deep breaths. Deep breaths.'
The phrase kept repeating itself over and over in my mind as I stared at myself in the mirror above Emily's dresser.
I could not believe I was standing here in Sam and Emily's bedroom, looking at myself in this mirror, trying to get my breathing under control. I subconsciously ran my hands down the length of my sides, feeling the soft satin material of the white dress I was wearing.
The dress was strapless, fitting every curve of my body and fishtailing out halfway down my thighs to create a wide, ruffled skirt. Around the waist of the dress was a dark purple sash, tied in a bow in the back, the ends draping down to almost touch the floor. I looked at myself again and felt my stomach turn.
"Just relax Natasha, deep breaths," I told myself out loud. The door opened behind me, causing me to jump and turn.
"There's my girl," my mother said as she walked forward and pulled me in for a light hug, not wanting to wrinkle anything. When she pulled away, I looked down at her pale lilac dress and smiled. The color suited her just as I thought it would. "How are you feeling?" she asked. The nervous look I gave her was my answer and she smiled, rubbing her hands up and down my arms. "You'll be fine. Every bride gets nervous on her wedding day."
"I know," I said with a sigh as I turned back to the mirror, worried that something about me wouldn't be perfect. "I love Paul. And I want this, I've dreamed about it since we met, but it doesn't make me any less nervous."
Instead of answering, my mother leaned forward and tucked a few of my loose curls back into the bun at the back of my head. My hair was half up in a bun, the rest of it in spiral curls down my back. When my hair was fixed, she reached for the comb attached to my veil and put it in my hair, tucking it underneath my bun. After softly spreading the veil out down my back, she turned me around and stepped back to look at me.
"Beautiful," she said and I noticed a tear spring to her eye.
"Mom," I said with an annoyed sigh. If she started crying, I wouldn't be able to hold my own tears back. This may be the happiest day of my life, but in a way it was also the scariest.
It had been two years since Paul and I met, and I knew this day would come, but it still didn't ease the weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. After today, I would no longer be Natasha Bascov. I would be Natasha Ballard. Home would no longer be the gorgeous house I had lived in with my family for the past four years, it would be Paul's cozy little house on the Reservation. And when I said the word 'family,' it would also include Paul.
"Is she ready?" came a voice and I turned to see Emily, Kim and my sister Natalie all standing in the doorway. My mother quickly wiped her eyes as she motioned for them to come in.
All three were dressed in cocktail dresses, Natalie's pale lavender like my mothers, Kim and Emily's matching the same dark purple of my sash. When they saw me standing there, they all gasped in awe before smiling and coming forward one at a time to give me a hug.
"You look lovely," Natalie whispered in my ear as she hugged me last of all. I held her tight, feeling the comfort of the one person who knew me best of all. Until Paul had come along of course.
"Thank you," I whispered back before letting her go, feeling wetness around my left eye.
"Oh no," Kim said firmly as she grabbed a Kleenex off the dresser at lightning speed. "We can't have you ruining your makeup," she explained as she reached up to dab any tears from my eyes. I laughed at how frantic she was being, and as the laughter came from my mouth, I felt myself relax. I was surrounded by four women who loved me, and the man I loved more than anything in the world was waiting outside for me. I could do this.
"Alright, I think I'm ready," I said confidently, trying to convince both my friends and myself. My mother leaned over and kissed me on the cheek again.
"I'll go tell your father," she said before slipping out the door.
With her gone, my friends all grouped in closer, enjoying this one last moment of us being together before I became Mrs. Paul Ballard.
"You really do look beautiful," Emily told me, her eyes beaming. I smiled as I squeezed her hand.
"Thank you...all three of you, for being with me today," I said and Kim scoffed.
"Like we'd be anywhere else," was her response and we all laughed.
I had been worried at first, when I named my three bridesmaids, because Natalie was so much younger than the other two, having just turned eight. Luckily enough, she had taken to Kim immediately and the two of them planned most of my bridal shower and reception. Well, Kim planned it all, Natalie just gave her the input of an eight-year-old sister of the bride.
"Well, we'd better get you out there before people wonder what's keeping you," Emily said and Kim rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want Paul to phase or anything," she said in an annoyed tone and Emily and Natasha shot her warning looks.
"Phase?" Natalie asked and Kim, realizing her mistake, paled.
"It's just a phrase they use on the Res that means freak out," Emily jumped in quickly and I silently sighed. Crisis averted.
"I'm ready," I said after taking one more deep breath. The girls all smiled and started toward the door. Emily rushed ahead to get the children from Sam. They had thought it best to keep Jenny and Kayle, Emily and Sam's children, with the boys until the ceremony. They said it was because the boys would keep them better entertained but I think it was mostly because they didn't want anything else to put me on edge before the ceremony. At three years old, Jenny was going to be the flower girl. Kayle was almost two and would be the ring bearer. Because he had trouble walking, Seth had agreed to help him walk down the aisle.
Walking out of Emily and Sam's bedroom, I made my way through their house and to the back door. Jenny, Seth and Kayle would walk down first, followed by Emily, Kim, Natalie and then myself and my father.
When we reached the back door, my dad was standing there, smiling as he waited for me.
"Sweetheart," he said softly before leaning down to kiss the top of my head. I felt the tears well up again and quickly sniffled to try and get them under control. Kim ran over and dabbed my eyes one more time before handing me my bouquet of purple and white flowers.
Outside, the music started and my father held the door open as each of my wedding party walked out to where the ceremony was being held. When it was finally our turn, my dad turned to me with a twinkle in his eye.
"Ready?" he asked and I nodded, my nerves suddenly gone. As we opened the door to walk out, a calm flowed over me and I suddenly felt relaxed. This was really happening.
Emily and Kim had transformed Emily's backyard into a gorgeous woodland chapel. There were two sections of white folding chairs, one section on each side of the makeshift white paper aisle they had rolled out. At the end of the aisle, the guys had built a small platform with a little arch behind it. And standing right in front of the arch...
Paul had never looked as handsome as he did right then. He wore a dark black suit with a dark purple tie and his hair was neatly combed. However, it wasn't his appearance that drew me in. It was the expression on his face. With his raised eyebrows, wide eyes and partially open mouth, he looked like he'd just walked in on a surprise party. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as it made me blush and I smiled, bowing my head a little to hide my red face.
Turning from Paul's gaze, I looked at the people on each side of the aisle. On my left I saw the boys from my dad's hockey team sitting in the back. Scott caught my eye and winked at me, causing me to grin. In front of them sat my grandparents: my mom's parents and my dad's mother. Next to them was Andre, my old skating coach. I had invited my ex-partner Chris but I never heard back from him. Finally, in the front row sat my mother and brother. My father would join them after walking me down the aisle.
After giving my mother a nervous smile, I turned my head to look at Paul's side. Almost the entire Quileute tribe was there. In the front row sat the elders of the tribe, the men who had taken in Paul when he was orphaned. Collin, Brady, Leah and Jake sat behind them. Sam, Quil, Embry and Jared were standing next to Paul as his groomsmen.
As we reached the platform, my father stopped and turned to me, smiling as he kissed me on the cheek. Then, giving me a wink, he turned and went to join my mother and brother. Alone, I turned to see Paul holding his hand out to me. I took it and let him help me step onto the platform.
"You look amazing," he whispered to me as we walked to where the minister was standing.
"That's a very cliché thing to say," I whispered back and he chuckled.
"Doesn't mean it isn't true," was his reply and then we fell silent as the minister began the ceremony.
As the minister talked, I found my mind drifting. Drifting to thoughts of what my life would be like now that I was going to be married. It was just a weird thought to wrap my head around, even though we had been planning this for the past two years. As Paul's imprint, I knew we would get married and be together forever. The only reason we had held off this long was because I didn't want to disappoint my parents. They were still a little angry when I told them Paul and I were getting married even though I was only 19, but today I was glad to see all their anger was put aside for joy.
I almost jumped when Paul began to speak next to me. Turning, I realized we were now saying our vows.
"I, Paul, take you, Natasha, to be my wife, for better or worse, sickness and health, in plenty and want, to stand together in our times of joy and sorry, always to be faithful to you. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. I love you." As he said this, Paul took the wedding band from Kayle and slid it onto my right ring finger. When he finished, he locked eyes with me and smiled. I smiled back as I reached over to take Paul's ring from Kayle.
"I, Natasha, take you, Paul, to be my husband, for better or worse, sickness and health, in plenty and want, to stand together in our times of joy and sorry, always to be faithful to you. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life. I love you." I slid the ring on his finger and together we turned back to the minister.
"Natasha and Paul, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Paul grinned with joy as we both leaned forward and he captured my lips in a chaste kiss. The crowd cheered and we both smiled widely as we turned to face our families and closest friends.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ballard."
The crowd cheered louder and I laughed, clutching Paul's arm tightly. As the recessional music started, we walked our way down the aisle, arm in arm.
Emily and Sam had offered their bedroom to us for the day, so while everyone began to set up for the reception outside, we walked up to their room to change into our reception clothes. I didn't want my wedding dress to get muddy, so I had bought a shorter dress to change into.
As soon as I shut the bedroom door behind us, Paul's lips were on mine, kissing me ravishly. I clutched his neck tightly as he held me close, pressing me as tight against him as he could.
When we separated a few moments later, both lightly panting, he grinned at me.
"Mrs. Ballard," he said and I smiled, blushing again. "Natasha Ballard. It sounds so good now that it's true."
"I agree," I said as I kissed him again before disentangling myself from his arms and walking over to where my reception dress was laid out on the bed.
"You looked stunning today," Paul told me as I unlaced my gown and slipped out of it. "I couldn't keep my eyes off of you. It was torture not touching you," he said as he took off his suit jacket and loosened the cuff links.
"You looked stunning too," I told him as I slid my new dress over my head, letting it fall around my knees. "You've never looked more handsome," I said and he grinned.
"I thought you said I always looked handsome," he shot back and I giggled.
"You do, but today was by far the most handsome you have ever looked."
He smiled and walked over to me, catching my lips in another kiss.
"It's just crazy to think that after all this waiting, you're officially, legally mine," he said and I smiled, feeling my eyes tear up again. He frowned. "That makes you sad?" he asked with a worried chuckle and I laughed, wiping the tears away.
"No silly, these are happy tears. I've never been happier in my life," I replied and he grinned widely, pulling me into a crushing hug and holding me there.
"I love you," he whispered into my hair and I nodded.
"I love you too," I replied before he let me go. "Now help me zip up this dress so we can go back downstairs before they wonder what's happened to us," I said, turning so he could reach the zipper. He pulled it up, kissing my neck lightly as the zipper came to a stop. I slipped on my shoes, pulled off my veil and checked myself in the mirror before turning to the door.
"Ready Mrs. Ballard?" Paul asked as he offered me his arm.
"Ready Mr. Ballard," I replied, linking my arm with his.
And together we walked out the door, husband and wife.
TA DA! So, what do you think? Please review and let me know! I'd LOVE to hear your reactions, especially since this came out of nowhere haha. And PS, this story is NOT leading to a sequel. This is a stand alone, for sure. I've started tampering with the ideas of a sequel and if I write one, it will revolve around their kids, not so much Natasha and Paul. But that's an IF haha.
So anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed it!